Complications [Private]

[coldflame]

The next morning started off slow. Slow wasn’t a bad thing, of course. To Kiran, a slow morning meant more time and more time always meant more enjoyment. Well, at least he was enjoying himself.

The marketplace was full today: people under the overhanging awnings looking at what was being sold, vendors calling out their prices, the smell of different foods wafting in the air…Kiran loved all of it. The excitement that hovered in the town stirred him to move around, to explore. If Kiran’s eagerness in a big crowd wasn’t enough, then it was simply fueled even more with Kiku beside him. Or…slightly behind him, for he seemed to unconsciously leave her behind as soon as something caught his attention.

They were apparently running errands this morning. The moment Kiran had awoken and shuffled into the kitchen (his eyes still barely open with sleepiness), Hana asked them to head into the market to pick up some things. Although Kiran wasn’t aware – or awake- to hear all the details that needed to be picked up, he had reluctantly shuffled back to his room to help Kiku.

Of course, he wasn’t being much of a help right now.

He was energized. And he was with Kiku – here, in this town with her. It seemed as if his past emotions – the emotions he had finally let out in the open, along with those worries – were set free and off his chest. He felt freer now, and defiantly more free to be closer to Kiku and to feel that wholeness she had always described to him. But it wasn’t an unfamiliar wholeness. Even though he wasn’t holding her hand now, he could feel her presence behind him, knowing that she was here and she was close by. Simply knowing that Kiku was his – his to love - left Kiran with a sense of knowing that she would always be close to him., even at a distance now.

But distance still seemed like a sensitive thing...

Turning to see Kiku’s face in the distance, Kiran grinned and quickly grabbed the two pastries he bought – each covered in a sugary icing and warm to the touch – and immediately headed back over to Kiku. His smile softened as he got closer to her, though his eyes remained intensely warm.

“Want a pastry?” he offered, holding up one of the sweetened pieces of bread and replying again with a teasingly offering voice, “Its good…!”

[kiku]

As Kiran bounced around and mingled with miscellaneous merchants, Kiku simply watched and smiled at him, sometimes laughing and other times shaking her head. Kiran was such a child sometimes, Kiku thought lightly as she watched him wander away once more. Of course, this wasn’t really a bad thing; in some ironic sort way, it almost made him more mature. His childlike views and dealings were often deep in their profoundness, though his attitude more obviously made things interesting and fun. Of course, that cherubic smile of his was just intoxicating as well.

Though, Kiku was having a little trouble focusing on Kiran’s lightheartedness at the moment. A large bag hung heavily over one shoulder, already full of groceries and soon to be filled with even more. Her grandmother had given her quite a list; though they had been shopping most of the morning, there were still just a few more things to buy, and having Kiran wander off was making everything take much longer. But. She was with Kiran, so that improved her outlook slightly. Even though the marketplace was incredibly busy today and Kiku felt as if she was bumping into someone every moment, not to mention it was quite loud and her shoulder was aching slightly… she wore a smile, just because Kiran was there.

Of course, her smile only broadened as Kiran approached her, two sugary pastries in hand. She laughed softly, shifting to try and rid the weight that plagued her shoulder.

“No thank you,” Kiku murmured, chuckling softly and averting her gaze down for a moment. “Something tells me you’d enjoy my pastry more than I would.”

[coldflame]

“But I bought it just for you,” Kiran replied to her refusal with a heartbreaking, but all the more teasing pout. She was right, though. He definitely wouldn’t mind taking her own pastry, but he simply refused to let her refuse. Well, he most certainly was going to make her eat it, though…she seemed to be having trouble standing upright.

Kiran glanced at the seemingly troublesome bag over her shoulder – and feeling guilty for not helping her sooner – he insisted to help.

“Here…” he said, smiling. He stuck one of the warm pastries in his mouth so as to hold it while he reached over to take the bag off Kiku’s shoulder. It didn’t feel as heavy to him anyways, so he simply threw the bag over his own shoulder and grinned (with the pastry still clung between his bright teeth). However, he wasn’t going to let Kiku go empty handed.

