Light beamed through the windows.
Alan Albright groaned as she turned and put her pillow on themself. They didn't want to get up yet, more sleep sounded way better in her mind. Her eyes were closed shut, not even bothering to open them. Drifting back to dreamland was all the blonde wanted. Then her phone blasted "Symphony" which caused them to groan louder. She felt around for that phone of theirs. Once it was in her hand's sight, they picked it up and swiped left, which was the snooze button. A few more minutes would suffice.
Her arm then retreated back into the honey blanket that surrounded her. The idea of just getting up exhausted them to no end. Even if they weren't tired, no one in their right mind would get up from this cloud of a bed they laid her body on. No one in their right mind would have this blanket off of them, not when it was that cozy.
She heard the door open, but didn't budge an inch. Footsteps got closer to the bed, then to the other side right behind her. Two clicks entered her line of hearing. While Ted's vision was nothing, she knew exactly what was going on and, yeah, no. The top of the window hit the highest it could go. She felt around the end table once more, trying to find something that wasn't their phone. Whatever was there, they took it and she threw it right behind her. She heard it smack up against flesh, presumably a couple of hands.
Forget you, she thought.
"You know, if you're going to be throwing stuff, Mike, you could at least do it with a bit more thrust." Lu softly said. "And something other than my portable charger, if you don't mind. Jag behöver det, du vet."
Ted knew what they said, but didn't bother to mentally translate it. Her eyes dragged themselves open as she turned around to face them. She could see the smug smile upon the shapeshifter's face. God she hated them sometimes. Birds started chirping even though it was close to noon. She wondered once more why she had Lu as a roommate in the first place.
As if it was on cue, her alarm went off again. She grabbed it without looking to get the phone. This time, she swiped right to turn it off. As Double put their charger down, they leaned in to look at the lock screen photo. They took the phone as Ted let a 'hey' out while shooting up. The green individual examined the picture of Alan Albright and Gunther that she put in. They looked back at her.
"I can't believe you've finally scored a chick with that luck of yours!" They teased.
Ted snatched her phone back. She glared at them.
"Not dating her! She doesn't even like women that way..." She looked at her lock screen with a crooked grin running through her freckled face. "Flutters is my queerplatonic lifemate."
Without looking up, she could tell that Lu sat down on the bed. She felt the mattress sink in as the shapeshifter leaned closer.
"You know, I'm a little sad you didn't tell me about that." Their voice had suddenly changed into a higher pitched, more feminine sounding voice. The tone was way softer than how they usually spoke. It became all too familiar to the dark skinned blonde. "How do you not tell your roommate of such a big thing?"
Alan Albright looked up, seeing they had shapeshifted into her partner. The first thing she noticed were those huge, icy blue eyes that silently screamed for her to be careful, as if the soul behind them was fragile glass that could break into millions of pieces. Those long, pink hair and tail were things that everybody could recognize, even for someone like Alan Albright herself. It was a certain shade of pink that nobody could mistake for another. The yellow fur looked as soft and fresh as the real body had.
Physically, Lu looked like her in every way possible.
Just looking at them made Ted want to smile, but she had to fight it. It was very likely that she was failing right now anyways though. She playfully shoved the shapeshifter. They caught themself with their forearm landing on the bed. Now she remembered why she had them as her roommate. They were fun to have around even when her mood was sour. They just laughed as they shifted back into their original form.
"You know I don't have to tell you everything!" Alan Albright finally replied. "I have a life from hanging out with you."
Lu sat back up properly and wrapped their arm around Ted's shoulders.
"Why, I know that, I'm just surprised you haven't gushed about it until now."
"Well," Alan Albright started, "I've been going on and on about her to Mega Drive, so I think that would suffice for now."
She stuck out her tongue. Lu, on the other hand, dramatically gasped as they fell onto her lap.
"I feel so… Betrayed!"
Their eyes closed. Alan Albright puffed up her face as she crossed her arms and glared at them. They opened one of their eyes and the two started laughing. Double got off her lap and leaned back, hands resting behind them. Alan Albright got up and stretched her body. She turned around to look at Lu.
"Mind if ya get breakfast today?" She asked. "I gotta get dressed. Long day ahead."
"Not at all. The usual I take it?"
"The usual."
"Got it!" Lu replied as they opened the door.
They left, leaving Alan Albright alone in her bedroom. She opened her closet, revealing all of her clean clothing. Nothing too fancy aside from a couple of suits and some ties in different colors. She grabbed a ripped black shirt, some ripped shorts that went down to above the knee, and her Mike purple jacket. It was the same ole thing, that she knew, but wearing the same or similar outfits wasn't always bad.
