Author's Notes: A gift for Symphonic Fantasia for the Valentine's Day Exchange Prompt - I seriously hope you like it! Ironically, I had a major case of writers' block trying to think up something good for this - hopefully, I did the idea and characters justice, though!

Teaser

"Order up! Chicken Parmesan, garden salad, blueberry iced tea!"

The proclamation was a bit pointless, Iris Albrecht mused to herself, as she moved her spiral-bound notebook aside for the aforementioned cuisine to be set down on the counter in front of her. Nonetheless, she received them with a polite thanks and a grateful smile, sweeping her loose blonde braid over her shoulder and inhaling the aroma deeply. "Thanks a million, Raeger - it looks amazing! Have you ever considered cloning yourself?" she added teasingly, giggling as Raeger Falkenrath cast his gaze about the lively little restaurant with a rueful laugh of his own - as usual, more than a few pairs of fawning eyes were fixed upon stunning novelist and handsome chef alike, along with a few jealous glares from the Saturday lunch crowd as the pair spoke genially. Still, his pleasant smile remained in place, in spite of the slight exhaustion and exasperation Iris could sense.

"Don't I wish... I had Veronica circulate some help wanted ads the other day, though - here you go, Mr. Becker," he added quickly, turning to an old man on the far side of the counter and refilling his tea. "You enjoying everything so far? Excellent! Let me know if you need anything else, alright?" Turning back to Iris while Mr. Becker nodded happily and returned to his table, Raeger shrugged. "So, I'm interviewing this girl from Flower Bud on Wednesday, and Kam's interested in maybe doing some part-time waiting himself, so that'll hopefully be a good start."

"Kamil?" Iris repeated with an interested raise of her eyebrow, keeping eye contact with Raeger as she sipped her tea. "As waitstaff? But he's so quiet! I mean, don't get me wrong - he's such a sweetheart... Mistel's actually having him over for a re-match at chess right now, you know. So, he kicked me out - he says Kam gets distracted around me." She let out a knowing titter at this remark, watching as Raeger rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "I know the feeling, though - sometimes, being around certain people distracts me, too. But apparently, I really throw him off his game. Imagine that, huh?"

"Yeaaaaaah, I'm not touching that one," Raeger returned with another shrug, this time rolling his shoulders and his sore neck afterward. "Besides, he's worked directly with people before, back when he lived in Bluebell - he's got good references from some of his local customers."

Iris nodded as she swallowed a bite of chicken, humming thoughtfully. "And between the two of you, this place will be packed to bursting with a sea of doe-eyed young ladies! And a few doe-eyed young men," she added offhandedly, craning her neck to look around the place and chuckling as Raeger cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "You'd think it'd bother Lillie more than it does..."

"You should see some of the fan mail she gets. It can get pretty revolting," Raeger sighed, eyes scanning the room to see if anyone needed anything - happy, smiling faces, all around. Drink glasses were looking full... perfect. And, of course, a few shameless admirers blatantly eyeing him up, despite the silver band gleaming on the fourth finger of his left hand. He leaned over the counter to peer at the scratched-out paragraphs in Iris's notebook, smiling as she shooed him away playfully. "Aaaaanyway, while I've got a breather - how's the new novel coming along?"

"Oh, it isn't - not yet, anyway," Iris corrected, leaning back on the comfortable bar stool and taking another pull of her tea. She pulled her pen from its recent resting place behind her right ear and tapped at against the paper. "This is actually just a little something I'm writing in my downtime, to keep my mind going... or, it would be, but I'm a little blocked right now, as luck would have it." She sighed and blew a loose strand of hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear and drumming her pen on the counter with her free hand. Her head hurt a little from her recent, prolonged bouts of brow-furrowing. "Nothing I'm looking to publish, mind you - just keeps the juices flowing between novels... ideally."

Raeger nodded, arms folded thoughtfully as he stared up at the ceiling and hummed. "You try going outside the box?"

"I've thought about it," Iris agreed, emitting a hum of her own as she tapped the tip of the pen on the paper. "Romance, slice-of-life, post-nuclear-apocalypse... you know, romance is actually kind of appealing to me right now? Just need to settle on the 'where' and 'what,' I suppose..."

