A/N: This is my gift for the Valentine's Day Exchange. My valentine was justlook3 on Tumblr. I hope you like it ^-^
Flynn took Eve's hand and twirled her around. "Are you ready for the best Valentine's Day ever?" Eve laughed. He loved the way her smile lit up her whole face.
"Please tell me we aren't spending the evening vanquishing evil," Eve teased, rubbing at her back. "I've still got bruises from last time."
Flynn straightened up. "I'll have you know I can plan a perfectly normal date, emphasis on perfect." He crooked his arm, smiling when she put her arm through his. "No peeking till we get through the door." Eve sighed and closed her eyes as Flynn spun the globe. Tonight was going to be perfect. No interruptions, no craziness, no earth shattering crisis. A moment later they stepped onto the streets of Paris.
They walked arm in arm down a narrow lane lit by the soft glow of street lamps. Eve pulled him closer, resting her head on his shoulder. Flynn couldn't help grinning. He'd been worried that Paris would be too obvious a choice, but Eve seemed to like it. He quickened his stride; anxious to show her what else he had planned.
They turned a corner and stopped in front of a tiny restaurant. There were a few tables out front and a gilded sign bearing the name Fontaine's. Flynn leaned over and whispered in Eve's ear. "This place is the best kept secret in Paris. You're going to love it."
"I'm sure I'll love whatever you have planned. I'm just thrilled we actually got some time alone."
Pushing open the wooden door, Flynn led the way to a secluded table in the back. The maître d' nodded at them, giving Flynn a knowing smile as he handed them their menus. Eve stared at the table, not even glancing at the list of specials. Flynn winced as he tried to read her expression. "Is it too much?" he asked, surveying the vase overflowing with roses and the silver platter piled high with chocolate truffles.
"No. It's fine. Everything is lovely. You really put a lot of thought into this."
"It's possible that I overthought it." Flynn said, giving her a crooked smile as the violinist he had hired came up behind Eve and began playing an enchanting melody.
Eve laughed, her eyes shining. "It will be a night to remember."
"I hope so." Flynn reached across the table and took her hand. "You deserve the best of everything."
Flynn smiled as they finished the first course. Everything was going to plan. He took a sip of wine, allowing himself to relax a little. They made small talk, avoiding any mention of the library or magic. Flynn glanced at his pocket watch. The waiter should have brought the next course by now. Frowning he waved down a young man in a white shirt and crooked bow tie. "Have you seen our waiter?"
The boy looked around nervously. "Everything's kind of crazy in the back right now," he said. "The chef up and left in the middle of service. I'm sure they'll have things sorted soon."
Flynn nodded and looked over at Eve, who shrugged. "It's fine," she whispered. Narrowing his eyes, Flynn racked his brain for a way to keep the delay from marring the perfection of the evening. He stood up and reached his hand out. "May I have this dance?"
"It would be an honor." Eve answered with equal solemnity. The violinist smiled, drawing his bow across the strings. The strains of a Viennese waltz filled the room. Flynn led Eve through the steps, twirling between the tables. He stared down into her eyes. It was strange having someone he could count on being there. He pulled her closer, his lips brushing her forehead.
Eve sighed contentedly. "Flynn, this – "
Flynn jumped as the sound of yelling and shattering china emanated from the kitchen. Eve automatically pushed him behind her as they looked over to see Jake and Cassandra burst through the swinging doors. The two rushed toward them. They skidded to a halt, almost colliding with the now silent violinist. Jake leaned over, panting, as Cassandra flashed them an apologetic smile.
"What are you doing here?" Flynn asked, fighting to keep his voice level. "How did you even find us?"
"Eve has GPS on all our phones." Cassandra said, finally catching her breath.
"Of course she does." Flynn muttered as Eve handed Jake a glass of water.
"What's going on?" Eve was in full guardian mode now, scanning the exits, her hand twitching as if she missed her gun.
"There's an emergency." Jake replied.
"Really?" Flynn rolled his eyes. "I thought you were just trying to crash our date."
He sighed as Eve frowned at him and continued in a calmer tone. "What is it?"
"Cupid's arrow." Cassandra clasped her hands together. "Some bitter, single person who hates Valentine's Day is going around sticking people with it. If it draws blood, they fall madly in love with the next person or thing they see."
"Seriously? Cupid's arrow? Today of all days?" Flynn's rant trailed off as Eve patted his arm.
"What do you mean by thing?" Eve asked.
Jake grinned, his eyes shining. "There's a guy out back reciting love poetry to a cat."
"Probably our chef." Flynn muttered.