Shaking his head, he handed Kiku the other pastry that remained in his hand, not seeming to care if she wanted it or not. Once his other hand was free, he took a hold of the warm bread that was still in his mouth and ripped it in half with a tug of his hand.

“Just eat it. We didn’t have breakfast this morning anyways,” he said again, chewing contently at the sweet food in his mouth. He took another bite and finished the small pastry quite quickly (though that was no surprise). As soon as he began to turn and head down the narrow street, he instinctively grabbed for Kiku’s hand and pulled her along so as to be closer to her this time; closer and reassured that she was truly there.

[kiku]

Kiku had opened her mouth to debate, but by the time she could think of a sensible argument, Kiran had taken her hand and had begun to walk forward into the chaos once more. Kiku sighed, her feelings mixed. On one hand she was incredibly grateful that Kiran had helped with her bag, but, on the other, she didn’t feel really hungry; then again, Kiran had a point – they hadn’t eaten breakfast – so Kiku accepted that she probably should eat something or at least thank Kiran by giving in.

As the two of them walked along, Kiku brought the soft pastry to eye level, observing it with mild interest. It did look rather tasty and it felt warm against her palm – oh, she might as well. Giving Kiran’s hand a comforting squeeze, Kiku brought her lips to the warm bread, taking a modest bite. She chewed thoughtfully, her cheeks fresh with pink.

“Well, I suppose it is very tasty; thank you.”

With this, Kiku took another bite – slightly bigger this time – chewing and licking her lips slowly, for the thick, white icing was sticky – against her fingers as well as her lips. It was good, just a bit messy, especially since she only had access to one hand.

Kiku laughed slightly, trying to lick the icing off her fingers, only to settle for taking a few more bites. Soon, the entire pastry was gone.

“And thank you for taking my bag too,” Kiku murmured against her sugary fingers. “You shouldn’t have to carry it for too much longer; we just need to stop and grab some fabric that Gram ordered up ahead.” She paused, thinking. “I wonder what she’s making.”

[coldflame]

As Kiran looked to his side again and saw that Kiku was already taking a liking bite into her sweet roll, he could only grin in triumph. He knew she couldn’t resist something sweet and he felt proud that he was actually able to make Kiku eat something; she hardly ate at all, it seemed (though perhaps the contrast to his own appetite made it seem that way).

He replied to her thank you with a chuckling “You’re welcome” and continued to wander until Kiku finished her pastry and spoke up again.

Yes, what was it that Hana was making? Hopefully, it was nothing that Kiku would have to wear, for Kiran knew that if the old healer did make something extraordinary for Kiku, it would surely drive him crazy; not at all in an unpleasant way, of course. Still, Kiran knew that Hana was eccentric (and obviously knew of his and Kiku’s relationship). Something in his mind simply told Kiran that she would do something as perhaps make Kiku a beautiful dress for ‘no apparent reason.’ Kiran shook his head, smirking slightly as he imagined Hana say this.

“Hopefully she’s not making anything extraordinary,” Kiran said, giving Kiku a crooked smile. As soon as he looked back over the sea of passing heads and faces, Kiran could see a sign hanging over a shop door that read, ‘Soo Chin’s Textiles & Fabric Supplies’.

Figuring that this was obviously the place, Kiran patiently waited as several ladies came out of the store, each carrying large rolls of bright green fabric, before walking inside with Kiku. His eyes darted around the modestly sized store, his eyes looking at all the brightly colored fabrics, though most were colored and designed in earthly shades. Shelves upon shelves were against the wall with rolls of fabric along the tops of them. Sample pieces of linen were lined along the walls as well and atop the counter at the front. It wasn’t as crowded in this store like the other one’s had been, but there were still several ladies, both young and old, talking to each other. Store employees – obviously seen as they had cut and torn pieces of fabric thrown over their shoulders in a hurried fashion – were walking around and asking customers if they needed anything. Soon enough, a young man who appeared to also be one of these store employees walked up to Kiku.

“Is there anything I can help you with, Miss Nakahara?” the young, rather stout man asked. He glanced at Kiran once, but made no gesture of hello.

