lavender. (mace)

four.

[A/N: There's a Buffy reference hidden in this chapter. Brownie points if you can find it.]

Mamrie saw the diner in the distance and continued to drive towards it.

Grace had given her the address and told her to look for a purple sign, here stood a maroon sign reading 'DINER' in front of her.

She pulls into the parking lot and her headlights reveal Grace standing there with a bouquet of flowers in her hand. She's dressed in a button-down with the sleeves rolled to her elbows, and black pants a size too tight. Mamrie steps out of her car.

"For you." The blonde smiles.

"You really went all out, didn't you?"

"Only the best." She's being flirty, no doubt. She looks deeply into Mamrie's ivy eyes, and learns everything is perfect.

The wind blows their way, causing a few auburn stains of hair stick to her lip gloss, and Grace reached out to sweep them away. She smiles and all is well, all is beautiful, all is perfect.

Mamrie included.

She sneezes, sinuses feeling weak since the morning before. She'd had a killer migraine the entire day, bit just a single glance of the redhead seemed to cure her of her sickness.

"You okay?" She gently places a hand on the blonde's arm, it's an innocent but thoughtful gesture, and Grace's heart melts.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She nods. "It's the cold, I think."

"Let's go in." Mamrie mumbles, holding the flowers close to her chest. They walk inside of the diner.

Inside, it's quiet and calm, the occasional scattered customer seated at a booth or table. Grace escorts Mamrie to a booth, sat against a window in the corner of the diner.

"How chivalrous of you." The redhead comments, sitting down.

"Indeed." She grins. "Notice how I didn't say anything about you being late?"

"I was not late."

"Yeah, okay, sure." She giggles.

"I wasn't!"

"Tell that to the girl who had to wait out in the cold for twenty minutes." She cocks her head to the side, bickering playfully.

Mamrie rolls her eyes and picks up the menu. It's not her fault she was late, it took virtually forever to find the place. Not to mention how long it took her to get herself out of the house in the first place.

They ordered their food and Grace listened to whatever Mamrie wanted to talk about, which was mainly her ex.

"So I walk into my bedroom, suitcase and all, and I find her in bed with the dude from the Ikea!" She exclaims.

"You're kidding." Grace mumbles, clearly uninterested and feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"I know, right?!" She eats a fry off of her plate. "After all I had done for her, after all we had been through together, she cheats! On me! With a guy." She sighs, completely flustered.

"Look, as much I absolutely love talking about your ex girlfriend," Grace finally says. "maybe there's something else you wanna talk about?"

"Like?"

"Dunno." She shrugs. She takes a long, long sip from her milkshake as thoughts swim through her mind.

This is the most awkward date I've ever been on.

"Tell me about your family." The blonde suggests.

"Ah, rough subject." Mamrie says, twiddling her straw between her fingers. "They, uh, never took the gay thing very well."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's old news." She takes a sip of her drink. "How 'bout you? Out yet?"

"No, not yet." She replies. "But I doubt anyone would mind. Still, I feel it's best if I just keep it inside for a while."

"Why's that?"

"I don't know. I feel like I'm always known inside and out, nothing is private. It's nice to have something that's...mine."

Mamrie looks down at her folded hands on the table.

"I am, you know." She coos.

"What?" Her brow furrows.

She looks up. "Yours."

A grin stretches among Grace's face, her eyes and surrounding features lighting up. She watches as the redhead nervously smiles as well, being (without a doubt) the cutest thing that Grace has ever seen in her life.

"That's...sweet." She softly smiles. "You're sweet."

* * *

They go on for the rest of the night and it isn't until they turn to the window that they see how long it's been. It's nearing dawn and the sky is painted over with a lilac sunrise, faint smears of clouds scattered across.

Grace escorts Mamrie to her car, flowers in the older girl's hand and still being held to her chest.

"So, is this the resting place tonight?" Grace knocks her hand against the truck.

"Yeah, most likely." She sighs, it's almost sad.

"You don't mind if I join, do you?" She asks. "Bunk buddies?"

"Depends on what you mean by that."

"I just wanna sleep, dummy." She giggles. She climbs into the passenger and Mamrie joins her. She puts the bouquet in the backseat, and as she settling back in she finds herself a few short inches from her date.

Their eyes meet, green meeting brown, and it's an impulse; they kiss.

It's slow and soft, and all that Mamrie can think about is the girl against her lips. She smells like oakwood and fresh linen; she tastes like strawberry milkshakes. Her lips are supple and the kiss, though short, is remarkably gentle.

They pull away, and like kids in a schoolyard they're instantly shy. Their cheeks are burning with blush and their eyes have kicks of sparkles in them like ignited flames.

They giggle under their breath then turn away, grinning so warmly and uncontrollably before slumber reels them in.