A/N: This is dedicated to kwirkee1976, the most loyal Trooper I know. Thank you for everything!

“You know,” Yoona says. “Most women don’t like it when their date is busy checking out another woman.”

Yuri jerks, looking away from Jessica and Stephanie and turning to Yoona with wide eyes. “I wasn’t—”

Yoona bursts out laughing. “It’s okay, I was just pulling your leg.”

Yuri exhales. “You really got me there.”

Yoona gives that wide grin she’s known for, before her expression softens. “You’re really worried about them, aren’t you?”

“Well… They’ve been through a lot. I just want to know that they’re, you know, happy.” Yuri sounds slightly sheepish, yet also very sincere. “Sica’s my best friend and she’s been through a lot. Not that I’m saying Stephanie hasn’t, but—”

“Sica unnie is your best friend,” Yoona finishes. “I understand. I feel the same way, but in reverse. Jessica unnie probably told you about how I grilled her the first time we met.”

Yuri chuckles. “She said you were surprisingly scary.”

Yoona grins. “You know, I never get called that so I’m pretty flattered. Nobody ever thinks I can be scary. They just think of me as the fresh-faced innocent girl from every character I play.”

Yuri studies her for a moment. There’s still a moment of disconnect when she realizes that she’s sitting with Im Yoona, she’s on a date with Im Yoona. She almost wants to pinch herself to make sure she isn’t dreaming. And the fact that Yoona had been the one to ask her out… It’s almost beyond the realm of dreams.

“What is it?” Yoona asks, smile faltering.

“Nothing. It’s just that—I can’t believe I’m really here with you.”

“I get that a lot,” Yoona says, not quite flippant but not quite serious either. Yuri is usually pretty good at reading people, but she finds it hard to get a read on Yoona. Maybe that’s how Yoona likes it. “You know when Stephanie unnie started dating Jessica unnie, we were pretty surprised because we tend to date within the industry. But I guess we shouldn’t have been surprised, because it must have been nice that Jessica unnie didn’t know she was famous and treated her like any other person.”

Her expression is curious, a little wistful, and Yuri wonders if she’s thinking of what it’s like to be treated like any other person, to be treated like a person and not just an ideal.

“Jessica is special like that,” Yuri says, “and by special, I mean clueless. I think if you want to find somebody our age who doesn’t know you, you’d have to go to some remote town in the middle of nowhere.”

“I’ll pass,” Yoona says. “Why would I need to find someone when I’m here with you?”

Yuri starts and flushes, probably all the way to her neck. “I’m sorry if I get—you know, starstruck. You would think I’d be used to it after seeing Stephanie so many times.”

“It’s okay, I know I’m a lot more dazzling than Fany unnie,” Yoona says easily, and Yuri laughs. “I don’t mind if you react to the fact that I’m famous – I know you can’t help it any more than I can help that I am – I just hope that you can look past it.”

“I think I am,” Yuri says, holding her eyes. Yoona has a pretty face, a beautiful face, ask anyone on the street and they’ll tell you that, but that’s not why Yuri is finding it hard to look away from her. “If I do a bad job, just remind me?”

“And the same to you.” Yoona runs a finger along the rim of her glass. “I’m not… I don’t date much. I don’t think I’m very good at it.”

Yuri swallows. It’s impossible to miss the invitation in Yoona’s words, and when she looks at Yoona, she can see a flicker of nervousness in her eyes that definitely wasn’t there before.

“It’s okay,” she says lightly. “I mean, I’m not some love guru myself. We’ll both have to be patient with each other.”

“I’ve been told patience isn’t my strong suit,” Yoona says with the start of a smile.

“You’re in luck, then, because it’s mine,” Yuri tells her, before reaching out her hand and covering Yoona’s with her own.

Yoona finishes the smile against Yuri’s mouth.