10 - A few dates later

Michela had indeed immediately turned to look at Hypnos, dark eyes squinting at him carefully to pick up any trace of malice in him or his words (she was still ready to deck him in the face if needed). She minutely relaxed though, seeing how just... ridiculously non-threatening Hypnos looked still.

"Oooh, a secret club! Please Michi please can we say yes? Please please pleeease!", Lucia immediately started begging, jutting her lower lip out in an adorable pout, batting her eyelashes at her older sister.
Who didn't look overly impressed with her display. She sighed. "We'll see about that", she answered in the end, vaguely accomodating. "If I get to understand what exactly this 'super secret club' is all about. And if you manage to get your troop captain to assign this zone to you again."

Lucia pouted even harder, puffing her cheeks at her. "I'll ask her and she'll say yes because she always says yes to me!"

Hypnos chuckled, and shook his head. "Oh, you should be careful, Lucia! Just because your sister mostly says yes doesn't mean she always will! Grownups have their reasons to say no, sometimes."

He turned towards Michela, mostly to reassure her. "Well. See, I run a blog, and I use it to rank the best cafés around town. I mostly specialize in hot chocolates! People love to get my input, and I love to try out new things, but- well. It's never fun to go to a café on your own, right?"

Lucia pouted some more, but soon enough got distracted back to her rapidly cooling hot chocolate, and she hurried to finish it all up before it would be too cold to be enjoyable.

"I guess not." Michela raised an eyebrow at Hypnos, even if she felt a little appreciative that he'd warn Lucia to listen to the grown-ups and their decisions. "And you're telling me you'd rather ask two people you barely know, one of which a nine-year-old girl-", "I'll be ten next month!!", "-whatever, rather than a closer friend, or a relative?" She sounded skeptical. "Hm. What blog would it be, anyway?", she asked then, getting her phone out of her pocket.

Hypnos gave Michela the name of his blog, and helped her find it. He had indeed a relatively famous blog in which he tried out various cafés - but he only posted pictures of the mugs of either hot chocolate or coffee he ordered. Most of them seemed ridiculously sweet, or went along with a sweet pastry, and lengthy comments about whether or not he had enjoyed the drink or the snack.

He never posted pictures of himself on the blog, but there were a few pictures that featured his left hand doing the thumbs up, and that was definitely his hand, alright. It wore the same bracelet and ring he was currently wearing.

Michela scrolled down the page, stopping here and there to look first at the info page, then at some pictures. It seemed indeed like a pretty well-known, popular blog, at least judging by the ratings and number of comments left on Hypnos' various reviews. "And you go to all these places always with someone, then?", she asked again. "Is it, like, your job? Are you a blogger, or something like that?" That would have made it make a little more sense to her. It wasn't as if what Hypnos had suggested was too weird by itself - it was just a weird circumstance, and they were weird people to ask out for a hot chocolate.

"Say yes to his invitation Michi! I want to go drink hot chocolate again in a nice place!", Lucia interrupted her, pointedly showing her older sister a now empty cup. Michela just rolled her eyes at her. "If you talk like that everyone will think I never do anything nice for you, and we both know just how much that is not true", she quipped back. Lucia briefly stuck her tongue out at her.

"Well-" Hypnos sighed after Michi's first question. "I do have many friends I go to cafés with, but they're all in a relationship, and people in a relationship will rarely do anything without their significant other, you know?" He smiled to himself, when he looked at the two sister bickering a bit with each other. "Aww. I tell you what- maybe that was too quick of me to invite you for hot chocolate again. What about I give my number to Michela, and she'll decide for herself whether I deserve her trust, alright? She can even try me out, and we can have a bitter adults' coffee, just the two of us." He winked at Michela, hoping she would get the hint.

Michela straight up glared at Hypnos this time, looking mildly taken aback. Oh, she had gotten the hint - kind of at least, she guessed. What - was this guy trying to trap her into promising him a date now? Why!? Had she missed some signals? Try me out, really? Who even says that!
Missed signals or not, that sure had escalated quickly, that was for sure. Too quickly for her to immediately be able to produce one of her usual mean-spirited comebacks, as a matter of fact, and as she opened her mouth to prepare a rebuttal (that would have been a still-kind-of-but-not-really-polite 'no thanks'), Lucia answered quicker than her. "Oooh, and then if she thinks you're alright you're going to buy me hot chocolate?", she exclaimed, perching on her chair and throwing a huge smile in Hypnos' direction. "That's fair!! Michi, take his number!" Her wide-eyed glare went from Hypnos to her own sister - traitorous blood of her blood, bouncing up and down the chair. "That's not-!", she started with a snarl, before getting interrupted by a continuous stream of "Get the number Michi, get it!" with an absolutely obnoxious expression that spoke volumes about how much Lucia was not going to let her big sister get away without bending to her whims. "-okay okaY FINE, just- shut up", she surrendered in the end, pushing her phone over to Hypnos, as surly as she possibly could. As soon as she did so, Lucia suddenly shut her mouth and returned to a better sitting position, smiling clearly satisfied with herself.
She knew they shouldn't have knocked on this house's door.

