Charming

A/N: Another new in-between chapter.

"She's asking to meet at Angel's Diner to celebrate." When Lev doesn't respond, I kick my legs on the mattress to make noise.

"What-?!"

"I said, Evren wants to meet at Angel's Diner tomorrow."

"You didn't have to be so dramatic about it." His voice sounds closer, and far more excited. I assume the shuffling just now was him quickly putting his papers away. I sit up as he plops down next to me.

"Says the person who dragged me to his house just to be a 'good luck charm' for your assignment that isn't even due for at least another week."

"Aren't you excited?" he asks, completely ignoring what I just said.

My chest tightens in response to the question. "I don't want to think about it too hard. Just, yes or no?"

Lev squints at me. "Why don't you want to think about it? Just weeks ago you were staring fireballs at Evren from across the NCC stage."

"Don't worry, I'm paying attention."

"To the wrong thing, apparently."

"Lev," I groan. Where is this coming from? "I almost lost my last fight. I'm kind of focused on the competition right now."

Lev doesn't lose a single second. "Ahh, yeah. I guess that's fair. But you can enjoy what happened in the end, anyway. Like, I don't know, get ice cream, go on a little date, have a little fun."

"Lev, you know I'm not really into that stuff."

Lev sighs dramatically and lets his torso fall back onto the mattress, his legs still hanging off the bed. "Right. You hate fun." He deserves the little slap he gets in response. "Hey hey! I was kidding! You know I wouldn't hang around you if you weren't fun."

"No, you'd be hanging out with all seven of your crushes you've had so far."

Lev scoffs. "Oh no, honey, I've had at least twenty. Half of them straight boys, too." He shakes his head, moving the blankets underneath him. "What can I say? I'm your local neighbourhood disaster gay."

I can't help my laugh. "I've met worse, if it makes you feel any better."

Lev makes a noise of consideration. "Yeah, I guess I have too. Anyway, I don't even have time for that right now. I'm trying to actually succeed at engineering, and everyone knows that love lives are not compatible with STEM."

"If you say so."

"I do say so. But..." He rolls over to face me, or, more accurately, my hips since I'm still sitting up. "There are some hot boys in Mechanics 2."

"You really are a disaster."

"Ehh, you can't control things like that." Lev shrugs as he sits back up. "I could drop my pencil one day and someone will pick it up, we'll lock eyes, we'll feel some chemistry, and then I'll be failing our test because I spent the last eighteen days fantasizing about our hands touching."

"That's... oddly specific."

"It might've happened in fourth grade."

"Oh? Who was the lucky guy?"

Lev pauses for a second. I hear the murmur of a car drive by: an incredibly normal, everyday thing, just like hearing about Lev's whole talk about crushing on people. I've been hearing this spiel for years. Cars I've figured out, though. The crushing thing, not so much. "Not a guy that time, actually." I didn't expect that. "To be fair, 8-year-old me totally thought she was. But the feeling didn't go away even when I found out. That's just how it is."

"Wait, so...?" Ah, wait. I can't just ask if he's still gay. Obviously he is. One exception doesn't erase someone's whole identity. Unless it does because they think it mattered enough. I don't know if that's the case for Lev though? "Uh..." I started my sentence, so I should finish it, but I don't want to be that kind of person-

"I'm still extremely gay," Lev says. He's smiling, so he doesn't seem offended by what he guessed I was going to ask. Good. Didn't fuck that up. "Same for you, if you did suddenly start dating someone, I wouldn't just say you're not aromantic anymore. At least, if that's still-?"

"Yeah, still probably the thing that describes me best," I finish for him.

"Then yeah. At the end of the day we all get to be whoever we want." He gives me a pointed look so I nod. "So, if you want to focus on your near-loss instead of having fun celebrating your actual win with your friends, I guess I can't really stop you. But," he leans closer, "That's your choice."

It's my turn to squint at him. I know he's right, but I don't have to be happy about it. 'My choice' or whatever. I grumble to let him know, and he just pats me on the shoulder.

"There you go, that's a good pup- ow! Ok ok, sorry. Christ, Aika, if you're going to be like this then you're going to turn into a bad luck charm."

"Oh, good, then maybe you'll stop inviting me to your boring study sessions."

Lev gasps. "Me? Boring? How dare you?"

"Well, you haven't even answered my question, so I assume you won't be coming to Angel's because you'll be too busy studying your borin-"

"YES! Yes, I'll come! Oh my god, Aika, I thought we were having such a nice, deep conversation and it was just about this?" Lev sighs and gets off the bed, but I catch the clear grin on his face.

"Hey, I appreciated that too," I admit anyway.

"All right, then you're still my good luck charm," Lev says as he picks up his binder. "And I'll agree to be yours, especially if it means I get to see the Commander of Space again!"

I just chuckle. I guess I have to admit that it's because of him that Evren and I have gotten so closer. Maybe he really is a bit of a good luck charm.