The rail systems in Holo connect the entire city in a ring-shaped track that circles each and every district. There are four tracks in all: two tracks for regular passengers moving clockwise and counter-clockwise called the Bolt Rails, and two tracks that take the same pathway reserved for those who pay a premium price for faster transportation and less passenger congestion. The faster ones are called the Lightning Rails; these are the rails Emil can permanently take to any part of the city to his heart's content, courtesy of Leon's generosity. Normally, when he does take the rail systems, he only goes out to Trip for some extra shopping, and during his travels, he was previously accustomed to taking the Bolt Rails like most regular passengers. That being said, the Bolt Rails are always crowded with civilians trying to get from one point to another; pickpocketing is also a common occurrence so most passengers tend to avoid bringing any valuables along if possible. Here on the Lightning Rails, fortunately, Emil no longer has to worry about that.

His first reaction when entering the Lightning Rail was one of complete awe. Instead of the torn tacky seats, gum-littered floors, and stuffy passengers pushing against one another, he is surprised to see how empty and clean it is. Fancy royal blue seats dot the carts on both sides with clean windows free from dust and other miscellaneous smudges and spits. There is a refreshingly pleasant smell of sharp yet subtle cologne and perfume stirred in with the crisp scent of newly tailored clothes. The only people sitting in the cart with him appear to be prominent and successful businessmen; they are dressed from head to toe in what he can only assume to be brand name tuxedos and suits made only from the finest materials offered on the market. Some people are checking their phones for any business updates, and others are quietly making personal calls to companies or representatives. One thing is for certain: none of them are keen on paying Emil any attention.

When the carts begin to move, he eagerly takes a seat beside the window facing the outer rim of the tracks and stares out through the glass. He feels somewhat out of place with the plush cushions and sleek floors, not to mention the businessmen who obviously can afford to pay for a pass on the Lightning Rails. But he pushes his doubts aside and enjoys the ride while he can. The motion is pleasantly smooth like sliding down a slope of compacted snow on a sled. The ride is also significantly faster as the buildings graze past his eyes like quick blurs of color and infrastructure; within a few seconds rather than the twenty minutes he expects the ride to take, the Lightning Rails are already at the first station of Wire, the market district.

"That was...fast," he softly chuckles to himself. He then wonders what the entire point of having such fancy carts even is. If the ride is going to be so short, why bother spending money making the seats so elaborate and posh?

Nevertheless, there is little room for complaints as the Lightning Rail sails to the next station in a blink of an eye. In three minutes flat, the rail has already covered the entirety of Trip's stops. The Retro district is next. And, as expected, the blue station comes into view within a dome-like tunnel with blue LED lights flashing through the curved walls. Frosted blue glass composes the main walls of the tunnel to keep out the rain when passengers board, and while it gives off a hypnotic blue lighting, Emil can still see his surroundings from his seat. With the sun setting over the city, there is a majestic orange glow reflecting into the electric city painted with assorted rainbow lights. The real fun begins at nighttime when the entire district comes alive with youth, games, and music galore. Such liveliness makes Emil wonder how he has managed to miss out on all the activities even after living a mere rail ride away.

"Retro district blue station," a cool female voice announces over the intercom. "We are now in Retro district blue station."

Emil wastes no time getting out and heading down the escalators to the ground floor. Since it is well into the evening, there are plenty of teenagers sporting glowing attire walking around the streets. Black lights strobe in a continuous on and off flicker that makes it appear as though anyone wearing bright colors is aglow. Emil's outfit does not have such an effect as he is wearing darker blue colors. With everyone else looking the same, however, he cannot imagine being able to find Leon in a place like this. A meek sense of fear wallows over him as he stretches his neck out hoping to spot the familiar face among the crowds of teenagers and young adults. Then again, since Leon is a celebrity, he does not expect to spot him so easily; if he can find him, practically anyone else can.

"Why didn't I ask for his phone number?" he mutters to himself as he continues his search. Sometimes he thinks he sees the familiar face of his significant other, but it always turns out to be another person who walks in the other direction. He has never paid attention to the side-bang cut and front-swept style until meeting Leon. Perhaps it caught on because of the teenage pop star.

