3 - It's pronounced 'quiche'. 'Kee-sh'

(Ahhhhhh cutes)

"I'll think about it", Asterius hummed, holding back a little smile when he saw Theseus scratching Spike. Of course the dog had started to wag his little tail like crazy as soon as he had seen them come back, even though he had stayed plastered on the pavement - and lazily rolled over when Theseus petted him. "I told you. He's very friendly", he remarked to his friend, walking towards the door.

Theseus nodded, and let out a smirk when he petted Spike. "That's a nice dog, yes." He wasn't as much of a dog person as his sister was, but he could appreciate a good doggie when he saw one. He finally walked out of the apartment with Asterius, and went to swim with him for a bit.

Jump in time to the end of Horknath and Carleen's date?

Yus!

Horknath had commented his brother's text with Carleen when he had seen it, after their movie was finished - Asterius must have really liked Theseus to let him sway him from his study-related plans!

The afternoon and the evening had passed over in a blur, between laughs, stories of their childhood and families and favorite movies and books - and now the night had come, and Horknath felt like not even all the time of the world would have been enough with Carleen. "-you know, I've never been really at ease with girls, since I was a kid", he was telling her as they walked to the condo where she had her apartment. "But it's... way better, around you. Especially now that I know you better, and I know that you aren't going to make fun of me", he added awkwardly.

Carleen's expression softened. "I'm sorry you got this impression of girls- It probably happened to you in the past." She turned towards him, and let out a smile. "I'll admit I was feeling quite nervous around boys lately - that's also why I had Dean come along with me when we met. I wanted to make sure you weren't like..." She sighed. "Like the last idiot I dated before you." Her smile came back. "But I've never shared so much with a guy before, and I've never felt that comfortable during dates, so... Thank you, Horknath."

Horknath's awkward smile softened a little. "I'm glad you feel that way. I hope this other guy didn't make you too uncomfortable", he murmured, gently squeezing her hand in his. "Thank you as well. I've really loved your company, and- well, I sure hope I'll keep enjoying it for more time", he added, flushing a little.

Carleen grinned at Horknath. "Oh, I'm confident you will- after all, we've completed a third date without any incidents." She felt herself blushing at the thought - this confirmed it wasn't just some fling, and that this relationship might indeed lead them somewhere.

Horknath seemed to be just as flustered as her. "That's right", he said with a little bit of a goofy smile on his lips. "I won't lie - I'm sorry that the evening is already over. I was having a lot of fun", he added, looking suddenly a little bummed about the thought of having to leave her and get back home. They were very close to her condo by now, probably, even though they were taking their sweet time walking. They weren't in a rush, after all!

"I know," Carleen said with a sigh. "I'd invite you upstairs, but Theseus might be home already." She shot a glance at Horknath. Truth be told- even if Theseus wasn't home, and even if she trusted Horknath, she knew she wouldn't have invited him upstairs just yet. Granted, she lovzd himw and trusted him, but- she still sometimes woke up to nightmares of what would have happened if Dean hadn't been supposed to meet with her on that day, and showed up just in time to avoid her an actual assault.

"Oh - no, don't worry, I just wished we could have more time to walk around and chat, like we did on our way here", Horknath answered. Sure, maybe chatting a little more while sitting on a couch would have been fine, but Carleen hadn't told Theseus that they were dating, and he could feel uneasy with another person in the apartment this late at night! He suddenly looked bashful as it was time for her to get back inside the apartment complex, though, and insistently looked down at his feet for a couple of seconds - as if gathering his courage to say something. "Even though... I did mean to ask you something tonight, because- I have no idea how it works, honestly, and I also have no idea if this is too early for this kind of thing or not, so just- feel free to say no if that's the case, alright?" Man had he worded it wrong and not even noticed because he was too taken by his own nervousness.

Carleen's emotions were all over the place and, honestly, Horknath's words had her panic just a bit. She reasoned herself that Horknath wasn't one of those guys, but that asking her about where they stood and how much he could expect from her and when was just normal. But she wasn't ready to talk about her trauma yet, and she'd rather do this on another night. Still. He'd been so good with her so far- the least she could do was listen to what he had to say.
"Go on," she answered him, her voice a little less steady than she'd have hoped.

