Valentine's Day Fics! (Part Two)
VALENTINE'S DAY FICS FOR SOME OF MY FAVORITE LADIES:
FOR LISA
Harry takes Vincent into Diagon Alley. He wanders around it, looking more than a little overwhelmed, even though he's been there once before with Luna.
“You sure you want to get her something from here?” Harry asks. “She might like something Muggle better, you know.”
“I honestly have no clue what I'm getting for her,” Vincent says, and Harry laughs and then shakes his head, frowning.
“Valentine's Day is basically one big test to see if we've been paying attention and know them well,” Harry agrees. Vincent glances at him-clearly Harry's stuck on a gift, too.
“Maybe a book!” Vincent declares, but after only an hour in Flourish and Blotts, they both come out defeated. They wander down the streets, popping into various stores, and Harry answers about a million questions but they both are still empty-handed at the end of the day.
“Maybe next weekend?” Harry suggests, rather fond of Vincent despite himself, and Vincent shrugs.
“Worth a try,” he agrees.
/
Hodgins takes Vincent to a ridiculously expensive mall.
“You do realize I'm not a millionaire?” he asks.
“You said you still had a chunk of your winnings left!” Hodgins says. Vincent does, and he shrugs, because really if he's going to spend them on anything, he'd spend them on Luna.
They wander through the high-end stores, looking at dresses and purses and shoes and computers and tablets and Hodgins starts rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“Maybe a tactical retreat,” Vincent suggests.
“At least some caffeine,” Hodgins nods. They still have two weeks before Valentine's, Vincent reminds himself as they leave the mall purchase-less at the end of the day.
/
“I used to be a good gift giver,” Vincent moans into his tea. Booth plops down in the chair next to him-he's waiting on lab results from Dr. Brennan, and as usual he's making himself at home wherever he pleases.
“Lady troubles?” he asks knowingly.
“I don't know what to get her for Valentine's Day,” Vincent says. “I've looked at everything, and I just can't find the right present.” Booth leans forward, his arms resting on the table.
“You're overthinking it,” he says. “She doesn't want some expensive gift, she wants something that lets her know that you care about her. Something that means something to the both of you, that's what she wants.”
Vincent glares balefully at him-ever since Vincent's near-death experience, and the subsequent magic reveal to Booth and Dr. Brennan, Booth's been treating him like a younger brother, dispensing life advice every time it looked like-
Oh. Oh.
“Thank you!” Vincent yells, jumping to his feet and darting out of the room. He's back a moment later, grabbing his mug of tea and flashing Booth a grin before running out the door.
/
“Happy Valentine's Day,” Vincent says, handing her a package. She opens it, and inside it's full of tour guide books. She frowns, for a moment, but he can see when she remembers the guide books he left in that cafe, and she starts to grin as halfway down there's two tickets.
“I could just apparate us there,” she reminds him, but he shakes his head.
“Let's do this the long way, this time,” he says. She grins at that, and leans up and kisses him, and he curls his fingers in her hair and thinks of how impossible it now seems to not have her in his life, and how excited he is to run away with her all over again.
FOR LAURA
Nolan's never celebrated Valentine's Day. It's not really that he's against the holiday, it's just that he and people don't really mix, and that's always apparent during this time of year. It's not that he cares about that, though. He doesn't exactly try to get dates or anything, and he's not big at putting himself out there.
This year, though, he's wishing he had Emily's ability to set the dominoes in motion, because he'd have liked a date-a very specific date-but he hadn't quite managed to ask her out. Or do anything at all. He lets his head thump against the back of his chair, scowling.
Which is when his phone rings, and speak of the devil herself.
“Ems?” he says.
“Nolan, hey, we've got a problem, can you get over here ASAP?”
“What sort of problem?” he asks, worried, because problems with Emily always tend to be big and awful and terrifying, and he's already standing and grabbing his keys and considering calling the police.
“It's fine,” she says, “I just need you to get over here, can you hurry?”
“Leaving right now!” he says, practically running out the door and throwing himself into his car.
When he gets to her place, he wasn't expecting the lit candles and the fancy homemade dinner on the table.
