Author's note: m/m relationship
Ages: Ronan - almost 15, Soren - 17
Wandering the market by himself wasn't exactly on Ronan's list of favorite things, but after the morning he'd had practicing Barrier with Kai, he could do with some time to himself...even if it wasn't exactly quiet. He'd checked out a few stalls, toying with the idea of spending some of the munny Eli's mom had given him as an early birthday present; in the end he'd decided against it. There really wasn't anything here he wanted...at least he hadn't found it yet.
Sinking onto a bench, Ronan sighed, wondering if he should just head back. He could always hang out in the garden, or lock himself in his room- He frowned at that thought. His room. It wasn't really his room, was it? Mabry and the others were just being kind, letting them stay a while. All right, so 'a while' had been nearly six months, but still, it wasn't permanent. Sooner or later, they'd have to move on. Maybe to another house here in Radiant Garden, maybe another world entirely. Maybe even back home, on the other side of the barrier. The thought sent a sudden chill through him. They didn't know where Sedge was, surely Kai wouldn't put him at risk-
"Hey, is this seat taken?"
Startled by the voice, Ronan's head jerked up. There was a boy, maybe a couple years older, standing next to the bench watching him. His dark brown, nearly black hair was in his face, mostly hiding his eyes. He was a little taller than Kai, dressed in ripped jeans and a sleeveless t-shirt. Ronan realized he was staring blankly and shook his head, scooting over to make room.
"No, it's fine."
"Thanks."
The boy dropped onto the bench with a heavy thud before glancing over at him. "People watching?"
"Ah, not really. Just...I don't know. Thinking about what to do next, I guess."
"I'd vote tossing a little magic around to liven things up, but I haven't learned any yet. Just as well, I don't think people'd appreciate sudden lightning strikes."
Ronan couldn't help the snicker that escaped him at the image. Great, Kai's sense of humor was finally rubbing off on him.
"They'd probably be a little upset, yeah...um. I'm Ronan. Ronan Kelley."
The teenager grinned broadly, leaning back on his hands and stretching his legs out.
"Soren Maxwell. So're you from here, or are you one of the transplants?"
Well, that was a safe enough question to answer. So far, aside from the Refs, their little group had done remarkably well at keeping the 'parallel multiverse' thing to themselves.
"Transplant. We're visiting friends sort of long term, we've been here almost six months."
"Longer than me, I've only been here since the beginning of summer. My uncle teaches at the university, I'm staying with him."
Ronan didn't really want to ask where Soren was from because it opened him to the same question in turn (Not that he couldn't lie, but he never felt right about it), but it'd seem weird not to.
"Where was home before this?"
"Earth." Soren sat up suddenly, turning to face Ronan. "So do you know any magic?"
The sudden change of subject surprised him enough that he forgot to be relieved he didn't have to answer about his. Instead he dimly realized he was staring at Soren's eyes. They were a pretty shade of blue-grey, he decided.
"Uh, Earth to Ronan. You still there?"
Soren was waving a hand in front of his face. Ronan jerked away, fighting back a blush.
"Sorry, I kind of...got distracted."
A smirk crossed Soren's face, and Ronan immediately decided looking anywhere but at the other boy while he answered was the best idea ever.
"Yeah, I know a few spells. My brother taught me Cura and Blizzard, and he's teaching me another."
Ray was also teaching him Light, but he didn't want to bring that up. Too easy to slip and mention the Darkness, and he didn't want to scare Soren off.
"Lucky. I ought to try learning healing stuff, it sounds useful."
"It really is. Especially with our group, my brother and his friend get in trouble a lot. There was this one time some Heartless-"
Breaking off abruptly, Ronan pushed himself to his feet. Nope, talking too much. Time to go.
Soren was looking up at him in confusion. "What's wrong? Those things aren't any big secret."
"It's not that, it's just that I need to get home. Kai'll be worried, I don't usually stay out on my own too long."
"...If that's all..."
He could tell from the expression on Soren's face that he wasn't convinced. Why did he have to open his mouth and ruin things? Better to put an end to this and get back.
"It was nice meeting you, Soren. Maybe I'll see you around sometime."
Probably not, but that was for the best, right? In the end, it was all for the best.
"Mind if I walk you back? I mean, it'd give your brother less of a reason to worry. Not that he'd know about it right now."
He was already rising from the bench without waiting for an answer. Ronan shook his head, wondering what was going on here.
"Um. If you want. It's outside of town though. Rainbow's End."
Soren shoved his hands in his pockets, smiling. "I've heard of that place. Almost like a small castle, isn't it?"
"Pretty much."
Ronan gave him a sideways look and began to walk. Soren kept up with him easily, filling the silence with talk about his family. His parents had never really gotten along, he said, and by the time he'd turned thirteen they'd had it with each other. By the time he'd turned sixteen, they'd both had it with him, too.
"But that didn't bother me much," He explained to a shocked Ronan. "My uncle doesn't mind my shit, so that's something. I figured I was better off having an adventure on some other world than listening to my parents argue over who had to put up with me."
"Still...that's awful. It makes me really grateful for my mom."
Soren's head tilted slightly as he watched him. "What about your dad?"
"I try not to even think about him if I can help it."
Ronan was saved from further explanation as they approached the house and the front door was flung open. Lanie stood there, expression somewhere between relieved and exasperated.
"There you are! Kai's about ready to send out a search party. I told him you were okay, it's not like you went monster hunting in the Maw."
Her brown eyes flicked over Soren and she smiled knowingly. "Make a new friend, Ronan~?"
"Lanie!"
To his credit, while embarrassed (and blushing again, he was sure), at least his voice didn't come out in a squeak. Eli's sister laughed, gave the pair a quick wave, then ducked back into the house, leaving the door wide open. She was probably standing just out of sight, watching them. The thought of an audience made Ronan uncomfortable, and he shifted uneasily, fingers playing with the hem of his shirt. Okay.
What now?
"Thanks for walking me back."
Well, politeness was always an option.
Soren nodded, raising a hand to push his hair out of his eyes. "No problem. Hey, you want to get ice cream or something tomorrow? If you're not doing anything else, I mean."
"Ice- what?"
The sudden crazy thought that the boy he'd known for less than two hours was asking him on a date flashed across his mind. What a dumb idea, of course he wasn't-
"I'm asking you out for ice cream." Soren repeated, then paused. "Yes, like that."
For the third time that day, Ronan found himself just staring at the other boy. Soren was beginning to smirk again.
As his brother would say, oh Light.
"...Okay. Ice cream. I've got magic lessons in the morning, but I can meet you around noon?"
What was he doing, oh god.
"Noon. Same bench?"
"Yeah."
He needed to go. He needed to go inside before he either died where he stood or melted into a puddle. That smirk was doing funny things to his knees.
"See you tomorrow, then!"
A quick wave and Soren was walking away, leaving Ronan to gape after him, wondering what he'd gotten himself into.