[color=#b97703]“Alright, fair enough,”[/color] Cas smiled amusedly when Iris asserted that she’d done him a favor by napping on the sofa. Her kindness continued to astound him. Even though he knew she was joking when she’d made that first claim, the words that followed seemed to have come from a more genuine place in her heart. She was the kind of woman he could imagine volunteering to join citizen-run relief efforts when poor and homeless people had still been living on the streets of the capital years ago. Her nature was inexplicably selfless, more so than any other high born he’d met before, and he wished he could ask her what had happened in her life to have made her turn out this way. Unfortunately, with her memories still gone, that question would have to wait for another time.

He had similar thoughts about her optimism. It was one thing to look on the bright side of a situation, but the way she spoke about the good things in her life was different than other citizens in the capital too. He didn’t know many people who would look at their health and shelter as a reason to be content. Those two things were both supposed to be a given in their society. Every member of the upper class had a roof over their head, and medical technology had advanced so much that severe conditions like his father’s were few and far between. Most of the time, if an individual became ill, pharmacies were stocked with remedies to provide a cure. Because of that, everyone was far more concerned with their public images, luxury items, and entertainment, but Iris didn’t seem interested in any of that.

As she became flustered over his confession, Cas shifted his weight on the sofa. Maybe it would have been better to sweep the whole incident under the rug rather than bring it back up again now. He hadn’t meant to make her uncomfortable by admitting the reason he’d tried to kiss her at the park. He had just wanted to make sure she knew he hadn’t been trying to take advantage of her or anything like that. But, of course, it seemed like his explanation had done more harm than good. He silently chided himself for making things worse and opened his mouth to reiterate to her that just because he had a stupid crush didn’t mean he was going to act on it. However, before he could speak a word, she collected herself enough to say that she liked him too.

Cas stared at her, tongue tied. He hung on every word that fell from her lips. She liked him, and she verified that it was unlikely that she had a boyfriend. The assurance made him feel weak with relief. The matter of whether she was available or not had been weighing on him since he’d first realized he saw her as more than just a friend. To know that she thought she was single lifted that burden from his shoulders.

He also lingered on the fact that she had [i]growing feelings for him[/i]. Having been so caught up in hiding his own interest from her, he hadn’t even noticed that she had any feelings for him whatsoever. Every once in a while, she had said or done something to make him question if there was something between them, but every time, he’d decided that she was just a naturally friendly person. The little touches, the soft smiles, the honeyed compliments. Suddenly, he saw it all in a new light, and he was thrilled.

[color=#b97703]“Are you serious?”[/color] a grin took over his lips as he looked at her. [color=#b97703]“I don’t care if it’s cheesy. My god, I thought I was the only one catching feelings this whole time.”[/color] He shook his head and laughed. [color=#b97703]“I don’t know what I did to make you like me, but I’m glad you do.”[/color] He paused briefly before sliding over to sit closer to her on the sofa, no longer worried about appearances now that he knew how she felt about him.

With their hips brushing in the shortened proximity, he met her gaze with an emboldened smile. His heart raced with excitement this time, and he slipped his arm behind her back. [color=#b97703]“I feel better about this too,”[/color] he added sotto voce, leaning in to finish what he’d started in the park. This time, there was no interruption as he pressed his lips against Iris’s, meeting her in a tender kiss.