Penthouse One/Pancake Yagami x Zero

## pancake boi is salty bc there is no pancakes (17/7)

Kye Hanbyeol

Zero didn't greet people. He wasn't a social person. He wasn't introverted either, just didn't have the effort to start a conversation. This was one of the rare times where he was outside of his room, roaming the dorm at eleven P.M. while everyone else was either sleeping, getting ready to go to sleep, or just in their rooms. He knew it was going to be one of those nights were sleep wasn't going to come unless he forced it so he didn't bother trying. For the past five minutes, he had been sitting on the counter staring at the fridge as if he wanted something but was too afraid to get it.

Kye Hanbyeol

He eventually just sighed and got up, wandering down the hallway to the bedrooms. He considered seeing if Brooke was awake, but Alex slept in the same room and he didn't want to disturb her. Will would just find a way to tick him off somehow, and he didn't know the rest of the people in his dorm that well anyway. His line of vision found its way to Jude's door, because Jude was knew and he had never seen him once. But then again, he barely left his room. He turned back and headed to the living room. *Funny, there he is.* He stood at there, not really entering the room, just staring at Jude with kind of a questioning look.

Kye Hanbyeol

Slowly Zero moved past him and picked up the remote, flicking the television on and sitting down on the other end of the sofa. He actually had no interest in the TV, just wanted to see what Jude was doing as discreetly as possible.

Kye Hanbyeol

He had shifted his head to get a better look at the laptop and when he read the header he tensed for a second. *Of course. There's fucking detective involved in the Point Zero cases and he just happens to be in the same dorm as Point Zero.* He held back a laugh and focused on the TV, which was on a station he didn't even care about.

Kye Hanbyeol

He tossed the remote on the coffee table, staring at the TV. "Roughly ten minutes," he replied blankly, crossing his legs. "Jude Aster, right?"

Kye Hanbyeol

"If you think about it logically. I'm the only Korean here, and that's a Korean name. It's extremely obvious," he pointed out. *Should I let him call me Zero? He'd get suspicious... but if others called me Zero around him. Argh, I have to take the risk.* "Don't call me Hanbyeol though, please. It's awkward. Everyone calls me Zero."

Kye Hanbyeol

"Most people find it odd," he informed the other. "You're the first person to say that." Not that he minded. Unless Jude was dense, Zero was going to have to analyze everything he said from now on around him. First thing after this though, warn Brooke and Will. He was sure Will wouldn't say anything, it's Will and he trusted Brooke, but they didn't know he was a detective investigating a case involving him.

Kye Hanbyeol

"It's a literal number. People don't call each other by numbers. It's unusual. That's why I let people call me that. Being unusual means I get to stand out in a silent way." *How the hell am I going to change the topic of this conversation from my personal nickname to something else? Damn you, random ass detective.*

Kye Hanbyeol

*Please. Shut the hell up. Let me have my stupid number nickname in peace.* "I know about the series, never read it though. I don't catch on to Earthen things if I'm going to be completely honest. Still, it's strange. The fact that someone else calls themselves a number in a book makes me want to change my nickname now."

Kye Hanbyeol

*I want to strangle you. Someone please let me strangle him.* He forced a cold smile on his face and leaned back into the sofa. "If I was going to be simple, I'd say I'm antisocial, but that's not true. I don't talk. I think."

Kye Hanbyeol

*If I killed him now, he wouldn't be able to say anything... Still, there'd be a mess to clean up afterwards.* "No. I simply don't have the effort to start a conversation. Too much work. And the person you're talking to could be annoying as hell." *Like you.* "I'm too nice to back out of a conversation with anyone though."

Kye Hanbyeol

*Knew what exactly...? I literally just told him to call me Zero. What even...?* He raised an eyebrow and contained his snicker. "Know what?"

Kye Hanbyeol

Zero watched him leave, slighting frowning. Jude was annoying sure, but Will was annoying and he got used to him. They both asked questions like crazy though, it was irritating and gave Zero a headache. The worse part was that he wasn't tired in the slightest and now had nothing to do. He doesn't need sleep anyway.

## don't be suspicious, don't be suspicious (22/7)

Kye Hanbyeol

Basic Charms usually had the students yawning, but the lesson was strangely interesting today. Prior to the class, Zero had spoken with Brooke and Will and told them his suspicions and to keep wary of Jude. Jude showed up that morning not long after so he didn't get a good response from the both of them but he was sure they'd keep quiet. Annoyingly, he was forced to sit behind the one and only, Jude Aster. The last thing he needed was for Mr. Detective to start up again.