Kiran was a little surprised that the man knew Kiku’s name, but he simply figured that it only made sense. The town was small and Kiku must know many people and a fabric store must be visited often if Hana sewed. So, wanting to let Kiku get what she needed, Kiran released his hold on her hand and casually stood, shifting the bag on his shoulder and waited off to the side.

[kiku]

Kiku smiled a little as she walked into the familiar store. It was rather peaceful; the rows of green and yellow fabric were comforting, the designs pretty. The windows illuminated the fabrics nicely, and Kiku only smiled a little more broadly as she noticed the few other ladies milling around. They too were familiar; some were girls she used to play with as a little girl, and, oh no, some of Hana’s gossiping friends were also along the mix. A few glanced away from their purchases to pass a glance at the two most recent visitors. Kiku squeezed Kiran’s hand. Otherwise she tried to ignore them, but she still knew that Hana and her friends would have a lot to talk about during their next outing…

It was after this observation that she was confronted by another familiar face – Kyung.

“Hello, Kyung,” she replied to his greeting, gracing him with one of her sweeter smiles; Kyung was polite – a generally nice guy. Of course, you had to be a little sensitive if you were working in a fabric store.

Distracted momentarily with this thought, Kiku was a bit surprised to find Kiran’s hand gone then, and she glanced over at him for a moment, wondering what he was up to. Well, he had been easily distracted lately; maybe he wanted to look at something.

“Who is he?”

Kyung’s voice broke her chain of thoughts, and Kiku glanced back to him, smiling a little shyly.

“Oh, that’s Kiran,” Kiku replied, unable to resist passing him another glance. She smiled a bit at him before glancing back to her other friend, who was eyeing Kiran suspiciously now.

“Where is he from?”

“Oh,” Kiku blushed, feeling silly that she didn’t expect this question. She hesitated for a moment. “Well, I’m not sure exactly, but fairly far away. By the coast…”

Kyung narrowed his eyes at Kiran, but quickly averted his gaze back to Kiku. He raised an eyebrow at her then, observing her for a moment as well. Kiku glanced back at him, smiling a bit, shy and a little embarrassed. Kyung relaxed a little, but rubbed his chin in consideration (like his father did, Kiku thought).

“So why is he hanging around here? What is he to you?”

“Now, what happened to ‘how may I help you?’” Kiku asked teasingly, trying to both lighten the mood and change the subject. Kyung seemed to swallow the bait for the most part. He smiled faintly.

“Oh, right. Sorry. What do you need?”

“I’m just here to grab some fabric Gram said she ordered.”

“Ah, that’s right! I remember that now; I was expecting you,” Kyung said with a grin, his eyes flashing a bit. He restrained himself then and bowed politely, a softer smile on his lips as he returned to full height. “I’ll be back with your things shortly, Miss,” he added, his voice flawlessly polite again. He turned then, heading behind the counter, to a small addition in the back of the store.

Kiku smiled shyly again at their little routine. She picked up things like this for Hana quite frequently. Perhaps it was because of this that Kiku wasn’t so suspicious of what her gram was making; Kiku did remember hearing something about one of her cousins giving birth. This was just probably another quilt.

With Kyung gone and her rationalization comfortably in place, Kiku quickly switched her focus to Kiran, actually turning her entire body toward him. She opened her mouth to speak then, but it quickly closed, as it seemed as if the half of the female employees (as well as a few others) in the store were surrounding him. Kiku raised an eyebrow at this, but then chuckled and watched amusedly as she heard them chat about him looking dashing in something they could make for him…

[coldflame]

Kiran had glanced at Kiku often, seeming to sense that she was staring at him. As soon as he could feel her pretty gaze upon him, he turned smiled back at her, and then simply rested against the wall beside the shop’s door once she looked away. However, he hadn’t noticed the young man she was talking to stare at him in such a scrutinizing way, for he already seemed to daze off about the colors of the fabric, his eyes locked coolly upon the rolls of linen in a daydreaming fashion.

However, as soon as he began to daze off, a determined but sweet voice pulled him away. Kiran blinked and looked to the side to see that one of the store employees – a young woman with an almost giddy look in her eyes – had asked him if he needed help finding anything.