This game of hide and seek continues for a while until he finally stops to rest on a nearby bench not too far from the station. He checks his phone's clock; the time reads half and hour after five. He has been searching for Leon for at least thirty whole minutes.

Suddenly, he starts to have doubts. What if it this is all a big joke? What if Leon never planned on coming to begin with? What if this is just his sick, twisted game he enjoys playing on people?

"No," he grumbles and pockets his phone. "What am I thinking? I've been hanging around Lukas for too long."

"Hanging around who now?" a voice asks causing Emil to jump from his spot.

"Gh!" he gasps and gets a hold of himself. "What the—?" The first thing he sees is a person wearing a hoodie in the shape of a panda, a black and white bear that went extinct after years of habitat destruction but still a popular icon among the youth. There are two large black eyes and two round black ears that physically stick out from the hood like a mascot. However, when he looks closer, he can recognize the confident smirk and the stylized side bangs of his supposed friend. Sure enough, as the person tilts his head up to meet his eyes, his amber irises sparkle in the fluorescent lights of the blue station.

"Yo," he grins. "Did I keep you waiting for too long?"

Emil's face falls into a frown when he checks his phone. "More or less. You're almost forty minutes late."

"Sorry," he apologizes, rubbing his neck from inside his hood. "I had to find a way to get here without getting caught." He notices Emil's unconvinced look. "Hey, cut me some slack. It's not easy sneaking out of the sixtieth floor of a hotel in Volt."

Hearing the believability in his tone, Emil realizes he is being too harsh on him for their first get-together and quickly forgives him. "No, it's alright," he says. "I get it." He changes the subject. "So, um, nice jacket."

Leon, in turn, scoffs and flicks back his front bangs. "It's one of my cousin's designs. It's good for this kind of thing, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he agrees. He would have never known it was Leon Wang underneath the hood if they were not talking together.

"So have you been out here before, Emil?"

This is the first time he has said his name since they met, Emil recalls. It sounds rather foreign coming from someone other than his brother or Mathias.

"You can call me 'Ice,'" he says.

Leon raises one of his thick eyebrows. Despite them being noticeably thick, they oddly fit the rest of his character. "Ice, you said?"

He nods. "It's a nickname I've always used. I'm used to being called that more than my real name."

"Ice," he tests it out. "Huh. That's a pretty cool nickname. Alright, I'll call you that, then. Eh, going back to what I was saying…Oh, yeah. Have you been out here in Retro much?"

"Not really," Emil says. "Only twice, and they were for family reasons."

Leon smirks. "Since when is Retro a place for family outings?" He grabs onto Emil's sleeve and pulls him along. "Come on, Ice. I'll show you what real fun is."

Emil can hardly speak as he drags him towards the main streets. Though being a celebrity has its advantages, he hopes it also does not mean having an overinflated ego. Lukas warned him about the kinds of troubles celebrities get into when they become famous. Even a little attention is better than no attention at all.

But, he decides, since he is here, he might as well enjoy himself while he can. And with that, Leon leads him further down the holographic pathways towards the central plaza of the eternal game zone that is the Retro district.


Yao Wang, the chief executive officer of Wang Studio as well as Leon Wang's legal guardian, is in absolute disarray. Earlier, Lien, his secretary and distant relative, had to adjourn the board meeting because of a call from the hotel saying his "ungrateful son" was nowhere to be found in the building. He completely went berserk when the news came to him. Due to being unable to function and snapping at the drop of a hat, nothing could get done, and the meeting ended shortly after starting.

"Who does he think he is trying to sneak out like that?!" he yells to no one in particular. Lien is not too far away, but she is keeping a considerable amount of space between them in case he detonates any further. Luckily, she managed to get in touch with Cheng just a few minutes ago. Considering he was conveniently visiting Volt for business, he should be here at any minute. She just hopes he arrives before Yao busts a vein.

Then, to her relief, she hears footsteps coming down the long hall towards the main office. A tall, well-groomed man with spectacles comes walking in with a quick pace to match the urgency of the situation. He briefly speaks with the secretary before giving her permission to leave for the day, and then, taking a deep breath, he slips into Yao's office and assess the scenario. Meanwhile, Yao continues on about how irresponsible of a boy Leon grew up to be. Angry curses of regrets follow his statement before a pair of hands come to rest on his shoulders.