“Do you have company?” he asks, confused. “Am I interrupting something?”
“No,” she grins up at him, “You're just in time.”
FOR KACEY
April's never really cared about Valentine's Day, because it's stupid. Most holidays are stupid, although she always goes to Galentine's Day because Leslie isn't stupid and she doesn't want to hurt her feelings and plus it's kind of okay to hang out with everybody and Leslie always makes a big deal about everyone and it's mostly not terrible. Valentine's Day, on the other hand? Stupid.
Andy, though, is excited and adorable and he knows that she doesn't want to do anything but she can see how much he wants to, like, make her cookies or something, probably fatten her up or whatever, and ugh.
So maybe she buys them tickets for paintball to shut him up.
Not because she likes Valentine's Day, because she doesn't, but his face gets all squishy and excited and he looks happy that maybe it won't be terrible or whatever to hang out with him and shoot all the other stupid couples with paintballs (which hurt, ha) and then, whatever, get food or something afterwards. It's just a day, and they're just spending it like a day, and if it makes Andy happy then it can't be that bad, probably.
FOR JEN
Ian makes them dinner. He plays smooth jazz on the radio and hums to himself as he cooks the Chicken Alfredo-Alan sighs as he has to avoid Ian's solo dancing to grab a glass of water, but stays for food testing and a long kiss with the chef. Ian hands him a copy of Exctinct Monsters, by Reverend H. N. Hutchingson, from 1892. Alan chokes, a little, and Ian laughs and kisses his neck.
Ellie has abandoned the stack of essays she has to grade, and instead she's lighting a few candles and setting the picnic table outside, so they can sit under the stars. Ian kidnaps her, too, on one of her trips to grab dishes and salt and pepper and the tablecloth, and she laughs and tells him it's not Christmas and there's no mistletoe. The necklace he slips around her neck has a tiny Triceratops and both Alan and Ian's names, and Alan tries not to grin when she shows it to him, laughing.
Alan's working on his draft and he keeps grumbling whenever Ian or Ellie ambush!kiss him, but when they're finally outside, sitting down to eat, he pulls out two small boxes and slides them to each of them. He looks nervous, (petrified, Ian thinks, amusing himself with the pun), and when they open the boxes they realize why. It's two separate rings.
“I just-” Alan says, and then breaks off, looking uncomfortable. “I'm committed to you both,” he says, trying to play it off like it's nothing. Ellie and Ian each lean in and kiss his cheeks, and he blushes bright red, and Ian laughs and puts his on.
FOR MEG
Amy wants to do all of the traditional Valentine's things. She buys Penny flowers and chocolates and a necklace and Penny tells her it's not necessary, because it's not. Penny's never really done Valentine's Day-in her long string of pre-Amy relationships, it's pretty much been one disappointing Valentine's Day after another. Even when guys tried, it always ended badly-car wrecks and restaurants double-reserving tables and muggings and allergic reactions and it's just never been good. She's had more than one relationship end after a Valentine's Day disaster, and she doesn't want that to happen with Amy.
Amy, however, is adamant that they do this right.
They go out for dinner, and Penny breaks a heel and Amy breaks a nail and it starts raining, and Penny keeps bracing herself for Amy to cut their losses, but Amy just keeps chugging along. The waiter spills Penny's drink down the front of her dress, and Amy has to wait in line to use the bathroom for almost thirty minutes, texting Penny every five minutes with updates. The food is either too cold or too hot, and Penny stabs herself on a thorn when Amy buys her a rose, and as the night gets worse Penny's sure that Amy's going to lose it sooner or later, especially since she's cared more about this than any of Penny's past dates.
The car driving into a puddle and splashing them with muddy water is honestly the last straw, and Penny sits down on a nearby bus stop bench and sadly contemplates her life. Amy sits down, too, but after a moment she snorts. Seconds tick by, and she does it again, and Penny looks at her and then the both of them are dying laughing, barely able to breathe through it. Penny is laughing so hard it's almost silent and Amy's wiping tears from her eyes, and it's just too much.
When they finally settle, Amy takes Penny's hand in hers.
