Turn to the light &amp; bloom.

It had been a long time since Emma could get her mind off Juniper. An embarrassingly long time, really. Before the dancing and kissing at Frankie and August's wedding. Before the almost-kiss at Jade and Rodrigo's wedding. Hell, even before she bought flowers for herself after the disastrous date auction. Juni had been a person Emma easily imagined herself with almost since they were introduced. They were kind, caring, beautiful, and a good mom to top it all off. Now, Emma just hoped she didn't fuck this date up.

Emma headed out of her apartment as soon as Juni texted they had arrived. She smiled widely when she saw the other, holding a bouquet of flowers. "Hi! Oh my god, these are gorgeous," she said and pecked Juniper's cheek. "Thank you so much." Emma brought the flowers up to her nose so she could smell the soft fragrance from them and she hummed. "Do I have a minute to go back in and put these in a vase?" She didn't want them to die before she had a chance to enjoy them.

#Emma #First Official Date para

Seeing Emma's smile and hearing her sweet voice made Juniper warm inside. And the kiss to their cheek made the butterflies in their stomach became even more restless with excitement rather than nervousness. "You're welcome!" they said, a bright smile stretched across their own lips. "Oh, yes! The Lyft driver knows that your place is the first stop, so I can wait here to make sure they don't leave with our dinner." Juni giggled a little at that and assured, "We'll be right here when you're all done."

While waiting, Juniper was trying their best not to overthink everything. Although Nova was only 2 now, it had been a long time even before then since they'd been the one to successfully plan a date. They'd hoped that this would go well and that they and Emma would both enjoy it. Juniper truly liked Emma, believing her to be one of the sweetest people with a big heart for both her friends and her young scholars. She was beautiful from the inside, out and kissing her at Frankie and August's wedding left their lips tingling like micro-sized fireworks. Standing at the open rear passenger door, Juniper smiled while lifting a hand to touch a few fingertips to their lips, recalling the kisses while waiting for Emma's return.

Outfit for: First Official Date

#wardrobe

First Official Date | Jemma

@emma-williams

Juniper sat in the back seat of the Lyft she was taking to pick up Emma for their date. In the middle seat, she'd had a picnic basket and in her hands, she gripped a bouquet of flowers. She would have driven but left her car with her siblings who were kind enough to watch Atlas and Nova. Nervous butterflies fluttered in her stomach, yet there had been plenty of excitement as well.

When the driver turned the corner to Emma's home, Juniper took out their phone and sent a text message, letting her know that she was here. Emma's place had been an added stop to the destination Juniper set for the Lyft driver, so they were able to get out of the car and greet Emma. Smiling brightly at the sight of her, Juniper waved and said, "Hiii!" just ahead of extending the pink floral arrangement of peonies and tulips to their date. "These are for you."

#Emma #First Official Date para

"It's a money saver and is better for the environment to make sure the dress gets worn more than once," she grinned. "Oh, good," she smiled and looked at Nova. She hoped the girl wouldn't sleep all night, keeping Juni to herself. Fortunately, one of their friends was there and kindly offered to hold the little girl. Emma took Juni's hand and nodded as they went off to dance. The song was a bit more upbeat, but it didn't stop her from dancing with the other. "I'm really glad to see you here. I know we've been texting a bit, but it's good to see you in person."

"Those are great reasons for it, and I bet it's nice to even look through the options even if you're not necessarily buying something. Like you can know that there are affordable styles out there!" It was a pleasant surprise to have one of their friends offer to keep an eye on Nova so that they could dance with Emma. A bit deeper pink tint colored their cheeks as they held Emma's hand and joined them at the dance space. Juni's head bobbed from side to side, along with the sway of her hips to the beat of the music. Smiling, blue eyes fixed on brown as they replied, "I'm glad too. I've really liked talking with you but seeing you is better." They bit their bottom lip a little after that admission and then, taking a nervous beat, asked, "I was actually waiting to see you again to ask if you'd like to go out with me sometime?"

Outfit for: Jadrigo's baby shower

#wardrobe #swevent

xaviernottheprofessor

Xavier: [smiles] I am! I'm planning on laying low as much as possible, spending time with the kids and Fletcher and hanging out with my friends [clears his throat and chuckles] but also I plan to go visit my mum and dad and Clayton, Athena and the kids sometime in August for a week as well as a Disney trip with all the kiddos, Fletcher and Drew. [he listens while smiling] That's good to hear that you have a great team. I imagine this summer will be insane for you. [laughs at the newly learned information about Nova and Atlas.] Adorable. We can go somewhere family-friendly like a Johnny Rockets. And hey, if you ever need someone to watch them, Winter adores the kids and I'd love to have them here too, give you some time to pamper yourself or I don't know, go on a date maybe?

