Hey guys! Special Valentine's Day one-shot for all of you :)
This is actually my first try at Modern AU and I'll admit that it's not exactly as good as all my other stories. But, hey, I've been wanting to try this out so...I hope you enjoy this. Fluffy romance :D
NOTE: I DO NOT OWN THE DREAMWORKS DRAGONS FRANCHISE OR ANY OF THE MENTIONED MOVIES AND SONGS HERE. ALL RIGHTS TO EVERYTHING GO TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS!
Love Sick on Valentine's Day
(HTTYD Modern AU)
Zenna sneezed for what seemed like the nth time into a tissue which she promptly dropped into the wastebasket her Mom had conveniently placed near her bed when she visited her apartment that Valentine's Day morning to find her 21-year-old daughter sick with the flu. Stryka, Zenna's pet Labrador Retriever, had stayed at the foot of her mistress' bed the whole time and helped out a bit by fetching pillows and blankets. Henna, Zenna's Mom, had taken her daughter's temperature and declared that she was to stay in her apartment until she got better.
Naturally, Zenna rebelled.
"Mom, I can't stay in my apartment during Valentine's Day. Eret and I were planning to join the gang for V-Day Outdoor Film Festival at the park this evening! They're playing 'The Fault In Our Stars' for crying out loud!" Zenna whined, sitting up on her queen-sized bed. Henna smiled, knowing how much her daughter wanted to see the movie about two cancer-stricken, star-crossed lovers so badly, as she handed Zenna her flu medicine. "I'm sorry, love. But I don't think you'll enjoy the movie very much if you keep sneezing the whole time. You'll have to stay here. No going outside the apartment, okay?" she said gently. "Okay…" Zenna sighed, feeling disappointed. "That's my girl. Well, I better go pick up El from daycare. Your father, brother and I will drop by later this evening and we can have our own family fun tonight. Love you, sweetheart." Henna gently kissed Zenna's forehead and left.
Sighing, Zenna decided to just grab one of her medical books and read up for her next medical school test. Stryka barked and wagged her tail, wanting to do something to make Zenna feel better.
"Flu…Of all the things that could happen to me on Valentine's Day, it had to be coming down with the flu…" Zenna groaned, miserable. Stryka whined, seeing her mistress' unhappiness. Then the smart dog got an idea and trotted out of the room. Zenna didn't even notice that her dog had left until she came back and placed a picture frame on her lap.
Zenna then noticed that Stryka had fetched the picture frame that had a photo of her and Eret during last year's V-Day Outdoor Film Festival. Last year, they went alone because their friends kind of had their own thing going but it didn't lessen the fun they had during that time. The sick med school intern smiled upon remembering that wonderful night. She'd been wearing a sleeveless violet dress that night and the weather had been freezing. Then Eret, her gentleman of a boyfriend, had given her his biker jacket to keep her warm. It was just one of the many little gestures he did to show her how much he loved her…
"Aww, thanks for trying to cheer me up girl. I appreciate it…" Zenna smiled, reaching down to pet Stryka, who happily woofed.
That's when Zenna's phone rang. One Direction's 'They Don't Know About Us' blasted out from her phone as Zenna picked it up and looked at the caller ID.
Eret
And, just like that, Zenna paled. Holy Shields, what was she going to tell him? That she was sick and couldn't come to the V-Day Film Fest because she was sick? Would he understand or would he think that she was seeing another guy and get mad?
Finally Zenna couldn't take it anymore and answered, making sure to clear her throat to make her voice sound as un-sick as possible.
"Hey, Eret." She said haltingly. "Happy Valentine's Day to you too, my love." Eret's extremely attractive, British-accented voice answered, making Zenna's tummy fill up with butterflies as usual. "Thanks…So…what's up?" Zenna asked, smiling a bit. "Nothing much. I'm just waiting in line to buy tickets for the Film Festival tonight and I just wanted to know how you're doing…" Eret replied. Zenna felt her stomach tighten into knots at that point.
"Oh yeah, the Film Fest…Everyone's coming right?" she asked Eret carefully. "Yeah. Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout, Heather, Fishlegs, Ruff, Tuff and Olga are coming." Her boyfriend answered. "Good to know…" Zenna said, suddenly feeling a sneeze coming on.
