Larwin's Bunnies

Latte inspected her face in the mirror, hoping the dark circles under her eyes weren't too obvious. She had barely slept at all the night before. Every time she would start to drift off that devilishly handsome face would pop into her mind and suddenly she'd be throwing her blankets all about and rolling this way and that, squealing. By the time the sun rose she had died and been reborn many times.

Now Latte was stuck somewhere between exhaustion and excitement. She nervously fiddled with the cuff of her sleeve while Esula worked her magic on Latte's hair. The tangled curls were transformed into soft waves by her skilled hands.

"Where did you say you were going today, Miss Latte?" the maid asked cheerfully.

"O-oh, just to the market for a bit. I want to look for some new spices to flavour the popcorn." Latte replied. It wasn't a complete lie. She was just leaving out parts of the truth. Esula, a true gossip lover, was the number one person Latte would not tell about today's date.

The two girls chatted spiritedly while picking out Latte's dress and finishing off her morning preparations. Latte joined her family for breakfast, quickly made some popcorn to take with her, said her goodbyes, and left with Bishot in tow. Teleporting was hard on Bishot's body, so they took the carriage. Excitement bubbled up inside Latte as they drew closer to the marketplace, making her feel giddy.

Soon, she thought, I'll get to see him.

The carriage jittered as it travelled over the uneven cobblestones, then came to a stop. Latte could hear the sounds of the crowded market outside, people's voices as they chatted, their footsteps as they walked. The carriage door swung open and the pair stepped out, thanking the driver before wandering off into the crowded square.

"You can run off and play somewhere now," Latte instructed Bishot. The magician happily did so, quickly disappearing from sight.

Latte walked to a less crowded area, sat on the ledge of a fountain and stretched her legs out in front of her. He would be here any moment now. The butterflies in her stomach were restless, trying to escape.

Latte gazed up at the sky, counting the seconds, and then –

The familiar flash and swirl of magic filled the air around her, signalling his arrival. Latte shifted her gaze down, catching sight of the man standing in front of her. Long strands of silver hair caught the light, appearing slightly blue in the fading magic. His red eyes were trained on Latte, piercing into her. Tall and lean, he was a man so pretty it hurt to look at him directly.

Arwin Hebrim. The master of the Tower of Magic.

Latte felt her breath catch. Her heart rate shot up to a dangerous level and her cheeks suddenly became hot. Recently she couldn't even be in the same room with Arwin without feeling like she would have a heart attack. Even just being next to him like this was thrilling.

A mischievous smirk spread across Arwin's face. He bent at the waist to peer more closely at Latte, tilting his head to the side. "Well, it looks like I've found a fairy all by herself," he said.

Latte swallowed, gathering herself and hoping her voice wouldn't tremble. "I thought I told you not to call me that." It was a complaint, but only a half-hearted one.

She started to get up, but before she could Arwin offered his hand. Latte hesitated for a moment, then put her hand in his. For one electric moment his skin touched hers, but it was over as soon as it had begun. Once she was on her feet he released her.

Dazed, Latte stood still for a second. Arwin tilted his head at her.

"What's the matter, Miss fairy?"

Latte recovered. "N-nothing! Uh, I want to look at that store over there!" She pointed at a random market stall and then hurried towards it. Arwin followed, his long legs easily keeping up with her.

They spent the morning walking around the market together, buying different spices and toppings to try on the popcorn that Latte had brought along. When they had been around to all the stalls they found a tree to sit under in a grassy area across the road. They were happily eating the popcorn when Latte spotted a familiar pair of long ears peeking out from behind a nearby bush.

"Oh! It's you!" She exclaimed.

Peering over the top of the bush, she came nose to nose with a pure white bunny rabbit. It's red eyes reminded her just a little bit of Arwin's and she found herself giggling at the thought.

"A rabbit?" The man himself had stood up and was eyeing the small animal with mild interest. He looked at Latte, then the rabbit, then Latte again. "You're alike."

What's that supposed to mean? Latte thought.

Before she could come up with a retort there was a rustling from another bush just behind the first. A second rabbit emerged. Then a third. Then a fourth. Suddenly rabbits were coming out from every nook and cranny of the area. There was a veritable army of rabbits stretched out before them.

Arwin eyed the rabbits with some distrust.

"Oh, don't mind them," Latte reassured him. "They just do that. Look, they're really docile." She picked up the white rabbit, cuddling it in her arms. "This one looks like you, so we'll call it Arwin Jnr. That one over there we'll call Andrea. Those two can be Ash and Sakura. Oh, and there's Mystique . . ."

Latte went on naming bunnies until she started to lose count. There were just so many. She was sure she'd named 30 . . . no, 40 bunnies? Wait, there were more and more coming out of the woodwork. She leaned back against the tree, surveying the area.

Wow, this is a real bunny nest, she thought as her tiredness from this earlier started to creep up on her. Her eyelids felt heavy and her grip on Arwin Jnr loosened, and then . . .

Zzzzzzz.

***

Latte wasn't sure how long she had been asleep for, but at some point she woke up with a prickling feeling, like something was piercing into her. Her eyelids fluttered open and the first thing she saw was Arwin.

He was incredibly close to her. So close she could feel the slight sigh of his breath on her cheek.

Immediately, Latte was wide awake.

She noticed the sharp angle of his jawline, the smoothness of his perfect lips. She felt a blush creeping up her neck and onto her face and was certain that she must look like a tomato by now. Arwin's eyes stared into hers, as absolutely fascinated by her face as she was by his. Latte felt herself getting lost in them, inescapably drawn towards him. Time stood still for one second, two seconds, and then –

Plop.

There was a bunny on Arwin's head.

The spell was broken and Latte fell back, laughing until her stomach hurt and there were tears in her eyes. The juxtaposition of Arwin's handsome face with the cute Arwin Jnr. nibbling on his hair was a dangerous combination.

Arwin glared up at the unfazed rabbit. "I guess you don't value your life," He said.

Latte struggled to control herself. "Oh, leave it alone," she told him, waving for him to stop. "It's not doing any harm."

"I'm not so sure of that," Arwin disagreed. He watched Latte continue to laugh for a little while, and then –

Plop.

He took the rabbit from his head and dropped it into Latte's hair.

Latte stopped laughing. She paused for a moment. Felt the rabbit begin to nibble on her curls.

"Are you serious?" She glared at Arwin.

He began to chuckle, breaking into a mischievous grin.

Latte picked the rabbit up and placed it on the ground. It hopped away, unconcerned.

"You're the worst." 

~ Fin ~