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“Go out with me today.” You looked up from the book you were reading, meeting Muriel’s gaze.
“Huh?” You responded. Muriel huffed slightly.
“I’d like you to go out with me today…” Muriel’s eyes darted elsewhere, and you could see a blush rise to his cheeks. “There’s a nice spot… Asra warded it off for me a long time ago… I’d like to take you there…” Muriel’s face progressively got more red as he spoke. Was… Was he asking you out on a date?
Muriel noticed it was taking you a bit to respond, and he backpedaled a bit. “If… If you’re not interested in going, we don’t have too…”
“No no! I’d love to!” You got to your feet, hugging Muriel. He stiffened in surprise, before slowly resting his hands on your back. “I just- I wasn’t expecting that.” Muriel glanced away at that.
“I just…” Muriel sighed. “I think you’d like it…”
“I’d like most anywhere, so long as you were there too.” You smiled playfully. Muriel sputtered slightly, before huffing, and trying to hide his face behind his hand. Poor Muriel, you were always teasing him. This man practically had a permanent blush at this point.
“Get ready…” He said, pulling himself away. “I… I already packed some food…” So… Muriel was taking you on a picnic. You never thought this would happen.
You put on your shoes and pulled on your cloak, before noticing Inanna laying in front of the fireplace, then turning to Muriel. “Are we bringing Inanna?” You asked.
“We can…” Muriel’s eyes glanced off. “But… I thought we could just go… I already talked to her about it...” Oh . This was unexpected.
“Oh, okay.” You weren’t going to turn down alone time with Muriel. He grabbed the packed basket, then pushed the door open, waiting for you to walk out first. You smiled and quietly thanked him, walking out of the hut, hearing Muriel close the door behind you. You wrapped an arm around one of his, smiling up at him. “Lead the way!” Muriel blushed, but gave a nod, and you began walking arm-in-arm to your destination.
It took a while, but the scenery as you went was worth it. It was sunny day, light shined through the trees beautifully, covering the path you walked in a soft light. You smiled, pointing out little things you noticed along the way. “Oh Muri, look at that!” You beamed, only breaking away from Muriel to kneel beside a small bush. There was a large blue dragonfly perched on one of the leaves, its wings seemingly vibrating softly. Muriel took a few steps closer to stand behind you, giving a brief hum of acknowledgement.
You stopped many more times along the way. You found an oddly colored newt, though Muriel advised not to touch it, as he thought it to be poisonous. Though, he did allow you to pick up the toad, which you insisted he hold as well. He didn’t seem to mind, even opting to give it a gentle stroke along its back with his index finger, before letting it go. The entire way, you were smiling ear to ear, and even Muriel seemed to have a pretty constant look of enjoyment on his face, along with an open, relaxed posture.
Eventually, you broke through the trees, into a small clearing. It was late spring, so the flowers were in bloom, littering the ground in daisies and dandelions. You smiled, squeezing Muriel’s arm a bit tighter, smiling up at him. “It’s really pretty here.” You gushed. Muriel hummed, gently pulling his arm away.
“I’ll put down the blanket… Walk around a bit, this area is safe.” Muriel encouraged, and you gave a quick nod, before you tread around the area, staying within Muriel’s sight.
You walked along the brush, scanning for any flowers, getting an idea. There were many flowers, but you were looking for something specific… “Ah-hah!” You exclaimed, finding a nice batch of jasmine vines. You leaned down, examining them, before pulling you the small knife you kept in your pocket at all times.
You began cutting the stems, getting a nice amount, before carefully draping them over one of your arm, and continued on.
You made a semi-circle around the clearing, picking any interesting flowers you saw along the way, until you looped back to Muriel. He had laid out a big fur blanket, and was sat on it, seemingly waiting for you. You smiled, and set the flowers down beside the blanket, before you sat with him. “Sorry to keep you waiting!” You apologized. Muriel shook his head.
