open ♔ valentine's day

[romanticidal]

♬ Careless Whisper - George Michael

WHO || Anyone and their special someone [Closed]
WHAT || Various Valentine's Day activities
WHERE ||Anywhere
WHEN || Feb 14th, 2016
HOW || Actionspam or Prose

[ It's Valentine's Day! ( aka Singles Awareness Day )  Assume that all missions that are posted already are going out after this. ♥ ]

Comments

grant ward | open

[betrayed]

[Valentine's Day has never really held anything for him. Even now, he's not entirely inclined to try and offer attention to anyone in particular -- mostly, because he's pretty certain the only person who he'd want to offer something to would sooner punch him than accept a gift from him.

Of course, that doesn't stop him from attempting to create a scenario that would inspire her to spend time with him. Begrudgingly or not. Anyone could find him in the kitchen. He has a small stack of books, mostly mystery-crime fiction and at the bottom of the stack a board game by the name of Battleship.

He's reading one of the books, eating ice cream out of the pint container. He actually bought a few flavors, all of them are in the freezer waiting for people to ask him about it. See? He can be friendly. He just has to stage it so that it works to his benefit.]

[hacker]

[ There's a skip in Skye's step right up until she gets through the kitchen doors on Valentine's Day, and while it's not from having anyone to spend it with, it's hard to say anything's going badly for her right now either. She's still dressed in sweats and a tanktop from the training room, hair pulled messily into a ponytail that lets her bangs stick to her forehead. In fact, all things considered, she couldn't look less like she had somewhere to be this evening.

But none of that stops her from sputtering and skidding to a comical stop just past the kitchen doorway when she sees not only who's in the space, but what he's doing. Her eyes fall to the board in front of him, and her stomach turns, her teeth grind, and she drops her water bottle onto the counter beside her, forcing her feet to move her to the sink to rinse her hands off.

You know what that say. If you don't have anything nice to say … The roar of the faucet makes the silence surrounding it deafening and obvious. ]

[betrayed]

[Seeing her like this doesn't really lessen his thought that she's beautiful. If anything, it just reminds him of a time that seems far too distant in his memory. He shouldn't think about it, mostly because it's unfair to Skye. Instead, he focuses on her now. On the way she is.

She's still beautiful.

He clears his throat, leaning back in the chair and glancing to her.]

I hope they installed low-flow faucets. [So wasteful of the water.]

[hacker]

Hope we have enough bleach to disinfect this room when you're out of it. [ She flips the faucet off with more aggression than is strictly necessary and grabs the hand towel, turning and leaning her hips back at the sink to watch his back. Her eyes glance off of him as soon as she realize he's positioned to peer back at her. ] What is this? [ She gestures with the towel to the countertop, stepping forward. ] Are you camping out here?

[betrayed]

[He makes a huffy sound at her remark about needing to bleach the kitchen.]

I'm not camping out here. I'm eating ice cream and reading a book.

[hacker]

[ Skye stares at him bleakly, a challenge unspoken in her gaze, like neither of them want to be the one to point it out. He's expecting to use it, she knows, to make her sentimental. But Skye settles on convincing herself that there are no emotions to be played on. ]

Yeah. I'm sure that's all. [ She heads to pull open the freezer for an ice pack and finds

all dat ice cream. Then turns to stare at him again like bitch please. ]

[betrayed]

[Thankfully, he's facing his book once more so he doesn't catch her expression of pure adoration.]

You're welcome to have some, if there's a flavor you like. [Pro-tip: When buying pints of ice cream to lure females into having a small conversation with you, buy at least 6 pints. All different flavor profiles. One is bound to be interesting enough or an old favorite.]

[hacker]

[ Skye pulls a carton of mint chocolate chip out of the freezer, flings the door shut (which still sighs and compresses because Skye — and four-year-olds — is the reason that fridges have gaskets to prevent slamming), and heads to the island countertop where Ward sits to slam the carton onto the counter in front of him. ]

What the hell is this? What are you doing?

