(blind date) valerie and haru

“Oh, my Murmur, I’m having the weirdest date experience of my whole life.”

She set the text to her friend and then looked up. Valerie had heard the jokes before… but she never thought the lesbian-meets-a-twink-she-thinks-is-also-a-lesbian experience would happen to her. Valerie glanced over at her date—that was, Haru, who was peering down at the food on his plate with an awkward blush, twisting his fork around in his spaghetti.

“Hey, are you okay?” Valerie asked him, feeling like she wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. They could figure out how this happened in a second… she just wanted to make sure that Haru was okay. He looked like he was going to literally cry.

-

“I’m ok.”

Haru’s words came out a bit strained. He tried his best to smile at Valerie. He wanted more than anything else to hide behind his ears. To stop himself, he twisted his spaghetti in his fork. He felt bad, to say the least! He really thought that Valerie had been an effeminate male bun! The name on her dating profile was listed as ‘Val’! That was masculine enough… maybe.

“Um, why do you ask?” 

Haru asked even though he knew the answer; he looked miserable. 

-

“Because you look miserable, maybe?” Valerie blurted out without really meaning to sound as harsh as she did. “Look, this is awkward for us both… I mean, I’m a lesbian. And you’re…?”

-

Haru visibly flinched at the harshness of Valerie’s words, fully expecting her to berate him. That was, until she spoke her next words.

“B-bisexual?” 

Haru awkwardly blurted, the usual redness of his cheeks becoming even brighter. Was that the answer Valerie wanted from him…?

-

It wasn’t! But that’s okay.

“See! Bisexual!” Valerie threw her paws up. “Well, I mean, okay, so you’re not gay, but I’m still not interested. And you’re miserable because you don’t know how the hell this happened. I’ve heard it actually happens pretty often, though… like, the meme? Lesbian meets twink… thinks he’s a beautiful lesbian…”

Valerie’s voice trailed off, as if to wait to see if Haru got the meme.

-

Haru visibly flinched when Valerie threw her paws in the air, not wanting to attract attention to their table. He threw a nervous glance to the side, biting his lip with his rabbit teeth.

“Y, yeah; I’ve…seen the meme?”

This was so awkward. Haru just stared at her.

-

“Okay, you’ve seen the meme. Well, that’s what happened here, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. It’s Matentines, everyone needs a friend… So, Haru…” Valerie began, mustering up a friendly smile. “Tell me a bit about yourself. What do you like to do for fun?”

This was the cheesiest starter ever.

-

Haru blinked, clearly taken aback by Valerie's sudden attempt at conversation. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his gaze darting around the restaurant as if searching for an escape route. But when he realized that Valerie was genuinely trying to make the best of the situationh e relaxed slightly, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“I, uh, well, I like to draw?”

Haru replied hesitantly, his voice soft. He smiled a little though.

“And I love imps. Especially rabebe.”

-

Valerie looked thrilled at this revelation! Yes, she could work with this!

“Oh, you like to draw?! Dude, me too. Hey, isn’t your spaghetti cold? - Anyways, sorry, I love painting the most! See, can’t you tell from my awesome, established beret?”

-

Haru's nervous smile widened at Valerie's enthusiasm, grateful for the shift in conversation away from their awkward start. Very awkward. He nodded eagerly, relieved to find some common ground between them.

"Yeah, painting sounds really cool! And your beret is definitely awesome.” 

Haru replied, his voice growing more animated. 

"I've always wanted to try painting, but I've never been very good at it. Drawing is more… easy. For me. I like colored pencils.”

He glanced down at his plate, realizing with a start that indeed, his spaghetti had gone cold. He pushed the plate aside, deciding that conversation was far more enjoyable than food at the moment.

"It's funny how we ended up here, isn't it?" 

Haru nearly whispered. A playful glint in his eyes. 

"I mean, who would've thought a mix-up like this could lead to a conversation about art and... rabebe?”