Juniper: Awww that sounds like it's going to be some well-spent time off! And I'm sure your family overseas will be thrilled to see you again. Will you be going with Winter and Henry or are you going to fly there on your own? [softly gasps] Oh a Disney trip? That will be so much fun! Have you been before? [smiles and then chuckles a little] Yes, I'm really thankful for everybody at The Secret Garden. When we have our next lull, I'm going to see if I can do some sort of staff appreciation celebration. Nothing too huge but maybe a bowling night or something. [smiles again and takes a seat in their office] That's really thoughtful, Xavier, thank you! And I appreciate that. [lightly bites their lip] It's funny you would bring that up... going on a date, I mean. I was thinking of asking someone out but I just wasn't sure what would be a good idea for a first date. I feel so out of the loop for this for myself.

#Xavier call

That’s always the plan! I love taking little trips. I’m still trying to make up for my lack of travel in the first 20ish years in my life. That’s so nice that your ex’s family is planning the party this year. That takes a lot off your plate. Omg I bet he will love the Great Wolf Lodge! You’ll have to take a million pictures.

Oh that should be really fun! Do you have any particular places in mind that you want to visit? That's very true, and fortunately with things being amicable between us, they know that I'm willing to help if anything's needed. I really hope he will! Nova too even though I know she won't remember very much if any of it. But the commercials for it always look so fun. I will most definitely take a lot of pictures! And then when we get back, it'll be time for back-to-school shopping for Atlas.

thomas-meier

“I couldn’t tell you if I remember that album. I’m sure if I heard some of it, I’d recognize it. I may have been married to a man before, but I wasn’t one of those queer guys who cared about the Christina versus Britney beef,” Thomas laughed.

“Physical pictures are great. Celeste and I have some frames around the house with pictures of our wedding and of the girls.” They’d get even more put up once they moved to a bigger house.

Thomas laughed at the fedora and the word bubble Juni picked up. “I love those! Yes, back-to-back.” They took a few pictures, changing poses, before two copies were printed. “Oh, these are amazing and hilarious!”

"Oh I bet that you've heard a couple of the singles from the album. "Candyman" and "Ain't No Other Man" were really popular songs when the album came out so I imagine you might have heard it in the grocery store or on the radio or something like that." They chuckled a bit with Thomas, replying, "No, I didn't assume that at all. I didn't really pick a side between them because I've liked dancing around to both of their songs."

They agreed completely with Thomas about having photo prints. "Yes, that's the best! There's such great memories with family photos. There are some around the house that my siblings and I share, and even the pictures of Atlas, Nova and our nieces and nephews back home are so special, seeing how much they've all been growing."

After an amusing set of photos taken, Juniper returned their props and looked over the pictures with Thomas. "I can't wait to add these to my scrapbook! This was so much fun, Thomas."

#Thomas

Emma wasn’t necessarily looking for Juni while on board the boat at Frankie and August’s wedding, but any time she spotted them, they caught her attention. It was hard not to in the gorgeous pink dress. Emma also hadn’t forgotten about the last wedding they attended and the almost-kiss that Nova interrupted. And even though Emma had talked to Juni since then, the almost-kiss was never brought up. She wondered if that was because Juni decided it was for the best and that kissing was a bad idea. All Emma knew was that if she was given another chance to kiss Juni, she’d take it.

She smiled when Juni intentionally waved her down. “Hi!” she said, quietly, not wanting to wake Nova. “Thank you so much.” She looked down at herself then back up at Juni. “This beautiful dress is courtesy of Rent the Runway. I’d never be able to afford it in stores,” she chuckled. “You look gorgeous, too. I love that pink dress on you. It looks like it would be perfect for twirling on the dance floor. But only after Miss Nova wakes up, of course.”

