Eighteen

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"Hey Mari?" a voice calls out to you from the other side of a closed door, quickly followed by a soft knock. You blink, sitting up from the couch with a sigh. It had been almost fifteen minutes since you had hung up the phone on Seven, and you were growing impatient. Why, you weren't entirely sure. Perhaps because your anxiety had been high ever since the series of events unfolding in the middle of your class earlier that day. Perhaps it was because you felt uncomfortable alone in someone else's home, even if you know you were the only one living there. Or maybe, you think, it's everything going on in your life that's pushed you so close to the edge. You're beginning to worry anything else might just make you snap and send you to your knees in tears.

You're praying that doesn't happen.

Going to answer the door, you let out a small sigh of relief when the voice really does belong to Seven, and you step back to let him inside. He seems to give you a strange look, but you brush it off as your own paranoia confusing your vision.

Though, the moment Seven's gaze shifts from you, he seems to tense ever so slightly, before letting out a shaky breath. "It's been so long..." he hums to himself, stepping further into the neat apartment before quickly turning to you. "Ah, uh- right. Your stuff! Where would you like it?" he asks with a false smile. How do you know it's false? You can't explain it, but you just know. Maybe the way his smile doesn't reflect in his eyes, or how it doesn't curl up in the corners just right...

"Just in the bedroom is fine for now," you reply quietly, running a hand through your hair rather nervously. As he turns again, you decide to follow him into the bedroom, watching as he carefully places the large bag he had packed full of your things onto the made up comforter.

"I uh- I hope you don't mind I filled it kind of full. You have some pretty cute clothes! And stuff. I didn't want you missing out on all of those," he pipes up with a more proper smile.

You return it with a small smile of your own, as well as a tiny, "Thanks, Seven."

"Luciel."

You raise an eyebrow slightly at his sudden, seemingly random word.

"It's my name," he goes on to explain. "Though Seven's such a cool nickname, I kinda thought that, since you're part of the group now, that you ought to know."

You blink at him a moment, before offering a small but warm smile. "Luciel... You know, it suits you rather nicely! Perhaps even better than Seven~" you comment with a tiny giggle. His eyes seem to widen briefly before he shakes his head and offers a dorky grin.

"You think so? Then that means I succeeded!" he cheers slightly.

"What do you mean?" you hum.

"Oh?" he seems surprised. "Oh, well... Technically Luciel is just my baptismal name. So I kind of chose it! And if you say it suits me, then that I means I did good in choosing my name," he explains with an even wider smile. However, you can't help but hesitate slightly.

"Baptismal name? I never thought you'd be the religious type~" you tease, although your mind is too focused on the fact that this was not Seven's birth name. Was that a bad thing? Probably not. You knew you shouldn't care, but damn curiosity always out to get that cat.

Seven just seems to let out the tiniest of huffs before sticking his tongue out at you. "Yeah, well I'm very damn religious, thank you. Pray every night. Or... what I think is night. Time is a blur at my place, to be honest," he chuckles. You can't help but giggle along with him. You found him so silly, even when your mind felt like focusing on the strangest things he could bring you back. Kind of like-

"Well," Seven interrupts your thoughts. "I should probably get going. I wouldn't want to keep you from unpacking and getting settled in and everything."

You nod slowly, letting out a somewhat dejected sigh as you begin to follow him back towards the front door. Your front door, you mentally remind yourself. You begin trying to think of what to do once he's gone, only to freeze.

"Hey, hey Seven, wait!" you burst out, just as the taller male opens the door. He looks back at you with a confused and slightly worried look, but you gently wave off his concerns and explain yourself before he can question you. "This apartment hasn't been used in god knows how long... So there's no food in it. I can go grocery shopping later but- I thought maybe you'd want to grab some dinner with me? After everything going on, I think I'd feel a little more comfortable not being by myself anyway...."

He seems to stare at you for an oddly long moment, seeming to process what you had just said. You're not sure why he seemed to see it as such a complicated request, unless there was something you were missing. Which would make the most sense... It's not like you knew everything anyway! Even less so now...

"O-Only if you can and want to though! You don't have to," you reassure quickly. Why did you sound so defensive? Wait, was that what that tone of voice implied? "You can just ignore that last bit, I'm sure I'll be fine on my own-"

"Why not?" he finally replies, interrupting you slightly. "I don't have any plans. And I am always being told I need to eat better. Besides... It's late. What kind of person would I be if I forced you to shop for groceries at this hour?"

You can't help but feel your lips pull into a wide grin at his reply, quickly turning around and grabbing your coat before joining him at the door. "I'll pay then," you offer as the two of you begin to make your way out of the apartment.

"What?"

"Yeah!" you reply quickly. "My treat, for accepting my offer for dinner."

Seven just shakes his hand, comfortingly taking a hold of your small hand in his larger one. "Don't be ridiculous. It's the gentleman's job to pay for dinner. Plus, it's not like I've been buying many lately!"

You giggle, finally giving in to his reasoning with a nod. "Alright, alright. You pay... But I owe you one, alright?"

He seems to nod with a chuckle, giving you an, "Oh, alright!" before leading you down the street.

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