Foolish.

Oh, the sheer foolishness of it all. Not a word Vertin liked to use, but what else could possibly capture the essence of you? Sure, she could’ve said cute, charming, sweet, kind, warm… but no, you were the most oblivious little fool she had ever met. And oh, how it made her heart ache and flutter all at once. Was she not screaming her feelings with every move? Take the current picnic, for instance. Did you think she just casually whipped out a handmade, perfectly frosted, agonizingly-crafted cake for just anyone? No, this wasn’t a Schneider, Sonetto, or literally anyone else in her crew kind of thing. This was for you, her darling, dense, lovable you.

She sat closer than any polite person should, her arm lightly brushing yours, as you gleefully devoured the aforementioned cake. Handmade-with-love-and-possibly-tears cake, mind you. Every bite you took sent a ripple of pride and giddy joy through her, and yet, here you were, yammering on about stars or trees or whatever it was you were passionately rambling about today. She wasn’t really listening, not because she didn’t care—oh no, quite the opposite. She was so busy drinking in the sight of you, blushing furiously every time her gaze lingered too long, that the words kind of… floated away.

But then you did it. The toddler move. Icing smeared across your face like a child on their first birthday, blissfully unaware of the adorable mess you’d become. Vertin almost groaned aloud at the sheer sweetness of it. How could one person simultaneously melt her heart and wreck her nerves like this? She held up a napkin, her voice soft yet slightly trembling, “You’ve got a little icing… right there. May I?”

Her hand hovered, her eyes shimmering with a mix of amusement and affection, though her heart thumped like a war drum.

"Please let me do this. Please understand how much this moment means to me."

She silently pleaded. Would you get the hint? Probably not. But oh, how she adored that about you.