[betrayed]

[He takes a beat, tilts his head and glances to the container.]

I am pretty sure it's Mint Chocolate Chip. [His gaze lifts to reach her scrutinizing stare. He knows that she's frustrated. She practically has a cartoon puff of steam coming off the top of her head. Still, he continues his nonchalance (will save 17) and digs his spoon into his own container of ice cream and eats another bite of ice cream before replying.] I'm eating ice cream and reading a book. [He even lifts the book up, as if to further demonstrate the normalcy of his behavior. Aren't you glad he's on his way to being a Knight, Skye? Can you imagine this interaction 24/7/365? #priceless]

[hacker]

[ With a matching romantic will save of 17, Skye manages to not take Ward's head off. Narrowly. She does, however, press her tongue to the inside of her cheek and bite down until it hurts, which isn't long enough to stop her from answering with something snappish. ]

And getting ready for a rousing game of Battleship against yourself.

[betrayed]

[He lifts the book and glances to the box that's at the bottom of the books as if to be all "Oh... that old thing?"]

You're the first one to even mention it. [Busted.] Ice cream isn't exactly a quick snack, I figured if someone was inclined to hang around, they might be interested in a game that apparently involves some knowledge of tactics and strategy. Or so I'm told.

[hacker]

[ This is it. This is the story of how Grant Ward dies.

There's absolutely no masking the loathing in her gaze, an explosion waiting to happen, just simmering behind her eyes and thinly veiled by the sneering curl of her lips. Her left hand curls into a fist, the right still resting on the counter. But she reels it in. She tries to force the murderous tension out of her shoulders, but all she does is lower them and lift her chin. ]

So you're chumming the water. Wow. [ She tightens her grimace into a sarcastic smile and shakes her head, drawing and releasing a deep breath to try and temper her reaction. ] Classy.

[betrayed]

[There is a quick thought that he wants to make, because he's fairly certain that she means to refer to him as the shark -- not the ones hunting for sharks, but he doesn't actually want to call her out on that. Maybe she does think he's the one with the boat, dumping fish guts into the water hoping to lure a shark to the surface. Either way, he sets the spoon across the top of the ice cream pint and leans back a little in his chair.]

Are you really this frustrated, or angry, that you can't just actually accept that I'm trying to just read a book and offer anyone that happens to come to the kitchen some ice cream? It's Valentine's Day. I'm not handing out roses or small red hearts filled with waxy chocolate.

I don't want to repeat myself for a third time, but all I'm doing is hoping for some casual company. [He folds his arms across his chest, watching her.] You're welcome to stay if you want to spare any random passerbyers from conversation and frozen desserts.

[hacker]

[ Whomp, there it is. Blackmail is a strong word for it, but that's the one Skye chooses to settle on in the privacy of her own mind anyway. Either she sits down, or she inflicts Grant Ward on some unsuspecting Knight or squire. It's an easy picture, and plays right into her accusation—innocently planting a lure, allowing women to swarm. Maybe he'd even hoped she'd come through—god knows she's about as likely to take a bite out of him as a great white. There's a smugness in the cross of his arms that tells her it's no coincidence, either. ]

You are unconscionably pathetic. [ She shakes her head, and for a moment, it's something akin to pity that tinges her thoroughly disgusted expression. But something keeps her rooted to the spot rather than walking out on him. ] I'm not sitting around playing board games with you, Ward.

cora & henry | closed

[impetere]

[So. Valentine's Day. There's no expectations there at all.

Only there really isn't because the last time Cora remembers actively celebrating Valentine's Day it was hand-making Valentines for her class and other kid stuff. She's never had an actual boyfriend to do this with, but that doesn't mean she isn't excited to be doing this with Henry. With Thea's help she finds the appropriate date outfit (disguise 18), and while she is willing to let Henry plan most of the romantic stuff, that does mean she's at a bit of a loss as to what exactly they'll be doing. She trusts him, at least, and she heads down to the designated meeting place, looking out for any sign of her boyfriend.