“Oh, no thank you,” Kiran replied kindly, smiling in his usual warm way, “…I’m just waiting on someone.”

“Oh, alright…” the woman replied, her smile seeming to fade for a second. However, just before Kiran opened his mouth to say something, another woman had appeared. This woman, Kiran noticed, was clean cut and also young, however her smile was wide and more greeting compared to the other woman’s.

“Are you sure there’s nothing we can offer you? I’m positive that someone as handsome as you could need a nice suit to wear,” the second woman replied with a small giggle at the end of her sentence.

Before Kiran could kindly object, several of the other ladies that he saw wandering in the store now approached him – some of them elderly women. They all seemed to join in.

“Oh! We could measure you! I know I have my measuring tape in here…” one of the elderly women replied, an eager smile on her face as she began to rummage through her purse.

“No, no. I don’t need anything. Really,” Kiran hastily replied, grinning sheepishly at the women that now bantered about him, the young one’s giggling for some reason. “But thank you, anyways.”

The women seemed disappointed, but they all joined in to talk to him further. Despite Kiran’s slight confusion, he simply grinned at the presence of the ladies, especially the young, female store employees who smiled politely and giggled as he introduced himself.

Though as the women continued to talk, Kiran couldn’t help but glance up into Kiku’s direction and grinned widely over at her, giving her a look that seemed to show no sign of annoyance, but rather amusement. As he grinned, one of the elder ladies laughed and sweetly complimented his smile, gently patting his cheek with her wrinkled hand. Kiran didn’t seem to mind at all; he simply continued to smile and glanced down at the old woman, chuckling and replying to her compliment with a modest thank you. Kiran enjoyed the sudden attention and he also enjoyed meeting new people. There was always something fun about having a new experience in a new place. He figured that talking to a few ladies was more interesting than silently standing around, anyways; there was always a choice between the two, so Kiran simply chose the more exciting one.

It was only until one of the ladies finished talking to him about how she was making a dress for her daughter (and even teasingly commenting on how Kiran should take her on a date) that he chuckled and replied, “Sorry, ma’am. I’m spoken for.”

As some of the ladies made a teasing “tsk” or an “aw” in disappointment, Kiran glanced back up at Kiku again, wondering if she was ready to leave. Though he was having an interesting and exciting time being surrounded by women, Kiran also wished to be alone with Kiku again; his time with her was precious and he didn’t want to leave a moment of it behind.

[kiku]

Kiku laughed softly as she listened to the conversation that the ladies were having with (or about) Kiran. Watching all the girls coo over him was also quite entertaining, and she was glad to see that Kiran seemed to be having a good time too. Of course, how could a man not have a good time while surrounded by pretty girls like Lani and Jian?

Strangely, she wasn’t jealous at the moment; perhaps it was because of Kiran’s smile, that amused look in his eyes that seemed to say it was funny how they flirted because he already had someone… Kiku sighed a little at this, her smile softening. She met his glance, and seemed to sense what he was thinking and agree: this was fun, but it would be nice to hold his hand again, to be alone with him. Kiku felt as if they had so much to do before their time together was up, even though Kiku wasn’t sure how much time they had. She smiled, imagining it was long…

“I’m back!” Kyung huffed, eyes bright, as he appeared with a pile of neatly-folded fabrics. It took a moment for Kiku to snap out of her daze and look away from Kiran, but when she looked toward Kyung, he was looking where she had been, his eyes significantly duller. However, Kiku was distracted, looking over what her grandmother had ordered. Her eyes widened a little as she observed the intricate designs and patterns of the few soft fabrics; they were a little elegant for a baby gift, Kiku was depressed to see. Why would Hana have her pick them up though? Usually, Gram liked to surprise… or perhaps she simply had developed a sick sense of humor. Kiku shook her head.

“… Something wrong?” Kyung asked, his attention toward her again. He shifted the fabric in his arms as Kiku glanced up to him.

“Oh. No,” Kiku sighed, sounding the complete opposite of convincing. She chuckled a little as she realized this. “It’s just… well. You know my gram.”

