Chapter Text
Kalego choked on his toothbrush and nearly felt as if he was going to cough up a lung. Trying to rapidly brush his teeth while also trying to figure out what to wear for the day had been an awful idea it seemed now. He guessed his mind could only fully focus on one task at the present moment, which wasn't something he was used to given his field of expertise and his entire life as a teacher at Babyls. Oh well, at least he could guarantee his breath was minty fresh, as he stumbled in the bathroom to gag the toothpaste out of his mouth.
What was with him? He rinsed his mouth out and looked at himself in the mirror in front of him for a moment, trying to figure out his own thoughts. It had been a losing game, though, from when he had been first thinking about Opera that morning to right now. Being thrown a curveball of a confession had been something Kalego didn't think he could have ever prepared for. He was still unsure if it could even be referred to as a confession... His senpai had seemed so normal about the interaction... So calm and collected despite admitting their having a crush on Kalego for a while.
He blinked at his reflection. How long had they had liked him? It was common for parents to wrongly call the source of teasing of a child to the other 'simply because they like you', but could their school days have been such a thing? Had Opera teased and picked on him because they had liked him even back then? Or was it a more recent occurrence- brought about by how much the family forced Kalego to interact with them, especially now that Iruma considered him practically an extended part of the family, simply because of his status as the boy's familiar.
He let out a breath slowly. It shouldn't matter right now. What he needed to be doing was getting ready to go. The cat demon would be here soon to pick him up and take him wherever it was they had planned to, and they were always punctual. He couldn't be thinking about all the possibilities when he needed to get busy with the reality of the situation. He reached and took the towel off the rack and wiped his face off with it, calming his mind enough just so he could go and get changed.
Well that sure didn't work.
The moment he looked at his closet again, his mind was right back to where it had started. He had to admit, he had wished he had been at least told where they were going to be going for dinner. He had no idea how to dress for an occasion and place he knew nothing about. He didn't want to be underdressed at a more high scale location, and risk looking like a slob or someone who didn't care about his personal appearance. But dressing too fancy for a more casual setting seemed like just as bad a nightmare. He needed to decide what to do or else he'd be here for another hour, something he didn't have in the slightest.
He looked at the clock that sat high up on his bedroom wall. His heart gave a slight pang as he noticed the time, but was unsurprised by it. He had about twenty minutes to get ready and be at the door to await Opera's arrival, which wasn't all too much time honestly. He had to decide what the lesser evil of the two options would be, overdressing or underdressing.
He reached for a suit jacket that sat near the back of his clothes, deep violet and thinner than normal, flexible fabric, covered in lace detailing that matched a tie he knew he had in his drawer by the window. It was a bit longer than most generic suit jackets, Kalego preferring things like coats, dresses, and tunics, to more typical things. So it fit his style fairly well, reaching the halfway point of his thighs in length, rather than just in his hips like most suits did.
Risking overdressing seemed like a better idea. He'd much rather be seen as someone who cared too much about his own appearance, rather than someone who cared very little about their own appearance.
After a few minutes, he had buttoned himself up in a lavender dress shirt, dug the tie out of his perfectly organized drawer, and pulled on the lace covered jacket. He dusted himself off and looked over at the mirror, that stood in his corner, giving himself a look over before he even dared to present himself to his senpai. He thought he looked nice enough, and who knows, maybe he would end up dressing perfectly for the occasion.
He let out a small chuckle. He doubted it, knowing how many curveballs Opera loved to throw at him. But at the very least, he felt good about himself. So that was something.
He slipped a watch onto his wrist and made sure to straighten his jacket one more time in the mirror for good measure. If there was one thing he would take from that cat demon’s teasing pool, it would be any comments about him not looking good. He was not a vain person, he just had a cup half full of self confidence to know he could pick an outfit. Simply put.
He moved out to the living room, making sure his watch was on the right time as he looked at his grandfather clock over near the fireplace. It was roughly five minutes to eight, so Opera would probably be ringing his bell any moment now. He sat down on the couch slowly, content with sitting and waiting for them to arrive now that he had nothing to panic over.
Or so he thought.
He placed his hands on his knees as a nagging thought he had been having since Opera had asked him out finally found footing in his mind. The fact that this could all very well be a prank… Oh he hated the thought. What made it so much worse, was that it seemed in character for Opera to do so. They loved to tease him, of course, so why would this be any different? They could not show up now and leave Kalego waiting for an hour before he gave up and felt like and idiot. They could take him to someplace stupid with him dress the way he was, mocking him for thinking that they would ever want to ask him out on a date.
He didn't like the thought, nor did he like just how likely it seemed it could be true given his past with his senpai. It made his stomach turn, which, given it was already feeling all over the place given the butterflies he had going on, it was not a very good mix. He needed to push those nagging thoughts out of his head. And besides, like he’d thought earlier, Opera was always punctual. If he wasn’t here by ten minutes after eight, it probably meant it had all been a gag. Kalego only had to wait fifteen minutes for that sort of confirmation, so it wasn’t even all that bad or big of a deal.
