Valentine's Date
By Alasse Fefalas
The restaurant was crowded by the time he got there. He hurriedly paid the cab driver his due and rushed to the maître d' who stood before a long line of hungry couples.
Flynn straightened his dark purple jacket before clearing his throat and speaking. "Hi, I have a reservation for two at eight pm."
The waiter looked up from his list and raised a perfectly-shaped eyebrow. His lips were pulled taut into a straight line. "It is already ten, sir. On Valentine's day. We have other couples who have been lining up here waiting for a table. If you are late for a reservation, we, unfortunately, have to give it to someone else," declared the waiter in icy tones.
"I know but I was kind of held up at work and all, trying to save the world." Flynn grimaced. He hoped the man hadn't struck off his reservation for being two hours late. He held up the single cream carnation he had brought to try and persuade the man. "Reservation was under Flynn Carsen...?"
The waiter narrowed his eyes at Flynn who just stood there with a hopeful look on his face. Finally, he sighed and consulted his list. This time, both his eyebrows went up towards his slicked back hair. "It seems that a lady has fulfilled your reservation two hours ago." He turned to Flynn and gave him a judgemental look. "And she's still there."
Flynn breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god."
The waiter grabbed a menu fron the stand and gestured into the restaurant. "This way, sir," he said in a clipped tone.
Flynn smiled and nodded. He followed the man past tables and towards a corner of the restaurant. As they approached, he could see her sitting there, her back to him, head supported by one hand and in the other, a book. Her hair was loose, slightly curled at their ends from being tied up the whole day. His eyes traced the v-line on the back of her dark blue satin dress, from one shoulder strap to the other. His heart raced from the anticipation of seeing her for the night.
"The lady insisted on a corner table," the waiter said, as if trying to defend himself for putting her in a corner.
Flynn smiled. "It's fine."
Eve looked up and turned as they came closer. A smile graced her face when she saw them. She bookmarked the page she was on and placed the spine of the book flush against the wall.
The waiter stopped a few steps away and gestured towards it. "Your table, sir. Please call any of my waiters when you wish to order." He gave Flynn a stiff bow and walked away before he sat down.
"That sounded very icy," Eve said as she watched the head waiter walk off. "What did you do to him?"
"Uh, turn up late, apparently," chuckled Flynn as he pulled out his chair and sat down. He took out the carnation from his pocket and held it in front of him. "For you, my lady."
Eve took the flower and breathed in the fresh scent. "It's beautiful, thank you," she said as shr placed it on her book.
"My pleasure." He took her hand and hooked his fingers in hers. "You waited. Thank you."
Eve shrugged. "I figured you might be late so I brought a book along. I know you would have called me if you couldn't make it."
Flynn sighed. "I didn't think I would be two hours late though. I'm sorry for making you wait that long."
Eve tightened her grip on his hand gently. "Did you save the world, Librarian?"
Flynn nodded.
A soft smile grew on Eve's face. "Then I don't mind waiting." Her thumb slowly rubbed the side of his finger and Flynn would feel a warmth spread across his chest when she said that. "After all, the job's more important than what we want, right?"
Flynn's smile widened. "Yes, that is correct." He leaned over the table and kissed her softly, slowly, taking his time to taste her and the sweet moscato rosa she had drunk while waiting for him. "But the job's done for the night," he said softly. "And you're probably hungry so I think we should order."
"Good. I'm famished."
Flynn chuckled and caught the attention of a wandering waiter. To his surprise, their food came faster than he thought it would although it could have been the maître d' pitying his date for waiting so long to eat. They lingered after dinner, sipping their wines as they told each other their adventures of the day - Flynn and his coven of witches bent on destroying the earth, and Eve and Cassandra stopping a demon from entering the world.
As they were leaving the restaurant, Flynn couldn't help but to take in how well the dress accentuated her body, the neckline moderately low and the material flowing down her body, ending just above her knees and showed off her wonderfully long legs. He wrapped her coat around her shoulders and breathed in the intoxicating mix of wine, perfume and Eve.
They strolled arm in arm under the stars from the restaurant to the main road, hoping to catch a cab. Flynn was talking animatedly about the origins of Valentine's day when he suddenly grew quiet when they stood by the roadside, waiting for a taxi.
"You know I didn't ask you out tonight just because it's Valentine's day, right?" Flynn asked quietly. "I mean, I don't even see it as a romantic holiday, just a twisted version of the original feast day. It just happened to be on the same day, that's it."
Eve turned to him, amusement twinkling in her eyes. "Is that your convoluted way of saying you missed me, Librarian?"
Flynn blinked and took a second to answer. "Yes, it is, Guardian." His hand slipped into hers, intertwining their fingers. "I missed you, Eve."
Eve snaked a hand into his hair and pulled him close. "I missed you too, Flynn," she whispered before closing the space between them.
Fin.
A/N: Happy (belated) Valentine's day all! I hope you enjoyed this piece. It's a little different from what I usually write but I wanted to challenge myself a little (as entertainment on this long flight I'm on). If you followed Flynn's line of thought, you know where it leads to but I'm stopping it there because I cannot write good M-rated fics lol sobs. So just use your imaginations, yeah? ;)
Anyway, thanks for reading! Critiques and comments are much appreciated!