“Riiiight.” Kyung nodded before beaming at her and offering the pile. “Can’t wait to see you in the dress, Kiku!”

“You won’t,” Kiku replied swiftly, taking the rolls into her arms. She glanced at them more closely now; they were certainly something one would find on a beautiful dress… Kiku sighed. “This is going to be horrible.”

Kyung rested a hand on her arm.

“Aw, it’ll be great,” He said with a large grin. Kiku shook her head exasperatedly.

“I better go.”

“Come back soon,” Kyung said, removing his hand and using it to conjure a little wave.

“Oh, you’ll see me – when I return all this…”

After Kyung chuckled, and they exchanged polite goodbyes, Kiku strode over to where Kiran and his admirers were, smiling a bit shyly as she protruded through the crowd. She glanced down cutely, trying to avoid the eyes of the older ladies, mostly. She really didn’t want them gossiping to her gram, though it was hopeless, really. However, Kiku felt it was rude to not acknowledge her peers at least.

“Hello, Lani. Jian,” Kiku murmured in a soft, but polite way, smiling a little and nodding to both of them separately. Swiftly she shifted her attention to Kiran, her smile still a little shy.

“Sorry to interrupt, but… I’m ready to go if you are.”

[coldflame]

“So, who is this girl of yours, Kiran?” Lani asked, her voice tinted with much curiosity. Jian nodded in agreement, but before Kiran could utter a word, Kiku had shyly slid into the group of girls. He smiled at her, happy to see that she was back with the material she needed, however he glanced at the girls who now seemed slightly…puzzled.

“This is her,” Kiran causally replied, smiling back at Kiku as he situated the bag over his shoulder, and then naturally took her hand again. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Kiran appeared to not pay much attention to the surprised looks plastered on Lani and Jian’s face, nor the slight eyebrow raises of the elderly women; instead he bade them goodbye quite casually and pulled Kiku towards the door to leave. Kiran himself seemed invisibly puzzled; why did they seem so surprised? Well…perhaps it was because of their contrast – Kiran knew he was outgoing and laid-back while Kiku, however, was shy and known to be the quiet girl in town. Yes, he supposed he could see that as the reason why the ladies would be taken aback. It was true that she and Kiran were different (different in more ways than most knew), but they clicked. That’s all that seemed to matter.

As Kiran and Kiku walked off, Lani and Jian both replied in unison, momentarily blinking out of their bewildered gazes. “Bye, Kiran…!” their voices rang out.

Kiran looked back and grinned warmly, but he had already turned and stepped out the shop’s door with Kiku. Oh, he was sure there was going to be talk around Zhy now; he knew how it was. If there was something to talk about, then people were surely going to start talking about Kiku. But Kiran felt relieved – they didn’t really know who he was; they didn’t know where he was from, specifically. Small towns like this one weren’t open to new ideas, and especially not about ideas of an innocent girl like Kiku breaking her modesty (and loyalty) by dating a man from the Fire Nation. It would definitely cause a stir.

He shook these thoughts away. He didn’t want to think about those sorts of complications right now.

[kiku]

Kiku felt completely silly with embarrassment as she was introduced as Kiran’s girlfriend, and it didn’t help that Lani and Jian were staring at the two of them like that. She was hardly used to having Kiran as hers; their shock wasn’t exactly helping her confidence level. Yes, she understood their puzzlement. Kiran and she were quite different – one outgoing, exceedingly handsome, and a bit mysterious, the other shy, plain, and rather unremarkable… It was probably quite hard for others (especially confident, outgoing girls like Lani and Jian) to understand… but did they have to make their bafflement so obvious?

It only made Kiku blush faintly as Kiran took her hand, though she gripped it tightly, glad for his reassurance. At least one of them could act dignified. Not that she wasn’t immensely glad for his closeness and to have him - it just make her feel so vulnerable to be under the unforgiving gaze of other girls who were no doubt thinking, “Why her?”

As Kiran led her out of the store, Kiku sighed in immense relief, squeezing Kiran’s hand gently. She shifted the fabric in her other arm, eager to be home and with Kiran, away from the business and gossip of the marketplace. With this thought, she naturally glanced to Kiran who was at her side, smiling as she admired his handsome profile. She felt slightly giddy to remember the night before, remember that he loved her… The memory almost made her shiver.

