digest those butterflies (Paradox)

That day, Deith was simply on his regular stroll downtown. He was just going to visit his favorite café, as always, and he was just going to drown himself in coffee and spoil himself with pastries. And Eve hasn't been able to stop him from doing so recently. Not after days of coming and going to his supposed meeting place with Lei, thinking that maybe they would meet sooner or later if he visited often. And failing. And ending up unable to eat sweets the whole time. And after a couple more days, giving up.

He's thought that maybe Lei did not like him the way he thought the male did. That he just misunderstood. And, although he will never admit it, the idea saddened him terribly.

He wasn't looking straight when they bumped each other. He had been looking up at the sky, giving it heavy sighs as if it was the only one he could complain to. But his breath was immediately caught in his throat that moment, as his eyes shifted to Lei, and widened in surprise.

He felt a thump in his chest. But he wasn't sure he was happy.

"Lei?" The name escaped his lips softly. There was no way he could expect them to meet again. But then again, Manta Carlos wasn't so big.

He was going to help Lei up but he was obviously too surprised to move fast enough. So his hand ended up staying in the air, halfway reaching for Lei's.

"Oh, you got sick," he repeated. Unconsciously, he chuckled. "I guess that's not so surprising. You probably exhausted yourself too much in the water. It's fine. You got enough rest though, yeah?"

What the hell? He didn't sound fine. It wasn't normal for him to be speaking gently like this.

He cleared his throat, and made a grin. Ah, yes. Better. "So, where are you headed?"

Deith was quickly back to that shocked state. He knew he heard him right. Date. Lei said 'date'. So he didn't misunderstand after all.

Deith did not understand why his chest was so unstable at the moment, fluttering painfully, and yet the feeling was suddenly not so bad anymore. And this time, he was much more reassured that he was glad to meet Lei again.

His grin widened. Nothing could ever be more adorable than Lei's face, especially while he was blushing. Suddenly, Deith's playful urge to tease the male came rushing back.

"A 'date' sounds a lot better, if you ask me," he said, immediately leaning closer to take Lei's right hand. And, before pulling him to start walking again, pressed a quick kiss on Lei's nose.

"I was on my way to a cafe. Want to go have some sweets first?" he asked, intentionally keeping his cool after that, because he knew that would add spice to his teases.

Deith slowed down and turned when Lei pulled back. The latter was becoming more and more adorable by the minute, which was, of course, wonderful. Deith already knew that he was infatuated by Lei, he had realized that during those days he wanted to, but could not, meet him.

"Are you sure you're okay, Lei?" he asked, holding his left hand out to him. He wanted to hold Lei's hand, but he wanted Lei to take his first. "Come on, we'll still walk for a few more minutes. It would be a problem if we got separated again." His grin slowly turned to a soft smile. With that on his face, nobody would ever suspect he was a demon. "And remind me to ask for your number later, okay?"

"How, you ask? Hm." Deith wasn't really sure. Aside from the fact that he hadn't been able to get Lei off his mind, he wasn't really sure what's been happening with him. "I dunno. Same as always, I guess."

Oh, yes. Same as always indeed. Alone as usual.

He glanced at Lei again, shooting him a grin before turning back to the street. "Actually, I came back a few times, too. I even went back to the school gate. I was kinda down, since we couldn't meet and all."

Unconsciously, he started fumbling on his choker again. He had stopped being depressed over his lover's death, even though a bit of sadness still lingered. He knew it was because of Lei, and not seeing the male gave him another reason to feel down. And meeting him again, to cheer up.

"How about you? Have you been busy..? You know, after recovering."

"Oh." Not an answer Deith expected. He did not seem bothered though, not as much as he actually really was, especially after seeing all those small face expressions and movements Lei made, those actions causing him to become curious. He even gave a nonchalant shrug.

"Being young sure is nice. Lots of stuff always happen, huh?"

He even started laughing at himself for sounding like an old man.

They reached the café just a few more moments later. It was Deith's favorite among all the cafés he's been to, with their coffee-and-sugar-filled air and cozy European atmosphere. Deith was practically pulling Lei to his favorite corner where he could see most of the people, without being noticed by most of them.

"Here, Lei, have a seat!" Deith offered, letting Lei's hand go to pull a stuffed chair from the mahogany table. He was pretty sure Lei wasn't very comfortable, but he didn't know what else to do, aside from keeping things going. "I hope you'll like their food here. Their pastries never fail to cheer me up."