Her delicate hands
Pulling his face
Ever so closer
As she daintily fixed his tie
And holding by the knot
Looked up right at him
A hair away.
It was only for a moment
Yet it seemed as if
Time crawled slower
Though short
Yet with brevity.
Dead black met emerald green
Frozen still
A breath yet to be taken
Perhaps lips longing to meet
A simple gesture
Before the closure
That she so desired
And the thought of it
Colored her red
Cheeks flushed crimson
Break
Away.
"Y-you... l-look nice."
"Yes. I suppose so."
It was apparent
She could not hide
Embarrasment
But there was no need to.
"S-say, there's still an hour before the event. You wanna g-go grab lunch?"
She managed to stammer a nervous question.
Now to think of it
Why would she ask
Such an intimate request?
"It's two past twelve. You may as well say dinner."
"Are you asking me out?"
"I think you were the one to-"
"Shut up, smartass. I'll go get dressed."
Thus
Both of them
In one of those rare instances
That they would go out
Intentions of simple friendship
Yet clearly
Something more.
Over hot risotto
Aromas of rosemary
Fizzy root beer
On a good note.
"I think my wallet is going to cry itself to sleep."
"Don't be so stingy, Hachio. The heck are you even saving up for?"
"Good question. Probably to save myself from untimely death."
"You negative little shit."
"Please refrain from using indecent language. You actually look like a beautiful woman, act like one."
Her face bloomed bright red.
"W-where d-did that c-come from? W-was that an insult or a compliment!"
"Consider it both."
"Hmph..."
She held the hem
Of her blue dress
Lingering on the words
As if a plane
Through a cloud
Inspecting
Whether to take it lightly
With a pinch of salt
Or to heart.
"You think?"
Now it was his turn
Slight traces
Of red
On his cheeks.
"I've seen better."
"What the heck is that supposed to mean?!"
He let out a small smile
Watching the woman
In front of him
Flustered
A sight to behold.
"Stop staring! H-Hikkimo!"
Cute.
"Y-you say something?"
"Mind reader. Take a good guess."
"Cut it out!"
It is imperative
Pay attention
Aside from physical hunger
Humans crave
Feed the ego
Carefully
Precisely.
Lessons learned
From experience
Courtesy of a foxy kouhai
Spin words like string
With that
Wrap hearts
In your control
Sweet nothings.
Compliment a woman
When she least expects it
And dispel her assumptions
About her presumed beauty.
Flattery and criticism.
A weapon to tame ego.
If one were to compare
Put on a scale
This simple affair
Of early supper
And sweet drinks
Tempered by small talk
In-jokes
And plain good companionship
A match and worth
All the interactions
There was or will ever be
Between the fire queen
And the prince of masks.
A discrepancy
In fact
A severe turn of tables
Instead
She found herself
Stuck in a rut
Between two opposites
Such is love.
They say love is blind.
Then how can we believe in love at first sight?
Perhaps they call it the metaphysical dream.
Because you can only believe it
While asleep.