"TFIOS is the last film showing, by the way. They're gonna play Titanic first, then This Means War, I know you have a thing for Chris Pine so I figured you'd like it. And last in the lineup's The Fault In Our Stars. So…" Eret had managed to say before Zenna couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Ahh-choooo!" Zenna sneezed and promptly sprayed her phone's entire screen with her flu germs. Stryka whined and put her paws over her ears. "Oh Holy Shields…" Zenna groaned, her voice now back to its sick-sounding state. "Bless you…Are you okay?" Eret's voice said on the other line, sounding worried. Zenna felt tears well up in her eye but willed to stay strong. "Eret, I-I can't go tonight…I'm sick." She admitted. "Oh gods, is it bad? Are you in the hospital?" Eret immediately answered, panicking. "No, it's just a stupid flu virus. I'm not allowed to leave the apartment." Zenna reassured her boyfriend before noticing that he wasn't talking anymore.
"I'm really sorry…I just can't go tonight, Eret…I've been wanting to do this again ever since last year, but…" Zenna managed to say before the line went dead.
Eret had hung up.
Letting out a cry of frustration, Zenna put her phone away and buried her face in one of her pillows to block out her screams, not caring that her throat would get sore. Stryka whimpered and went to her bedside. After Zenna had screamed all that she could scream, she uncovered her face to get a lick from her dog.
'Rwof?' Stryka woofed at her. "Stupid flu virus…" Zenna grumbled, now feeling tired and grouchy. Seeing that there was nothing she could do, Zenna decided to sleep.
A few hours into watching Zenna nap, Stryka peeked out of the apartment's bedroom window and saw a motorcycle drive into the parking lot. The female Labrador's tail wagged when she spied Skullcrusher, Eret's pet bloodhound, securely strapped to the back portion of the seat. Quickly, Stryka loped out of Zenna's room and patiently waited at the front door.
About 5 minutes later, someone knocked at the door. "Hello? Zen, you there?" Eret's voice sounded from the other side of the door. Stryka promptly barked and, standing on her hind legs, managed to open the door. "Hey, Stryka. Good to see you, girl." Eret laughed as the black Lab practically tackled him and playfully licked his face. Skullcrusher greeted the Labrador with a low howl and Stryka barked happily in response, glad to see her friend.
Wiping dog drool off of his face, Eret stood up and looked around for Zenna. Stryka then tugged on Eret's jacket, pulling her over to Zenna's room. Eret quietly peeked through the door to see Zenna still asleep. But then Stryka and Skullcrusher both barked, jerking her awake!
"Hmmm…? What…?" Zenna mumbled sleepily, rubbing her eye before noticing the two dogs in her room…and her boyfriend standing in the doorway.
"Eret!" Zenna exclaimed in surprise…and then promptly managed to tangle herself in the covers as she tried to get out of bed only to fall to the carpeted floor with a dull 'thud'.
Eret winced a bit before helping his girlfriend up. "Wh-what are you doing here? I thought you were buying tickets…" Zenna mumbled. "I told the gang I had to take a rain check. I'm not going to the Film Festival this year." Eret told her. Zenna's eye widened. "Y-you're not?" she stuttered. "Not when you're sick, I can't. So I'm staying here to take care of you." Eret shrugged, smiling.
Zenna blushed as she said, "You don't really have to go through all this trouble…I wouldn't want to spoil Valentine's Day for you…" to which Eret gave her a nice, big hug. "Zenna, Valentine's Day for me would be pointless if I couldn't spend it with you. It's no trouble at all." Eret said gently. Pulling away from her boyfriend, Zenna smiled shyly. "You do realize that I'm a walking pathogen at the moment and there's a chance you'll catch my disease, right?" she asked him coyly. Eret grinned at her. "I'll take my chances. Besides, that means that if I get sick, it'll be your turn to take care of me." He said jokingly.
"Yeah, right!" Zenna laughed, throwing a pillow at him. Then the poor lady sneezed again and groaned. "You need medicine?" Eret asked worriedly. "Nah, I've got medicine covered…but I think I need lunch…" Zenna shook her head and glanced at her clock and noticed that it was way past 12 o' clock.
