Chapter Text
The human reemergence was one of the last things Reth had expected to witness this spring. The first time it was a novelty and he ashamedly had to admit he’d been staring. He had played his part in greeting the newcomer nonetheless and soon more of them appeared. In a span of two weeks he had already prepared a dozen of greeting baskets and rewritten recipes for them. Eshe's idea, of course. She couldn't stand the thought of appearing inhospitable and decided to make it everyone else's problem. He had quickly learned to accept this new task. Ashura would graciously let him go earlier whenever he needed to make the delivery and didn't expect for him to come back, so it added a precious hour to his already busy days. Sometimes Reth’d even managed to combine it with cartel business. Meeting all the new people was also the good aspect of being a part of the greeting party Eshe’d assembled. They were friendly and fun to chat with, but mostly confused, none had really remembered their life before the coma. Reth couldn't decide if he pitied or envied them more. Oh to wake up with a clean record…
The hill was steep around this part of Kilima. It took a few minutes of effort to climb up the road, reinforced with wooden logs. The road up the stairs floated gently into a plateau, overgrown with pine trees and thorny shrubs, all covered in fresh bright green leaves. Path meandered further towards abandoned plots, disappearing from sight. People who have woken up at the beginning of the week were lucky, he thought, passing by already taken houses, most of them in need of slight renovation but otherwise habitable.
And then the road became narrow and more rocky, plots overgrown, houses - if any - without roofs, crumbling and bearing signs of years of neglect. He knew the newest human settled down on the last plot, right by the tiny lake. But when he arrived, he saw nothing but a ruined wooden house with hollow emptiness where the door and windows should be.
No human in sight.
But something cracked in the shrub to the left.
Reth squinted.
“Helloooooo?” He called out, unsure.
A wave shook the foliage and a startled bird broke out from the thorny thicket with a chirp. Reth followed the sound behind the ruined house only to find a small fireplace and a tent placed near it. A dark shape in the shrubs that he first mistook for a tousled fur was in fact the human’s head.
Reth cleared his throat and the human straightened her back, emerging from behind a bush.
She threw back a thick veil of her hair, puffing out the air - in vain, her waves seemed to have a consciousness of its own, the way it’d fallen back forward. Her cheeks, reddened from the effort, were a bit freckled, as if someone had sprinkled her with one careless wave of a paintbrush. The surprise on her face quickly changed into a broad smile that lightened up the green eyes.
“Hi!”
“‘Sup! Thought you might be a bear.” He joked, eyeing the mess of her hair.
Her eyes narrowed.
“Said the squirrel.”
Reth laughed out loud, surprised. Oh so she's a quickmouth type. Alright. For a moment he was worried he’d seriously offended her with that joke but when she laughed with him, he was sure things would be alright.
“I’m Keira,” she struggled through the bush, carrying a bunch of dry sticks under her arm and twisted her hair on the nape of her neck, trying to keep it off her face again.
She dropped the firewood on the ground, wiped her hands on the trousers and reached out to him. Her hand was warm and scratched a bit.
“Reth. It's short for “trouble” around these parts.”
She was clearly amused with that introduction.
“Nice to meet you, Reth. I’d offer you a cup of tea, but as you can see, I forgot my kettle at the ancient human ruins.”
She gestured to the small tent that was set up next to a fireplace and ran her fingers through her hair, pulling it back again.
“You're not staying at the inn?”
“The nights are warm, I figured I can sleep outside for a while.”
He regarded the ruined house and the tent critically. Instead of gifting the newcomers overgrown plots and baskets of fruit Eshe could have been giving them an actual shelter but he guessed that exceeded the hospitality she was putting up on display.
“About that tea. Brought you some stuff.” He passed the heavy basket to Keira. “I’m the cook around here, you see… there's some fruit and veggies, I seasoned some meat for you so that you can grill it on fire, there's a jar of soup - I hope you like mushrooms - and some apple jam. Anyway, if you run out I can get you some more. We wouldn't want you to starve out there.”
“Thanks… um.” Keira looked under the cloth checking the contents of the basket. “Is it poisoned?”
