The sun was setting as Theo and Zenith walked home from the grocery store, stretching their shadows across the sidewalk. As they ambled along, enjoying the cool spring evening, Theo felt happier than he had in ages.
A week had passed since the gala and it was Saturday again. While memories of Victor's horrible words still dug at Theo's heart like a dull knife, he'd done his best to ignore them. Instead, he'd thrown himself into studying new spells and training with Zenith. They went out hunting almost every day now, not only for practice but also in search of a familiar for Sam.
Which was what they'd spent the bulk of today doing, with little success before Sam had to go home. On a lark, Theo had invited Zenith to join him for dinner. Maybe he just didn't want to spend yet another weekend night alone in the house; with nothing to distract him, his memories might finally overwhelm his defenses.
Having stocked up at the grocery store, they were heading for the trolley station. Theo's bag swung by his side, its relative lack of weight making him feel a little guilty, but Zenith had insisted on carrying the two heavier bags.
Soon, they'd get home and Theo would cook with Zenith for the first time. The thought made him so giddy he had to struggle mightily against the urge to skip like a little girl.
"What are we making again?" Zenith asked. His tone was mild, but hearing him say 'we' sent a strange flutter through Theo's chest.
Blushing, Theo tried to ignore it. "Shrimp fried rice, my specialty. With asparagus, I guess." He nodded at one of Zenith's bags. "Well, I don't know if asparagus really goes in fried rice, but it was on sale so, uh, let's give it a try."
Once again, he was babbling about nothing. But Zenith didn't mind, just nodded in his usual solemn way. "I'm sure it will be good. I will try my best to aid you."
"Don't sweat it, it's not too hard." Theo rubbed the back of his head, his blush deepening. At any rate, he already knew he trusted Zenith with knives a lot more than Sam.
They walked in amicable silence for a little longer, their shadows lengthening. When Theo saw someone heading their direction on the sidewalk, he started though he didn't know why. It wasn't as if he and Zenith were the only people out enjoying the weather tonight.
Only when the person drew closer did Theo realize why they'd caught his attention. His heart sank as he took in the swept-back sandy hair, the aviators covering half the face.
Great. He'd been doing a decent job avoiding Ryan in school so far, and now he just had to run into the guy on the weekend?
Theo wasn't dumb enough to hope they could pass without Ryan noticing. As they approached each other, Ryan jerked at the leash of the German Shepherd he was walking and lurched back. "Whoa, Sophie!"
He pushed up his sunglasses and blinked wide green eyes. "Damn, so it really is you."
"Nice to see you too," Theo sighed.
Ryan cocked an eyebrow and opened his mouth, but before he could spew out whatever infuriating comment he had in store, Sophie tugged against her leash and attempted to bury her nose into one of Zenith's bags.
Theo bit his lip, trying his damnedest not to laugh as a flummoxed Zenith stepped backward.
"Hey, cut it out, Sophie! Bad girl!" Ryan pulled on Sophie's leash again. "Sorry 'bout that...." He glanced at Zenith, frowning a little. "Uh, who's this anyway?"
The sadly familiar desire to punch him seared through Theo, but Zenith took Ryan's rudeness right in stride. "Good evening," he said. "I am Sir Zenith of Miria."
"Huh?" Ryan blinked. And blinked.
Then he jumped like a bee had stung his foot, making Sophie bark a protest. "Yo. Wait a minute. For real?" Leaning forward, he squinted at Zenith. "What's with the getup? The glasses? Dude, are you making him help with your grocery shopping? Wow, how undignified. I feel sorry for Sir Zenith."
The last of Theo's patience frayed to nothing. "Who asked you?"
"I'm helping Theo make dinner," Zenith said, calm as ever. "Shrimp and asparagus fried rice."
Ryan wrinkled his nose. "Who the hell puts asparagus in fried rice?"
"You're not eating it, so why do you care?" Theo grumbled, stepping forward and trying to avoid Sophie's madly sniffing nose. "Nice seeing you and all, but we really gotta go."
Ryan didn't move, though, and he was no longer making much of an effort at minding Sophie. Instead he kept staring at Zenith, brow furrowed as if he still couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.
