The sun was setting on Ema Skye's dreariest day. It had started off well enough, to be sure. Her makeup was on point, her hair fabulously styled, and all the components of her best outfit were out of the laundry on time. If she'd have seen herself, she'd have given her all of the snackoos in the world.
But that was the problem, wasn't it? Nowhere had snackoos. Not the local convenience store, not any snack machine within city limits, and even her personal stock had run dry. Her teeth had nothing to gnash besides regular food – but that was the point. Snackoos weren't just regular food. They were divine puffs of sweetness that filled the void in her life.
Perhaps that was being a bit dramatic, but what else could she call it? She longed for the embrace of the maiden science, but that particular maiden was hidden away by things like exam boards and results and she hadn't shown up late for that test anyway. And as for any other love, well, her empty desk at Police Headquarters told all she needed to know.
"Grumpy," Ema kicked her bare foot in the river. "Obsessive," She was sat on the riverbank, her back against a cooler that had been brought for the police on duty. "Prone to snack-based battery." She'd been muttering to herself for a while, now, and the approach of night didn't bode well for any romantic prospects. She hadn't even gotten obligation chocolate from her co-workers. Was that her fault?
"Thanks you ever so much," she heard one of the cops guarding the crime scene say. She peered over her shoulder, where the crime scene was taped off. There'd been a murder, that much was obvious, but what really annoyed her was the sight of the box of homemade chocolates being handed to the man. "I'll treasure it," He said, as he leaned in and gave the visiting woman a kiss.
"Focus on the job!" Ema yelled at the man, who nearly leaped out of his boots and brought his chocolate box up as a shield. That only annoyed her more, another reminder of her missing snack. "Hey, you, lady!" She turned her gaze to the gaping blonde at his side. "Get your butt out of here! This is a crime scene!"
The woman hurried off and Ema turned back to kicking her feet in the water. That had felt good, for a couple of seconds, but then the guilt started to settle in. She didn't mean to make people feel bad, but she was so frustrated.. Her hand reflexively reached for a bag of snackoos that wasn't there. They helped drown the guilt, the sadness, the long days spent in detective drudgery.
She shouldn't even have been there. They'd swept the scene for clues and they were back being examined at the office, but did that mean she could go home and cuddle up to her sheets? No, there had to be a detective on the scene, and since most of them had partners or spouses to go home to, she was stuck at a crime scene for the rest of the night.
Ema checked her watch and slumped back. Her head hit the cooler and she groaned again. At least she could grab something to drink for the night ahead. Something fruity, or fancy, perhaps. She dragged herself off of the ground and popped open the lid.
What emerged was not, in fact, a collection of soft drinks. It was a young woman clad in a blue silk cloak, complete with top hat, and a bright smile spread across her face.
"T-ta da!" Trucy announced, her teeth chattering as she swept an arm around herself.
"Trucy!" Ema gasped. "What...the..." She glanced down into the box, which was completely empty save for the younger woman's legs. "How long have you been in that box?"
"N-not long at all! It was m-magic!" A shiver ran through Trucy's body. "Impressive, r-right?" Despite her claims otherwise, her skin was as pale as Ema had ever seen it and she had goosebumps up and down her arms. The effect wasn't lessened at all by the proud hands-on-her-hips pose she adopted.
"Come on, get out of there." Ema huffed. She grabbed Trucy by the arm and guided her out of the cooler. "What are you doing out here? This is a crime… Oh, never mind. I guess you're taking after your father, huh?"
"Oh, no, D-Daddy's terrible with the cold." Trucy put a finger to her lips. "Oh," she giggled, "you mean why I-I'm here at a-all."
"You think?" Ema couldn't take it any more. She slipped her coat off of her shoulders and wrapped it around Trucy. "You're lucky you didn't freeze your pretty little head off..." She was too cute by half. Trucy probably had stacks of chocolates sitting around at the agency.
"Th-Thanks." Trucy tugged the lab coat around herself and sat down on top of the cooler. She pulled her legs up along with her, tucking them to her chest to try to keep her warmth up. "I'm here because… Well, you were in a bad mood on the last case and I wanted to cheer you up! When I heard that you had to take a case on Valentine's Day, I came right over!"
