(Untitled)

[broken_brushes]

It made perfect sense, of course, that something wacky would happen today. Apparently I still had it in me to be totally naive, because I'd actually believed that a few cherubs with a bad attitude was all the island was going to endow us with for the holiday. Good one, island, you really pulled the wool over my eyes, har har

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[broken_brushes]

I can't lie: I was a little put out. Back home, having my birthday the day after Valentine's Day had never been that big of a deal. Sure, there was a point when I was in my preteens when I'd gotten really sick of so much hearts and flowers, but mostly it was cool. It just meant I got more Valentines than anyone, which was actually kind of awesome when I was a kid. This year, there had been a booth set up to send them for free, and I'd only gotten one.

I was trying really hard to be gracious about it. It wasn't as if I was dating anyone, or I should even expect something like that regardless, right? Being alive and having so many good friends still around was valentine enough. But I couldn't help being disappointed and maybe a little annoyed, especially since I'd sent several, and, well. It was my birthday! I was allowed.

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to, or something. Except I wasn't crying, I was just sort of being moody and maybe a little sad as I skulked around the refreshment table eating my second piece of cake

[headofaccounts]

Quite frankly, the cherubs had almost immediately put Pete off. (The fact that they looked quite capable of taking at least five copies of him in a fight probably had something to do with it.) Besides, although the delivery service provided anonymity, he wasn't sure he wanted that.

As such, when he found Shari, it was with a card in hand. Admittedly, it wasn't as nice as anything he might have found at a Hallmark on Madison Avenue, but it was the best that he could do under the circumstances. It was a relatively simple thing, almost all text as, well, he hadn't been in the art department for a reason. On the front: To: Shari, - HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, and inside: I don't think I ever properly thanked you for getting me settled. I'm glad we met; you're a scream. Be mine, belated Valentine. - Love, Pete. P.S. Happy Birthday, too."Hey," he began, putting on a smile as he offered her the card, "And happy birthday. Sorry this is a little late; the delivery men kind of scared me off. I'd have gotten chocolates if I'd have known where to

[broken_brushes]

Okay, so here's the deal: I'd gone to that stupid booth about a dozen times the day before. I'd literally walked up to it most of those times and then walked back inside without sending a thing. I'd debated sending a valentine to Pete, I'd agonized over it like I was fourteen and in the throes of a high school crush. Every time I walked out there, I'd talked myself out of it. Bad idea, Shari, bad idea.

Now I felt like a total jerk.

"Oh, wow," I said, blinking down at the card. Being at a loss for words was definitely a novelty, but I couldn't exactly help it, what with, well…pretty much everything he'd written. "This is really sweet," I finally settled on, because it was both innocuous and totally true. "Thank you." I smiled and reached to pull him into a brief hug, fastidiously ignoring the instinctive way I held my breath.

[headofaccounts]

"It's no problem," Pete replied, visibly relieved at her reaction. To say he'd been a little nervous as to whether or not she'd appreciate the gesture went as a given. His fingertips lingered on her arm even as he stepped out of the hug, expression probably a little happier than he'd intended it.

"How's the party going so far?" he asked, clearing his throat. "It looks like you've got everything set up pretty well."

[broken_brushes]

Should have just said thank you, Shari. When you're trying to resist jumping a guy's bones, touching him really is not the best way to make that happen.

"It's good," I replied, a little tense despite my best efforts to play it cool. "Everyone seems to be having a good time," I added, surveying the crowd. "I haven't been writing sonnets all day, so apparently I haven't been hit with the island love spell, or whatever it is that's going around today, so that's a relief. I might be a little disappointed that no one has proposed or declared their undying devotion to me yet," I added with a laugh. "Probably for the best, though. Dean appears to be engaged to man now, and last I checked, he was straight."

[headofaccounts]

"Well, he's certainly getting into the spirit, whether it's intentional or not," Pete said, speech only a little stilted but definitely still amused. "I just hope the window of time in which whatever's going around works its magic has closed."

