"I came too early," Nea muttered under his breath as he glanced on the ancient clock that stood on the wooden floor of the teahouse he was currently in.
The situation, you see, was this: Nea had somehow managed to ask out his (annoying; vulgar; lying; kind; loyal; beautiful) next-door neighbour, Allen, something he had been trying to do since the first time Allen smiled at him. Or since his failed experiment blew up their entire floor, resulting in a yelling match so intense Cross would be ashamed. Or maybe just since the time Nea moved in and Allen called him an asshole. Go figure.
The problem, you see, was this: Nea had only asked him as a joke (if you were to believe him), so when Allen agreed, it resulted in Nea being flaggerbasted and with no idea what to do. Cross had told him to go jump into the Thames. Nea considered.
The oddity, you see, was this: Nea D. Campbell, a human-recently-turned-Noah, was always late just as much as Allen Bennet was always on time. So, when he arrived a little over half an hour early, all he could do was whimper silently and pray for his mind not to drive him crazy, flooding him with possible outcomes of this - insert question marks - date.
He sagged in his seat.
"This is what you get for developing crushes," Cross said to him a day earlier whilst sipping on a drink, watching his best friend bang his head on a table.
Of course he had to talk to the least suitable person to give dating advice. He couldn't have just asked his brother. He felt bad about not saying anything about Allen to Mana, but, it was just so, so, embarassing. Falling for a sorcerer, a neighbour, a person who - that's what he thought until very recently at least - pretty much hated him.
A waiter asked him what he'd be having, thus breaking Nea's self-pitying train of thoughts, but when he left, the train came back, full-force. Instead of trying to fight it, Nea sighed, determined to wait for his ultimate undoing. Not jumping in the Thames, mind you.
Allen wasn't just on time. He arrived precisely on second. Was that a sorcerer thing? Or just an Allen thing? Nea might never be around Allen long enough to know. But then again, taking in the other's flushed cheeks and oddly nervous greeting, he might.
When they both settled in, their tea finally on the table, Nea was met with silence. So of course he had to open his big mouth and say something dumb.
"Why did you agree to this?"
"Why did you suggest this?" Allen responded, not hesitating for a second, the slight frown that Nea hated firmly in place. He wanted to reach out and smooth the crease between the other's brows with his thumb. He didn't.
"I retract my question."
More deafening silence. This was not turning out great.
"So," Nea said after some consideration, "what are you working on right now?"
Talking about work. Not exactly a date-worthy topic, but definitely a safe one, as long as Cross wasn't around.
"Necromancy, in theory, but I don't like using that word," Allen answered as he sipped his green tea.
Nea hummed and thought about it. He knew that Allen was, in essence, a very gentle person, so it confused him the first time he was told about the experiments of reanimating the dead. He shared his confusion with his best friend, and Cross, who surprisingly found it easy to empathize with Allen for once (they did not get on well), claimed that experimenting on bodies which willingly gave themselves up was not hurting anybody. Nea wondered what kind of fucked up things they did at the Black Order to have him say that.
Seeing Nea get lost in thoughts made Allen certain he wasn't going to get a proper response. He opened his mouth to say something, but instead looked down at the tea in his hands, fiddling with the cup handle nervously.
"Was this a dare?"
Nea blinked once. Twice. Then; "What?"
"I mean," Allen said, eyes still glued to his fingers, "This date. A dare. Or is this your and Marian's idea of a joke?"
It was Nea's turn to frown. "I wouldn't do that. Cross might, but I wouldn't."
Allen did an unidentifiable "uhuh" sound that didn't sound too convinced.
"What made you think that?"
"I was under the assumption you hated me," he answered and then chuckled slightly. "This is the longest time we've managed to be around each other without any name calling, have you noticed?"
"Right," Nea said, "Listen. I was under the assumption that you hated me, but hey, here you are. Anyway, what I wanna say is… I-... don't. Hate you." And, in order to lighten up the mood; "Asshole."
Allen - bless him - laughed. "I don't hate you either. Jerkface."
The situation, you see, was this: Nea had somehow managed to ask out Allen, something he had been terrified of for longer than he'd be willing to admit, but when their ways parted in the evening, and they bid each other good night, he couldn't help the goofy smile on his face and the thought that all that fear was worth it after all.