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"You sure about this?" Marcus asked, running a hand over his hair, turning his eyes from his bathroom mirror to his phone propped upright on the basin.
Sydney rolled her eyes on the screen. "Super sure. Trust me; you're gonna have a great time."
With an uncertain hum, Marcus gave himself a quick spritz with his favourite cologne and grabbed his phone. "Look... I dunno," he sighed, wandering out of the bathroom. "I've never been on a date with a guy before."
"Well, if you're not into him, you can at least make a friend, right?" Sydney shrugged. "Besides, you'll definitely be into him. I got a nose for this stuff."
Marcus snorted, raising an eyebrow at her as he grabbed his wallet and keys. "Sure you do."
"What're you saying?" Sydney scowled with mock offence.
"Nothing, nothing," Marcus chuckled, making sure he had all his things before grabbing his coat from beside the door. "Just wondering if you only got a nose for it if it's queer."
Pointing at the screen, Sydney nodded, "My gaydar's definitely better than... whatever the straight equivalent is."
Smothering another snort as he pulled his coat on, Marcus supposed, "There's gotta be an equivalent, right?"
"Maybe it's just called 'being observant'."
"And I guess you ain't that."
"Hey!"
Waiting out his chuckles, Marcus tugged his beanie on and took a deep breath, then stepped out of his apartment. "But you're sure about this?"
"Super sure," Sydney assured him. "You're gonna love him."
"Might be getting ahead of ourselves with that," Marcus half-laughed, quickly making his way out of his building and into the street.
"I promise you, I know what I'm doing."
"You better."
Sydney waved a dismissive hand. "Remember; back left corner. According to the text he just sent me, he's excited and anxious. You better get your ass over there before he thinks you stood him up."
"Okay," Marcus exhaled, picking up his pace a little. "Also, how'd you hear about this spot? And how come I hadn't heard about it first?"
A grin lit up Marcus' phone screen. "Just 'cause desserts are your thing, doesn't mean I can't be ahead of the curve on new places opening up."
"But it's a dessert place," Marcus insisted.
"Exactly! And I'm being a good CDC by making sure you check it out." Sydney shrugged a little. "And tryna get you some action at the same time."
"Word," Marcus snorted, shaking his head fondly at his friend.
"Aight, Imma leave you to it," Sydney chuckled, waving at the screen. "Get some, chef."
"Yes, chef," Marcus smirked, locking his phone when Sydney ended the call. He revelled in the giddy lightness that Sydney always filled his chest with; the feeling he'd initially mistaken for attraction and eventually realised was just her brand of being a good fucking friend.
That lightness only got him so far in trying to bury his nerves, though. Navigating down the side street Sydney had described to him made his heart beat a little faster. The moment he set foot in the restaurant, his stomach flipped in a way he was sure it shouldn't. He braced himself with a deep breath, in through his nose and out his mouth, then headed for the back left corner.
Then stopped.
Sitting at a two-top in the designated corner, eyes focussed somewhere out the window beside him, sleeves rolled up to his elbows to reveal the familiar pattern of his tattoos across his forearms, was Chef bloody Luca.
Marcus barely managed to drag his feet over to the table, then very eloquently pulled Luca's attention with, "Uh..."
Eyes darting up, Luca froze, stunned. An agonising few seconds crawled by, then he blinked and shook his head quickly. "Marcus."
"Yeah..." Hand clutching his phone hard, Marcus explained, "Sydney..."
Luca's eyes fell closed with a heavy sigh. "Sydney," he nodded knowingly. Straightening his shoulders, he gestured to the seat opposite him. "Join me?"
Some external force almost hauled Marcus backwards, his feet ready to flee, hands trembling as his heart raced because this wasn't right. Sydney can't have set him up with Luca, that would be insane.
But a little tugging in his gut drew him slowly into the empty chair, tugging his beanie off and shoving it into his coat pocket. "So..."
"So," Luca hummed, folding his arms on the table. He tapped his fingers against the polished wood, eyes moving around wordlessly before an airy laugh left his mouth. "Sydney."
"Fucking Sydney," Marcus muttered, rubbing his palm across his forehead.
"She means well," Luca murmured. Clearing his throat a little, he reached over to tap the menu in front of Marcus. "Guess we should take a look."
With a long breath out through his nose, Marcus steadied himself. "Yeah. Yeah, we should." He turned his gaze down to the list of desserts in front of him. "So, you've definitely already looked at this," he pointed out, smirking at the slightest upturn of Luca's mouth. "Anything interesting?"
Luca hummed, sitting forward a little and instantly easing the mood. "There's a couple things," he nodded, pointing to a listing. "I'm seeing orange and cinnamon parfait and definitely intrigued. There's also hibiscus ice cream with almond wafers, which would be the most amazing colour."
Scanning his eyes down the menu, Marcus couldn't help but comment, "You knew I'd pick that, huh?"
Though clearly a little smug, Luca shrugged one shoulder. "Educated guess."
"Based on what?" Marcus challenged, that feeling in his gut now tugging in his chest when Luca gave him that lopsided smile of his.
"Well, I figured the man who designed a dessert around violets might also be interested in other flowers," Luca deduced, something playful dancing around his eyes and the corner of his mouth.
Tilting his head slightly, Marcus narrowed his eyes. "Did you know I was meeting you here?"