“What?”
“Seems like the opposite of trouble so far, where's the catch?”
Reth chuckled. She placed the basket on the ground and pulled out a slice of sweet loaf, sniffing it suspiciously.
“The trouble is, to begin with, that I shouldn't be cooking–”
“Oh, you definitely should be!” She cut in, speaking with her mouth full of a generous bite of the loaf.
“Thanks. The thing is it's not my path and we can't just change paths without a good reason.”
“What's your path?”
“I should be a carpenter.”
“Cool! Can you help me make the door?”
“Only if you want every nail bent. My sister - Tish - will help you with that. She's been practically glowing since the humans started showing around. She can talk about tables for hours.”
“Why would you pick something you suck at as your forever job?”
Reth snorted.
“I have a rebellious attitude,” he winked.
“So those paths… you choose one for a lifetime? And you can't branch out? What happens if you do? What happens if a furniture maker becomes a cook?”
“He cooks and gets a backlash for not making furniture.”
Reth shrugged and watched her wolf down the cake. There was something heartwarming in the way she stuffed herself with it, like it was a real delicacy instead of plain sweet yeast dough.
“Oh, someone has a sweet tooth,” he teased.
“If that,” she raised the last bite of the loaf on their eye level, “isn't a good reason for a path change, then I don't know what is.”
The final piece disappeared in her mouth and she smiled contently.
A gust of wind from the valley hit them and her hair covered her face again. Reth couldn't suppress the laughter. He reached in his pocket, finding a spare hair tie.
“Here, I think you could use that.”
She mumbled her thanks and took a moment to braid her hair, struggling with a lot of knots.
“If you need help around here, let me know,” he fired before thinking it through and immediately regretted it. Like you had time for that. Of course he didn't have the time and moreover he didn't know why he stupidly offered. He hadn't done that to anyone else of the humans, so why now, out of all the things he could have said, he chose that? He just wanted to be nice.
There are ways of being nice without offering what you can't provide.
Words had this silly quality that when spoken out loud, couldn't be taken back. It made her smile, though.
“I’ll take you up on that.”
Reth smiled back.
Fuck.
He needed to think of a valid excuse. Even if she was really cute.
“Anyyyywaaaaay,” he dragged, looking at the sun, “I’ll be on my way, still have some deliveries to do. Chef’s work never ends.” He winked and felt a little proud of himself when he noticed she blushed slightly in response.
Or maybe it was just the light.
“At least tell me where to find you, to give you back the tie.”
“Keep it! Treat it as a welcome gift… a very shitty, easy to lose gift.” Reth rubbed his chin. “Actually don’t treat it as a gift, I can do better. But don’t return it. But if you want to find me anyway I’m at the Ormuu’s Horn Inn, easy to find, just go down the road, can't miss it, really.”
“I will.”
Reth couldn't explain why this assurance made him happy, but it felt nice to think he would get to see her again. He really needed to go now.
“Bye, Sweet-tooth!”
“See you, Trouble!”
Reth stuffed hands in his pockets and smiled, walking away. Oh, she's cute, he thought. When he turned around to throw her one last glance he saw her watching.
Keira watched him walk away, nipping at the end of her braid. Oh, he's cute , she thought, before returning to the fire.
***
Keira never expected to find herself in a place like this. But who has, to be completely fair? Waking up in the world she didn't belong to, trying to find her place in the society so similar and yet so different to what she knew.
The people have proven to be extraordinarily friendly and welcoming and to her surprise she warmed up to them very quickly. Well, maybe except for Hassian, the guy seemed to be mad at her for the sole fact she existed.
And there was also the amnesia - she had no idea who she was. It was a weird feeling, in the back of her mind she felt like she should be missing something, missing her actual self, but truth was, whoever Keira had been, was no longer her concern. Maybe there was a way to bring her back but then again what if she didn't like the old self? Oftentimes she would look at her hands handling tools, pause and stretch her fingers, observing the way they moved and wondering what these hands were doing before the coma. They were soft hands, probably used to a lighter work than swinging an axe or nailing the boards. She did notice a few small scars across them. Would she know she has found her old occupation if she started doing it? Would her hands know?