"Say no more, I got that covered." Eret said, turning around to go to the kitchen. "Don't burn down my apartment!" Zenna warned her boyfriend in jest, knowing that Eret knew his way around the kitchen. He was actually a really good cook. "Wouldn't think of it! You okay with chicken noodle soup?" Eret called back. "Whatever is in the kitchen is fine with me. I haven't gone grocery shopping yet for the week." Zenna replied before going to the bathroom to take a much-needed shower.
By the time Zenna was done with her shower and had changed clothes, Eret had already finished cooking the soup and was currently trying to keep Stryka and Skullcrusher away from it. Both dogs whimpered and whined, wanting to get some soup from the bowl. "No, the soup's for Zenna. Not you two." Eret held the bowl up to keep it out of reach from the dogs. Eventually, Skullcrusher and Stryka gave up and decided to go chase each other around the apartment.
"Chicken soup, freshly-cooked for you, my lady Zenna." Eret said courteously as Zenna sat down at her small dining table. Zenna licked her lips and took a spoonful. "Mmmm…So good…My compliments to the chef." She smiled. Eret smiled a little and busied himself in looking after the dogs while Zenna ate.
"Ahhh…that hit the spot. Now, what should we do?" Zenna asked, plopping down on the couch with him when she was done eating. To answer his girlfriend's question, Eret got out a trio of DVDs.
"You got all the movies that are playing tonight at V-Day Outdoor Film Festival?" Zenna asked, amazed. "I stopped by the store to rent these on my way here." Eret said coolly. "You…are amazing." Zenna laughed, embracing him.
"Best part of this is that we get to pick what to watch first. Your pick." Eret handed Zenna the DVDs. Zenna then looked at the copy of Titanic and looked at Eret.
"Grab the tissues." She grinned. Eret did so without question, along with some pillows, blankets and a few ice packs for Zenna. "Hey, just in case your fever increases." Eret said gently as he propped a fluffy pillow behind Zenna to keep her comfortable. "Eret, you spoil me too much…" Zenna smiled lovingly as her boyfriend popped the DVD into the player.
Titanic was pretty good. Neither of the two really cried though. In fact, they found the movie very entertaining. Eret and Zenna both agreed that the part where Jack and Rose were running around the ship to escape the pursuing valet, Lovejoy, was hilarious. "That valet deserved that middle finger! You go, Rose!" Zenna had cheered when that scene came up. Eret drummed his fingers to the beat of the music as the Irish Party in Third Class scene played, remarking that the music seemed fit for a Viking celebration. The parts where Jack drew a nude Rose and the scene where the two lovers were in the auto mobile, though, made both Zenna and Eret rather…quiet.
But the awkwardness was quickly forgotten when the dramatic parts of the film progressed. And the ending was bittersweet.
"Okay, tragic romance done. Now for some Chris Pine hilarity." Zenna proclaimed, placing the This Means War DVD in the player next. "Why do I have the suspicion that he's your celeb crush?" Eret asked jokingly, knowing very well that Zenna did have a celebrity crush on Chris Pine. "The piercing blue eyes are his most defining feature. Have you seen his eye color similarity to ROTG's Jack Frost?" Zenna asked, pretending to look offended. "I'm pretty sure that they specifically made Jack's eyes resemble his." Eret smirked. Rolling her eye at him, Zenna pressed play.
This Means War was extremely hilarious. The rivalry between FDR and Tuck for Lauren Scott, combined with the CIA action scenes, resulted in so many gags that it left Eret in stitches. In fact, he had fallen off the couch in a fit of laughter when the last scene played! "Oh Thor! FDR, you shouldn't have done the thing with Katie!" Eret guffawed while Zenna giggled.
Stryka and Skullcrusher weren't interested in movies. In fact, they were just dozing on the living room carpet in utter boredom!
Then Stryka nudged Zenna with her nose. "Oh, medicine time. Thanks for reminding me, girl." Zenna smiled, taking her flu medicine. "Next movie's the one you've been waiting for." Eret grinned. "Finally, TFIOS!" Zenna whooped, pumping her fist in the air.