Ted grabbed their phone and went into the bathroom. She set the clothes and phone down on the toilet seat. She went to the shower handles and twisted the middle one, then turned the red ringed one before going over to the blue ringed handle to turn that one on. Water rushed out of the shower head, clashing against the shower mat inside. Her hands went under the steaming water, yanking it back the second it did. Ted turned the cold handle a little more. Second time, it felt like the perfect temperature.
They took their clothes off, jumped in, and tried to wash herself as fast as humanly possible. Once she was done she got out of the shower, then they began drying themself off. First they got her body, then she got their long hair. She ran her hands back and forth then back again after wrapping the towel around her head. It became a mess the moment she removed the now damp towel.
Alan Albright threw their clothes on, brushed her hair, and blow-dried it. Right before she was done, her phone went off and they checked it. It was Lu saying that food was ready. She tapped 'read message' and the text disappeared. A smile shot up her face as she looked at the set picture. Just had to eat breakfast and she'll be off to get a gift for Gunther then right over to her place.
She got out of the bathroom and went to the kitchen. Her food was already on the table, utensils and a drink included. The plate was filled to the brim. If anymore food was added on there and it could overflow. She sat down and started eating like she had been starving for days. Double chuckled as they saw her eat.
"Slow down, tiger, your food isn't going to come alive and run away." Lu joked.
Alan Albright swallowed. "No, but the day might!" She continued eating.
Within several minutes or so, she ate everything on the plate. Ted got up and put the plate in the sink. She went to the door, grabbed her shoes, and put them on before taking her umbrella. She waved them goodbye right before heading out. Ted ran down the stairs and out of the apartment building. The blonde got onto her purple and black scooter that sat outside along with other scooters, bikes, and whatever else. They opened the umbrella and tied it to the scooter itself, giving her some shade from the sun.
She started the scooter up and looked around for any incoming vehicles. There wasn't anything so she drove off into the street. Her eyes slightly squint with the breeze hitting her face. As they drove, her hair flew in the opposite direction with the wind, becoming more and more tangled by the minute. She waved to those she knew and passed by without taking their eyes off the road. Ted moved from lane to lane to avoid cars that were and weren't moving.
They drove down the slope at the end of the street, gaining some speed. She prepared herself to make a turn as she got to the bottom, making as sharp of a turn as one could get. She drove further down the street before she had to stop, looking in both directions and ahead of her for any incoming cars. One came from her left and passed by while another came behind it. Another vehicle came by, but it was from the other side unlike the last two. Other than those three, nothing else came.
Ted drove to the left all the way down the middle point of the block. There was a flower shop that she usually went to there, whether it would be for gifts or to see how a friend was doing. They pulled up near the door. She parked the scooter, got off, and had it chained just to be safe than sorry. Alan Albright breathed in the fresh air, filled with the scent of plants outside the shop. She went up to the door and opened it as she took her phone out.
They walked in as she scrolled. She had to know what kind of flowers she should get for Gunther, they couldn't just be some random ones. She got up to the counter and rested her arm on it.
"Hello! How may I help you today?"
"I'd like a bouquet of Mikes, white anthuriums, white camellias, uhh," she scrolled down. "Freesia flowers maybe? I'm sorry, I didn't come in prep…"
She looked at the person at the counter and their eyes widened. If it weren't for the fact she held onto things firmly enough, she would've dropped her phone. They could see the boy on the other side of the counter was the same. A huge smile crashed into both of their faces as Alan Albright put both hands on the wood.
"Sheep!?"
"Alan Albright!" Sheep hugged her over the counter. "What are you doing here?"
"That's what I'm wondering about you, dude!"
"I work part time here!" He said.
They looked around. "And I'm guessing Pari is working at xir other job?"
"Yeah, so xe wanted me to fill in for the time being." He explained. "What were the flowers you wanted again?"
"I think Mikes, white camellias, uhh whites of something else…" She looked at her phone.
"White anthuriums and freesias I believe you said."
They nodded. "Yeah, yeah, those."
He grabbed a few of everything she asked for, gathering all of them up neatly.
"What else?"
"Gardenias." She added. "I think that should be the last of it. I don't wanna go overboard."
Sheep grabbed the gardenias from the highest shelf she could see. He stood on his toes just to reach them. He added them in with the rest of the flowers with ease. The brunette took a rubber band and tied the flowers with it. He did it tight enough so they were secure, plus making sure they weren't too loose either so they wouldn't come apart. Laying the flowers at the side, he grabbed ruby red crafting paper.