Hypnos had chuckled, and he entered his phone number into Michela's phone, before he gave her a sorry smile, and lowered his voice. "Hey. You just got my number, I got nothing. If you decide I'm too shady for your tastes, don't feel forced to message me, alright? I won't mind." He winked at her and then straightened up on his seat.
"So, Lucia. How did you find that hot chocolate?"

Michela just grumbled as she got her phone back, glaring hard at it as if it was its fault that she had now the number of a near-stranger in her very scarcely filled phonebook. Deep in her heart she knew she wouldn't have messaged him, and she was already thinking about deleting the number as soon as they'd leave the house.
Because Lucia would have forgotten about it, eventually.
Right?
"I liked it a lot, thank you very much", Lucia answered, no trace of the previous trouble-inducing gremlin on her face as she smiled at Hypnos. "Do you always make your own chocolate?"

"I do," Hypnos replied with a kind smile. "Actually, I have specific tastes when it comes to hot chocolate, and unless I pay for it, I want to make sure I prepare it just to my tastes." He hunched forward over the table. "Do you want to know the secret ingredient that makes it more sweet and savoury? I'll tell it, but just to you. It's a secret!"

Lucia scooted closer to the table, looking curious. "Tell me!", she replied with a smile. "Do you put something inside to sweeten it? Is it sweet cream?"

Michela rolled her eyes on her side of the table, unseen, but said nothing to interrupt that conversation. She felt like Alice in wonderland, trapped at the table with the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, talking nonsense about chocolate and bars, girlscout cookies and pictures on a blog.
Surely not the way she had expected her afternoon to go.

Hypnos stage-whispered to Lucia, actually expecting Michela to hear every single word he was about to say. "I add a few specks of cinnamon. Not too much! Or it would be too obvious. But you can try it at home, next time. Just a speck of cinnamon and... poof!" He raised both of his hands. "It works like magic."

Lucia had clearly not a single clue about what cinnamon even was, but she gasped nonetheless. "Oooh!! Michi, can we buy cinnamon for our chocolate? Can you buy it next time you go at the supermarket?", she exclaimed, immediately turning to face her sister - who had just rested her elbows on the table, propping her face up with a hand.
"We'll see about that", she answered grumpily.
Lucia puffed her cheeks, not really pleased with Michela's answer but not really in the mood to further challenge her sister either. "Do you do magic with other drinks too?", she asked to Hypnos.

Hypnos' face lit up. "I do, in fact-" And then he deflated. "Oh, but those are grownup drinks. I can never make you taste any of these," he explained with a smile. "But I know how to cook killer potatoes, though. And cakes! Only when I'm not lazy. If I'm lazy, then I'm having Chinese takeaway and fries. Together. It's actually amazing-" And he probably would keep on rambling like that for a bit.

Michela sighed. They were supposed to get back home in ten minutes, and instead - here they were, sitting at this table with empty hot chocolate cups and a strange young man who was apparently lonely enough to find solace in talking with two perfect strangers. She should've probably put an end to this - but seeing as Lucia was actually seemingly invested in that conversation about food, and looked like she was actually resting a little, she decided not to interrupt them. She actually had to hold back a smile at some point, when something he said made Lucia laugh really hard. Seeing with how much familiarity Hypnos interacted with her little sister, she briefly wondered if he had maybe some younger siblings, to justify that kind of experience.
"... alright", she finally said, when she saw an opening for her to interrupt. "It was... nice, to rest for a bit, but now we really have to go home Lucia. Don't look at me like that", she immediately added, seeing Lucia already starting to pout. "It's getting late, and we need to go buy some groceries before we get home. I'll buy you pizza for dinner, alright?"
That seemed to appease the kid, who jumped down from her chair with a joyful expression on her face. michela got up as well. "Thank you for your hospitality", she said awkwardly to Hypnos.

Hypnos smiled, and ran a hand into his puffy hair. "You're welcome. Actually- Thank you for stopping by. I got cookies, and quite a lot of fun!" He grinned at both Michela and Lucia, and got up. "I'll lead you back out-" He took a look outside. "Oh shoot, it's actually quite late. Do you want me to call a car to drive you back home, or will you be alright?" He hadn't kept track of time, and he felt a little guilty to see just how dark it was outside already.

Michela shook her head. "Don't trouble yourself. We didn't come all the way to this block by foot anyway. My car's not parked too far, we can make it to there no problem", she reassured him with a gesture, getting her bag up from the ground where she had left it. She offered her hand to Lucia, who obediently grasped it. She waited for Hypnos to guide them back to the main entrance door.

Hypnos did indeed guide the both of them back to the front door, and he bid the both of them goodbye. Thankfully, he lived in a rather quiet neighbourhood, so if Michela said that she wasn't parked too far, there was no reason to worry about the both of them.

If his heart ached slightly when he watched them go, he shrugged it off. Anyway... Michi would message him if she ever wanted to see him again, right? Just because she was her type didn't mean the opposite was true. And they barely knew each other, so. He could still overcome the rejection.

