Work Text:
You wake up in the morning, the birds singing their morning melodies as gentle sun rays peak into your room through your curtains. You stretch your arms, pulling yourself out of bed into a nice, peaceful morning.
At least, that's what should have happened. Instead, you woke up 5 minutes before noon to the awful noise of 20 unread messages. You groan, far too tired to deal with this, before begrudgingly unlocking your phone.
Leo
Hellooooo
NPCCCCCC
Mob chara
Hurry uppppp
And pick up your damn phone
What does Romeo call you…?
Oh right
BB~~~~
You want me to spell it out for you too?
Basic Bi-
You sigh, turning your phone off as you regret agreeing to going out with him at all. But a bet is a bet, and a bet did you lose. So in return, you get the "honor" of having a live streamed lunch date with him. Accepting your fate, you put on your best outfit, open the front door, and pray for your sanity as you make your way to the meeting point.
When you arrive, Leo's scrolling on his phone. Of course he is. Why wouldn't he? For all your complaints though, he does look annoyingly good. As he hears the clicking of your footsteps he looks up to meet your eyes. He pauses for a second, almost as if awestruck, before instantly turning grumpy.
"Finallyyyyyyyy. I've been waiting for literal ages. Don't you know not to make a person late?"
"Our plans are at 1:15." You deadpan.
"Yeah, but we have to take our couple photos. Now come on, get over here. The lighting today might be able to save your face from looking awful on camera."
You sigh, wanting to go home, before leaning into the shot and taking the photos. They end up… actually pretty nice. However, any joy you feel from looking nice on camera is squashed when you realize that it's just going on Leo's insta for some cheap thrill.
"And… posted~ Now come on, NPC, the train's leaving the station in 5 minutes."
The train ride is silent, save for the sound of typing from Leo's phone. You watch the sky outside the Galaxy Express, wondering how many stars are out there. Neither of you have much to say, but it's more peaceful than any other time you've ever spent with Leo.
"By the way, if the place you picked is a disappointment, you owe me 3000 yen," Leo said, not even looking up from his phone.
"Trust me, it won't be."
The train carries along for another five minutes before reaching your stop. The two of you get off, walking towards the restaurant in continued silence. Surprisingly, Leo puts his phone down, watching the city with an incomprehensible look on his face. After a long, stifling walk through the crowd, the two of you reach the restaurant.
"It's Indian food?"
"Yeah, have a problem?" you ask defensively.
"Not really. Just thought I might not need my hot sauce for once."
"Don't you dare use that atrocity on the perfectly good food."
"Well then, you better hope the food is up to par," Leo declares, before sauntering off into the restaurant.
Why'd I agree to go out with him again?
The two of you are escorted to your table and begin to browse the menu with growing hunger.
"Hey NPC, what's the spiciest thing on the menu?"
You ponder his question, trying to come up with a response. "I guess laal maas?"
"Alright, I'll have that then."
The waiter comes to your table, and you quickly tell them your order, the names of the dishes flowing off your tongue effortlessly. Meanwhile, Leo just watches you with genuine curiosity, almost like a cat.
"Wow, look at our NPC being multilingual~! It's almost like you leveled up a bit."
"Well, that does happen when it's the first language you learn. But thanks." You can't help but smile at his backhanded compliment, before quickly hiding it away so he can't see it.
"By the way, what about your live stream?"
"Hm?"
"You know. The live stream this whole meal is for?"
Leo huffs a little, clearly not in the mood. "Don't feel like it. I'd rather just eat instead of dealing with those bums."
"I… see." You watch Leo sitting across the table, countless emotions swirling through your head. It feels odd to see him like this, quietly humming and tapping the table instead of posting something or streaming his life. He looks relaxed for once, his eyes closing as he sings his little song. He almost looks cute. Calm down there. It's still Leo. Don't think about how nice he looks today or how pretty he looks when he's peaceful or-
"Here's your food!"
The sentence snaps you out of your trance, fumbling to help the waiter put the dishes where they belong and hoping desperately that Leo didn't notice you gawking at him. After the waiter leaves, you pick at your food awkwardly, far too scared about Leo confronting you.
Maybe he won't mention it. Surely he has at least that much decency to not-
"Aw, you're all done staring at me?"
Of course he doesn't have the decency.
"Shut up," you respond, your face getting hotter by the second.
Leo chuckles at your response, and you can't help but think that it would be nice if he laughed like that all the time.
Finally, the two of you begin to eat. The tiny conversations die down as both of you focus on the food. Each dish is rich in flavor, making you wish that you could get Indian food at Darkwick. Meanwhile, Leo eats the food with a pleased look on his face, a little smile pulling on his lips as he takes another bite. It's a nice meal, one that you never expected to have with Leo.
"Hey NPC, what's that you're eating?"
"Oh this? Gobi Manchurian. You want one?"
"Sure, feed it to me."
"Huh???" Your brain glitches at his request.
"What, you can gawk at me but you can't even feed me?" His face wears a sly smirk, one that you're desperate to wipe off.
You take a fork, stab it into a piece of manchurian, and hold it out for him to eat.
"Say ahhh~"
It's now his turn to look embarrassed, his ears turning red.
"Ohhhh, so you can ask for me to feed you but you can't eat it?" Your face turns smug, satisfied with your revenge.
"Shut it. You're still the one that was ogling me for five minutes." He quickly bites the piece off, chewing the food with a sulky look on his face.
The rest of the meal passes by in relative silence, the two of you happily enjoying your food. When you finish, you clean up your table to the best of your ability before walking out.
"Hey, Honor roll?"
"Yeah?"
"This was nice. Thanks."
You turn towards him, shocked. He's capable of thanking people?? His stance is defensive, almost as if he's bracing for impact. As people bustle around you, his golden eyes shine in the sunlight, earnestness captured in his gaze. It's an endearing sight, seeing Leo thank you so genuinely.
"Your welcome," you respond, matching his sincerity. And for once, as you remember the small smile that adorned his lips at the restaurant, you think it might not be so bad to hang out with Leo again.