“This might not have been the best Valentine's Day,” she says, “but I'm glad I spent it with you.”
“Besides,” Penny grins, “it was definitely memorable.”
FOR JESS
It's raining, but she goes outside anyway. She stands in the downpour and looks up at the grey sky. She thinks she should feel foolish-she has, after all, at least always been practical. It'd be a shame to turn sentimental now, she tells herself sternly. She loved (loves) Gale and Peeta both, but she had to set them both free-they were too tied to her, too unwilling to see that they'd never work, not after all that had come before. Not after all that they'd never be able to forget. She thought, once, that Gale burned too bright, but she knows now that Peeta's never burned bright enough, not for her. She loves them both, in her way, but never enough.
Days like this, though, bring with it a reminder of all those she's left or lost, and sometimes it aches inside of her. Sometimes, though, something else entirely aches in her, and she doesn't know how to put it into words.
“Katniss,” Haymitch says, coming up behind her, “you should get inside, you're soaked through.”
She turns towards him, her eyes sketching the plains of his face. She remembers when his shoulders carried an imaginable burden, but they've lightened these past years. She knows it will never go away entirely, just as she will never forget what she's done (what she had to do), but he drinks less these days and sometimes they sit for hours in companionable silence. They always have understood one another.
“The rain feels good,” she says, smiling a little, and he steps into her, his hand cupping her shoulder. And there, she thinks, as that wordless ache hits her again. She looks up at him, as if she can find what she's looking for in his eyes-in the set of his mouth and the pressure of his skin on hers.
“Katniss,” he says, low, and she shakes her head, because she's spent a lifetime doing what she had to do, and maybe it's time for her to do what she wants to do.
There's fire deep inside her, fire that no rain can quench, and she can see it in him. She surges up into him, her mouth finding his, and as always, always, he's right there with her, his hand slipping to her waist, his mouth opening against hers, and the ache inside her turns warm and fierce and she tangles a hand in his clothes and finds her way home.
FOR DEV
Sheldon triple-knocks on Penny's door. She thinks, fleetingly, that she can wait him out, but when he starts on his second set she gives that up.
“What, Sheldon?” she asks, yanking the door open. She lifts an eyebrow in surprise, because he's dressed in that suit she helped him pick out ages ago, and he's holding flowers.
“I know you don't have any Valentine's Day plans,” he says, and she wrinkles her nose at the reminder, since she and Leonard broke up (again) just a week ago. So they don't love each other, but couldn't they have at least made it through this godawful holiday?
“And you're here because...?” she starts, and then frowns. Sheldon and Amy broke up almost a month ago, and Amy's got a date with Stuart for Valentine's. “Why are you all dressed up?” she asks.
“I have reservations,” he says. “And a limo's picking us up, so you won't have to drive.” He looks her over critically. “You should probably change, first, though.”
“Wait, what?” she asks, not following him.
“I'm taking you out for Valentine's Day,” he says, as if it's completely obvious.
“Did Leonard put you up to this?” she frowns, suddenly wary. He rolls his eyes and sighs the sigh of the put-upon.
“I felt that we should probably give this a chance,” he says. “Neither of us are getting any younger.”
“I'm sorry, are you really asking me out like this?” she asks, unsure whether to be irritated or confused. “And give what a chance?”
“Penny,” he sighs. “Look at us. If this were a television show, we'd clearly be the two leading characters. We have chemistry, and I think this will-they-won't-they has played it's course, so I'm rectifying matters. Do I really have to spell it out for you?”
“Yeah,” Penny says, biting back a grin as she finally realizes what he's doing, “yeah, you really do.”
“Fine,” he practically groans. He straightens his tie and shoves the flowers at her. “Penny,” he says, “would you be interested in accompanying me out on a date this Valentine's night, where we would see if our mutual friendship and chemistry could in fact lead to more?”
She looks at him-at his stupid cute face and those eyelashes and the way he twists his mouth as he pretends not to be nervous. Sheldon Cooper, she thinks. I did not see this coming. She has to take a moment for her entire worldview to shift, but once it does she thinks huh.
