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“You’re free to come over any time, you know?”
Hurley’s words had been echoing in her head ever since their garage date last week. The way she turned away shyly after realizing what she said was already enough to send Sloane’s heart into palpitations, not to mention the softest smile she had had the fortune of seeing after that. She didn’t even remember how the topic came up. Something about Sloane’s place being a mess maybe? God, it didn’t even matter.
What did matter was trying to work up the courage and actually go over. She knew what days Hurley had off from work so that wouldn’t be a problem. Sloane’s schedule was usually pretty clear unless a big race or heist was coming up. Should she bring a gift? She could buy food because god knows what would happen if she tried to make it herself… Or would that be too much just for a visit? Flowers could be good. She could get some from the marketplace before heading over to Hurley’s apartment…
Oh god, she was so nervous.
And she knew she had no reason to be. It was just Hurley. And her home. And the absolute awkwardness that could ensue if Sloane was going to be an idiot about everything.
She banged her head against a nearby wall as if to punish herself for the thought. Confidence is key. If she could face the most deadliest of battlewagon races and risk her life over and over again, a home visit would be no problem. So why was she still anxious about it? She let out a frustrated groan as she fell back on her bed to stare at the cracks in the ceiling. She couldn’t keep thinking about this forever. The longer she drew it out, the worse it would be.
“Fuck it!” she spoke aloud suddenly. “You know what?! I’m going today! Fears be fucking damned.”
And with a quick grab of her coat and keys, she headed off to the marketplace.
The crowd today wasn’t as bustling as it usually was, which unfortunately meant she couldn’t go around and steal some flowers from a stand or whatever. That was fine though; she wasn’t really planning on being a thief today anyways. She knew that Hurley would never accept flowers if she found out she took them without paying. Even if the person selling them was a sleazeball with their customers, she thought, glaring at a stand nearby. Walking past it, she looked around to see if there were any other florists in town today.
Just as she was about to call it quits, a voice addressed her.
“Excuse me, miss?”
After a moment’s confusion, Sloane turned to find herself facing an old human woman. “Do you mean me?” she asked, pointing to herself as if her question wasn’t clear enough.
The old woman laughed. “Yes, you! Is there anyone else out here dressed in all black in such hot weather?”
Sloane ignored the jab at her (absolutely valid) fashion choices and continued the conversation. “Sorry, I’m kind of in a hurry, did you need me for something?”
The old lady just shook her head. “What’s the rush for, dear? No time for a grandma like me?”
Sloane held back a sigh and took a look at her stand to see what she was selling before answering.
Her annoyance quickly disappeared when she finally realized what she was staring at. “Oh! You sell flowers!” she grinned for probably the first time that day.
The old lady nodded as she gave a toothy smile in return. “You have a big date coming up, miss? Is that why you’re in a hurry?”
“Yeah… Do you happen to have any sunflowers in stock? I’d like a few.”
The old lady nodded again. “A nice choice! Are those your date’s favorites?” she asked as she bustled around her stand to get what she needed.
Sloane only shrugged. “Not necessarily… She’s just… a very warm person. Sunflowers remind me of her.”
The old lady cooed, which Sloane pointedly ignored, slightly embarrassed. She was a cheesy person, okay? As long as no one else ever found out about it, she’d admit it.
As she took her leave, the old woman wished her luck.
“You’ll be fine, dear. I can already tell.”
Sloane took her sweet time on the way to Hurley’s apartment anyways. Apparently each staircase up had twenty stairs each, except for the one on the fourth floor. That one only had nineteen. An interesting fact that her girlfriend was sure to enjoy once she had the nerve to actually walk up to her door.
She eventually managed to force herself in front of her apartment, and the moment of truth finally arrived. She knocked before hesitation could strike again, like she was ripping a band-aid off as fast as she could.
Oh god, did her knock sound desperate?
Before Sloane could dwell even further on this, a muffled voice coming from inside interrupted her thoughts. “I’ll be there in a minute!”
She could hear small footsteps coming towards the door, an unlocking, and then there Hurley was with a smile that rivaled the evening warmth of the sun.
“Oh shit, hey! You decided to come over!”
Sloane could feel her shoulders relax just from seeing her. “Hey! Yeah, I thought it was about time,” she chuckled. What was she so nervous about again?
“Well, come on in!” Hurley said, gesturing towards the inside of her apartment, “don’t keep me waiting!”
Sloane laughed again as she stepped inside, before remembering the gift she was holding in her hands.
“Oh fuck, hold on, I got you these.” And with a flourish, she held out the small bouquet she had bought earlier that day.
Hurley’s smile widened at the sight. “Aw what! Babe, how’d you know I liked sunflowers? These are wonderful.”
“Thief’s intuition, I guess,” she answered nonchalantly with a wink.
Hurley shook her head, but continued to grin as she placed them down on the counter. “I’ll find a vase for these in a second. Come on, let’s get you situated or however you’re supposed to treat a house guest. Are you hungry?”
“Starving, actually.”
“Good. I just ordered way too much fantasy take-out, help yourself to it. It’s by the couch! I’ll be right there.”
Sloane nodded and took a deep breath once Hurley disappeared down a hallway. She felt okay. There was still some jitters here and there, but most of them had dissipated by now. She knew she was being nervous over nothing, thank god. Hurley always seemed to help, even if didn’t know she was doing it.
Feeling decidedly better about everything, she headed over to the couch and glanced around the place. It was so much neater than hers. She even had a little hanging plant by the window sill. But her observations halted once she saw all the food on the table.
Before she could even react, Hurley was next to her again, looking embarrassed while holding a vase of sunflowers. “Sorry, I kind of maybe lied about accidentally ordering too much. I actually had this feeling that you might come over today so…”
“Hurley? Have I ever said how much I love you?”
“Oh, stop it! I’m gonna go put these down by the window, go on and sit already.”
Sloane grinned as she followed her instructions, waiting on the couch for Hurley to join her.
A minute passed before Hurley spoke again. “There we go! Thanks again, sweetheart.”
“Of course! Now come on and eat with me so I don’t feel bad,” Sloane said as she piled food onto a paper plate. Hurley just rolled her eyes as she plopped herself onto the couch with her, grabbing another paper plate from the table without a word. Before they could dig in though, Hurley gently squeezed her arm, making Sloane stop to look at her inquisitively. She was giving her another one of those prize-winning soft smiles, the ones that left her face feeling so warm.
"I just wanted to say... I’m really glad you came over, you know?”
Sloane hoped her grin said more than she could. “Yeah. I am too.”