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Zak and Darryl sat together for a while, just chatting. Zak tried his best to not ask about Darryl's parents, specifically his father. After Darryl's confession, he knew he had a terrible relationship with his father, and wanted to avoid bringing anything related to him up in conversation.

Neither of them noticed, but the whole time they were talking, their hands stayed clasped together across the table.

Soon, Zak realized he needed to head home, it was getting much later than normal. He usually went straight home after work, and he didn't want his mom to possibly check up on him in the middle of the night just to see him missing.

"Hey, I need to get going." He broke off the conversation, pulling his hand away from Darryl's. Once again, it felt strangely cold.

Zak noticed Darryl's face dropped, he pouted slightly. "Oh, alright. How far do you live from here?"

"It's pretty far, I usually take the subway and then walk about 20 minutes from where I get off." He explained, pulling his sweater over his head. When his head was through the hole, he looked back up at Darryl.

"Well, would you mind if I... never mind, it's dumb."

"What is it?" Zak asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Could I ride with you? I'm sure you live the opposite way than I do, but I don't really want to say goodbye yet." He fiddled with his fingers, looking down and avoiding eye contact with Zak. Though, he looked up when he heard a laugh from the younger boy.

"Of course you can. I'm not going to stop you from coming along, even if it means you have to take twice as long to get home." He shrugged, motioning for Darryl to follow him.

"Wait, I've gotta pay." Darryl called Debby over, who told him it was on her tonight. He thanked her, still giving her a tip, before heading out with Zak.

Once they were outside, Zak grabbed Darryl's hand and led him in the direction of the subway. Darryl was shocked, since Zak completely hated him a few hours ago, but went along with it.

They strolled down the street together in silence, making their way to the station. Still holding hands, they headed down the steps and waited for the train.

Soon enough, the train pulled up and they boarded together. Even when they sat down, Zak didn't let go of Darryl's hand. He pulled it into his lap and held it tightly.

Darryl couldn't help but stare at the younger boy, wondering what was going on in his head.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Zak smirked, looking at Darryl out of the corner of his eye.

Darryl blushed, embarrassed that he had been caught. "Sorry, just thinking."

"About what?" Zak bumped his shoulder against Darryl's giving his hand a squeeze. Darryl was really beginning to enjoy the little affection he was getting.

"Why don't you hate me?"

Zak looked over at Darryl, his dark eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"You hated me just a few hours ago. You told me you didn't even want to think about me. What changed?" Darryl questioned, looking down at their hands.

Zak shrugged, feeling like he was at a loss for words. "I'm not sure. It's like a switch flipped and now I can't even imagine hating you."

Darryl smiled, squeezing Zak's hand. "Thank you for giving me a second chance."

"Give me your phone." Darryl was confused, his eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open.

"I-what?"

"Give me your phone." Zak held his free hand out expectantly.

"Uh, ok?" Darryl dig his phone out of his pocket, unlocking it for Zak. He younger boy grabbed it, hitting a few things on the screen. He typed for a few seconds, then opened the camera. Zak smiled brightly, shutting his eyes as he grinned. He snapped the photo, closing the app. He then handed the phone back to Darryl.

"What did you do?" Darryl questioned, scrolling through his phone. Nothing looked different.

Zak shrugged, smirking at the green eyed boy. "You'll just have to figure it out."

Darryl rolled his eyes, scrolling through his phone. he went to his texts and didn't see anything, then went to his camera roll, which showed nothing as well. He kept looking while Zak giggled beside him.

"What's so funny?" He squeezes Zak's hand again, bumping his shoulder.

"Nothing." Zak giggled again, covering his mouth with his free hand.

"Tell me!" Darryl whined, locking his phone and turning towards Zak.

Zak reached for the phone and pushed the lock button, making the phone light up.

On Darryl's lock screen was a large face, grinning widely. Zak's face.

"Seriously?" Darryl groaned. "Why was that so funny?"

"Because it took you forever to figure out." Zak couldn't hold back, he continued to giggle and leaned his head on Darryl's shoulder. Darryl blushed, trying to stay calm.

"I also did something else."

Darryl moved his eyes over to Zak's head, which he could only see the top of from his angle. He squeezed his hand again.

"What'd you do?"

"You'll just have to figure it out."

With that sentence, the train stopped at Zak's station. He jumped up, pulling Darryl along with him. Once they were off and onto the main platform, he stopped and turned to the taller man.

"Do you want to head back now, or do you want to walk me home?" Zak questioned, stuffing his free hand in his pocket.

Darryl thought for a moment, scratching his chin. He looked down at Zak, who was smiling up at him, and instantly decided.

"I'll walk with you." He smiled at the brown eyed boy, pulling him along up the stairs.

They made it to the street above, and Darryl turned to Zak.

"Which way?" He asked, motioning to each side of the street. Zak pointed to the right, tugging Darryl's hand with him.

Darryl followed along, staring at Zak the whole way.

They walked for a while in silence, enjoying each other's company. The darkness around them seemed brighter than usual, the shadows somehow not as pitch black as they were supposed to be. They could both see details in objects they shouldn't be able to at this time of night, though neither of them questioned it. They were enjoying their time together.

Soon, Zak stopped and squeezed Darryl's hand, pulling him to face himself.

"It's only a block or two from here, you should head back or you won't get home until midnight." He smiled at the taller man, grabbing his other hand.

They stood facing each other, their entwined hands dangling in between their bodies.

Darryl felt his face heat up, and Zak noticed. He let go of one of Darryl's hands, bringing it up to cup the green eyed man's cheek.

"Why do you look so nervous?"

Darryl shrugged, feeling awkward. "I don't know."

"You're cute when you're nervous." He pinched Darryl's cheek, making the taller man pout.

"I am not!" He argued, but couldn't stay serious for long. He let out a small chuckle, smiling at Zak. "I guess I should let you go, huh?"

Zak nodded, beginning to pull his hand from Darryl's cheek. He paused for a moment, then leaned in, cupping Darryl's cheek more firmly.

He lightly pecked Darryl on the opposite cheek, then pulled away just as quick as it happened.

"Goodnight, Darryl."

With that, Zak was gone.