"Do you like anyone, Nath?" Rose bit her lip as she looked out over the water, glimmering as it was, and Nathanael wasn't entirely sure why this was stuck on her mind.
Juleka and Luka were just ahead of them, goofing off, and sometimes bickering like siblings did. Nathanael paused to think about it, and how over the past year or so, how his feelings for Marinette were starting to diminish and how his feelings for Ladybug felt too hopeless to long for anymore.
"Not really." He admitted, "I think I'll be able to move on from my old ones soon." It felt kind of sad to admit out loud.
"Oh," Rose murmured, "I'm ready to not be hung up on someone distant anymore." She left to go join her best friend in the water and goof off with the two actually swimming in the ocean, and Nathanael couldn't help but watch his friend.
Juleka, Rose, and naturally, Luka at times were slipping into becoming some of his closest friends other than obviously Alix, his best friend for so long now. Marc was even becoming a much closer friend to Nathanael than he'd ever have expected though he wasn't entirely sure where this left him.
Did Rose say that about giving Luka a chance? Or did she want to give someone else a chance? Surely, it couldn't be him as he wasn't that lucky that one of the sweetest girls ever wanted to be with him.
She'd already learned over time of knowing him that he wasn't perfect and that he surely had his flaws and issues. Rose had almost dated a prince before; why would she want to date an artist that she was close friends with?
"Nath?" Rose sat down next to him, "How's my writing?" She leaned closer, and all that Nathanael could smell was the perfume she was wearing though he couldn't identify what it was: something kind of floral. Did she always wear perfume?
"It's good. Really good. Who do you like if you don't mind me asking?" Nathanael muttered, catching the words, 'Caught up on you,' 'My dear friend,' 'Veridian eyes that see me for who I am,' and 'Fiery hair that brings me to life,' on the page, and he wasn't exactly sure who knew her that well or sounded nearly as amazing as that.
"Just a friend, I guess." Rose murmured close to him before she finally got up, and the place that she left felt ten times colder.
"Rose? Does he like you back?" Nathanael asked to the best of his ability.
"Only time will tell, Nath." She smiled her brightest smile, and he found himself worrying that she was somehow setting herself up for heartbreak.
"If you could date someone that wasn't Marinette or Ladybug, who would it be?" Rose leaned against his side.
"I don't know." Nathanael murmured, "You? Juleka and Alix are close to me too, but I can't imagine dating Alix, she's more like a sister to me, and I think Juleka and I might not last." He shrugged, "You're one of my closest friends. We get along great, and you're really sweet."
"I'd pick you too." Rose murmured as she leaned closer against him, "You're so much more real than anyone."
"How?" Nathanael pulled her a little closer, half afraid that she'll pull away and leave him cold with just the bonfire in front of him.
"You know me, and you aren't afraid to be yourself most of the time, and you're really cute, you know? With your long-ish hair, and your bright eyes." Rose cut herself off, looking a little freaked out at what she'd said.
"Would you be okay if I asked you out?" Nathanael tried. Rose really was one of the sweetest girls that he'd ever met, and he'd started to think over the past few months or so that he kind of wanted to date her and see where it goes as he did get along with her better than almost anyone. Alix and his family being exceptions to that rule with Alix practically feeling more like a sister than a friend anyway.
"I-I'd like that." Rose murmured, "I just wouldn't want you to think that you should, because I want you to, or anything like that." Her eyes went wide, and Nathanael held her closer in a tight hug.
"Please go out with me, Rose, because you really are starting to make me fall more for you every single day." He muttered against her before nerves won out against him, and he'd have to just stop speaking altogether out of a sudden shy surge.
"I will." Rose murmured before pulling away just enough to kiss him on the cheek and send a bright smile his way. They'd be okay if she always looked so happy to just be there for him, and if he always looked so happy to be there for her as well.