"True... hey, how ab-oh, hold that thought! Sorry," he added quickly, grabbing two full pitchers and striding over to Table 4 with a friendly grin, while Iris waved him off, continuing her cycle of brooding and chewing.

As she continued delicately picking away at her lunch, Iris's violet eyes darted about the room keenly, taking in the sights, the sounds the smells: Friendly, excited chatter, punctuated by bursts of giggling; an arm-wrestling match at Table 7, both sides just as determined to win; a small cluster of young women and men at Table 4, eyeing Raeger's retreating backside with a different kind of hunger than they held for their meals; a heady mixture of seafood, herbs, steamed and simmered vegetables, fresh bread, slick pasta, steaming coffee, and juicy meat; warm lights and colorful attire, dishes and silverware and glassware clinking together...

So much joy, so much life... it should be easy to get her head back in the game with all the potential around her...

The idyllic scene was abruptly rent asunder as great, terrible demons erupted through a glowing portal in the ground, shrieking their hellish cries while they ruthlessly eviscerated-

"Okay, no," she muttered, scowling and hastily scribbling out the offending sentence. So much for her brief spot of hope. "I like these people. What in the world is wrong with me?"

"Boy, where d'ya wanna start?"

Jolted out of her concentration, Iris dropped her fork with a quiet gasp as she swiveled around on her stool to face the grinning young woman who had slipped onto the seat beside hers completely unnoticed. Her fingers were laced together under her chin as she regarded Iris from beneath the brim of her floppy straw hat, bright hazel eyes twinkling. Letting her shock fade into pleasant surprise, Iris gave her friend a light shove on the shoulder, tutting even as her heart continued to flutter a bit. "Annie! Warn me next time you're about to give me a heart attack, thank you!"

Analeigh Bennett - 'Annie' to anyone who didn't want an earful - just shrugged offhandedly, the grin staying on her youthful, freckled face as she lifted her hat up slightly to make proper eye contact with Iris. "But that'd ruin the surprise! You don't tell kids what Santa's bringin' 'em, right?"

Laughing and shaking her head, Iris returned to her meal, maintaining eye contact from the corner of her eye. "You're a twisted little cruller, aren't you? Besides, I can't really answer your question - Mistel never believed in Santa, as far as I can recall. He always snooped around when I was busy; he figured it all out far too soon."

Annie nodded gravely, pushing her messy, light-auburn hair back over her sunburned shoulders and whipping the hat off to fan herself. "Smart kid, Misty. Y'know, I was ten when I woke up on the couch and saw my daddy tryin' to slip presents under the tree - poor guy, he was bein' so quiet, too. Think I screamed like a demon and ran up to my room."

Holding back an unladylike snort at her brother's despised nickname - earned honestly, as one of the few people who insisted on addressing the vibrant young farmer as 'Analeigh' - Iris took another satisfying pull of her tea, setting the now-empty cup back on its saucer. "Well, I'm glad you recovered from this terrible ordeal!"

"We celebrating something?" Raeger chimed in as he returned to the counter, dabbing at his forehead with a handkerchief and shooting a winning smile at Annie. "Like, maybe 'I want a giant, expensive cake' celebrating?"

"Nahhh, just 'I exist' celebratin'," Annie corrected, rapping her knuckles on the counter and leaning forward, legs crossed. "And 'Annie's a day away from a big, fat harvest' celebratin', while we're at it! What'cha got good to eat today, Rae-Rae?"

Refilling Iris's tea, Raeger wrinkled his brow, trying to decide. "I'd say 'everything,' but I think only Fritz takes that bait. I'm doing some Cajun specials today, though. Marielle brought some great ingredients back from her trip to New Orleans, so I just had to go for it - the gumbo's been getting raves, if-"

"YES!" Annie interrupted loudly, drawing more than a few startled stares - her eyes were saucer-wide now, and she looked minutes away from grabbing Raeger by his vest and shaking him violently. "That - yes, oh my god. And - and - hush puppies?" she added pleadingly, as Raeger backed away with a nervous chuckle and began jotting her order down.

"You got it! And-"

"Sweet tea! Uhhh, sorry, y'all," she added with a sheepish grin, as a few of the restaurant's patrons - her friends included - stared at her with a mixture of amusement and concern. Annie rubbed the back of her sweaty, reddened neck and chuckled, stuffing her floppy hat back on her head. "Got a little homesick for a sec, there..."