Kye Hanbyeol

And then the professor pulled the worse trick in the book. Partners. He muttered a silent curse under his breath followed up by the sentence, "Kill me now." He barely knew any of his classmates so there was no way he was going to get up and look for a partner. Everyone already seemed to have theirs anyway by the way people were looking at each other. Maybe he could get away with not participating because of his PTSD.

Kye Hanbyeol

He looked up at Jude with a blank face like normal. He was wearing his glasses today, without them he'd begun to get extremely painful headaches. He needed to make a mental note to get medicine for that later today. "There's not coincidental about this," he said, voicing Jude's thoughts. He glanced around, but he had seen Jude reject several other students. "...You want to work with me?"

Kye Hanbyeol

He sat up, placing his hands on his desk. *You rejected everyone that came up to you.* "It's fine. I just know someone else who used to ask just as many questions on a daily basis and that slightly ticked me off. You're good, don't worry." He sighed, awkwardly shifting his eyes away. "Why me though?"

Kye Hanbyeol

He blinked, slightly surprised. "I find Speed useless. I'm slightly shocked someone shares my opinion," he responded. "Yes, speed charms. I can barely recall any. I don't use them often."

Kye Hanbyeol

*And there he goes again with the questions. Please, if anyone is listening, kill me.* He hid the annoyance the question sparked and shrugged. "More like Brooke is my mother and Will's the insensitive asshole who broke my—" he stopped himself, but then again it wouldn't really matter. The most Jude could really get out of this was that they've known each other for long enough time to have connections like that.

Kye Hanbyeol

Jude had this kicked puppy tone that was making Zero feel guilty. "No, no, it's fine. I'm just... not used to it," he reassured him. "Should we try it on something or...?"

Kye Hanbyeol

Damnit, he knew something was up. His limbs had felt strangely much more heavier after he had said the spell. He wasn't going to give Jude the satisfaction of his ignorance though and kept his blank, undisturbed face. "Yes. If only I knew a spell that reverses the effects of... Oh, wait, I do. *Novis*."

Kye Hanbyeol

"For someone who seems to be intelligent, you're quite dense when it comes to combat magic," he said, returning the statement in a sarcastic tone. "And I can tell. Your stance, your attitude. It has stealth magic written all over it. Your nature is very obvious to pick out."

Kye Hanbyeol

"Hilarious, simply hilarious. You ever wonder why *coercere* is a spell?" He tilted his head back and grinned in sick amusement. "If you think about it, it has nothing to do with combat... But it's very useful when you're tired of someone.:

Kye Hanbyeol

His eyes widened for a split second before he felt the powerful gust of air. Before he could be blown out of his seat, he quickly yelled, "*Subiit iuga vinearum!*" Vines broke through the tiles of the classroom and wrapped themselves around his legs, to keep him rooted to the ground.

Kye Hanbyeol

Zero released the spell and let the vines slither back into the ground. He kept his blank face the whole time, looking indifferent. "I can say the same as well, Jude." Then he smiled and stood, leaning forward to do something he wouldn't have done four years ago. Kissed Jude's cheek. "I expect to see your full potential soon. We should fight some time."

Kye Hanbyeol

He picked up his bag and turned to smile at Jude one last time before he left for Dragon Riding. As he walked through the hallway, he felt a weird warmth in his chest. He just kissed the annoying bastard on the cheek like the last five minutes hadn't just happened. His face was red, he could feel it. He hadn't blushed this hard since... ever, actually.

Kye Hanbyeol

Zero could barely focus on controlling Bullseye during class, his mind wandering off to Basic Charms over and over again until he nearly fell off his dragon. The professor monitoring the class asked him if he was okay and he told him he was fine but the professor had him leave class early anyway, concerned it had something to with his PTSD. Then he remembered Jude didn't seem to have Dragon Riding with him. Which either means he does it later or has study hall. *Well there's only one way to prove that theory... No, no way, I'm not going to...*

Information about Zero was scarce. There were few recorded reports about him. He was the son of a wealthy man named Kye Hancheol who was known for his money and tendencies to sleep around. No one really knew where he came from. Any other information on him was most likely non-existent or government classified and could only be reviewed by higher power. Apparently his mother died from an unknown cause and he's been tossed around in foster care, having been traumatized many times. He's known to have PTSD and is usually stoic and quiet.

Kye Hanbyeol

*Stop. Why are you walking forward? Stop walking forward.* Zero realized he couldn't stop himself at this point. Study Hall was in the library and now he was heading to the library. He needed to get something from there anyway. But wouldn't Jude assume he was following him? Well, not unless Jude didn't see him. Zero was as silent as they came and most didn't tend to notice his presence. He'd be good. He hoped.

