Moonacre

Part 2

"That wasn't very ladylike of you, you know."
"Well, I never said I was a lady, now, did I?"
Robin chuckled as he sat next to her on the bench in the garden.
"I always believed you Merryweathers where all too stuck up to have some fun once in a while..." he drifted off while leaning back.
"Excuse me? We Merryweathers take huge pride in our stuck-up-ness, thank you very much." She said in an exaggerated voice, making the boy beside her laugh.
"And I'm not really that much of a Merriweather anyway. It's just a bloodline, not a cult." she added.
"Oh really? I'd never noticed."
"Hey!" she swatted her hand at him, trying to knock his hat off of his head in the process.
She failed the first time, as he was quick enough to dodge her hand and as she sat up a little to get closer, he caught her hand with ease.
,,Na-ah." He said cheekily.
She tried to wiggle her hand free which only made him tighten his grip on her wrist while also being careful to not hurt her.

She stopped her movements and glared at him playfully.
,,Let go." She said firmly.
"No."
"Let" she tugged at her hand"
"Go" she tugged again.
"What's the magic word?" he crocked his head to one side, grinning at her.
"Now"
"No, I don't think so."
She sighed in frustration and tried to pry his fingers off with her other free hand. He was quick to take a hold of that one as well and held both of her hands securely around her wrists.
The look on her face was dumbfounded as she stared at him again.
"Really?"
"I'm still waiting for the magic word, that's all you have to say and I let go."
For a second, she thought about giving in, saying please, and letting him have his way, but she was stubborn enough not to; she also wanted to know where this was going.
"No" she said flatly.
"You can't keep that up forever anyway." She added.
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes."
"Well see..." he smirked as she settled back to her original position as good as possible, her hands still held tightly.

"What did you tell Maria anyway? About your great hunt, I mean?" Jane asked after a while.
"I just started to tell her a story that happened years ago. I mean, how would she know..." he chuckled at the end.
"You still put me on the spot though."
"That was the entire idea behind it."
"Ouch.."
"Oh come one, stop pretending that you actually suffered. It was fun.", she would have slapped his arm playfully if she could.
"For you, maybe."
"Did I make you embarrassed? " , she asked with a pout.

He was quiet and when he still didn't say anything in return a few minutes later she looked at him quizzically.
"What's on your mind?" she asked in a tone that indicated that she wasn't joking and was truly genuine.
"Why?" he looked at her from the corner of his eye.
"Something is on your mind, I can tell. Do you want to talk about it?"

There was a small frown on her face, letting him know that she was actually worried about him.
Robin swallowed.
"No....why.. should there be something wrong? Everything is fine."
That wasn't convincing, he had to admit.
"Well... do you want to talk to someone else about it?" she suggested.
He shook his head.
"I said it's alright, there is nothing wrong."
Who was he even trying to convince at this point, her or himself?

"I always thought you'd be a good liar, but you really aren't" she laughed slightly.
He looked at her again.
She had returned her gaze back to the garden; to the flowers that were in full bloom, the small fountain that stood off to the side and the two birds that bathed in it.

The sun hasn't fully set and bathed the entire valley in a golden light and gave Jane an ethereal glow. He was absolutely mesmerized, and he was sure that he never, in his entire life, saw anything as breathtaking as her.

He shook his head, no, he had to stop thinking about her like that. In the end he would only ever see her as a friend, a little brother even, but never like that. She was older than him, barely two years, but enough to make her so much more mature than him, so much more grown up, and so much less likely to have any romantic feelings for him.

He sighed and stared down at her hands which he still held securely in his lap.
Her skin was soft in contrast to his, which ironically reminded him of the stark contrast between him and her in general.

Without realizing what he was doing he started softly caressing her hand with his thumb. His heart aching in a bittersweet way.
He also didn't realize that Jane had turned her attention back to him and looked at him with a confused expression before it was replaced with one of pure realization.

A fond smile graced her face as she pulled one hand away from him but kept the other hand where it was, before settling with her head on his shoulder.

His eyes were wide like a startled deer and he tensed.
Only when Jane entwined her fingers with his was when he released a breath, he didn't know he was holding. He tried to relax a little more to make her a little bit more comfortable as well.
His entire face felt like it was on fire. The first and last time he had been this close to her was when he was hauling her into a prison cell. He faintly remembers the scent of vanilla and coffee that had been faint back then but flooded his entire being in that very moment.
He closed his eyes and tried to sort his thoughts.
"I.... really don't want you to think of me as a child..."
"I don't."
Her voice was soft and soothing, and oh so close that it made a small shiver run down his spine. He prayed to every god there was that she couldn't hear his heart beating in his chest.
"But..."
She lifted her head off his shoulder to look at him; which disappointed him a little.
"I'm only teasing you Robin. Of course, you're not a little child, you're young, but no child anymore." She chuckled lightly.
"Is that really why you're being so weird lately?"
He hung his head.
"Oh Robin." she laughed.
"You truly are adorable."
He jerked his head up.
"I am not!" he argued.
"Oh but you are, don't worry, I won't tell anyone." she giggled.
"I mean, no one would believe me anyway if I tell them that the great Robin de Noir is an adorable softy."
Before he knew what was happening, she had pressed a light kiss to his cheek and stood up.
,,I might have to tell Loveday though, I'm sure she would love to know.", she teased him before running off.
It took him a second or two to regain his composure before he dashed after her.
"No, you won't!"