"Uncle? Uncle, calm down. Please. The doctor said you need to watch your blood pressure. What do you think will happen if you let your temper get the better of you?"

"Off!" Yao snaps and tosses his hands away, but as soon as he sees who it is, his face relaxes into a calm composure. "Oh. It's you, Cheng. Did Lien call you?"

"She did," he sighs with a smile. "So I've heard Leon has left the hotel again?"

His uncle lashes out with a curse. "Can you believe that boy? This is the second time this week! The second time! The first time he did this, he missed a photo shoot with Glitter Magazine! And now this!" He violently points to the wall clock. "He has an interview at six! Five minutes away! This is unforgivable! He brings three generations of shame on our family!" He curses again. "How did he become so rebellious, Cheng? Was I not a good father?"

"Now, now, don't start thinking about that at this moment, Uncle," Cheng quickly answers. "I understand Leon can be a bit…difficult at times, but he means well. Don't forget that everything he does is in your image for your image. Why not let him spread his wings and have some fun every now and then? They say the wild beast runs the most rampant when he is chained and caged."

Yao clicks his tongue. "But Leon is no wild beast; he is my son—or at least, I thought he was—"

"You're letting things get out of hand, Uncle," his nephew cuts in. "Please think on this before you act. Leon has been working so hard for you. He's been doing movies and photo shoots and video after video. Think about all the strain it puts on him. If this gets out of hand, it will only get worse. Don't try to wedge a gap between you two."

To Cheng's relief, he can see his uncle beginning to relax. "Maybe you're right. I have been driving him in a corner lately. I just mean well. If he wants a nice lifestyle in the future, he should try to earn enough to afford it, shouldn't he?"

Cheng smiles and considers his dear cousin's point of view before answering. "You're right about working in the present to ensure a secure future, but if you work too hard now, when will that future ever come?"

"You and your words," Yao exasperatedly sighs and takes out his phone. Cheng notices him dialing Kiku's number and waiting for the line to connect. "Hello? Yes, Kiku, it's me. About Leon's interview…" He hisses through his teeth. "Yes, I know. Just tell them he's sick with the stomach flu or something. Schedule it for another time. Ye—Yes, yes. That's all. Bye."

When he hangs up, he looks back at Cheng. "Well, since tonight's meeting ended early, why don't I treat you out, Cheng? It's been awhile since I've seen you."

"Oh, no, I couldn't possibly," he politely refuses with a businesslike smile. Then again, to anyone who knows him well, he is always someone who tries to decline others' free offerings with a polite refusal.

"We're going out, and that's final," Yao insists. "There is a new restaurant that opened down the street, and they're supposed to have good custard tarts 'to die for'—though I'd imagine none will ever be as good as the ones you make."

Cheng chuckles. "You give me too much credit, Uncle."

"Sometimes I don't think I give you enough with the way you get Leon to listen to you. You need to teach me how you do that." He is already heading towards the elevator with his nephew following closely behind. "He never listens to anything I say nowadays. It's like he suddenly grew up and is freeloading off his father."

"That's not it at all," Cheng assures him. "He's at that age where he's trying to find out if stardom is what he wants in life." He lets out a brief sigh as he remembers what his cousin told him over the phone roughly three days ago. "Just give him some time. I'm sure he'll come to know what his responsibilities are."

"I'll think about it over dinner," Yao says and gets into his personalized elevator. There are seven main elevators located within Wang Studio; six of them are for the rest of the employees, and the seventh one, by using a specially coded program on an electronic device, is reserved for family and close-knit employees. Yao and Cheng take this elevator down to the ground floor, moving from the topic of Leon's future and career to what sorts of dishes they plan to order at the new restaurant.


