That night, just as the sun was starting to set and most people were eating dinner, Coco and Velvet were sat on their couch. Coco had her eyes glued on her laptop, putting together a new photo for her blog, and Velvet was laid up against her with a book in her hands. The tapping of keys didn't bother Velvet, and Coco was always happy to be with Velvet, whether she was in Coco's reality or her own imaginary one. Coco's finger gently slid over the trackpad of her laptop as she analyzed which shade of filter worked best. Her phone dinged, making her finger jolt, and the color of her latest dress went from a light, sunny yellow to a deep purple.
"Agh, what is it?" Coco mumbled, sliding her phone out of her pocket. She read the text on the screen – Blake had sent her a message, saying she needed help with something, and it needed to be tonight. "Hey, Vel."
Velvet didn't stir, her eyes flicking back and forth as she read line after line. Coco was never quite sure how she read so fast. Coco took a deep breath and gently blew into one of Velvet's rabbit ears.
"Eep!" Velvet jolted before turning to face Coco. "First of all, rude. Second, what do you need?"
"Other than to see your cute reaction to that for the hundredth time you mean?" Coco said, causing Velvet to pout, "Blake said she needed help with something. I'm not sure what it is so if it's writing related I want you to tag along. Sound good?"
"That works for me. Maybe I can get something from Nora's on the way home for dinner. I found a nice recipe for a veggie stew I want to try." Velvet said.
"Any meat?" Coco asked. She slipped off the couch and slipped on her socks that she had haphazardly thrown onto the floor.
"Fish doesn't go well in stews I've found. Maybe tomorrow we can make a stir fry?" Velvet said.
Coco just smiled and held her hand out for Velvet to take. Together, they made their way out of their house and began the short walk to Blake's. It was advantageous living almost right next door to the mayor's house, as they usually got to hear any news about the town before anyone else, and Coco loved to talk for hours with Kali about the latest gossip and TV dramas. As the two approached the Belladonna's, they noticed the door was wide open. Coco and Velvet exchanged worried glances and hurried towards the door.
"Blake?" Velvet said, calling into the house, "Are you here?"
Blake's muffled voice came from the opposite side of the house. "I'm here! I opened the door early since I couldn't come open it when you were here."
Coco gave Velvet a worried glance, then walked into the house, careful to leave her shoes by the door. The house was fairly clean, dishes were dry but still on the counter, and there was a laptop on the coffee table open to a video streaming service. An illegal one, if Velvet remembered correctly. They approached Blake's room cautiously and gently opened the door.
"Blake...?" Velvet said.
Clothes were strewn about Blake's bed, as if her wardrobe had blown open in the wind, and even more dotted the floor. Velvet looked to see Blake was in front of her mirror, holding no less than five shirts up and comparing them side-within-side.
"Oh, Velvet!" Blake said, "I didn't know you were coming too."
"Is that fine?" Velvet asked.
"Of course, you're always welcome." Blake dropped the shirts onto her dresser and gestured the girls in, picking up a piece or two of clothing from the floor.
"It's like a bomb went off in here. What happened?" Coco asked.
Blake sighed, "I'm meeting a friend for lunch tomorrow and I can't decide what to wear. I'm normally not too nervous about what I wear, but for some reason this is different."
"So you called the right person then!" Coco said. She picked a shirt up off the floor that was bright pink and had obscene text on it. "Well for starters, this shirt is out of the option."
Blake turned and laughed at the shirt. "That was a joke gift from Ilia. It was senior year and we were doing Secret Santa, and when we all pitched in the ideas for what we wanted, I said something about 'something that I'd never expect'. Guess I should have been more specific."
"Right," Coco tossed the shirt on the bed, "So tell me about this hangout. And this friend."
"Well she invited me for coffee, and we settled on tomorrow for lunch. It's a small place in Malleus, I think, and I'm not sure if I have any 'big city' clothes."
"Ugh, the town with the most grey anyone's ever seen." Coco said.
"That's what I've heard." Blake said.
Velvet peered into Blake's closet – surprisingly, it was empty – every single piece of clothing had been taken out. Her eyes scanned the room for anything that she felt would fit a 'springtime in the big city' day but came up empty handed.
"So, are you going for an 'innocent cutie' vibe? Or more of a 'if this date goes well, take me tonight!' vibe?" Coco asked.
"W-Wait, whoever said anything about a date?" Blake asked.