Not much was left to find. Just physical information about Zero's appearance and information about his PTSD. He was currently 6'1 but had random growth spurts so he could be surpassing that height soon. He was Korean-Caucasian, wore glasses occasionally when he needed them. Only been to IIYM for fifth year. Things like that. Nothing too important.

Kye Hanbyeol

The library felt cosy, it was designed to feel like that. Zero tended to overlook that fact though, not much had a homey feeling to him. He walked past tables of students doing whatever while he searched for the book he needed for reference for his Heathen History essay, also secretly searching for Jude as well. Either Zero has extremely good luck, or extremely bad luck, because Jude was sitting at a table directly in front of the shelf with the book Zero was looking for.

Kye Hanbyeol

From where he stood, he could see something that looked like... citizen documents. Why would Jude be...? Of course, Jude's suspicious. He searched him up. Zero didn't know what the hell was in the database so he just hoped it didn't reveal anything about his time under the Enchantress. If he could remove that from his past, he would, but what's done is done. He grabbed his book and turned to go check it out when some random kid shoved past him and pushed into the edge of a shelf. His glasses fell, a headache followed, and his vision blurred. *Damn it.*

Kye Hanbyeol

*Jude...?* Well, there goes the plan to not let Jude notice him. Then again, Jude actually seemed concerned about him, even handing him his glasses. He must be faking, the next moment he's probably going to start asking why he's here or something. Zero put his glasses back on and his vision cleared up, but to begin with it hadn't worsened that much. His head still hurt, a lot.

Kye Hanbyeol

Dots swam in vision for a second. He saw Jude but he also saw a shelf topple over like a domino. He squeezed his eyes shut for a couple of seconds and then opened them again, the shelf was back to normal. "Why do I keep seeing things...?" he muttered to himself, partially forgetting Jude was still there.

Kye Hanbyeol

He held the glass of water for a second and then remember drinks weren't allowed in the library. Wait, how did he get a glass of water? Jude, right. Right."Where did you get this...?" he croaked, looking up at Jude.

Kye Hanbyeol

"I..." There was a sudden surge of pain from the headache and he closed his eyes again. "...yeah, I'm fine." He took a sip of water but it did nothing to lessen the pain.

Kye Hanbyeol

While reclaiming his book, his fingers brushed across Jude's hand for a couple of seconds. He could feel the electricity in his finger tips. The right side of his brain was going crazy."...Sorry," he mumbled. "I didn't know you were here. I must've distracted you from something, right?"

Kye Hanbyeol

He stood to follow Jude. He knit his eyebrows in frustration. "Are you sure?" Zero almost asked "What about your laptop?" but that would contradict his earlier statement saying he didn't know Jude was here. Why Jude was so concerned was beyond him. He didn't particularly understand so he just let the other lead him ahead.

Kye Hanbyeol

"Uh... No, not usually. It started happening a couple of days ago so I've been forced to wear my glasses," he explained. The pain was slowly diminishing now but it was still there.

Kye Hanbyeol

He nodded, still holding the glass, full of water, which he didn't even drink halfway. That was a lie to be completely honest, Zero felt like he was going to black out from the pain. "Y-You should get back to..." he moved to put the glass of water down somewhere but stumbled into Jude.

Kye Hanbyeol

"You mean lie down," he corrected in a low murmur, standing straight again. "I already slept for four hours. That the most I've slept so far this week. I doubt I could sleep for even a couple of minutes." He noticed the blush and it honestly took effort for him to not blush himself. He moved past Jude and set the glass down on the kitchen counter, pushing himself up so he could sit on the counter too.

Kye Hanbyeol

A smile poked at the corners of his lips. "Yes, you are... but don't worry, it's cute. People are rarely this obsessive over my sleeping schedule, and if they are, they don't ramble like you. I like it." He realized this was basically the equivalent of shamelessly flirting with Jude, it was kind of fun.

Kye Hanbyeol

He really did smile this time, looking down at the floor, containing chuckles. "Maybe if I had a reason to sleep more, I might," he said softly. "But until I find one, I'm afraid it's three hour naps for me."

Kye Hanbyeol

He looked up to meet Jude's eyes, biting his lip. "...Brooke is going to kill you," he whispered with silent laughter in his tone. "But please do continue."

Kye Hanbyeol

His eyelids flickered close for the brief moment before Jude pulled away suddenly and he opened them again, tilting his head in slight confusion and disappointment. He watched Jude freak out, putting a smile back on his face as he tried his best not to laugh at the other dashing to his room. He closed his eyes again and imagined if the kiss had lasted longer. He hadn't even noticed his headache had disappeared.