"Ahh, we all do," Raeger assured her, beginning to stir a fresh batch of roux. Shooting a sidelong glance at Iris, he added brightly, "Hey, there's a good one for your story - homesickness!"

Eyes lighting up slightly, Iris nodded, hastily swallowing her mouthful of salad to respond as Annie looked curiously between the two. "Yes! Ah, maybe not homesickness, but... but... oh, it's right there, I just know it is!" she added, pointing her pen at Raeger and nodding gratefully.

"Ooh, you writin' about me this time?" Annie inquired, leaning over and peering curiously at Iris's scribble-filled notebook. "Good luck writin' my accent, though!"

The pen now tapped against the older woman's lips, tongue stuck out of the corner and pretty face screwed up in concentration. "Perhaps, perhaps... just a little short story to keep myself on the ball, though. But not homesickness," she repeated in a pensive mutter. "No, something... maybe more uplifting? I did kill a lot of people at the end of my last novel, after all..."

Annie groaned at this revelation, slamming her glass of tea down on the counter and shooting a disbelieving look at the curvy, smirking blonde. "Geez, Iris! Spoiler alert, huh?! I haven't even gotten past chapter ten yet, and - and - aaaaand you're fuckin' with me, ain't ya?" she suddenly finished flatly, watching the woman's shoulders shake for a moment, before she flashed Annie one of her trademark mischievous smiles - head tilted, eyes shut cheerfully, hands clasped primly in the lap of her tight white capris.

"Why don't you read on and find out?"

It would piss Annie off if she didn't find it so damn endearing.

"Ha-ha. Why don't you kiss my butt?" Annie responded dryly, Raeger mouthing along with her well-known retort in perfect time behind her as he kept a close eye on the roux and the frying hush puppies.

Reaching over and grabbing the brim of Annie's hat, Iris lifted it slightly. "I'm good, thanks. I did enough of that to even find a good publisher in the first place. Besides, your face is much more appealing!" With these words, as Annie rolled her eyes and grinned, Iris playfully pushed the hat down over the farmer's sunburned face - a constant source of exasperation for the local doctor.

"Alright, alright!" Swatting Iris's hand away as she pulled the hat off, her sweaty hair now sticking up all over the place, Annie blew out another loud raspberry at the blonde's giggling. "Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't ya?"

"I personally think she meant 'Your face is a-peeling,'" Raeger quipped from the stove, now stirring chopped-up vegetables, sausage, and fresh shrimp into the bubbling pot of gumbo as the two women groaned at his awful pun. "You've got Marian on the warpath, you know!"

"And we can't see those cute little freckles of yours under that sunburn, either!" Iris added teasingly, tweaking Annie's stinging cheek and receiving another swat in return.

"Ah, screw the stupid freckles," Annie groused, plopping her hat into her lap and pushing her hair back, rolling an elastic band off of her wrist to pull it into a sloppy ponytail. "Sooner I can tan those suckers away, the better, I say!"

"Oh?" Looking surprised, Iris finished the last bite of her salad and turned back to Annie. "You really don't like them? They're very pretty, I think."

Annie's face warmed a bit more beyond the usual tingly burn as she blinked owlishly at Iris, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Y-you're kiddin', right? They make me look like a damn ten-year-old!"

"Fritz likes them, too," Raeger offered from over by the stove, his back to them as he splashed a few shots of Tobasco into the pot - almost done. "Heck, even Elise thinks they're not bad." Annie, meanwhile, seemed suddenly heedless of the wonderful aroma, keeping her befuddled gaze firmly on Iris.

"They make you look vivacious and cute," Iris agreed sincerely. "There's no rule that says beautiful young women can't have freckles, after all!" Finished with her chicken Parmesan, she spun around to face the now-flustered Annie once more. "So, I'd say they suit you really well. Almost like a plucky, butt-kicking heroine, actually," she murmured, her voice growing thoughtful as another idea quickly sprung half-formed from the ether, thumb rubbing across her chin while she mulled it over. "Oh, there we go... starting over, a fresh new life, taking on the earth... it's a bit cliché, but - ah, I think I've got it!"

