Valentine's Day "Disaster"
-February 13th-
It was the morning before Valentine's Day. Jadeite awoke to the sound of muffled laughter coming from the living room. He sat up in his bed and yawned, brushing the unnatural cowlicks out of his hair before stepping outside his room to investigate the noise. He walked into the living room and found Zoisite curled up on the floor, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. Kunzite was sitting on the couch, a mildly annoyed expression on his face. In his lap, he held a pink stuffed bunny with a mustache on its face. It was holding a heart that read "I 'mustache' you to be mine". Seeing this, Jadeite shook his head and stepped into the room.
"What's that for?" he asked, stifling a giggle.
"It's Minako's Valentine's Day gift" Kunzite replied, still unamused. Jadeite looked at him, confused.
"Isn't that a while away?" Kunzite and the others shook their heads and pointed to the calendar on the wall. Jadeite walked over and looked at it, and he could feel the color drain from his face. "What?! It's tomorrow? What am I going to do?" He began to pace back and forth frantically, until Nephrite stood up and grabbed his shoulders.
"Jadeite, calm down. I have an idea." After talking with Nephrite, Jadeite went back to his room to get dressed, and headed out for the day. He stopped at a local florist and picked up a single red rose in a vase and a card. After filling out the card, he sealed it in the envelope. He then headed for the Hikawa Shrine. When he arrived, he stood in front of the stairs and gulped nervously before walking up to the shrine. He rang the bell outside the door and was greeted a moment later by Rei's Grandpa.
"Can I help you?" he asked, craning his neck to look up at Jadeite.
"I…uh…is Rei home?" Jadeite stuttered. Grandpa shook his head.
"I'm sorry, she's not here right now. Can I give her a message?" His eyes then drifted to the rose, and before Jadeite could say anything further, Grandpa began to flip out.
"Is that for her?" he demanded. Jadeite blushed and took a step back.
"I…uh…"
"What's your name, young man?"
"It's Jadeite" Jadeite responded, then mentally kicked himself. Grandpa looked up at him and squinted suspiciously.
"Jadeite, huh? That's some kind of rock, isn't it?"
"Y-Yes, sir" Jadeite stuttered.
"Hmm…are your parents into that sort of thing, then? I've never heard of anyone with that name before."
"Yeah, I guess you could say that…" Jadeite agreed, praying the issue would not be pressed any further. Luckily, after thinking it over, Grandpa let it go.
"Okay, then, Jadeite…I have another question for you."
"Yes, sir?"
"What are your intentions with my granddaughter? You're not some lowlife dirtbag who's just going to leave her someday, are you? Because if you are, you can take that rose and shove it up your…" before he could say anything more, Jadeite cut him off.
"N-No, sir. I would never do that to Rei. She's very special to me." Hearing this made Grandpa calm down, and he smiled up at Jadeite.
"I'm glad to hear that. Do you want me to leave those in her room for her?" Jadeite nodded and thanked him, then turned to walk away. Soon, he was back at Mamoru's apartment. He opened the door and walked inside slowly, still shaken from his interaction with Rei's Grandpa.
"Are you okay?" Mamoru asked. Jadeite walked past him completely and walked into his room, shutting the door behind him. Mamoru turned to the others and scratched his head.
"That was weird" he muttered. Zoisite chuckled and shook his head.
"Oh, Rei's crazy grandpa probably got ahold of him. He'll be alright." A few hours later, Jadeite emerged from his room.
"You look a lot better" Nephrite said, eyeing him.
"Thanks" Jadeite said quietly, managing a half smile. He grabbed a slice of pizza from the box on the table and sat down on the couch. Not saying another word, he began to pick at the pizza nervously.
"What's the matter with you? We've never seen you like this" Mamoru asked, concerned. Jadeite looked up and shook his head.
"Oh, it's nothing" he replied, silently praying that no one would be able to tell he was lying.
