"The aquarium?" Theo asked.
"That's right." Darian waved two tickets above her head. "I won these last bingo night at the Golden Royale."
No doubt she'd been the youngest person there.
"I'd like to go myself, but this weekend Meg's got a bookseller fair and I promised to come with her. So how about it? You can take Sir Zenith. I think you'll both enjoy it."
"Um, is it really okay?"
"Of course." Darian slapped the tickets to his chest. "I won them, so I decide how I want them used. Shall I make it a royal decree?"
She smirked haughtily, and admitting defeat, Theo took the tickets. It wasn't as if he'd object to a free trip to the aquarium.
So now he was waiting in front of the aquarium on a hot Saturday morning, trying not to glance at his phone screen every few seconds. Zenith's last message had come five minutes ago, a simple 'I'm almost there.' The guy's texts never had much in the way of detail.
Why Theo felt so impatient he had no idea; it wasn't like Zenith was in any danger of being late. Theo was the idiot for coming so early. Not that he'd intended to; he just hadn't been able to fall back asleep after waking up at sunrise, and even after dithering over what to wear he'd still ended up arriving with time to spare.
'What am I so excited for anyway?' This was hardly the first time he'd done mundane stuff with Zenith. But somehow, the two of them going to the aquarium on a weekend, no intention to train, felt kind of like...a date.
Theo swallowed, his cheeks burning. He stuck his hands into his jeans pockets, trying to look nonchalant but no doubt failing tremendously.
"Theo!" The sound of his name made his head jerk up. Sure enough, a tall figure was striding toward the aquarium entrance, long blond ponytail swinging after him.
"Zenith!" Heart pounding, Theo ran to meet him. "Oh, I like the tie!"
The instant he blurted those stupid words he mentally slapped himself. 'Real smooth, dumbass!' Still, today Zenith was dressed sharply even by his usual standards, in a checked shirt with three-quarter sleeves and a navy skinny tie.
"Thank you. My liege chose it," was Zenith's predictable answer. He might as well be Darian's personal dress-up doll. Which made some bizarre part of Theo suddenly wish he could take her place.
What was wrong with him? Embarrassed, Theo turned away from Zenith and strode briskly toward the aquarium entrance. "Um, so, we don't have to line up to buy tickets since we already have them, so let's just go right in, okay?"
"Excuse me, Theo," Zenith said, falling in step with him. "Pardon, but may I ask...what exactly is an 'aquarium'?"
Theo froze mid-step. Zenith cocked his head, regarding Theo with a rather familiar look of innocent confusion.
"Oh." Laughing awkwardly, Theo rubbed the back of his head. "I guess you wouldn't know, huh? It's like...a place with lots of sea creatures inside tanks. Um, do you have oceans in Tielos?"
Zenith nodded. "More Levia remains in the water than on land, allowing complex settlements to thrive. However, the monsters are more numerous and dangerous."
"Well, Earth's oceans don't have monsters, so you don't have to worry about that. There's just animals. Like fish and dolphins and sea turtles and stuff. Oh, and jellyfish too. You liked those glass ones, right? You can see real ones here."
Zenith blinked. "Are you all right with just me?"
The question caught Theo off guard. "What do you mean?"
"I thought you might want to invite Sam as well."
"It can't be helped, there's only two tickets," Theo said. "Besides, I'm sure Sam's busy training and all."
Ever since their last battle, Sam had thrown herself into her studies with a brand-new fervor. "I'm gonna become a great wizard! A wizard worthy of Ryllis!" she'd declared, an endeavor Theo privately thought would only end in heartbreak for her. After all, Ryllis had a massive problem with the whole "wizard" thing in the first place.
Still, if it gave Sam drive who was he to protest? Though he had to admit he'd never seen her get this obsessed over one person before. Like a kid with her first crush.
The thought made Theo dart a glance toward Zenith. He quickly turned away, heat rising in his face.
The cool air inside the aquarium came as a relief, though his cheeks still felt hot. He had become achingly aware of the distance between them, or lack thereof. All he had to do was twitch his hand a little and their fingers would brush....
Theo shuffled to the side. What the hell was wrong with him?
Ever since their dance, his thoughts about Zenith had taken a strange new turn. He'd always thought the homunculus knight was beautiful, in a cool, pristine way like a cut gem. But lately, he'd started noticing smaller, simpler things. Like the way Zenith sometimes toyed with the end of his ponytail. Or how he'd rest a hand on his hip when standing still, long fingers elegantly curved around the hard line of his body.
"Theo?" Zenith's voice snapped Theo back to reality. "Are you all right?"
"Huh? What?" Theo jumped, heart skipping. "Y-yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine."
Very convincing. But Zenith took it right in stride. "Apologies. Your face is red. I was worried you might be overheated."
"Ah – yeah, it was pretty hot out there." Theo gratefully seized the excuse Zenith had given him. "I feel better now that we're inside. So, um, let's go?"
Zenith nodded. Though he'd been out in the heat too, he showed no sign of it; his skin was pale as ever, without a trace of sweat. Did he even feel temperature?
Well, Theo had more important things to think about. Like showing Zenith around the aquarium. "Why don't we go to the coral reef tank first? They've got a feeding scheduled soon. After that we can look at the jellyfish if you want."