Golden rays shown down through gaps in the foreboding cloud cover. Yellow and Lance held hands and Iris and Steven walked a bit ahead of them. The four of them were going shopping, which neither Lance nor Steven were very excited about (the only reason Lance wanted to go was so he could help Yellow pick out a new shirt, and Steven only went because Iris promised to go rock hounding with him afterward), but Iris was squealing with excitement the whole way there. 

Yellow had been uncharacteristically quiet the whole way there, and Lance turned to her now. "What's wrong?" 

"Nothing", she lied. 

"You're a terrible liar", Lance told her. 

"That bad, huh?"

"Yeah. So are you going to tell me what's up?" 

"It's just. . . there will be lots of people there, right?"

"Don't tell me you're afraid of crowds?"

"No. . . just a little jittery is all", she admitted. 

Lance casually wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close. "I'll be right here the whole time. You'll be okay", he said. Yellow nodded, resting her head on the side of his shoulder. It was a little awkward to walk like that, so she was forced to pull back, but not before Lance kissed her cheek. 

When they arrived at the mall, the first thing Yellow noticed was the noise. There were people everywhere, but that didn't seem to bother her as much as it once would have. Lance studied her face, making sure she wasn't getting too nervous. 

Iris made an embarrassingly high pitched noise, dragging Yellow toward a shop decked out in pink. Swimsuit wearing manikins posed in the floor to ceiling windows. Lance cringed slightly at the bright, neon bows surrounding the window, then at the contents of the window display itself. 

"We'll just wait out here", Steven suggested. Iris pulled Yellow into the shop without a backward glance. 

Three hours and too much money later, the four of them sat in a small cafe, eating lunch. Iris was just suggesting they go look at summer shorts next when Lance asked what Yellow had bought. She only had a few small bags, whereas Iris had a heap of overstuffed totes. 

Yellow flushed. She wasn't used to wearing fancy things, and Iris had made her buy anything that she showed the slightest interest toward. She pulled out a yellow sundress with a pink bow around the waist. It was simple, but surprisingly cute. A matching hat came next, and a black tank top with lace around the neck. A single rose was embroidered near the bottom of it, on the left side. 

Iris begged Yellow to go change right then, and she eventually agreed, scooping up a few articles of clothing before Iris pushed her into the nearest bathroom. 

Yellow came out of the bathroom in a yellow skirt, cute yellow low cut boots, the tank top from before, and a yellow headband with a silk red rose on it. Lance had to force himself not to stare before he realized that as her boyfriend, he probably got staring rights. He hoped so, anyway. 

"Do you like it?" Yellow asked him almost shyly. 

"No", he responded. "I love it." He stood, pulling her close with an arm behind her neck, then breathed into her ear, "almost as much as I love you." Yellow turned crimson as he kissed her. In public. She pulled away, or started to, but Lance wrapped his other arm around her waist and didn't let her.

"Everyone's staring. . . " Yellow began. 

"Let them stare." Yellow smiled. And they kissed again. 

They eventually went home, after some more shopping. Steven practically had to drag them all back, as Iris was clinging to as many bags as she could carry, and Yellow and Lance were in a small cafe still grinning at each other like loons. 

It was getting late, and since Lance's house was closest, and Yellow didn't have enough room for everyone in her's, they went back to stay the night at Lance's. Steven and Iris had found the local hotel to be remodeling, so they would stay another night or two. 

Lance settled into bed next to a sleepy Yellow after a shower. She turned toward him and smiled. He would never get tired of seeing her smile. 

"Today was fun", she said. 

"Yeah", he replied. She started to say something else, but Lance stopped her. "That's enough talking", he informed her. He was eager to finally explore her neck without interference. And he did. 

Yellow woke and rolled out of bed, heading to the bathroom for a shower (Thank goodness the house's water system wasn't damaged). She looked in the mirror and gasped. It wasn't noticeable, but there it was. On the side of her neck, Lance had managed to give her a hicky. It was small, and she knew he had been careful last night, but it had happened anyway. 

She groaned, and took her shower before scouring her newly acquired clothes to find something that might deal with this. A cute blue scarf finally did it,and she changed her clothes as well, making it less conspicuous that the scarf was hiding something. 

She unfortunately managed to forget that Lance tended to wake up before her. When she turned, he was looking at her, wide awake. 

"How long were you watching me?" she asked accusingly. 

"I had my eyes closed for a while", he admitted, "and I only opened them when I heard you turning around. I like that scarf, by the way."

"Thanks", she replied, to both the things he'd said. "It's. . . um, to cover up. . . you know, ah-"

"Yellow, are you okay?" Lance cut off her stammering. Yellow's face was bright red, and she kept pulling at one side of the scarf. He abruptly stood and tugged on it gently. Yellow let him see what was underneath. 

"Yellow, I'm so sorry. I don't know how that happened", he said sincerely. 

"It's okay", she told him. "It'll heal up soon, and besides, I like this scarf." 

That was when Iris poked her head in to announce that they would be going to the beach. Lance and Yellow agreed to come along, of course, and Yellow wondered desperately how she would hide this from everyone else.