Chapter 3, here we go! It's Valentine's Day!
Please review and let me know what you think!
Little moments 3: Little gifts
Hope only had to walk from the Cathedral to the park to notice all the flowers, hearts and other decorations associated with Valentine's Day. Everything was already all set up all over the Residential District, and probably the rest of NLA as well.
Everywhere around her, people were running around making last minute purchases or preparations and couples who were staring so deeply into each other's eyes, they were obvious to the world around them.
She had almost completely forgotten about it, as she had been so busy with BLADE jobs.
As she was heading to the park she noticed Celica, who also seemed to be heading toward the park. Hope couldn't say she knew the other girl very well, but they had worked together with Cross on a few missions and she knew Celica to be a very gentle and lovely, if a bit serious, young woman.
"Good morning, Celica!" Hope decided to greet her, thinking she might want to talk or needed help with something, judging by the slightly lost look on her face and the slightly drooping ears. Which perked up as soon as she saw Hope.
"Good morning, Hope" Celica greeted her as she made her way over. "I was actually looking for you!"
"You were? Do you need something?" As far as Hope knew, Celica was the type of person to figure things out without help, though she guessed it was somewhat of an instinct from when she was running from the Ganglion and couldn't really trust people.
"Well, I just wanted to ask you something, nothing all that important" Celica mumbled quietly, as though not wanting to bother Hope if she was busy.
"All right, why don't we go to the park?" Hope suggested. "It will be nicer to talk there than in the middle of the street." Celica agreed and the two of them made their way to the park. They decided to sit down on the grass under the shade of a three, because even though it was just morning, it was already quite sunny and warm.
"So, what was it you were wondering about?" Hope asked, as Celica didn't seem to remember why they were there.
"Yes, right" she starts. "I was wondering what is so special about this day. All morning I've seen people give each other gifts and hugs and kisses, and there are hearts and flowers and things everywhere." She paused slightly but Hope didn't say anything, sensing there was more coming.
"I have figured out it's some kind of special day for humans, and it's called Valentine's Day but I don't understand the purpose of this day, and what it's all about. I was wondering if you could tell me about it?"
"Well," Hope started "it's a day for remembering friends and loved ones, and telling how important, and loved they are by giving them gifts and hugs and such. Or simply a card, if you like." It was probably the simplest way she could explain it. Celica took a few minutes to think it over.
"That seems nice" Celica seemed to be thinking out loud. "Do you think I can participate, even though I'm not human?" Her ears matched her tone, one pointing up, and the other one crooked slightly to the side. It reminded Hope of a puppy wondering if it was doing something good.
"Of course you can" Hope reassured her. "Many Nopon and Ma-non are getting into the spirit, so there's no reason you couldn't. I assume you are thinking about Rock? He's your friend, right?"
"Yes, he is" Celica nodded, plucking some grass. "He's so happy with his job and is working so hard, so I want to get him something really nice" she looked at the grass in her hand, frowning slightly. "I'm just not sure what to get him…"
"Well" Hope dug for something in her pockets while talking "before that, I'd like to give you this" She held out a small box containing a comm device. "I knew you didn't have one yet, and they're important for all BLADEs" she also handed Celica a chocolate bar "I also hope you like chocolate. Happy Valentine's day!"
"Thank you very much" Celica looked amazed at being handed these things, both ears now angled slightly forward, eager to see what she was given. "It's very nice of you."
"Don't worry about it" Hope told her with a smile as she got up and offered Celica her hand. "We're friends, aren't we?"
"Yes, we are" Celica smiled happily as she accepted Hope's hand. As soon as got up she held up her hand in a 'just a moment' gesture while taking of one of her many bracelets. She then handed said bracelet to Hope. "Here, this is my gift to you"
Hope took the bracelet, feeling a bit surprised. It had a light golden colour and some very delicate details. In other words, it looked very beautiful and very expensive.
"Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly. She usually turned down any sort of payment, but turning down a gift would be rather rude, wouldn't it?
"Yes, I'm sure" Celica reached over to close Hopes fingers around the bracelet and pushed it closer to her. "We're friends, aren't we?"
"Yes, we are" it was Hope's turn to say. "Thank you" She suddenly got an idea. "Hey, why don't I help you look for a present for Rock? I'm sure we can come up with something together." She could see Celica's eyes gleaming with happiness.
"That's a wonderful idea! Thank you so much!" She took a few moments to compose herself before continuing with a calmer tone "We should probably head over to the Commercial district, right?"
"Yes, we should" Hope agreed and turned to leave. She thought she saw someone in the corner of her eye and turned to look to the centre of the park. She was rather surprised to see Commander Vandham and Secretary Nagi sitting on one of the benches, apparently in the middle of a discussion.
"Wonder what they're doing here?" Celica wondered, having also noticed them.
"I do hope it's not job related." Hope commented "They spend so much time working, they really deserve a break. Especially today, of all days."
Celica's ears twitched curiously, like she was trying to hear what the two men were talking about.
"I don't think they're talking about work." Celica looked so focused and even leaned forward slightly to catch even a bit of the conversation going on. While they were wondering, Vandham pulled out what looked like a wadded up piece of paper which he handed to Nagi, talking animatedly while doing so.
"I think they're talking about dinner?" Celica finally declared. As she said that, her stomach suddenly growled loudly. "Speaking of dinner, why don't we grab something to eat before going shopping?"
"Yes, sounds like a good idea" Hope agreed. "Can't go shopping on an empty stomach" she laughed and grabbed Celica's hand, dragging her toward the Commercial District. "Do you want to get pizza, burgers or hot dogs? I also heard a new sushi place just opened, we could give that a try?"
Mere moments after the girls turned around and rushed of, Nagi pulled Vandham into a hug and a quick kiss.
A/N: Soo… I can't decide if I ship Hope and Celica, or if I just like them as friends. Let's go with friends, yeah? They might also be somewhat ooc, probably because I haven't finished all of their affinity missions. (Because grinding for affinity takes forever in this game…)
I like to think Celica's ears react and move according to her emotions, like a cat's or something. She could probably also have a better hearing than humans with ears like that. She's just really cute.
Also, I'm not very familiar with romantic Valentine's Days, because in Finland it's called "ystävänpäivä" and it's more about friendship than romance. I know Valentine's Day in like, America, involves a lot of pink and chocolate and hearts and flowers, so that's what I went with. Or tried to.
Anyway, happy Valentine's Day, people!
