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Flower already regretted her decision.
Which was strange, since usually, she was so certain of her, albeit questionable, choices.
But today was different.
Today, she stood in front of her mirror, clothes scattered across her bed, and a hanger in each hand, gaze narrowing at the two options in front of her.
She groaned, head tilting back. This shouldn’t have been so hard. She picked outfits for herself all the time! Mainly because no one else bothered to help her out, but nonetheless, this should have been a breeze.
Her phone buzzed atop the table. The clothes that were once in her hand had dropped to the ground as she scrambled to her phone, sliding up on her lock-screen for any new notifications.
Ruby.
The two had been together for a while now, but until now, they had never gonna on a proper date before. They hung out at the mall, and Ruby helped Flower pick out her outfits and stayed up with her when she was busy stitching sweaters, but neither had set anything in stone.
Until today.
‘cant wait to see u!!! XD’
She stared at the message for a few moments, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks as she smiled.
Flower rolled her eyes at her own cheesiness. God, that girl always knew how to get to her sappy side. Her eyes shifted over to the time-
“Oh my gardenia!” Flower gasped. She only had an hour before Ruby would be there, and knowing her, Flower was guaranteed to be fashionably late anyway.
The girl rushed back to her last two outfits, scanning the fabrics with a hawk’s eye.
One set, something much more loud and extravagant, stood to the side. Shiny belts, denim jeans, a crop top, a choice she would’ve fawned over back in BFDI.
The other was a little softer. A pastel pink, off-the-shoulder sweater, with denim jeans and high boots. One Ruby had absentmindedly called her “pretty” in, before stumbling over her words and pretending she had been talking about the stitching.
Flower hadn’t forgotten.
With a quiet huff, she places the first outfit back in her closet.
⋆˚✿˖°⋆˚✿˖°
By the time Flower had reached the cafe, she had convinced herself that she wasn't nervous, despite the constant adjusting of her sleeves, or the movement of her rings against her fingers.
This was fine.
She felt her knee bounce under the table , gaze shifting over the the table every now and then to see whether it was moving with her. Her fingers tapped against the edge of her seat, drumming a familiar beat of a song Ruby had sung to her a few years ago.
Every now and then, Flower would absentmindedly touch her hair, fingers hovering over her makeup to not mess it up.
Ring!
Flower's head shot up almost immediately, scanning the room for that familiar flash of scarlet.
The second their eyes met, Ruby started to glow.
"Flower!"
A couple of people around her glanced up at the sound in confusion, though Ruby didn't seem to notice, practically bouncing as she stopped in front of the table. Flower immediately got up, feeling Ruby's arms wrap around her in a familiar, warm embrace. She laughed, pulling back slightly to see the enormous smile on the shorter girl's face.
"Ah! I'm so happy you're here!" Ruby beamed, hands still over her waist. Flower felt her tan face heat up, though she didn't comment on it.
"Of course I am," Flower said, admiring the girl in front of her. She gaze drifted down to Ruby's jittering feet, gaze landing on something else.
Amongst the gold earrings and the bows in her ear, further from the scarlet hollister top and the painted nails-
-was the sweater.
While Flower had made sweaters for all of the Have Cots, she had also made another one for Ruby. A crimson-coloured, slightly oversized sweater, with gold print and tiny embroidered stars along the cuffs and collar.
Flower simply stared, unable to formulate any words that wouldn’t make her sound like a complete fool. So, instead, she stood there, awe-struck.
Ruby tilted her head, confused. “You okay, Flower?”
She stumbled over her words, stuttering for a moment, before recovering with “Yeah..” Flower paused for a moment, before speaking up quietly. “You look nice, by the way.”
Ruby blinked. “Really?”
And suddenly, Flower found the ground insanely interesting. “Yeah, whatever,” she stuttered, avoiding her gaze.
A grin spread across Ruby's face so quickly it was almost comical. The sun reflected off of her large, star-shaped earrings, catching Flower’s eye. “Aww, thanks, Flower!” She reached over without thinking, linking hands with the girl. “You look really nice too.”
Flower chuckled. “I’ve worn this a thousand times, Ruby.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Ruby shrugged. “You look nice no matter what you wear.”
Oh my gardenia.
The two of them stared at each other for a moment, flushed, before Ruby pulled back. "Sorry- Too much?"
Flower let out a laugh, kissing her cheek. "Absolutely not."
Mentally, Ruby punched the air in victory, picking up the menu and turning it in her hands. “So,” she said, “What do you want to order?”
Flower shrugged, taking the menu into her hands. Ruby leaned over her shoulder, peering at the printed writing in Flower's hands. “What do you want?”
