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HE’S so cute.
“…Do you truly walk about as you eat this? Where are you supposed to sit?”
So cute.
“The grip of this skewer is piping hot too.”
So cute.
“What? You simply sink your teeth into it like this? Surely you must be joking.”
So cute.
Oriana watched Vincent with a great big grin on her face. She was smiling so much that her cheek muscles were starting to ache.
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The two were wandering the city aimlessly when they happened upon a street stall selling grilled fish. Skewers were lined up in rows across a wire rack, fire licking at their undersides. Since Vincent asked what it was, she bought him one.
They found their way to a block planter along the roadside and plopped themselves down. Oriana spread out a second handkerchief across her lap. The fragrant fish they’d bought was garnished with a modest sprinkling of salt.
As Vincent gawked at his food, utterly bewildered, Oriana held out the portion she’d purchased for herself, wanting him to hold it. When he obliged her, she said, “Now, pass yours over.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Oriana took his skewer and peeled off the skin for him. She discarded it on her lap, where her handkerchief was, and then sprinkled some extra salt over the fish itself. Once she was done, she passed it back over to him, then repeated the process with her own food.
“It’s easiest to bite into if you start from here,” Oriana instructed. “There are bones in the middle, so be careful.” Holding one end of the skewer in either hand, she chomped down on its back. The meat was tender and peeled off with little resistance. A small, thread-like bone was left peeking out of the fish as she pulled her mouth away to chew. “Mm, so yummy.”
Vincent watched her wide-eyed before hesitantly nibbling at the back of his own fish. After a small pause, he said, “It’s delicious.”
“Right? Pretty good, huh?” Oriana continued chomping away at her fish. Even its intestines, while a tad bitter, were exceedingly scrumptious. She polished it off in the blink of an eye. Perhaps it was a good thing that they bought three.
My heart was so full before eating the fish that I honestly thought I wouldn’t even be able to eat. Stupid stomach sure has a mind of its own, she thought.
Oriana folded up the handkerchief on her lap. If she found a place to discard the fish skin later, she would have to be sure to do so. There was still a bit of fish oil left over on her lips, so she licked them, only to belatedly remember that Vincent was sitting beside her. Flustered, she promptly wiped her mouth with the edge of her handkerchief instead.
I wonder if he saw me? Oriana chanced a glance at him, and their eyes met. He was staring straight at her, which brought embarrassment crashing over her like a wave.
“You have some salt left on your cheek,” he said.
“Huh? No way.”
The bit of salt on its tail must have rubbed off on her cheek when she bit into it. With the back of her fingers, she tried to brush it away, but Vincent shook his head. “Other side.” She followed his instructions, but her fingers didn’t seem to be finding anything.
“Did I get it?” Oriana turned her face and leaned toward him so he could get a good look. They planned to continue wandering about the city some more, so she definitely didn’t want to do so with salt stuck to the side of her face the entire time.
Oh, that’s right. I have a mirror with me. Oriana was about to reach into her rucksack to retrieve it when Vincent’s hand came toward her, fingers still wrapped around his skewer.
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Huh?! What? Eep!
Vincent’s skin brushed hers. Since his fingertips were likely covered in fish oil and salt, he surely must have used the back of his fingers to do it. His touch, clumsy as it was, gave her the chills. A pleasant numbness spread through her body.
“Did you get it?”
“…The residue on my fingers rubbed off on your cheek.”
“Seriously? Th-Then, would you mind getting that off, too?” Oriana was loath to lose his touch, so even though she was completely flustered, she still made her request. She wondered if she was asking for too much. Would he think it strange?
As she waited for an answer, his voice came out as a low, guttural grunt. “Mm.”
Oriana snapped her eyes shut, lips tightly pursed. “Mm”? What does that even mean?! All he did was whisper and that was enough for her heart to feel like it might explode. She really wished he wouldn’t do such cute things without warning.
If his touch had tickled before, she felt it that much more keenly as soon as she closed her eyes. Blood rushed to her head, and she was sure she was probably blushing. The way his fingers caressed her skin almost made it seem like he was enjoying it. He touched ever so softly, tracing over her cheek, but then, as if remembering the whole purpose of this, he put more force behind his touch to scrub away the residue.
I can’t take this, Oriana thought, her lips trembling. “V-Vincent…” She heard what she thought sounded like a sharp inhale, so she peeked her eyelids open ever so slightly. “Have you got it yet?” Eyes now misty, she glanced at Vincent. He stared back, dumbstruck.
“…I finally got it off.”
“Thank goodness.”
He pulled his hand away.
Phew, that was a close one, Oriana thought. Any more of that and I might have melted into a puddle of goo. She took a few deep breaths. For some reason, as he sat beside her, Vincent did the same.
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THEY continued purchasing and trying out different foods even after that. Vincent seemed to be enjoying his first little excursion into the city, much to her delight.
“By the way, that man isn’t bothering you anymore, is he?”
For a moment, Oriana was so clueless about what Vincent was referring to that her mind went blank. It was only upon seeing how solemn Vincent’s expression was that it dawned on her, he was referring to her father’s apprentice, Rysted.
“Oh, no. He hasn’t been stalking the city waiting for me to come out anymore, and even when I went home, he didn’t bother me. In fact, he seemed to avoid me.”
“Glad to hear it.”
His words warmed her heart. She could tell, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was being earnest. However, a question niggled at the back of her mind—one she’d been wondering for a while now. So she asked, “So, um…why did you help me out, anyway?”
“Why?” Vincent echoed back at her.
“At the time, the two of us hadn’t ever spoken before.”
At first, she might have thought he was the type willing to save anyone in need, but considering how he’d turned down those underclassmen yesterday, he was capable of saying no if he wanted. That exchange had taught her that he had his own way of drawing the line with people, his own way of prioritizing who and what was most important.
“Because you were in need.”
Oriana pulled a face, not for a minute buying that simple excuse.
“I’m telling the truth,” Vincent insisted.
“Uh-huh.”
It wasn’t that she actually thought he was lying, simply that she was convinced there had to be more to it. As she hesitated over how best to go about pressing him for details, Vincent made an awkward face and glanced up at the sky.
“…I waited so long, hoping to get you to say the word ‘help.’”
“You what?” She blinked at him.
“I’m not lying about that either,” he said with a thin smile. His tone of voice made it clear that was all he was willing to divulge. She probably wouldn’t get anything more out of him even if she asked.
Though Oriana couldn’t tell what his true intentions were in all of this, she could sense that they were genuinely good, which was why she decided to be upfront with him as well.
“Vincent.”
“Yes?”
“You really saved me back then. I mean it.”
“Yeah,” he mumbled. “I’m glad.”
Oriana smiled at him.