Emil recognizes the place they are going to. It is the Highway Fairgrounds, an amusement park famous for its high-speed roller coasters and seemingly endless midway. When he came here as a child, his parents watched him and his brother play countless amounts of little games to compete for prizes. One of the prizes he won happened to be a stuffed puffin, a curious black and white bird that has long gone extinct after humans overfished the polar oceans dry. He believes if he looks around in his closet, he will be able to find the puffin stashed alongside many of his other childhood belongings.

Interestingly enough, it appears Leon is leading him exactly towards the places he remembers. The duck bobbing pool is exactly where he remembers it to be, and the block-throwing stall is right next to the bathrooms like before. When they stop, they are in front of a shooting booth where players shoot holograms with an electronic laser gun for a prize.

"A shooting booth?" he questions with a raised eyebrow as his companion takes out what appears to be a previously registered playing card.

"We need to get you something before we go," he says when the game starts up and aims his gun at a computer-generated monster. The first monster bursts into pixelated green bits when he fires his first shot. "Betcha I can mow down the entire horde in a perfect run—no wasted shots."

Emil cannot help chuckling. Pop star or not, it does not mean his skills are as impressive as the special effects in his movies. "Alright. I'll bite."

His previous doubts suddenly vanish with a devious smirk from Leon. His eyes narrow into thin golden slits as he takes aim and fires another shot. Like before, the monster hologram obliterates into electronic smithereens. A wave of monsters pops up, dancing on the screen with childlike animations until Leon blows them away without batting an eyelash.

"Ha! Look at that!" Leon laughs when he continues to hit monster after monster. Emil's eyes wander to the scoreboard keeping track of his shots and monsters killed. Both match up identically: seventeen shots taken and seventeen monsters defeated. That number only continues to climb. Eighteen, nineteen. Twenty. Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty three, twenty-four—

"Last one," Emil hears him smirk right before pulling back on the trigger and letting the last shot fly.

A jingle of old-school bit-style music plays in the background, complimenting the cheap fireworks and blinking "Congratulations!" flashing on the screen. When the song finishes, a prize screen pops up displaying a variety of stuffed toys and various hats. Leon chooses a hat that looks like a black devilish monster with yellow eyes and waits for his prize to pop out of the chute. When it comes out, he starts spinning it on his finger from the inside like a flat top, taunting Emil for losing the bet.

"You lose," he snickers.

Emil groans and presses his lips together. "Okay? What happens now?"

"You've gotta wear this for the entire night," he says and pulls it onto his head. Despite Emil's protests, he continues to stare at him until he calms down—minus the pink color rushing to his cheeks. "Don't get mad. I was going to make you wear it whether I won or not."

"Wh-What are you looking at?" he snaps, upset by the fact that the outcome was going to be the same. "This isn't funny. Just because I lost—"

"You look nice," he smirks tripping up Emil's tongue. "Besides, it's in case there are, like, weird stalkers around. We don't want them knowing what you look like." Without permission, his hand moves to his hair and fingers a strand until Emil slaps him away.

"Quit it!" he growls, though the threat is no more intimidating than that of an angry kitten.

"Cute," he chuckles earning yet another rush of blood to Emil's cheeks and even more hot fumes of air flaring from his nostrils. "I still can't believe that's your natural color. You ever think about modeling?"

The thought is so absurd that Emil can barely register words. The syllables struggle to toll off his tongue or process in his mind. Lukas will kill him before something like that ever happens. By the time he gets his mouth to work, Leon is already taking him to another area of the part. "W-Wait! You weren't serious about the whole modeling thing, were you?"

Leon then turns to him with a deadpan look, his golden eyes piercing through his sweeping bangs. "And what if I was?"

"I…" He furiously shakes his head. "I would say 'no!' My brother will kill me before he sees me modeling!"

To his frustration, this only makes the pop star laugh. "You sure you're nineteen, Ice?"

"Yes!" he snaps. "In fact, I found out I'm two weeks older than you!"

This finally gets a different reaction out of the cocky bastard. "Says who?"

"Your birthday's on July 1st," he says. "Mine's on June 17th. That makes me older than you."

"Oh." He licks his lips and blows some hair out of his eyes. "So it does. But that's fine, too, I suppose."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means we're moving to our next stop," he tells him without addressing the real context of Emil's question.