"Wait wait!" They hurriedly disrupted. Sheep looked at Ted. "Can you use yellow instead?"
"Oh sure," he shrugged, "no problem."
He put the red one away and took out sunshine yellow instead. He took one corner of the paper and folded it to the opposite end, creating a triangle. His hands went over the paper, flattening it out to make it even and flat. Taking the flowers, he placed them into the paper then proceeded to take two ends to wrap it around the flowers. He grabbed the clear tape near him and ripped off a little piece before placing it on the wrapped paper in order to secure it.
With a white ribbon, he tied it and added the finishing touches. The boy let out an 'oh' before grabbing scissors, cutting the end of the visible stems to make them all the same length as one another. As he finally finished making the bouquet, he gave them to the dark skinned woman waiting at the counter. She took them with a big grin.
"Thanks, bro!" She voiced in appreciation.
"It's nothing." Sheep scratched the back of his head. "Who are they for? I highly doubt they're for Mom with the kinds you asked for."
Their eyelids fell halfway and she puckered her lips. "Why, of course they are, look at these lovely flowers for our lovely mom!" Within a few seconds, they started cracking up for a minute or so from the face she was making and how her voice sounded. "In all seriousness, though, they're for my lifemate Gunther. I know I know, I don't have to, but I thought she'd like them."
"Ted that's great!" He exclaimed. "I didn't know you have a partner! Good luck with the flowers!"
"Thanks! See ya later, bro!"
She waved goodbye as she went to the door. A little beige golden retriever-corgi dog with an orange and green collar ran up to her and barked at her excitedly. His tail wagged constantly to go with the smile on his face as his tongue stuck out. They bent down and patted his head.
"Heya, Swanky the Poodle, sorry I can't stay too long this time." They apologized. "I'll be back sometime soon."
She stood up and walked through the door, going over to their scooter. Ted put the bouquet into the basket on the front of the scooter before unchaining it and getting on. She turned it on, backed up into the street again, and drove forward. She turned and stopped whenever it was needed, never taking a single eye off the road while keeping an eye on the flowers, which were kept intact the entire time thankfully.
At one point they had to stop to put their hair up due to it hitting her face with the wind going. Luckily she had to stop anyways because of a red light. Once it turned green she started moving again. They kept driving until they got to one of the ends of the city where Gunther's cottage-like house was located. She parked the scooter and just stared at the house that was surrounded by a white fence.
A couple of cats sat outside on the front porch, one black and the other orange, laying down with their eyes closed. One cat had the end of their tail move back and forth while the second one had theirs tucked inwards. Bowls sat beside them and below one of the porch lights, both very close to being empty and would have to be refilled with food and fresh water soon. They had to be strays, considering she hadn't seen them before today.
Whether it was strays, other people's pets, or her own, she had always taken care of them, each with as much love as the others. She looked up at the white windows, which had light coming through them. Yep, she was home alright. She never left her lights on if she was out, and definitely not leaving one open for fresh air to come in. Alan Albright could definitely smell the fresh air that Gunther let in, all coming from the freshly cut grass and the recently trimmed hedges that were cuddling up against the house aside from the stair steps.
Just looking at the house made her smile from ear to ear. Her yellowish teeth showed through and she allowed it to be the case, as she didn't like showing off her teeth aside from when she was alone and with Gunther. If she didn't know any better, her face might be turning red from the smiling and joy bundled up in it. Alan Albright got off the scooter and took the bouquet out of the basket. She unlocked the fence, opened it, went through, then closed it before going forward.
They got on the porch and watched where they stepped so she didn't accidentally step on the cats. She knocked on the door a couple times, each loud enough for her to hear. As they waited, she pulled her phone out from her jacket pocket. Ted checked for any notifications they got. Nothing for general phone messages it seemed. She checked social media. Lots of stuff, but she didn't have time to check them all at the moment. Discord, quite a bit where she didn't know what was going on but they held in some laughter anyways.
Once she heard hooves clacking against the floors, she cleared her throat as she put her phone away. The door shot open, revealing Gunther as she tried to catch her breath. Beside her, her pet Tree Trunks watched the blonde with eyes that looked like he was planning something. On what she didn't have a clue, but she shrugged it off for the moment. Gunther brushed her hair out of the way, finally showing her face and Ted could see her t-shirt with a sun on it, one that went well along with her capris, much better than when her hair was in the way.