These thoughts only made Kiku more eager to reach the garden, so she quickened her pace a little until they were out of the noisy marketplace and walking on the path that led to her house. With all the distractions fading away, Kiku squeezed Kiran’s hand once more, admiring the strength of his fingers.

“So,” she began, her voice soft, almost a murmur. “What would you like to do next?”

[coldflame]

Kiran was a little surprised to be pulled out of the marketplace so quickly; Kiku seemed eager to get out of the crowd and it almost made Kiran pout in disappointment, for he still would have liked to roam around some more. Then again, he could understand Kiku’s anxiousness to get away from the prying eyes of the previous ladies – he almost felt a little guilty for it.

So, he didn’t disagree with her. Kiran twisted and turned his way out of the crowd with Kiku and she soon lead him back on the path leading to her home. He sped up his pace so as to be next to her now, and glanced down at her face, wondering what she was thinking. But it didn’t take long to figure it out – he felt the same way at the moment: she just wanted to be alone with him. The judging eyes of the town no doubt only increased that wanting.

He squeezed her hand back comfortingly.

“Well, let’s drop off this stuff first…” Kiran replied, shifting the bag on his shoulder again, “…And I’m willing to do anything but errands.”

He grinned at this. Truthfully, the first thing that flew through his mind was a vision of Kiku with her arms wrapped around him, speaking softly as they sat in the garden…but he knew that was just a daydream. And besides, he knew Kiku must not be thinking anything like that perhaps. He simply was just out of ideas on what to do, really. If anything, Kiku should know what possibilities there could be on what to do, since she lived in this area. But truthfully…Kiran didn’t care if they ended up doing nothing at all, not even talking if they wanted to – just as long as they were together.

[kiku]

Kiku chuckled gently at Kiran’s reply before nodding once in agreement. While she did these kinds of things for her grandmother all the time, she was glad to be back at home again, where things were peaceful and Kiran’s hand was warm around hers. With this thought, Kiku smiled a little more, glancing at Kiran for a moment before looking toward the swiftly approaching garden, wondering what they could do after stopping at the house.

The sun was warm against her cheek, and for a moment Kiku glanced toward the sun that hung high over the garden, which was flourishing nicely at the moment. Even from a short distance away, Kiku could see how green all the leaves were, as were the slender vines that crawled up the slick gate. The small blossoms were bright and colorful, the few round fruits evident in the garden sweet and ripe… Kiku smiled a bit more in satisfaction.

“It’s such a beautiful day,” Kiku murmured, glancing down as she grasped the handle that opened the garden’s gate. As she stepped inside, she glanced back at Kiran while shifting the rolls of fabric in her arms, for she kept a hold of Kiran’s hand, using the other to trigger the handle. “I think we should stay outside today.”

Kiku smiled back at Kiran as she continued to walk through the path that led to the back porch. Of course, first they did have to drop all these groceries off, so soon Kiku was walking into the kitchen, where she slowly released Kiran’s hand as she maneuvered the rolls of fabric so she could gently place them on the countertop. Once that was completed, she rested her hands against the edge of the counter and leaned back, smiling at Kiran once more, feeling much relaxed already.

She tilted her head at him cutely.

“We could go out into the garden and just talk, if you’d like.”

[coldflame]

Kiran had followed Kiku into the house with a sense of familiarity. As she suggested, they would be doing exactly as they had done before; usually something relaxing, like talking outside in the garden. Kiran knew Kiku would want to be outside on a nice day like this, so it was no surprise to him. Though, perhaps Kiran could throw some questions at Kiku while they were outside. There were, of course, many things he desired to know about her – many, seemingly pointless, yet thought-through questions that he wanted to ask. He couldn’t believe how surprising it was that he still knew so little about her; but, he only figured that being close to her and being with her was the only way to understand her as well. He wanted to know and to understand. Then again, the fun part in all of this was figuring her out – understanding her as time went on. Surprisingly, he didn’t feel rushed at all this time. He felt that he had all the time in the world to be with Kiku.

