MHA #6, Valentine's Day Evening

[arboreal_priestess]

It was Valentine's Day and while it wasn't their first Valentine's Day together, the last one had still been early enough on that neither of them had really known what they were doing. As a couple. This time, however, 'I love you's' had been exchanged and so had keys, he'd met her family, he hadn't run screaming from her family, and he'd even rescued her from a snake cult. Those were a lot of relationship milestones right there, even if some were Price-exclusive.

So tonight she'd sent the mice off to gorge on cake and cheese in their closet in the spare room, turned the lights to dim, turned some slow music on, and started cooking dinner. The one flaw in her holiday plans so far was that she'd naively assumed that 'an ability to cook basic food' meant that she was fully qualified to cook elaborate romantic meals.

She was vastly learning that this was in error.

"What? Emulsify? I've got a spatula and a slotted spoon, how the hell am I supposed to do that?!"

[For the boyfriend!]

Comments

[arboreal_priestess]

"Mr. and Mrs. Brown?" she suggested. "Married assassins who don't know the other one's an assassin."

[firstofitskind]

"Haven't seen it," Liam said. Verity was probably shocked. "So it's good with me."

[arboreal_priestess]

"There's a really good tango scene in it." Liam was probably shocked. "And it kinda reminded me of a few of my relationships with people I couldn't tell about cryptozoology."

[firstofitskind]

"Yeah?" he grinned. "Think they also had some secret life they were hiding from you?"

[arboreal_priestess]

"Like I didn't thoroughly research the heck out of them before I started dating, just to be sure," Verity sniffed. "...Which was my my first boyfriend broke up with me. He thought I was a stalker."

Okay, well, he wasn't wrong. Just not for the reasons he'd thought.

She leaned up to kiss him. "I'm really sorry about tonight."

[firstofitskind]

"You said that already," Liam reminded her, but he wasn't about to turn down a kiss.

"Fancy dinners are nice," he acknowledged. "But all I need for tonight to be great is you." A beat. "And the mice to be too occupied with their cheese and cake to interrupt."

[arboreal_priestess]

"I know, but..." She was disappointed, so it was hard to imagine that Liam wasn't, too. She shook her head. "At least we still have Iceland to look forward to. I'll find a way to make it up to you there."

Oh. Oh Poor Verity.

[firstofitskind]

Well, he hadn't been the one who'd put all the time and effort in to planning the surprise. Mostly, he was upset that she was upset.

"Mmm. You, me, and the Northern Lights... worked out pretty well last time," he said. "Can't wait."

[arboreal_priestess]

Next week was going to be a lovely time, nice and relaxing, no cares in the world.

"Did you look through the brochure and everything I sent you?" Verity asked, finally getting up and taking his hand to lead him into the living room. "he hotel looks amazing."

[firstofitskind]

Yup, just a nice, normal, ridiculously expensive school trip.

"I'm reserving the right to bow out of anything involving volcanoes, though." he informed her.

Oh, Liam. A volcano would be a cakewalk compared to what the next week had in store for you.

[arboreal_priestess]

"Aww, but think about how awesome they'd be to climb!"

And this was why she was called the Arboreal Priestess, folks.

"What's the worst that could happen?"

Seriously. She was going to remind him of this some time next week, yup.

[firstofitskind]

"... You don't actually want me to answer that."

[arboreal_priestess]

"Well, no, because it's Fandom and I don't want to know if it can talk to other islands for the fun of it."

[firstofitskind]

"Wise decision," Liam nodded, taking out his Global and dialing the Thai place as he flopped down on the couch.

[arboreal_priestess]

"Not just a pretty face, you know," Verity said, winking at him as she pulled up the movie.

[firstofitskind]

"I do know," Liam agreed, once the food had been ordered.

"Love you," he added, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and snuggling close.

[arboreal_priestess]

"Love you, too," Verity said, leaning into him. He was like a giant body pillow, except hard in just the right places - places that made her tingle. "Happy Valentine's Day."

[firstofitskind]

... Yeah, they could probably still make this Valentine's Day evening a pretty good one, fancy dinner or no fancy dinner.

"Did I say thank you for the roses yet?" Liam asked. He had, as a matter of fact, that morning. And had ended up kind of late for work as a result.

[arboreal_priestess]

Especially since when he was done thanking her, she had to turn around and thank him.

"Mmm, maybe not," she said, rolling over to face him. "You should thank me again just to make sure."

[firstofitskind]

Where the kisses before had been hungry, almost forceful, this was... slower, sweeter, but no less passionate.

[arboreal_priestess]

Verity's eyelids were low and heavy when she pulled away, lips Rosy from his kisses. "Okay, we need to at least start the movie before you kiss me like that," she said, voice husky. "Or we're not gonna be in any fit state to answer the door for the delivery guy."

[firstofitskind]

"Sorry," he murmured, sounding not sorry at all. He traced the fingers of one hand along the line of her jaw. "You're hard to resist."

[arboreal_priestess]

Verity leaned into his caress like a pampered housecat. "I promise, once we get food, we can indulge to your heart's content. But we're not ruining two dinners."

[firstofitskind]

Liam heaved a deeply put-upon sigh. “Fine,” he grumbled, pouting at her.

[arboreal_priestess]

"I know, you have to deal with so much," Verity said, patting his cheek. "But I'm sure I can find some way to make it up to you."