What bugged her the most was this feeling of emptiness: she knew nothing about her hobbies or skills, she had no idea what she liked until she tried it and the world offered such an abundance of things to try. It felt like taking notes on an unknown species, except she was the species. Enjoys the taste of fish. Hates grapefruit. Turquoise is a nice color. The smell of flowering fruit trees is kind of suffocating. It went on. The list was growing.
There weren't many worries in her life at this time, she’d got a place to live, even if it needed a lot of work. She had all the time in the world to try and get to know herself and everyone else simultaneously. Well, she didn't have much money, but as it turned out, selling whatever she had foraged was enough to secure her a nice warm meal in the Inn and buy the necessities.
Keira didn't need to rush, it was spring, and the autumn was then only but a distant prospect. But she knew she needed to stuff all the holes and change all the windows in her house before the first cold days would come. So she worked everyday to the last drop of sweat.
She started spending the evenings in the Inn, drained after busy days of physical work, grateful she didn't have to cook dinner by herself.
Somehow she found the cook's company also very pleasant.
The Inn was open since early morning hours but a big hall built on a solid foundation of wooden bales and pillars, filled to the brim only in the evenings. When the golden dusk sunshine poured through the open balcony, sharpening the shadows and coloring the interior in warm tones, the Inn seemed to be the coziest place around. It was no surprise everyone flocked there.
She noticed a few things then. That Reth almost always looked tired around the eyes and he was more than often dozing off when nobody was paying attention to him, cheek resting on a fist. That the kitchen sometimes smelled vaguely burnt. That when Ashura wasn’t behind his counter, Reth also wasn’t but she's once seen him roll out of the backroom yawning and barely conscious. That he had sparkling pale blue eyes and that he wrinkled his nose a little when he laughed. That his hands and forearms were sinewy and long and made her wonder how heavy pots with soup were. That he loved to chat a lot and–
“Lost in thought today, eh?” Reth leaned on the bar in front of her and she blinked, surprised. She hadn't noticed when he had stopped talking with other patrons.
“I… umm…” Caught red handed on thinking about him she couldn't come up with any good retort. Reth laughed.
“It’s ok, won’t give you a penny for your thoughts anyway, ‘cause I’m broke. Can I get you anything? A drink? Some soup? Today's specialty - sernuk noodles? A tiny pink heart shaped cake?”
“A what?” Keria felt her cheeks start to burn.
“You know, a cake? Like this,” he placed his hands on the counter and made a little heart shape with his fingers, “With strawberry frosting, so it would be pink?”
Keira wasn’t quite mentally prepared for seeing him make heart shapes at her, whatever the context. It felt as if her tongue got tied in a knot.
“Just a drink,” she mumbled.
“Experiment number 56! Just kidding, I wasn't counting. What do you feel like trying today?” He rubbed his chin, looking up at the ceiling.” “I know! I think I’ve never made you a matcha latte. How about that, hmm?”
“Will do. Are you gonna drink with me?”
“Nah, I’m at work I can't. Besides, I don’t want to spoil a good drink with my mediocre company.”
“I like your company.”
“Oh? So sure of liking that ?”
“No.” Keira smiled devilishly. “I need more tests.”
Reth only shook his head, still smiling.
“A sad day when you come to a conclusion you don’t have yet to come, phew!”
Keira tilted her head, squinting.
“It can’t be that bad.”
“Ask around. Haven’t they warned you about my bad, bad influence? Nobody told you yet to stay away from me?” He chuckled.
She also leaned forward on the bar, closing the space that was between them.
“Not really, but Kenyatta was dying to find out what you do at nights, she even tried to bribe me.”
Reth snorted.
“Oh of course she's nosy, that's her middle name. But she's not finding out, even through you.” He winked and purred the next words with a low voice. “I’m told girls love my whiff of mystery.”
