Chapter Text
To be certain she hadn't been spotted, Cynthia tentatively peered from out of the bush to inspect. Instead of changing his actions, Gerome continued to interact with the wyvern as it lapped water from the lake with its tongue. The young man reached behind the creature's ear and scratched it gently.
Cynthia continued to stare in eager wonderment.
Aww, he's so attentive and caring. I'll bet Minerva loves it when he scratches and rubs her. Golly, I wish I had that kind of relationship with my Pegasus.
After a few more moments, Cynthia hastily ducked beneath the bush and prepared herself to try and speak with him.
Alright, here we go, Cynthia. You can do this, girl. You just need to remain calm and relaxed. Don't try and overwhelm him, just be warm, friendly and inviting. I just need to be – ooh, a butterfly – no, stop! Focus on him! Just focus on what you're going to say.
Hesitantly, she raised she inspected on Gerome once more. He hadn't moved. She was about to stand up and announce her presence when a sudden surge of panic and fear overwhelmed her, preventing her from continuing. Hastily, she retreated down again.
What are you doing? Just speak with him! Goodness, why do I have to be such a coward? C'mon, Cynthia, you can do this! What do you have to be afraid of? You've spoken with Gerome loads of time! Like, remember that time it was really late and he walked past your bedroom window, and you ran downstairs just to – OK, bad example!
I know, just talk to him like you would when you were younger. Yeah, that'll work. Just remind him how much fun the two of you had together playing Justice Cabal. Golly, we haven't done that in, like, forever. Ooh, you remember that one time when the two of you were playing, you were the beautiful princess, and he was –
"Is there something you need, Cynthia?"
Cynthia felt her heart skip abruptly. Tentatively, she slowly stood up from spot and was greeted with the presence of the young man she had been monitoring he continued to attend his companion.
"Aww" moaned Cynthia petulantly, "how did you know it was me?" She folded her arms, displeased that she had been discovered.
"Vegetation with orange pigtails growing on it isn't native to this region" replied Gerome stoically.
Frantically, Cynthia brought her hand to hair to inspect the damage and, just as she suspected, several leaves were tangled in between her pigtails.
Cynthia stared in confusion as she tried to process his last statement. "Hey, wait a minute…" she began sly, "pigtails don't grow on bushes, silly." Her hands migrated to her hips, certain that she had out smartened him.
Gerome turned his attention, and he stared expressionlessly. Upon analysing her accusation, she smiled bashfully. "Oh, you were joking." Cynthia rubbed the back of her head uncomfortably with an equally awkward giggle of forced enthusiasm.
Gerome returned to his wyvern.
Humiliated, Cynthia tried to process her next action after having already made a fool of herself in front of the man she admired. Concluding confidently that she needed to approach him, shebegan to make her way out of the bush. But as luck would have it, an inconveniently placed root was situated near her foot, propelling the young woman forward as she shrieked with surprise before making contact with the dirt.
After coming to her senses, Cynthia hastily scrambled back to her feet. Her bashful, embarrassed grin returned as she placed her hands back on her hips confidently in an effort to remain composed. Gerome hadn't acknowledged her accident. continued to focus his attention away from her.
Cynthia huffed as she slowly approached him.
Well, this couldn't have gone any better. He probably thinks you look like a stupid little girl - even more so than usual! C'mon, Cynthia, pull it together, just be friendly. Whatever you do, don't say something embarrassing!
"So" she began casually, "how have you been?"
Ha, nailed it!
"What are you doing here, Cynthia?
Cynthia was unprepared for such a direct question. The young man had discovered her following him, so Cynthia decided he was entitled to an explanation.
"What am I doing here? Well…um…what was I doing? Oh yeah, that's right. So, I was in the markets with Mum when I saw you and Minerva approaching the entrance to the forest, and I thought to myself 'hey, I wonder what Gerome has been up to lately because we haven't spoken with each other in a while', so I said 'goodbye' to Mum and began to follow you from afar because I didn't want to disturb you - just in case you were busy with something - and then I -"
"Do you require my services?"
Cynthia's frantic, chaotic rambling was brought to a complete silence. Despite his mask covering a good percentage of his face, Cynthia could still feel his cold, abrasive glare staring straight through her.
The young woman smiled bashfully as she began to play with one of her pig-tails absentmindedly. "Well…no, but-"
"Then you and I are done here."
Before the young woman could continue, the young man gently tugged on his companion's leash and began to escort the creature away. Cynthia could only stare in shock and disbelief.
Desperately, Cynthia began a steady jog after him. "No! Wait, Gerome, please...I just...let me explain myself!"
Upon reaching his position, the Pegasus knight stood in front of him and his wyvern, bringing them to a halt. After catching her breath, she focused her attention on him with pleading eyes. "Please? Look, I'm sorry for watching you from the bushes. It was rude…and impolite…and really creepy now that I think about it." She shook her head to try and dispel the unsettling notion. "There's just something I've been really meaning to ask you."
Cynthia waited anxiously for a response. Instead of an immediate answer, she stood in silence as Gerome continued to stare at her, unflinching and unresponsive. But after what felt like an eternity of silence for her, Gerome sighed begrudgingly.
"Very well."
Smiling appreciatively, she started to share her thoughts. Rather than answer concisely, she began to ramble once more. "OK, well, you remember when I said I followed you and Minerva because I wanted to speak with you, right? Well, I kind of lied…wait, I mean: I did want to speak with you but that wasn't the reason because – look, this is something I've wanted to ask you for some time now but I've nev-"
She hadn't realised she had been rambling until Gerome cleared his throat audibly.
"Sorry about that" she replied bashfully, "sometimes I just…don't know when to stop."
Before continuing, Cynthia's hands migrated to her chest where they began to fiddle anxiously together. "What I was going to ask is", she hesitated, "if you're not too busy - and only if you have some free time available - would you'd like to...hang out…sometime?"
Cynthia observed an eyebrow rasied in confusion. "Hang out?"
"Yeah, just the two of us…together?" Her hands migrated behind her back as she absentmindedly fidgeted on the spot. "It's just...you and I haven't hung out in quite some time now, and I was hoping we could start doing it again?" She raised her hands defensively. "Not right now, of course, 'cause you're busy and all…but", she smiled hopefully, "whenever you're available?"
Cynthia waited in bated anticipation for a response. Slowly, Gerome returned his attention towards her and answered stoically.
"Thank you for the offer, but no."
Overwhelmed and disappointed, Cynthia could only watch as the young man she admired so dearly faded deeper and deeper into the distance. The young woman's eyes darted frantically from side to side as she tried to think of what to do next.
He's leaving! Cynthia, you fool, say something! Anything!
"T-that's OK" she called out to him desperately, "we can hang out…some other time!"
Anything…but that…
Cynthia's mouth hung open in disappointment as she continued to watch Gerome progress further away. After a few more moments, he disappeared completely from sight.
Alone and disheartened, Cynthia's approached the closest tree trunk and forcefully planted her forehead against. Groaning of displeasure and frustration, Cynthia turned around and leaned against the trunk. "Idiot! You stupid, stupid idiot! Why do you always do this? Why can't you just speak to him like a normal person? Why do you have to be so…so...weird?"
After a moment of self-reflection and penitence, the distressed young woman slowly turned around and began to make her way down the path as well, her arms hanging lazily behind her back and her vision affixed to the ground.
She exhaled with exhaustion and disappointment. "It's no wonder he doesn't like me…"