𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙮 | 𝘹𝘪𝘢𝘰

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐎𝐍𝐄

★ 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬 ★

"Done!" I sighed with relief, gazing at the basket full of individually wrapped almond tofu and soup. I'd spent the entire day making all of it, and I was kinda proud. I could only hope Xiao would like it. The next day, I'd be taking Xiao to see the lanterns. We'd also get to release one of our own, though he didn't know that.

"Xiao?" I called from outside his door, knocking on it as gently as I could.

There was no response. I wasn't surprised, even though he'd been in his room more often ever since I moved into the Inn. There were only two places where I knew I might've been able to find him, so I went to the second location, which was the balcony. Luckily, he was there. He seemed to be thinking about something.

"Xiao?" I said softly, trying not to startle him.

He turned his head to look at me and nodded, acknowledging my presence. I smiled and stood beside him, resting my arms on the balcony railing. It was a sweet silence for a while until Xiao spoke up. I was almost startled, but I welcomed the smooth sound of his voice in my ears. I could've listened to him talk forever.

"I... I really wanted to kiss you here," he admitted.

My face flushed when I thought about that night, "Well... I wanted you to."

"I'm sorry."

He's... Apologizing?

"What are you saying sorry for?" I asked, tilting my head as I looked over at him.

"For running away. I acted like a coward..." He snapped, angry more at himself than me as he stared at the ground below.

I took a step closer to him and placed my hand on his cheek, moving his head so he'd look at me, "I understand why you did it though. Besides, it doesn't matter now, does it?"

"Right..." He exhaled, staring into my eyes with his piercing gaze.

I laughed and his cheeks turned red before he turned away. I let my hand fall to my side and I instead wrapped my arms around him from behind, resting my forehead on his shoulder. He took a deep breath and brought his hand up, patting me on the head. I felt a sudden surge of happiness from that simple action, causing me to tighten my grip around him. I never wanted to let go.

"Can I kiss you again?" He questioned suddenly.

"Y-Yes!" I replied quickly, abruptly letting go of him so he could turn around.

He faced me once again and held a hand on my cheek. I smiled with a red face, trying not to seem too nervous. He leaned in and I held my breath for a moment before he stopped midway in order to speak.

"You're cute..."

Before I could respond, he closed the gap between us and I felt his soft lips on mine, as if silencing me from saying anything. Not like I'd want to pull away to try. I placed my hand on his chest and I could feel his heartbeat. It was rapid... Maybe it was beating for me?

We pulled away and Xiao took a deep breath, as if trying to compose himself. I guess that's an idea of what it would've been like if he'd kissed me on the balcony, but personally, I preferred the tree since that was where we first formally met. It had more value.

"Well," I began. "I'm done preparing for tomorrow."

His eyebrow quirked up, likely questioning what I had planned. I beamed at him and put my hands on my hips, excited to finally see the lanterns, especially with Xiao. I knew he probably wouldn't say much, but he would definitely enhance the experience just by being there.