“Why not,” she says, and then grins. “You do look damn good in a suit.”
FOR LISA
Harry takes Vincent into Diagon Alley. He wanders around it, looking more than a little overwhelmed, even though he's been there once before with Luna.
“You sure you want to get her something from here?” Harry asks. “She might like something Muggle better, you know.”
“I honestly have no clue what I'm getting for her,” Vincent says, and Harry laughs and then shakes his head, frowning.
“Valentine's Day is basically one big test to see if we've been paying attention and know them well,” Harry agrees. Vincent glances at him-clearly Harry's stuck on a gift, too.
“Maybe a book!” Vincent declares, but after only an hour in Flourish and Blotts, they both come out defeated. They wander down the streets, popping into various stores, and Harry answers about a million questions but they both are still empty-handed at the end of the day.
“Maybe next weekend?” Harry suggests, rather fond of Vincent despite himself, and Vincent shrugs.
“Worth a try,” he agrees.
/
Hodgins takes Vincent to a ridiculously expensive mall.
“You do realize I'm not a millionaire?” he asks.
“You said you still had a chunk of your winnings left!” Hodgins says. Vincent does, and he shrugs, because really if he's going to spend them on anything, he'd spend them on Luna.
They wander through the high-end stores, looking at dresses and purses and shoes and computers and tablets and Hodgins starts rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“Maybe a tactical retreat,” Vincent suggests.
“At least some caffeine,” Hodgins nods. They still have two weeks before Valentine's, Vincent reminds himself as they leave the mall purchase-less at the end of the day.
/
“I used to be a good gift giver,” Vincent moans into his tea. Booth plops down in the chair next to him-he's waiting on lab results from Dr. Brennan, and as usual he's making himself at home wherever he pleases.
“Lady troubles?” he asks knowingly.
“I don't know what to get her for Valentine's Day,” Vincent says. “I've looked at everything, and I just can't find the right present.” Booth leans forward, his arms resting on the table.
“You're overthinking it,” he says. “She doesn't want some expensive gift, she wants something that lets her know that you care about her. Something that means something to the both of you, that's what she wants.”
Vincent glares balefully at him-ever since Vincent's near-death experience, and the subsequent magic reveal to Booth and Dr. Brennan, Booth's been treating him like a younger brother, dispensing life advice every time it looked like-
Oh. Oh.
“Thank you!” Vincent yells, jumping to his feet and darting out of the room. He's back a moment later, grabbing his mug of tea and flashing Booth a grin before running out the door.
/
“Happy Valentine's Day,” Vincent says, handing her a package. She opens it, and inside it's full of tour guide books. She frowns, for a moment, but he can see when she remembers the guide books he left in that cafe, and she starts to grin as halfway down there's two tickets.
“I could just apparate us there,” she reminds him, but he shakes his head.
“Let's do this the long way, this time,” he says. She grins at that, and leans up and kisses him, and he curls his fingers in her hair and thinks of how impossible it now seems to not have her in his life, and how excited he is to run away with her all over again.
FOR LAURA
Nolan's never celebrated Valentine's Day. It's not really that he's against the holiday, it's just that he and people don't really mix, and that's always apparent during this time of year. It's not that he cares about that, though. He doesn't exactly try to get dates or anything, and he's not big at putting himself out there.
This year, though, he's wishing he had Emily's ability to set the dominoes in motion, because he'd have liked a date-a very specific date-but he hadn't quite managed to ask her out. Or do anything at all. He lets his head thump against the back of his chair, scowling.
Which is when his phone rings, and speak of the devil herself.
“Ems?” he says.
“Nolan, hey, we've got a problem, can you get over here ASAP?”
“What sort of problem?” he asks, worried, because problems with Emily always tend to be big and awful and terrifying, and he's already standing and grabbing his keys and considering calling the police.
“It's fine,” she says, “I just need you to get over here, can you hurry?”
“Leaving right now!” he says, practically running out the door and throwing himself into his car.
When he gets to her place, he wasn't expecting the lit candles and the fancy homemade dinner on the table.
“Do you have company?” he asks, confused. “Am I interrupting something?”