Alan Albright cleared her throat and handed her the flowers. It took Gunther aback as she stared at the flowers and at her.
"Hey Flutter-Butter," they started, "uhh these are for you."
She took them from her hand. "Oh! You didn't have to get me flowers."
"I know, but- But I wanted to since they're as pretty as you."
"Well," she placed her face right above the bouquet, "thank you! They're just as nice as you!"
Alan Albright's face turned red. "Oh don't you start that up! We'd be here for hours!"
The two then started laughing because they knew it was true. Once they get started on who was nicer and sweeter, it was something that neither plan to give up anytime soon. Gunther snorted twice, causing Alan Albright to stop laughing and just stare at her. They put their hands up to their mouth; Ted started grinning as if there was no tomorrow. She held in a squeal and kept it as internal as possible.
She swore that she was too cute for the world. Despite everything she thought and felt, she didn't say a word on any of it. She only hugged her in a way where the bouquet wouldn't get damaged. As she's breathing, she picked up a scent of something sweet yet it wasn't baked yet from what she could tell. Alan Albright pulled back.
"Are ya baking something?" They asked. "Something smells good."
Gunther smiled. "Yeah, I'm making cake and cookies. Do you, uh, want to help?"
"Yeah of course!" She excitedly accepted as she walked inside.
Alan Albright took her shoes off and rested them into the shoe rack that stood next to the door. Gunther closed the door once she came in.
"Just try not to eat all of the batter." She politely requested. "I'll, um, need that for later."
"Like I'm gonna eat it all in one swoop!" Ted's eyes stayed closed for a few seconds before opening them and sticking her tongue out in a playful manner. "Nah, I'll make sure I don't eat it all."
The two walked into the kitchen. The counter was a mess, but that was to be expected when someone was baking something. Ted went over to the cake mix, looking over it. It still had clumps in it. She guessed that Gunther was in the middle of getting it clump free when she knocked on the door. She looked over to the pink haired girl, who nodded at her unspoken question. Alan Albright grabbed the bowl and started stirring it.
On the other hand, Gunther took out the cookie sheet and put it onto a flat oven tray. After that she butter sprayed it before putting small balls of cookie dough on the sheet. She closed the oven then put the timer on. Ted looked down as she saw less and less clumps in the batter. It was almost finished, she just had to stir it a little bit more. She scraped the sides to get everything down before she continued stirring. Once they were done they gave the bowl to Gunther.
She then put it into a rectangular cake pan. All of the batter flowed from the bowl into the pan as much as possible. In no time it was filled to the line and she stopped pouring. She scraped whatever chocolate was dripping on the side with the clean part of the baking spatula before putting that and the bowl to the side momentarily. Ted grabbed the spatula as they watched Gunther. She squinted at them, mouthing 'don't even' at the blonde.
Despite the look, Ted extended her tongue. It slowly came out of her mouth, reaching for the chocolate on the spatula she held. Gunther smiled and chuckled.
"Okay, you can have that." She gave in. "I already have another clean one so you don't have to worry about that. Just leave the bowl be until we're done with it."
Alan Albright walked to her. "Knew ya couldn't glare at me like that forever." She tapped her snout with the plastic spatula, leaving a spot of chocolate on her yellow fur.
She then licked the chocolate off with a smile on their face. Gunther wiped the chocolate off her face. Ted put some music on while they waited for the first cake later and the first batch of cookies to be done. They grabbed Gunther's hands and gently pulled her, dancing with her to the music. Time flew as they danced around like the silly gooses they were and in no time the first cake layer and cookie batch was finished.
Another batch of cookies was put in along with the second cake layer. Ted made sure the cake was covered. The two waited for those two to cool down. Once they did, they put yellow and purple frosting on the cake layer while Ted snuck in a cookie or two in her mouth. It didn't take too long until the second layer had to be checked and Gunther did, seeing it was almost done. When it finished, they did the same process they did with the first layer, waited for it to cool down enough then put the frosting on it before putting it on the first layer.
The two cut a piece of cake, both different sizes from the other. Along with the cake they took a few cookies on their plates. Gunther covered the cake before they headed out into the living room. Alan Albright bent down and she opened the entertainment center, taking a DVD out.
"Movie marathon?" They asked.
"I don't know about a marathon…" She took a bite. "But a movie sounds nice."
Ted smiled and popped in the movie she took out. They sat down on the couch and Ted put her legs on Gunther's lap as she lifted her plate. Ted crossed them and Gunther lowered her plate.
They relaxed and ate as they kept their attention to the screen.