"It's crazy out there." Cassandra continued. "Fights are breaking out between affected people and their jilted lovers. The police are completely overwhelmed. Some of them are affected as well. Whoever this person is, they are determined to make this the worst Valentine's Day ever."
Flynn eyed their table, wishing there was some way to salvage his perfect date. Eve squeezed his hand. He met her eyes and knew that she understood. He sighed and turned to look at Jake and Cassandra. "What do we know?"
"The trouble seems to be confined to this area." Jake said. "It shouldn't be too hard to track the person responsible."
"What about the people already under the arrow's influence?" Cassandra asked.
Rubbing his chin, Flynn looked from them to Eve. "A shock to the system might snap them out of it. It would have to be sudden and painful enough to counteract all the endorphins rushing through their systems."
"Are we supposed to go around slapping all these people across the face?" Eve shook her head. "That sounds like it would start more fights than it stopped."
"You're right. Too many people are affected for that to be practical."
"You could use ice water."
Everyone turned to look at the violinist. He shrugged. "What? I was hired for the whole evening. I was just waiting to see if you still wanted some musical accompaniment. I can't help it if you talk really loud."
"This doesn't seem strange to you at all?" Jake asked.
"I grew up on these streets. Nothing surprises me anymore."
"The ice water would work." Flynn said. "We'd need buckets of it."
Cassandra nodded. "There's an ice machine in the kitchen."
"All right." Flynn rubbed his hands together. "You two get the ice water. Eve and I will see if we can track down the arrow." He turned to Eve as Jake and Cassandra hurried off with the violinist in tow. "Are you ready to save the world from an epidemic of love-sick crazies?"
"Ready when you are." Eve smiled. Taking her hand, Flynn let the way out of the restaurant and into the street where things had disintegrated into chaos.
Cassandra scooped ice into every container she could find while Jake argued loudly with the proprietor in French. She looked over at the violinist who was filling the buckets with water. "What's your name?" She asked.
"Louis." He responded with a grin.
She nodded. "I'm sorry you got dragged into all this."
"Are you kidding? This is the most fun I've had in ages."
Jake walked over. "I've convinced him to let us have all the ice and water we want."
"Let's go." Cassandra smiled, lugging a heavy bucket. They went out the back and found the man they had seen earlier quoting Byron to a beautiful brown tabby.
"Time to see if this works." Jake grunted. Scooping out a pitcher full of water, he dumped it over the man's head. The cat yowled, streaking into the alley. The man shook his head. "Mon Dieu! Where am I?"
"How do you feel about cats?" Louis asked.
"I cannot abide the creatures." The man exclaimed. "Why do you ask?"
Jake nodded. "He's fine. Let's keep going." They hurried out into the street, lugging their buckets.
The scene that met their eyes looked like something out of a bad romantic comedy. People were screaming and crying. Others were singing love songs, kissing hands, and scattering rose petals at the feet of their newfound loves. One man was on bended knee and appeared to be proposing to a tree. Flynn and Eve hadn't gotten very far. Eve was fending off an earnest lover while Flynn was attempting to prevent a jealous husband from strangling the man who was kissing his wife.
Cassandra followed Jake into the fray, dousing people with the icy water. She dumped it on everyone, not even trying to figure out who had been stuck by cupid's arrow and who was just upset or going along with the love-fest.
"She's close!" Eve yelled as she twisted a dark haired young man into a headlock. "This idiot just decided that he's in love with me. I saw a blonde next to him right before he went all Romeo on me."
Jake nodded. Cassandra could see him scanning the perimeter. Calculating probable escape routes, she pointed out tiny lane about half a block away. Sure enough, a blonde in a short trench coat was hurrying toward it.
"Keep up with the ice water." Jake called as he sprinted after the stranger. Cassandra looked over at Flynn and Eve. They both still had their hands full. She shook her head. There was no way she was going to let Jake go off by himself like that. She turned to Louis.
"I know." He smiled. "You must go after your amour. Don't worry. I will keep pouring the ice water."
"He's not – " She began. But there was no time to argue. Turning, she raced after Jake.
Cassandra rounded the corner and saw Jake struggling with the blonde. She held a golden arrow in a tight grip as Jake tried to wrest it away from her. The woman yanked her arm back. Jake flinched, staring down at his hand as the woman stumbled away from him and took off down the street.
"Jake!" Cassandra called out, realizing too late what had happened. Jake turned, a rapt expression on his face as he gazed at her. "Jake…" She said warningly, backing up a few steps as he came toward her.
He grasped her hand, pulling it to his lips. "Cassandra, my love, you are so beautiful."
"Jake, we don't have time for this." Cassandra protested. "She's getting away."
