A/N: sorry it's a tad late but it is longer than usual so ( ik ik, not a great excuse, enjoy...)

As it turns out, she doesn't get to know what Apple Strudel is.

Kai looks like he's about to bang his head on the wall when they get to the restaurant and find out it's suddenly closed for maintenance. He worries his lip, shifting from side to side as if expecting the ground to eat him as punishment for a slightly awkward situation.

Cinder just laughs. "How about we just go and grab a coffee?"

Kai nods. "Sure, as long as it's not black."

Cinder actually stops walking, wondering how on earth someone can survive without drinking a black coffee every morning. Apparently, she hadn't wondered silently because Kai looks slightly surprised before saying, "With a surprising amount of ease."

"Oh... I didn't mean to..." Cinder groans to herself.

Kai chuckles lightly, "It's okay, I'm not offended."

Relieved that she hadn't insulted the first boy who'd tried to show her a new food on a pretty much official date, Cinder nods and the two of them start walking along the strangely empty path.

"I take it you're a coffee fan then?" Kai asks unnecessarily.

"I take it you're not?"

"I did tell you exactly that back at the workshop," Kai retorts.

Cinder grins, glad that he didn't just shrug and walk away. If there's anything to appreciate in someone who would ask you to fly a kite with them, it's the ability to carry a conversation no matter how close to being rude it becomes.

"Touché, kite boy." Cinder mock salutes.

"Kite boy?" Kai echoes, "Really, Princess?"

Cinder opens her mouth to make a sarcastic remark but she's foiled by the pink that spreads across her face and the small smile playing at her lips.

"Wait, we're here already?" Kai asks incredulously as they reach a café.

"Well, this is a café..."

"I'm not going mad, I don't work at this one. I wasn't aware that there were two such cafés." Kai pushes the door open anyway, gesturing for Cinder to go in before him.

She rolls her eyes but smiles anyway, slipping into the warmth of the small café and letting Kai close the door behind them before starting to walk towards the counter. The place is fairly empty, so she can feel everyone there watching them as they quickly order two cappuccinos, only because they have no idea what they serve here and that seems like the easiest option.

As the two of them settle at the corner table, Cinder exhales, "I hate nosy people."

Kai raises an eyebrow. "Who's being nosy?"

Cinder gestures to the people who'd gone back to their drinks only when the two of them had sat down.

"You'd hate living in my house then," Kai says casually, then pauses, as if wondering why he'd said that.

"Why?" Cinder asks slowly.

Kai shrugs. "My dad... is rather famous... with certain people. We often have company."

Cinder nods even though she doesn't quite get it.

"Two cappuccinos?" the barista calls, apparently too lazy to bring them their drinks.

Kai chuckles and gets up to go collect them, almost tripping over a chair on the journey back. The woman nearest to him chuckles, but it's unkind and judgmental, which for some reason sparks a rage inside of Cinder, one that she wasn't aware she was capable of.

"Are you good?" Cinder asks, taking the drinks from him so they don't spill.

Kai nods, sheepishly clearing his throat. "I'm usually a little more charming than that."

"Oh, charming is overrated-" Cinder bites her lip as she tries to think of something that doesn't sound too awkward- "haven't you heard that kites are the new best thing?"

She takes a small sip of her coffee as Kai beams widely, his eyes somehow brightening. The two of them sip their drinks in unison, Kai making a face and Cinder sighing with relief as the warm liquid eases itself down her throat.

"Why are you drinking it if you don't like it?" Cinder asks, trying her best not to laugh.

"I just-" he makes a face- "feel rude if I-" he blinks awkwardly- "order and then don't drink."

Cinder almost spits out her mouthful of coffee as she watches Kai struggle with his sentence. She does immediately feel bad, but it's too late to stop herself from half coughing – something that's quite embarrassing even if Kai does make an effort to not notice.

"It's raining!" Kai declares excitedly.

Cinder's never seen someone's face light up so quickly, and she's not sure why he's so excited; it's just rain.

"Okay?" she tries her best not to sound sarcastic.

Kai's face falls a little but he smiles. "I just like the rain."

"Why?" she asks curiously; she genuinely does want to know why anyone would like the rain so much that they can forget about coffee.