Before Emil can throw a protest his way, they are already off to their next destination. "Where are we even going?" he asks in an impatient tone. He wishes he had an idea of where they are even heading before going to those destinations. As they continue walking, he makes the assumption that they are not going to spend the rest of the night in the midway. They must be going to another section of Retro.

"I'm totally starving," Leon suddenly says. "What about you?"

Caught by surprise, Emil bashfully lowers his head to the ground. He does not have to worry about which direction they are traveling in since Leon is constantly leading the way. Truth be told, he is just the tiniest bit hungry. It feels like an eternity since he last ate Mathias' bread, and he sees no harm in admitting he wants something to eat.

"Just a bit," he vaguely answers and feels a sharp tug on his arm. "Ngh…! Can you not pull so hard?"

"I'm trying to make sure you don't get lost," Leon innocently replies.

"Yeah, but if you're going to do that, hold onto something other than my sleeve," he snaps. "You're going to tear it."

"Ahh," Leon pronounces with a gleam in his eyes. "I see what you mean. You wanna, like, hold hands with me?"

"No!" he cries a little too loud. He can feel some eyes and ears drawing to him, though it does not take long for the pedestrians' interests to move elsewhere. "You don't have to hold onto me at all. Period. I can follow you."

Leon gives it some thought before finally consenting. "Alright, but if it gets too crowded, I'm taking your sleeve again."

Emil rolls his eyes. "Okay, Mother."

Leon just laughs. All the while, the hat he won for Emil remains concealing his silvery white hair.


Leon ends up taking Emil to a place with a bright blue neon sign with a minimalist design called "Teal." He tells him all of the restaurants in Retro are named after colors.

"As if I don't know that already," Emil grumbles while passing through the door.

Upon stepping inside, instead of waiting to be seated like the rest of the diners standing in a queuing line, Leon walks up to the maître d' and whispers something into his ear. Moments later, someone escorts them to a separate room far from the main dining area. They take an automated pathway that runs through an underwater tunnel complete with what appears to be a built-in aquarium. Beyond the colorful schools of fish and towering beds of coral, Emil can see the regular diners on the other side of the glass. He wonders how often people get the privilege of going through this tunnel.

His answer is soon given when the end of the tunnel opens up to a large dome-shaped room consisting of a single table with a large round bench surrounded on all sides by placid sharks, nonchalant rays, and clustered, shimmering schools of what appear to be anchovies.

"Are those real?" he wonders aloud, his head craning to the aquatic life forms above after he takes a seat across from Leon.

"Nah," he laughs. "The real ones are probably in some government-reinforced research facility or whatever."

Emil makes a face. "How do you know that?"

"I did a mov—oops. I mean, I 'heard about it' when I was out somewhere in the coast. One of the crew members out there said nowadays, all the big fish are locked up in these huge fisheries because scientists are trying to prevent them from getting overfished in the wild."

"Oh." He looks up again. "But they look like the real things. I've never seen something like this before. The only time I ever see things this stuff is in history shows about nature."

"Yeah, I'm pretty much the same," Leon smiles in a far off way. "My cousin told me that they use, like, a bunch of holograms that can test the currents in the water and bounce lights off the water molecules. That's what tricks our eyes into thinking we're seeing an image much like how all holograms work. Not just that, but the beams of light are supposed to be so small that the machines using them are invisible to the naked eye. Nanotechnology and the like."

Emil is silent as Leon continues on with his explanation. He is surprised to hear how well-learnt this person is despite never seeming to have time to himself. If this is how he spends his spare time—aside from practicing at the shooting gallery and sneaking out—he thinks it will not be too hard to maintain a relationship with him.

"But enough about that," he suddenly says, with a yawn; it is as though the topic bores him. "I wanna know more about you."

His genuine words make his face steam. In the place of a fan, he suspects he should be extremely flattered that Leon Wang wants to know about him. Such an opportunity does not occur on a regular basis. It is, as some people call it, fate.

"Um…" His voice continues to trail off during their conversation. "I don't know...There's not that much to talk about. What do you want to know?"

Leon starts off with, "How's about telling me why you've been hiding under a rock all this time?"

"What?"

