The whispers were everywhere.
"So, the Princess has a boyfriend, huh? How sweet!"
"Mm, I'm not sure how 'sweet' it is... what's his upbringing? Shouldn't she find someone more... high-brow to settle down with?"
"Oh, but she's so happy with him! I haven't seen her smile this much in years!"
Noah sighed, lying back in her bed as the early dusk shone through the window of her chambers. It was true, spending time with Rehan made her feel happier than anything else, but... boyfriend? The two of them had never clarified their relationship in that kind of way before - although, Rehan did flirt with her a lot...
She let out another sigh, watching the amber beams of light dance on her walls. Maybe they were dating, and she just hadn't realised it. She wasn't well-versed on love, after all - well, apart from the romantic books she'd read over and over when she was alone. It didn't feel like the stories said it would... but then, things didn't often feel like they do in books, did they?
Scrunching her eyes up, she heaved herself up from her bed and made her way to the large window, gazing out at the palace grounds below. As she did, she noticed a small black cat weaving its way through the garden, deftly hopping up onto a bench outside Noah's window. It settled down on one side of the bench, grooming its paw casually. Yeah. Of course he's here.
Well, brooding wasn't going to do her any good! There was only one way to figure this out, and that involved communication!
Ugh. I shouldn't be so stressed out about this. At least this time I'll be talking to someone who actually listens to me... It'll be fine. Deep breaths!
It took her a moment to convince the guards - "Ah! I'm just going for a quick breath of fresh air! Yes, I'll stay in the gardens! Yes, I'll be back within the hour! No, you needn't come with me, the rear guard will be in sight!" - but she eventually managed to make her way out of the palace, heading towards the garden where she'd spotted Rehan lounging so casually.
To her surprise, it was almost as though Rehan had known she was coming, for it wasn't a small cat who greeted her, but a still-small-but-much-larger catboy, lounging back on the bench as though he owned it. He perked up as soon as he spotted the Princess approaching, a grin beaming across his face.
"I knew you couldn't resist me," he teased, standing up to greet her, but his grin quickly faded as he noticed the expression on Noah's face. "Hey, you okay? You look worried."
"Rehan, what are we?" she asked softly, eyebrows turned up, as she took a seat on the bench. Rehan quickly sat down next to her, his tail flicking anxiously behind him.
"Uh, people?" he answered, bewildered.
The comment got a laugh out of the Princess, and the catboy visibly relaxed a little. "No!" she said quickly. "I mean... what are we?"
She gestured at the space between the two of them with her hands.
"Oh," Rehan replied, finally understanding what she meant. "Ohhh. Like... dating?"
Noah's face flushed slightly as she nodded, averting her gaze.
"Um," she began, hesitating. "Everyone seems to think we're... boyfriend and girlfriend, I suppose, and I was wondering if... if we are..?"
Rehan grinned again, leaning towards her. "I mean... we can be. If you wanna?"
Noah said nothing, but the faintest smile appeared on her face as she slowly nodded in response.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
Nothing seemed to really change after they started 'dating', though. They had a comfortable routine, true, and she felt happy on most days, which she definitely hadn't before, but... she couldn't help but think about how the romance novels described love. The butterflies. The racing heart. The longing. She didn't exactly long for Rehan. Everything just felt... too normal to be love.
But... what if that's exactly what love is? What if my ideas are wrong?
Noah found herself, once again, sighing as she sat on the bench with Rehan. Their bench. That was a romantic thing, right? Why didn't it feel that way?
Rehan frowned and leaned over to rest his head against her shoulder, looking up at her face.
"You look like you're thinking," he hummed. "Whatcha thinking about?"
"Oh," she murmured, biting her lip nervously. "It's nothing. It's silly."
"It's not silly if you're worried about it!" he huffed, changing position to turn and face directly towards her. "C'mon. If something's up, maybe I can help?"
"I just..." she began, trailing off. "I just feel like everything's normal."
"As opposed to... abnormal..?"
She didn't quite laugh at the comment, but the small exhale she gave out showed Rehan that he'd successfully cheered her up a little.
"It's not that! It's just... we're dating, right?" she mumbled, feeling her face go red again.
