Chapter Text
Luz sighed.
She really should've expected it. but her rose colored glasses were too thick. Now, all she had left was a cheap box of chocolates and a small, wilting bouquet. She must look pretty pathetic, sitting all alone on a bench at night, checking her phone every few seconds.
Really, she should just go back home, but the prospect of facing her mom and explaining that it happened again left a bitter taste in her mouth. She didn’t want to worry her mom any more than she already did. She didn’t want any more pitying looks anytime she came home dejected. Honestly, she might just stay out a bit longer and pretend nothing went wrong when her mom eventually questioned her. Yeah, that might work.
She stared blankly at the cement in front of her. She was sure this time was finally going to be different. Her and Sherry had seemed to hit it off! They’d been texting almost everyday since they met, and she seemed like she actually enjoyed Luz’s company. Sherry was the one to even propose the date! But with every minute that ticked by, every text left on read, her excitement had dimmed until it was as dark as the sky.
She really was gullible, wasn’t she?
The whine of breaks broke her out of her thoughts. A bus had pulled up a little ways away, the red lights shining across the small courtyard. Couples chatted as they disembarked, hands intertwined. Luz pointedly looked away, trying her best to ignore the aching in her chest.
Soon enough, the people dispersed and the bus pulled back into drive. Luz glanced up to watch it leave. Maybe she should’ve got on it. She could’ve wasted the next few hours being driven around before she had to go back home.
“No!”
Luz jumped at the call, turning to watch as a woman rushed past, waving her arm as if she could call the bus back. She slowed to a stop underneath the bus stop, her arm dropping as the tail lights disappeared around a corner.
A sympathetic frown tugged at Luz’s lips as the woman kicked a rock, cursing not so quietly under her breath. She glanced to her side where the flowers and chocolates laid undisturbed. She shrugged inwardly. Even if her night was ruined, maybe she could make it a little better for someone else. Besides, she would need to get rid of them sooner or later if she didn’t want her mom to find out about her failure of a date.
Mind made up, she grabbed her things and made her way to the bus stop. The woman was turned away from her, and in the dim light of the nearby streetlamp, Luz noticed that her hair was a pretty shade of lavender.
“Excuse me?”
The woman whipped around, and— oh.
Stunning golden eyes bored into her own. Whatever words she had planned to say were stuck in her throat because wow. This woman was gorgeous.
“Can I help you?” The woman asked coolly, eyeing her distrustfully.
“Uh, Yes, I…” Luz silently cursed. She needed to pull herself together! She can’t become a sputtering mess anytime some pretty girl looks at her!
She cleared her throat and tried again, “I saw you missed your bus, and well…” she gestured at the bouquet, “I don’t need this anymore, so I figured you might…”
The woman’s eyes softened, and Luz’s insides might have melted. She held the flowers out awkwardly, and the other girl took them, her cold fingers brushing Luz’s for the smallest moment.
“Thank you,” she mumbled before glancing back up and capturing Luz in her gaze, “Do you always walk around carrying a bouquet for unfortunate strangers?”
Luz chuckled, looking anywhere but at the woman’s soft but teasing smile. “Nah, I just had a date that fell through,” she said, trying her best to sound nonchalant about it. She didn’t need this girl that she just met pitying her.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Against her better judgment, Luz looked back at the woman. To her surprise, there was only sympathy and something that might’ve been concern on her face. Luz absently noted that her eyes were very expressive. She’d love to see how they’d look when she’s happy.
The woman gingerly sat down on the bus stop bench, gesturing for Luz to join her, and heaven above, Luz would follow this girl to the ends of the earth if only she looked at her—
“You know,” the woman started, staring down at the bouquet with an incredibly soft look, her lips upturned the slightest bit, “it’s a bit ironic.”
“What is?”
“The fact that we both had terrible dates tonight.”
“Oh?” Luz’s eyebrows shot up. There was no way this girl wouldn’t have some kind of picturesque Prince Charming to sweep her off her feet, right?
“You wouldn’t even believe,” she groaned, delicately placing the flowers aside so she could face Luz head on. Luz tried to stamp down on the butterflies stirring in her chest, hoping the stranger would attribute her reddening cheeks to the chilly night air.
“We’ll see about that,” Luz said with a laugh that was probably a little too loud, “I’ve been on quite a few bad dates in my time.”
The woman laughed, and Luz suddenly understood why pirates would run themselves into the rocks for a siren’s song. She grabbed at the box of chocolates she still had, adamantly looking away as she offered some to the other woman.
“Well,” she said dramatically, taking one of the chocolates, “have you ever had a date take her shirt off in the middle of a restaurant just to flex?”
Luz didn’t miss the use of “her”, but she couldn’t process it before the rest of the words registered. Her jaw dropped.
“She did not!”
“Oh, but she did!” she threw her hands up, “I honestly thought we were going to get kicked out, but apparently she ‘knew the owner’.”
Luz shook her head in disbelief, grabbing a chocolate for herself as the woman continued her story.
“And that was after she spent, like, an hour going on and on about herself. I probably only got two words in before she just had to regale me about the time her high school rugby team won the championships.”
Luz winced in sympathy and her partner groaned in frustration.
“And then she was all handsy walking out. She wouldn’t let me leave until I kissed her, despite me telling her, multiple times, that I had a bus to catch.”
“That is so wrong,” Luz cut in, feeling a spark of anger ignite on the woman’s behalf. No one should force something like that on someone.
“Yeah… but at least it’s over now,” she gave a small, self deprecating laugh, “even if I did miss my bus.”