The suave tone, the smug expression… he was so close Keira could count the freckles on his nose. Well, it was hard to disagree with that bold statement when his presence was actually doing something to her.
“It's not the mystery, it's just you,” she said, grinning.
Reth laughed but his cheeks reddened a bit.
“Yeah, I’m sure. Now, stop making fun of me.”
She bit her tongue, denying it was a joke would be a little too far.
“But if you really meant it when you said my company doesn't bug you, keep coming and maybe one day I’ll tell you my secret.”
“Why? What are you hiding? A dead body in the basement?”
The joke didn’t land as she expected it to, because Reth kept smiling but the playful spark disappeared from his eyes.
“Something like that… Uh, anyway, I’d better check on that soup!” And he slowly backed away from the bar, disappearing behind a curtain.
No more jokes about bodies in the basement. But what was this guy's deal? What made him so sure she would come to hate him? They hit it off on a friendly note, she couldn't possibly imagine what his dark secret could be.
Probably exaggerating , she thought to herself and realized she hadn't gotten the drink.
***
It was a cold rainy day in Kilima and Keira, giving in to her new habit, trotted across the main square under the safety of the Inn roof. She started visiting the place not only in the evenings, but also during the day, especially in the morning, before heading out to gather more supplies.
Just saying hi, she explained to her own consciousness when it kept asking her for the purpose of the often Inn visits.
Water poured off her green coat when she threw back the big hood that kept her from getting soaked but still, her knees were wet and she wanted to warm up a bit.
Excuse as good as any, no matter how much she tried to avoid thinking of the real reason she became a frequent visitor here, it was pretty obvious she sought Reth's company.
Usually in the mornings Ashura would leave for the Remembrance Gardens, and Keira, afraid that her visits wouldn't go unnoticed, started aiming exactly at that time window to come by.
Today was no different, when she entered the Inn she found out it was completely void of people.
Completely.
The only sound was fire gently crackling in the big fireplace across the hall.
“Hello?” She raised her voice a bit but it only echoed in the empty staircase and not a single response came back.
Keira hung her dripping coat on a rack near the door, and headed to the bar. Her footsteps sounded extremely loud in the overwhelming silence.
“Hellooooo?” She called out, quieter this time, and sat on a stool.
She was expecting Reth to show up from the backroom any second but nothing like that happened and she puffed her lips. That was weird.
Maybe they went somewhere together? But they wouldn't leave the Inn like that, would they? She tapped her nail on the bar and it didn't take long for her to decide to snoop around.
She'd never been in this kitchen before. The cover in the doorway was heavy, saturated with the smell of soup, and behind it a small but tidy room revealed a big stove with two pots sitting on it neatly, a rack full of kitchen utensils, a prep station with a bowl of chopped carrots and a discarded knife, a crazy amount of various supplies stored in boxes, crates and baskets.
And no cook in sight, even though the soup on the stove was simmering.
Keira moved slowly through the kitchen, towards what she reckoned would be a storage space. Various crates piled up there, from the floor to the ceiling. She turned the corner and stopped in her tracks because she heard…
…Breathing?
Cautiously she sneaked around another pillar made of wooden crates and sighed with relief when she found Reth.
Asleep.
He laid on a big wooden chest in the corner, with an apron rolled under his head. His legs were dangling from this makeshift bed and his arms were twisted over his face in some kind of impossible knot.
Dead asleep , she thought, when she cleared her throat and Reth didn’t even budge.
And maybe it would be for the best if she left him here.
Keira carefully backed away, making sure she made no sound. Ever since she met him one thing she has noticed was that Reth always looked tired. He liked to joke about getting a whole hour of sleep and the more she got to know him the more she was convinced it wasn't a joke. This guy was drained everyday, no matter the time of day. He loved to brush it off and pretend he was okay but Keira slowly was becoming worried. Whatever he was doing at night it wasn't sleep and it was wrecking him, she could tell, despite the optimistic mask he was always wearing.
Maybe she was never going to learn what Reth was doing at night but she vowed to herself to try and make his life easier at least.
