Work Text:
“Hey, Denji.”
Denji paused in his step, the dull look on his face faltering when he glanced over his shoulder to see Asa standing stiffly a meter away.
“Hey,” he said, turning his body to face her. Asa had that serious look she always wore on her face, but Denji could see the way the apples of her cheeks were dusted pink. Cute.
They stared at each other awkwardly, Asa hiding one hand behind her back, and Denji with his bottom lip drooping like a mouth-breather. He thought she had gotten over her awkwardness by now, considering the life or death situation they were subject to only a few days ago, but Denji didn’t mind either way. She was weird like that.
“Okay, bye. I’ll see you Friday for our date,” Denji said, turning to head to class.
“Wait!” Asa blurted, tugging on the sleeve of Denji’s uniform. He faced her again, looking dumbfounded at the little penguin keychain dangling off her finger in front of him.
“I… I just wanted to say I’m still sorry for that date,” She murmured, her dark eyes averting. “The more I think about it, just saying sorry doesn’t really cut it, so I…” she swallowed thickly, jingling the keychain in the air. “You looked like you really enjoyed holding that penguin, so I thought maybe I could give you something that…”
She trailed off again, her face growing redder by the minute. Her head lowered enough to where her bangs covered her eyes.
Denji, mouth still hanging open, reached out to slide the keychain off Asa’s finger and held it in his other hand. It was a soft, plush penguin, about the size of his palm, with beady eyes and a plump belly. He squeezed it gently, thinking back to that penguin he held in his arms. Although this keychain wasn’t soggy, and smelled a lot better.
It even looked like the penguin, with a white band starting on either eye and connecting behind its head.
“You might not care, but I was searching all over for that exact species of penguin,” Asa said. “All the stores had emperors and Adélies, but I didn’t want to get you just any keychain. It would be inconsiderate of me to get you a gift that doesn’t even look like the one part you enjoyed, but then again-“
“What kind?”
“Huh?”
“What kinda penguin is it?” Denji clarified, turning the plush over in his hand. He rubbed his thumb over the soft belly once more, transfixed.
“Oh, uh,” Asa cleared her throat. “A gentoo.”
“Did ya have a long, boring lecture on them too?” Denji teased, a warmth rising to his cheeks.
Asa rolled her eyes. “Why would you bring that up-“
“They go lookin’ for rocks, right?” Denji interrupted.
Asa raised a brow, unsure of where this was headed. “Yeah? They make their nests out of stones, so when they’re ready to find a mate, they search the shore for the perfect stone to present to a potential mate. It’s called pebbling.”
Denji dangled the keychain off his ring finger and raised it in front of him, the perspective making it look almost as tall as Asa.
“Pebbling. That’s cute,” Denji grinned, toothy and boyish. “Thanks, Asa. I’ll take care of it.”
Asa nodded, scrunching her lips in that way she did when she was embarrassed.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you Friday.” She turned and speed-walked down the hall, and Denji could see the pink tips of her ears, pigtails bouncing.
Denji watched her leave, before turning back to the keychain in hand. His chest squeezed like the plush gentoo in his palm.
He held the clip open with his thumb, and hooked it onto his belt loop. The penguin hung innocently, bouncing off Denji’s hip as he continued his walk to class, feeling lighter than before.