"What care I for her when such beauty is before me?" Jake fell to his knees, still holding her hand in a tight grip; he pressed it to his heart.
"Oh no." Casandra squeaked, her cheeks turning a rosy red.
"You are my sun, my moon, my starlit sky."
Cassandra tried to pull her hand away. "Bad guy. Getting away with the arrow." She said, trying not to think about how beautiful his eyes were.
"Nothing matters but you. Without you I dwell in darkness. I love you. Your power has enchanted me, I stand helpless against it."
Cassandra looked down the lane. The blonde was turning a corner. They were going to lose her if she didn't do something. "Sorry about this." She said and gave him a resounding slap across the face.
Jake shook his head. "Where'd she go?"
"Around that corner, loverboy."
They raced down the narrow street. Cassandra kept glancing over at Jake. If she didn't know any better, she would say that he was blushing. They turned the corner and almost ran headlong into Eve, Flynn and Louis.
"Over there!" Jake shouted, pointing to the blonde ducking into another alley. They all ran across the street and into the alley. It was a dead end. The blonde spun around, her eyes searching for a way past them.
"Stay back!" She cried holding the arrow out in front of her.
"It's going to be okay." Flynn said, slowly stepping forward.
"It will never be okay again." The woman wailed. "He lied to me."
"I'm sorry you were hurt." Flynn continued in a soothing voice. "But this isn't going to fix anything."
"I'm not trying to fix anything." The blonde rubbed at her eyes. "I want everyone to see that love is an illusion. This whole holiday is built on lies."
"Love is real." Flynn said. "You just haven't found the right person yet."
"How do you know?"
"Because I had almost given up on love. Everyone I ever cared about either died or left me. I was alone for a long time. I buried myself in my work, but the loneliness was like a hole in my heart."
The woman nodded. Cassandra relaxed a little. Maybe he was getting through to her.
"Then I met Eve." Flynn reached over and took the guardian's hand. "She is the most amazing woman I have ever met. She's smart and funny and puts up with me. I love her more than anything."
"Do you love him?" The woman asked.
"I do." Eve said.
Cassandra tried not to giggle. Flynn and Eve were staring into each other's eyes, momentarily oblivious to their surroundings.
The woman sighed.
"I'm sure you'll find someone." Jake said, moving closer.
"Who would want to go out with me after this?" She sniffed.
"I'll take you out for a cup of coffee, mademoiselle." Louis said, stepping forward. "The man you spoke of was a fool to break the heart of someone as lovely as yourself."
"Really?" The blonde blinked at him in surprise, wiping tears from her face.
"Of course, I know a beautiful little café that will be perfect."
The blonde walked over and absently handed Cassandra the arrow. "Sorry about the mess." She said as Louis took her arm.
Jake stared after them. "Did that really just happen?"
"Love conquers all." Cassandra sighed.
A few hours later the four of them sat in an all-night pancake house in Portland. Flynn sighed. "I'm sorry our date was ruined."
"It was the best Valentine's day ever." Eve replied. "I've never had a man declare his love for me as a crisis negotiation tactic."
A smile spread across Flynn's face. "I try." He said.
"Enough of the lovey-dovey stuff." Jake protested.
"Seriously?" Cassandra laughed. "You're one to talk. You guys should have seen him when the arrow stuck him."
Flynn glanced over at Eve and raised his eyebrows.
"With all the romantic poetry you know you were quoting Willow as you professed your undying love for me." Cassandra teased.
"I know. I remember. But, come on, it's a good movie."
"You remember?" Flynn asked as Cassandra dissolved into a fit of giggles.
"Yeah. So what if I remember?" Jake asked, scratching the back of his head.
"No one else remembered anything." Eve said slowly, looking from Jake to Cassandra.
"It could be you only remember if you already felt that way to begin with." Flynn said, scratching his chin thoughtfully.
Jake and Cassandra stared at each other, eyes widening as both their cheeks grew red.
"Let's go." Eve said, pulling Flynn from the booth.
"What? Why? I haven't finished my pie."
"I think these two might like to have a Valentine's date of their own."
"Oh." Flynn stood up, frowning as Eve pulled him toward the door. "Oh!"
Once they were outside Flynn pulled Eve close. A fine mist of rain fell over them. "I'm glad Valentine's Day wasn't completely ruined for you. You know it was originally the feast day of a Christian martyr…"
He stopped short as Eve gripped the lapels of his suit jacket. "If you want me to have a perfect Valentine's Day then shut up and kiss me."
"That I can do." Flynn said. He pressed his lips against hers, realizing that every day would be perfect as long as Eve was there to share it with him.