A/N: We begin our story with a last-minute addition. Yes, I know that makes no sense: how is this the beginning of the story if it's a last-minute addition? That would be because the idea of this little chapter was not present back when this story was being planned for its original May release… as a matter of fact, there will be another chapter later that also had not been thought of all of those months ago, which made the delayed release work out even better in the grand scheme of things.

Admittedly, this chapter is really nothing more than a pet store window, and there may not have been any real reason to include it, but I wanted to anyway… with so much drama that unfolds throughout the Sharuby Saga, it's kind of nice to have some calmer, more serene, and fluffier moments of Shannon and Ruby just being the two cinnamon rolls that they are.

Also, if you haven't figured out, FFN is really borked up right now, hence why this story keeps disappearing and reappearing from both the Loud House fanfiction archive and my profile page, and sometimes why the URL returns a, "Story is is unavailable for reading (A)" error message.

Punxsutawney Phil lied when not seeing his shadow on February the 2nd had predicted that spring would arrive early this year – the bare trees of southeastern Michigan remaining blanketed under a cold, gray winter's sky nearly two weeks later had disproven the unreliable groundhog's prediction. Students who were dismissed from Royal Woods High that Monday afternoon were bundled in jackets, coats, and other warm clothing to fight off the chill that continually blew through the air, including a pair of teenage girls who always roamed the school premises hand-in-hand: Shannon Tannenbaum and Ruby Patel, now seniors who were in the last remaining months of their final semester of high school. Although winter was not their favorite season, the pair were all smiles that particular day as they made their way over to the adjacent parking lot.

At the age of seventeen, Shannon was a one-year veteran motorist, and had the freedom to drive herself to her appointed destinations. It was fortunate that the Tannenbaums were a two-car family; Shannon's father, Dr. Daniel Tannenbaum, drove one car to and from work, while for years, her mother, Candice, drove the other car – usually to transport herself to whatever community functions that she may have been involved with, but also to drop off and pick Shannon up from school… but now, Shannon could do that for herself. Ruby was anxious to learn how to drive, obtain her license, and have that extra bit of freedom as well… until it came time to actually learn, and her anxiousness turned into anxiety. Operating a motor vehicle was nowhere near as easy as it seemed, and when it came to learning how to drive on open roads with actual traffic, Ruby's gears shifted into panic mode. Her parents thought that enrolling her into driver's ed. would help, but it did nothing to calm her nerves, and to this day, she had no driver's license, her learner's permit had expired, and she still could not drive. It was not entirely inconvenient for the Indian teen, as she lived within walking distance from the school, but even so, Shannon walked her over to her car, where she allowed her girlfriend into the passenger's side before she took her place behind the wheel. Having a little extra freedom, it was not entirely uncommon for Shannon to take the car out for a little joyride around town before she made it home – as long as she was in the house before dinner time, her parents were okay with her doing her own thing after school; meanwhile, in the Patels' line of work, this was one of their busiest weeks, so they would not necessarily know whether Ruby made it back home at a certain time. All of this was perfect for what they had in mind that afternoon.

Today was Valentine's Day; a day where, if at all possible, Shannon and Ruby would get together for a big date… however, because the holiday of hearts had fallen on a school day that year, that sort of plan could not be executed to their liking. That did not mean that they could not still enjoy their day, if even in a smaller capacity. After leaving Royal Woods High behind, Shannon drove herself and Ruby to the latter's former stomping grounds in the neighboring town of Fern Valley, and specifically to a little coffee house that the Indian teen was familiar with: the Burnt Bean. From there, Ruby ordered a half dozen of jelly-filled, heart-shaped chocolate doughnuts that were smothered in bright pink frosting with little red sprinkles, and two large cups of hot chocolate. Along the way, Shannon drove past what used to be the Patel residence before they relocated to Royal Woods after Mohammad and Diya, Ruby's parents, bought and invested in the town's swankiest upscale hotel, the Royal Woods Riviera – she was curious to see what her old house looked like since their move. Based on its somewhat degraded appearance, she could only assume that whoever moved into their old house did not keep it up as nicely as her family did when they lived there. Upon driving back into Royal Woods, their next destination was the parking lot of an abandoned shopping center. It may have seemed like an unusual spot, but at least it was secluded to give the two some privacy, as on a day such as this, other locations were sure to see an uptick in human activity, and the two teens really wanted some time for just themselves.