A bit lost in her inspiration as she grabbed her notebook and jotted down the ideas as quickly as they came to her, she didn't immediately notice Annie nervously twirling a lock of hair between her calloused fingers. The farmer continued to stare at Iris with a look half-torn between flattery and astonishment, still hung up on the earlier remark - calling the young ladies in town "cute" or "pretty" was fairly standard for the older woman, as sincere as she was in her assessments... but Annie wasn't exactly used to being honestly called "beautiful," especially not by someone who went above and beyond that descriptor herself.

"Err... y-you, uhh... b-beautiful? R-really?"

"Oh!" Jolted back to Earth by the slight squeak in Annie's voice - a far cry from the usual lilting, musical quality of her southern accent, even when she was being endearingly boisterous - Iris shook her head rapidly to get her mind right, nodding just as Annie furrowed her brow in confusion. The extremely flattered expression on the younger woman's face brought a slight warmth to her own cheeks, and she slowed her neat handwriting down to a halt - a little thought was nagging at the back of her mind now, telling her she'd have to cut the lunchtime chit-chat short if she wanted to get going on her pet project. She couldn't exactly clear her head and concentrate with Annie sitting right there, looking so...

Vivacious and cute, Iris repeated to herself, feeling slightly bemused. Could not have put it better, really. She certainly admired Annie as it was, with her strong work ethic and fiery demeanor - and it was an admiration that Iris would perhaps admit brushed up against infatuation, just the teensiest bit. Still, she hadn't expected a genuine, albeit innocuous, compliment on her looks to completely throw the young lady off so much... perhaps there was something more to Annie's appreciation, as well. It was too intriguing a path to not pursue...

Well, let's continue what we've started, shall we? Maybe this might help clear up my mind some more...

"Absolutely," she finally confirmed aloud, twirling a free lock of her own hair as she spoke - her own bright and bubbly alto was much steadier, despite her obvious blush. "Even sunburned and fresh from a day of hard work, you look pretty great - it kind of makes me want to write Ms. Plucky into a little romance herself, come to think of it!"

"R-r-romance?" Annie repeated in another squeak, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "Heh... is... isn't that somethin'..."

"Oh, I'll keep it tasteful," Iris promised, leaning forward and resting her arms as she spoke. She resisted the urge to pat Annie's bare knee in reassurance, afraid the poor girl would rocket off of her seat and lodge her head in the ceiling at this point. And, as Iris became vaguely aware when she straightened back up surreptitiously, she was probably offering a pretty wonderful view down the front of her lavender tank top every time she bent forward to speak. She was almost surprised Raeger had managed to maintain eye contact with her the entire time she'd spoken to him - then again, he did have Lillie, who was lovely in her own right. "No worries - it's not going to turn into 'Ms. Plucky Gets Lucky' or anything like that!"

Forgetting her nerves for a moment to chuckle and shoot Iris an amused grin, Annie shook her head, clearing her throat - and thanking Raeger as he set the steaming dishes down by her, giving Iris a curious glance of his own. "S-so, uhh... anyone in mind for her yet?"

Well, here we are, Miss Iris. Let's get that big reveal juuuust right.

Tapping her lips thoughtfully, Iris pretended to think it over for a few delightfully torturous moments, before shrugging. She didn't have to outright declare anything - there was an art to flirtation, after all, no matter how genuine - but there was a certain appeal to making it as indirectly specific as possible. Folding her hands in her lap, she tilted her head once more. "Ohh... not yet. See, I was thinking, maybe the beautiful, hard-working young woman crosses paths with a tall, driven, smitten blonde..."

Eyes wide, Annie nodded blankly, her food untouched - Raeger couldn't even blame her, almost too fascinated himself by the exchange before him to realize that Table 5 was getting their payments ready, and promptly heading over to deliver their check.

Neither Iris nor Annie noticed him excusing himself.

"Buuuuut," Iris continued, cheeks beginning to go a bit pink once more, "I'd like to keep that particular storyline for my own. It's a little selfish, I know..."

"Nothin' wrong with that," Annie murmured thoughtfully, finally popping a hush puppy into her mouth and chewing hastily, before she could say anything stupid to ruin the moment. Her heart was speeding up, and it sure as hell wasn't the sunburn heating her body up anymore - Iris had balls the size of her... well...

Beaming, Iris brushed another loose lock of hair behind her ear, violet eyes fixed intently on Annie. She wondered, in that moment, exactly how obvious it was that her own heart felt like it was close to swelling with joy. "Well, then, if it's alright... I could use a co-author for that particular tale..."