"Oh. Huh." Ema glanced down at her feet. If Trucy was noticing it, there must have been something bad about her attitude. She'd just have to make up for it now, which she did by sitting right by Trucy on the cooler so she could share some body warmth. "How did you know that I had to work today?"
Trucy froze. Ema had to poke her arm to check that it was the emotional kind.
"Um… Well, I get to know all of the detectives working with Daddy, and I saw them all at my magic show earlier, and then I heard there was a murder, so I knew it had to be you!" Trucy flashed her brightest smile.
Trucy was lucky that Ema found it so endearing, or she might have noticed that use of the infamous Wright bluff.
"That's sweet of you," Ema said. "But honestly? I'm not going to be the best company right now."
"Because of the murder?"
"Yeah, sure." Ema shrugged. "But not just that. You know how much I hate this stupid job, right?"
"Yeah!" Trucy nodded. "It's because you don't get to do what you love; science! Not being able to do forensic stuff is like if I couldn't talk to Mr. Hat."
"Right!" Ema nodded. "I can't do anything I like and besides that, I don't even have any Snackoos. I've looked everywhere, and they're all out of stock, and nothing else is as good. It's been three days, Trucy. Three days. I've almost forgotten how they taste already."
"That's terrible!" Trucy gasped. "What are you gonna do?"
"I don't know! And I keep missing with anything else I throw at people. To think of all the Snackoos I wasted..." She sighed. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. "And I don't know if I should tell you this, but… Well, you promise not to tell anyone, right?"
"My lips," Trucy brought a gloved hand across her mouth, "Armph slmmpd." A smile flickered on Ema's face.
"Right, the thing is, it's Valentine's Day." Like Trucy didn't know that already. "And I have no chocolates. Not from anyone! Not from my co-workers or my friends or anyone who wants to go on a date with me! I've looked at my apartment, at my desk at work, and," she blushed as she admitted the next thing, "I even called the post office to see if they had any packages for me. I can't even remember the last date I went on."
"Hmm..." Trucy tapped her chin. "That sounds really hard. But lucky for you, I think I know just what to do." She reached behind her back, out of Ema's sight, and retrieved a pair of blue and pink bloomers. "You never know what you'll find in the depths of Trucy's magic panties, but if you get lucky..." Her wand was suddenly in her other hand. She twirled it about her fingers, tapped her panties with it, then held them out to Ema with a beaming grin.
Ema hesitated. But what was the worst that could come out of shoving her fingers in Trucy's panties? She reached inside and felt a familiar plastic bag. Her eyes widened as she looked at Trucy, whose smile only grew. She clasped the bag as hard as she could, like it might slip away, then pulled it out with a gasp.
It was an entire bag of Snackoos! Delicious brown treats just waiting to be stuffed down her throat.
"Trucy Wright, I could kiss you!" Ema declared, as she tore the bag open.
Trucy made a kissy face and closed her eyes. She took that pose for a couple of seconds, until she opened her eyes to see that Ema had started to shovel Snackoo after Snackoo into her gluttonous maw. Her frost-paled cheeks went pink, but her smile was no less genuine.
"That… Was… Wonderful." Ema let out a contented moan as she licked her fingers clean and poured the last few crumbs into the bag down her throat. "I hope I'm not overstating it, but you're my favorite person in the world right now," she confessed.
"Happy Valentine's Day!" Trucy said, which earned a laugh from the older woman.
"Thanks." Ema said, then took a long look at Trucy and sighed again. "I wish I was still as cute as you, Trucy. You've got all this energy and excitement and your youth..."
"You're not that much older than me," Trucy pointed out. "I'm eighteen and you're, um, twenty three, right?"
"Alright, you're just trying to flatter me." Ema gave Trucy a little nudge with her elbow. "I'm twenty eight. That's ten years of difference." Her shoulders slumped. "Just saying it out loud makes it worse."
"It's not as bad as all that!" Trucy shook her head. "You're just as cute as you ever were! I know it, because I've seen it!"
