Little Red Riding Hood

Peter was very sweet throughout our time in the market, but his face was constantly as bright as the hairs of a Redhead. It was rather amusing to look at.

"Oh? What do I spy with my little eye, I'd never thought I'd see Peter with Red. What a sight to see," one of the villager merchants, Miss Honeydrops smiled cheekily at us. Peter ducked his head behind me and I awkwardly laughed it off. "Your brother found his other half, have you found yours too with Peter?" she ducked to my height and asked. 

Miss Honeydrops was rather eccentric of a woman. She wore a thick monocle she claimed was a wealthy duke's and was always selling bright powders and soaps that had strong scents. She had straight orange hair that was so short, it looked like a pixie's. She liked to say she was a banished fairy who was selling fairy magic. As a child, I bought that, now, I just thought she was a very energetic and enthusiastic woman.

"We just wanted to walk around the market, Miss Honeydrops. Please don't tell Robin about this," Peter said shyly. I raised an eyebrow. Did he not want Robin to know? I thought about it. Robin would definitely kill him for daring to ask his younger sister to hang out with him, a boy.  And one of his hunters too.

"Oh of course, Peter. Don't worry, I won't tell a soul. Have fun on your walk. "Once she thought we were out of hearing distance, I heard her sigh," young love, so beautiful." It was a good thing majority of my face was hidden by my hood, or everyone could see how puffed and flushed my cheeks were. I pat them, trying to cool them down.

"What do you think of what Miss Honeydrops said?" Peter asked suddenly.

"Well I bet she'll tell Robin if he buys something from her. It's her clever marketing scheme," I replied.

"N-not that! I meant about being each other's halves. What do you think?" he scratched a hand behind his neck. I glanced and met his eyes from under my hood, though he couldn't see mine.

"I don't know. Everyone always talks about someone being their perfect half. But I don't know how they know for sure. Some say they hear wedding bells, some say they can tell at first glance. I don't know what finding a half would feel like, unless you know? Do you feel any of those things that people describe?"

"Perhaps it is all metaphorical. I doubt you would actually hear wedding bells or fall in love at first sight literally. And... I've never felt that before either. Maybe we could... try together?" he stopped in his tracks and extended a hand.

I stopped beside him and stared at his open palms. It was a strange feeling- Love. I knew what love felt like with family. It was known as Storge. But what was it like to feel Eros, the passionate and romantic love? When adults described finding the other half, they made it sound magical, like a fairytale.

But this, this felt stressful, all the pressure on my shoulders. Peter must be feeling this too. He must have it worse, having to be the one to suggest this. I felt bad if I had to leave him without an answer. If I accepted, I could try it out, see if what others said was real, but it felt awkward. If I rejected, things would be awkward too. There was no good solution. I sighed and took his hand in mine. "Perhaps we could try, and see where the night takes us.

Peter looked down at my hand intertwined with his and nearly jumped in joy. I could see steam pouring out of his ears. He was so nervous, not like a Prince Charming that people always said their lovers were. While we walked, I kept shifting and moving my hand in his. It felt unusual and strange to hold his hand. Perhaps it was because I was not used to holding someone's hand like this. Overtime, maybe I would get used to this.

We were heading back home. We barely uttered words to each other. When we reached my doorstep, Peter was the most shy he had been throughout the entire night. He closed his eyes and puckered his lips and leaned in. I stepped back and let go of his hand. "Thank you for the night, Peter," I pretended to be oblivious to his actions and was about to enter the house when Robin burst out, his face red with anger.