.+. [ᴏʟᴅ] || ᴜɴᴛɪʟ ᴡᴇ ᴍᴇᴇᴛ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ .+.

.+. ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 12 .+.

.+. MADELEINE'S POV .+.

I looked to the side, heating up more than usual. "I love you Espresso. Ever since I was taken away, I couldn't stop thinking about you.. and when I found you in that café, I thought it was the most happiest day of my life. I was able to see you again. I knew I had feelings for you but I... I didn't know how you would react.. So I kept quiet for a little while..."

I looked back at Espresso, who was staring at me with wide eyes. A few moments later, his face flushed red.

"...Espresso?" I think I broke him- He shook his head lightly and avoided eye contact. "Sorry... Maddie, I- I..." He pulled his hands away from mine to cover his face.

He took a deep breath and looked back up at me, blushing deeply. "Madeleine... I love you too..!" He gave me a soft smile.

After hearing those words, I smiled happily. I jumped onto Espresso, giving him a tight hug like how I used to when we were younger.

While doing so, I gave him small kisses on his cheek. He giggled a little and hugged me back. When we pulled apart, I looked into Espresso's eyes.

Gosh, his eyes are so pretty.. and his lips.. Oh how badly I want to kiss him.. "Hey, Maddie?" I cocked my head to the right. "Yeah?"

"Do... Do you wanna go to a special place with me? I used to go there whenever I wanted a place to think. It's a nice and peaceful place.. I think you'd like it." Espresso sat next to me and looked up at me.

His face was so close to mine. He's so adorable... Thank the Divine for allowing me to see him again! "Of course, Essie! It sounds like a nice place.." He nodded and stood up, signaling me to follow him.

 As I walked with him, I took his hand and intertwined them with mine. I was able to feel his warmth on my hand.

The place Espresso mentioned wasn't too far from the hill. We made it there in just about a few minutes. I looked around the area, observing it closely.

"This was a place I loved going to. It allowed me to have space to think with no interruptions, since no one else knew about this place." He sighed and sat down in the grass.

I smiled and sat down beside him. He wasn't wrong when he said it was nice. Surrounding us were multiple rose bushes and other flowers like lilies and hydrangeas. Vines hung from the trees and leaves were scattered across the grass.

Espresso leaned onto my shoulder and closed his eyes. He lightly rubbed his head against me as if he were a cat. How adorable... I love him so much!~

We stayed there for a good 15 minutes, admiring our surroundings before I had an idea pop into my head. "Essie! Do you wanna go to my favorite bakery in this kingdom with me?" He looked up and nodded.

"They have the best donuts there! I know you love the sugar coated ones~" I chuckled lightly and kissed his forehead. He sat up straight and looked at me.

He seemed to be pondering about something. Then, he blushed for a moment. Hm.. I wonder what he's thinking about..

He blinked a couple of times and then stood up. "Let's go, Maddie. Lead the way." He extended a hand for me and I took it. We walked to the bakery and went inside.

We looked around, and to our surprise, we found Latte talking to a short girl with brown hair and warm winter clothes, along with a big white hat in the shape of a marshmallow to complete the outfit.

Espresso told me what he wanted to get and said that he'll be talking to Latte. I nodded and watched him make his way over to his half sister.

While talking to Latte, he seemed to be slightly happy. He smiled a lot more than he normally did today. Latte waved at me from afar as I ordered two dozens of different kinds of donuts.

I waved back and smiled at her. She signaled me to come to her once I was done ordering, which I did. "Hey, Madeleine! I didn't think you and Ess would be here! How are you?" She asked, smiling at Espresso.

"Ah, I'm doing great! What about you, Latte?" Latte looked at me and replied, "I'm doing alright, thanks for asking." She signaled me to come closer to her.

When I did, she whispered into my ear, "Madeleine, I expect you to treat Espresso lovingly and don't you dare ditch him or else I'm gonna make you wish you were never born." A chill went down my spine after hearing what Latte had to say to me.

I nodded. Latte gave me a small smile and continued talking to the shorter girl who was holding a cup of hot cocoa. Espresso walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my left arm.

Me and Espresso walked over to the counter to pickup the donuts that I ordered and left the bakery. I held the two boxes of donuts and walked with Espresso back to the peaceful area he showed me.

We sat near one of the trees and I opened a box. "Thank you for the treat, Maddie. I don't usually get to eat these kinds of things often..." He scooted closer to me and leaned his head on my shoulder.

I smiled at how comfortable Espresso looked. I'm so lucky to have him back in my life. "Of course, Essie! I would do anything for you!" I chuckled lightly.

I grabbed one of the sugar coated donuts and held it up to his face. He leaned in and took a small bite, immediately laying his head back onto my shoulder once he was done. "How is it?" I asked.

He took the donut from my hand and took another bite. "It's good. Not too sweet, just how I like it." He happily ate the donut next to me as I ate mine.

I want to explore the world with you, Essie. I want to stay by your side and love you 'till the day I die... I don't ever want to leave you.

We finished eating a few donuts, leaving the rest for later. The sun was setting and it looked beautiful from where we were. I turned to Espresso. "I love you, Espresso! I hope you had a great time today."

He looked at me and blushed. He gently put his hands on my cheeks and softly smiled at me. Suddenly, he pulled me down and kissed me right on the lips..

"I had an amazing time today, Maddie! Especially because it was with you. I want to do this again when we have the chance. I love you so much..."

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Hey y'all im back with another chapter and still no decent amount of sleep B))

also i kinda had writer's block so it took me a while to think of smth for this chapter
(good thing I don't have art block)

1162 Words.