thats it! perfect! those are romantic or something, right?
della punched the air, reaching for her coat and scarf as she marched to the door. she had all day to prepare for her date, but that wouldnt stop her from fussing. not out of a giddy daze necessarily, more anxious anticipation. normally, she wouldnt even humor the thought of anything so... romantic, in fact she kinda hated the whole concept. but this would mean a lot to luna, she knew this in her heart of hearts. and luna was... different.
not as in she wanted to do the whole staring into their eyes and slurping up the same spaghetti noodle or whatever—gross. no, more in the sense that they knew each other... theyd met briefly when they were kids, then, again in their early 20s. most consequential one night stand of her life by FAR.
.... well, maybe second. but thats irrelevant right now.
point is, they'd woken up in bed together, realized they actually did know each other and decided to keep in touch. luna went from a booty call to a dear friend (with benefits) to.... god. what the hell do you even call that? best friends+? anyway, eventually they were 26 and luna confessed, because of course it did, and della panicked. she didnt want to lose luna, but also dear fuck the idea of being someones girlfriend made her sick. not to mention her secret baggage (three eggs, to be precise).
so she shot it down, turned off her phone and cried. then in that week there was the rocket, and the moon crash, and now a decade later, here she was finding out that luna had been looking for her that whole time. had accepted her rejection with grace, said it hadnt meant to pressure her, simply wanted her to know she was loved, no reciprocation necessary... and then that thing spent a decade proving it. even after her case had gone cold, luna hadnt bought it, and spent ten years traveling the globe in search of her, texting her the whole time.
ten years. wow. it... really had been a while, huh?
a lot can change in a decade, and they both knew that. which was why this was just supposed to be grabbing lunch with an old friend and catching up. but della had been doing some backreading, and she knew those feelings hadnt faded. if anything they had somehow grown, planted in the soil of desperation. seriously, some of those texts date back to the month before she got back. crazy. and they werent all love letters, too. musing on whether she had just gone off the grid, was hiding from them, kidnapped (prime theory), or just actually dead... anyway, point is, that context changed things. that thing was for real about how it felt, and didnt need her to figure out how to feel the same back.
she found herself at the flower shop before she realized she had even left the mansion. wow. was this an adhd thing? or was it normal to put your body on autopilot so you can reminisce in a particularly expositional manner while doing tasks? how long had she been standing in front of the flower shop staring at the door? she should probably move now.
della shook her head and pushed open the door, entering the store with the chime of a bell. cute. she'd always liked those be—
"Hello, how can I help you today?"
oh right, people exist. including the small old owl lady behind the counter. this was probably her store. della realized she should probably say something.
"hi! im just browsing for now, but im super putting together a boquet for someone, so ill be back!" della shot the woman two slightly awkward finger guns as she delved further into the store
"Wonderful, dear. I'll be here if you need any help."
okay, flowers. couldnt just throw anything together, no, this had to be good. and, as much as shed like it, she doubted the lady had picks for "im willing to try this even if i dont feel the same way also i missed you a lot and i love you" on hand. but with the power of google and her notes app, anything was possible.
.......
"heyy im back, can i get a boquet with lavender..."
della glanced back and forth as she spoke, between the shopkeep and her phone, which was sporting of a list of seemingly random flowers shed seen in the store.
"...arborvitae, honeysuckle, valerian, cranberry, forget-me-nots, and... hazel? oh, and tie it with a vine instead of a ribbon!"
"Hm... Quite the mix, but alright! I'll be right back"
the elderly owl shuffled off to god knows where, eventually returning with dellas boquet. it looked nice, she thought. yeah. this would work.
"Alright, dear, let me ring you up."
della found herself checking her phone as she waited and OH NO SHE WAS GOING TO BE LATE.
"THANKS LADY SORRY GOTTA GO KEEP THE CHANGE BYE!!" she slapped some random jewels and treasures from her latest trip on the counter and bolted with her boquet.
weird. usually she reserved this level of dedication for life or death running... she supposed she did really really care how this went. luna was someone dear to her. and hey, if she had to date anyone, this lunatic butch catthing would be her go to. hey, soeaking of, there it is! on its phone—wow its aged nicely—sitting at a table. finally, it heard her panting and looked up and della had not realized how badly she had missed luna until this exact moment. luna was already out of their chair by the time della reached it, and before they knew it they were hugging like this had all been a bad dream.
"i, uh... i got you something"
della took a reluctant step back from the hug, mostly to reveal her gift. the look on lunas face once again reminded her why she was doing... all of this. awe, wonder, hesitance...