“No,” she grins up at him, “You're just in time.”
FOR KACEY
April's never really cared about Valentine's Day, because it's stupid. Most holidays are stupid, although she always goes to Galentine's Day because Leslie isn't stupid and she doesn't want to hurt her feelings and plus it's kind of okay to hang out with everybody and Leslie always makes a big deal about everyone and it's mostly not terrible. Valentine's Day, on the other hand? Stupid.
Andy, though, is excited and adorable and he knows that she doesn't want to do anything but she can see how much he wants to, like, make her cookies or something, probably fatten her up or whatever, and ugh.
So maybe she buys them tickets for paintball to shut him up.
Not because she likes Valentine's Day, because she doesn't, but his face gets all squishy and excited and he looks happy that maybe it won't be terrible or whatever to hang out with him and shoot all the other stupid couples with paintballs (which hurt, ha) and then, whatever, get food or something afterwards. It's just a day, and they're just spending it like a day, and if it makes Andy happy then it can't be that bad, probably.
FOR JEN
Ian makes them dinner. He plays smooth jazz on the radio and hums to himself as he cooks the Chicken Alfredo-Alan sighs as he has to avoid Ian's solo dancing to grab a glass of water, but stays for food testing and a long kiss with the chef. Ian hands him a copy of Exctinct Monsters, by Reverend H. N. Hutchingson, from 1892. Alan chokes, a little, and Ian laughs and kisses his neck.
Ellie has abandoned the stack of essays she has to grade, and instead she's lighting a few candles and setting the picnic table outside, so they can sit under the stars. Ian kidnaps her, too, on one of her trips to grab dishes and salt and pepper and the tablecloth, and she laughs and tells him it's not Christmas and there's no mistletoe. The necklace he slips around her neck has a tiny Triceratops and both Alan and Ian's names, and Alan tries not to grin when she shows it to him, laughing.
Alan's working on his draft and he keeps grumbling whenever Ian or Ellie ambush!kiss him, but when they're finally outside, sitting down to eat, he pulls out two small boxes and slides them to each of them. He looks nervous, (petrified, Ian thinks, amusing himself with the pun), and when they open the boxes they realize why. It's two separate rings.
“I just-” Alan says, and then breaks off, looking uncomfortable. “I'm committed to you both,” he says, trying to play it off like it's nothing. Ellie and Ian each lean in and kiss his cheeks, and he blushes bright red, and Ian laughs and puts his on.
FOR MEG
Amy wants to do all of the traditional Valentine's things. She buys Penny flowers and chocolates and a necklace and Penny tells her it's not necessary, because it's not. Penny's never really done Valentine's Day-in her long string of pre-Amy relationships, it's pretty much been one disappointing Valentine's Day after another. Even when guys tried, it always ended badly-car wrecks and restaurants double-reserving tables and muggings and allergic reactions and it's just never been good. She's had more than one relationship end after a Valentine's Day disaster, and she doesn't want that to happen with Amy.
Amy, however, is adamant that they do this right.
They go out for dinner, and Penny breaks a heel and Amy breaks a nail and it starts raining, and Penny keeps bracing herself for Amy to cut their losses, but Amy just keeps chugging along. The waiter spills Penny's drink down the front of her dress, and Amy has to wait in line to use the bathroom for almost thirty minutes, texting Penny every five minutes with updates. The food is either too cold or too hot, and Penny stabs herself on a thorn when Amy buys her a rose, and as the night gets worse Penny's sure that Amy's going to lose it sooner or later, especially since she's cared more about this than any of Penny's past dates.
The car driving into a puddle and splashing them with muddy water is honestly the last straw, and Penny sits down on a nearby bus stop bench and sadly contemplates her life. Amy sits down, too, but after a moment she snorts. Seconds tick by, and she does it again, and Penny looks at her and then the both of them are dying laughing, barely able to breathe through it. Penny is laughing so hard it's almost silent and Amy's wiping tears from her eyes, and it's just too much.
When they finally settle, Amy takes Penny's hand in hers.
“This might not have been the best Valentine's Day,” she says, “but I'm glad I spent it with you.”
