"You know your dad, he's always like that. He will come around eventually," Anneliese said to her daughter, and even thought Constanze really wanted to believe her, she just didn't.

"He won't. He will never accept the year's gap."

"You need to understand him. It's very...surprising, at first."

"How old do you think he is?"

"I don't wanna guess—"

"Tell me. How old do you think he is?"

"28."

Constanze smiled.

"Really? I think he looks younger than he actually is, but you just made him older."

And even if it was a serious matter, Anneliese smiled as well.

"He's 26," Constanze said, because she thought that her mother deserved to know the truth. "I give him 23, which probably would be more acceptable in everyone's eyes. Maybe yours too."

"Honey, I'm your mother. Do you know what it implies? I want you to be happy. If Thiago makes you happy, his age doesn't matter to me."

"Yeah, well, he probably doesn't wanna date me anymore, anyway," she looked at her hands, and the kitchen's door opened on a smiling Mark.

"Sissy, Thiago's here and he wants to see you. And you are talking to mom while baking...what happened exactly that I don't know?"

"A lot, honey, a lot," Anneliese smiled.

"Mark, can you ask to Thiago to meet me on the back?"

"Sure, but I want an explanation afterward!" he answered, and Constanze nodded with a smile.

Less than five minutes later, Constanze opened the kitchen's door that led on the back of the bakery, where there were absolutely nothing but fields. She didn't want her dad to see them, but even more important, she didn't want anyone to see them because he's probably gonna break up with her—and they are not even officially dating.

"Hey," Thiago smiled when he saw her, and she smiled back, or at least, she tried to.

"Hey. You can do it, no need to wait or something."

"Do it? Do what?" he frowned, and she shrugged.

"Say that you don't wanna date me, that it was nice while it lasted but now you're fine thanks and you don't ever wanna see my teenage face again or my dad's, for what it worth."

"Constanze," he used his full name on purpose, "Be my girlfriend."

"Thiago," she shook her head, "I just—"

"Yeah, you're 8 years younger than me. And yeah, some people, like your father, won't be okay with it. And we can pretend that we don't care as much as we want, that's not the truth. We do care, because seeing those people judging us will never be pleasant, especially when it's our family. But I like you a lot, and when I say I lot, I really mean a lot, and I don't plan on letting you go anytime soon. Nobody said that dating someone was all flowers and unicorns, dating someone also mean fighting for this relationship and it's okay. I'm ready to fight. Are you?"

She bit her lips and nodded her head.

"Of course I'm ready to fight."

"And..." he said, and she couldn't suppress a smile.

"And I'll be your girlfriend."

_

"So you're dating him?!" Mark asked, excitedly.

"I am," Constanze nodded, a big smile plastered on her face.

"Which means that I can now say: sissy, I told you so. He likes you."

"It just...doesn't seem real, you know? Him liking someone like me?"

"Why do you think so low of yourself?"

"Because instead of dating a 26ish woman with a job and some money already, he's dating me, just graduated from bakery school with no money."

"Sissy, he probably can say the same thing but in the other side."

"It's different!"

"How exactly? He's probably like "she's 18, she could date an 18 years old hot guy, why did she choose me?"

Constanze stared at his little brother.

"You can say it," he smiled, "Mark, once again, you are so right."

"I love you Markus," she said before hugging him, and he wrinkled his nose.

"Don't call me Markus. And I love you too. Even though you didn't tell me you were going on a date with Thiago."

"I did tell you! After the date."

"Yeah, that's the thing, sissy," he rolled his eyes. "I'm really happy. Doesn't matter if dad isn't."

She sighed.

"Yeah. I guess."

_

"Anze."

"I swear, my eyes are closed!"

"Do you think I'm stupid? You're cheating!"

Constanze opened her eyes and crossed her arms at her boyfriend, in front of her, with two ice creams in his hand.

"That's unfair!"

"It's not, you're just picking one with your eyes closed and well, maybe it's the one we both want, maybe it's not!"

"I don't care anymore," she said, and started to leave the kitchen.

"Oh my God, really? What are you, 8?"

"Well, 18 or 8, that doesn't change anything, you think I'm a kid compared to you anyway."

Thiago shook her head. For some reasons, Constanze wasn't working at the bakery this afternoon, so they decided to spend it together. Until now, everything went smoothly, but Constanze was acting strangely since the beginning of the afternoon, so he knew that it was just a matter of time before she said out loud what was the problem—and here it was.

"Don't do that," he asked her.

"Do what?"

"Pushing me away. Is that the problem again? The fact that you're younger than me? I thought it was a case closed. Is that because of me? Do you think that I consider you as a child? Because I'm not doing it on purpose."

She closed her eyes. He was too perfect for her.

"You don't, it's just...we were arguing about an ice cream and then I throw a tantrum and I know I'm acting like a child and I think you may leave because it's annoying and you don't have time anymore for that kind of relationship."

"Look at me," he mumbled, and she shook her eyes, but he didn't listen to her and raise her chin with his index finger. "Please, I want you to stop thinking like that. I told you, I really like you and I'm not going anywhere. I don't care if we fight for useless things, I just wanna be with you. Okay?"

"That was very cliche," she said, and he smiled.

"Yeah, well, what can I say, you're making me say very cliche things," he shrugged. "Is your father still angry?"

She nodded.

"He's giving me the silence treatment."

"Fuck, I'm really sorry, Anze. Maybe I should try to talk to hi—"

"Do you want him to punch you?" she said, alarmed. "Trust me, it's a bad idea. How..."

"How what?" he raised an eyebrow.

"How do you think that your family is gonna react?"

"They are usually pretty supportive."

"In general, or about the fact that you like to date younger girls?" she smiled.

"Hey, I don't want you to think that it's a habit of mine! I meant, in general. They are pretty supportive in general. And about my love life in general as well. I don't think the age or the sex of the person really matter to them as long as I am happy."

"Thiago...they are probably going to think that it's weird. I'm younger than your sister. Sister that we almost killed with her birthday cake."

"She is fine," he smiled. "And anyway, we don't have to think about that now. Here," he said, and took the ice cream that they both wanted. "You can have it."

"Why?"

"My answer is gonna be cliche, do you really wanna hear it?"

"No, I'm good," she shook her head. "Thanks, Thiago. I mean...not just for the ice cream."

"Anything for you."

_____________
Hi
Aren't they goals