A Brother's Secret

Chapter 15: A Date

   "So where do you wanna go first?" Ran asks after putting his coat on.

   "I dunno. I don't know about a whole lot that's here." I reply. Ran drapes a coat similar to his over my shoulders so I stay warm. "Thanks."

   "Hmm..." Ran puts his finger on his chin in thought before snapping his finger. "Oh! I know where to take you. Come on." Ran grabs my hand and pulls me out the door of the mansion.

   "Okay!"

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   "Come on!" Ran said tugging my hand gently. "I have one more place to take you." I smile and follow after him as he walked down the Main Street of the village.

   "Where are you taking me, Ran?" I ask with a giggle. Ran turns around and flashes a sweet grin at me.

   "You'll see." He replied before turning back to ahead of him.

   After a few more minutes of walking, he stops in front of a small coffee shop and turns to me. He quickly pushes the door open and hold his hand out.

   "Ladies first." He says.

   "Thank you, Ran." I say stepping through the threshold and immediately my body warms up.

   'I hate to admit it as a fire user, but I didn't realize how cold I actually was until I got in here.'

   "Lady Edith!"

   "What a pleasure to see you here!" A few villagers greet me. I smile kindly at them as a greeting before turning back to Ran. He closed the door behind him and stood by my side.

   "Ran this place is so cool! We don't have a coffee shop like this back home." I say with a happy grin. Ran smiles back and motions for me to follow him to the counter. I glance around the little café some more, only to notice a few disturbed glances or people whispering with nasty stares. I instantly know why they're behaving like this, so I glare directly at a few couples making them instantly turn away and continue on with life.

   'They must've learned from earlier today.'

   "Lady Edith! What an honor to have you in our shop today!" The young lady at the counter greets kindly.

   "Thank you. Ran here was kind enough to show me around the beautiful village and your little shop. Didn't you Ran-Ran?" I ask smiling up at my partner.

   'Maybe I can ease her fear or whatever if I show her how close we are.'

   "Lord Ran did?" She asked quietly.

   "I uh..yeah! I did! We came here on a little date!" Despite his confident answer, Ran's ears were bright red.

   'Wait a second..I guess it is like a date, isn't it?'

   "Lady Edith and Lord Ran on a date?!" The lady seems surprised, but who wouldn't be? I'm sure everyone in the Winter Village would be shocked to hear that Princess Unmei was going on a date with the so-called "Devil Child".

   "T-that's right! And we would appreciate some hot chocolate, wouldn't we Edith?" Ran asks glancing down at me. 'It almost seems like he's trying to hide his pain from me. The comments he gets from the villagers must really get to him.'

   I gently place my hand over his which is rested on the counter and smile up at him.
"Yes. I'd love a hot chocolate." I reply looking back at the lady.

   "O-of course! Coming right up!" She says before running to make two hot chocolates with whipped cream. "Here you are. O-on the house." She pushes the two mugs toward us, while keeping her eyes trained on the counter. Ran smiles and puts some coins down in front of her. She gasps and look up at him wide eyed.

   "Keep it." He says simply before picking up our two mugs and heading toward the back corner of the café. "Come on Edith." He says with a smile.

   "O-oh. Okay."

   We sit down at a round table with two chairs seated across from each other. Ran hands me my mug and smiles at me.

   "Thank you." I take the mug from him and bring it to my lips. "This is really good!" I say with a smile. My hands find their way around the mug, taking in its warmth as if the cold was going to come snatch it away.

   "This is the best shop like this in the whole village. It's not surprising that you think it's good." Ran says proudly. I giggle at him.

   "You almost sound as if you made this yourself." Ran's ears turn pink again and he rubs the back of his neck. His eyes dart across the room as his cheeks turn darker before training them to the table. I tilt my head in confusion.

   "Something wrong?" I ask. Ran shrugs before answering.

   "Everyone is looking...glaring at me because I'm with you." I sigh and shake my head.

   "Who cares what everyone else thinks? I came along to spend time with you, not them. Pretend they aren't here, okay?" I smile softly and he looks up from the table.

   "Alright. I will." His smile returns and I take another sip of my drink. I smile at its warmth and set the mug on the table.

   I notice Ran looking at me with a hint of amusement on his face. "What is it?" I ask. I can tell Ran's trying to hold back laughter. "Ran?" He stands from his chair and begins to lean closer to me. My eyes shut tightly and my body freezes. I then feel something warm on my nose then hear the chair moving. I open my eyes to see Ran smirking while still trying not to laugh.

   "You had whipped cream on your nose." Ran says over a soft chuckle. "So I got it off."

   "Did you lick it off?!" I ask with warming cheeks. Where his tongue once was was now cool from the air in the café. My cheeks burned from embarrassment. "Ran! Why'd you do that?! We're in public..." I start to mumble into my hands as I cover my face. Ran chuckles and I hear him lean in closer to me.

   "You said it yourself though. 'I came along to spend time with you, not them. Pretend they aren't here.' Remember?" He asks in a teasing tone.

   "..yeah I did, but...that was different.." I mumble. I sit up straight with my ears still red and take another drink of my cocoa, making sure to check if I had anything on my face.

   Suddenly, I got an idea.

   With a small smirk, I dip my finger into the whipped cream before wiping it across Ran's pale cheek.

   "Wha-Edith?" Ran seems confused. That was when I lean forward and press a kiss to his cheek. My lips lingered briefly before I pulled away and sat back down. Ran's cheeks turned bright pink and his hand traveled to where I kissed him. I giggle at him and look out the window.

   "Shoot! It's getting dark. We should probably head back, shouldn't we?" I ask. Ran glances out the window then back at me.

   "Y-yeah. You're right. L-let's go." Ran says quietly before standing from his chair and heading towards the door. I follow quickly behind him, the hot cocoa incident left behind us in the little coffee shop.