Luz didn’t respond to that, still mulling over all the words she would’ve said if she had the misfortune of meeting this date.
“So what about you?” the woman suddenly asked. Luz looked back at her like a deer caught in the headlights. She gestured to the chocolates before taking another one, reiterating, “What about your date?”
“Oh, uh…” Luz looked away, rubbing the back of her neck, “She just, uh, didn’t show. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“That’s all?”
“Yup!” Luz said, hoping her cheer didn’t actually sound as forced as it was. She was never good with talking about herself, especially with things like this. They were actually having a good conversation! She didn’t want to make the girl feel bad, or worse, make her feel like she had to help her like she was some kicked puppy left on the side of the road.
“Hey,” the woman spoke softly, leaning in, “If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.” Her golden eyes held nothing but warmth as she looked at her, “But if you do, I’m all ears.”
Luz paused. The other woman smiled patiently, and somehow, Luz knew she would absolutely respect whatever she decided.
“I guess it’s just… hard,” she admitted haltingly, like she had to shove every word past the blockage in her throat. The woman sat quietly, letting her take her time.
“I thought this time would be different,” she looked down at her hands, fidgeting with a black ring on her finger, “Things seemed to be going well. We were talking, and, well, she said we should meet up at the park for a— a date, and…” Luz cleared her throat, praying to any and all gods that the ground would just swallow her up because now she was crying in front of a complete stranger and she was going to think she was so lame and way too sensitive and—
A pale hand suddenly covered her shaking ones. Luz screwed her eyes shut. She didn’t want to see the all too familiar pity being reflected in those golden eyes.
“Well, she sounds like an absolute doll.”
Luz choked out a laugh. She tried to raise her arm to dab at her tears, but the hand held it in place with a gentle grip.
“Give me a moment, I have some tissues,” the girl said, grazing her thumb over the back of her hand, “I don’t want you to smudge your makeup.”
Luz dutifully nodded, keeping her eyes closed and trying to swallow the lump in her throat. She didn’t need to look and see just how big of an embarrassment she was being. This whole night was turning out to be one giant roller coaster of emotions, and she just wanted out of it.
“Aha, found them,” the girl softly exclaimed.
The hand pulled away, and Luz missed its comforting warmth terribly. She didn’t have long to dwell on it, though, as the next second found that same soft touch against her jaw, gently guiding her head upwards. She gasped.
“Sorry, I need better lighting,” the girl said simply, her voice holding some unreadable emotion.
A tissue was pressed to her face, delicately dabbing the tears away. It felt… strangely intimate for two random strangers who had just met. But, Luz found, this woman didn’t feel like a stranger. In just a few minutes, she had made Luz feel seen and cared for in a way that she hadn’t had in a while. It was like being given a warm blanket after she’d spent so long getting used to the cold, and, pathetically, Luz wanted to curl up in it. She didn’t want to tough out the storm any more.
“Aaand, there.” All too soon, the hands were gone. The night air was freezing in comparison.
“Thanks,” Luz mumbled, finally opening her eyes but refusing to look at the woman who had just helped her, “Sorry for crying,” she laughed weakly.
“Don’t apologize. You’re honestly the most genuine person I’ve talked with in months.”
“That’s… kind of sad.”
The woman laughed, and Luz found the corners of her lips tugging upwards.
“Sorry, that was kind of rude.”
“No, it was truthful,” she said, but her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, “You don’t want to know about all the people I have to work with.”
Luz nudged her playfully, “Hey, ‘I’m all ears’, remember?”
The woman froze. Luz’s brain started backpedaling furiously, but before she could open her mouth and apologize for ruining everything, the girl smiled. It was a genuine, blinding smile that nearly made Luz’s heart stop. Her golden eyes shone with some mix of disbelief and something else that she couldn't pinpoint. All her scatterbrained thoughts fell away in a pleasant buzz as Luz grinned back at her.
A low pitched rumble finally broke through her haze, and suddenly the bus was there. The doors slid open and a bored looking driver looked down at them. The woman stared blankly for a moment before she seemed to remember the bus was for her. With a start, she gathered up her things, taking the flowers into her arms.
Luz’s brain was frantically trying to reboot, screaming at her to say something, but her mouth was frozen.
“Well, thanks for the flowers,” she said slowly, looking down at Luz with something like a bittersweet smile, “and… for the company.”
Luz nodded dumbly, her lips moving on autopilot, “Thanks for listening.”
“Of course,” The girl looked down at the bouquet in her arms, “and if it makes you feel any better...” she plucked a flower from the bunch, a stunning yellow daffodil, and held it out to Luz, “I would’ve shown up.”
Numb fingers accepted the gift in a daze. Luz could do nothing but stare after the absolute wonder of a woman as she stepped onto the bus. Golden eyes met her own for one last time before the doors closed and the bus trudged off into the night.
Luz was grateful she was sitting. Her legs felt like jelly. She took a deep breath, the cool air doing little to ground her back in reality as her mind still wandered after the woman on the bus. She twirled the flower gently between her fingers and smiled, picturing shining eyes that were as golden as the petals. She really was a mess of emotions tonight, wasn’t she?
She didn’t know how long she stayed there, grinning like an idiot, but when another bus showed up and Luz had to wave him on, she figured she should probably go home. The thought didn’t bring the dread it did only an hour earlier. To her surprise, even being stood up didn’t carry the sting it used to anymore. Sure, it hurt, but it might have been the best thing that ever happened to her, because she got to meet the most wonderful girl….
And she didn’t even know her name.