"Okay, if you're sure…" Mamoru replied, then suddenly stood up. He walked into the kitchen and returned a moment later with a small bubble envelope. He handed it to Jadeite and sat back down in his chair. "This came for you while you were gone." Jadeite opened the envelope and pulled out a small black box. He smiled and stood up, walking over to slip the box in his jacket pocket. A yawn escaped his lips, and he turned to look at the clock.
"It's late…I'm going to bed. See you guys sometime tomorrow" he said, turning into the hallway. After changing into his pajamas and settling into his bed, he was asleep within minutes.
-February 14th-
The next morning, Jadeite woke up feeling surprisingly rested. He quickly showered and got dressed, then quietly left the apartment so as not to wake anyone else up. He walked down the street to the coffee shop where he and Rei had their first date, and a smile spread across his face when he saw her sitting inside waiting for him. He walked inside and greeted her, pulling her into a tight hug.
"Good morning!" he greeted her cheerfully.
"Good morning" she replied softly, smiling.
"I see you got my card" he said, blushing softly. Rei blushed and nodded.
"Yeah, and I got an earful from grandpa about not telling him I was seeing anyone" she giggled. "I hope he didn't give you too much of a hard time…"
"No, not at all. He was…pleasant" Jadeite said with a nervous chuckle. He stood up and turned toward the counter, turning his head to look at Rei before he walked off. "I'm going to order our drinks." Rei nodded and watched him walk away. When he returned and sat back down, neither of them said anything. Instead, they became lost in one another's eyes. They were snapped back to reality by the waitress' voice.
"I have two hot chocolates and an order of macaroons…hello? Hello?" Jadeite blushed and looked at the waitress, nodded.
"Y-yeah, that's right. Sorry about that" he mumbled. The waitress giggled and turned to walk away.
"It's alright. It's Valentine's Day, and you have a pretty date. I understand. You two enjoy!" she said with a wink. After she walked away, Rei and Jadeite began talking.
"You know, this is absolutely perfect" Rei said with a smile. "I wouldn't want to be with anyone else right now." Jadeite blushed and reached for her hand, smiling shyly.
"Neither would I" he said softly. "I'm glad you're enjoying this, but I hope you like what else I have planned too."
"I'm sure I will" Rei said. "What else are we doing?"
"You'll see" Jadeite replied, grinning. After they finished their drinks, they left the coffee shop. Rei knew it would be pointless to ask what they were doing next, so she let Jadeite show her.
"Did you remember to bring your ice skates?" he asked, and Rei nodded, holding up a red bag. After walking a little more, they arrived at the lake, which was completely frozen over. The sun was shining on the ice, making it sparkle. There were snow drifts all around the lake, which would make for a soft landing if either of them fell. Seeing this caused Rei to gasp in awe.
"It's beautiful" she murmured. Jadeite put his skates on and helped her into hers, then carefully guided her onto the ice. After they both regained their balance, they began to glide across the ice, hand in hand. After a while, Jadeite looked over at Rei and spoke.
"Are you having fun?" he asked. Rei nodded at him and blushed slightly.
"This day just keeps getting more and more perfect" she sighed dreamily.
"I'm glad" Jadeite said. "I was so nervous about coming up with the perfect way to spend the day with you."
"What were you nervous about?" Rei asked, giggling. "You should know by now that just being with you makes me happy. It doesn't matter what we're doing" she assured him. Jadeite breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
"You don't know how relieved I am to hear you say that" he chuckled.
"You and I are meant to be together. What could possibly go wrong?" Rei asked. A moment later, her question would be answered. The blade of Jadeite's skate caught in a nick in the ice, causing the pair to tumble into a snow bank. They stood up and brushed the snow off them as best they could, but they were still soaked.
"I'm so sorry" Jadeite groaned. "I'll take you home so you can change." After the pair changed out of their skates, they began the chilly walk back to the shrine. Jadeite waited at the bottom of the stairs to make sure Rei got in okay, then sulked his way back to the apartment. He walked inside and slammed the door behind him, grumbling in the doorway. Zoisite, who was walking down the hall, stopped to look at him.
