Burnt Roses and Stolen Hearts(Lucien x Caspian)

Chapter 23

Caspian fixed his sleeves. It was time for dinner. Well, a special one. His eyes fixated at the current environment. Everything needed to be perfect.

"Why? You said to yourself it's not a date."

He turned to face the kitsune, and sighed.

"Ok one, I can't believe you were able to convince the people here to just take over, and two, because... I'm..." He paused. What was the word?

"Desperate?"

"Yeah. I hate to admit it, but yeah, desperate. That's it." He shuffled his posture, and Yumiko gave him a reassuring smile.

"You'll do fine, I know you well enough." She flicked her ears though, as if another thought struck her.

"Why don't you just... confess now?"

"BECAUSE OF THE TIMING AND BECAUSE I- I... I can't. I can't bring myself to do it."

"Can you try? I mean, look, the cafe's practically empty. It's just you, me, and... a few others. You know who. No one else is here. Plus, it's really dim. Actually, I should fix that. It might be too dark. It's really late. Anyways, it's not like anyone's really... watching. So... Can you try?"

"...I have. Multiple times. It always fails. I... I don't know."

A pitiful look was seen from the kitsune, whose eyes softened, even though they were closed. A tail found its way to the thief's shoulder, and patted him.

"Aww. Don't worry. Knowing you, you'll find your way, plus, I know you can always cover. You can try again."

"But-"
"I'll create a signal. You trust me right? It'd be easier."

Caspian looked at Yumiko for a long while. What was she planning?

"Don't worry about it."

"..."

He sagged his shoulders and nodded.

"Fine. I'll try again."

The kitsune beamed "That's the spirit! Oh! I hear him now. Good luck Romeo~!" She quickly turned into a fox and scurried off. To be honest, Caspian was a little scared about what she was planning, but who knows, maybe it would help in a situation with someone like Lucien. Maybe this can be the time-

"Caspian?"

Caspian stiffened. Yeah no, he was not ready. Either way, it was too late to turn back. Weirdly, he couldn't see the highwayman, just heard his faint voice in the distance. Either way, he still called out, worried.

"Yes?"
"Where... where are you? It's pretty dark. I can't see you."
"Oh... uh, I'll come in a bit!"

Caspian pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. Of course it was too dim. What was he thinking? Leaving the table, he went near the entrance of the cafe, where the highwayman was looking around, confused in the candle-lit building.

"Sorry... I-"
"It's fine. Why is it empty anyways?"
"...No idea. Maybe it's a slow day."

Oh shit.

"...Ok?

Ohhhhh shit.

*...Silence...*

Fuck.

Lots of planning, and yet this still didn't have a coverup story. Nice. Real nice. Caspian just gave an awkward smile and tried his best not to flush up with embarrassment. He scratched the back of his head.