"Blake, nobody fusses over clothes this much if it's just lunch with a friend. Most of the time I don't even, I just throw on something random and hope it works," Coco said, "And a girl who knows about Malleus who would invite you for lunch? I think I might know her." Coco held up two clumps of yellow shirts and placed them on top of her head, letting them roll down her back.
"O-Oh yeah? Tons of people have long blonde hair." Blake said.
"No but look at the top Yang. Coco definitely made sure to include a cowlick out of that bra hook." Velvet said, barely holding in a laugh.
"Wait, my bra is in there?" Blake leapt at Coco, who tossed the clothes right back at the girl, causing a shower of yellow garments to fly across the room. "Very funny, Coco."
"Whatever. So, in this 'totally not date' with a girl who I 'totally don't know and doesn't live in this town', what outfit were you thinking of?" Coco asked.
Blake pulled a set of clothes off her dresser – a light blue tank top paired with a navy-blue blouse, and a pair of dark, ripped jeans to finish off the look.
"Too blue. You look like you're going for a winter business meeting, not a spring date."
"Not a date."
"Totally a date," Velvet said, "Maybe go for green instead of blue?"
Blake pulled a green t-shirt from her bed. She held it up inquisitively, to which Coco and Velvet shook their heads. The girls went around the room pairing nearly every shirt with nearly every pair of pants in every combination they could find, whether they thought it would work, or were looking for a surprise. After half an hour of attempts, Blake fell back onto her bed.
"Nope, nothing looks good. I'm just too worried about how grey Malleus is I think." Blake sighed.
"Honestly? Who cares, let's add a bit of spice to their lives! Show 'em a girl who knocks everyone off their feet with just a glance!" Coco yelled, "Prima donna Belladonna, that's my take and I'm sticking to it."
"But if it's too flashy, Yang might be confused – it doesn't match Blake's manners at all." Velvet said.
"Yeah, Yang – I mean... whatever. What's something Yang would like? Let's start there." Blake rolled on her side and began to dig through the pile of clothes once more.
"So you admit it's Yang! Victory for Coco!" She yelled, tossing a shirt or two in the air to mimic confetti. "Oh, hey, this one isn't bad."
Blake and Velvet turned to look at a skirt that had a floral sunflower pattern on it, which went down to about Coco's knees. Blake thought for a second, then dug a plain lime green t-shirt from the pile and tossed it to Coco. She stood up and Coco held the clothes against her, eyes squinted.
"Something's missing. I can't quite put my finger on it," Coco said, "But something is off."
"The shoes? She could borrow my blue slip-ons if you think those could work." Velvet asked.
"Velvet, you beautiful genius!" Coco tossed the clothes to Blake and planted a firm kiss on Velvet's head, then turned and sprinted out of the room. The two could faintly hear her yelling something about shoes as she ran off.
"Is she always this excited for a good outfit?" Blake asked.
"Well, not for herself. She loves doing this for other people, and honestly, I haven't seen her put in this much effort since our wedding," Velvet laughed, "She kept thinking she had to wear a tuxedo, but crying about how she knew the perfect dress."
"Well this isn't exactly a wedding."
"It could lead there, you never know."
Blake blushed at Velvet's proposition, seeing her innocent face curl up into a dainty, pure smile. This was a first date! No, it wasn't even a date! Was it? I mean, she could talk to Yang before they left and asked about it, but would that make things awkward? But before that, even talking about marriage?
"You're pretty deep in thought. Can I be your bridesmaid?" Velvet asked, gently tapping Blake's nose.
"W-We're not getting married," Blake crossed her arms, "I'm not even sure if this is a date."
"Well you obviously want it to be. And Yang does too, according to what Ruby told me earlier."
"Ruby told you what?"
"She told me Yang was super nervous about asking you for coffee. She told me not to tell you that she was going to ask, but she never said anything about how she asked." Velvet's eyes thinned as her smile grew more devious.
"Okay, but how does she know?" Blake asked.
"Oh, I just know. And I also know that you two will make a cute couple." Velvet began to innocently giggle, but to Blake it sounded like maniacal laughter.
Coco burst into the room with a pair of light blue slip-on shoes in one hand and a clenched fist in the other.
"I got it! I have the perfect pair of earrings for this outfit too!" Coco said. She doubled over and began to catch her breath.
"But my ears aren't pierced, Coco. You know that." Blake said.
Coco pulled a metal device from her pocket. "I know, but they will be. These earrings will make the outfit too perfect."
As Blake's eyes went wide, she sent a silent prayer that the night would end soon, and Coco would spare her, but it was only the beginning of Blake's lesson to never ask for an outfit from Coco.