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Kingsly checked his watch as he sat at a table for two. Sure, he was a lot earlier than he needed to be, but he couldn’t help but be nervous. After all, this is the first time he and Puddle had gone on a date since they had been rescued from PNF-404, their relationship had very much been on the spur of the moment.
He had reserved this table ahead of time, finding the quaint cafe to be a nice backdrop. Hanging flower pots and soft fairy lights up in the rafters made for a comforting environment, though it clearly wasn’t for everyone as the venue was near void of people. Having nothing to focus on but the faint music, he straightened his collar and anxiously adjusted his fluffy hair.
As he took a deep breath, it was suddenly stolen from him when the bell rang and his date strolled in. And woah . If his heart hadn’t already been stolen by the stylist, it certainly had now.
Puddle was wearing an asymmetrical black dress, sunflowers covering the skirt. A long line of pale yellow buttons down the center almost looked like flowers themselves, cut off by a length of yellow ribbon tied in a neat bow around their middle. The gorgeous outfit stole the show, and even the thin black flats they wore with it looked just perfect on them.
Kingsly suddenly felt that he had underdressed. His purple button up and navy blue sweater could not compare to the sheer beauty staring him in the face. Staring…
Ah, He’d been staring!
When he came back to his senses, Puddle was looking away shyly, still standing in the doorway. Kingsly stood up from the table and went to greet them, clearing his throat in the hopes his voice wouldn’t crack.
“Petal, you look… amazing!”
The stylist smiled and took his hands, “Aw, thanks honey. You’re practically glowing yourself!”
He wasn’t quite sure how to take that compliment, but with how much his cheeks and ears burned, he likely was quite literally glowing. Stammering, he led Puddle to their seat and then sat himself down. Now that he was looking them in the face, Kingsly wasn’t sure he remembered the conversation topics he had previously planned.
Luckily for him, Puddle was a lot better in the people department.
“How has the flower business been?”
“Ah- great! I wish I could take you there sometime, I also have a lovely garden back at home if you wanted to see.”
“So forward, we haven’t even eaten yet!”
“Wha– that’s not-”
“I know, dear, I’m just joking. But I would love to see your house one day, is it nearby?”
Kingsley hummed, “Not exactly, around a twenty minute walk.”
“Ah, really?”
The two continued making smalltalk, the flow just coming naturally as they talked about everything they’d experienced in their time apart. Puddle’s business picked up immensely when they returned home, and their unique leafling look became a massive trend. Meanwhile, Kingsly had taken a break from work to focus on cultivating some of the flowers he had discovered while on PNF-404.
Since they parted, they were able to send brief calls or text messages, but the long-distance charges made them wish they had the foresight to swap email addresses instead. Planning the date was made a lot more difficult because of this, but gods were they glad they had the patience to make it work.
They soon ordered some food and drinks. Puddle took a particular interest in the fluffy pancakes, ordering a plate and some green tea to complement it. Kingsly took a little longer to order, but soon decided on a hearty sandwich and latte.
Puddle seemed enamoured by the pancakes set in front of them, an awestruck expression on their face. “...We don’t have anything like this back on Enohay.”
“You don’t? I used to have them all the time when I was younger.”
“I get why, they’re so soft!” they gushed.
Relaxing music continued playing in the background as the two ate, calming any nervous tension Kingsly had before. He had never really dated before, but as he looked up from his drink to see Puddle’s wide smile, he figured he was doing something right.
The faint pattering of rain on the tin veranda stole Kingsly’s attention away from his empty plate. He turned in his seat and glanced out the window, just as it began to pour. Puddle noticed his concern, pausing their story for just a moment to ask.
“Everything okay?”
“I… wasn’t expecting it to rain today.”
“Ah, well good thing I checked the weather forecast this morning!”
“Eh?”
Puddle laughed and reached into their bag, pulling out a small brolly. They had prepared a lot more than Kingsly did, that’s for sure. He was starting to dread the walk back home. There wasn’t much left he had to talk about, and he was starting to worry that he was boring the stylist, they were a lot more interesting and talkative than he was.
They stacked their used dishes and pushed out from the table, only feeding the florist’s fears. Kingsly gulped, half expecting them to walk out and leave him to figure out his way home in the storm. The fears were wildly unrealistic, they were too nice to just leave him like that, but the anxiety was still there. Though, when they stood, they walked around the table and offered him a hand.
“You coming?"
“Ah, where are we going?”
“Back to your house, if you’re comfortable with that of course.”
Kingsley flushed, “My house? I- no- yes, I want to.”
“Great! Lead the way honey.”
Puddle linked arms with Kingsly and fiddled with the velcro strap of the umbrella as they left the cafe.
The sun had long since disappeared behind dark clouds that just seemed to appear out of nowhere, and the wind had picked up dramatically, poor Puddle looked a moment away from blowing over. They clung tighter to Kingsly, ignoring the odd looks they got from the few other pedestrians. It must have been an odd sight, two people horrifically underdressed, only a flimsy brolly keeping them both from getting soaked to the skin.
Kingsley huffed, squinting to see the route he took to get here through the pelting rain. He trudged along, Puddle by his side, content to be dragged along however long it takes to escape the weather.