"What happened?" he asked. Jadeite buried his face in his hands and slumped to the floor, exhaling shakily.
"I threw her into a snow bank" he muttered. Confused, Zoisite urged him to tell exactly what had happened. After hearing the story, he thought for a moment, then spoke.
"You know, you're making this out to be a lot worse than it is. That could have happened to anyone. I'm sure she's not upset."
"Really?" Jadeite asked, looking up at him. Zoisite nodded.
"Seriously, it's probably fine. Don't be so hard on yourself." Taking Zoisite's words to heart, Jadeite finally stood up and walked into his room to change into dry clothes. After a few minutes, he decided to go back to the shrine to see if Rei was ready to go. She greeted him at the door, and after a moment they were on their way again.
"So, where are we off to now?" Rei asked. Jadeite shook his head and grabbed her hand.
"Right, like you're going to get that information out of me that easily" he chuckled. Rei sighed and rolled her eyes. After walking for a while, they arrived at the winter street fair. The streets were lined with booths offering different things, and Rei was immediately drawn to the one where they were selling silk scarves. Jadeite followed her over to it and smiled contentedly as he watched her admiring all of them.
"Would you like one?" he asked. Rei looked at him, and her cheeks flushed.
"Really?" she asked softly. Jadeite smiled at her and nodded.
"Sure. Pick whichever one you'd like." Rei turned back to the booth and agonized over her decision for a few minutes before looking over her shoulder at Jadeite.
"I don't know which one to pick…they're all so beautiful. How about you pick one for me?" she asked. Jadeite stepped forward and looked for a moment, then reached out and grabbed a red and gold one. He paid for it, then handed it to Rei and she carefully folded it up, then tucked it into her purse.
After walking around the fair for a couple more hours, they were ready to leave. The sun would be setting soon, and they didn't want to be caught outside when it got dark. They decided to head back to the shrine and watch the sunset. When they arrived, they went inside and Rei made some tea. Afterwards, they carefully carried their cups outside. They sat on one of the benches just outside the shrine and sipped their tea, and Jadeite had his arm protectively draped over Rei's shoulders. . As the sun set, Jadeite saw this as the perfect opportunity to give her one last thing.
"I have something for you" he said shakily. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the small black box, and he could instantly feel Rei's body go completely rigid.
"Jadeite is that a…" he shook his head and chuckled softly.
"No, don't worry. It's not a ring. Not yet, anyway. Go ahead and open it" he said, his voice still shaking. He placed the box in her hand and she sucked in a breath before opening it. Inside, she found a sterling silver necklace with a diamond and ruby encrusted heart pendant.
"It's beautiful" she gasped. A tear rolled down her cheek and Jadeite gently reached over to wipe it away. She turned to face him, then leaned in and kissed him softly on the cheek.
"Do you want me to help you put it on?" Jadeite asked. Rei nodded and took the necklace out of the box and handed it to him. He struggled for a few moments to move her thick, dark hair out of the way, and she giggled.
"Hold on" she said softly. She reached into her purse and pulled out the scarf, tying her hair up in it and pushing it to the side. "There. Is that better?"
"Yeah, much better" Jadeite chuckled as he put the necklace on her.
"Thank you" she whispered. Even though it was dark outside, Rei could tell that Jadeite was blushing. A cold breeze blew past them and Rei shivered, snuggling into him. Without hesitation, he took his jacket off and draped it over her shoulders, then pulled her into his lap. They sat together watching the stars dance in the sky, neither of them speaking for a while. Jadeite finally cut through the silence.
"I had a great day with you, Rei" he said softly. When she didn't respond, he spoke again. "Rei?" he looked down at her and noticed that she had fallen asleep. He carefully carried her inside and laid her on her bed, kissing her forehead before turning to walk out of the room.
"Happy Valentine's Day" he whispered before shutting the door behind him.