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He would never admit it, but Muriel loved sweets. I found out one day when Asra had joined me in visiting him. When he pulled out the little blueberry pie he had bought earlier, Muriel had tried in vain to hide a smile, the light in his eyes had completely given him away.
Asra left not long after, not wanting to leave the shop unattended for too long, but warned Muriel that he should eat the pie while it was still at least a little warm. I fell into our usual routine, starting up a fire in the hearth to cook lunch on before beginning to unpack the few things I had brought with me. I still technically lived with Asra, but I had started to spend a few days of the week with Muriel. It began accidentally, with us staying up late into the night just quietly enjoying each others company until one of us fell asleep on the other until one day Muriel formally invited me to spend the night. It was quite a big deal despite the fact that nothing out of the ordinary happened, but there was something about intentionally falling asleep next to each other that always had Muriel blushing. One night turned into two, two to three, and I have yet to experience a better feeling than waking up in Muriel’s arms.
Eventually, I had to go back into town, but Muriel made me promise to come back in a day or two. After that, we set up a system: I would spend four nights with Muriel, then four nights in my own house, but that definitely didn’t mean that I didn’t spend almost all of my afternoons with him anyway.
I pulled a package from my bag, and unwrapped it to show Muriel its contents.
“The fisherman in the market was selling eel, so I thought we could try and cook some ourself,” I said, smiling up at Muriel as he walked over to me. He returned my smile, his was much softer, and hummed in approval.
“You should eat that pie,” I put down the eels on the small table by the fire and started looking for a pan. “Like Asra said, its best to eat it while its still fresh and warm.”
“But, we haven’t had lunch yet,” he said, face contorting slightly in confusion. I looked between Muriel, mountainous and most likely hungry, and the tiny little pie sitting on the table that could fit in the palm of my hand.
“Don’t worry,” I said, “I think you’ll still have room for lunch.” It didn’t take much convincing, apparently, because he had already grabbed the pie and and moved to sit on the floor beside me as I began to season the eels.
“Would you like to share?” he asked, holding up the pie to me, cheeks blushing slightly.
“I might have a little,” I leaned over, taking a small bite and smiling at Muriel and the delicious taste of the blueberry filling. “Thank you,” I said, kissing him gently on his cheek before turning back to the eels on the fire. I looked back to him often, loving the blush on his cheeks and the sight of him smiling to himself as he ate.
The pie didn’t last very long, and soon he was leaning over my shoulder to quietly, yet impatiently, wait for lunch.
The following week, when I was once again packing my things from home to visit Muriel, I made sure to pack everything necessary to bake a few pies while I was there. Inanna was waiting for me at my door, as she always did on days where I walked to Muriel’s alone. It hadn’t taken me long to learn the way, but she seemed to insist on guiding me and protecting me from rogue squirrels and suspicious bushes anyway.
I found Muriel outside, sitting on a fallen log and whittling away at what was slowly becoming a tiny wooden Faust. Inanna howled at him when we got close enough, running up to him to receive her head scratches for a protecting job well done. Once she was satisfied, she ran off, pushing the slightly ajar door to Muriel’s hut open with her nose and slipping inside. I had trailed a bit behind Inanna, coming to stand next to Muriel just after she had left. He embraced me, not too tightly but still holding me firmly to him, even lifting me off of the ground slightly as I wrapped my own arms around his neck.
“You’re here,” he breathed into my shoulder. I wondered if there would ever come a day where he wasn’t surprised that I had come back to him.
“Of course . . . I have something for you,” I said, pulling my head back slightly so that I could look into his eyes. He gently brushed his nose back and forth against mine. Nose kisses had quickly become his favorite form of affection after I had taught him a few weeks ago. It seemed much easier for him to do than a very daunting kiss on my lips. “I brought stuff to bake some pies, like the one Asra brought you last time. I’ve got a few different filling options to choose from, since I didn't know which one was your favorite and I wanted to be prepared.” As I spoke, his face lit up, a familiar smile forming on his lips as he carefully set me back down on the ground.
“When can we make them?” he asked eagerly, taking my hand in his as he walked us inside.
“Right now, if you’d like to.” His beautiful smile was the only answer I needed.
We had made quite a mess in his poor little cabin, poofs of flour from when I stirred too quickly settling like white snow over almost everything, but he was smiling and happy, and I would keep making messes as long as he kept being so cute.
He was currently staring down two small containers, one filled with a lemon filling I had made at home and the other with apple slices, with an adorable amount of intensity.
“We can make both,” I said, flattening the crust into one of the little tins I had brought. “We certainly have enough dough.” Although this would have been an obvious solution to anyone else, Muriel looked at me like I had just solved all of the universe’s problems.
“Really?” I nodded, not even bothering to hold back a smile at how precious his face was. He handed me the container of lemon filling first. I tried to carefully take off the lid to avoid spilling the entire thing, but I still managed to fling some on my shirt and even a bit on my cheek.
His laugh was, not to be dramatic, the most beautiful sound in the entire world. I didn't have nearly enough time to appreciate it however, because he leaned in, still smiling that stunning smile, and gently licked the filling off of my cheek.
He . . . Wha . . .
Shit . . .
We both froze. He was still so close to me, and if I were to turn my head, I’m sure out noses would have touched. I didn't even know what to do with myself, flustered out of my mind at whatever had just happened. It didn’t take Muriel long to start rambling apologies, however.
“I- I’m sorry I don’t- I just- Inanna always does that and I just- I- I don’t really know why I-”
I couldn’t take it anymore, I reached into the container, took out a small dollop on my finger, and plopped it onto his cheek. Confused, he stopped stuttering and just looked at me. He was still leaned over enough that I could reach up to lick the filling off of his cheek, and his blush afterwards, as well as the smile he was fighting, was worth the mess.