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“Oh! Oh! Odette! What do you think of this?” Vodyanitsa exclaimed, skipping ahead to the large window of a nearby clothing shop. “Doesn’t that hat look super cute? It would look great on me? Don’t you think?”
She waited for a response but was only met by complete silence. She waited a bit longer and still… nothing. The response she was waiting for wasn’t coming. Looking over her shoulder, she found her partner standing there, looking at another shop, barely paying any attention to her.
“Odette!”
Odette immediately jolted upon hearing her, her eyes darting in Vodyanitsa’s direction. “Sorry, I thought I saw a music box I’ve been looking for,” Odette said, her head cocking to the side. “Were you saying something?”
Oh, now you notice?
Vodyanitsa internally huffed, trying to drive back her growing frustration. This is the first time in weeks she and Odette had gotten to go out and relax, just the two of them. So what if she wasn’t giving her complete attention? at least they were together.
Taking a deep breath, she put on a sweet smile and made her way back to her friend. “Oh, nothing important.” She said, dismissively waving her hand. “What was that about a music box? Is it the one you’re looking for?”
“No,” Odette said, shaking her head. “It looks beautiful but not the one I’m looking for.”
“Does that mean you’re not going to get it?”
“Obviously.”
“Whaaaat!? Are you sure? It sure looks pretty, and I bet it would sound even prettier! Ooooh, I know, how about I get it for you-”
“You don’t need to.” Odette shut her suggestion down. “Like I said, it's not the right one. It wouldn’t serve any purpose. I’d rather you didn’t waste your money.”
Mooou! It’s not a waste if I’m getting you something! Stupid Odette… She desperately wanted to say this but… She also knew how frustratingly stubborn Odette could be, and it wasn’t worth starting a fight... Today. “Fiiiiine. But don’t be surprised if it randomly appears in your dressing room someday~”
Odette rolled her eyes, but didn’t comment on that any further. “Where are we going next?”
“I keep telling you, nowhere,” Vodyanitsa said. She moved behind Odette and gently pushed her forward. “We’re just going around looking for fun things to do!”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Liiiiiike-” She scanned around the plaza, trying to find something. That’s when she saw it, off at the side of the plaza was a small stall with a single doll, around the size of a young child. Something she had heard about from the Traveller. “That!”
“Huh? What is it-”
“You’ll see!”
She grabbed Odette’s hand, pulling her over towards the stall. Reaching the stall, the owner’s face lit up with recognition and anxiety.
“Miss Vodyanitsa? Miss Odette!? W-Why are you-”
“Shhh, shhh, shhh.” Vodyanitsa quickly hushed, “Not so loud.”
“M-My apologies.” The store owner gulped, “W-What brings you here?”
“Hehe, isn’t it obvious?” Vodyanitsa put her hand behind her back and swayed back and forth. “I heard about your game from a friend. Would you mind if I give it a try?”
“Y-Yes! Of course! But I um… don’t have any prizes right now-”
“Hehe, don’t worry, I don’t need a prize. I’m just here to have fun!” Vodyanitsa skipped closer to the doll. “I just have to guess how many dolls are inside, right?”
“T-That’s right.” She nodded. “This doll can have 8, 9 or 10 dolls inside.”
“Hehe, got it. This will be easy.” Vodyanitsa glanced up at Odette and smirked. “Just watch, Odette. I’m going to nail it.”
Odette… Didn’t look at her. Her gaze was laser-focused on the doll. Fine. She’d just wow her when she got it right. She guessed 9 dolls, and the stall owner went through an almost painfully slow process of taking them all out until the 9th one was placed down and… She stopped.
Which meant.
“Hehe, I knew it! I knew it!” Vodyanitsa squealed, shaking Odette’s shoulder. “See, Odette! I told you I’d get it right! Aren’t you impressed?”
But once again… Odette wasn’t paying attention to her. She was still looking at those stupid dolls.
“Hmm… I thought there was going to be 10.” Odette finally muttered. She turned to the stall owner, “This is a well-made game.”
The stall owner’s face turned red. “T-Thank you, Miss Odette. That’s an honour coming from you, w-would you like to try?”
“Hmm.” Odette hummed, and finally looked at Vodyanitsa. “No, thank you.” Odette shook her head. “I don’t think I could do any better. I’ve seen enough.” She turned to Vodyanitsa. “Shall we go?”
Vodyanitsa once again used all of her willpower to keep her disappointment and frustration in check. “Suuuure. Thank you for the game, I’ll be sure to recommend it!”
“T-Thank you! T-That is a huge honour. I hope you both enjoy the rest of your day!”
And with that, they left, firstly taking another walk around the plaza enjoying the freshly blooming Frostfairy Flowers before heading off down one of the side streets where any prying eyes vanished, leaving the two of them and no one else. It was nice, and Vodyanitsa would be lying if she said she wasn’t enjoying it, but… She wanted more.
Every attempt to start up a conversation with Odette, every time she saw something in a shop, small something delicious, anything, she’d try to talk. And Odette being… Oh so herself, made the conversation short. Which was normally fine. It was part of what made Odette… Odette. And she loved that about her.
Still, they were meant to be on a date. She should have been paying extra special attention to her today, yet it felt no different than any other time they hung out. Reaching her limit, she decided to take drastic action. She moved closer to Odette and then not-so-subtly wrapped her arm around Odette’s, pulling her as close as she could.
Surely that would be enough to get Odette to pay attention to her? It… wasn’t. Odette simply kept walking, as if nothing had changed.
That was the final straw.
“Arrrg, Odette!” Vodyanitsa growled, forcing the two of them to a stop. “Enough of this!”
“Huh?” Odette looked at her, pure confusion on her face. “What’s wrong? Did I do something?”
“It’s what you’re not doing!” Vodyanitsa exclaimed, her cheeks puffing up into a pout. “We’re on a date! Why aren’t you paying attention to me!?”
“I… Thought I was-”
“Not special attention!” She stomped her foot on the ground. “I grabbed your arm and you didn't say anything!” Just to prove her point, she tightened her hold. “You didn’t even look at me!”
To her surprise, Odette actually looked… guilty. She glanced off to the side, her usual stoic expression being tinged with sadness. “S-Sorry… I didn’t mean to upset you. I… I’m just so used to you holding on to me that I…”
She trailed off, her words becoming so quiet it would be impossible to hear. But having a feeling of what she was going to say, Vodyanitsa couldn’t let her off. Not now.
“That yoooou?” She drew out the words as she used her free hand to force Odette to look her in the eyes. Her resolve crumbled immediately.
“I’m… So used to you doing it. It feels natural.” Odette whispered, her cheeks turning red, a sight so rare, Vodyanitsa wished she could take a picture of it. “It feels right… when you do it. So I don’t think much about it when it happens.”
Which meeeans, hehe. Vodyanitsa’s lips curled into a devious smile. She leaned in close, close enough that their noses were practically touching. “You like it when I do this?”
“...Yes.”
That one single word was enough to make her heart soar, pushing any and all problems she had with Odette far, faaaar from her mind.
“Hehe, alright then. I suppoooose I can forgive you this time.” She rested her head against Odette’s arm. “Just remember next time, when we’re on a date. You need to pay special attention to me, or I’ll be forced to take matters into my own hands again. And next time, I’ll be even clingier~”
The blush on Odette’s cheeks intensified.
“I-I’ll try to keep that in mind.”
“You better~ But maybe not too much.” Vodyanitsa rested her head on Odette's arm. “After all, this is nice too.”