Lucien swallowed another mouthful of soda so quickly that the carbonation burned all the way down his throat, and he immediately turned his face away before Leon could notice how long he had been staring at his arms.

Unfortunately, Leon noticed everything. That much had already become painfully obvious.

The tiny plastic table between them was crowded with skewers, soda cans, napkins, and the remains of what had originally been Lucien's dinner before it became a deeply emotionally complicated dinner.

Leon looked like he was about to say something.

Lucien panicked immediately and cut him off before the man could open his mouth.

"So the guys today really were the fake ticket sellers, right?" he asked quickly while pretending to focus very hard on opening another soda can. "Was that like… a whole organization?"

Leon leaned back slightly on the plastic stool, which looked alarmingly small underneath him, and nodded once. "Something like that."

Lucien frowned. "That sounds way too calm for organized crime."

"They're probably just working under someone else," Leon explained. "The people tonight weren't important."

"That somehow makes it worse."

Leon's lips curved faintly at that, and Lucien immediately looked away again because the tiny almost-smile was honestly becoming a real problem in his life.

A warm breeze carried the smell of grilled meat through the open park while cars passed slowly on the nearby street. Around them, people talked loudly over beer bottles and smoke, but the noise somehow felt distant compared to Leon sitting across from him with his sleeves rolled up and his attention fixed entirely on him.

Lucien hated how aware he was of that attention.

"You helped me tonight," Leon said after a moment. "A lot."

Lucien waved one hand quickly. "It wasn't a big deal."

"It was."

Lucien looked down at the skewer in his hands and poked aggressively at a piece of grilled lamb.

Jamie's face flashed through his mind unexpectedly, and the guilt he had been trying to ignore all evening came creeping back. Jamie had trusted the wrong person, gotten scammed, and still somehow sounded more upset about losing good sex than losing money.

"My friend bought a lot of those fake tickets," Lucien admitted quietly. "I probably should've figured it out earlier."

Leon watched him carefully. "The club's handling refunds."

Lucien looked up immediately. "Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"You're not just saying that to make me stop worrying?"

"No."

Leon answered so simply and so confidently that Lucien relaxed before he could stop himself. It was strange how easy it was to believe him. Leon never sounded like he was trying to comfort people. He just said things like they were already decided.

Relief spread through Lucien's chest slowly.

"Oh." A smile slipped onto his face before he could control it. "Thanks, Leon."

Leon's eyes lingered on him for several seconds before he finally looked away toward the street.

"Don't go back to campus too late for a while," he said casually.

Lucien blinked. "Why?"

"There've been fights near the dorms recently."

Lucien silently looked at Leon's broad shoulders, his hands, the scars across his knuckles, and then looked back down at himself.

Fair enough.

He probably did look extremely robbable.

"Okay," he agreed obediently.

Leon glanced back at him. "That easy?"

"I enjoy survival," Lucien replied seriously.

That earned him another brief almost-smile.

Lucien quickly took another bite of barbecue before his own face could betray him again.

Then Leon added, "It's late now too."

Lucien paused mid-chew and slowly lifted his head.

Technically… Leon was right.

The park was darker now, and most of the nearby families had already left. The only people still around were college students, drunk couples, and men smoking near the sidewalk.

Leon rested one arm loosely against his knee and looked at him calmly.

"With me, it's fine."

Lucien swallowed slowly. "Because you can fight?"

"Yes."

"You kicked a guy into a shelf tonight."

"He moved first."

"That sounds exactly like something a supervillain says."

Leon let out a quiet breath that sounded dangerously close to laughter.

Lucien narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You're laughing at me again."

"No."

"You are spiritually."

This time Leon didn't deny it.

Lucien pointed his skewer accusingly at him before asking, "Do people ever tell you you're kind of scary?"

Leon's gaze settled on him again. "You scared of me?"

The question came unexpectedly soft.

Lucien blinked several times.

Honestly, he should've been scared.

Leon was huge, dangerous, rich, violent, emotionally unreadable, and apparently capable of arriving anywhere on a motorcycle like a movie character with unresolved trauma.

But somehow none of those things felt frightening when Leon looked at him like this.