Keira stopped dead in her tracks. She couldn't pinpoint a moment when this thought got planted in her head and she cursed herself for this. Really, falling for him, after what, 2 weeks of talking ?
She didn't remember herself before the wake-up but she still felt like it wasn't like her. It couldn't possibly be! Some flirting, a few smiles and that's all you need to develop a crush? Wow, a new low.
She got herself together. Sure she would be able to chew up whatever feelings were sprouting and swallow them. Let's not be absurd, it couldn't be real feelings, she barely knew the guy!
Keira left the kitchen and headed towards the door when suddenly a big muscular silhouette of Ashura appeared in the doorway.
Shit.
It was far too early for him to come back. His coat was also dripping wet and he took a moment, mumbling curses under his breath, to wipe off his shoes at the doormat.
Shit. He couldn’t find out Reth was sleeping at work.
Keira quickly looked around the room searching for anything helpful but the decor was annoyingly unhelpful. She couldn’t just walk in the backroom, she couldn’t call out… but she could make some noise.
Her eyes landed on a fireplace tools rack.
Perfect. One last look at Ashura to make sure he wasn’t paying attention and Keira crossed a few steps that were between her and the rack and slammed it on the floor, yelping with surprise as if she tripped, and fell on her knees.
Metal tools rattled on the tile floor with a noise that could have awoken someone from the dead. In the deafening dingling and scratching she could hear Ashura yelling with surprise.
“Oh dear Dragon, are you alright?!”
He trotted through the inn. Keira counted to three and started slowly getting up.
“I’m fine, it’s okay!” She called with a sweet voice. “I’m so clumsy, I’m sorry!”
Ashura leaned over her and helped her stand on her feet. He was wearing a worried look.
“Are you sure?”
Keira laughed awkwardly.
“Yes, it sounded worse than it really was.”
She looked over Ashura’s shoulder towards the kitchen.
“I didn’t expect anyone to visit the inn in such weather...” Ashura mumbled more to himself than to her.
Reth emerged from the backroom wearing the most confused guilty face she's ever seen. He smiled at her sight and was about to greet her.
“I was just leaving,” she said loudly before he could speak, “because Reth said he's busy cooking soup anyway.”
His face showed pure confusion. “ What are you doing? ” his eyes and dumbfounded expression spoke.
“ Saving your sorry ass, dummy ,” she thought, trying to channel it into her fierce gaze.
She could pinpoint the exact moment when it clicked for Reth and he pressed a finger over his mouth with a knowing look.
“Leaving with a bang, huh?” Reth winked at her and Keira sighed with relief.
“Well, I would stay a bit if I were you, the sky is pouring,” Ashura complained, massaging his back as he straightened up. “I couldn't even finish the rites. I’d offer to keep you company but I have a lot to do. Besides, I think there's a quite more suitable companion. I’ll leave you be.”
And he slowly climbed up the stairs.
Keira and Reth waited in absolute silence till they heard a door clang upstairs.
“What was that?!” Reth asked in a conspiratorial whisper, waving at her to come closer.
She leaned on the bar.
“It was me saving your job,” she hissed. “You were sleeping! I had to wake you up.”
“Wait, how did you know…?”
“I’ve seen you.”
Reth crossed his arms on his chest and whistled.
“A trespassing act. When did you choose a life in crime?”
She mimicked his stance.
“What are you gonna do, call the watchmen? You have no proof.”
“I knew you were up to no good since I met you.”
They stared each other down with serious faces for a moment before simultaneously bursting with laughter.
Reth calmed down first and smiled.
“One thing is true, I really have that soup to cook. But you can come with me.” He paused and scratched his chin, lost in thought. “Though, I should probably warn you if you walk in there you’ll be the talk of the town.”
“Oh, really? What's happening in Reth's kitchen, according to the town?”
“Let's see, if you believe what people are saying I’m leading good, promising Killima residents astray and being a terrible role model.”
Keira got up and walked to the curtain.
“Lead astray!”
Reth laughed under his breath.
“Come inside, I’ll show you tips and tricks on how to be a major disappointment.”