Kai waits for a few seconds before shrugging his shoulders as he shoots her a lopsided grin. "I've spent a lot of time with the rain. We're good friends."

Luckily, they'd both finished with their drinks so it's not a calamity when Cinder stands up and pulls Kai with her. She's not even sure why she does it to be honest, she just feels this urge to make Kai smile and to make his crestfallen look vanish.

Kai almost stumbles as Cinder swerves to dump her cup in the bin – and of course allow him to do the same – but he regains his balance by the time they reach the door, ignoring the strange looks they're receiving because they value each other over some random opinionated strangers.

"You ready, kite boy?" Cinder asks, smirking.

"Anytime, Princess." Kai mimics her tone and she grins, pushing the door open.

Almost immediately, they're hit with a blast of cool breeze and wayward rain. Neither of them are particularly bothered, grinning and stepping into the outside as they share an excited glance.

Kai's running before Cinder can blink, and she's joining him before she can think. The two of them race along the cobbled path, laughing as they twirl under the rain and occasionally crash into each other.

Of course Cinder slips.

Of course she has to be the one to lose her balance in the middle of a laugh. Her shoes slide on the path, through a puddle, and send her flying towards the floor. She would have hit the ground too, had it not been for Kai's reflexes and his hand grabbing her wrist.

"Alright, Princess?" Kai has to half-shout over the pounding rain, and Cinder can still barely hear him over the pounding of her heart.

Whether her heart is racing because she'd almost fallen or because Kai's hands are surprisingly warm on her skin, she can't tell. What she can tell is that the shine in Kai's copper eyes and the way his dimples deepen when she nods are worth the risk of a concussion.

Then, as she lets herself be pulled upright, blinking the rain away from her eyes and watching as Kai tries to push his fringe back so that he can see, Cinder realises that Kai's hand has slipped into hers.

Strangely, she doesn't mind.

Kai opens his mouth – to apologise, she can tell – but Cinder just tightens her grip and smiles softly, watching the way he shyly grins back and loving the way his fingers interlock with hers.

Despite the thudding of rain on cobbled road and despite the wind fiercely raging around them, Cinder can still hear the exhilaration radiating from Kai. She can feel the adrenaline surging in her veins and there's something else, something she can't pinpoint, something she's never quite felt before.

"Ready for round two?" Kai asks softly, Cinder having to simultaneously read his lips to make sure she hears him right.

"Oh, you bet." She grins.

The two of them set off once again, practically giggling as they swing their arms like toddlers and jump into puddles like crazed children, neither of them caring about maturity.

She has to push her hair away from her face when Kai splashes her and she gasps in mock horror, smirking as she kicks water at him in revenge. He laughs and yelps at the same time, closing his eyes as he attempts to dodge. It becomes a routine, to try and drench each other with puddle rain.

By the time the sun's fully set and they're both half cloaked in darkness, they're truly exhausted, giggling childishly. And because Kai had insisted that he walk Cinder home, the two of them lean against her front gate as they recover.

"Thank you," Kai whispers breathlessly.

"What for?" Cinder asks, frowning.

"Letting the rain join our parade."

Cinder laughs, finally unlacing their fingers as she ties her hair up, trying to figure out how she'll explain this one.

"I wouldn't want it any other way," she promises, having to raise her voice over the rain.

She bites her lip as she turns to the front door, feeling bad for Kai, who has to walk all the way home in the pouring rain.

"It's okay, I like the rain," Kai tells her, as if reading her mind.

"Did I say that out loud?" Cinder asks, unsure of whether or not she's going crazy.

"What, you don't think I'm capable of reading expressions?" From anyone else's mouth, it would sound obnoxious and haughty, but Kai's soft smile makes it seem endearing and gentle.

Cinder smiles, wishing more than anything that she could invite him in, but she doesn't want to expose her only friend to Adri and Pearl, knowing that it won't end well. So she simply waves and watches as Kai bows before breaking into a run.

She steps inside with an insanely bright smile on her face, a literal spring in her step, and Kai's laugh echoing in her ears.

She's happy, she realises with a jolt; she's actually happy.

Hope you liked it :) *Iko-style hugs you* have a lovely day! <3