[color=#b97703]“Well, I don’t know if I’d say [i]harmless[/i]…”[/color] Cas tried to argue feebly. Even though he didn’t think of himself as a total rebel, he still wanted to be seen as tough. There was something inside him like there was in all men that made him want others to look at him and see someone who was strong and capable. Of course, his own insecurities made it difficult for him to see himself that way all the time, but he hoped that the woman he’d caught feeling for didn’t think of him as a complete softie. He was the one who was supposed to be able to protect her, not the other way around. If she thought he was harmless, then he obviously wasn’t giving off the right impression.

[color=#b97703][i]Although, I can’t really blame her for thinking that,[/i][/color] he thought with a sigh. Since the day they’d first met, the only side of himself that he’d shown her was that of a spoiled prince. She’d seen how cushy his life in the capital was, how little he did for himself because he had servants to look after him, how little he ever suffered in comparison with the citizens of the other districts. She had also seen him fall right into a trap and be kidnapped without putting up a fight. As much as he loathed to admit it, none of those were characteristics of a man who was either strong or capable of taking care of himself. His strengths had always laid more in his willingness to care for other people than they had in his ability to be tough and rugged. He simply didn’t have that gift the way some other men did.

Eager to hear the story Iris was going to give him in return, he eased up his grip on her so that they could keep walking while she talked. At first, he didn’t think the memory was that embarrassing. Despite what she said, he didn’t judge her for trying to impress her high school crush by dressing up. It was natural for anyone to want to be attractive to the people they were attracted to, especially if they had competition around. If there had been other guys around her when they’d met, he was sure he would have been a little more assertive trying to win her attention too. He was just lucky that he’d never had to compete with anyone else to have her—Well, there was Ethan, but it didn’t seem like she was ever very serious about her now ex-boyfriend anyway.

The second half of her story brought a grin to his lips though. He practically cringed alongside her as she described how she had made a fool of herself in front of the guy she’d been trying to impress. He had done stupid things in front of girls before too, but never anything like [i]that[/i]. [color=#b97703]“Jesus,”[/color] he laughed. [color=#b97703]“That sounds like it sucked, but if he was actually into you, I’m kind of glad it didn’t work out. Who knows if we would be where we are right now if you had been with him instead of Ethan before we met?”[/color] Leaning over, he pressed a kiss to her cheek, thankful that they were finally exploring a relationship after everything that had happened. He liked that he didn’t have to worry about competing against anyone else to be with her. There was a lot less drama involved this way. Given that they were already dealing with the war, the rebellion and her psychotic father, they didn’t need any more drama than they already had to handle.

[color=#b97703]“Maybe you should do something awkward for me,”[/color] he teased her insincerely. [color=#b97703]“After hearing that story, I feel a little left out knowing that you haven’t done anything crazy to get my attention. Was I just too easy or what?”[/color]