***
Seated on a rocky stool, Keira watched Reth prepare a vegetable soup. After a bit of initial joking and her testing the stability of the seating arrangements (this thing had three legs held together with a belt, it couldn't be safe!), she stole a piece of freshly chopped carrot from his board and was met with the wrath of the cook armed with a kitchen cloth.
“So what are you up to today?” He asked when their laughter calmed down enough that they could speak.
“I was planning to finish setting up my fence but it seems like the weather hates me.”
“Yes, it's definitely more indoor work kinda day.”
“Must be easier when your work is always indoor.”
Reth chuckled.
“Remember to never disrespect grilling like that in front of Hodari.”
“Right.”
“Whenever I’m cooking outside for summer celebrations, he's always lurking around. I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m doing it wrong but he’s too polite to say it, so I just feel his glare at my neck.”
“I might need a few grilling pointers. When I’m done setting up the grill. After I make the table. And the counters. And at least one chair that's a bit more stable than this,” she rocked back and forth on the stool.”
“You're really getting into this furniture making business. Talent. Like my sister. I never could have gotten it right.”
“What's the deal with that? They say you’re wrong for not becoming a furniture maker? Is it really such a big deal?”
Reth puffed.
“No, not only that, there's also the fact that I’m a total failure.”
“I don't get it.”
“Yet. Haven't had a chance to disappoint you yet.” He winked and turned back to chopping green onions.
“Why can't cooking be your path, if you like it so much?”
He shrugged and poured the onions into a yellow bowl.
“I don't know, I guess if you've not chosen to be a cook you can still cook, like everyone, but you'll never amount to anything. You’ll never achieve greatness in your skill.”
Keira watched him flawlessly go through a stack of green celery, turning it into a pile of neat pieces in seconds and she made a face, in inner disagreement. She would have chopped her finger off if she tried to do it that way.
“But it's just unfair,” she protested. “You’re literally feeding the entire town with delicious things and somehow they think less of you cause you’re not a carpenter?”
“You really think they're delicious?” Reth blushed slightly, caught off guard.
“Yes.”
He smiled fondly.
“Except the lettuce soup.”
His smile dropped, he clawed at his chest dramatically.
“Right in the heart!”
He picked the knife back up and dropped the act, turning to the chopping board.
“I guess it’s hard to embrace Majiri ways if you were not raised in that mindset. Look at me, sometimes even being raised in it doesn't help.”
Something changed in the sound the soup was making and Reth dropped the knife and quickly turned to the stove where the broth was bubbling in the pot and stirred it.
“I should have four hands.”
“Do you need help?”
He looked at her, stirring something in the smaller pot this time.
“Sure, like I said, not a real cook, who would have managed.”
“That's not what I meant. I just want to be useful.”
He nodded and she picked up the big chef’s knife. It was heavy and hard to handle. “I think you’re belittling yourself. Cooking is also a skill, it requires talent.”
“Everyone can do that, Keira.”
“Definitely not. And even if they can, it takes talent to make it taste good.”
“It's called seasoning. It's not creating something from nothing, like with carpentry.”
“It was literally just water minutes ago!” Keira gesticulated angrily with a knife. “Both take skill!” She couldn't quite focus on chopping while ranting. “Cooking also requires talent, some people can't even boil an egg without casualties… Ouch!”
The knife slipped in her hand and cut her finger instead of onion. She jumped back from the board and looked at the cut that quickly turned red, blood glistening at the end with a heavy drop. Reth abandoned the stove, quickly pulled a clean white cloth from the drawer and was next to her before the blood drop rolled down her hand.
“Show me,” he demanded and she outstretched her hand, compliant. His serious face and the tone of his voice - she's never seen him like that.
He took a look at the wound and figured it wasn't deep at all. Just a cut that would need a few days to heal. He pressed the cloth to the wound, holding her hand to stop the bleeding. His hands were warm and moved with self-assurance, like he’s been doing it many times before and Keira was enthralled. He’d always seemed like someone so scatterbrained she never expected him to be able to navigate around a crisis situation but there she was, taken care of with such experience.