Shannon shifted the gear into park, turned up the heat, and turned on the radio; given the occasion, the airwaves were flooded with love songs, including the one that happened to be playing at that moment…

I like me better when I'm with you
I like me better when I'm with you
I knew from the first time
I'd stay for a long time, cause
I like me better
I like me better when I'm with you

Shannon hated this song. She held no discrimination against modern popular music, but she found the lyrics to this particular song to be pretentious and self-absorbed. Ruby possessed a completely different interpretation of the song's lyrics; the way she understood it, the lyrics were the singer's way of expressing how he felt that being with his significant other made him a better person, which was something that Ruby herself could relate to, because there was no question in her mind that being with Shannon made her a better person, and she liked herself the way she was now better than she did prior to Shannon coming into her life.

Valentine's was not the only occasion the two celebrated that day, as Ruby was about to mention when she took hold of her cup of hot chocolate, held it up to her driver, and said, "Happy anniversary, my love."

Indeed, today was Shannon and Ruby's third anniversary together as young lovers – a fact that each of them found quite surprising, even if it was nothing that either of them would admit to. Many's a time Shannon was convinced that she really was not in Ruby's league at all, and that the free-spirited Indian teen was deserving of somebody who was more her speed, despite the numerous moments of insistence that Ruby wanted only Shannon and nobody else; on the other side of the equation, Ruby's eyes had been opened more and more to how flawed she was as a person, and that there were times where she could admit to not being the perfect girlfriend she knew Shannon deserved. Even so, the two stuck by each other's side, and with each passing year of their romance, their love for one another only continued to grow stronger. Coinciding with Valentine's Day, all of this made the 14th of every February a doubly special occasion for them.

With a hint of pink in her freckled cheeks, and a sparkle in her bespectacled eyes, Shannon likewise took hold of her cup of hot chocolate and reciprocated her girlfriend's sentiment.

"Happy anniversary to you, mi amore," she responded.

With a tap of their cups, they each took a sip of their warm beverages… but the faces that they made after such a sip would indicate that neither of them were too impressed with that which flowed over their taste buds.

"I think once you, like, go with Dairyland's cocoa, you can't go back…" commented Ruby.

That could very well have been the case. Unlike most other hot chocolate recipes that use water, or perhaps skim milk, Dairyland used its own brand of cream in theirs, which gave their cocoa a much richer and decadent taste that was highly preferable over most other recipes – including that which came from a business that specialized in brewed beverages.

"Then again, have you ever known a coffee house's selection of freshly brewed drinks to actually measure up to any sort of standard?" Shannon asked.

With a shake of her head, Ruby responded, "Both my parents say Tarbucks has, like, the worst coffee in the world."

The two set the Styrofoam containers into the cup holders before they opened their box of doughnuts to split. These were sure to be a real treat, as they both very much loved chocolate; one of the things that Ruby learned about her girlfriend's faith was that chocolate was a traditional gift item to give during Hanukkah. They each helped themselves to one of the heart-shaped, pink-frosted doughnuts, and as it turned out, the Burnt Bean was evidently rather generous with the jelly filling, as some of the fruity goo inadvertently oozed down Ruby's bottom lip and chin as she bit into her baked good; it was a good thing that she had the foresight to also grab a generous supply of napkins for her and Shannon. To see the mess of red that dribbled down her girlfriend's face had brought some amusement to Shannon.

"And here, it would appear that the adverse effects of the mutagen-enriched cacao has awakened a taste for flesh in the Indi-us Hotti-us young…" she commented as though she narrated a nature documentary.