“Besides,” Penny grins, “it was definitely memorable.”
FOR JESS
It's raining, but she goes outside anyway. She stands in the downpour and looks up at the grey sky. She thinks she should feel foolish-she has, after all, at least always been practical. It'd be a shame to turn sentimental now, she tells herself sternly. She loved (loves) Gale and Peeta both, but she had to set them both free-they were too tied to her, too unwilling to see that they'd never work, not after all that had come before. Not after all that they'd never be able to forget. She thought, once, that Gale burned too bright, but she knows now that Peeta's never burned bright enough, not for her. She loves them both, in her way, but never enough.
Days like this, though, bring with it a reminder of all those she's left or lost, and sometimes it aches inside of her. Sometimes, though, something else entirely aches in her, and she doesn't know how to put it into words.
“Katniss,” Haymitch says, coming up behind her, “you should get inside, you're soaked through.”
She turns towards him, her eyes sketching the plains of his face. She remembers when his shoulders carried an imaginable burden, but they've lightened these past years. She knows it will never go away entirely, just as she will never forget what she's done (what she had to do), but he drinks less these days and sometimes they sit for hours in companionable silence. They always have understood one another.
“The rain feels good,” she says, smiling a little, and he steps into her, his hand cupping her shoulder. And there, she thinks, as that wordless ache hits her again. She looks up at him, as if she can find what she's looking for in his eyes-in the set of his mouth and the pressure of his skin on hers.
“Katniss,” he says, low, and she shakes her head, because she's spent a lifetime doing what she had to do, and maybe it's time for her to do what she wants to do.
There's fire deep inside her, fire that no rain can quench, and she can see it in him. She surges up into him, her mouth finding his, and as always, always, he's right there with her, his hand slipping to her waist, his mouth opening against hers, and the ache inside her turns warm and fierce and she tangles a hand in his clothes and finds her way home.
FOR DEV
Sheldon triple-knocks on Penny's door. She thinks, fleetingly, that she can wait him out, but when he starts on his second set she gives that up.
“What, Sheldon?” she asks, yanking the door open. She lifts an eyebrow in surprise, because he's dressed in that suit she helped him pick out ages ago, and he's holding flowers.
“I know you don't have any Valentine's Day plans,” he says, and she wrinkles her nose at the reminder, since she and Leonard broke up (again) just a week ago. So they don't love each other, but couldn't they have at least made it through this godawful holiday?
“And you're here because...?” she starts, and then frowns. Sheldon and Amy broke up almost a month ago, and Amy's got a date with Stuart for Valentine's. “Why are you all dressed up?” she asks.
“I have reservations,” he says. “And a limo's picking us up, so you won't have to drive.” He looks her over critically. “You should probably change, first, though.”
“Wait, what?” she asks, not following him.
“I'm taking you out for Valentine's Day,” he says, as if it's completely obvious.
“Did Leonard put you up to this?” she frowns, suddenly wary. He rolls his eyes and sighs the sigh of the put-upon.
“I felt that we should probably give this a chance,” he says. “Neither of us are getting any younger.”
“I'm sorry, are you really asking me out like this?” she asks, unsure whether to be irritated or confused. “And give what a chance?”
“Penny,” he sighs. “Look at us. If this were a television show, we'd clearly be the two leading characters. We have chemistry, and I think this will-they-won't-they has played it's course, so I'm rectifying matters. Do I really have to spell it out for you?”
“Yeah,” Penny says, biting back a grin as she finally realizes what he's doing, “yeah, you really do.”
“Fine,” he practically groans. He straightens his tie and shoves the flowers at her. “Penny,” he says, “would you be interested in accompanying me out on a date this Valentine's night, where we would see if our mutual friendship and chemistry could in fact lead to more?”
She looks at him-at his stupid cute face and those eyelashes and the way he twists his mouth as he pretends not to be nervous. Sheldon Cooper, she thinks. I did not see this coming. She has to take a moment for her entire worldview to shift, but once it does she thinks huh.
“Why not,” she says, and then grins. “You do look damn good in a suit.”