Horknath was so taken by his own nervousness that he failed to notice just how uneasy Carleen suddenly looked. He nodded to himself and took a deep breath. "Since you're coming to my rugby match tomorrow and there's going to be some of my friends and probably my parents - by probably I mean they're definitely going to be there - of course I'm not thinking you'd come over to say hi to them it's definitely too early for that but I wanted to ask, were they to ask me who's that very pretty girl cheering for me from the public seats if I can maybe answer that you're my girlfriend?" Those words had flooded out pretty quick, all in one breath. He had almost not paused between a word and another, and was now peeking at Carleen's face to gauge her reactions.

Carleen blinked, surprised at first that the conversation was going down that path. Then her face lit up, and she smiled at Horknath, gently squeezing his hand in hers. "Of course, don't worry! And I don't mind you introducing me to your friends and family." She caressed the back of his hand with her thumb, lowering her gaze for a short moment. "I'm really glad we're together, but I realize I might be sending you mixed signals, so- I want you to know that I haven't told my brother about you yet necause his attitude towards you is bound to change drastically when he learns about us."

Horknath felt relief wash over him when Carleen gave him permission to call her his girlfriend. "Ahh, I'm glad", he breathed, still holding her hand and following the path her thumb was tracing over his own hand. "I thought it would have been better to ask anyway..." He lifted his gaze, blinking at her. "Oh- it's alright", he reassured her with a little smile. "I understand that he'd be more protective towards you if he knew we were dating. I'd behave the same."

Carleen smiled at Horknath, her heart feeling lighter once more. "Well. There's that, but you've probably noticed by now that my brother is quite... intense, about things." That and, well. He almost got to jail when he learned about the guy that had almost assaulted her, so even she couldn't predict his reaction to the news.
"If you want," she said, with a shy smile, I'll be waiting by the field before your match starts. If you feel like getting a kiss for good luck," she kindly teased him.

"I have noticed, yes", Horknath chuckled. Yeah, intense was surely a way to put it. Theseus seemed to like him alright, but he seemed like quite the unpredictable man if there ever was one - so he decided to leave it up to Carleen for when she thought it would be good to tell her brother about them. He quickly flushed at the thought of Carleen waiting for him by the field to kiss him good luck."O-oh, I'd... I'd like that", he blurted out. "But if it brings good luck and we win, then I'll have to ask you for one every time before a game - players are superstitious. Are you sure you're ready for that kind of committment?", he added more jokingly, even though his heart was flipping eagerly in his chest.

Carleen chuckled. "That's quite the commitment, indeed... but if it's for you, I can make it work." She grinned at him. "We'll have to practice that lucky kiss regularly from now on, though. It's the only way to make sure it works." She stepped on the stairs leading to her condo, so she might be at a more even eye level with Horknath.

Horknath bit his lower lip, holding back a shy smile. "That sounds nice. I've never minded having to practice", he murmured, taking a little step towards her and gently laying his hands on her cheeks, cupping them as he leaned in to steal the first of many good-luck kisses from her lips.

Carleen smiled against Horknath's lips and for once tried to deepen the kiss a little bit, to reward him for being so sweet and so patient with her. She stepped back when she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket, and threw an apologetic glance at her boyfriend. "Looks like my brother's getting worried. I'll see you tomorrow before the match then?"

Horknath sighed blissfully into their kiss, feeling his face grow a little warmer when he felt her lips part to deepen it. He was almost drawn to follow her lips when she broke their connection, just to catch himself on time and clear his throat. "Ah- uhm, of course. I'll see you there." He smiled at her. "Maybe if you'll kiss me before the game I won't get elbowed on the nose, so I won't look silly like during our first date", he added jokingly. "Say hi to your brother for me." He leaned in to kiss her again, just a quick peck now.

Carleen pecked Horknath back, and winked at him. "Text me when you get home, alright?" She finally picked up the phone. "Yes, Thee, I'm downstairs. What took me so long? My phone was buried at the bottom of my purse, calm down! Yes, I'm coming right up." She waved at Horknath and blew one last kiss to him, before she finally entered the building reluctantly.

Horknath smiled at her. "Sure", he mouthed, so that Theseus wouldn't hear him. "Goodnight, Carleen." He made a little scene of catching her kiss mid-air and pocketing it, grinning like a goof and disappearing behind the corner only when he was sure she had gotten inside the complex. He stumbled on the same trash cans and scared the same couple of cats, but it was okay. More than okay.

CUTIES!!!

And once she got back into her apartment and into her room, Carleen texted her two best friends "I have officially a sweet, caring, and respectful boyfriend. Can't wait to introduce you all to him!"
She even texted Aria, another friend she hadn't met for some time, asking if they could meet anytime soon because they had a lot to catch up on!