Juniper continued smiling and felt a little bit self-conscious for a moment, hoping that they looked okay. Hearing Emma's response about her dress made them grin, "I've heard of that site before. It's a really great idea!" The returned compliment made their grin turn a bit bashful. "Thank you so much. I'd love to dance with you," Juni said and then glanced down at a slumbering Nova. Wisps of her auburn hair blew from the breeze but she remained unfazed by the celebration happening around her. "She might end up asleep for the night, but-"

One of their friends sitting nearby overheard and offered to hold Nova so that the 2 of them could go dance. Juni asked if they were sure and their friend insisted. While carefully handing Nova off, they thanked their friend and then smoothed their hands down the front of their dress a few times. Offering a hand out to Emma, they asked, "Shall we?"

xaviernottheprofessor

Xavier: [smiles] oh yeah, the kids are over the moon. Henry is doing a day summer camp and Winter is still thinking about it but I think she wants to do the art camp so I'll be picking them up and spending time with them when they're not off with that. [nods] Do you have enough help for all these events coming up? I keep forgetting its Wedding season. You must be swamped. Wel, when you have some time, I'd love to take you out! Grab dinner, bring the kids!

Juniper: That sounds exciting for your kids! What about you though? Are you making any plans for yourself over the summer? [smiles still] I do, yes! I have a really great team here at the shop and since most orders are deliveries, we have it worked out well. I'd really like that though! I'd love for us to be able to catch up in person. What's funny is that Atlas and I have been playing 'restaurant' at home a lot lately. Nova tries to join but usually she ends up trying to collect and throw all of the fake food. She's a pretty tough critic [laughs]

#Xavier call

Emma thanked Juni for putting the props back on the table for them. "Oh! Let me ask if they can print us out another copy. Then you can stick it on your fridge when you get home," she grinned. As much as Emma wanted another excuse to see Juniper, she also wanted them to have something right away to remember their fun photo shoot. The man in charge of the booth did print out another copy. "One for you and one for me. Should we put these on the table before we hit the dance floor?"

While on the boat for Frankie and August's second wedding, Juniper was thoroughly enjoying everything that had been arranged. They also couldn't help thinking about the last wedding they'd gone to and how it ended with them and Emma very nearly kissing. Nova's sleepy fit was what kept them from it but Juniper would be lying if they said that they hadn't been thinking about it often ever since.

The boat ride seemed to sooth their toddler daughter to sleep already, so Juniper sat and held her in their arms, while the music played and watched their friends dance, eat and mingle amongst one another. When they saw Emma though, they smiled and lifted a hand long enough to wave to her before resuming their cradled hold on a slumbering Nova. "I didn't get a chance to tell you before, but you look really beautiful. All of those colorful flowers look so nice on you!"

thomas-meier

Considering the way that era was, socially, this is probably as close as anyone wanted to be. "I'm glad music and the aesthetic from that era survived," Thomas smiled. He was grateful Juni took some pictures of the kids all together. His camera roll was full with pictures of the girls. He liked to scroll back to remember how small they were. "I love it, too. Pictures are one of my favourite ways to make memories." Thomas made his way to the photo booth with Juni and nodded at the suggestion of silly pictures. "Absolutely! I'll pick a few props." He picked up a paper pair of red lips and laughed. "Oh, this one is perfect for me, I think."

"Yes, it really makes for this wedding theme being so fun!" Juniper agreed. "I think that's a big reason why Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics album is one of my favorites, as well as the music videos she made from that album." Nodding she said, "Mine too! I need to update a few of my scrapbooks with some new pages from the past handful of months of events." And when Thomas picked up the lips prop, Juniper laughed, "That's a great one. Let's see..." They looked over the remaining options and then picked up one of a black fedora, and a second one of a conversation bubble that said, 'A roaring good time'. "Okay, let's do this! We can stand back-to-back?" They suggested, holding the hat over their forehead and the conversation bubble between them and Thomas.

#Thomas

Thank you! I want a mix. I'm taking it day-by-day for now, but then I'll get right into planning a little vacation. Maybe a day trip somewhere. Or a few-day trip. Do you have any big summer plans?

Ooo that sounds like fun! Whether you do an overnight getaway or do something a little bit longer, I bet you'll have a really good time! I'm mostly working but I did set aside some time for a little trip. Atlas and Nova's birthdays are a little more than a month apart, and their dad and I agreed to do 1 party in the summer for both of their birthdays while they're still young. We're alternating each year on who throws the party and this year, his family is throwing it. But since this year is a milestone birthday for Atlas, I thought it would be fun take a little trip as his present! So I'm planning to take the kids to Great Wolf Lodge in Manteca!

#likes

august-atwood

"I am the one who insisted on the... sick bags. I'm just really glad this pile appears to be undisturbed. I wouldn't want anyone feeling ill because of our wedding, especially with all the amazing food. I'm still in awe at everything. I admittedly only gave real input about the food," August laughed. "What's been your favorite thing so far? It doesn't have to be the food, by the way."