Ruby had a chuckle over her girlfriend's teasing, and although she knew she made such a comment because of the red substance that dripped down her chin, there was also more to Shannon's comment than even Ruby would let on. Ruby already had a number of reasons to hate winter – namely the cold, of which her ethnic background gave her a strong aversion to… but in recent years, she had a new reason to hate winter tucked away in her back pocket, and that was because Shannon, likewise, was averse to the cold, and really bundled herself up during such cold snaps, which deprived Ruby of getting to see the form of her girlfriend that she was warm for. Even more than that, it was less than a year ago when the drama club played that fateful game of strip poker down in Luan's basement, and the sight of Shannon's sensationally curvy body stripped down to just her undergarments was truly one to behold… and one that left Ruby wanting to see even more. If nothing else, Ruby would have been satisfied for warmer weather just to see Shannon wear less layers of clothing.

And so it went; Ruby and Shannon spent the next few minutes munching on their doughnuts, sipping on their cocoa, and listening to the songs of love on the radio, all within the confines of a warm and toasty car… so warm and toasty that the windows gradually fogged over throughout the duration of their anniversary date. Even if they did not go all out for their Valentine's/anniversary date as they had previously when the occasion fell on a weekend and not a school day, the two still made the best of their little get-together. It was probably far cozier and more intimate than their previous dates, because they were able to enjoy one another's company, just the two of them, with nobody else around, which was something that they both cherished and treasured; just quiet, quality time alone.

A short time later, Shannon drove her girlfriend to her house to drop her off before she headed for home herself. Ruby remained in the car for a moment; over the years, she learned to not take having Shannon with her for granted, that she was very lucky and fortunate to have such a loving girlfriend in her life, which was something she always wanted to make known to her.

"Happy anniversary, Shannon…" she spoke as she reached over to take her girlfriend's hands and held them lovingly. "Thank you for being in my life these last three-plus years…"

The plus acknowledged that while Ruby may have dated Shannon for three years, it was a longer period than just that they first met and befriended each other – at least half of a year at that.

As her eyes continued to sparkle, Shannon's thumbs caressed the backs of Ruby's hands, as she reciprocated, "Thank you for coming into my life these last three-plus years…"

Ruby cupped her hands around her girlfriend's face and gently caressed her freckled cheeks with her thumbs before she brought their faces closer together so that they could seal their Valentine's/anniversary date shut with a kiss… a deep, intimate, passionate kiss. Shannon soon cupped her hands around Ruby's face and caressed her cheeks with her thumbs as well. To cap off their anniversary kiss, Ruby added an additional dash of playfulness, as she sensually sucked on Shannon's warm tongue, and followed with a gentle bite on her soft bottom lip; the Jewish teen's spittle still possessed a hint of a chocolatey aftertaste. After having locked lips, the two then locked eyes with one another, with Ruby staring through the lenses into the big brown eyes of Shannon, and Shannon staring into the deep raven eyes of Ruby.

"Remember our first kiss?" Ruby asked lovingly.

"Do I?" Shannon answered in kind.

Their first kiss was such a magical experience, they both felt sparks ignite and fly, which was something that Ruby had never experienced with anyone prior to Shannon – namely her ex-boyfriend, Spencer.

"That was the moment I knew without a shadow of a doubt that you were the only one for me…" said Ruby while, as per usual, Shannon's cheeks gradually pinkened in hue from her girlfriend's flattery.

Even after three years, they still felt sparks fly whenever they shared a kiss. Even after three years, they felt no danger of those sparks fizzling out or fading away. Their love for each other only continued to grow and foster in the last three years… a subject that began to tickle Ruby's mind as she pulled away from Shannon to share what just entered her mind…

"Y'know, speaking of last years… we're finishing up our last year of high school… you, like, know what that means we got coming up, don't ya?" She asked.

Shannon pondered on that thought for a moment before it occurred to her what Ruby had alluded to: "Prom…"

Prom. One of the biggest nights in a high schooler's senior year, and one that both Shannon and Ruby certainly did not want to miss… there was, however, one glaring obstacle that could very well stand in the way of them not missing out on such a big night…

"So… like… how are we even gonna pull this one off?" Ruby inquired.

