Symphony of Sound.

The two of them walk quite literally into each other around an hour later, after they’ve neatened themselves up considerably.

“Did we need to make a reservation for this place?” Rian asks as they walk casually down the street in the soft, orange light of the sunset. “Because I didn’t.”

“No, we shouldn’t need to, really.” Zack replies, sliding his hand into Rian’s. “And besides, we’ll get priority. I know the owner. I work there some summers, too.”

Rian shrugs, because he had no idea Zack did anything other than get a killer suntan over summer.

The glass fronted La Vida Loca Bistro comes into view a few seconds later.

“Nice name.” Rian muses with a smile, looking up at the sign and then sideways at Zack.

“You haven’t met Josh yet, clearly.”

“Isn’t it Spanish, though?”

“Knowing him, yes, it probably is.”

Zack pushes open the door to the restaurant and the pair behind the counter immediately look up at the gentle sound of the bell on the back of the door.

“Zack! Dude!” The male cries, jumping over the counter and moving quickly across the floor towards them.

“Hey, Josh.” Zack replies, rolling his eyes at the twenty year old and embracing him in a hug.

The girl appears over his shoulder a few seconds later.

“Hey, Zee. How’ve you been?” She asks, elbowing Josh out of the way.

“I’m doing alright, Angel, what about you?”

“I’ve been better.” The blonde girl replies, pushing her bangs back behind her ear.

Josh Strickland and Angel Porrino have owned and run the restaurant for two years now, and they are without a doubt the most eccentric people Zack has ever met. Both wannabe Broadway stars, they spend most of their time, both at work and at home, singing and dancing about like mad people.

Angel ushers them to a table in the back of the restaurant, away from the customers already there.

“You’re Rian, then, I assume?” She says as she turns to collect the menus from the counter that’s right behind her. “All he did last summer was talk about you.”

Zack blushes, flicks his eyes up to glare at Angel for a second.

“Uh, yeah.” Rian replies awkwardly. “That’s cute, though.”

Zack feels his cheeks start to burn even more than before.

“So how long have you been dating?” Angel presses, grinning.

“This is actually our, uh, first date.” Zack says with a small smile. “So, Angel, if you don’t mind, uhm, leaving?”

“Oh, sure. I’ll get out of your hair.” She giggles, rolling her eyes at him and walking away.

“Your friends are weird.”

“Don’t remind me. And you should know, you’re one of them.”

“Zack, uh, this is probably me moving totally too fast and you’re welcome to just say no, but would you be, well, interested in being more than friends?” Rian asks awkwardly, blush spreading rapidly up his cheeks.

“Are you trying to ask me to be your boyfriend?”

“Maybe.”

“Well, if you are, then it’s a yes.”

Rian grins, almost shyly, laughs a little and reaches his hand across the table to link his fingers with Zack’s.

“Then I am. Asking you, that is.”

“Thought so.” Zack replies with a soft smile, leaning across the table to kiss him.

Rian smiles, kisses him back before finally turning to the menu Angel had left them a few moments ago.

“What do you suggest, since you work here usually?” Rian asks, looking up at Zack with a soft smile.

“Well, personally, I’d avoid any and all of the meats, the fish is a little touch and go, and the pasta depends on what mood Laura’s in when she’s cooking.”

Rian stares at him in disbelief for a few seconds.

“Hey, you asked.”

Rian laughs then, his expression softening gently at the mere sight of Zack’s soft, sideways smile and the laugh that falls from his lips.

“What? You did!”

And okay, Rian decides then, maybe Zack’s is just insanely adorable and he can’t honestly believe that he never noticed before now.

The night goes well, Zack concludes, when they find themselves curled up together on the couch in his room, Rian dozing a little on his chest, and okay, it’s adorable.

When he goes to move, because it’s getting late and it’s kind of chilly where they’re sitting, Rian chooses to latch himself onto Zack’s chest and make a little noise from the back of his throat, and Zack sighs, choosing instead to bundle up the brown haired boy into his arms and carry him into the bed.

Rian makes a small noise of protest as Zack sets him down on the mattress (and for once in his life Zack is thankful that his years of playing violin have at least left some sort of muscle) and the younger boy just laughs, ducking down to press a kiss onto the brunette’s soft curls.