Lucien sighed dramatically and leaned back in his chair. "I'm scared of thunderstorms, American hospital bills, and your motorcycle emotionally," he admitted. "But your fists aren't aimed at me, so I think I'm okay."

Something shifted in Leon's expression at that.

Very small.

Very brief.

But Lucien saw it.

"Never," Leon said quietly.

The word landed harder than it should have.

Lucien's heartbeat immediately became embarrassing again, so he grabbed his soda can and lifted it toward Leon with forced enthusiasm.

"Cheers."

Leon looked at the can for a second before lightly tapping his own against it.

"Cheers."

The soft metallic clink somehow felt more intimate than it had any right to.

Lucien immediately looked away and started aggressively eating another skewer before his face betrayed him a second time.

—

Three days later, Lucien discovered that miracles occasionally happened because he and Jamie somehow ended up with identical class schedules for an entire day.

Same morning lecture.

Same lunch break.

Same free afternoon.

Jamie claimed it was fate.

Lucien claimed the administration office was incompetent.

They ended up eating together in the dining hall after class, where Lucien immediately bought fried pork cutlet because crispy fried food had never emotionally disappointed him.

Jamie bought salad.

Lucien stared at the bowl with concern.

"Are you dieting?"

Jamie poked sadly at a cucumber slice. "No appetite."

Lucien took a loud crunchy bite of pork cutlet before asking, "Didn't the club refund you already?"

"They did."

"Then why do you look like somebody canceled your favorite TV show?"

Jamie looked genuinely heartbroken. "Because he was really good in bed."

Lucien almost inhaled Coke directly into his lungs.

He started coughing violently while Jamie watched with absolutely no sympathy.

"You cannot say things like that while I'm drinking."

"Why? It's relevant to my emotional state."

"It's not relevant to mine."

Jamie sighed dramatically and dropped his forehead onto the table. "Do you know how hard it is finding actual chemistry with another human being?"

Lucien stared at him. "I would genuinely prefer not to discuss this."

"And now he's a scammer," Jamie continued mournfully. "A scammer, Yu'an."

Lucien awkwardly patted the table near Jamie's wrist because physical comfort felt dangerous.

"There are other men."

"Not with his rhythm."

"Please stop describing sex like a dance competition."

Jamie ignored him entirely before suddenly brightening and grabbing his phone.

"Oh, speaking of giant men with emotional issues, did you see the Leon video?"

Lucien immediately started coughing again.

Jamie pointed at him dramatically. "See? That reaction is exactly what I'm talking about."

"What video?" Lucien asked weakly.

"The bar fight. Somebody uploaded it."

Jamie shoved the phone toward him.

The footage was blurry and shaky, but Leon was still terrifyingly recognizable. Even through terrible lighting and low-quality audio, he moved through the bar with frightening calmness.

Then came the kick.

The shelf exploded behind the guy.

Glass shattered everywhere.

The comments underneath were absolute chaos.

Lucien scrolled through them while his expression darkened.

Some people were calling Leon violent.

Some people were calling him hot.

Some people were doing both simultaneously.

"That's ridiculous," Lucien muttered. "He was catching scammers."

Jamie leaned back slowly and stared at him over the table.

"What?"

"You defend him a lot."

Lucien shoved the phone back immediately. "I defend logic."

"Sure."

"I do."

Jamie clasped both hands together dramatically. "Saint Yu'an, protector of emotionally unavailable boxers."

"Shut up."

Jamie grinned before his expression transformed instantly into fake sadness again.

"Speaking of suffering, can you take my volunteer shift tomorrow?"

Lucien narrowed his eyes immediately. "No."

"You didn't even ask what it is."

"You started the sentence with 'speaking of suffering.'"

"There's academic credit."

Lucien paused.

Jamie saw the hesitation and attacked immediately.

"You can take the credit too. I'll switch our names in the system."

"What kind of volunteer work?"

Jamie smiled much too brightly.

"Beach cleanup."

Lucien stared at him flatly. "So trash."

"Environmental service."

"Trash."

"Community engagement."

"Trash."

Jamie grabbed both his hands dramatically. "Please. I'm emotionally fragile."

"You're just horny and sad."

"I contain multitudes."

Lucien sighed heavily because unfortunately Jamie looked genuinely pathetic.

Which was exactly why Jamie kept winning arguments.