Isn't that another romance thing? Blushing? But I'm not blushing over Rehan. I'm blushing because I feel embarrassed.
Rehan tilted his head, looking up at her.
"And it's too normal?" he asked thoughtfully. "Well, I guess we haven't ever really, like, been on a date or anything."
The catboy smirked as he stood up from the bench, standing in front of Noah. He extended his arm, then began to bow in a flourishing, over-the-top manner.
"Dearest Princess," he declared dramatically. "It would be my honour to take you on a date tonight. If you are available. Which I know you are, 'cause I know your schedule. But we can do another night if it's easier."
Noah covered her mouth with her hand as she started to giggle.
"It would be my honour," she managed to say once the giggles died down.
"Great!" he grinned, clapping his hands together. "Meet me in the clearing at 8!"
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
Noah hadn't been sure what to expect from Rehan's 'date', but she definitely hadn't expected this. She noticed the glow between the trees before she'd even reached the clearing, and as she got closer, the smell of food began to waft through the evening air.
As she eventually stepped into the clearing, she gasped out loud as she saw the sight before her - the clearing was full of glowflies, lighting up every tree like fairy lights. A gingham picnic blanket lay on the ground in the centre, with food and drink displayed beautifully upon it.
Rehan quickly stood up, brushing off his clothes as he smiled sheepishly at Noah. It looked as though he'd actually made an effort to dress nicely, although his shirt was buttoned in the wrong button-holes, and his trousers dragged in the dirt at his feet.
"Hey!" he said lightly, stepping towards her. "Um, I hope you like it! I couldn't exactly afford to, like, take you out or anything, but I made friends with this one chef in the kitchens, and they said they'd help me out, so I tried to find out what you like, and... well! I hope it's... date-y enough?"
"It's lovely," breathed Noah, as she headed over to the picnic blanket to sit down. "Oh, you got my favourites!"
"To be fair, they've kinda become my favourites, too," laughed Rehan, taking a seat on the blanket opposite her.
There was a slightly awkward silence for a few moments. Rehan eventually broke it, running a hand through his hair.
"Um, so, I guess we can eat?" he said nervously, reaching out to take a small sausage roll.
Noah nodded and did the same.
Ah. This is weird.
There were never usually awkward silences between the two of them, but the atmosphere felt so much heavier than usual. Noah felt her chest tighten, but it didn't feel nice. This isn't love, is it? This is just... uncomfortable. After a while, Rehan noticed the expression on her face, and his brow furrowed.
"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, looking worried. "I'm sorry, I don't really... know how all this works."
"No!" replied Noah quickly, shaking her head. "No, this is lovely! You've done a great job. It's just..."
She trailed off, and Rehan sighed.
"It's weird, right?" he said, shoulders slumping. "It's okay. You don't have to pretend."
"I'm sorry..." she began, but Rehan quickly shushed her.
"I said it's okay! I shoulda known, really. You never really responded to any of my flirting before, so I was a little surprised when you said you wanted to date me in the first place. But..."
He trailed off, looking over at the Princess, who looked as though she was trying to make herself as small as possible.
"Just 'cause other people say something, doesn't mean it has to be true, y'know?" he shrugged, flicking a piece of pastry off into the trees. "I heard the rumours, too. I probably heard more than you, to be fair. You really gotta stop letting other peoples' expectations guide you, okay?"
Noah looked down at the ground.
"It's okay if you don't wanna date me," he continued, crawling over the blanket towards her. "I don't want you to force yourself to do anything you don't wanna. I mean, you look like you wanna curl up and die right now."
She lifted her head, eyes wide. "I do not! This is lovely! I just..."
"You just don't feel the spark, yeah?" he murmured, lying back with his head on the grass. "Me neither, if I'm being totally honest. You kinda feel more like a sister to me?"
Noah's eyes widened even more. "Oh," she breathed, as though she'd just had the revelation of a lifetime. "Oh. Family. You're like family."
Rehan's eyes lit up as she said that. "Yeah! We can just be family, right?"
"I think I'd like that," she said softly, looking down, as she finally locked eyes with him for the first time all evening.
Rehan grinned up at her.
"Yeah. Family."