He glanced at his coffee table, looking at the cactus he had placed in the center. He so rarely had guests over who weren’t Sicirue, but any time he did, he made sure to make it clear to them that putting their feet up on the table wouldn’t be tolerated. Not only because he found it to be extremely rude to do in someone else’s home, but because the cactus on the table was… quite small. Unnoticeable almost, unless it was pointed out or you were perceptive about it. He didn’t want anyone accidentally wrecking the poor thing should they not notice it either, he wouldn’t know how to fix a plant so damaged if it got stomped on by someone’s boots.
He blinked.
That little thing was not a metaphor for this date, absolutely not.
He let out a disgusted groan and put his face in his hands. This was not what he should be thinking about right now. He just wanted to get this evening over with so he could come back home as soon as possible and tend to his cacti and get to bed. He could already tell this was going to be a disaster, and he absolutely despised knowing such. He’d need to pay a visit to the garden center tomorrow for a pick me up prickly pear or else he’d be left thinking about this mess for a week.
The doorbell rang.
Kalego nearly jumped out of his skin as the low ringing of the bell filled his ears and snapped him off his train of thought. That had to be Opera, it was a minute to eight in the evening, and his grandfather clock would be going off at any moment. He ran a hand through his hair and let out the breath he had realized he had sucked in when the doorbell had gone off, trying to do so as quietly as possible, not knowing what that darn senpai’s of his keen cat ears could pick up on precisely. Even though closed doors.
As he walked over to the front door carefully, it was beginning to sink in just what was happening tonight. The realization of what he was doing came crashing over him like a wave of chaos that not even the abnormal class could pour over him in their day to day escapades. Was he honestly, truly and honestly, about to spend an entire evening, willingly, with Opera? His senpai? The demon who always relentlessly teased him during their school days and made him run errands for them all around Babyls whenever they felt like it?
What was it about right now that had made them have a change of heart? Or, not even change of heart- but what made them feel the need to confess such a thing today . And on a different note, why the hell had Kalego agreed ? This was only just now occurring to him… He very well could have denied Opera’s offer of a date, he could have very well spat at their feet. He didn’t need to be a bundle of nerves like he’d never been before, he could be watching TV right now instead, or over at Sicirue’s house helping him with binding one of his latest picture books. He didn’t have any clue why he had agreed to this when he didn’t even understand his own personal feelings on the situation. Did he like Opera back? That felt so unlikely, yet somehow- also likely. It was somehow both but neither at the same time, or at the very least, in his mind as it was right now. He’d never been interested in anyone before, he didn’t know the in’s and out’s of how this worked. Did he have feelings but didn’t know what they felt like? Did he not have any feelings and was mixing what he thought they were up with general nerves? He didn’t have any clue… Not to mention... He didn’t have any clue how to interact with Opera in a non-confrontational manner.
Not to mention he- hadn’t exactly been on a date ever before.
He didn’t have any clue how to interact with someone he was supposed to be on a date with.
Oh boy.
As he unlocked the door, it occurred to him that it would have probably been in his best interest to have taken some sort of medicine for a headache before he ran out of time. Not that he had one right now, but he could feel one coming, and another one on the other side of this forsaken door. He sighed and pulled it open.
“Hello, Opera-senpa-”
“You take your time answering doors, don’t you, Kalego-kun?”
He swore he was going to bust a vein if the entire night was going to be like this.
“Nice to see you’re still judging me for every little thing.” He replied, trying to keep his eye from twitching. “Are we going to stand here and banter or are we-”
He froze.
He looked Opera once over, actually seeing them in the moment rather than focusing on their usual back and forth banter.
They weren’t dressed in their usual butler wear, of course they weren’t, this was a date. But they were dressed even more- Casual. A clean pale pink shirt under a fitted inky black denim jacket with pants to match. Just looking at them Kalego felt severely over dressed, and he could only hope that they were underdressing for where they were going, not dressing perfectly for the occasion. Kalego couldn’t be seen as that big of a fool, or someone with so big of an ego that he wore a suit to a casual restaurant.
He swallowed when the next thought processed in his head. Opera actually looked- very nice. That’s all he would say, and nothing more. Just… very nice. He clenched his jaw as he felt his cheeks beginning to turn red. They needed to get a move one before Opera noticed, or else this night would be a nightmare much sooner than Kalego could have ever planned for. The prick of Opera’s ears were already telling him that they had noticed his face, which definitely meant trouble for him.
“Right- Well, we should- We should be getting a move on, then.” Kalego coughed, turning around to lock his door for the evening. He did his best not to fumble his keys or the lock in the slightest, trying to avoid giving the cat demon any chance at a different flavor of teasing him.
“Your succulent keychain is worthy of your young students, Kalego-kun.”
Devil damn it .
He turned back around, trying to give a smile, but it was coming off more as a sneer, he could feel it despite Opera’s never changing expression.
“Why don’t we get a move on? You lead the way since you’re picking the place.”
“Don’t be silly, Kalego-kun.” Opera said calmly, hooking his arm around Kalego’s before the demon could protest. “I can lead perfectly fine, from in front, behind, or to the side. We’ll walk like this.”
Kalego swore in his head as his arm was squeezed against Opera and his thoughts were muddled once more with past and present questions he had about his feelings towards the other or lack thereof.
This was going to be a long night.