He looked up and smiled.
“You didn't have to prove your point so hard, I believe you.”
Keira melted. She shook her head ever so slightly, trying to click her brain back in its place inside her skull.
“I like to have solid arguments. Didn't seem like it was cutting through.”
Reth snorted and it made her grin.
“I think you need to lay down, the blood loss is turning you into Badruu. You’ll start sprouting a beard and a hay hat any minute now.”
They chuckled and Reth kept holding her hand, even if longer than necessary. She has green eyes, he thought, wondering how he would describe the color. It wasn’t a vivid green, more like… a mossy one? With foggy strands. Eyes like a mossy puddle. He almost winced. That was exactly why he wasn’t a poet. But there was something in her eyes, some indescribable charm that was making his thoughts drift far away. It's a pretty eye color, he decided. Suits the pretty rest.
“Reth, the soup.”
He looked behind to see the soup boiling so hard the foam dripped over the brim on the stove.
That served as a strong enough motivation to finally let go of her hand. Reth blew at the foam, making it disperse for a second. With strained effort he pushed the pot away from the fire to the colder part of the stove.
“Wow, you're a soup savior. Soupvior. Uh…”
Keira sat down and smiled at him mischievously.
“Duh. You now owe me for saving your job and for saving your soup.”
Reth chuckled and repaid her with even more devilish smirk.
“Okay. I’m in your debt, how do I pay off?”
“I don't think you'll ever be able to pay off.” Keira smiled and patted her cheek with her finger.
Reth smirked.
“You think I’d pass on smooching such a cutie?” He mused, leaning over the table and Keira's eyes widened in panic when he kissed her cheek.
It was a joke! It was just a joke! She had never expected him to actually go through with it, and now she could barely hear the world through the sound of her rushing blood in her ears. While he was close she caught a scent of him beneath all that cooking: warm, earthy and a little bit spicy and she desperately wanted to inhale more of it. Before she knew it he was away from her and smiling.
“Oh… sorry, sweet-tooth, was that too much?”
Keira cursed in her mind. It wasn't nearly enough! The question made it plain that her cheeks decided to show much more than she was planning to reveal.
“Noitsfine,” she breathed out fast. “I didn't expect you to… uh…”
Reth watched her blush fiercely and felt how his own cheeks threatened to turn magenta. Quick! Do something. Make a joke! Before that silence becomes too embarrassing to bear.
He cleared his throat slightly and laughed, hoping it wouldn't sound nervous.
“You didn't expect?” He teased, leaning on the table on his elbows. “My, what did you expect then? Am I the embodiment of be careful what you wish for?”
He winked and hoped she hadn't noticed the slight tremble in his voice.
“No, it was nice!” She assured solemnly and Reth felt like he got electrocuted. Thank Maji, he didn't gasp, his cheeks burned though and it seemed as if the ground had slipped from under his feet. Collected turned to flustered and he tried to keep his cool. He had expected to hear “please never do that again” and he had no clue what to reply.
“Nice?” His laughter was too nervous. “Rate your experience, ma’am!” He joked, feeling his heart pounding in his chest and she looked up at him, unsure. “Was it closer to tomato soup you rated 8 out of 10, or maybe it resembled the 1 out of 10 lettuce soup - the betrayal that it was.” The more he spoke the more her face lightened up. “You need to work with what you have for I’m afraid I’m not allowed to give anymore free samples!” He lowered his voice conspicuously, “company policy, you see.”
He took this joke and ran with it, hoping for the best and sighed with relief when his clowning made her burst out with laughter.
A loud knock at the doorway made them look towards the entrance, where Ashura peeked behind the curtain.
“I hear you kids are having fun but I need you to man the bar, Reth. It stopped raining at last.”
“On it.” Reth scrambled from his seat and gave the soup a final stir. He smiled at Keira who smiled back knowingly. Reth's eyes lingered for a moment on her cheek where he’d kissed her. He kind of wished id had left a mark. He blinked twice. Weird thought. “See you in the evening?”
His heart fluttered when she nodded.