Best accompanied by a little edit I made over on my tumblr (captainodonewithyou). Happy Valentines, precious little starfish. I love you guys a lot.
He tracks her down in the park after she's avoided him all bloody day. He suspects it might not be him— paper hearts and bright shades of pink are hung about the entire town and really, it could be her own personal hell. It is Dave who tells him what exactly the celebration is, and his heart crumbles because today of all days it pains him to think that she wishes to be alone.
He should let her be but the longer he wills himself away the more desperately he needs to see her.
He knows just where she is, perched on a crumbling wall overlooking a field that is now iced over with frost. She glances sideways at him as he approaches, but makes no move to greet him.
"Your father told me why you've been avoiding me."
He comes up even with her, inadvertently bumping his knees to hers. She glances at him momentarily with soft, quiet eyes, before they drift to where their knees meet
"I'm not avoiding you. I just don't want to be around you."
He regards her warily as he raises an eyebrow.
"I am fairly certain those are one in the same."
She shrugs, eyes not straying from where they touch.
"It is only a holiday, love. There is no rule to say you must celebrate it. But there is no reason to isolate yourself from the entire town because of it."
Her eyes finally, slowly raise from their knees, regarding him with the slightest twinkle.
"There's no reason to isolate myself from you, you mean," she corrects, and the corner of his lip twitches.
"Perhaps."
She is quiet again, but her fingers play gently with the tip of his hook.
"It's stupid. That there is just one day set aside for loving people."
Her voice is quiet and small and almost lost in the breeze, and his heart stutters in his chest. He reaches out to tangle his fingers gently in the waves of her hair, and she flashes him the shadow of a smile.
"I love you today. And yesterday. And tomorrow."
(And gods, does he love her every sodding day as well. But she has stolen the words straight from his mouth and the least he can do in return is capture her lips in his).