Ruby's heart was pounding. Goddamn was it pounding.
It may have been because of the fact that she ran 5 blocks from her job to get home, but it was more likely because she finally asked Sapphire out on a date. Well, she asked her a few days before, but tonight was the big night. She had to pick her up in a little over an hour, so she wanted to get home as fast as possible. It was times like this she wished she had a car, but she didn't have the money for that.
What she did have the money for was reservations for a semi-fancy restaurant that opened up near the outskirts of Beach City. No Fish Stew Pizza or Beach Citywalk Fries for them, no way. Sapphire had been her friend since middle school. She had to deal with all of Ruby's pigheadedness throughout the years, so she deserved the best. Knowing this night would come, Ruby found it worth it to put on her best customer service smile and control her temper until she got her paycheck (even though some customers deserved her wrath).
Ruby felt uncomfortable in her now sweat-soaked shirt. She looked at the clock and decided that she should hurry up and take a shower. She didn't want to keep her date waiting. No one else was in the house, so she didn't bother to stop herself from singing a tune in the shower. A little something she picked up from Sapphire, though her singing was much better than her own. Upon stepping out of the shower, towel loosely wrapped around her, she froze.
What do people wear on dates?
The restaurant is semiformal. What does that even mean? Can she wear jeans, or does she have to wear a dress? She searched her closet to see what she had available. A black shirt. Another black shirt. Another black shirt. Hey, this one was a dark navy blue! Just when she started to question how she dressed herself everyday, she happened upon a singular clean dress. Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. That's formal enough, right?
Stepping in front of her mirror, another question came to mind. She usually has the same hairstyle everyday, so should she change it? And what about makeup? Ruby groaned in frustration. Of course all these questions would come to her on the day of the date and not a moment sooner. In the end, her hair wouldn't cooperate with her, so she just wore her normal red headband like a bow to the side of her head. With basically no experience with makeup (she was using her mother's) she just shakily put on some mascara, narrowly avoiding poking herself in the eye with the tip of the wand.
After spending another few minutes deciding what shoes to wear, she finally headed out. Sapphire lived in the direction opposite of where they needed to be, so Ruby had some time to collect herself. She had to constantly remind herself not to rub her eyes or her makeup would smudge. She took a deep breath, and approached Sapphire's house. When the other girl opened the door, Ruby felt the pounding in her chest return. She had on a radiant blue dress with white gloves. She wore her hair in her usual way, with light blue locks obscuring her right eye. Honestly, she always looked this great, but that doesn't make it any less stunning.
"Hello Ruby."
Ugh, that beautiful voice made her melt every time. "H-hey Sapph. You ready?"
"Are you ready?" Sapphire noticed Ruby shivering. She clenched and unclenched her fists and rubbed her sweaty palms on her dress.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine!" she answers a bit too quickly. "Let's go!" Ruby grabbed Sapphire's hand and lead her a bit stiffly to the outskirts of town. She felt as though she should start a conversation, but she suddenly ran out of things to say. What if she ruined the mood? No, this night would be perfect.
Ruby walked up the stairs and was met with a short girl around her age. Well, she was taller than them, but she was still pretty short. She had her hair dyed a darker shade of blue than Sapphire's and wore somewhat of a bored expression. She attempted to perk up a little when Ruby and Sapphire walking in, but Ruby could tell it was fake. After all, she worked in customer service too.
"Table for two, please. That name's Ruby Carmine."
The other girl checked the book in front of her, bored expression slipping back onto her face. "Oh yeah, Carmine. Your reservation expired, like, an hour ago."
"What?!" Ruby checked the time. Dammit, she's right. Plus, this place was booked for the rest of the night. Sapphire noticed Ruby's distress and led her out of the restaurant before Ruby did something she would regret, as she was wont to do whenever she was stressed out. Ruby sat on the grass outside and buried her face in her hands, occasionally groaning or mumbling to herself. Sapphire couldn't take this any longer.
"Hey. How about we head back to my house before it gets too dark."
"No! This date was supposed to be perfect! We were supposed to sit down, and eat, and talk, and and… then we… we would…" She started to breathe heavily. She then laid back and looked up to the sky. The twinkling of the stars reminded her of how Sapphire's eye lit up whenever she got excited. She didn't see that at all on their attempted date. "I really screwed up didn't I? Even more than I usually do. I wanted you to have a good time tonight, because I love you, but-"
"But nothing." Sapphire said, laying down in the grass with Ruby. "The only reason the night hasn't worked out like you planned is because you're not acting like you." Ruby sat up and looked at her friend. Girlfriend? Can she call her that now? "I love you, too, and I don't want to go on a fancy date just because 'that's what people do on dates'. I want to go on a date the way we want to do it." She undid Ruby's bow and returned it to its usual orientation. "It won't be a good experience if you aren't comfortable."
Ruby sighed. She always did know what to say. They both walked to Sapphire's house. By time they got there, Ruby's makeup was smudged and she finished a couple angry stories about working in retail, complete with wild hand gestures and exaggerated facial expressions. That always got a few laughs out of the cool-headed girl. Upon arrival, Sapphire gave Ruby some comfortable clothes, slipping into some herself. Once they were both in baggy clothes (Sapphire removed her eyepatch), Ruby started to pop popcorn and Sapphire set up a movie. They were both suckers for cartoons, so they watched an animated movie from deep within their childhoods. They were only half paying attention, though. Even though they constantly shifted towards each other, it felt as though they could never get close enough. Soon enough, Ruby stopped shifting. After the long day she had, she had fallen asleep before the movie reached its halfway point. Sapphire smiled to herself and turned off the movie. She snuggled up to Ruby's sleeping form and fell asleep next to her girlfriend. Girlfriend. She figures it's appropriate to call her that now.