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Madeleine is.. Nervous.
The feeling is largely foreign to him. He’s a Knight Commander, he hardly has anything in life to be nervous about when he’s so widely popular. This, however, has his stomach rolling and hands shaking.
Before leaving his house, he had taken the time to meticulously untangle his hair and puzzle over his outfit for almost an hour. Even now, he anxiously runs his fingers through his hair and straightens his sweater every few minutes as he walks.
Of course, the person making him so nervous is his friend(?), Espresso. More accurately, his date with Espresso.
He’s still reeling that the mage agreed.
See, Madeleine gained interest in Espresso when they were paired for that expedition all those years ago. The feelings didn’t go very far, because the two split up soon after and Madeleine forced himself to move on. The interest returned full-force (and a thousand times stronger) when they met again at this new kingdom.
Espresso had always made his disdain for Madeleine very clear, but the knight refused to give up hope. When Espresso yelled or insulted him, Madeleine only smiled and pretended it didn’t hurt worse than any injury he had ever sustained.
So when Espresso accepted his stilted and awkward attempt to ask him out, he was floored. Elated, but so, so shocked.
Now Madeleine approaches the park they had agreed to meet up at. He doesn’t see Espresso at first, causing his head to spin with anxiety. What if he got here too early? Too late? What if-
His mind clears when he spots the man sitting on a bench hidden in the shade of a rather large tree. Madeleine borderline bounds towards the spot with all the enthusiasm of a puppy.
Espresso looks up when he plops down into the seat next to him, and Madeleine swears the mage smiles the tiniest bit before it’s covered with his usual annoyance. “Finally, I was beginning to think I’d be here until nightfall waiting for you.”
“Ah, I apologize for making you wait so long!” Madeleine laughs, signature grin on full display, though it softens into something more vulnerable when he explains, “I’ve never done this sort of thing before, I wanted to make sure I looked alright.”
The mage studies him for a moment, likely searching for deceit. Madeleine doesn’t usually lower his facade, so it’s expected. When he doesn’t find anything, he also lowers his voice. “Me neither, but I think you look.. acceptable.”
Madeleine doesn’t blush. He doesn’t. He just feels suspiciously warm in the winter chill. That’s it.
“You look good too!” the blond stutters out, pointedly avoiding eye contact. He’s telling the truth, Espresso is wearing a casual outfit that’s more suited to the cold, an outfit largely different from the intimidating suit and cape he usually wears when conducting experiments or teaching.
Madeleine coughs awkwardly to clear his (NOT!!!) red face, and asks, “So, is there anywhere you wanted to go? Not that I wouldn’t enjoy just sitting here with you, of course, I just-”
“I saw a food truck on my way in, if you want to go there?” Espresso interrupts, effectively cutting off Madeleine’s nervous rambling. The knight nods enthusiastically, hastily standing alongside Espresso.
He lets Espresso lead him to the place he saw on the opposite side of the park, and it turns out to be pretty far. That or they’re just walking slowly, Madeleine’s not paying attention.
Sometime between Madeleine’s story about the drawing Snow Sugar gave him while he was babysitting them and Espresso’s story about Almond’s cat almost hitching a ride in his bag, the awkward air melted away and left only a pleasant conversation between two friends(???).
Madeleine notices that every time Espresso is invested in the topic he’s talking about, he uses his hands to emphasize his words. He also learns that he plays the piano, a skill that Madeleine had briefly tried to learn when he was younger. (He was very bad. His fingers are far from thin, and he has a significant lack of coordination.)
The knight finds himself glancing down at Espresso’s hand whenever it stills beside him. He wants so badly to hold it. To intertwine their fingers, to share their warmth. He refrains, because he’s still unsure where they stand and he doesn’t want to accidentally scare him away or make him uncomfortable.
But Espresso isn’t stupid, obviously. He notices Madeleine’s longing yet hesitant glances. He doesn’t do anything about it, though, which only cements Madeleine’s theory about him being uncomfortable.
Eventually, they find themselves waiting in line at the crowded food truck. Madeleine orders first, getting some overly-sugary donut that’ll probably take a few years off his life. To his surprise, Espresso orders the exact same thing.
Neither of them mention it.
They just eat their Heart Attack Donuts in relative silence before walking around the park some more. Madeleine doesn’t think they’re walking anywhere in particular, just wandering this frankly gigantic park.
Espresso notices that Madeleine keeps glancing down at their hands again. Madeleine knows he notices, he just kind of hopes he spares him the embarrassment and doesn’t bring it up.
Espresso doesn’t bring it up, no, he actually links their hands together and continues their conversation like Madeleine isn’t burning a bright red next to him.
When the sun starts to set, Madeleine is incredibly disappointed, because it means they have to split up and go to their respective homes. To get a little more time, he offers to walk Espresso home.
“I, uh, had a lot of fun..” Madeleine blurts when they’re standing on Espresso’s porch.
The mage grabs his keys and unlocks his door, then turns around. “Me too, Maddie. We should do this again sometime.”
The knight nods excitedly. “Sure! I would love to, Es-”
Espresso presses a quick kiss to his cheek and retreats into his house.
Madeleine stands there, stunned, cheeks violently warm.
He’s shocked into silence for the first time in his life.