The Flower in the Window
Disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck or the characters. I own only the story itself.
Pairing: JohnRose
Warnings: None
This is an Alternate Universe fic, and some facts about the characters have been changed. The kids are about 16 years old, and some of them have the alpha kids as their siblings, others do not.
It had been a regular Saturday afternoon the day he first laid eyes on her. John was walking downtown to meet his best friend Dave at the movie theater. He had been passing tons of stores on his way, just as he had on countless other days. But for some reason today he found himself looking at the store windows as he passed. And that's when he saw her.
She was standing at the cash register and appeared to be making pleasant small talk to the customer in front of her. She had short blonde hair and a cute headband on. Her face was adorably round and she had black lipstick on that totally complimented her black and pink outfit. She had small eyes but they seemed to sparkle, even from the window he was looking through. John didn't know what to do. She was beautiful- he had never felt this way before at all! It was all fuzzy and weird-feeling… but he strangely liked it. He didn't know her name, but he dearly wanted to.
John was just about to enter into the store when his phone buzzed. Dave was already at the cinema, and was pestering John to "get his derpy ass down there before he remembered how much Nicolas Cage sucked." As he quickly typed a reply John took one last look into the window of the independent bookstore only to find that the girl was now looking directly at him. He blushed and quickly waved at her, too which she gave a small smile and a wave back before returning her attention to the new customer in front of her. John lingered there for a few seconds before snapping back to reality. He quickly began to jog to the theater, the image of the beautiful girl on his mind the entire trip.
'I wonder what her name is,' John thought. Only one way to find out-
Two weeks later
It seemed like it had taken John forever to work up the courage to go back to the downtown bookstore. On one hand, he was eager to meet that girl he had seen in the shop window, but on the other he was worried that he'd make a fool of himself. He tried to ask Dave how to be cool in front of the ladies, but all he did was put a pair of his old dumb pointy anime shades on him and told him that "style means everything" and to "be prepared for a massive lady invasion." What a dork, he thought. He considered asking Dave's brother, but he somehow got the feeling that it wouldn't end well. At all. So a few days later he decided to go about it in his own style, wearing his green ghost shirt (that was a great conversation starter) and the cool pair of shoes his friend Vriska got him for his past birthday. He took a big breathe before casually walking into the store.
The inside was highly decorated- color seemed to be everywhere, crystal blues, vibrate pinks and an oddly easy-on-the-eyes yellow. Tiny turtle shell fountains were in every corner, and all the shelves were labeled in a fancy cursive font. It wasn't too packed but there were plenty of people browsing. John noticed that his little lady wasn't at the register like she was a few days prior. It hit John like a sack of potatoes- that she could've had the day off. All of his hard work and preparation were for naught.
"Can I help you find something, sir?"
John jumped, startled by the pretty voice behind him. Turning quickly, he found himself face to face with the girl from the register! Flabbergasted, he stumbled over his words. "O-oh, I'm not sure really, not been here I have- I mean, no, well," He was cut off by her giggle- it was soft but very cute. He couldn't help but blush and grin at her.
"Well it'd be a shame to just leave a newcomer by himself, now would it? I'll take you around the store and give you some recommendations. My name is Rose, by the way. Rose Lalonde." She told him, with an elegant smile.
John smiled wide, showing his buck teeth in the most adorable of dorky smiles.
"Egbert. John Egbert."
Several months later
This was it. The day he had been preparing for. Nights spent using Dave as practice, days of suffering through eating cakes his dad and sister Jane baked in order to figure out which pastry to prepare, being more nervous than he's ever recalled before. But now he was ready. Holding a bag of goodies he walked into LOLAR'S bookstore, ready to meet Rose and to take her out on a date. They'd gone out on a few dates before, but today was the day that he was going to ask her to officially be his girlfriend.
Rose spotted him as soon as he walked through the door and waved to him. She finished with her customer, wished him a nice day, and handed over the desk to her co-worker and best friend Jade. "Here you go, Jade. I'm going to go clock out and meet up with John. I'll tell you all about it over Pesterchum tonight, okay?" Rose told her as she gathered her purse and other belongings.
Jade smiled. "Of course you will! You'd better! I can't wait to hear all about it! I just know he's going to ask you!" She said enthusiastically, bouncing on the heels of her feet. Rose just smiled and told her goodbye, heading to the back room to clock out and say goodbye to her boss, a stern but wonderful, motherly woman named Porrim, older sister to another of her best friends, Kanaya.
She walked to the front of the store once more and waved again to Jade before smiling at John and interlocking their hands. "Hello again, John. What do you have planned for us today?" Rose asked him, slightly swinging their hands as they strolled along the busy sidewalk.
"A picnic. Simple, but I know that you liked it when we did once before, so I decided why not another one?" John responded as he led her across the street to the nearby park. He picked a spot a bit away from the playing children and under the cool shade of a tree. He laid down a blanket and proceeded to take out the food. Rose sat down, content to just watch. Her eyes widened when saw John take out a large cake that was covered with white frosting and purple roses. "John? Why would you bring this along? I know you don't like baked goods, and this is way too big for me to eat." She inquired curiously. He just smiled and finished taking out the utensils and plates.
"That, my dear Rose, is my gift to you! I will eat this wretched sugary explosion if you will answer my one question," He paused for dramatic effect, cutting neatly into the cake like his sister showed him and passed her a slice. Rose rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what he was doing. It was about time, too. She was about to consider asking him herself, but she was a romantic at heart- she wanted him to swoop in and sweep her off her feet. Rose accepted the cake with a nod of thanks and waited for him to finish cutting his slice. After that was done, and he still hadn't said anything, she pressed, "Well? What one question, John?"
He smiled the dorky smile she'd grown so very fondly of. "Rose Lalonde, daughter of the elusive and mysterious Mom Lalonde, sister to the ever foxy Roxy and flower of my eyes- would you care to be my girlfriend?" He stated boldly.
Or at least would've said, if he hadn't have messed up on the sister part when he said "froxy" and if Rose hadn't had burst out into laughter. After a few seconds he joined her and they sat there in the cool shade laughing at the word "froxy." A few minutes passed but eventually the laughter died down, with Rose wiping tears from her giggles out of her eyes. "Oh my goodness, John, you never fail to get me roaring. That was very delightful. Now, the actually question? And don't bother with the introductions, it'll only serve to cause me more mirth." She half-said, half-giggle out. John sighed in faux annoyance, but Rose could tell he was having just as much fun as she.
"Rose, would you be my girlfriend? Like, officially. We've gone on dates before but-"
His words were cut off by a brief but very sweet kiss on the lips. Surprised but happy, he looked down to see Rose nodding eagerly at him. "Yes, John, I will be." She said, with her signature elegant smile. Giving him a peck on the cheek, she picked up her cake. "Now let's eat. I'm famished and I've been dying to have some of your dad's pastries again."
Happy by her response, John allowed her to lean against him while they eat their cake.
It was actually pretty good, too.
Hurray, a completed fic! I wanted to write something to get me out of my writer's stump. I felt pretty good about this one, it was simple but sweet. Oh, how I'd love to meet someone of romantic potential in a bookstore…there's always the future. I hope you enjoyed this! I certainly liked writing it. Thank you for any favorites, follows, and reviews!