All that afternoon had actually exhausted him, and he went back into bed, to fall asleep rather soon.

And I'll let you decide whether we go on with Michi and him interacting, or/and if we had something more on the side!

Lucia and Michela had bid goodbye to Hypnos - thanking him again for his kind hospitality during that afternoon (and for his generosity as a buyer) - and had proceeded to beeline towards Michela's car, to make it to the grocery store and then to that much sought after, promised pizza.

---

Michela had honestly thought that it would have been it.
Sure, it had been a pleasant - if weird - afternoon, and she would have probably remembered it for a little while, but other than that? Life had to move on. She had her job to think about, all the day-to-day chores she needed to remember to do, and Lucia with all her needs and school homework and whatnot to tend to.
She would have probably even forgotten about having Hypnos' phone number, and would have deleted it once she'd have remembered.
She would have.
If only Lucia hadn't been constantly, incessantly, endlessly pestering her about the man, that is.
Michela had no idea why her younger sister was so hellbent on having her message Hypnos. Was it really just because she wanted a sweet treat in a nice place? Was it because she was seeing an opportunity to sell more biscuits, and possibly enchant all of Hypnos' rich relatives or friends to sell even more biscuits (the little gremlin was way more clever and scheming than she looked like, she couldn't exclude that)? She was quite sure it was not because she was worried about her and wanted her to have more friends, like she had tried to make her believe with a cute frown and a sad pout.
She had tried to ignore her - she had even threatened to stop buying her favorite ice creams if she kept it up, and to forbid her to watch her cartoons in the afternoon. To no avail. Lucia was nothing if relentless.
One evening she finally had enough. "-alright, listen- I said ALRIGHT", she snapped, almost slamming down a dish on the counter after cleaning it. "I will write to him, alright? Just for the love of- stop talking about him!"
Lucia had finally seemed happy with her answer, and had indeed magnanimously stopped yapping non-stop. She had kept her big blue eyes on her sister until she had seen her flip out her phone and hesitate before typing something on it.
"Uh. Hi." Yeah, great start. "It's Michela. I don't know if you remember me - I came a week ago with my little sister. To sell girlscout cookies?" She petulantly showed the sent message to Lucia, and the little monster had finally looked satisfied - she had hugged her and then had skipped away to her own bedroom, to finish her homework.

No lie, Hypnos was napping when he got Michela's message. Or sleeping. There was a thin line between his naps and his daily sleeps anyway.

He smiled to himself however when he grabbed his phone to look at the time, and saw a message from an unknown number that began with 'Uh. Hi. It's Michela'. Truth be told, he had lost hope that she might ever message him! She was cute, and definitely his type, but that didn't necessarily mean the opposite was true. All things considered, she might even have found him creepy.

But he had a chance to stay in touch with her, so he'd take it! He sent her a picture in answer. A picture of an empty box of cookies he had taken a few days before to send it as a joke to his friends and relatives. "If you truly are my drug dealer name your price, I'm almost out of boxes."

Michela - who in the meantime had slumped on her couch with her laptop on her knees, getting lost in the episodes of some random serie - mindlessly reached for her phone to look at it. She blinked, and then snorted when she read the answer Hypnos had sent to her - and when she saw the picture. She wasn't even expecting him to answer at all, actually (I mean, maybe he had forgotten about them altogether, who could've blamed him), so she needed a second to herself before actually answering back.
"You're confused. Your drug dealer is a ten year old. I'm just the designated driver." She paused. "Last I checked, price's still one dollar a box."

"Well then, I'll soon order some more, tell my drug dealer to prepare a small stock!" Hypnos smiled, and rolled around in his bed, while managing to keep his blanket secured around him. "But hi. How have you been? :-)" If Michela messaged him, it wasn't only to sell more cookies, right? It meant he could try to talk to her! right?

Michela snorted again. "Will do. That'll make her happy." She settled her laptop on the coffee table in front of the couch to sit more comfortably while she typed. She could've cut the chase and immediately asked him about that coffee he had indirectly offered to her back that afternoon, but. It would have been rude. She could do the effort to conversate. "I've been good, I guess. What about you?"

"Oh, I've been fine! I've reviewed a new café on my blog, and finally submitted my yearly assignment at work, which got my boss off my back!"

Oh he had been quite inspired lately, alright. A special person who was messaging him at the moment had given his creativity the spark it needed to finally draw a new piece. These had been a pair of fancy earrings with rubis, that he was still fond of. He couldn't wait to see them manufactured!

Michela raised a brow. Yearly assignment? Wow. 'Working hard, or hardly working?', she thought sarcastically. Well - judging by the house she had seen, Hypnos was quite wealthy. Or his family was. Anyway, it was already something that he actually had a job and wasn't just leeching off the riches he already had, she guessed. And besides, maybe he was one of those people that worked following long-term projects. Who knew, really. She knew nothing of this man. Why had she even messaged him- "Working hard, then. Good for you", she typed, feeling a little ashamed about immediately thinking ill. But her curiosity got the best of her. "Yearly assignment? You're an app developer or something?" Those kind of things usually took time to be put together, right?