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Ruggie was standing around the school cafeteria, uncharacteristically unsure what his next steps would be.
He was actually planning on taking some of the leftover food for himself, and maybe some for the dorm members, but the buffet was completely...empty.
"Dang it...I was hungry too." Ruggie sighed as he scratched his neck. Luck wasn't on his side today.
Just when he was about to turn around and head back to Savannaclaw, he heard a very familiar, enthusiastic voice calling out his name.
"Ruggie! Hey!" Kalim called out, he had a bright smile on his face as he jogged over to him.
Kalim stopped jogging once he was near Ruggie. He then gave him a quick but warm hug- which always made Ruggie's heart skip a beat.
"What are you doing here?" He asked once he let go of Ruggie's neck.
Ruggie chuckled "I could ask you the same thing." He put his hands on his hips while smirking at the other boy.
Kalim's face flushed slightly "Well I was walking by and saw you..." He said while fidgeting with the white sleeve of his school uniform.
Ruggie found that really cute.
"Well, I was hungry, so I came to get some food, but as you see the cafeteria is empty." Ruggie said, deciding that it would be better to explain himself.
Kalim's face suddenly brightened up "You are hungry? Oh, sevens, you should come to Scarabia!" Kalim took a hold of Ruggie's shoulders, shaking them slightly. "I was just heading there to cook something!"
Ruggie internally stopped functioning, Kalim cooking? Was he hearing things right?
He raised an eyebrow at Kalim "You're cooking? Did Jamil finally lose his mind and let you near the stove?"
Kalim laughed loudly, removing his hands from Ruggie's shoulders to cover his mouth.
"Well, not exactly-" He started as he shifted one of his hands behind his neck "We had a bit of an argument earlier, so he's taking a break. I wanted to prove to him that I can do things on my own!"
Ruggie's eyes narrowed slightly as a memory flashed in his mind. "So, you gonna use alchemy magic to brew up a meal like last time?"
Kalim blinked at him while tilting his head slightly- he looked confused for a second.
A second later, his eyes widened when he realized what Ruggie meant "Oh, no way! I want to try it for real this time, completely by hand." Kalim said while he shook his head.
"Is that so?" Ruggie asked, this was news for him. Kalim was always wary of food- whether it was to eat it or to make it.
Kalim nodded, looking proud "Yes! But uh..." He trailed off, looking everywhere but at Ruggie. "I don't really know where to start. Can you teach me?" He said while tucking a longer strand of his hair behind his ear.
Ruggie stared at him for a second, weighing the absolute chaos of putting a knife in Kalim's hands against the promise of a full meal.
A slow smirk crossed his face. "Mmm, fine. Since free food is what you'll be giving me anyway, it's a win-win situation."
Kalim then bounced up and down from joy, he took Ruggie's hand and started walking out of the cafeteria and towards the mirror chamber.
Now they were at the Scarabia kitchen, trying to make something out of the ingredients that were available.
Ruggie was about to cut some carrots when he looked over at Kalim and his eyes widened.
Kalim had a big knife in his hands- which was NOT for cutting some potatoes.
"Kalim." He said calmly while walking over to the boy.
Kalim looked up "Huh? Yes?" He said, confused.
Ruggie took a smaller knife from a nearby counter "That knife is way too big to cut something small." He said while pointing at the knife that was in Kalim's hands. "And the way you are holding it is also wrong."
"Oh, is that so?" Kalim watched Ruggie come closer to him, he tried to ignore the fact that his heart started speeding up.
Ruggie smoothly stepped behind Kalim, his chest almost touched the boy's back. He slowly removed the big knife and handed Kalim the smaller one. He finally wrapped his calloused hands over Kalim’s smaller, jeweled fingers.
"First rule: tuck your knuckles like this so you don't chop a finger off." Ruggie muttered, entirely focused on the cutting board. Or well- he tried to focus, being so close to Kalim- he could smell his rich cologne.
Ruggie cleared his throat, ignoring the fact that his cheeks slightly flushed. "See? Just like that." He said as he slowly guided down their hands, cutting a perfect slice.
"And now- wait, Kalim, are you listening?"
