Leo was not expecting to have ice cream dropped on his head.
Yet here he was, standing in the middle of the campus courtyard, staring up at the gooey swirl of strawberry and vanilla now slowly dripping down his bangs.
Across from him, Rin stood frozen, wide-eyed, holding the now-empty cone in her outstretched hand.
"I—" she said.
He blinked. A drop of strawberry plopped onto his nose.
"Okay," Leo said slowly. "I'm going to pretend this is a metaphor for something."
Rin made a strangled sound that might've been a laugh or a gasp or possibly both. "I tripped! I was running because you were late and then the squirrel came out of nowhere and—"
"A squirrel?"
She nodded, face flushed. "A very aggressive one."
Leo wiped his forehead with the edge of his sleeve, failing miserably to look dignified.
Around them, a few students had stopped to stare. A couple even took out phones. Leo groaned.
"Fantastic. I'm going viral again."
Rin bit her lip. Then stepped forward.
"I'll fix it."
"You're going to reverse time and un-drop the ice cream?"
"No." She tugged a pack of tissues from her bag and reached up. "Hold still."
He froze.
Her fingers brushed his hair gently, dabbing at the melted mess. They were soft. Careful. She was close enough that he could smell faint hints of floral shampoo and strawberries—the ice cream kind and the real kind.
Neither of them spoke for a moment.
Then Rin whispered, "You have really nice eyelashes."
Leo blinked. "That's... a new one."
She cleared her throat and pulled back. "Sorry. That was weird. I just—panic complimented."
Leo laughed. "Better than panic punching."
She smiled. "Also something I considered."
---
Later, after a change of clothes (and a lot of teasing from Kai), Leo found himself at the small tea shop near campus. Rin was already there, two drinks on the table: one matcha latte and one melon milk.
"For the trauma," she said, sliding the melon milk toward him.
He grinned. "Forgiveness in beverage form. I accept."
She sipped her drink, staring out the window. "Sorry again. About earlier."
"I'm not mad."
"You should be."
"I got free melon milk. It's a win."
They both laughed.
Rin hesitated, then asked, "Do people ever say you're... hard to read?"
Leo tilted his head. "Sometimes. Why?"
"Just wondering."
She leaned forward.
"You seem like the kind of person who thinks a lot but says only the necessary bits."
Leo thought about that.
"I used to think that talking too much would make people not take me seriously. Or make me seem desperate."
"And now?"
"Now I think... I just never had someone I wanted to talk to that much."
Their eyes met.
Rin's cheeks turned slightly pink. She looked down at her hands.
"Leo?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah?"
"If I, hypothetically, wanted to... spend more time with you, outside of ice cream-related disasters... would that be weird?"
Leo blinked.
"No," he said softly. "That wouldn't be weird at all."
She smiled, radiant and nervous all at once.
Then: "Okay. Cool. Cool cool cool. No doubt. Totally normal."
"You're panicking again."
"I am."
"Want another panic compliment?"
"No!" she squeaked, then paused. "Wait. Actually, yes."
Leo smiled.
"You have really nice hands."
Rin choked on her drink.
---
That night, Leo returned to the dorms to find Kai waiting on his bed, arms crossed.
"So," Kai said.
"So?" Leo echoed.
"Word on the street is you and Rin shared an emotionally charged beverage experience."
"Word on the street travels fast."
Kai tossed him a snack bar. "Use the sugar. You're going to need the energy."
"For what?"
"Romantic turbulence. Buckle up, my guy."
Leo groaned and collapsed face-first onto his pillow.
Kai's laughter echoed into the night.