[broken_brushes]

"He's going to be miserable when it's all over," I apprised, looking across the room to where Dean had resumed writing love notes in junk food. "I guess it builds character." Not that Dean would ever, ever voluntarily talk about it later. It was a fair assumption that he'd make me swear to never bring it up.

"So, what about you?" I asked, turning my attention back to Pete. "Did you have a good Valentine's Day?"

[lt_blade]

It had to be confessed that Sonya wasn't aware that it was Shari's birthday, but it did seem a better reason than her 'date' with Scorpion, well, a more legitimate reason. The sad thing was that she knew more of Share than she knew of Scorpion, as a person anyway.

She didn't have anything to give her, sadly, but she would like to think she could lend some company-or maybe she was better off with 'nothing'.

"Happy Birthday," She said, walking over to her, wearing a khaki skirt and blue blouse. "would a hug make up for not having a card?"

In this case, she wouldn't mind giving a hug.

[broken_brushes]

I looked up from my cake and smiled. "Hey, oh- That's more than enough, you totally don't have to make up for anything," I said, and set my plate aside so that I could give Sonya a brief hug. "Thank you, I'm glad you came. It's kind of a weird day for a party."

[lt_blade]

She gave her a quick hug, her arm was no longer in a sling, but the splint meant it was still stiff.

"You try having a birthday near christmas," she said as she pulled away. "That's especially weird." For little kids anyway, try combining celebrating christmas and twin birthdays, sometimes Sonya and her brother just opened christmas presents instead of birthdays.

"I'm glad you're doing okay." She said in earnest. True, she did look a little glum, but she was smiling now, so Sonya was glad that she could cheer someone up.

[broken_brushes]

"Mostly, I'm just glad I'm not magically in love with someone random today," I said as I picked my plate back up. "That is gift enough for me, thank you Island," I added, brandishing my fork toward the ceiling in a sort of salute. "Apparently Dean didn't fare as well, but it's technically not his birthday today."

[lt_blade]

Sonya refrained from looking around. "I hear that," Granted, it wasn't nearly as bad as when she woke up 'not herself' but not being affected was still welcome. "How about being on the receiving end of the love spell-or whatever it is."

"No, it's yours," she agreed. "And in this place you have to count small mercies whenever you can." Sonya may've sounded a little too serious, and she had to hold back a laugh at serious she may've looked.

One of those mercies was that Sonya could laugh and no longer feel sore from it.

[broken_brushes]

"No one has declared their undying love for me yet," I replied, and then canted my head in consideration. "If it was a cute enough guy, I might be pretty okay with that, actually," I laughed, although the truth was that the idea of one of my friends falling prey to the spell and doing that to me was a little terrifying. "I'm willing to turn a negative into a positive, under the right circumstances."

[lt_blade]

She looked over to her 'date*, by no means unattractive: tall, dark complexion and well built.

"He's not half bad looking, I'll give you that. It's just sudden, and not really his character." Not that she knew him that well, but she knew that he was more reserved than to just blurt out his feelings.

*ooc: Scorpion's mun agreed that he'll be at the party.

[broken_brushes]

"I would totally be fine with Tom Cruise walking in here and telling me I'm the love of his life," I said with a grin, having no idea if Sonya would even know who that was. "Maverick straight from Top Gun, all tousled from flying his jet. Oh yeah," I nodded with a knowing look. "I could learn to live with that."

I cast a glance to the guy she'd motioned to. "He's kind of new, isn't he?"

[lt_blade]

The name of the actor only slightly rang a bell, but the mention of Top Gun brought more familiarity, one of the other girls in the barracks brought a cassette of the movie. She was too busy studying to really pay attention at the time, but she did enjoy parts.

"In this place, never know." She did make a note that if Maverick did show up-she'd try to be the first to tell her.

She looked over at him and nodded. "He arrived a few weeks ago, end of January. We sort of knew eachother back home." There wasn't any 'hidden meaning' they had fought on the same side and she knew some of his history.