Prompt: B34. "Wait, did you just call me cute?"

Word count: 445

"Too slow."

You glared at Cato when he said that, and then swinging your sparring pole towards his leg. But he was faster, and in the next moment you were in front of him on your knees, looking at Cato smirking smugly at you.

"Asshole," you mumbled as you stood up, looking around the training hall. "On the battlefield, I'll show you what I'm made of."

The boy snorted, swinging his own pole in his hands before he leaned on it. "You're lucky you're cute, else I'd crush you as the first one."

You rolled your eyes at him, but then his words registered and you frowned. "Wait, did you just call me cute?"

He just kept smirking, nudging your own pole with his. "Wouldn't want a cutie like you get killed as the first one, and I don't have time to protect you. So keep training."

You huffed at his smugness and his attempt to charm you, putting your pole into a starting position again. You waited until Cato attacked this time so that he could not push past your guard without actually making contact with your weapon. He managed to grab it by its base easily though, since you hadn't braced for it properly. And on the next moment, you were on the floor again, groaning while trying to catch your breath after getting knocked down yet another time.

Cato grinned at you from above, and outstretched his hand for help back up. "Oh, thanks but no thanks," you said mockingly, standing up by yourself and picking up your pole once again, ready for another attack. "I'll win fair and square."

"Oh? What makes you think that?" The young man asked innocently.

You scoffed at him again, attacking him when he wasn't expecting it but he still managed to block you effectively. This time however, you got lucky enough to hit him past his blocks, and this time it was him who was groaning on the ground.

"Too slow," you repeated his earlier mock, and he glared at you in return. He stood up and returned his pole at the rack, making you laugh. "And sore loser on top of it."

Cato merely shrugged, taking a chug from a water bottle and you returned your own pole to the rack too, before you sat down on a bench beside him.

You smirked and turned to look at him. "For the record, you're pretty cute too."

He frowned at you, turning to look at you as you grinned at him mischievously and pressed a teasing peck on his cheek before you ran off, making Cato confused - and maybe a tiny bit flustered - for once.