“I want you to enjoy yourself.” He murmured, beginning to take things out of the basket, setting them down in front of you both. There were two loaves of bread, a large block of cheese, and some assorted berries. You smiled, taking one of the loaves, giving a nod of thanks to Muriel.
You hurried through your lunch, finishing off your loaf of bread, and eating a handful of berries, before getting to work on the flowers. Muriel ate slowly, savoring his food as he watched you intently. You laid out the jasmine vines, weaving them together in what was almost like a braid. You braided the ends together, connecting them into a circle. You then weaved some of the brightly colored flowers you got along the way into the wreath, mostly picking the darker blues. It was coming together nicely, and you offered a side glance at Muriel, who was still watching you.
You carefully picked up the wreath, and stood, placing it gently atop Muriel.s head. “Ta-da~” You exclaimed, sitting back down in front of Muriel. He have you a look of confusion, attempting to glance up at the wreath placed atop his head. “It’s a flower crown! Asra taught me how to make them.” You smiled wide. “Do you like it?” you asked. Muriel took a second, but then a smile graced his lips.
“It’s… Quite nice, I think.” Muriel affirmed.
“Aw, good!” You admired the way he looked with the little wreath on him. “It’s pretty cute on you, if I do say so myself.”
Muriel choked at the compliment, face turning a deep shade of red. While this was certainly not the first time you teased Muriel, it seemed no matter how many times you did it, it’d illicit some reaction from him. Muriel quickly looked away from you, instead focusing on finishing his meal.
Once he did, you offered him some of the flowers. “Do you wanna try?” you offered. Muriel met your eyes, the remains of his blush still painted on his face. He nodded, taking the jasmine from your hands.
He set it in his lap, looking to you for guidance. You smiled, and put your hands near his, beginning to separate the long vines into three groups. “Now, you want to weave them together like this-” You spoke as you demonstrated, carefully beginning to braid the three sections together. “See? Now you try.” You removed your hands, as they were replaced by Muriel’s
His hands were much larger- and that seemed to cause a slight struggle at first, but he soon got the hang of it. You studied his face, observing how his eyebrows knit in concentration, how his lips twitched when he messed up, and how his expression softened when he was doing well. You slowly placed a hand on one of his arm, causing him to glance at you quizzically. You gave him a smile, nodding toward the forming wreath in his hands. His attention turned back to the project at hand, trying to properly knot the ends together.
With a bit of help the main wreath was complete. “Now,” You leaned over, picking up the individual flowers you picked. “You can use the rest of these to decorate it.”
Muriel looked over his options carefully, and picked out a few flowers of blue and purple hues, though they were mostly the lighter ones. He carefully weaved them into the crown, before picking it up, turning it every which way until he was seemingly satisfied. “It’s beautiful,” you admired. “You have a knack for it already.” Muriel seemed to smile at the praise, another soft blush creeping onto his cheeks.
He carefully held the crown above your head. You bowed slightly, as he placed it on your hair. His hands slowly came down the sides of your face, through your hair. You tilted your face up to look at him. He droned, pressing his fingers to the side of your head, trying to urge you to tilt it wordlessly. You did, showing him the left, then the right, before he was satisfied enough to pull his hands back. “So… How do I look?” you questioned. Muriel’s already existent grin widened into an actual smile.
“You look…” Muriel seemed to be searching himself for the right word. “...Cute.” He settled on. You giggled, shifting, putting yourself in Muriel’s now, free lap. You wrapped your arms up and around his neck, pulling him into a gentle kiss.
“Thank you, for bringing me here today… And, calling me cute.” You specified. Muriel brought a hand up to the side of your face, stroking your cheek with his thumb, before leaning in and kissing you again as response.
You spent a few more hours together in the field, before the sun began to set. As the sky turned a soft shade of orange, Muriel knew it was time to pack up and leave. “I’ll bring you back here, sometimes. Inanna can come along too.” He reassured, tucking the basket under his arm, and extending the other to you. You smiled, taking it.
“I’d really like that.”