By the time the two boys had finally gotten to their destination, it was coming close to 6pm - which, arguably, wasn't so bad, as it was a good time to eat dinner anyways. Jentzen clambered out of his car seat eagerly, almost before Lev had even finished parking the car. "Hurry up, ramen is waiting for us!" He called behind him, already skipping up to the restaurant.
Lev pulled his keys out, stopping the engine before getting out and locking his car. He followed behind Jentzen into the restaurant. By the time he'd gotten through the doors Jentzen had already sat himself at a table and was looking through the menu. Lev couldn't help the smile that made its way on to his face at just the view of Jentzen and his child-like ways.
He sat down across from him so that they were facing one another. Jentzen lowered his menu, looking at Lev. "What are you thinking of ordering?" Jentzen asked. Lev shrugged. "I'll get whatever you have" he shrugged casually. Jentzen raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wow Lev, you really trust me that much? What if I was ordering fish eyeballs, or a platter of ghost chilli peppers, or-" Jentzen trailed off, trying to think of more disastrous things he could order.
Lev cut him off. "Well, I trust you" he chimed. When Lev voiced this, they didn't feel like a joke, or a sarcastic comment as his words usually did. Something about it felt so sincere and meaningful, almost too intimate in that moment. And so, to break the tension, Lev quickly decided to follow it up with a joke. "Umm, unless you order a black coffee, you know how much I hate coffee, haha...." Lev added awkwardly.
He ran a hand through his own tousled blonde hair, hoping Jentzen hadn't picked up on his awkwardness. Luckily, Jentzen was busy once again scanning his menu. "Perfect!" Jentzen mumbled under his breath. He looked up up Lev with a happy expression. "I found something you're gonna love!" He chimed, his tone bubbling with excitement. Lev shot him back a lopsided smile. "If it's you choosing it for me, I'm sure I'll love it."
Two hours had passed filled with food and laughter, and the boys had finally finished eating. "You were right, that was amazing!" Lev admitted, filling Jentzen with a sense of pride. "What can I say, I know you so well. That's what best friends are for" Jentzen shot back at him. Lev paused for a second, the words oddly piercing through his heart.
'Best friends' ... He didn't like the sound of those words out of Jentzen's mouth, yet he just couldn't place why. Or, more honestly, perhaps he was just too far in denial to see why the words had wounded him so deeply. Trying to take his mind off of it, he suggested to Jentzen that they check out a few of the nearby stores since they were in the are already. He happily agreed and the two boys set out before everything around them closed.
Store after store, time passed on and the sky got darker and darker. Soon everything was closing, and Lev suggested they start heading home. It was a successful trip, the two of them had ended up getting matching shirts - which was Jentzen's idea. They carried their bags back to the car, climbing in.
It was only when they had gotten into the car that Lev had finally begun to realise just how tired Jentzen had grown. He watched as the brunette boy yawned and stretched his arms, his eyelids growing heavy. He looked as if he was desperately fighting off sleep.
"If you're tired, you can go to sleep" Lev whispered, trying not to use too much of a loud voice. Jentzen shook his head stubbornly. "No, I'm fine" he mumbled, his eyes still half closed. Lev chuckled, placing his hand on the top of Jentzen's head and forcing him to lay back against the seat. "Sleep" he ordered, starting up the car and beginning the drive home.
Five minutes into the drive, Lev was about to look over to see if Jentzen was sleeping when he felt something heavy against his shoulder. He looked down, seeing Jentzen's head resting on him, completely asleep. He smiled widely, trying not to wake Jentzen up for the rest of the ride.
He decided to pull over for a second so that he could pull out his phone. It was 10:55pm, almost 11 at night. He looked through his contacts, pressing on Liana's name to send her a text.
'Hey Liana, it's Lev. Jentzen is really tired from filming today and my house is a lot closer than yours, would it be ok if he stayed the night?'
Lev sent the text, for some reason feeling an odd feeling of anxiousness in the pit of his stomach. He got a response almost immediately back.
'Sure, that's fine Lev! Thank you for taking care of him.'
Something about that text made him smile - the thought of taking care of Jentzen... the thought of caring for him and being there to tend to him when he needed it. Lev grinned as he pulled out back on to the road, driving a peaceful drive back to his house, left alone to his own racing thoughts.