- The next pairing is Runo × Klaus. Ohoho, I bet you never thought of that~~

- Klaus is a gentleman, and Runo's a tomboy; how will this work out? (Haha, it won't!)

Runo stood outside the door to a café, peering inside and watching all the people who were enjoying cups of tea and coffee. She tapped her foot impatiently on the hard concrete, biting her lip.

"Count on Julie to set me up on a blind date with someone who doesn't even arrive on time." She muttered.

"Well, now this is certainly a surprise." A familiar voice said out loud.

Runo turned around quickly, and saw who the voice belonged to.

"Klaus!" She exclaimed.

"Runo," he nodded, acknowledging her. "I must say, I never expected that you would be the one whom Julie was talking about."

"Wait a… you're my blind date?!"

He nodded once again, and Runo turned away from him for a brief moment.

"That Julie… she is so going down the next time I see her!" She growled, balling her hands into fists.

"Since we're both here, we might as well go inside." Klaus walked to the door and opened it, showing the way to a vibrant café full of life and colour. "Shall we?" He asked, ushering Runo inside with a grand wave of his arm.

"Okay… but this isn't a date or anything! You got that?" She added quickly as she walked into the café.

"Fine by me," he answered and followed her inside.

Once the waiter showed them to their table, Klaus strode over to Runo's chair and pulled it out for her. She raised an eyebrow at him, before sitting down.

"I can get my own seat, you know." She told him after he had sat down.

"I was simply being a gentleman." He replied plainly, and called the waiter over. Flipping through the menu, he asked, "Can I get you anything, Runo?"

"Umm… I'll have whatever you're having, I guess."

He turned to the waiter and ordered two slices of fruit tart, along with some tea. The waiter nodded, jotted it down and quickly hurried away with their order.

"So Runo…" Klaus started, folding his hands upon the table. "Who exactly were you expecting to show up for this blind date?"

"This isn't a date!" She snapped. "And I certainly wasn't expecting it to be you!"

Her brief outburst earned the pair a couple of looks from the neighbouring customers. Klaus flinched, but then regained his composure and cleared his throat.

"Please Runo… could you keep your voice down? This is a public café." He said calmly.

Runo took a deep breath to ease her temper, and the customers soon went back to their drinks and cakes. Klaus brushed his hair back, and started again.

"I didn't mean to upset you; I was only asking an honest question."

"Fine, since you asked so nicely." She said, her voice laced thinly with sarcasm. "I guess… I was kinda hoping that Dan would show up."

"Dan?" Klaus seemed surprised. "I see. Are you… disappointed?"

"Huh? No, not really. I mean, you're nice and all, and you seem to know how to treat a lady; although, that's also the part of you which I can't stand."

Klaus raised an eyebrow, asking her to explain.

"Like, with you being so graceful and elegant, and so gentleman-like; it's really charming but I'm just not into that."

When Runo was finished, she saw that Klaus had his eyes closed, his head bowed towards the table.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to offend you!" Runo added quickly.

"No offense taken." He smiled at her, as the waiter returned with their tea and fruit tarts.

"But what about you? Who were you expecting to come?"

"To be honest, I expected someone a little more… lady-like." He said, as he spooned some sugar into his tea.

"You saying I'm not a girl?!" Runo's eyes flared with anger, her temper threatening to rise again.

"Quite the opposite; you are a beautiful lady, if I may say so myself. But your tomboyish nature makes you unlike the other women I've dated."

"Other women?" She raised her eyebrow again. "Just how many others are we talking about here?"

Klaus smiled, ignoring her question as he took a sip of tea. Runo pouted, knowing that she wasn't going to get an answer to her last question. She eyed her teacup warily, and coughed once she had taken her first sip.

"Ugh… what is this?"

"Jasmine tea," he answered bluntly, looking up from his cake. "Don't you like it?"

"I'm going to be honest with you here; it tastes like bitter flowers."

"Hmm… maybe I should have ordered coffee instead…" Klaus thought aloud to himself. "Try the cake, it should be much nicer."

Runo poked her slice of cake, and took a bite.

"You're right; I do like the cake better." She grinned, waving her fork around.

"I guess I made the right choice then in getting the fruit tart." He smiled.

"You could have done a better job in ordering the drinks." She narrowed her eyes at him. "But since this is only our first date, I'll let it pass."

"Hey, I asked if you wanted anything, and you left the ordering to me." He countered. "And did I hear you right, or did you just call this our 'first date'"?

Runo choked on her piece of cake, and pounded her fork on the table.

"I… I already told you, this isn't a date!" She repeated, with frustration.

"Whatever you say." He smiled to himself, and finished his cake.

"Well Runo, I enjoyed our little 'tea break', or whatever you want to call this." He said, standing up from the table. "I'm sorry, but I must be heading off now. I do hope… that we can do this again sometime."

He reached for her hand, and held it in his own. His touch was so gentle it sent shivers up Runo's spine. When he leaned his head forward, Runo thought he was going to give her a kiss and felt her cheeks blushing pink. Instead, she felt something being pressed into her hand. She stared at the little scrap of paper in her palm, turning to him in confusion.

"The bill; had this been a different situation, I would have paid myself. But as you said; this wasn't a date."

- Yeah... I don't really know how to describe the taste of tea if someone doesn't like it, seeing as I quite like tea.

- This has nothing to do with the story, but would you please vote in my poll? *pokes Profile* I'm curious as to your thoughts...

- Review please, dearest readers~!