Celestine's stories of love and Tavern running

Celestine:

Celestine took a deep breath as she got ready upstairs for her date. She was above the bar, having shut it down on one of the rare instances for taking time for herself.

She had been sent a love letter a few days ago, and checked it out once she closed the bar up for the day. Upon reading it, the love letter wrote in a very sweet form 'When I stepped into the room, everything fell away and I saw only you. If you'll have me, will you go out with me on Manatine's Day?'

She had smiled and accepted with ease, and began to prepare for the day, leaving a note for the person to see. She wasn't sure who it was, but she'd know soon, she was sure.

Lalan:

Nerves. Pacing back and forth and nerves were exploding for Lalan as they tried to figure out what would be perfect for the date. They had asked out such a gorgeous bun while she was at work, so now they had to find a way to prepare for the date.

"Flowers! Right, I need flowers and maybe chocolates? I heard she likes sweets, after all." Lalan got ready with an outfit they had picked out the same day they asked her out, heading out to find those items. The flowers had to be perfect, and same with the chosen sweets.

Looking through the options, they decided on a handmade bouquet, one of four roses and beautiful accompanying flowers. The roses were a light blue, a white, an orange and a red. The light blue reminded them of Celestine, while the orange reminded them of themselves. The white and red was to represent their feelings for Celestine. How the love was pure yet passionate. The remaining flowers were small purple, white, yellow, and blue ones.

Next was the chocolates, and thankfully Lalan knew where to look for that.

Despite being a nervous wreck, they paid for the flowers with the carats then went to the shop where the customer was allowed to make their own sweets.

With asking the clerk, they went to work, starting with the base. Sweet was key, so they decided on a milk chocolate base, with a marbling of white chocolate. She ran a bar, so they went with a few liqueurs for some perfect style chocolates, then some colored chocolate for the Topping. There was an option to make 20 chocolates, so that's what they did, doing some filled ones, with nougat, toffee, nuts, all kinds of things. The rest were mini bars, with candies, coatings of different colors, and other little sweet surprises.

It was half an hour before they were finished, and the chocolates were put into the cooler to harden. While waiting, they paid with carats for them, and went to look around and see about the perfect container for them to be placed in.

It took some time, but they found a box with a starry detailing, alongside an optional ribbon with blue and gold detailing. It was almost like the box was intended for Celestine. Bringing the box to the front of the shop, the chocolates were removed from the cooler and placed inside intricately, then it was closed, and tied with the ribbon. Lalan was still nervous, but more confident after having such thought out items handled.

Next, it was on to the bar to wait for Celestine.

Celestine:

Getting herself dressed up, she waited for her mystery date to arrive. She went downstairs, going to the entrance of the bar and peeking out to check, then went to sit and wait while having a drink for some courage.

It wasn't long though before she heard the knocking on the door to the bar, standing up and making her way over. She went to open the door, with the carrot haired youth standing nervously outside the door. They were holding a gorgeous and well thought out bouquet, while also holding a celestial themed box in the other hand.

"Will you go out on a date with me?" They asked nervously, hoping that she'd say yes.

"Of course." She spoke gently as she took the bouquet, going to set it up in a vase so she could take more care of it later. Humming, she went back to the side of her mystery date. "So, what do I call you dearie?" She asked playfully. "Unless you prefer cute nicknames~" She winked.

Lalan:

They knocked on the door, taking a deep breath. They tried to calm their heart as it thumped hard within their ears, nerves high due to it reaching time.

Lalan turned red as the door was opened, and trying to calm their swiftly beating heart. "W-will you go out on a date with me?" They asked, pushing the bouquet towards her to hide their flustered expression. She was so pretty still.

"Of course." She spoke out, her voice sounding like music to their ears as she took the bouquet gently and went to place it.

Lalan was too nervous still to follow, taking a moment to calm down while internally cheering about how she had said yes so nicely. It made them excited. Without noticing her, they heard her voice close to them, causing their heart to stop for just a second out of the jump scare they received. "---Dearie?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Unless you prefer cute nicknames~" She winked at them, and Lalan's heart jumped. "C-call me Lalan!" They spoke up, flustered and hiding their face in their scarf.

"Lalan it is then." She smiled. "Call me Celestine. So, where shall we go on our date?" She asked softly.

"L-lets go to the food stalls." They spoke nervously, taking a deep breath afterwards. "I-I um, brought enough carats to get anything we want." They glanced at her to view her expression, seeing her eyes light up with delight.

"That would be wonderful! Let's go then!" She wrapped her arms around theirs, and smiled warmly at them.

"Y-yeah!" Taking a bit of bravery, they went towards the food stalls nearby the bar she ran.

Celestine:

She knew every place and most every person in her little town, and yet she didn't recognize Lalan. That made her far more interested. Were they new to the town? Or was it a case she had seen many times before with them traveling through?

But she decided to question it all later, wrapping her arms around theirs and walking towards the market. It was a small place, yet beautiful in aesthetics. Especially at night, which was when they were going. Romance was in the air, as well as lust and love.

Smiling happily, the pair went around the market, with Celestine pointing out gorgeous themed pieces of art as they entered the market. "Those are made by a local artist. They're also the founder of this town." She explained, excited to finally be telling these things to someone.

"This place lights up beautifully at night too, doesn't it?" She asked, looking at Lalan with a warm gaze. She was happy, enjoying being taken out on a date as she rarely had the chance to do so.

"Oh, it's still open!" She spoke up brightly, making her way ahead to where a particular stall was.

Lalan:

Staring at her beauty. That's what Lalan was doing as they watched her rush ahead without waiting for their answer. They were amazed by her, with how well she remembered people and their stories. Despite it all, they smiled and walked after her as she waited at a food stall where the bun was making takoyaki.

They gazed over at Celestine, amused by her stare at the food with a longing and almost lustful format. It seemed that takoyaki was a favorite treat of hers.

They gave her a happy and gentle smile as they went to order a set of skewered takoyaki snacks for her, patient as the bun noticed the pair watching and waiting for them.

"Hello, could I get two sets of takoyaki skewers?" They requested of the bun, while Celestine practically drooled and gazed at the food being made.

"Of course! Hope you both are having a good date." With a wink, the bun started to cook, focused on making enough for the pair.

As the food was finished and punctured with the skewers, the snacks were given an extra coating of flavour, and finally handed over to the pair in a set of containers.

Celestine:

She took hers with an excited expression, going to eat one of the balls off the skewers right away. She loved the flavor of it all, her tail and tentacles swaying happily around her form. "So good!!" She said with jubilee. "This has already been the best date ever." She giggled, turning her head to Lalan.

Lalan gave a nod in response, an embarrassed expression on their face as they started eating their version as well.

"Why don't we return to the bar and eat properly there? I know the perfect drinks to accompany these." She said with a smile.

Taking Lalan's hand, she held the tray of food and made their way back to the bar, to spend a lovely rest of the night together.

But that's a story for another day.