Chapter Text
Sitting in the office of the agent, Rona felt surprisingly nervous. She wasn't always brave, but when she was waiting in the lobby, she felt perfectly confident. She was only here for a consultation. There was an event going on at a mall this weekend, and this lady was the idol liaison. It would be a great start for her brand, even if it was just a local thing.
But now, watching this older woman - with a distinct motherly feel to her - look over her early designs...this was definitely a mistake.
The woman, Miss Kako, placed the designs very carefully back into their portfolio, and set it down on her desk, before giving Rona a very patient look. Only through intense willpower did Rona avoid grabbing the designs back, and running away as quickly as she could. "I'm sorry, Miss Michael, but you're not what we're looking for at this event." As soon as she apologized, Rona reached for the portfolio. It was a no, it wasn't like she could condition it to suck less. But Miss Kako held it, gripping it just tight enough to prove her point, but not enough to crumple it. "Putting aside the fact the designs are not very clear or interesting, why would anybody want to dress up as a cheeseburger?" She asked, bluntly.
Gripping her hands tightly, Rona took a deep breath, trying to restrain herself from saying anything. It wasn't like that ever went anywhere. Inside though, she corrected Miss Kako on the fact that it was a tofu burger. A bit of pride restored, Rona settled in her seat. "I just thought if there were any extra spaces, I'd offer one of my quickly drawn up and very, very old designs. Charity, sort of thing." Saying this, Rona felt very smug. Yeah, this design wasn't her best, she knew that. But it was the best this bunch deserved.
There was silence, but Rona felt strong in that silence. It wasn't like this lady could prove she hadn't drawn this on her way over here. Sighing softly, Miss Kako slid the portfolio towards Rona as she spoke. "If that's your attitude about our little project, then we decidedly don't want your best. Thank you for the offer, Miss Michael, and have a nice day." Her words were polite, but they carried a sense of disappointment with them. Whatever. Rona had heard worse. As she took her portfolio back, Rona paused, catching sight of the designs she had spent the past three weeks working on. It sucked to hear they weren't good enough. But it was the worst thing ever to say that they hadn't been her best. Still, what could she do now? Nodding to Miss Kako as she left her office, Rona started sprinting as soon as she exited the elevator downstairs and didn't stop till she reached her tiny apartment.
Out of breath as she slammed the door open, Rona leaned against the wall for support, trying to remember why she had decided to run. And looking up casually from the floor, Savi, her incredibly intuitive boyfriend gave her a quick glance, before returning to whatever he was typing on his phone. "Sorry, Rona, we'll get them next time." He told her, gently and calmly, as if he understood the situation, despite having been asleep when Rona left this morning.
Groaning, Rona shut the door behind herself, and walked over to the beanbag chair in the corner, dropping down on it, carefully clutching the designs to her chest. "They don't want tofu burgers." She whined pitifully, staring up at the ceiling.
Savi mock-gasped, looking towards her in a dramatic fashion, and pulled the portfolio out of her limp hands. "We should get animal rights out here! I can't believe they wouldn't even consider a vegetarian option!" As he said this, he looked through the designs in the portfolio, licking his lips as he did. "I think they look delicious. Shame paper isn't one of those high-class foods." He commented, sniffing the paper in a curious way.
The two of them stayed silent for a few minutes, as Rona ran through desperate possibilities in her head and Savi cringed at the various confusing designs that she had. Once the entire apartment had settled into the dull quiet, Rona pushed herself up on her elbows and looked at Savi, her serious attitude flooding back all at once. "What do I do next? I cooked like, twenty pounds of burgers experimenting this weekend." Although she said something really absurd, it was obvious she wasn't joking. To Rona, everything was still scary and new. She wasn't ready to fail yet.
Returning her serious expression with a playful smirk, Savi set the portfolio down to focus on Rona. "Well, we could become burger chefs. Or enter a burger-eating competition. Or, better yet, wear this...burger costume of yours and trick people into eating human flesh when they're expecting tofu!" He suggested all these things to her as excited as could be, like a kid on Christmas. And Rona, despite showing no shift in her face, considered what he said. Knowing this, Savi giggled softly and continued on. "But we should probably be smart about it and try making something less...Western, at first. Something which is mainstream, something your assistant knows by heart, or stomach, rather, and maybe, just maybe, something you need to consider eating again." He didn't have to say what it was, it seemed like Rona recognized it from the vague way he described it. She was immediately on edge, and was scooting away from him. "Do a dessert, Rona, do something sweet!" Savi urged her, a slight hint of worry in his voice.
Rona rolled her eyes and got up from the bean bag, grabbing at the portfolio. Savi didn't frown, though, still smiling entirely innocently. As she stalked away from the beanbags, Rona slapped the portfolio down on the card table that was their dining room table. "I've only just received my license to create Idol dresses! Why would I do something as boring as a piece of cake from the start?!" She exclaimed, waving her arms around as she walked back over to Savi, who was still laying on the floor. "I know you like desserts, but there's a lot of them out there. Where's the burgers?" As she said this, Savi couldn't help but laugh, and once he did, Rona froze up; ready to scream at him, but holding herself back.
Sitting up straight, Savi smiled up at Rona, lighthearted and sweet as always. "I don't think burgers will go extinct without you, babes. And why not make some desserts for me? You aren't a perfect cook, but you make some mean pancakes." Asserting this, Savi got up from the floor, and gently put a hand on Rona's shoulder, squeezing it as he did. "I know what you want to design, but doing a cake-themed dress isn't going to end you, is it? It'll help secure your style, and it'll be a form of compromise, if you ever want to get paid. Besides...I really want to see what dessert you would choose to make for me." He explains it to her, reasoning with her common sense and appealing to her need to impress him. A serious look on his face as he waits for her answer, he let go of her shoulder, so as not to pressure her.
For a few seconds, Rona tried to keep the anger in her chest alive, thinking of how she explained to her mother that she wouldn't just be another designer, or how many desserts she burnt and had to throw out back home. But, the anger didn't last. The relief of having someone on her side, the thought of designing again, and the memory of watching Savi bake dozens and dozens of cupcakes in their kitchen. All those brought complicated and fun feelings with them, mixing around inside of her. She did want to design a burger outfit. But the one she had now was bad. And if she ate much more burgers, she would begin to hate them too. Desserts weren't her favorite, and they never would be. But if it meant someone would give her a chance, if it meant she could take her first step on her new path...it wasn't that terrible.
Sighing softly, Rona gave Savi a big hug to apologize for being a jerk, squeezing him tight for a few seconds, before breaking away. She walked over to her portfolio and picked it up, taking a quick glance through it, before looking up at Savi. "Well, any suggestions?" She asked him, a genuinely curious expression coming over her face.
Savi grinned and began to pull her towards the door, acting as if this had been his plan the entire time. "There's a brand new bakery that's opened up a few blocks away, and I don't have my check from work yet, so you have to pay. But they have the greatest pictures online, so we have to go!" He whined and pulled on her playfully, keeping his hand on her as he slipped his sneakers on. "If you can't decide today, we'll go again tomorrow, okay? I'm willing to eat one billion sweets for you!" Assuring her of this, Savi grabbed the portfolio and tossed it on the beanbag, before Rona and he left the house, leaving it peaceful and undisturbed.
They did find delicious desserts at the new bakery, and although Savi wanted her to make a chocolate cake design, Rona found the one she wanted to make. A light and fluffy dessert, a small vanilla cream puff, with a side of chocolate frosting. The two of them spent the next month experimenting with their own cream puffs, and going out to eat cream puffs. After it was all over, Rona had a design she could be proud of, and had gained 7 pounds.