Luca's gaze dropped to the menu in front of Marcus. "No," he murmured. "But... I saw the hibiscus and it made me think of you, so..."
Skin pricking, Marcus tried to keep his voice steady as he asked, "Are you flirting with me?"
A smile pulled Luca's mouth up, eyes lifting to meet Marcus'. "We are on a date."
That feeling wrapped itself around Marcus' heart and squeezed. "Yeah," he whispered. "Guess we are."
Nothing seemed different. The way they talked, how they commented on the food, how easily they laughed together... They were all things Marcus was used to with Luca. His warm, positive presence was just as easy to live in as ever, but now Marcus was seeing him. He saw the look in Luca's eyes, the way they gravitated towards each other, heard all the words Luca wasn't saying within the ones he was.
It sent a shiver up Marcus' spine that had nothing to do with the brilliantly pink ice cream he had eaten.
"So," Marcus piped up as they stepped outside, a little breathless after watching Luca pay for both of them. "This was..." The words to describe the experience evaded him.
"Really nice," Luca finished for him, hands easily tucked into his pockets as they wandered down the side street.
"Yeah." A few quiet moments, then Marcus swallowed the nerves crawling up his throat and asked, "Were we always like that?"
Luca turned him a curious look and hummed in question.
"Like..." Waving one hand as he struggled to articulate his thoughts, Marcus found himself settling on, "Flirty."
A fond smile appeared on Luca's face as he looked ahead of them. "Yeah," he nodded. "We're always like that."
"Oh..." Marcus' body flushed warm against the chill of the evening air.
"Syd noticed," Luca murmured, eyes ahead as they walked. "She asked me about it... Said it was obvious how much I like you, but you prob'ly had no idea." With a long sigh, he added, "She told me tonight was supposed to take my mind off you."
"Liar," Marcus scoffed.
They walked in silence for a while, Marcus' head buzzing as he replayed days working with Luca, finally reading their chemistry in every interaction. The realisation made his chest flutter, breath catching in his throat.
"Well, this's me," Luca said eventually, stopping outside an aging apartment building. "Thanks for walking me home." He threw Marcus half a smile. "Though I don't think you knew that's what you were doing."
Glancing around himself, Marcus noticed his cheeks warm; he had no idea where he was.
"Look..." Breathing a heavy sigh, Luca dragged a hand through his hair. "You don't have to worry about this," he said softly, reaching for one of Marcus' hands hanging limply by his side. He slipped his fingers between Marcus', closing his eyes with a short exhale. "I don't wanna wreck our dynamic. I'm happy to keep things as they are, just as long as I don't lose you." Gazing down at their hands, he brushed his thumb down the side of Marcus' palm, then whispered, "Thanks for humouring me."
As the fingers between his own began to slide away, Marcus gripped them hard. His heart jumped when he glanced up to Luca's face to find his eyes resigned through a sad smile. "No."
Luca just blinked.
"Don't you dare keep things the way they are." Pulse thundering in his ears, Marcus grabbed the back of Luca's head and lurched up to plant a firm, decisive kiss on his mouth. "Don't you dare."
Mouth hanging open, Luca slowly brought his free hand to rest on Marcus' hip under his coat. "Okay..."
"Okay," Marcus confirmed, tugging Luca into another, softer kiss. His stomach swirled excitedly when Luca responded, twisting his fingers in blond locks and chasing the lingering warmth of cinnamon on his tongue.
Luca was panting when he pulled away, nose and forehead pressed to Marcus', leaning against him as if to keep himself upright. "Okay..." His thumb swept across Marcus' hip. "Okay, I think... I think I need some sleep to wrap my head around this."
Though his stomach sank a little, Marcus nodded. "Fair."
Fingers twisting in the fabric of Marcus' sweater, Luca muttered, "Much as I wanna drag you upstairs, I don't wanna rush this." He dipped his head to press a warm, tender kiss to Marcus' lips. "But I'll see you tomorrow... and... maybe we can hang out after work?"
"Yeah," Marcus hummed, sliding his hand from Luca's hair to cradle his jaw, stealing another quick kiss. "And I'll try not to be too weird at work."
A wide grin spread across Lucas face. "Just act like normal."
Huffing a laugh, Marcus supposed, "Nothing will be different." He swept his thumb across Luca's cheek, sinking into one last sweet kiss before taking a step back. "See you tomorrow," he nodded, jolting to a stop when he reached the limit of their linked hands.
"Might have to let go," Luca smirked, giving Marcus' hand a little pulse. "Can't really take that with you."
It took Marcus' brain a good few seconds to process how to release Luca's hand, disappointment spiking in his gut as he did so.
"See you tomorrow, Marcus," Luca murmured, a grin breaking out before he could turn away to hide it. He jogged up the front steps to his building, sparing Marcus one last fond glance before disappearing inside.
The next breath Marcus sucked in swirled all the giddiness around in his chest, painting a dumb smile across his face.
He kissed Luca. Luca kissed him. There were promises of more after work tomorrow.
If he could make it through work tomorrow.
Heart pounding, Marcus tore his eyes away from the door separating him from Luca, turning away from the building with a breathless little laugh. "Okay... Home. Go home."
Wandering a few paces down the street, Marcus fished his phone from his pocket and opened Google Maps to find out where he was in order to decipher how the fuck to get his giddy ass home again.