"When did you see that?" Ema raised an eyebrow. "Your imagination doesn't count."
"I mean, it's not all the time, but I have seen it! When we get to do something science-y, you perk right up! Your eyes get wider and you put on your sunglasses and you have all this energy! It looks like you're ready to take on the world with a box of powder and a bottle of luminol!" Trucy pumped her fist at her side. "Ema Skye, Ace Scientist!"
"I do…?" Ema leaned in with wide eyes. "I mean, I do enjoy it when I get to do that. I didn't think I became… Cute."
"I think you do," Trucy said. "And just now, when I gave you the Snackoos, your eyes lit up like fireworks! You get so excited about a bag of snacks and it's just… So cute! If you could do science stuff all the time, I bet you'd be much cuter than me!"
"I don't know about that." Ema shook her head, but she was smiling. She couldn't help it. "Just with the outfit, you're way ahead of me. I've got my glasses, but come on. A lab coat is all I've got and I'm half-tempted to say you look better than me in that."
"Trucy Wright, Ace Scientist!" Trucy struck a pose where she sat. "… Nah! Mr. Hat would never forgive me if I left him to do science. But you know what we could do?" She leaned in conspiratorially.
"What's that?" Ema whispered as she mirrored Trucy's leaning.
"Partnership! You do the science, I do the magic, and we'll be Adorable Ace Magitek Troupe! We'll travel all over California, from the humblest of shinto shrines to the heart of Tokyo! And then we'll take on the world, with your gadgets and my magic! And it'll all be sponsored by The Wright Anything Agency!"
Ema was giggling before she'd even finished, and Trucy joined in as soon as she had. They caught their breaths as the last of the sun slipped across the horizon and left them in starlight. Trucy took a long look at Ema's face, from the lingering smile to the light in her eyes.
"I told you you're cute." Trucy pointed down at the water, where Ema could see her reflection.
"Eh… Maybe." Ema shrugged. "This is all your influence, Trucy."
"My magic touch." Trucy smiled. "But, um, I normally work with tricks. This isn't one, but, um, I did play another one on you earlier."
"You did?" Ema tilted her head at Trucy. She didn't have a mean bone in her body, Ema knew that much, and she wouldn't have cheered her up just to bring her down later.
"Yeah." Trucy's cheeks were hot. "I...I came by because I was looking for you, after I went to the office and they said you were here. I wanted to give you those Valentine's Day Snackoos. Because you're cute. And… I want to," She scratched the back of her neck. "Date you."
The floor fell out from under Ema.
"Y-You what?" Her mouth fell open.
"Date you!" Trucy repeated, her fists clenched into balls. "You're cute and I like it and it makes me happy when you're happy so I want to go on dates with you and do girlfriend stuff and that's it!"
"Oh… Wow..." Ema blinked at the sight of Trucy sat there, panting. "There's… Huh." She bit her bottom lip as she considered it. She had always thought that Trucy was cute, even when they first met. She hadn't really thought of her in that context, even when she became a woman. But she was sweet, and kind, and she'd sought Ema out to give her just what she needed on the day she needed it most.
"I think," Ema shifted a little closer to Trucy. "I think going on a date with you would be fun."
There was a flash of motion as Trucy's borrowed coat and her cloak flew up, and there stood a wooden puppet beside her, with an elongated wooden face and her hat on the top of his head.
"It's only proper to kiss a lady on Valentine's Day." The Amazing Mr. Hat said.
"Oh." Ema smiled at the fact that Trucy had to resort to get to ventriloquism to say it. But she was hardly an exemplar of romantic competence herself. "I'll get right to it." She leaned in close to Trucy and planted a soft kiss on her lips. She lingered there for a moment before leaning back to see her bright smile. "Happy Valentine's Day."
To Ema's surprise, The Amazing Mr. Hat spoke in Trucy's place.
"It would only be proper to give the lady another kiss," His clacking jaw informed her.
"Just so you know," Ema began, "Your chaperone is not invited to our first date." Then she kissed her again, and The Amazing Mr. Hat fell silent. But for the sake of their modesty, he did look away.