Flour. Gelatin powder. Cocoa powder. Sugar. They're all in the basket.

Vanilla extract. Yogurt. Oil. He has enough of them at home.

Baking powder. Baking soda. Uncertain what the difference is, he picks both of them.

What else does he need? He looks down at the piece of paper he's holding with a gloved hand to check the list.

Eggs? He'll just buy them later from the old lady who sells fresh farm eggs near his place. It's too risky to buy them here and bring them home on his motorbike.

Eujae turns his wrist to check the time on his watch. It's only 6:08 p.m. He has plenty of time to prepare everything. He glances at the list again before folding the paper and shoving it in the back pocket of his jeans.

He needs chocolate chips but he has yet to see one in this section. Wandering through the aisle, he carefully searches each supermarket shelf for a certain item. He's reached the last rack in the baking supplies section but there are no chocolate chips in sight.

They must have put it in the wrong section. Eujae turns to the corner, exiting the baking aisle, and saunters to the row labeled 'Candies and Chocolates.' He finds what he is looking for on the very first shelf.

"Hey, aren't you cute? Are you a college student?"

His attention drifts in the direction of the flirtatious voice, brows knitting at the scene happening before his eyes. A few feet away from him, Eujae witnesses a woman groping a taller man's arm with her slender fingers. He can't see what the woman looks like so he can't estimate her age. However, Eujae assumes that she is a corporate employee if the dress is anything to go by.

Shifting his gaze to the man, he notes that he can't see his face either since he is looking at the items on the shelf in front of him as if he doesn't notice the woman trying to hit on him.

Despite not seeing his face, Eujae immediately recognizes who the guy is. His expression turns to surprise. He can only see the side profile but he is all too familiar with that hair that looks black at first glance. Under the light, the dark blue shade is apparent.

Apollo?

Right on cue, Poll turns to the woman who's clinging to him and gives Eujae a good view of his face.

"Uhm... I'm sorry but I have to go somewhere. Can you please let me go?" Poll tells the woman, smiling awkwardly. Both his expression and tone are dead giveaways of his discomfort.

His shopping duty forgotten, Eujae remains unmoving as his awareness is solely fixed on what is coming about near him. He can't decide if it is a good idea to intervene in the situation. Poll's uneasiness is very clear to him but Eujae is not sure if the guy wants some help to get out of this predicament. It seems that he can take care of it just fine and it is not like he is a damsel-in-distress who has to be saved. Besides, even if he does need help, Eujae is pretty sure he's the last person whom Poll would want it from.

Despite having those thoughts, Eujae chooses to stay and see how the situation would develop. He tells himself it is only out of curiosity. It has nothing to do with him being concerned about Poll. He's not even that worried to start with.

"Aw, c'mon. Are you shy? Why are you acting like I am gonna eat you? Don't be so awkward. I was just really delighted when I saw you earlier because you're adorable. Think of it like I'm an older sister doting on her younger brother."

Eujae purses his lips, displeased with what he heard. The woman is spouting rubbish. No sane sister would treat their siblings like that and make them utterly uncomfortable. It looks so wrong no matter how one views it.

His grip tightens around the handle of the shopping basket, seeing as how Poll lets out a nervous laugh. Absentmindedly, Eujae takes his steps toward the two.

When he is close enough to the scene, he notices the woman's hand roaming down Poll's waist. Eujae's eyes widen.

Before the older woman can go any further, Eujae drops his shopping basket, uncaring of the damage the action might cause, and steps in. In retrospect, he was right for deciding not to get some eggs from this supermarket, or else they would have been broken by now.

Eujae puts an arm over Poll's shoulder and grabs his hand to pry him away from his harasser; ergo, he inadvertently pulls him close to him. Poll's left shoulder bumps into Eujae's chest and his hair brushes against his nose, making him vaguely aware of its fruity scent.

Without taking his arm off Poll's shoulder, Eujae leans away a bit from him to regard the woman in front of them. He doesn't beat around the bush, asking, "Do you know this older sister here, Apollo?"

Poll turns his head and cranes his neck to peek at the person behind him, just in time for Eujae to glance down at the shorter guy in his arm. Their eyes meet and time seems to freeze all at once.

As he becomes aware of their proximity, Eujae inhales sharply. He watches the other man's expression change from confusion to surprise upon recognizing him. Finally, Poll gapes at Eujae.

The little movement of his mouth draws Eujae's focus. His gaze unconsciously travels down to the other's parted lips. Lost in thought, Eujae takes no notice of the fuzzy feeling that's starting to occur in his stomach. His eyes linger on Poll's lips while a faraway look is on his face.

Too close. Their faces are too close to each other that if Eujae dips his head ever so slightly he could have Poll's mouth on his again. He wonders what it would feel like, what it would taste like if he bites that lower lip.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

The question yanks Eujae back to Earth. He blinks. Realizing what he's been doing, he feels his ears become hot.

What. The. Fuck.