To this day, Ruby and Shannon still kept their romantic relationship with one another on the down-low from both of their respective families, and whenever the two of them would get together for a date, they either had to fabricate a cover story in the event that their parents asked about their activities (they usually would just dismiss their get-togethers as two besties hanging out), or have to be completely secretive about it altogether and hope their parents would not find out or suspect anything. Shannon and Ruby both came from households in which a faith was observed and practiced – Shannon from a house of Judaism, Ruby from a house of Hinduism. Shannon was very much a woman of faith, although it was not something that she pushed onto others, and other than the fact that she attended Shabbat services with her family at their synagogue every Saturday morning, one probably would not even figure her to be a practicing Jew. Ruby, on the other hand, really was not a practicing Hindu; she would partake in Hindu holidays and observances because it was expected of her from her family, but she was more agnostic than anything… although, because many Hindu festivities celebrate the bonds of friendship and love, she found that Shannon alone gave her a legitimate reason to observe said festivities far more genuinely and sincerely.

In spite of their personal accord with their respective faiths (or lack thereof), both teens came from rather traditional families, and were well aware that many, if not all organized religions continued to frown upon same-sex relations and regard such relations as an immoral abomination. They were also painfully aware that even in this day and age, it was not unheard of for kids and teens to be disowned by their families and kicked out of their homes for coming out as LGBT, which was cause for genuine concern for both Shannon and Ruby about revealing the true nature of their relationship to their respective families… as far as the Tannenbaums and Patels were concerned, their daughters were merely and simply the best of friends; nothing more, nothing less.

Unfortunately for the two of them, they would have their work cut out for them this time, because unlike their previous dates that were planned just for their own pleasure, the senior prom was a public schoolwide function, and one that their parents were sure to inquire of their daughters about regarding whether or not they would be attending such a function, and if so, with whom? How would the two of them plan to go to their prom together without their parents' knowledge, among other crucial details?

"I have no ding-dang clue…" shrugged Shannon, although she realized that this was something that they would need to plan out and execute accordingly – and sooner than later. "I'm sure we'll think of something…"

"I mean, it's only, like, three months away…" noted Ruby. "That gonna give us enough time to prepare?"

"We've planned big dates on shorter notice than this before," said Shannon. "If anything, we've got a bigger window of time to make sure we get all our ducks in a row."

"I hope so…" said Ruby. "I really don't want to miss out on such a big night with you…"

"Samesies," said Shannon before she assured her girlfriend, "we'll think of something."

The two exchanged smiles with one another – smiles of satisfaction over such a resolution, but alas, now was the time for the two to part ways for the day.

"Mazel tov, sweet blintz," Ruby cooed to Shannon in Hebrew.

"Namaste, dear papadam," Shannon cooed to Ruby in Hindi.

It was not that long into their romance that Ruby and Shannon had found themselves drifting into saccharine pet-name territory, like the pair of batatas that they were. (Or shakarakand in Hindi; sweet potato is also batata in Hebrew).

Ruby leaned over and threw her arms around Shannon; she could never part company with her girlfriend without a goodbye hug, and it was a gesture that Shannon was never hesitant to oblige in return. (Ruby also could not resist briefly burying her face into Shannon's thick and curly hair). With that, Ruby reluctantly exited Shannon's vehicle, and trekked up the walkway and steps onto the front porch, but she still had to turn around for another look at her sweet blintz before she stepped into the house. The two blew farewell kisses to each other, and once Ruby finally stepped into the house and shut the door behind her, Shannon shifted the gear into reverse, backed out of the driveway, and drove for home, all of the while wondering just how she and Ruby would possibly tip-toe around their parents to attend their senior prom together… and, perhaps, also daydreaming about what sort of a dress Ruby would wear.

If nothing else, one favor this last-minute chapter did for the story was show that Shannon and Ruby are not waiting until the last-minute to make their plans to attend their senior prom together… plans that they will be discussing in our next chapter (which was how the story was originally going to kick off).