Darryl's Pov:

Zak and I are currently just on a regular hangout around the main part of town. We have just been going in and out of small shops, just browsing but never really buying anything. Before, I would've never gone into a store without planning on buying something, but Zak really likes to just explore stores and admire the different items. He always seems to be in some sort of trance where he's in awe of all of the objects, even if he has seen them before. It just amazes me how he always seems to find some sort of wonder into everything that he sees.

What always makes it better is when I catch a glimpse in his eye where it seems like it's sparkling. He always has that look when he finds interest in something that seems new to him. I will never get tired of it. Just seeing him rather relaxed and pleased other than his usual serious and over-confident manner is enough to bring a genuine smile to my face. It brightens my day, and I could care less if I go into multiple stores without planning on buying anything if I get to see that glint in his eye from all the wonder around him. Goodness, I have really fallen for him, haven't I? (Who's gonna tell him?)

Soon, it starts getting quite late, and we also start getting hungry. So we start discussing about where we should go eat. But out of nowhere, Zak says, "Hmm, what if I just cook something at my house for us?"

The question makes me freeze for a moment, making Zak also stop walking so that he doesn't just leave me behind. After a moment of processing what he just said, I ask, "Are you- inviting me over to your house?"

"Um, yeah? Is there something wrong with that?"

"It's just- I never would've thought that you of all people would willingly let me know where your house is. Especially after we found out that..."

I trail off. But I don't have to since Zak widens his eyes slightly, telling me that he didn't fully register that fact. He then sighs and says, "Well- it's not like it matters right now. We know each other's full names. That alone is enough to track someone down and find all their information, including where they live. So, if you were to expose my identity one day, the location of my house would be found either way, regardless of whether or not I told you the location."

"Oh, I guess that's true... But- are you sure? We can still just go eat at a random restaurant if you want. That way, you don't have to bother with cooking."

"Nah, it's fine. It's my treat for today. Come on. Let's go to our cars so that you can follow me home."

I do as he says. Once we get to our cars, he lets me follow him to his house. When we arrive, I'm quite shocked. It's not like I had super high expectations, but I kind of expected for his house to be more... big and extravagant. But it's actually quite simple and small. If you first meet Zak with his confident personality and know that he gets paid well, you would expect him to at least have quite a luxurious house, even if it's not super expensive. You would expect him to enjoy spending his hard earned money on something. But then again, it's not like he wastes much money when we hang out... hell, most of the times we've gone out, he doesn't spend a single penny on any items.

Once I step out of my car, Zak is already unlocking the door to his house. When I'm right next to him, he opens the door. I can't help but comment, "How come your house is so small? Don't you get paid a lot for being a spy?"

Zak freezes to give me an unreadable look. He then shrugs and says, "I'm not married nor have any kids, so there isn't really a need for a bigger house. Though small, it's enough for me. Plus, it's not like I need any luxuries to live. This house gives me enough necessities to live a regular life outside of work. I don't need nor want more than what I'm living with."

Huh, I guess he does make a valid point. In theory, nobody really needs anything fancy or extravagant. But society is just greedy, always wanting more than what they have, never truly appreciating the things that they do have,and believing that they need the latest editions to brands or items or that they need something super modern or fancy when in reality it's just enough to have a simple house with regular furniture and food.

Zak gestures for me to follow him inside, which I do. While doing so, he asks, "Do you have a big house?"

"Oh- no, not really... it's a bit bigger than your house, just a single floor like yours, but it's very modern. I quite like how it looks. But your house is still quite nice."

He mumbles a thank you, locks the front door behind us, and leads me through his small house, taking me to where the dining table is. When your first step into the house, you can immediately see basically the whole house. That's how small it is. To the right of the front door is the living room, and to the left is the 4 seat dining table along with the kitchen. It seems like it's all connected into one big room. Though, there is a kitchen island wall that sort of separates the kitchen from the dining table. But there isn't actually any seats next to it since it seems like the area is just used as some small extra decor from the dining table side, but from the kitchen side there are counters attached to the island wall, for presumably more space to cook or hold kitchen items.

Right in front of the front door, you can see a small hallway that immediately leads to three doors. There is one on the left side, right side, and one right at the end of the hallway. I would presume from those three doors that each separate one contains Zak's bedroom, bathroom, and maybe a storage room or extra bedroom. Who knows? There really isn't too much decoration, so the house is very simple.

If you didn't know how much Zak gets paid, you would think that he has a low salary. But even though the house is quite simple, it's still nice. It has some sort of homey or comforting feeling to it. I honestly see why Zak has no problem living like this. The house has every necessity he could ask for, plus a little simple extra things. I personally wouldn't have a problem living like this either. Interrupting me out of my thoughts, Zak says, "Here, you can sit down while I make food. What do you want to eat?"

He gestures to the dining table. He's already heading off to the kitchen. Before I sit down, I say, "Um, whatever's fine. But- do you want me to help you cook?"

"No. Like I said, it's my treat. So you just sit down and relax. Or if you want to look around the room, then go ahead."

There doesn't really seem to be much to explore. But as I sit down, I do take the freedom to glance around the area. Once I think I have seen enough, I look over at Zak, who is cooking. He has an unrecognizable face as he cooks. I don't know why, but even though he's not trying, Zak still looks so hot to me. Who am I kidding- it's because I love this man. At some point, I notice that Zak slightly bites his lip for a second before immediately stopping. I want to say it's because he's concentrating, but when I saw his face, for some reason, it seemed like he was frustrated or angry. I don't know why, though.

Soon after Zak finished cooking, he placed two plates filled with pasta down on the table, soon followed with drinks. He sits down on the table across me, and we start eating. As we eat, we have a nice chat. While this was all happening, I couldn't help but notice that Zak served himself a smaller amount of the pasta. This is quite peculiar to me because restaurants always give a plentiful amount of food to eat, and Zak always eats his whole plate, which is always filled with food, with no problem. But he  purposely served himself a much smaller amount of food. But then again, maybe he's not that hungry today. I'm probably just overthinking this.

Soon enough, we finish eating. I try to convince Zak to let me help him clean up, but he doesn't budge. After he cleans up, he follows me out of his house since it's getting late now. Before I walk out from his front door, I pause to look at him for a moment. He raises an eyebrow at me in question. I then smile and say, "I enjoyed my time here. We should this more often. Oh, and thank you for the meal. It was delicious. Bye, Zak."

Zak blinks at me for a moment before chuckling and saying, "Maybe you're right. Bye, Darryl."

With a grin on my face, I leave Zak's house and enter my car to make my way to my own house.

(Happy belated New Year's!)