Duden Dictionary Meaning #9

"Of course I told him about you," Liesel said. "you are my be-"

With the sudden bumpiness she felt in her chest, Liesel wanted to say that he was her best friend. However, she hesitated and decided not to say it.

"I am your what?" Rudy asked and schmunzelte.

"You are the most stupid Saukerl I've ever met." Liesel said with a light laugh and quickly averted her look. Looking at Rudy any longer and she would feel the desire to pull him over and kiss him. Oh Liesel, how terrible she was at lying. Rudy could instantly hear from her voice that that wasn't what she originally intended to say.

He looked at her, trying to read the original message from her face. It was then that he realized how beautiful Liesel had become recently. She now had a more adolescent chest and her skin now looked softer and rosy. The sundown created an elegant glow on her blond hair. Yes, they set the young man inside Rudy on fire. A young man he was barely aware of.

Rudy had always loved Liesel, since he first saw her on Himmel Street when she still was a dirty, malnourished kid. But now, it felt like more. It was as if his feelings had suddenly developed deeper and further. He considered asking her for another kiss, but decided not to.

How about a kiss Saumensch? he thought to himself.

He looked at Liesel's face even closer and without noticing, his eyes focused on her lips. Oh, how much he wanted to know what they felt and tasted like.

*** DUDEN DICTIONARY MEANING #9***

Liebe -Love:

Strong affection,

Passionate, or strong liking

Related words: adulation, devotion

tenderness

After some more moments of internal debating, Rudy closed the book and thoughtfully examined the cover.

"Did he give you other books or presents besides these?" he asked as his fingers felt the cover.

"Ja, there was another book he gave me before The Word Shaker." Liesel replied.

Rudy felt a pang of irritation and jealousy

"You ever gave him presents?" Rudy asked with no particular interest in his voice.

"Yes, thirteen in total."

Rudy's jealousy made a jump.

With a sigh, Rudy sat down and leaned against the tree. Liesel soon followed and sat down next to him. Oh, they looked liked a couple alright. They looked like a couple.

Rudy glanced over to Liesel and observed her. He felt like pulling her over and kissing her. He didn't even want to ask her his favorite question anymore. How about a kiss Saumensch? He hasn't asked her this question since he jumped in the freezing Amber River to save The Whistler.

"Say, do you still have the book that I jumped into the damn freezing river for?" Rudy asked.

"Yes."

"I still haven't gotten my kiss for that." Rudy said and schmunzelte for the second time.

"I wouldn't kiss you even if you were the last man on earth Saukerl." Liesel said with a laugh, stood up and ran towards the trees.

With a frown, Rudy took up the chase. "Wait up Saumensch!"

*** A PAINTED IMAGE ***

An adolescent boy and girl running among the trees

It looked quite romantic

Eventually, Rudy managed to catch Liesel by her wrist and stopped her from running. Neither was panting hard, although both were feeling quite nervous. He pulled to stop her from running, accidentally pulling too hard and causing Liesel to land on his chest. They both fell to the ground.

Surprisingly to Rudy, Liesel didn't immediately stand up or call him Saukerl. No, she simply lay there on the ground, her heart pounding hard.

Liesel got what she wanted. She wanted Rudy to pull her over and kiss her. Well, she got the first part of her wish. Now all what was missing was the kiss.

Neither said anything, but both simply lay on the ground, waiting for the other to break the silence. Despite having been close friends for years, this position of lying on the ground, so close to each other's bodies, made both feel nervous.

The giver of bread and teddy bears turned his head and looked at Liesel. He could smell her now. Her sweet, girl scent. It made his heart beat even faster. More than ever, he wanted to kiss her. Her lips were so close, just a couple of inches more and…

"How about a kiss, Saumensch?" Rudy managed to say after some more moments of silence.

How about a kiss, Saumensch?

The question stayed in Liesel's head.

She wanted to kiss him, or more she wanted him to kiss her. And now was he practically asking for 'permission'.

With a swallow, Liesel decided to answer.

"Ja, warum nicht?" Yes sure, why not?Liesel answered with a small smile.

Slowly she inched her face closer to Rudy's. For a moment, Rudy did not quite comprehend what Liesel was doing or what was actually happening. Then, it clicked and he understood. Liesel too wanted a kiss.

Slowly, Rudy leaned in closer and his lips met hers.

It was nothing like he had imagined or dreamed; it was much sweeter, warmer, and softer.

His hands slowly felt her cheeks while they were kissing. Her skin was softer and warmer than he thought it would be

On the grass, next to the trees, a boy and a girl shared their first kiss.

*** A NOTE ABOUT RUDY STEINER ***

He was right when he said "One day Liesel, one day"

He finally got the kiss

This is my first fanfic that is based on a book. All my previous work was on manga and anime. I hope I Liesel and Rudy didn't go too out of character. I really liked writing this, I hope you enjoyed this too.

Thanks for reading!

Update (21/02/2014)

Almost five years after writing this piece I am excited to announce the publication of my first book on Amazon! It is called iSync. I can not post links here, so if you are interested in having a look, please search 'iSync ebook' on Amazon or go to Facebook and search 'isync' and the result under 'book series' should be it.

Thank you very much!