(un)clear communication

Nervous energy buzzed under Satin’s skin, arms and legs unable to remain still from the movement of it. She flitted from stove, to counter, to stove again— check the time left for the parmesan risotto, add a bit more chocolate drizzle to the peanut butter cheesecake, shift the platter, dust off the counter—

Here, to there, tiny adjustments, moving to the hum of her own anxiety. Satin paused midway through another tiny adjustment, and had to take a breath, shaking some of the buzz from her fingers. It would be fine, Beanny would be here soon and it would be fine because this was just dinner to celebrate her first year in Burrowgatory.  

It would be fine, it was just dinner and didn’t have to mean anything else, don’t make it weird Satin— 

She groaned, and smoothed down her curls, letting out another breath through pursed lips. “I’m gonna drive myself crazy,” she grumbled to herself, and shook out her hands again. She flexed her fingers, and stared down at the paler skin of her palms. 

Satin had invited Beanny over for dinner about a week ago, a morning too early for brain-to-mouth filters. But Beanny brought up the anniversary, and not wanting to be alone for it, and Satin just…

She wanted to make her smile. To cook for her. To meet those dark eyes over candlelight and maybe try to hold her hand like in Hellfire Love or something—

Stop. Don’t make it weird. It’s just dinner.

Satin’s thoughts were interrupted again by the soft chime of her doorbell, jolting her legs into moving before her brain could catch up. She stumbled to a stop just before the door, and took a second to check her reflection in the hallway mirror. Her curls were nice and tidy, there were no weird stains on the red and pink lace of her dress, her antlers were clean; there was no need to keep Beanny waiting, and that would be rude anyway.

She opened her apartment door, and felt the air knocked from her lungs. Beanny was in a white blazer and lavender dress shirt, tucked into a fluffy white skirt decorated with lavender star patterns. Demons, she looked adorable. 

“Heya Hearts,” Beanny says, voice dancing down the crooked edge of their smile. 

Satin swore something stopped in her chest right then, but the half-nervous laughter that bubbled from her lips was real and warm. “Hey Beanny, come on in! You’re just in time, dinner should be ready now. You can put your coat on the hanger there if you’d like.”

“Thanks, glad I made it on time,” Beanny said over their shoulder as they shrugged off their jacket. “I was running some tests on distillation processes applied to coffee brews and you would not believe how long distillation can take sometimes.”

Satin snorted a little, and led them to her dining room. “I probably couldn’t believe it,” she said dryly. “Want something to drink? Champagne maybe? I got some special non-alcoholic stuff from a cherubun centered market but if you’re uncomfortable I’d be happy to serve water, hot chocolate—

“That non-alcoholic champagne sounds interesting, Hearts, than coffee, hot chocolate—”

“That champagne sounds lovely Hearts, thank you,” Beanny interrupted with a soft laugh.

A warmth colored Satin’s face, and she cleared her throat. “Oh, uh, of course!! It’s on ice right now, I’ll go get it. Please have a seat, make yourself at home, I gotta get dinner out of the oven anyway so I’ll be a bit.”

Without waiting for a response, Satin spun on her heel and disappeared into the kitchen, immediately pulling out her phone and tapping on BunSky.

meetcute moment when (@SimplySatin) said at 5:37 PM

THERE’S A BUN AT MY APARTMENT AND I’M MAKING HER DINNER, HOW DO I TELL HER I WANT TO GO ON A DATE

She stared down at her phone for a minute or so, not really expecting anything, but a reply came in fairly quickly, which— what? No one ever replies to these. 

french press or death (@LoveYouALatte) said at 5:38 PM

well you could just be up front and ask her

Satin scoffed. If it was that easy, she would have done that already. Guess that’s what she should’ve expected from strangers on the internet though.

meetcute moment when (@SimplySatin) said at 5:38 PM

A bit too difficult at the moment, but thanks anyway ❤️

With that, Satin put her phone back in her pocket and went to the freezer, where the bottle of virgin champagne waited on a shelf. She grabbed it gingerly, and set it on the counter before getting the food out of the oven. She set it on the counter beside the bottle to cool, and grabbed the champagne again, coming back into the dining room with two champagne flutes in her other hand.

Beanny looked up from her phone when Satin came back, and offered her a warm smile, though it was colored with something close to amusement. “Thanks for the dinner and drinks, by the way.”

Satin grinned at her, and the cork came out of the bottle with a loud pop. “Of course! We had to celebrate your first year here somehow,” she said, and poured two glasses with practiced ease. She handed one over to Beanny, and held her own gently, watching them with warm eyes.

“Still though, it’s nice,” Beanny said, shrugging. “Not every day I get to celebrate with a kind, beautiful bun such as yourself.”

Satin was glad she hadn’t taken a sip yet, because she all but choked on her next breath, which she hid with a cough. “Ah- well, thank you, though- you flatter me,” she stammered, her face hot and heart fluttering. 

Just friends just friends just friends don’t make it weird don’t make it WEIRD—

“How about a toast?” Satin blurted, fingers tightening around the stem of her glass. 

When Beanny tilted her head, she cleared her throat again, shifting a little on her heels. “Just- a toast to us,” she said softly. “To coming to someplace better, to figuring ourselves out, to being uh- friends.”

Beanny’s face softened into something so tender that it set Satin’s heart racing again. “Cheers, Hearts,” she said warmly. “Cheers to us, and to whatever happens with us next.”