Chagrined, Eujae curses under his breath and mentally reprimands himself for having inappropriate thoughts. Ignoring Poll's question and bewildered expression, he averts his eyes and steps away. He removes his arm from Poll's shoulder, only to grab his upper arm and pull him back to his side. Eujae keeps his hold on Poll as if the guy is a little child who would run away from him the moment he lets go.

He clears his throat to break the awkwardness, before returning his attention to the matter at hand. Looking back at the woman, Eujae fixes her with an indifferent stare. She too seems to be surprised, her mouth agape, as she eyes the pair.

Eujae's lips form into a smile, polite but void of warmth. His tone is just as icy when he speaks again, "Correct me if I'm wrong, Ma'am, but what you were doing..." He narrows his eyes, pausing for a second or two, just so he can stress his point with the question, "It was sexual harassment, right?"

He feels Poll tense up beside him and notices the confused look that he is throwing in his direction when he gives him a sideways glance.

"Of course not!" the woman protests, flushing whether in anger or humiliation of being accused, "That's unthinkable! I just really thought he was cute and I wanted to be friends with him that was why I approached him."

Eujae drops off the polite façade. Raising a brow in a blatant challenge, he asks, "You wanted to be friends by fondling him?"

"Hey, I couldn't help but listen to this whole conversation," a male voice interjects. Eujae turns to the owner of the voice and sees a guy who looks their age—or even younger. Based on his uniform, he works in this store. He's looking at Eujae condescendingly while he keeps on running his mouth, "I also saw everything that happened before you stepped in, and sorry to say this, pal, but I think you're just overreacting. This lady here meant no harm. She was just touching your friend's arm. What's the big deal?"

Eujae looks at the guy, unimpressed. He can usually cut ignorant people some slack, considering they might have just been misinformed about things at times, but when the person's insensibility is paired with haughtiness like this guy's behavior in front of him, he can no longer think of being tolerant. "If you really witnessed the whole thing then you should have seen how uncomfortable this guy was when this lady here invaded his space," he says, voice cold but words serve to roast the fools. "She should have gotten the hint then and stopped. Instead, she kept on touching him. Just the arm, okay, but it still made this guy uneasy. And you still don't think it was sexual harassment? Why? Is it because the one being touched is a man, and the one touching is a woman?"

He doesn't get an answer from either the older woman or the young worker. In their silence, Eujae hears the whispers around them, reminding him that they're in a public place. It seems like they have attracted unnecessary attention from other shoppers.

Even so, Eujae doesn't stop giving the two a piece of his mind.

"If their genders were reversed and the same thing happened, would you still say that I'm just overreacting?" he asks the guy in particular, "You sounded patronizing while you were speaking to me, but I see that you're just one of those mindless people who think a case of sexual harassment is not possible where the victim is a male and the offender is a female."

The guy must have run out of excuses. He scowls and stalks off, but not before grunting, "Your friend is much bigger than her. He could have easily pushed him away if he didn't want it like what you said. Seriously, you're just freaking sensitive."

Once he's gone, Eujae turns back to the woman.

Like the impudent young worker, it looks like she can't think of anything to defend herself so she just huffs and stomps away.

Eujae frowns at her retreating form, unhappy with how she couldn't even own up to her actions. He then turns to the person beside him. Judging by the way he's gawking at Eujae, Poll is still dumbfounded by everything that happened.

Now that he can look at him properly, Eujae notices the large bag of marshmallows that Poll is squeezing in his arms. He raises his brow questioningly before he looks up to meet Poll's eyes.

"And you, what in the world were you doing, getting in trouble like that?" His exasperation with those two imbeciles earlier has worn off, but now it is replaced with unreasonable irritation with Poll.

Poll blinks, opening and closing his mouth for a second before the oh-so-familiar frown appears on his face. "What are you suddenly taking it out on me for, jerk? Did I tell you to interfere just so you could have an excuse to scold me? Are you my mom? If it was too much trouble for you, you shouldn't have meddled. I could have handled it just fine."

Before Eujae can say something, Poll pulls away and walks out with his bag of marshmallows, grumbling, "You're so damn fickle, getting mad at me after acting like my lawyer. Are you a woman on period?"

Sighing, Eujae watches him go away. Why is it so hard for the two of them to have a decent conversation? They don't have any problem communicating with each other when they're Gaele and Ten-Ten. Reality is even more complicated than Eujae originally thought it was.

He knows he's got a long way to go on the job of getting close to Poll, especially with that guy always acting like a dog who's ready to bite every time he sees Eujae. Well, at least now, Eujae has thought of an idea that he can test to tame that person.

He picks up the shopping basket he's neglected, relieved to note that aside from the slight crack on the container, there's no serious damage on the items. He proceeds to the cashier counter to check out. After paying and getting his receipt, Eujae looks around to check for a certain someone.

He finds him getting out of the Chips and Snacks aisle and walking to the counter. In addition to the bag of marshmallows, he's now hugging a large pack of banana chips.

What a child, Eujae thinks, shaking his head. He gets out of the store but sticks around near the exit door.

It doesn't take long for the person he's waiting for to come out. Because the surrounding is starting to get dark and Poll is looking straight ahead, he doesn't notice Eujae lingering close to the door.