"You read the book, watched every single trailer and, yet, I still can't believe you didn't watch this thing when it hit the big screen last June. Care to tell me the reason why?" Eret asked, a bit curious. Zenna smiled a bit before she answered. "Well for one thing, I was completely swamped with my internship at the hospital. And second…" she then trailed off before snuggling closer to Eret on the couch.
"I didn't have a boyfriend yet." She said simply. Eret gave her a confused look. "It was a movie meant for couples and I wasn't part of a couple yet so it didn't feel right watching it all by myself with no boyfriend." Zenna explained. Eret had to laugh at his girlfriend's unusual girly notions. "I have never heard anything as ridiculous or as cheesy as that." He chuckled. "Oh, shut up!" Zenna playfully smacked him in the arm.
Then Eret popped the DVD into the player and the two of them watched. Zenna, being the total fan girl she sometimes was, couldn't help but squeal at every little thing Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters did. The part where they said their iconic 'Okay? ; Okay.' Thing made her gush and squeeze anything soft (like a pillow, Stryka, Skullcrusher or Eret) so tightly from the feels. She was also quick to point out that some parts from the book were omitted. But, in the end, she was okay with the changes.
Eret found the movie pretty great, to be honest. He actually liked it. The part where Hazel, Gus and Isaac egged Monica's car was a 'true testimony to how justice should be given to any blind guy whose girlfriend had dumped before surgery' and was really funny.
Zenna, however, began to cry at the very sad parts. Gus revealing to Hazel that his cancer had come back, the pre-funeral, the actual funeral…basically every scene where both Hazel and Gus were getting hurt made her tear up. Eret made sure to always give her a hug (and some tissues) during those parts. By the time Ed Sheeran's 'All of the Stars' played at the ending credits, Zenna and Eret both realized that they'd spent the entire afternoon watching movies together.
"I know it's not like the Film Festival we went to last year, Zen…" Eret mumbled sheepishly. Zenna nodded in agreement. "You're right, it's not…" she said before looking at Eret and smiled softly. "It's actually better." She told him. Eret smiled and gently kissed her forehead.
"Oh yeah…That reminds me…" Pulling a small heart-shaped box from his pocket, Eret grinned. "Happy Valentine's Day."
A little surprised, Zenna took the box from Eret and slowly opened it. Her eye widened in awe as she pulled out a silver charm bracelet. Eret showed her the charms.
"That black lightning bolt represents you, the motorbike represents me, the tulip and orchid charms are there because they're your favorite flowers, a black dog charm for Stryka, a Night Fury charm because I know you love dragons and the stethoscope stands for your dream to be a doctor." He explained, pointing to each charm. "What about this one?" Zenna pointed to the red heart, which was the biggest charm attached to the necklace.
"There's a surprise in it." Eret told her. Realizing that the red heart charm was actually also a locket, Zenna opened it to reveal a small picture of her with her family and friends on one side…and some words engraved on the other side of the locket.
'I love you forever -E'
"Holy Shields, Eret…" Zenna said softly before embracing her boyfriend. "I love you forever, too…" she whispered. Eret smiled, glad that he had made Zenna happy. "I take it that you're feeling a little better?" he asked hopefully. Zenna smiled and cuddled closer to him, feeling a little sleepy. "Yeah…a lot better, actually…" she mumbled as she began to doze off. That's when Eret realized that he was a bit tired himself. "That's…good to hear…" he said softly. Then, Zenna decided to give Eret something for Valentine's Day as well. With a sleepy smile, Zenna gently pressed her lips to Eret's. Her boyfriend's brown eyes widened slightly in surprise before they slowly closed as Eret melted into the kiss. Both lying down on the couch, Eret and Zenna kissed for a few minutes before they both slipped into peaceful slumber.
Needless to say, Zenna's family were rather surprised to see her and Eret both fast asleep on the couch in front of the TV that had been left on along with the DVD player. Of course they had to wake the two up, and Zenna and Eret were both mortified at what had happened. Luckily Zenna's parents were okay with Eret visiting and that Valentine's Day turned out to be one of the best days Zenna and Eret ever had.
Zenna got better a couple of days later. Then, after a few more days, Eret got the flu too. And Zenna made sure to return the favor.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
-GuardianDragon98