"Hey, hey!" Theo shoved Sophie's inquisitive nose out of one of Zenith's bags. "Make your dog stop! Earth to Ryan? Don't you know it's rude to stare?"
"Oh." Ryan blinked as if he'd only just noticed Theo. "My bad. But seriously man, what runs through your head? Dressing your familiar up like a total dweeb so you can take him shopping? That's fucking weird."
"Oh, yeah?" Theo snapped. "Does Avia go out in full armor? Is that what's normal?"
A perplexed frown creased Ryan's face. "Whadda ya mean, go out?"
"You know, when she goes outside."
Ryan looked even more puzzled, if possible. "Uh, she doesn't go outside? Why would she need to?"
Theo stared. And stared.
Once again Ryan was saying something completely insane as if it was the most natural thing in the world. But Theo didn't have to take it; he'd won their last match, after all. And something about Ryan's complete shock at seeing Zenith sent a strange suspicion running through him.
"Hey," he said, stepping in front of Zenith, "could it be you don't know how to give your familiar a glamour?"
"What?" Ryan swelled indignantly. "Come on, I'm a Crowley!"
"Then why don't you do it?" Theo couldn't keep the shit-eating grin off his face. "I feel sorry for Avia, stuck inside all day. She must be so bored."
"She's a homunculus! She doesn't get bored!"
"Ryan, Ryan." Still grinning, Theo walked up to Ryan and patted his arm. "No shame in admitting if there's something you can't do. That's the first step to improving, right?"
Ryan's muscles snapped stiff beneath Theo's touch; Theo quickly let go and walked on ahead. Besides, he didn't want to spend any longer breathing in the guy's cologne.
"Ah, Theo." Zenith walked past Ryan to join Theo, looking rather confused by the whole encounter. As for Theo, with each step he took that stupid grin stretched wider and wider, until he felt like it had swallowed his entire face. Damn, that had felt good.
"Hey!" They had made it a few yards down the sidewalk before Ryan seemed to have finally recovered his wits. Theo glanced over his shoulder to see a red-faced Ryan waving frantically in their direction while Sophie tugged against the leash, still intent on getting their grocery bags. "Hey, wait a minute!"
"What is it?" Theo asked, feigning boredom. "Sorry, but I can't teach you. Kinda busy tonight."
"Fuck's sake, Sophie – " After briefly wrestling with Sophie, Ryan looked back at Theo. "No idea why I'm doing this, but just thought I'd give you a little warning."
Zenith tensed. "If you have aggressive intentions – "
Well, if he did, Theo had to admit he'd done plenty to provoke them.
"No, no," Ryan said impatiently. "Dunno how plugged in you are to wizard news, but there's a rogue Tielan alert going around."
Theo told himself not to take Ryan's bait, but his curiosity got the better of him. "A rogue Tielan alert?"
The little smirk that flashed across Ryan's face made Theo wish he'd done a lot more provoking. Not even bothering to hide his gloating tone, Ryan said, "A dangerous Tielan's found her way to Earth. She's strong enough to enter most arenas and use elemental attacks without a wizard. Some spear lady in red armor. A real nutcase, goes after wizards as well as familiars. I'd watch my back if I were you, Theo."
"Cool, thanks for the warning," Theo said, trying to act like he didn't care. Still, some part of him was a little intrigued.
"If you run into her, I'd recommend getting the hell outta Dodge. No shame if you can't handle it," Ryan declared, dripping with enough smugness to drown the Nile. "You should leave rogues to experienced wizards like us Crowleys."
"I don't wanna hear that from a guy who can't even give his familiar a glamour," Theo shot back, and was rewarded when Ryan's face flooded red again. As Ryan sputtered, Theo turned back around and tapped Zenith's arm. "Come on, let's get going. I'm starving."
Zenith nodded, though cast a troubled glance at Ryan. As he stepped up to Theo's side, he said, "Don't worry. If this rogue attacks, I will protect you with my entire being."
"I know." Tormenting Ryan had been fun, but nothing compared to the warmth that swelled inside him upon Zenith's soft but confident words. "And I'll be there to help you."
Zenith's smile made Theo feel light enough to float to the sky. Without thinking, Theo grabbed Zenith's arm to anchor himself, and his knight leaned into the touch with unconscious ease. Together, they continued walking home.