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The sky was getting dark already when Renri and Yennefer left the flat. It was the middle of winter and they were both wrapped up in thick coats and scarves. Naturally, Yennefer’s scarf was black, in stark contrast to her well-tailored white shirt. Renfri had smirked at her knowingly when she’d pulled them out of the wardrobe as she had laced up her boots- not the scruffy pair she usually favoured, but the pair she polished especially for when Yennefer wanted to take her somewhere nice.
And then they had walked along the road, hand in hand, towards the restaurant. They weren’t celebrating anything, Yennefer simply wanted to treat her girlfriend after a long week. She had found a quaint bistro not too far away from their apartment, and she knew from a quick glance at their selection of desserts that Renfri would be up for it. Her girlfriend had a sweet tooth, certainly, but more than that, her absolute favourite was chocolate mousse. Seeing it on the menu, Yennefer had immediately pulled out her phone to book them a table, already a little excited to be able to indulge her girlfriend.
Arriving at the restaurant, she gave her name and the waiter took their coats before leading them to a booth in a dimly lit corner at the back of the restaurant. Once they had ordered, and after the main course of the meal, they leant back, getting comfortable, and stared at each other for a moment, as if waiting they were both for the other woman to make the first move.
Renfri broke first, a deep chuckle bursting out of her.
“Why’re you staring at me like that, Yen?” she lifted her glass and took a long sip, and wiped the froth from her face with the back of her hand. Yennefer wrinkled her nose at the sight, which only made Renfri laugh harder.
“Yes, yes I know, my mother would be horrified.” Yennefer couldn’t help but smile at that. She lifted her glass,too.
“Cheers to that.”
“Cheers!” Renfri reached across the table to clink her glass against Yennefer’s, a broad grin splitting her face. Yennefer smiled at her, one eyebrow arched. Renfri smirked back at her and purposefully took a sip of her beer, slurping loudly. Yennefer shook her head, a fond smile spreading across her face despite her best attempts to school her expression.
“What are you getting for pudding anyway?” Renfri said, leaning with her arms across the back of the booth. Yennefer traced her finger around the rim of her wine glass as she pondered.
“I was thinking of the raspberry panna cotta,” she said after a long moment and took another sip of her wine. “You?”
“Chocolate mousse.” Yennefer snorted.
“Of course you are.”
Renfri cackled and winked at her.
“Of course,” she said, and took another slug of her pint. She slammed it back on the table and threw her hand out to the middle of the table, wiggling her fingers expectantly.
Yennefer rolled her eyes, scarcely able to suppress a smile at her girlfriend’s antics. She took her hand and watched with barely concealed joy as Renfri’s face lit up. Her girlfriend could be adorable sometimes- and terrifying at others. It was impressive, Yennefer thought to herself, hiding a little smile in her wine glass as Renfri pulled her hand to her mouth to kiss the back of it. Renfri had just placed her hand carefully back on the table when the waiter appeared. Renfri released Yennefer’s hand and watched silently as her girlfriend ordered their desserts.
It didn’t take too long for their food to arrive. With the dishes placed delicately on the table, the waiter nodded at the two women with a small smile and left them alone again. Before he had taken more than two steps from their table, Renfri had her spoon in her mouth. Yennefer shook her head, hiding her besotted smile behind a spoonful of panna cotta. They sat in companionable silence for a minute or two as they ate, until Renfri spoke again.
“You know,” she said, gesticulating wildly with her spoon, “of all the places we’ve been this one has definitely had the best mousse.” Her spoon was dangling over the centre of the table, and it was just too tempting. Yennefer tipped her head forward and stole the spoonful of chocolate mousse whilst Renfri was still discussing the merits of various different restaurants they had been to recently. She stopped in her tirade, staring down at Yennefer, her eyes blown wide. Yennefer pulled back, licking her lips.
“You’re right, Renfri. It’s delicious.”
Renfri sat, staring at her, mouth falling open. Yennefer smiled at her, looking for all the world like the cat who’d got the cream. Renfri clenched her fist around the spoon, and watched as Yennefer held a spoonful of her own dessert out to her. She blinked, and hastily tucked her fringe behind her ear. She leant in to eat the mouthful, a faint blush staining her cheeks. She moaned quietly, licking her lips as she pulled back.
“Fuck, that’s really good,” Renfri murmured, before turning back to her own dessert. “Would you… would you like some more?” she said, looking down at the table cloth, still blushing. Yennefer found her uncharacteristic timidness thoroughly endearing. She nodded, sweeping her own hair over her shoulder out the way. For the rest of the meal, they sat swapping spoonfuls of dessert, and smiling shyly at each other. Occasionally, Yennefer would see Renfri staring at her from out of the corner of her eye, with a smile so soft and gentle that she knew Renfri would deny it if she ever called her out on it.
They had been dating for around a year now, but Renfri still struggled to let anyone, including Yennefer, see the softer side of her. Some coping mechanisms were ingrained deeply, Yennefer thought. It wasn’t as if she didn’t do the same thing, but it was always easier to figure out why other people behaved the way they did than understand the same about yourself.
She held out her last bit of panna cotta to Renfri.
“For you, darling. I-” she took a deep breath. They had hinted towards their growing feelings for each other, they had moved in together, but neither of them had taken the step to actually say those words. But she felt ready now. “I love you.”
Time seemed to stop. Renfri’s spoon dropped onto the table, and her mouth fell open. Yennefer swallowed thickly, beginning to wonder if she had somehow misread the situation or if her timing was off, when she heard Renfri’s voice thick with emotion as she whispered across the table.
“I love you, too.”