Kalim tensed up- he totally did not listen, his mind went completely elsewhere the second Ruggie stepped behind him.
"I...I was!" Kalim said as he slightly moved his face to the side, his other hand gripped the wooden counter.
Ruggie raised his eyebrow, the corners of his mouth went up "Oh really?" He said as he moved his face closer to Kalim's. He gripped the other boys hand tighter, his rings were already warm to the touch.
Kalim nodded his head a bit too quickly "Yes, really!" His voice cracked when he uttered the words. He moved his face slightly at Ruggie's direction and immediately regretted the action.
Their faces were WAY too close, just inches apart. Kalim tensed up again, his face was on fire, his heart was about to jump out of his body, he could feel Ruggie's chest rising up and down- and he felt his hot breath against his ear.
He decided that focusing on the potato was a better option before he did- or said anything reckless.
Ruggie chuckled quietly, he was about to open his mouth to leave a snarky comment again, when the words suddenly died in his throat.
'Wait a minute...' He thought, subconsciously moving his head away as his ears twitched backwards. Up close, he could see Kalim's red face, his shaky breath and he could feel his pulse from under his hand.
It made Ruggie's breath hitch and uncharacteristically, he stiffened up.
Then he suddenly felt his own face heating up, his pulse started running and he felt cold sweat running down his back.
For a long, long minute, neither of them said anything again, which was very dangerous for both Kalim and Ruggie. Because Kalim had finally taken up the courage to face him- his face had a color that was rivaling the Heartslabyul roses. But despite that, his confidence had suddenly been spiked up as he looked down at Ruggie's lips.
And as if he were drunk, as if Kalim was some type of magnet, Ruggie leaned in- and Kalim did just the same, his eyes were half-lidded.
*𝘾𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧*
Suddenly, something sharp fell on the ground- making Ruggie and Kalim flinch and jump apart.
"W-wow, what was that?" Kalim said while scratching the back of his neck.
"Something must've dropped." Ruggie looked over to where the noise came from. What he saw was his knife that he left with the carrots.
"Ah, it was just...a knife." Ruggie walked to where the knife was and picked it up. He left it on the counter again, a bit farther up so that it wouldn't fall again.
For a moment, there was an awkward silence between the two boys again before Kalim broke it.
"Well, thanks for showing me how I should do it!" Kalim said as he flashed a smile towards Ruggie. "We should get back to work so we eat in time, haha." He said, taking the smaller knife, the right one, in his hands. He turned back to cutting the potatoes.
"Y-yeah, that's right." Ruggie said in an awkward tone, he mentally slapped himself for stuttering.
They got back to cooking, surrounded by a very loud, very awkward silence.
When they finally finished their food, they decided to eat at the Scarabia lounge.
"Mm- oh, let's go sit on that one! It's for two people." Kalim said as he gestured with his hands- and almost dropping the food -to a nearby small table.
Ruggie sighed "Kalim, please be careful with the food." He said as he carefully placed down the food on the small table.
Kalim only gave him a laugh as he sat down on the pillows.
"Don't worry, and just enjoy the food!" He said as he already started digging in.
Ruggie only shook his head at the white haired boy, a helpless smile crept up his face as he, too, started eating.
The silence wasn't as awkward as before, but Ruggie could still feel it lingering in the air.
That's why he gotta finish his food fast to get back to his dorm.
As expected, Ruggie was the first one to finish his food.
He set his fork down and leaned back slightly as he yawned. He then stood up, Kalim's eyes followed his movements. "Well, Kalim, against all odds, we didn't burn the kitchen down. My belly's full, so I'm gonna head back to Savanaclaw before Leona gives me more chores." He tried to walk away, but Kalim took his wrist, stopping him in his tracks.
"Wait! Don't go yet!" Kalim said as he slightly yanked Ruggie to him. Ruggie blinked and turned to him. Kalim was looking up at him, practically pouting, both of his hands holding Ruggie's wrist.
"I mean...we made all this food, and it's still early! Come hang out in my room for a bit? Please?" Kalim said, a blush creeping up his face.
Ruggie giggled, finding the sight of flustered Kalim really cute. "Well, if you insist..." He gave in- partly because Kalim's puppy-dog eyes are impossible to resist, and partly because deep down...
𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.
Back in Kalim's room, they were sitting on the bed comfortably.
And despite them both being comfortable- there was still an awkward atmosphere between them from earlier that day. The silence and quiet of the room was eating Ruggie up, it was very unlike Kalim to be quiet.
Kalim suddenly shifted slightly, facing Ruggie. "Ruggie?" He said, voice uncharacteristically low.
Ruggie faced him "Yes?"
Kalim took a deep breath, his cheeks with that same rosy pink like earlier that day. He turned his whole body to face Ruggie "Back in the kitchen..." He said, a bit hesitant as he looked Ruggie in the eye.
"I lied, I wasn't listening to you...I was distracted..." He admitted, slowly looking away.
Ruggie's eyes widened- he knew that Kalim might have not listened to him but he didn't expect the boy to admit it.
"And with what were you distracted?" He asked as he raised one of his eyebrows.
Kalim's cheek took a darker shade of red. "Well...it was you!" He said while hiding his face behind his hands.
"You were so close to me- and, and you leaned in-" Kalim stumbled over his own words and before he could even finish- Ruggie, without thinking, removed Kalim's hands from his face.
"Kalim." Ruggie said softer than he intended to, holding down Kalim's hands so he wouldn't hide again.
Kalim blinked, his red eyes wide and glowing, his breath catching in his throat.
"I was distracted too." Ruggie admitted as well, his gaze drifted away from Kalim's face.
Kalim's lips parted in surprise "You...were?"
Ruggie looked back at him "Yes, so stop rambling." He said as he leaned dangerously close to Kalim.
Kalim blinked again, his cheeks were on fire again but he didn't move, didn't want to move.
Instead, he also leaned in, their noses touched each other.
"Is this okay-" Before Kalim could utter more words, Ruggie finally closed the distance between them, pressing his lips against Kalim's.
Kalim froze for a fraction of a second in pure shock, his brain completely short-circuiting. But as the warmth of the kiss sank in, he let out a soft sigh, his fingers tightening around Ruggie's hands as he leaned into it, closing his eyes. It was warm and sweet.
Ruggie broke the kiss just for a second for both of them to catch their breath. Kalim fluttered his eyes open just for a bit- he parted his lips to say something but Ruggie leaned in again, kissing him deeper and swallowing up Kalim's unsaid words.
Kalim immediately kissed him back, his shoulders relaxed entirely as he slowly removed his hands from Ruggie's and placed them behind his neck. Ruggie did the same, his hand cupped the side of his waist, squeezing it just slightly.
All the tension from the chaotic afternoon melted away. Kalim suddenly forgot about the argument with Jamil. All he could focus on was the warmth of Ruggie close to him and the steady, comforting beat of his own heart.
Jamil was walking up the stairs to Kalim's room.
After their argument today- Kalim stormed off somewhere and Jamil went in the opposite direction. Neither of them wanted to see the other's face.
But now Jamil regretted the argument a bit- that's why when he came back to the dorm, he asked a few students if he were here.
Good news is, Kalim was in his room.
Bad news, however, is that some students caught Kalim cooking, which was very bad- what if something had happened?
Jamil reached the door to Kalim's room and without thinking much, he opened it without knocking.
"Kalim, are you alright? The others said-" Jamil stopped right in his tracks, the words he wanted to utter were swallowed down.
Kalim was lying on the bed- he seemed totally fine, which was good but...
"What the..." Jamil said under his breath.
Ruggie Bucchi was on top of him- well he was because Kalim pushed him away from him to sit upright.
"J-jamil?! It's not what it looks like!" Kalim tried to say, his voice was nervous and sweat was running down his face. Ruggie just scratched the back of his neck as he looked away.
Taking a closer look, which Jamil shouldn't have done, both Kalim and Ruggie's school uniforms and vests were on the floor and Ruggie's shirt was almost completely unbuttoned.
Jamil looked away in disgust "Kalim no. Don't explain 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. We will talk later, tidy up your room at least." He said as he closed the door.
"Just 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 will I catch a break?" Jamil sighed under his breath while shaking his head.