"Like, you told me that one day you've never heard about me before. What's up with that?"

Emil shrugs. There is not much to say about how he never heard of him. "I just never bothered learning about those things, I guess," he replies in grumbles; he knows he sounds like a spoiled and shy child, but it is rare for him to speak with anyone other than Lukas and Mathias these days. Considering Leon Wang is the one listening to him makes the experience all the more unnerving. "I don't watch shows that much, and I don't really surf on the net. I just study."

"Wow," Leon stretches out the word in a long syllable. "What a drag." He falls silent when he breezes through the provided menu looking for anything interesting to eat. When he is finished, he signals the waiter over and orders something in a foreign language. He also points to Emil and continues to speak in an unknown tongue until the waiter disappears into the kitchen connected by another tunnel.

Emil is utterly confused when he finishes. "What was that just now?"

"What was what? You don't like what I'm getting?"

Eyebrows creased, Emil looks down at his menu that he has not so much as glanced at when they first came here. To his bewilderment, the entire menu is written with an alien-like script of characters and squiggles.

"You ordered for both of us?" he realizes.

"Yeah. You got a problem with that?"

"U-Uh…"

"You obviously can't speak Jiang*. Might as well save you the trouble, right?"

"Oh." He studies the characters even further. "This is Jiang? I've never seen it before."

Instead of making a remark, Leon sweeps his hand in a circular gesture to the menu. That is all he needs to do to get the message across. Emil makes a disgruntled noise in his throat that catches Leon's amusement.

"Pfft. You're cute when you get mad."

"Shut up," he grunts.

"So, like, anyway," Leon returns to the conversation as if the fact that Emil did not recognize Jiang ever existed, "why's your nickname 'Ice?'"

Emil immediately sinks into his seat until everything below his eyes are under the table. "Do you really need to know?"

"Why? Is that a problem?"

"Maybe," he vaguely responds.

"If it's funny, I won't laugh."

"Promise?"

"Promise," he insists.

"Nope. I don't trust you."

Instead of dropping it, Leon suddenly scoots over to where Emil is sitting and boldly reaches for his phone that is wedged into his back pocket. Of course, the inconsiderate move causes him to yelp and spring up from his seat, crashing his knees into the bottom of the table and nearly knocking over their glasses of water.

"What the heck?!" he yells when Leon takes his phone out. "What's your problem?! And—! Give me back my phone!" All the while as he is unsuccessfully trying to retrieve his phone, Leon's attention is glued onto the screen. Somewhere in the middle of the struggle, he takes out his own phone and punches buttons with incredible dexterity. Angry at how smug he is getting, Emil launches himself at Leon like a cat might a mouse and tackles him onto his back.

"Give me that!" he snaps and snatches back his phone with Leon wearing an irritable smirk on his lips. With his phone safely back in his hands, he clicks the screen on and rummages through his applications for any signs of malware. "What did you do?"

"Just a little something," Leon answers in a mockingly innocent voice.

"Liar," he snarls. "You did something big, didn't you?"

"Who knows?" His inability to give a shit starts to take its toll on Emil. Finally, after searching through his phone's history, he sees that Leon somehow managed to crack into his credit account. His heart nearly skips a beat when he sees a transaction was made during their struggle, expecting his account to be completely empty. However, when he sees the numbers, instead of red numbers signifying a loss in his savings, he sees green numbers—large green numbers.

"What the...?" His hands are shaking. He has never seen such a high number in his statements before. There are more zeros than there should be. Just what did Leon do?

Leon, catching the stunned expression on his face, moves over and slings his arm around his shoulders. "You still mad at me?" he grins.

"You…" It is not just Emil's hands that are shaking. His voice beings to shake as well. "You p-put one hundred…"

"A hundred thousand heta**," he finishes for him without faltering or blinking an eye. "Just think of that as a little gift for me. But…!" In a crude gesture, he places a finger in the middle of Emil's forehead. If it was not because he was so stunned, he might have actually considered snapping his teeth at him. "…Because of how nice I was to you, you have to be nice to me, now."

"Wha…?" Emil's mouth is so dry he can hardly speak.

"You owe me a story…Ice."

