Now, that definitely brought a smile to her face. Even though that’s not exactly what she meant, but she knew a compliment when she heard one. “Thank you,” she murmured. Hayate then placed a hand on his shoulder, and pressed a soft, chaste kiss to his cheek. Though she knew he still didn’t understand it, it felt more than necessary.
Attai nodded, glad to see the smile back. When she pulled away, he reached up and scratched at the spot where the kiss had been placed. “You’re welcome,” he told her, knowing it was polite to say so. He still couldn’t grasp the weight of the conversation, but at least she appeared to be happier; the effort it took for him to try and understand made him tired, however, and he yawned.
She couldn’t bring herself to look at him. Hayate was more frustrated with herself than anything. Though, his words did comfort her; it made her believe that it wasn’t a lost cause. “The feeling is a strange one, that much is true.” Azure hues flickered over to him once again. “What kind of light do you see me in, Kuro?”
Attai glanced up at the sky, then studied how the afternoon rays of sunlight fell around the female. “It’s a pretty one,” he commented. “You’re nice to look at, and warm, and comforting.” There had been times where he had almost felt like he would be able to open up to her, no matter how silly the notion. “Overall, it’s very pleasant.”
It was strange to her how he could say it so simply. It registered in her mind — finally — that he really had no idea what any of this was about. “Right,” she breathed out, glancing at him momentarily. “I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t feel the same. Or felt any emotion toward me, actually.” The last bit was whispered, she just hoped he hadn’t heard it.
Oh, had be said something wrong? Attai looked down at his feet briefly before returning his gaze to her face, where he could detect mixed feelings. “I wouldn’t say that I don’t feel anything towards you,” he began in an attempt to cheer her up. “I do like being around you. I just… don’t understand more than a few types of relationships, so even if I did feel the same way, I wouldn’t be able to tell or express it.”
At this point, the embarrassment was killing her. It literally felt like her face was on fire. “Not that kind of attractive. Romantically attractive. As in—” She stopped herself there, her nerves kicked in at this point.
Romantically. Attai had heard the word before, but had never been able to attribute any meaning to it. “As in… when you kissed me?” he finished for her, a guess at the connection. He’d remembered the word for it afterwards.
