Private Je Ne Sais Quoi

[Amani Serys]

She hummed in agreement. They each took a dress in their respective sizes, and the deal was sealed. Moving over into the final section, Amani spotted the lingerie before Val did, but said nothing. Imagining herself in any of that brought an even darker blush to her cheeks, “Maybe we’ll save those for the next shopping trip,” She giggled and nodded.

Valery then picked out another dress, decidedly revealing in its own right, albeit one that kept a bit of tastefulness. The blush didn’t go away, but Amani seemed to react with a bit more thought. More specifically, her thoughts took her to an imaginary scene of her and Alicio at a seaside retreat; Herself, standing in the entryway to their cabin bedroom, wearing that. She whistled.

Yeah, imagining his reaction alone would be worth the investment.

“Ayup,” Amani nodded rapidly, “Definitely that one.” She happily added the dress to their collection, and watched with a bit of curiosity as Valery assembled the final ensemble. “Ooh, yes. Love that. Heels will definitely take some practice, though.” Had she ever even worn any before? Doubtful. They always seemed so… impractical. “Fashion extracts a heavy toll.” Amani spoke as if she were reciting some ancient wisdom, then laughed, “On my bank account and my ankles, apparently.”

As they gathered the collection of dresses and outfits, she smirked suggestively at Val, “You seem even more familiar with this section than the rest of the store.”

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Appearance

Location: Coruscant
Items: Necklace

Amani was enjoying this.

Not only that, she could see the plans forming in the Mirialan's mind each second she stared at the outfits Valery presented. It meant she had successfully corrupted persuaded her friend about the importance of shopping for these things. She definitely felt a little proud about that.

"Oh yeah, heels can be a pain, but they are worth the effort," she said with a wide grin, "And both the bank account and ankles will recover, don't worry..." The mention of a bank account made her glance at everything they had grabbed together. It was definitely going to cost something, but hey, the two people who would possibly complain about it were also the ones who were going to be happy seeing them in these new clothes.

It would be totally fine.

"You seem even more familiar with this section than the rest of the store."

Valery stopped folding up some of their clothing picks, blinked, and quickly looked over at Amani. For the first time, she blushed a little herself. "Well uh, you know... you learn a few things when you want to impress someone." She chuckled and thought about Kahlil Noble and some of his reactions to her clothing choices. It made her feel all warm inside again, reminding her that it was definitely worth it. "I do it for him as much as I do it for myself," she sage nodded and turned with the pile of clothing in her hands.

"Alright, time to assess the damage and practice our excuses."

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

"Mmmhmmmm…" Amani grinned. Watching the Jedi Master of all people blush over the thought was its own kind of cute. "You're adorable, Val. Kahlil is a very lucky man." She couldn't help but pester about it with a bubbly laugh.

Another mention of the tab brought her back down to reality, "Ayep. Say your prayers," Amani grumbled, but it could hardly bring down the high spirits. Now that their little spree was coming to a close she was already missing it. Moments like these felt rare in tandem with Jedi life, but so worth it.

They approached the register, and Amani plopped down her curated collection of clothes with a sense of finality. The credit number racked up, slowly but steadily, and when it stopped she sighed. "...Honestly? Not as awful as I thought it was going to be." Still expensive, yes, but she'd take the win no matter how small, "We should do this more often."

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Appearance

Location: Coruscant
Items: Necklace

Valery couldn't stop smiling anymore and reached up to tuck some of her long hair behind her ear, "Yeah well, I feel very lucky as well. We've gone through a lot together, and he has been the reason I can keep going," she said before a smirk took over, and her eyes shifted back to Amani. "I'm sure you and Mr. Royalty will be able to relate to it very soon. Especially once he sees you in all this spicy clothing you picked."

She could blame Valery all she wanted, but she agreed to wear the outfits.

"Yeah, it's not too bad. Some puppy eyes and showing off in the new dresses should cover for it," she chuckled and took her bag from the shopkeeper before she turned away with Amani. "We really should. Shopping or just grabbing lunch when we can. It helps me not think about the war for a moment." Especially with what was all going on now, it was only going to get more intense for her.

She really needed these moments.

"If you'd like, come over for dinner sometime. You can bring Alicio as well and I'll cook something. I'm sure Vera would love to meet you."

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani felt the happiness radiating off Valery, just from the thought of her husband. That mutual strength they offered each other. She grinned in return, “And that is what makes it so adorable.” The mention of the clothing earned an amused smirk, but no protest. Her thoughts were enraptured in the comparison with her and Alicio. In many ways, she already felt as much about him, albeit without the same amount of time together as Val and Kahlil, obviously. “Yeah…” Her smirk turned into an adoring smile.

They paid off their haul, and Amani took her bag and began walking out the door, “No kidding. Didn’t realize how much it was missing until we did it.” Being a Jedi was a full time job. And with the war, and so much strife in the galaxy at large, smaller moments like these flew under the radar.

Back outside, she breathed in, and nodded, “I’d love that. Sounds like a good time.” Amani stood there and seemed to just look at Valery for a few moments longer, before going in for a sudden hug, “Seriously, Val. Thank you. I haven't had something like this in... a long time.” An excess of emotion crept into her voice, but was swallowed back down before it became a scene. As simple as it was, today had been genuinely special for Amani. And perhaps that simplicity was exactly why it had been so special.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Appearance

Location: Coruscant
Items: Necklace

To feel happy about a relationship was one of the most important things to Valery, and after finally experiencing it herself, she realized just how much it made her life complete. But to see her friends share that same happiness made it all even better. Amani's relationship with Alicio was still very new, but she could already feel that bond forming, and she was so happy for her friend.

When they finally made it outside, Valery smiled at Amani's words and turned to her friend to speak, but felt a sudden hug wrap around her. Valery froze briefly and felt her own emotions rising up to the surface while her arms gently settled around Amani, "It's been my pleasure. I really needed this as well... a lot more than you might think." The hug tightened - perhaps in an attempt to keep Amani from seeing the tears forming in her eyes, but it was more likely she just wanted to show how much she cared.

"Let's head back so we can bring all of this stuff home, and we'll talk again very soon, yeah? For that dinner idea or just to catch up." Valery slowly pulled back and reached up to wipe a tear away from her own cheek. "Thank you, Amani. This has been a really fun day."

Amani Serys ​