It was for his own enjoyment that his curiosity should be filled in such a way, so there was no objection to going outside.

“Sounds fine to me,” Kiran replied with a satisfied smile. He walked over to where Kiku was leaning against the kitchen counter and heaved off the bag that still hung over his shoulder with ease. He placed the bag, which was now filled with every needed errand supply for the day, atop the counter. After he did so, he stole a quick kiss against Kiku’s cheek; however his eyes looked down over her shoulder to see the fabric she had picked up earlier.

“Uh, oh…” Kiran said, though he grinned and chuckled slightly, “…Looks like Hana might be making you something after all.”

After giving it a second thought, Kiran figured that seeing Kiku in a beautiful dress would be thrilling; though, not like he didn’t think so before, but Kiran still had the suspicion that Hana was simply scheming something. He was almost excited by the thought now, but Kiran still knew that the old healer would be the kind of person to jump from one exaggerated thing to another…

[kiku]

Once Kiran’s lips brushed her cheek, Kiku’s heart leapt in both surprise and delight. Even this simple gesture from him was nearly breathtaking, for it was still so new, yet still so lovely. It had been only yesterday that they had even ventured to those grounds, and yet Kiku found herself craving his touch even more today, now that she knew how they truly felt about each other. She wasn’t used to this kind of attention at all, but that wasn’t completely a negative thing; in fact, Kiku found herself wishing to never be used to it. Some things she loved about Kiran were his surprises, his childlike antics, and sweet, casual gestures. Any touch from him had never been awkward; he was so natural, and he made everything, including their blossoming relationship, seem so effortless…

Smile still soft, Kiku continued to listen to Kiran while leaning gently against the counter, though she blushed a little at his observation. She too managed a soft chuckle, though it was more in exasperation than amusement.

“Yeah, I know,” Kiku murmured, glancing down and shaking her head. “I don’t know what Gram’s thinking though. It’s not like I have a ton of places to wear this.”

Kiku wrinkled her nose a little at this, and tilted her head back a bit so she could glance at the fabrics. They all seemed so pretty and elegant… but, truly, there was no special occasion coming up that she could remember. What was her Gram thinking?

She laughed softly again.

“I would take it back,” Kiku mused then, looking thoughtful before a sweet, teasing smile curled up into her soft, pale lips and her sparkling eyes met his again. “but I’m afraid I’d never get you out of the store.

“You’re quite popular among the women.” She added, eyes flashing almost mischievously.

[coldflame]

Kiran glanced back at Kiku and chuckled deeply at that slightly mischievous look in her eyes. He knew she was going to comment on that sooner or later.

“I enjoy it,” he unashamedly replied, grinning with an almost satisfied look in his eyes. Despite the fact that he did enjoy the attention sometimes, he knew that he wasn’t going to kid himself; the young women that he talked to earlier were attractive, but he couldn’t see anything very interesting beyond their looks. It sounded cruel, but behind their much applied make-up and constant giggles, he saw little in what they were truly like. Nonetheless, they were sweet girls.

Ever since he met Kiku, she had always offered a challenge to him – she was shy at first and reserved in her true emotions, but he could see right away that there had to be more. And he was right, of course. Now, looking at her, he saw so much more…yet still knew so little. Oh, well; Kiran enjoyed a challenge. And he knew that he enjoyed her intelligent and calm conversations more than the giddy ones he received earlier from the other ladies.

He listened to his own thoughts for a moment, smiling down at Kiku and realized he sounded shallow in some way, but he simply knew that there was no comparison to the woman standing in front of him now. How hopeless he was…

He grinned mischievously back at Kiku, now knowing why she brought the subject up. He had the feeling that it wasn’t because she wanted to tease, but rather because she knew that those ladies didn’t stand a chance. Kiran knew she enjoyed that thought – he could see it in her eyes. And she enjoyed just as much as he did.

“But it’s all in vain, of course…” he said, stepping closer to Kiku and wrapping his arms around her waist as she remained leaning against the counter. He liked teasing her this way, and yet, it was all completely true – the ladies’ efforts were in vain and so were his.