-

Valerie snorted. She couldn’t help herself! It was definitely making her less nervous to see him relax a bit and open up about his interests, despite the unconventional circumstances of their meeting. She really thought she was going to die from awkward, and Valerie usually wasn’t even bothered by that stuff

"Yeah, it's definitely unexpected," Valerie agreed, her smile widening as she leaned forward slightly. Her nose almost booped his. "But hey, sometimes the most unexpected situations lead to the best conversations, right? And who knows, maybe this mix-up was meant to happen so we could bond over our love for art and imps! I mean, I love ‘em too. Don’t have one, though~”

She winked playfully, enjoying the banter between them. Despite the initial awkwardness, Valerie found herself genuinely enjoying Haru's company. There was something endearing about his nervousness and his genuine enthusiasm for their conversation.

"And hey, if you ever want to give painting a try, I'd be happy to show you the ropes," Valerie continued, happy to blabber. "I'm no expert, but I've picked up a few tricks along the way. Plus, it's always more fun to create art with a friend, right? Well, assuming you wanna see me again. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to nope out forever and forget I ever existed, haha.”

-

Haru couldn't help but feel a rush of warmth at Valerie's easygoing demeanor and playful banter. Her snort and subsequent teasing about their situation eased the tension even further, and he found himself relaxing in her presence, his earlier nervousness melting away. That boop made him fluster.

"Actually, I think seeing you again sounds pretty great," Haru replied, his voice soft but genuine. He met Valerie's gaze with a shy smile, his cheeks tinged with a faint blush. 

"I mean, this has definitely been one of the weirdest dates I've ever been on, but in a weird way, I've kind of enjoyed it."

He paused, gathering his thoughts.

"And I'd love to take you up on that offer to learn how to paint. It sounds like a lot of fun, and who knows? Maybe I'll discover a hidden talent or something… So yeah, I'd definitely like to see you again," Haru reiterated, his tone earnest. 

-

His shy smile and earnest words melted Valerie’s heart, and she couldn't resist returning his smile with one of her own.

"Great! I'm really looking forward to it," Valerie replied, her voice filled with warmth. She reached out to lightly touch Haru's paw with her own bunny paw. "And don't worry about the weirdness of tonight. Sometimes the most unexpected situations lead to the best experiences, right? I’m a bun that lives on the wild side. So, even though I didn’t meet the hunk of my dreams… I did make an awesome friend.”

Valerie couldn't shake the feeling that there was something special about Haru. Maybe it was his endearing nervousness or his genuine enthusiasm for their conversation, but whatever it was, she was eager to explore it further.

"Anyway, I should probably get going," Valerie continued, reluctantly pulling her paw back. "But let's definitely plan something soon. Have a phone? I’ll give you my number.” Maybe we can grab coffee and talk more about art... and rabebe, of course." Valerie giggled.

-

Her touch on his paw sent a little warmth through him, and he couldn't help but smile even wider at her playful remark about not meeting the hunk of her dreams.

"Yeah, definitely," Haru replied, nodding eagerly.

 "I'd love to grab coffee with you. And yeah, I have a phone. I'll give you my number too."

He fumbled for his phone, feeling a surge of excitement at the prospect of staying in touch with Valerie. As he exchanged numbers with her, he couldn't shake the feeling that this was just the beginning of something fun.

"C-can't wait to hear from you," Haru stuttered shyly. "And hey, even if we didn't find the hunk or... beautiful lesbian we were expecting tonight, I think we still ended up with something pretty great."

-

“True that, Haru!"

Valerie entered his number into her phone with quick paws, setting his name as HARU. Despite the unconventional start to their friendship, Valerie couldn't deny the connection she felt with Haru. This was actually awesome. An actual date probably would have disappointed her even more.

"And hey, who needs hunky dream dates or beautiful lesbians when you've got awesome friends like us, right?" Valerie added with a playful wink. It made her smile to see her friend smile too, he was so sweet!

And as she settled into bed that night, Valerie couldn't help but laugh at how weird life was. She wondered if Haru was laughing too.

-

(Haru did indeed laugh that night)!