“I was thinking…” Ruby hummed in thought. “Matcha?”
“But you don’t like bitter stuff.”
“But it’s strawberry.”
“Right.”
“Ooh, how about a caramel latte?”
“You don’t like coffee?”
“But it’s caramel!”
Flower chuckled, pulling out her card. “How about we just get both?
Ruby gasped. “Really?”
“I mean,” Flower shrugged, “It’s not like they’d go to waste.”
Ruby smiled broadly, hugging the girl. "Thanks, Flower!"
Flower snickered, shaking her head. "Of course, Ruby."
⋆˚✿˖°⋆˚✿˖°
Neither of them had really planned beyond the cafe. Which started to become much more evident as they wandered around the city.
One minute they were leaving the cafe, drinks half-finished in their hands, and the next, the two were walking down a market, filled with small stalls and little trinkets.
Ruby loved trinkets. If that wasn't obvious before, it definitely was now.
She paused in front of a small, glittering stall, jewellery stacked across it. Flower could already see the stars forming in her eyes. Ruby glanced up at Flower, eyes wide and pleading.
Oh no.
"Ruby."
"Please?"
"You know those are all scams, right?"
"But they're pretty!"
Flower sighed, holding the bridge of her nose. "Fine," she relented, hearing a quiet "yes!" from her lover. "Pick something out."
Ruby perked up, scanning the case with a newfound intensity, and leaning far too close. "This one's cute," she said, pointing to a silver choker with plastic pearls.
"Too fragile."
"This one?"
"Cheap."
Ruby moved down, pausing in front of a silver necklace with a ruby pendant. She glanced back excitedly at Flower, beaming. "How about this?"
Flower moved closer, looking at it over Ruby's shoulder with a kind of intensity that only ever came out when she was making an important decision about fashion. After all, it was her specialty.
"That," Flower said, "will look great on you."
Ruby grinned, reaching for it. She looked over the counter, meeting the shopkeeper's gaze. "Could I try this on?"
The woman nodded, and Ruby turned slightly, handing it to Flower. "Could you-"
"Got it." Flower stepped closer, taking the necklace into her hands while Ruby lifted her hair up absent-mindedly for Flower to clip it on at the back. Her fingers brushed the collar of Ruby's sweater as she fastened the clasp. "There," she said quietly, letting Ruby turn around to check herself in the mirror.
Her hand brushed against it lightly, head tilted to the side. "Does it look okay?"
Flower smiled. "It looks perfect."
Ruby couldn't hide the excitement bubbling in her chest.
⋆˚✿˖°⋆˚✿˖°
By the time the sun had set, Flower and Ruby were already on their way home, ice-creams in hand. Ruby had gotten four scoops for herself, and after it had inevitably fallen, they had settled on sharing Flower's two-scoop, chocolate fudge and strawberry cone. The two ended up sitting on a low wall near the edge of the street, legs swinging underneath them as they ate.
Ruby was mid-rant about something to do with Blocky and Loser when Flower's gaze caught the stray thread near the cuff of Ruby's sweater.
"Hold still," she said, taking Ruby's wrist and pinching the loose thread between her fingers, frowning.
Ruby arched a brow, glancing down at her sleeve. "Huh?"
"I think it snagged on something," Flower muttered in thought.
"I didn't notice," Ruby said quietly, matching Flower's tone. Flower gently tucked the strand back in, smoothing down the fabric with her thumb. "Sorry," Ruby muttered, glancing over her own shoulder in embarrassment.
Flower glanced up, confused. "Why are you sorry?"
Ruby hid her face in her hands. "I know it took so long to make, and it keeps wearing out- probably because I wear it all the time-"
"Woah, woah," Flower interrupted. "It's fine, don't worry. Plus, it didn't take that long."
Ruby stared at her for a moment, completely unconvinced.
Okay, maybe it had. Weeks of sore hands, pricked fingers, and undoing rows that weren’t perfect enough had made every one of those stitches memorable.
Flower looked up at Ruby. "You're supposed to wear it, Ruby. It's not meant to sit in a closet."
"I know. I just keep wearing off the cuffs and-"
"Ruby." Flower linked her fingers with hers. "I made it for you to live in it."
Ruby hesitated for a moment, glancing back down at the cuff before speaking. "And if it wear off again?"
"Then I'll fix it." Flower shrugged, cheeks growing red as she continued.
"You're worth every stitch anyway."
Ruby blushed, smiling brightly. "Aww, Flower!"
The two laughed against the night sky, and in that moment, nothing more than that sweater, the overpriced necklace, and them, together.