Rian flutters his eyes open and wrinkles his nose at the younger boy, pursing his lips and making Zack laugh and lean down to kiss him properly.

He wakes up late the next morning, and scans the room with bleary eyes. Zack has a habit of not sleeping, or sleeping very little and then getting up ridiculously early, so when he discovers that the blonde boy is nowhere in sight, he can only figure that he must’ve gotten bored waiting for him to wake up.

He’s proved correct when he stumbles his way downstairs, after dressing hurriedly and skittering a brush through his messy curls.

Zack is sitting at the dinner table, hunched over some music notation with his violin and a cup of coffee, wearing a pair of ill-fitting track pants and nothing else. His father is sitting beside him, watching almost enthralled, although he clearly has no idea what his son is doing.

Zack’s eyes flick up to the older boy and he smiles softly for a second, before looking back at his notation and taking a long drink of coffee.

“What’re you doing that for so early in the morning?” Rian asks sluggishly, eyes struggling to focus as he fumbles his way to the empty seat opposite Zack.

“That’s what I said.” His father says with a smile, rolling his eyes at his son’s stubbornness. “Typically, he didn’t listen to me. At all.”

Zack’s eyes divert from the sheet to his father and he frowns, rolling his eyes in turn and glancing at Rian.

“You could help, Rian. It’s not even that difficult.”

The brown haired boy leans across the table and frowns at the paper, unable to deduce the notes considering the early hour.

“It’s too early.” Rian groans, resting his head down on the table. Zack’s father laughs at him, before standing and moving over through the open plan kitchen.

“Coffee?” He asks, and Rian grumbles a noise of approval in response.

Zack frowns across the table at him and leans over, batting him on the top of the head a few times, only gently with the end of his pencil.

“What are you even writing? It must be important if,” Rian pauses then, glancing sideways at the clock mounted on the wall, “you’re doing it at ten thirty in the morning.”

“Mr. Smith wanted me to work out all the notation for Easy Terms for the string quartet. Since I’m apparently the only one that can convert notes between instruments.”

“For what?” Rian presses, confused.

“Easy Terms. You know, from Blood Brothers?” Zack asks, looking up from the paper for a grand total of about five seconds, before rolling his eyes at the older boy and returning to his work. “Okay, clearly not.”

Rian’s expression remains unchanged and blank, eyes glazed with sleep at he fixes his eyes on the blonde boy.

It’s odd, Zack decides, that after so long of watching from afar Rian is finally his and only his, without sounding all creepy and possessive. It’s good, nice, though, and Zack definitely isn’t going to complain about it.

His father walks back over and sets a cup of coffee in front of Rian (who takes hold of it quickly and chugs it down) and places a fresh, warm cup in front of his son.

“Are you nearly finished with that, Zack? You’ve been at it for hours.”

“Almost.” Zack replies, sticking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth and frowning. “I just have to do a few more notes on the cello version.”

Rian stares at him over the rim of his coffee cup with wide eyes and Zack just laughs, brushing his loosely curling blonde bangs away from his eyes.

“You are ridiculous, you know that, right?”

“Why thank you.”

Zack grins shyly across the table at Rian and the brown haired boy smiles back. Zack quickly diverts his gaze back to the paper and writes a few more notes onto the bars.

“Finished.” He says proudly, with a smile as he stacks up the rewritten sheet music into a neat pile and sets them on the table next to him.

“Why couldn’t Mr. Smith have done that? Surely he knows how, he is a teacher.”

“He does know how, yes, but I think he’s going to see if he can put it towards my actual grade in Music class.”

“He confuses me so much.”

“How do you think I feel? He runs my section band. It’s Hell.”

Rian laughs, drinking down what’s left of his coffee before standing and moving to the seat beside Zack.

“Could you go and get dressed now? Please? I feel overdressed.”

Zack smirks, holds back a laugh and kisses the top of Rian’s head before standing and moving their coffee cups over into the kitchen.

“What do you want to do today, anyway?” Zack asks, turning on his heel to look at Rian inquisitively.

“I don’t know, really. But, so long as I’m with you, I don’t really care.”