"H-huh?!" Swallowing her food hastily, Annie pointed at herself, looking torn between smiling and gaping. "You're... uhh, you're... y-you're really, uhh..."

"I think," the blonde continued dreamily, legs crossed and hands clasped over one knee, "I've got the perfect scene in mind to start that story, too... a nice little picnic at the Piedmont, at sunset. A checkered blanket spread out - a lovely keepsake from one woman's childhood, used to create wonderful new memories with a beautiful, vibrant belle whose energetic charms caught her fancy. They meet at six, on a Sunday evening - right when the fireflies start to glow from the riverbank... how does that sound?"

Nodding dumbly, Annie swallowed hard, trying to find something equally smooth and magical to say - something that would make Iris as weak-kneed as she herself felt. Unnoticed by her, Raeger slipped behind the counter once more, as Iris took out her credit card and offhandedly passed it to him to swipe, her expectant gaze still fixed upon Annie. Even Raeger couldn't help but keep a curious eye on the proceedings, drumming his fingers on the card reader as he waited for the receipt to print out.

"I, uhh... I ain't a fantastic writer..."

That wasn't quite the panty-dropping response she'd hoped to spit out.

Before Annie could bury her face in her palm and groan, Iris caught her wrist gently, a reassuring grin on her face. Her eyes twinkled.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm more than willing to teach you a few things..."

A tearing sound interrupted them, a nearly-dizzy Annie feeling exceptionally thankful for the distraction as they both turned to see what it was - Raeger, deer-in-headlights stare on his handsome face, holding Iris's receipt... which he'd unintentionally torn right in half.

Annie sure could relate to his expression right now, her throat a ball of cotton.

"Everything alright, Raeger?" Iris teased, lightly plucking both halves of her receipt from the flustered chef's hands, and signing her name on the bottom - along with throwing in her usual generous thirty-percent tip. Raeger had learned all too well not to protest it at this point - they were both extremely stubborn, but Iris's trade as a novelist offered her the secret weapon of spoilers for the books he was most anticipating. "Need to lay down?"

"I, uh... I... think I'm good," Raeger mumbled, shaking his head rapidly - in an instant, he was composed once more, smiling pleasantly at the two of them as the torn receipt was handed back to him. "Guess I'll go grab the tape..."

Iris snapped her white clutch closed, standing up and stretching - she placed a gentle hand on Annie's shoulder, feeling a nice, familiar fluttering in the pit of her stomach as they locked eyes and smiled. "And, on that note - I hate to leave so soon, but I think I want to get that one story of mine written down while the idea's still fresh in my mind... thanks again Raeger - the food was fantastic! And I'll see you tomorrow night, then, hmm?" she added, turning back to Annie.

"Wouldn't miss it," Annie agreed as she found her words once more, face lit up - feeling Iris squeeze her shoulder softly, another burst of butterflies blossomed within her. Suddenly, her sunburn didn't feel so unpleasant, under the smooth warmth of Iris's hand. And maybe her freckles weren't so bad after all, either.

As Iris clicked away happily on her lavender pumps, turning around to salute her friends with a playful wink as she reached the door, Annie slumped against the counter and let out a giddy, disbelieving sigh. That had actually just happened, hadn't it? Someone as bold, sophisticated, and stunning as Iris had called her beautiful, expressed a genuine interest in her, acted on it... nothing could bring her down now, not when she was about to become part of what she hoped would turn into a pretty damn fantastic story.

"Umm... Annie? You, uhh, you've got... your elbow's in your gumbo..."

"Awww, hell!"

And that particular moment didn't have to make it into the beginning.

Author's Notes: So, is it obvious I've never written femmeslash before? Something I always wanted to try, but never really could figure out how to approach it... enter an opportunity to give it a fair shot! I initially intended to make this entirely different, but couldn't find a way to make my original idea work in the long run, even with a good deal of prep time. So, this happened instead, Southern-Ass Annie and all (what can I say? I'm a southerner). Hopefully, it turned out alright! Thanks to therainydaykids and Emo Cowboy for hosting this, and hopefully you all - particularly Symphonic Fantasia - enjoyed my first foray into this territory!

As always, feel free to leave a review, if you'd like - happy Valentine's Day, folks!