"Heya Miriel!"
"Ah, hello Vaike. Is there something that I can assist you with?"
Vaike grinned as Miriel closed the book she was flipping through and focused her attention on him, her dark eyes examining him over her thick-rimmed glasses. He chuckled nervously and scratched his chin with his free hand, as his other was hidden behind his back. His crush on Miriel was very obvious to everyone else, except, of course, to the object of his affections. She was an incredibly smart woman, but when it came to social interactions, she was dumb as a brick, to put it bluntly. Also, he wasn't much better in terms of romantic interactions, so telling her how he felt was going to be a difficult task.
"Not really, I just, uh, wanted to give you something." Vaike said, his face flushing as he gulped nervously. He moved his arm from behind his back and shoved a bouquet of red roses at Miriel. "H-here. I thought you might like these." Miriel blinked and tilted her head curiously.
"Hmm, Rosa kordesii. A species of rose that arose naturally from hybridization followed by chromosome doubling." Miriel said, smiling as she took the bundle from Vaike. "A very well-timed gift. I was just beginning to research how flora could be utilized to make more vigorous healing potions..." she continued, trailing off as she stuffed her book under her arm and examined the roses carefully.
"I wonder how these will react with the other specimens that I have collected..." Miriel said as she opened the book she held again with her free hand and turned away from Vaike.
"H-hey, wait!" Vaike called out, but she was already engrossed in her book again and ignored him as she wandered off. He sighed and slapped his face with the palm of his hand. Why was this so hard?
"He-he, Vaike is having women troubles, eh?"
Vaike frowned as he turned to find Gregor approaching him with a broad smile on his face. The younger man chuckled sheepishly and averted his gaze.
"Don't know what you're talkin' about, Gregor. Ol' Teach here has everything under control!" he said, forcing a smile that was very unconvincing to Gregor, who laughed and nudged Vaike's shoulder.
"Vaike is very bad at lying. Gregor is wise in matters of the heart. He help Vaike if he wants him to!" Gregor said, his smile broadening as he let out a hearty laugh.
"Hey, The Vaike can do this on his own! Miriel is just...not too good at picking up social cues." Vaike said, blushing slightly. He then furrowed his brow and frowned. Maybe it would be a good idea to get Gregor's help. He was older and, if the stories he told were true, he had been popular with the ladies in most of the places that he visited in his travels.
"Alright, maybe I could use some advice..." he mumbled, sighing in defeat. "I just...don't know how to tell her in a way that she'll understand, I guess? She's damn smart, Gregor, but she's not really great with social interactions and junk like that."
"Hmm, is bit of problem." Gregor said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe Vaike have to appeal to Miriel's intellectual side with something that will help her better understand what you want from her." he said after a brief silence.
"Her intellectual side, huh..." Vaike echoed. He thought for a moment and his eyes widened when an idea popped into his head. "I think I know what to do! Thanks, Gregor! You're a real lifesaver!" he said, laughing as he looked in the direction that Miriel had walk off in.
"I'll see ya later!" Vaike said, waving a hand at Gregor as he walked off to think of a good way to execute his plan.
"Good luck, my friend!" Gregor said, smiling as he watched him go. He knew Vaike was smarter than he looked, and whatever he had planned would definitely work for him.
A few days had passed, and Vaike walk through the camp in search of Miriel. It had taken him a bit longer than he would have liked to prepare his plan and then work up the courage to carry it out, but he was ready now.
He finally spotted her, sitting next to one of the campfires and flipping through a thick book. A lot of people in the camp thought that Miriel was kind of an oddball, but Vaike thought that she was the most amazing women that he had ever met. She was so, so smart, and incredibly beautiful as well. She was passionate and was always looking to learn all she could about everything, and the fact that she was patient with him when he didn't understand the things that she said made him fall even harder for her. It was probably going to take a lot of work on his part to get her to fall for a dumb oaf like himself, but damn it he was going to try his hardest.
"Hi Miriel!"
Miriel looked up from her book when Vaike approached, with a huge grin on his face. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves; he hoped that his plan would work.
"Ah, hello Vaike. I would like to thank you again for assisting me in my research the other day. The roses that you provided me proved to be vital to completing that project successfully." Miriel said as she adjusted her glasses. The fiery look of determination in her eyes caused Vaike's face to flush, and he may have forgotten how to breath for a moment.
"Eh, yeah, I'm happy I could help ya out." he said, chuckling nervously. "What'cha gonna research next?" he asked.
Miriel didn't answer right away as she looked around the camp, her calculating gaze passing over the people that carried about their business around them. Vaike could practically see the gears turning inside her head.
"Well, the more time that I spend observing the interactions between the members of this army, the more curious I have become about how the closest of bonds are formed between complete strangers." she finally said as she looked back at Vaike. His eyes widened in surprise, and then he grinned. This was a perfect coincidence.
"Well, if ya want my opinion on it, those kinda bonds just, well, happen between people. Kinda like when you fight alongside someone for a long time, your trust with them grows and you become closer." Vaike said. He blushed when he noticed Miriel staring at him intensely as she listened to him. "Uh, take us for example. We've been talkin' for a while now, and I consider you a good friend now. And you feel the same, er, right?"
"Hmm, well, I certainly learn quite a bit from our conversations. I enjoy the knowledge obtained from our interactions." Miriel said plainly. Vaike sighed and shook his head. She really could be quite dense at times.
"That's...not quite what I mean." he said, taking a deep, nervous breath. It was now or never. "Look, how about we head into town and stop by the alehouse? We can grab a pint and some grub and just chat for a while."
"Why?" Miriel asked, raising an eyebrow curiously. Vaike's growing impatience was stifled when he saw how cute the expression on her face was. He felt his face flush again and cleared his throat in hopes of hiding it.
"Well, just hanging out with someone is a good way to strengthen your bond with them. You get to know them better and they get to know you. You, ya know, begin to relate to each other more and stuff." Vaike said. He waited with baited breath for her to answer.
"Hmm, I'm not sure what gallivanting around town will accomplish, but I am always willing to experiment. Please, by all means, take me to this alehouse of yours." she said after a moment of silent contemplation. Vaike smiled broadly and managed to hide his giddiness. She had basically said yes to going on a date with him, even if she really didn't understand the connotations yet.
"All right! Let's go!" he said excitedly as she stood up and tucked her book away into her robes. His mind was buzzing as they walked off towards town together. Even if she never felt the same way about him in the end, he was just happy to spend time with her as a friend.