A Month Of Kaider

Six: There's Always A Reason

Cinder trips.

Every single sheet of paper slips out of her folder as she loses her balance.

She groans, bending down to pick them up and ignoring the quiet chuckles from the other people in the corridor.

"Cinder, are you okay?" she hears someone ask and looks up to see Kai's copper eyes shining with concern.

"Yeah, I just tripped," she mutters.

"Over what?" Kai asks, sliding some of the papers back into her folder.

Cinder sighs, shrugging. "Probably my laces."

Kai glances at her shoes, his expression softening. To her surprise, he doesn't give her the typical look of pity, a determined look in his eyes.

"What? What is it? What are you planning?" she asks suspiciously.

"I don't believe that you're particularly interested in shopping, is that correct?"

Cinder narrows her eyes. "No, I don't, why?"

Kai just winks. "I'm sure you'd enjoy it significantly more if I accompanied you, right?"

Cinder stares at him.

"You're most likely thinking on the right lines. I am going to take you shopping," Kai declares, a mild degree of authority laced in his voice.

Cinder gives him an uncertain look. "What's the reason for that?"

"We shall purchase some new shoes for the wellbeing of your feet."

Cinder rolls her eyes, an action she's been doing a lot lately, and shakes her head. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am. I hope you're alright with what you're wearing."

"Kai..." she warns.

"Cinder..." he mimics, handing her a stray piece of paper. "No arguements."

"But-"

"I'm a prefect, remember?" Kai smirks.

"You wouldn't give me detention," Cinder argues, but her focus is mostly on how good Kai looks wearing a smirk.

"I gave Thorne a detention," Kai reminds her.

"That's because you two were at war with each other for some reason." Cinder frowns.

Kai chuckles. "That's irrelevant to our current situation. I'll meet you outside your textiles room."

"How do you know I have textiles?" Cinder asks, laughing.

Kai just taps his nose. "A magician never reveals their secrets."

"It's 'his secrets', you nerd!" Someone else scoffs.

Kai turns to them, smiling. "Who says all magicians are male?"

Cinder chuckles, shakes her head, and walks to textiles. It's just a catch-up lesson where everybody is working on their term projects so she can relax, having completed hers already.

She's the first to leave, punching Kai's shoulder immediately. "Seriously, how did you know?"

"You've told me in the past!" Kai rubs his shoulder as if mortally wounded.

"Okay, fine, whatever. How are we getting there?" Cinder asks.

Ten minutes, one argument about opening the window and a few ridiculous jokes from Torin later, the two of them arrive at the shopping centre.

"What kind of shoes do you want to look for?" Kai asks, entwining their fingers.

"I don't really care," Cinder replies, smiling at their hands.

"Ankle-length boots it is," Kai decides, pulling Cinder along.

She laughs, still shocked at how well Kai knows her, and the two of them head to the few shops that actually sell boots.

Turns out, there isn't a lot of shops that sell boots.

They look for no less than an hour before finally finding one that does offer ankle-height boots, the kind Cinder wants. Once inside, it takes Cinder ten minutes to find one that has the right mix of comfort and practicality, at which point both of them agree to never come unprepared again.

Still, they have enough energy to find the nearest coffee shop, Cinder grabbing them a table while Kai orders. Kai slides into the seat opposite her once he's placed their order, as per their usual routine.

"That was an adventure."

"No, it was a hassle," Cinder says, letting her head drop thud onto the table.

Kai chuckles, moving the menu so it doesn't get stuck in her hair. "You've got better shoes now."

"True." Cinder's voice is muffled, sounding more like a hum than an actual word.

"That was quick," Kai says to himself as their drinks are called, getting up to go grab them.

Cinder perks up at the sight of coffee - or rather, caffeine.

As she takes her cup from him, she noticed he's gone for a hot chocolate again, this time with marshmallows. Cinder laughs at his choice but almost chokes as he winks at her over the rim of his cup.

"I hate you!" Cinder mutters when she stops coughing.

"I hate you too," Kai replies coolly, schooling the worried look off his face.

The smallest smile paints itself on Cinder's face so she stops talking and has a sip of her coffee, trying not to choke or burn her throat. The two of them relish the comfortable silence until Kai spots someone.

"Cinder, we need to leave, now." Kai stands, picks up the shopping bag, and pulls Cinder out of her seat.

She frowns but goes with him, knowing that he probably has a reason, which he does. That reason happens to be Cinder's eldest step-sister, Pearl, who'd just walked in with her usual group of friends.

"Thanks, Kai." Cinder grins, dropping her empty cup in the bin as they walk back to the parking area.

Kai smiles. "No problem."

"Why did we come here?" Cinder asks.

"Why did we leave the shop...?"

"No." Cinder shakes her head. "Why did we come shopping?"

Kai bites his lip.

"Why did you bring me here, Kai?" she persists.

Kai sighs, tightening his grip in her hand. "We came because you tripped over the laces falling off your old, worn shoes. We came because it isn't fair for you to miss out on durable shoes and have problems walking. We came because... because I care about you, Cinder, and I just-"

He rakes his free hand through his hair, sighing. "I wouldn't want to see you get hurt or be inconvenienced because of something I could have easily helped with."

Cinder's smile could break a world record, her face genuinely aching from the strength of it. "Kai, that's-"

"Stupid, I know, my apologies," he murmurs.

"-the sweetest thing anyone's ever told me," Cinder finishes, nudging him.

Kai looks up at her with a powerful beam. "Really?"

"Yes, you complete cinnamon roll."

Kai looks slightly bemused. "Is that a good thing?"

Cinder just laughs, winking. "Take a guess."

"I'd guess that it's not a bad thing," Kai says happily.

"And you'd be right." Cinder takes the bag from him. "Thank you for these."

"You'll be welcome when you wear them," Kai says cheekily, but shyly.

The two of them share an amused smile.

Someone on FFN asked and I thought I'd share it here too: While I'm aware that they're not all the same age in the books, I've decided to make it that way in this AU to avoid any complications in how they know each other. The whole gang are starting their A-level courses (I mentioned this before, I believe) which means they're in year 12, ie turning 17 this academic year. See you tomorrow!