(Boyfriend. Still a little weird to say, but still good.)]

[wanttobeahero]

[ Henry has...never really celebrated Valentine's Day. It was a thing, at least, in Storybrooke, but it never mattered much to Henry as he aged because no one else ever aged thanks to the curse. And then Emma came and his life was way too complicated to think about that stuff. So, he's a little unsure of himself at first when he plans this out. But oddly enough, when Valentine's Day comes around at last, he's feeling confident.

He's dressed well (disguise 19) (he thinks, anyway), and he's holding a bouquet of roses with a dorky grin on his face. She's really pretty, he thinks. Really pretty. So pretty that he's standing there just think it for a solid minute when he realizes that maybe he should actually say that out loud rather than just stare. ]

You look...amazing. Really amazing.

[impetere]

[A wide smile stretches across her face, and her head ducks a bit.]

Thanks. You look great too.

[She pauses for a moment, before slowly pointing to the flowers.]

Those for me?

[More curious than judgy, as though there's a possibility of him seeing another girl tonight. Which there's not, but she doesn't want to make it seem like she's expecting him to bring her flowers.]

[wanttobeahero]

[ He may have done a little research ahead of this date. Grabbed a book or two, watched a few movies (not that fictional movies are necessarily the best representation of real life, he knows that). The consensus seems to be that flowers are a good thing. Most of the time. They don't last long, but they're pretty and thoughtful. So when she asks if the flowers are for her, he doubts himself for a split second. It's an innocent and reasonable question, under normal circumstances. But being new to this, he's more prone to question himself. She's smiling, though, so that's a good sign, and with that knowledge, he manages to relax and nod with a little smile.

Clearing his throat, Henry speaks. ]

Um. Yeah.

I thought...you deserved them. Something nice like this, I mean.

[impetere]

[She smiles wider as she takes them, her head ducking a bit as she does.]

Thanks. They're beautiful.

[and she means that. She then takes a step forward and slips her arm in his.]

So what are we doing?

[wanttobeahero]

[ He briefly entertained the thought of cooking something for her, but he can at least recognize his own strengths and weaknesses. He's got a long way to go before cooking something other than just grilled cheese sandwiches would make sense. But he has a back up plan in case she's not up for what he originally decided on. He smiles at her as she takes his arm, and he kisses her cheek softly. ]

How do you feel about...a night out? In the city, I mean.

[ Here's hoping she agrees to it... ]

[impetere]

[Cora doesn't go down to the city often, but that's what dates were for, right? For doing things you didn't normally do. She considers for a moment before nodding.]

I think that sounds like a great idea.

[wanttobeahero]

[ He grins brightly, just thrilled to be with her at all. It doesn't matter what they're doing as long as they're together. But he takes her hand, leading her to the garage so they can take one of the cars out. ]

You don't care where we go?

[impetere]

[She shakes her head as she follows his lead.]

I trust you.

[Which is a lot coming from her because once upon a time she probably would have asked him five million questions and never let him surprise her ever.]

And it's not like I have ever been on a Valentine's date before, so the bar to impress me with is pretty low.

[wanttobeahero]

[ It means a lot to hear those three simple words, and he can't help the bright, probably cheesy grin on his face. This really, really means something. To her, too. Once they're in the car, he quickly thinks about a few places he'd been mulling over to take her to, and as he pulls out of the garage and drives them, he figures out exactly where they should go. ]

You're gonna love this. I think.

[ He found out about this outdoor theatre place that he thinks could be fun. If she's into it. But he has other ideas if not. ]

[impetere]

[Nope, movies are definitely a good thing as far as she's concerned. She sticks close to Henry as they move through the crowd, keeping her hand in his until they find a seat.]

I do like movies. Is it action or drama?