Thankfully, the rain subsided about halfway through their walk, but they kept the umbrella up just to be safe. It was then, as they slowed down, that Kingsly realised how close they had gotten, and how – oh my stars – Puddle was sharing their umbrella with him! They didn’t seem aware of the implications that might have, but he sure was.
Unaware of the crisis their date was having, the stylist pointed out some of the old architecture they passed. Even though Kingsly had lived in the area his whole life, he couldn’t deny the beauty of the town, but at this point all he could focus on was Puddle.
They passed over a long bridge, the still water below them reflected the cloudy sky above, and the forest along the skyline. Kingsly took in a deep breath as he spotted his house on the other end of the bridge, they only had a little longer to go. He did his best to answer the flurry of questions asked about the environment and intricate details about nearby buildings.
Puddle shook the water off their umbrella, before hanging it up by the front door. They looked around as Kingsly kicked off his wet shoes. He nervously chuckled as he noticed how untidy he had left the house in his rush to prepare for their date.
“Sorry about the mess, but please, make yourself at home! Would you like something to drink?”
“With how the weather’s been, I think I’d like some hot chocolate please.”
Kingsly nodded and picked up a few dirty plates from the coffee table, figuring that he could get a start on cleaning while he waited for the kettle to boil. As the dull hum resounded through the kitchen, he made himself busy wiping down the bench, giving some cold water to the plants on the windowsill.
Eventually, he heard music playing in the other room, and it clicked that he had just left Puddle in the living room. The kettle was still heating up, and that music sounded quite familiar, so he walked back to join his date. They were prodding at a portable radio, clearly interested in the older design.
“Huh, never knew you liked classical, Kings.”
“Well I do, yeah. Hope you don’t mind, I-I can turn it off if you want–”
“No, no, it’s nice! It’s very… relaxing. You have good taste.”
They rocked as they fell into comfortable silence, staring into each other’s eyes. Puddle slipped their fingers between Kingsly’s, resting their free hand on his shoulder. He sighed and pulled them closer, they felt his hand on the small of their back. Their movements were slow and awkward as they swayed to the rhythm, but in the moment, it couldn’t be any more perfect.
Kingsly was bright red, unable to do more than shakily smile at their closeness. Leave it to Puddle to make him feel things he hadn't had the chance to experience before. It felt like time had slowed, like they’d be together, right here, right now, forever. He didn’t mind staying like this, not when his partner smiled so sweetly, when they gently squeezed his hand, when they stood on the tips of their toes, leaned in and–
Their lips met, and Kingsly felt like he might melt despite the cool draft from outside. It wasn’t the first time they had kissed, in those few moments of privacy they had cooped up on the S.S. Shepherd. But every time felt just as special, as explosive as the last. Each peck left his skin tingling, raising goosebumps on his arms.
When Puddle finally pulled away, the room seemed a lot dimmer. The music had changed several times over, and the kettle had shut off, the once boiling water now a pathetic lukewarm. Though, he wasn’t sure Puddle even remembered the hot drink, he was close to forgetting that himself.
A glance at his watch, and yes, time had certainly passed, much quicker than he had expected too.
“U-uhm, Petal?”
“Mmh?”
“How were you planning on getting home?”
“Ah? I–” They, too, suddenly noticed how late it had gotten. “Oh dear…”
Kingsly held their hand against his cheek, either to calm them or himself, he wasn’t quite sure.
“It’s okay, you can stay here. I’ll set the bed up for you, I can take the couch.”
He wasn't sure what he was expecting as a response, but a giggle from Puddle certainly wasn't it. Had he overstepped a boundary? Was he being weird? Ah, he was messing things up again–
Puddle kissed his nose, easing his worry, “Stars, you act like we haven’t shared a bed before!”
“Wh- I was trying to be a gentleman!”
“I know that, silly! You don’t need to sleep on the couch though, it’s far too cold for that.”
They seemed to have made up their mind, so he caved and led them to his bedroom. It was, unsurprisingly, a lot more unkempt than the rest of the house. His other possible outfits were strewn about the mattress and floor as he couldn’t choose between them, he rushed to pick them up before Puddle had the chance to comment on it.
Puddle sat on the edge of the bed, looking up expectantly. Kingsly sighed, putting his discarded clothes in a laundry hamper before he walked up to the bed. He towered over them where they sat, and he took a step back, wringing out his hands.
“I-I should keep cleaning-”
“Wait—!”
Kingsly stumbled over his feet as Puddle took his hand and tugged him forward. He lost his balance, falling onto the bed with them.
When he cracked open an eye, he took in the awkward position they found themselves in. Their faces were less than an inch apart, Kingsly could almost feel the radiating heat from his partner’s burning cheeks. He was lucky he caught himself before they bumped heads, but he was still on top of them.
As he tried stumbling over an apology, he heard Puddle giggling again, the wobbly sound clearing his head of any reasonable thoughts. They draped an arm over his back and held on tight, resting their head against the mattress and looking up at their partner.
“What a way to end the night, huh?”
Their free hand cupped his cheek, pulling him into another chaste kiss before he had the chance to formulate a coherent response. Kingsly sighed as the hand trailed up to brush through his red tufts of hair, he finally relaxed his tense shoulders.
The sheets were wrinkled and disorderly under them, but they didn’t seem to care.
Kingsly didn’t have any previous experiences to compare to, but this date, this day as a whole, felt perfect. To his credit, Puddle seemed to be enjoying themself quite a lot too.