Realizing there is no way to worm his way out of this one, he lets out a deep sigh and repositions himself on the plush bench. "Fine. But you promised you wouldn't laugh."

"I sure did," he says.

Emil brings one knee to his chest and looks at his phone. While telling his story, he notices how many missed calls he has from Lukas. His phone must still be on silent from commuting to his college classes.

"When I was little, my parents would always buy me ice cream if I sang this little song I made up." He catches an anticipating look in Leon's eyes. "I am not going to sing it for you."

"Come on," he whines disturbingly out of character. "I gave you a hundred thousand heta, Ice."

"No," he refuses, but there is little he can say in defense. Money does make the world go round. "Rrggh. You promised—"

"I won't laugh," Leon cuts him off. "I promise."

Emil exhales and holds his breath. He cannot even remember the last time he sang the ice cream song. Considering it was when he was still a child, it must have been several years ago. Even so, the words and melody come back to him as though it were only yesterday.

"Ice…" he begins, but he quickly shakes his head and yanks his hat over his eyes. "I can't do it. I can't. You're going to laugh. I know you will."

"No, no. Come on, Ice," Leon stops him. "Look at my face. Do I look like I'm going to laugh?"

Sure enough, when Emil looks at him, his face is solemn like he just came back from a funeral. The critiques about his acting skills certainly do not lie.

"Fine," he sighs and starts over. The entire time, his head is dizzy with suppressed oxygen and a spike in his heart rate. It is as though he will burst from the inside out due to embarrassment, but Leon is still waiting for him to sing the song.

"Okay," he breathes. "Here I go:

Ice cream, 'sicles, gum drops, too.

Here is what I bought for you:

A treat so cold, your tongue turns blue…

B-BecauseIloveyoumyhunkypoo!"

Leon's face is a blank slate when he finishes the song, much to Emil's amazement. Part of him wants to believe he is able to keep his emotions in check, but another part of him believes he is only staring off into space because he is trying to decipher the last line. Sure enough…

"Wait. What was that last line?"

Emil is pulling on his hat so hard that the cheap stitching is threatening to tear at the seams. "Please don't make me say it again."

"One hundred thousand heta~"

"Gah! Because I love you my…my hunky poo!"

It is then that Leon cracks. It begins with a simple blink, something one might register as trying to moisturize one's eyeballs, but in his case, it is only the beginning. He can feel an unusual sensation in his lips, like little fingers yanking on the corners of his mouth or fishhooks landing a catch. The lines pull, and for a fraction of a second, he nearly gives in. But he promised. He told Emil he would not laugh. So, with every fiber in his body, he restrains himself and recalls every possible bad thing in his memories: his family, his job, the pressure…

But he fails to cover up the bubble of gas rising to the surface. His diaphragm suppressed, his lungs at minimum capacity, he traps it just up to his throat before it escapes. Unfortunately, the sheer look of horror and genuine embarrassment on Emil's face snaps the final thread in his mental stability, and he releases—

Smack!

His last resort. He slaps his palm over his mouth. It is all he can do now to prevent himself from uttering a sound. However, Emil sees that he is failing to keep his promise.

"I knew it!" he bursts out, his once fair skin now flushed a crimson pink hue. "You idiot! I knew you would laugh!"

Leon is dying. He is on the brink of passing out from his lack of oxygen. Little hiccups of air pop in and out through his nostrils in a futile attempt to escape. He will not have any of it. He has to keep his promise.

Emil suddenly stops when he sees the amount of stress the poor guy is going through in order to hold it on. His face is turning dark red, and his golden eyes are glistening with what look like tears. Even his nose is starting to run. With his cheeks also puffing from struggling to breath, Emil thinks he looks like a puffy-eyed goldfish suffering from an asthma attack.

"Hnnh…Heh heh. Ha ha ha. Ah ha ha ha!"

When their food arrives, they are still laughing, tears streaming from their eyes and jaws aching. Emil has never laughed so hard before. For the first time in his life, he feels alive.


*Jiang is the Chinese word for "talk." It is a fictional language in this story.

**Currency in this AU. The value is roughly equivalent to today's USD to fit the bulk demographics of my readers.