i can't help it if i want to kiss you in the rain, so
Flora blinks at the sound of her own name tumbling so easily out of the boy's mouth, surprise softening her expression before she can tuck it away. She’s used to being recognized by adults, by gossiping teenagers, by the sort of people who keep an eye on Torchline’s queen because she tends to leave footprints in the sand whether she means to or not, but by a child? Barely tall enough to reach the nougat shelf? That throws her entirely off balance in the warmest, strangest way.
A crooked grin tugs at her lips, something bright and sheepish all at once. "Errr...yeah. I am." The admission comes with a little scrunch of her nose as she leans closer, lowering her voice as if they’re sharing a secret instead of a title. "Sorry, I don’t know who you are." It’s honest rather than apologetic, her tone warm and almost amused by the odd mismatch between their familiarity.
At his verdict she glances down at the dinosaurs, and the thought of Kaisel discovering fruit-filled little triceratops is enough to tip the scales on its own. The tilt of her head grows thoughtful for a moment, then brightens at the boy’s follow-up suggestion. Both. Of course a seven-year-old would think like that, and of course he would be right.
"Well," she says with theatrical deliberation, "I was planning to get other kinds of candy too, and I didn’t want to overdo it on the chocolate, but..." Her grin crescendos into something conspiratorial and triumphant as she drops both the dinosaurs and the checkers game into her basket with a rustle of cellophane and a flourish of gloved fingers. "I think you’ve convinced me."
Her curls bounce as she turns the basket slightly so he can see the new additions, pride glittering in her aqua eyes as if he’s just helped her solve a diplomatic crisis instead of a confectionery dilemma. "Anything else in here you’re particularly fond of?" she asks, her voice warm and lilting, as though they’re co-conspirators in the very serious business of sweets.
A crooked grin tugs at her lips, something bright and sheepish all at once. "Errr...yeah. I am." The admission comes with a little scrunch of her nose as she leans closer, lowering her voice as if they’re sharing a secret instead of a title. "Sorry, I don’t know who you are." It’s honest rather than apologetic, her tone warm and almost amused by the odd mismatch between their familiarity.
At his verdict she glances down at the dinosaurs, and the thought of Kaisel discovering fruit-filled little triceratops is enough to tip the scales on its own. The tilt of her head grows thoughtful for a moment, then brightens at the boy’s follow-up suggestion. Both. Of course a seven-year-old would think like that, and of course he would be right.
"Well," she says with theatrical deliberation, "I was planning to get other kinds of candy too, and I didn’t want to overdo it on the chocolate, but..." Her grin crescendos into something conspiratorial and triumphant as she drops both the dinosaurs and the checkers game into her basket with a rustle of cellophane and a flourish of gloved fingers. "I think you’ve convinced me."
Her curls bounce as she turns the basket slightly so he can see the new additions, pride glittering in her aqua eyes as if he’s just helped her solve a diplomatic crisis instead of a confectionery dilemma. "Anything else in here you’re particularly fond of?" she asks, her voice warm and lilting, as though they’re co-conspirators in the very serious business of sweets.
