Sabine's fingertips grazed the soft edge of the flower's pink petal, a faint smile dancing on her lips as silvery eyes twinkled with affection. Today marked the day of her twentieth anniversary of her wedding, a day that she'd celebrate with a silly baker that she'd met all those years ago. She remembered it like it was yesterday, no, she remembered it like it had happened only a moment before.
It was one of those rare mornings, where the sun rose in such a way that dawn painted the sky a bright rosy hue rather than the usual greying light. The air was cool and brisk, but not quite cold. Despite this, the young girl wrapped her simple coat around herself a little tighter, with a huff of annoyance at the weather. She was a kind soul, but nobody liked being chilly. Her destination was coming up ahead, and she lifted her gaze to greet it. Silvery eyes flickered over the sign on the door, and a soft sigh escaped her lips in relief. They were open, good, she didn't particularly want to walk all the way back without anything to show for her journey. Her small hand rested upon the metal knob, and with a twist of her wrist she pushed the door open, a bell jingling gently at her arrival. The boulangerie was empty, or at least, there was no one at the counter. The air was warm, though, and the delicious scent of freshly baked bread wafted through from the kitchens in the back. Her brow furrowed slightly in confusion as no one came to the front, even after a few minutes since her arrival. She strode forward a couple hesitant steps, glancing around with her puzzled gaze.
"Hello…? Is anyone there..?" Her accent still woven in her voice, she questioned no one. She wondered if they just left the door open by accident, but when she went back to check the sign again, she found that they were indeed supposed to be open after seven am. She swiveled on her heels, and then walked over behind the counter, instead stepping into the kitchen to see if everyone was alright, or at the very least, if there was anyone there at all. She glanced to the right, no one was in sight. When she glanced to the left, though, she only had a moment to process a figure holding a sack of flour that was rushing towards her. She didn't have any time to call out a warning, and he crashed into her, both of them falling back on the ground due to the unexpected shock. The flour burst up into the air, a makeshift snowstorm in the warm, amber light of the bakery.
"O-Oh! I'm sorry!" A voice exclaimed, belonging to a male that couldn't be much older than herself. She blinked a few times, to clear any spots from her vision, before she finally looked over at the person she'd crashed into. His hair was ruffled, and startlingly bright green eyes were staring at her wide-eyed with panic and worry. She thought his hair might've been brown, but with the flour that coated it, she wasn't quite sure. Just the look on his face, combined with the main baking ingredient that covered them both… Well, she couldn't form words. So instead, she burst into laughter. He seemed to be bewildered for a moment, but she was sure that she looked quite ridiculous as well, and he matched her silver bells laugh with his own bellowing, fiery, it sounded more like cackling than laughing. Either way, it was contagious, and after they'd worn themselves out, just a glance in the others direction would cause them to fall into giggles once again. Her eyes were watering with tears, and he was gasping for breath, but a few more minutes passed, and they managed to get ahold of themselves.
"Tom Dupain." He introduced himself, as nonchalantly as if they were meeting at the counter out front instead of on the floor in the kitchens sitting in a pile of flour. He held out his hand to shake, and with a faint roll of her eyes, she clasped his hand with hers.
"Sabine Cheng." She replied, a hint of amusement flickering in her voice. He stood up, brushing the light powder off the front of his apron. She tried to stand up after him, but she slipped on the substance combined with the tiling of the kitchen, and was saved only by his hand reaching out swiftly to grab hers. He pulled her back up easily, and a mischievous grin came to the young boy's face.
"Already falling for me, Miss Cheng?" She stifled a laugh, finding it difficult considering their current predicament.
"Catching me was the yeast you could do, Mr. Dupain." She shot back, and surprise flashed in his eyes, before they filled with pure joy.
"You kneadn't be so harsh." He hummed, grin settling back into a happy smile.
"Oh no, I've just encouraged you, haven't I?" She groaned in mock pain, and the boy laughed again, running his fingers through his brown locks, seeming surprised by the flour floating down from his touch, as if he'd forgotten it was there. Shock lit up his verdant gaze, and he became nervous quickly.
"I forgot for a second that we were covered in flour." He spoke sheepishly, earning a giggle from the girl. "Come on, I'll show you where the sink is." He walked off with his head hung low like a rejected puppy. She smiled slightly, grey eyes gleaming as she studied the male. Then, she followed after him, her feet leaving lightly colored imprints of flour in her trail.
A similar smile to that one now lingered on her lips, and she tucked the simple yet pretty blossom into midnight blue locks, just over her right here. It complimented them nicely, she thought.
"Sabine, sweetheart, are you ready to go?" His voice called to her from the front of the bakery, much deeper than it had been back then.
"Just a moment!" She told him, fixing the last few stray hairs before she walked to meet him, smiling when she saw the amused look on his face. She reached up, brushing a smudge of flour from his cheek. "Shall we?"
"One second," He went back upstairs, leaving Sabine with a faint frown. If they didn't leave now, they'd be late. What could he possibly be getting? He came down moments later, with one of her jackets in hand. She sighed, and he grinned. "Just in case you get chilly." Her smile was back. She took it from him, folding it carefully over an arm.
"You know me too well."
"Let's go, mon chou."