Eujae catches up to Poll and grabs his wrist, surprising him and making him yelp. Wide-eyed, Poll looks over his shoulder and glowers. "What the hell? Why are you still here?"

Once again, Eujae brushes his question off. "Did you come here alone, Apollo?"

Poll looks stumped for a brief moment, before he answers hesitantly, "I... Yeah. What's it to you?"

A proper answer, Eujae mentally notes, despite being a little sassy. Not a bad start.

"Did you drive here? Commute?"

Poll's confusion becomes distinguishable by his deep frown. Notwithstanding, he replies, "I walked. This place is only ten minutes from our house. Again, what do you care?"

"Let me take you home," Eujae suggests, not missing a beat.

Poll looks at Eujae dubiously, his eyes becoming wider if possible. He yanks his hand off the other man's grasp as if it's on fire. "Wha– what? Why?"

"Just because," Eujae states as though it's the most obvious explanation in the world.

"Don't fuck with me!" Poll cries before treading away angrily.

Refusing to give up, Eujae goes after him again. He speaks while walking beside Poll. "Okay, my bad. Just let me take you home, alright? I won't be comfortable letting you go alone after witnessing that incident earlier."

Eujae is expecting Poll to increase his pace and try to leave him behind. Instead, Poll stops walking and turns to face him. "Dude, you're seriously weirding me out. Why are you suddenly acting like this? Did you fall and hit your head or something? Or are you drunk? You are, aren't you?"

"Fine, just think whatever you want," Eujae answers with a sigh. He motions to the parking lot with his eyes. "I came here with my bike. It will be faster and safer if you just let me drive you back. It's getting really dark after all."

Poll is still looking at him in disbelief. "What are you trying to play now? Do you seriously think I am going to buy this act?"

"Why is it so hard to believe that I'm just sincerely worried about you?" Eujae asks seriously as he starts to feel frustrated. He meant to have a proper talk with him, but it's easier said than done.

Is this hardheaded person really his Ten-Ten? Eujae can sway his online friend effortlessly, yet it's a real challenge to get through to this guy.

"You're worried that someone's gonna harass me again? Are you even in place to talk about that subject to me?"

Eujae gives Poll a confused look. "What do–"

Poll keeps on talking, cutting Eujae off, "After all, you were the one who ki... k... you did that to me last time!"

Catching on to what Poll is trying to say, Eujae stiffens. Right. There's still that incident. And Poll has a point. Eujae can't preach about the topic when he was the one who kissed Poll without his consent.

Guilt plagues him there and then. He shuffles on his feet and looks anywhere but Poll.

There is an uncomfortable pause until Eujae heaves a defeated sigh. They have always been this clumsy with each other and he figures if he doesn't do anything about it now, they'll just run into another dead end. He needs to say something or else they won't be able to go anywhere with this conversation again.

With a lot more resolve than earlier, Eujae finally lets out the words he's been meaning to say, "I'm sorry."

For countless times tonight, he catches Poll off guard and renders him speechless. He waits to let his apology get across.

At last, Poll shakes off the shock and narrows his eyes at Eujae. "You were a jackass then, do you know that?" he says as if testing how Eujae would react to the unpleasantry.

"I know. I was," Eujae concedes. "I was just mad that time but I know it was not an excuse to do something like that. I'm sorry."

Poll pauses for a while before he blurts out, "Who are you and what did you do to that jerk?"

Eujae almost laughs but stops, noting that Poll looks serious. He discerns that Poll has lowered his guard a bit regardless of the insult and sarcasm in his words. Eujae takes it as a good sign.

Biting back a grin, he unties the biker jacket he's wrapped around his waist and dumps it on Poll's head. "Wear this," he tells him with finality and rolls down the sleeve of his shirt. "Since I'm wearing long sleeves, you can have my jacket."

Poll removes the jacket from his head and glares at Eujae. "I still haven't said yes to driving me back home."

Eujae shrugs. "I'd say it's cute how you think I'll take no for an answer."

Gaping at Eujae once more, Poll remarks, "You're impossible."

As a response, Eujae only smirks. He realizes that he's been able to make Ten-Ten give in to his whims only because as Gaele, he is a lot more assertive. Ten-Ten would often complain about how Gaele is always getting his way, saying that he is impossible but innocent little Ten-Ten would still yield to what his online friend wants in the end. Eujae speculates that if he turns the persuasion on Poll and acts around him the way Gaele behaves to Ten-Ten,—that is, endearing but pushy—then maybe he can make Poll cave in real life too. Anyway, it's worth a shot.

Apollo Helios Torres may be a tough nut, and Eujae wonders... How hard does he need to push before he can make him crack?

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

AN: Yo, been a little busy these days. In addition to feeling like there's nothing in my head but air recently hahaha I don't even know if I'm still making sense of what I'm writing. Anyway, please expect the next chapters to come a little later than usual, especially in December. I'll still try to update within a week but if I don't, then please bear with me for a while. o(╥﹏╥)o It won't take really long though, that I can assure you. See ya in next the chapter. 😘