Chapter Text
They were sitting on the stairs that led up to Till’s dorm building, settling to enjoy melon popsicles after a long day of classes and coursework. But Till’s ice cream was quickly melting under the afternoon sun, and he was holding it away so it wouldn't drip onto his clothes.
“How come yours didn't melt!” He complained. Beside him, Ivan was serenely biting into his ice cream bar, and Till watched in mild horror and fascination as the dark-haired boy finished it in two bites.
“Magic.” Ivan held up jazz hands, which were at odds with his completely deadpan tone and expression. Till rolled his eyes, though he couldn’t help but smile a little. He would never admit it out loud, but he found Ivan’s brand of ridiculousness kind of endearing.
Obviously, there was no such thing as magic: Ivan had just kept to the shaded side of the streets, while Till walked in full sunlight. Even at that moment, Ivan was sitting on the side of the stairway that was shadowed by flowering trees, their long limbs laden with dainty, white blossoms. Till was smack in the middle of the step where he and Ivan were sitting, just outside the shadows, a human-shaped obstacle for the students who wanted to reach or leave the dorm building.
Till gave up on eating the popsicle, which had become an unappetizing goopy mess; he had simply started to flick it as if it were a cigarette, making melon and cream bits fall to the ground as if ash.
“I can buy you another ice cream,” Ivan offered.
Till stopped what he was doing, his eyebrows wrinkling together. He turned to Ivan. “I thought you forgot your wallet?”
The two of them had gone to one of the campus convenience stores to buy snacks, and after considering his mood and budget, Till had picked a melon popsicle. To his surprise, Ivan had chosen the same, then cheerfully announced he had not brought any cash with him. Till had grumbled, but he eventually paid for both ice creams, before they took the short walk back to the dorms.
Now Till watched as Ivan blinked once, twice, then completely broke eye contact, cheeks turning pink.
“I… meant… next time.” The dark-haired boy said carefully, but the way his words were spaced out only made Till more suspicious.
He squinted his eyes at Ivan, wondering if he had been duped. He decided to test out his theory.
He cupped his face with his hands, making an effort not to show how much he’s cringing at what he was about to do. “What if…I want an ice cream right now ?” He asked, puffing up his cheeks and pouting.
He saw Ivan’s shoulders tense for a moment, then hunch down as the dark-haired boy gave in with a sigh: “Fine.”
“So you do have money on you!” Till exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He hated acting cutesy, but it always seemed to break Ivan down. Till scrunched his face at his friend, though he wasn’t really mad; in fact, he was being economical, thinking about payback for the little lie.
“You better buy me three ice creams,” he proclaimed.
Ivan looked up at him, dark eyes touched with amber as they hit the light. “Whatever you want, Till,” Ivan said. There was a faint smile on his lips.
“Let’s go then!”
Till’s mind had gone into the convenience store’s freezers, already musing over what kinds of ice cream he would pick. He knew price wouldn't be an issue for Ivan, who was getting up from the step and digging his wallet out from his leather bag.
As they made their way down the stairs, the wind rose. It shook up the crowns of the flowering trees, sending a flurry of snowy petals falling all around Ivan and Till.
It was a sweeping display of spring, the world gilded in honey, dotted in white, but while a lot of people had stopped to admire the blossoms caught in the breeze, Till only had his sights set on the path to the convenience store, eager to finally get good snacks.
Ivan fell into step next to Till, and he reached over to help brush away little petals that got lodged between the spikes of the latter’s hair. Till’s attention wavered at the contact; he felt a flutter in his stomach, but he passed it off as his hankering for ice cream. He muttered a quiet ‘ thanks’.
“Why did you pretend you didn’t have any money, anyway?” He asked after a short pause.
Ivan shrugged languidly, but there was a playful glint to the red pupils of his eyes. “I just like it,” he told Till, “when you’re the one treating me to stuff.”