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Roxy loved pink. It was a natural inclination, she had pink eyes and pink tips to her hair, her nails were pink too! Her wardrobe was much the same, since there was no such thing as too much of a good thing. She had a collection of pink shirts and skirts her favorite heels were hot colored. Her favorite color even carried over to things in her house. Her couch was pink, the throw pillows a cute little shade of blush, her rug was the best shade of raspberry and her bathroom towels were coral. Her bedding was, of course, pink! All soft rosé colored knits and fresh clean cotton, decorated with cute little peach swirls and tassels on her shams.
There was a very specific instance though, when purple was her favorite color.
Rose was right on the verge of weird Barbie status. She was a custom Barbie, carefully made over but not in the way most Barbie’s were made over. Some sets came with temperature change hair, extensions you could clip in or clothes you could draw on, but Rose had been made by a professional. Her hair wasn’t just cut it was rerooted. Her clothes were part hand sewn and part taken from Halloween Barbie. She was big on black dresses and lace chokers, her outfits a bit limited given the very singular color status of the world around them. Rose didn’t seem to mind how pink Roxy was, though.
When they were together, they didn’t go out much.
Rose did not live in a dream house. She lived in a carefully constructed manor on the edge of barbieland, many of her accessories not original. Rose had one of the cutest tea seats though, and they had tea almost every afternoon in Rose’s garden, ivy growing up the house’s exterior framed their little tea party. Roxy sipped her tea politely despite there not actually being any liquid in the cup. There never was. Rose grinned at her from across the table.
“Im well aware it’s only been twenty four hours but a lot can happen still in such a limited time. Have you done anything exciting? Taken up a new career? Entomology, perhaps,” Rose chatted.
“Nah, nothing like that,” Roxy grinned. “I was thinking about maybe going on a horse ride? Or maybe heading over to do some shopping? But besides that nothing super exciting.”
“I see, so, you’ve got some free time then?” Rose asked, sipping her tea. “Have you ever given a thought to ladies night with just the two of us?”
“Two? Why?” Roxy’s eyebrows knitted. It was pretty normal to have parties and pal around with friends every night, but just the two of them? That wasn’t abnormal per say just unexpected. “Are you sure you don’t want to invite Jade or Jane over too?”
Jade and Jane were good friends of both girls. They had both been made like Rose was, customized. Jade had a really great space motif, Jane modeled after a fifties house wife. Sometimes the three of them together made Roxy feel a little out of place being the way they acted. Together, it was almost as if the range of feelings the customs felt as wider than her own. It wasn’t always knee deep conversations about traveling to the beach or hanging out with friends. Sometimes they talked about things Roxy really couldn’t understand, like the finer points of sewing clothes with all the angles and stitches, or sometimes even things happening in the real world.
Roxy understood that they had each been made by and for an adult, not for a kid to play with like her, that’s why they were so different. She just felt like she couldn’t compete with that. Roxy regretted asking that question as soon as it was out of her mouth. It was rude not to want all of their friends invited! But having Rose to herself sounded like it would be just as fun.
“I’m quite sure I’d like it to be just you. Does that make you uncomfortable?” Rose asked, a bit more serious than she had been before.
“No, not really. I like you a lot Rose,” Roxy replied, reaching out to touch her hand. She was relieved and trying not to show it. “I’ll stay over, no biggie!”
Roxy cared deeply about Rose. It was why despite their differences Roxy remained such good friends. Absolutely, they were the best of friends. That was why Roxy wanted so badly to hold her hand and cuddle her.
“I’m glad,” Rose replied, her lips turning upward in a small, hallmark Rose smile.
“Do you want to make a pillow fort and sleep in it?”
“I’d love to destroy my living room for no lesser reason,” Rose replied. Together they headed to Rose’s couch.
Rose’s couch was not plastic. It was lovingly stitched from a black cotton material and stuffed to be soft. The cushions meant to sit on became the walls, the cushions meant to lean on became the roof. A blanket was draped over the top and the inside was filled with various other throws, making it soft and cozy inside. Together, they crawled inside and sat down together, Rose sitting cross cross and Roxy folding her legs to the side to lean on her.
It was a really good cuddle too. Spending time with Rose was just about her favorite thing to do these days and she found herself wanting more and more to just be with her. It made Roxy’s heart happy to be with her, like Rose was just her person or something. She looked forward to this part of the day from the time she woke up, and she thought about it even more when she laid down to sleep.
“Rose, I really enjoy spending time with you,” Roxy professed, cuddling into Rose’s shoulder. How did she get so lucky?
“And I you,” Rose returned. An arm curled around Roxy, warm and gentle and it filled Roxy with all sorts of happy.
“I like it when it’s just us,” Roxy continued, lifting her head to look Rose in the eye. She was so close, Roxy could just… no. That wouldnt be exactly right. They were such good friends! That would ruin it! And yet… maybe it might also make it better. “And, Rose, you know, um…”
That was a little bit of a paradox, too. Roxy didn’t know of any other Barbie’s that didn’t date Kens, that was sort of how it went. Barbie and Ken were a set, evident by all the wedding sets and two person carriages and that whole thing in two thousand four with the break up. But was Rose still even technically a Barbie? She was so different than the rest, certainly it wouldn’t matter to her.
Or maybe it would matter even more if she was so far removed from the source material. Maybe this was like all of those movie princess Barbie’s that had their special prince Kens and only them. Maybe Rose had a special someone not made yet. That would mean it would never be her, could never be her, and that thought was panicky. And that was such an icky feeling, in top of all of these other feelings and-
“Roxy, I can see the steam coming out of your ears. It’s alright. I feel the same way,” Rose said softly.
Roxy’s jaw dropped. She did? Gosh! That was- well that was just about the best thing she’d ever heard! Roxy wrapped both hands around Rose’s middle and hugged her close, elation dancing in the pit of her belly with all the butterflies there.
“Rose, are Barbies allowed to kiss other Barbies?”
“Who’s to say they can’t? Girls can do anything, can’t they?”
“I guess so,” Roxy replied with a smile, and leaned in.