cover by @pacifyherafi / nicole
"Sure, maybe the urban Boston wouldn't be completely socially aware, but they'd at least have some idea of how to treat us like we were all the same. So, we were packing up our bags, and I was going to a new school, a...
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Even though River and Robin weren't officially "together" anymore, they still went on one last date. River told Robin it was a surprise and even though she wasn't all that giddy about surprises, he assured her it wouldn't be anything she wasn't a fan of. When he picked her up, he was wearing a suit and tie, because he'd told her to dress fancy too. So she wore a maroon dress with a slit at the knee and heels.
"You look ravishing, madam," River grinned as he held her hand out for her to take and she took it, stepping down her front steps carefully.
"Why thank you, good sir," she played along, and then followed him to his car and got in the front seat.
"You gonna tell me where we're going?" Robin asked, though River was taking familiar turns.
"Be patient, young grasshopper," River said, his eyes on the road, though Robin could detect the humored glint in his eyes from his own corny joke.
In fact, he wasn't taking very many terms at all. This surprise destination was practically right down the street from Robin's place. He had stopped in front of a 7/11, to get gas or a snack, Robin presumed. But she was confused when he opened the car door and then opened her car door, awaiting her presence with his hand reached out. He could tell she didn't understand when the look on her face read confusion- but she was trying not to seem too confused because she was now putting it together that this was what their "date" was supposed to be.
And then when she took his hand, she broke out into a smile, beaming now,
"Oh my god, you absolute dope! I forgot about this."
Their first date, when things had been so different, when Robin couldn't even stomach or begin to imagine what her life was right now, had been at this very 7/11. She couldn't even begin to think of it - it had to be only September or October, and nothing made very much sense at that point in her life. It all seemed gray and worn out, and that was the person she felt like back then. Now she understood she had always been very colorful, it was just a matter of letting it show. And now as she remembered it all, and the whole beginning came rushing back to her and she wanted to cry. She wasn't a big crier or one for theatrics, but this was her one excuse.
"Aww, I hate you," she said, as her face began to get wet with tears.
He laughed at her crying and hugged her, pulling her in close to his chest where she could smell his cologne, something he didn't usually ever even bother with. It made her laugh that this night, he had.
"I hate you too," he cooed.
When they got in, River immediately went over to the jukebox, and Robin knew what song he was playing already. When the first chords of "Hey Jude" began to play, he once again reached out his hand, a knowing look on his face. And they danced. And in a week, she would be gone, and their lives wouldn't be the same and they wouldn't be the same, together or as individuals, but those seven minutes were enough to think about nothing and everything at once.
