A/N: Happy Sunday! I hope everyone's staying safe. Here's the next chapter! I'm almost done writing this story. I just need to finish the last chapter. Enjoy!
As soon as Connor tried to return to his and Mia's bedroom from the bathroom, the door opened and Mia jerked him inside. "Do I even want to ask?" Connor sighed as Mia shut the door.
"Do you know what day it is?" she asked him.
"Uh…Friday?"
"Close. Valentine's Day."
"…Ok?"
Mia rolled her eyes. "Hello? Valentine's Day? The day of love? Flowers, hearts, candy, stupid cards?"
"I still don't follow."
"The day for couples, Connor! Something Roy's not in at the moment."
"Oh…" Connor glanced back at the door. "You think he'll be taking it hard today?"
"How long were he and Kaldur dating?"
"Three or four years."
"Yeah, he'll take it hard."
"He'll probably be depressed all day."
"Exactly. So, I say we make a pact. Don't say anything about Kaldur. Try not to let Roy be super depressed today. But if he is, don't like…bring attention to it. Deal?"
"Deal." Connor grabbed his backpack, then followed Mia out of their room. "Think he's up?"
"Probably not. He's probably in bed crying into his pillow-"
"Morning guys!" Roy greeted cheerfully. "You're just in time. Breakfast's almost ready."
Connor and Mia frowned as they sat at the table. There was a bouquet of flowers in the middle, with bright pink paper napkins and plastic silverware. Instead of normal plates, they had paper plates decorated with pink and red hearts that read 'Happy Valentine's Day' in loopy cursive.
"Where did you get this stuff?" Mia asked. "Did we have this laying around?"
"Bought it this morning," Roy answered as he placed a bag of candy hearts on the table. "I know I don't normally let you guys have sugar in the morning but hey, its Valentine's Day, right?" He ruffled Connor's hair before going back to the stove.
"You bought…" Connor's voice trailed off as he glanced at the clock. "It's not even 8 am!"
"I know!"
"There's a 24-hour party store somewhere in Star," Jade supplied. She was sipping coffee out of a bright pink, travel cup with a dancing heart on it. "And a florist apparently."
"Ok, here we go! Heart-shaped pancakes and bacon. Fruit for Connor." Roy started piling pancakes onto their plates. "I used food coloring to dye them pink and red. And I've got hot chocolate with your names on it. Want some Jade?"
"I'm good." Jade held up her coffee. "But you should have some. You've already had more than enough coffee today."
Connor opened his mouth to ask how much coffee Roy could've had already, but then he decided he didn't want to know. He dug into his pancakes. "Mmm… Very good."
"Delicious," Mia added.
"Great," Roy smiled as he joined them at the table. "So, I've got big plans for today. We're going to have a wonderful dinner tonight before patrol. Steak for us, tofu for Connor. Sound good?"
"Sounds great…"
"Yeah…" Connor didn't miss the glance Mia sent him. He gave her a small shrug in return. 'Geez. His first Valentine's Day after Kaldur broke up with him. You'd think he'd be at least a little sad.' Instead, Roy was happy. Very, worryingly happy. 'But we agreed not to bring it up. Besides, I don't want to say something and upset him.' So Connor said nothing and at his heart-shaped pancakes with fruit.
Once they finished, they brushed their teeth and Roy had bag lunches for both of them. "I know you guys usually buy lunch," he said as he handed each of them a bag. "But I figure since today was such a special day, I'd make you something special. Sandwiches the I cut into the shape of hearts. Ham and cheese for Mia, peanut butter and jelly for Connor. Plus watermelon, candy hearts, lollipops, and red fruit juice. The perfect Valentine's lunch!"
"Thanks, Roy," Connor said cautiously.
"Yeah…" Mia agreed, almost suspiciously. "Thanks. Come on, Con."
"Bye."
"Bye guys!" Roy called as they left the apartment.
"So…" Connor began once they were walking down the sidewalk. "That was…"
"Weird?" Mia prompted.
"So weird. I thought for sure he'd be upset. But he's…almost manic."
"Jade didn't seem worried."
"Of course not. She's…you know… She probably enjoyed all the chaos."
Mia glanced at him. "She's not that and you know. If you get to know her she's actually pretty cool."
"Well, she barely says two words to me a day, so I don't think bonding is high on our list right now."
"Whatever, back to Roy. What'd we do about this?"
"What do you mean? I don't think we can do anything. It's kind of like grief, you know? We should let Roy deal with his emotions in his own way."
"Hm… I guess you're right."
"He'll be alright."
"Yeah."
They entered the school grounds, then made a beeline to the middle schoolyard. When they got there, Connor sat in his spot along the wall. He pulled his math notes out of his backpack and started reading through them.
"Hey Connor," Alyssa said as she dropped next to him. "Studying for the quiz?"
"Yeah," he said. "Just making sure I understand these x and y things."
"I'm sure you'll do great. You have one of the highest grades in the class."
"Not higher than yours."
"Well, we can't all be as smart as me."
Connor snorted and gave her a smile. "Guess not."
"So…you going to the Valentine's dance tonight?"
"No."
"Oh, really? Why not? No date?"
"No well…yes." Connor sighed. "Yes, I don't have a date; no that's not why I'm going."
"Why aren't you going?"
Connor shrugged. "Not really my thing."
"Oh really?" Alyssa put her hand on his knee. She squeezed it and Connor looked at her in confusion. "And what is your thing?"
"…I don't understand."
"I hear a lot of rumors and I just want to know what your thing is."
"My- what?" Connor jerked his knee away from her hand. "Alyssa, what're you talking about?"
"Are you...you know…into girls?"
"Girls how?"
"Girls as in long hair, dresses, boobs." She reached out and touched his hair, but Connor jerked way.
"I'm uncomfortable here." He stood, but Alyssa stepped in front of him, effectively pinning him to the wall.
"Come on, Connor. I know you like me. We're both smart and focused. Plus, you're so quiet and polite, nothing like the other boys."
"Uh…thanks? I think?" Connor shook his head. "Look, you're a nice girl and everything but I… Uh…"
"Do you really want everyone saying those things about you?"
"What things?'
"Don't you know? Everyone in the 8th grade is saying you're gay."
Connor's stomach dropped to his feet. "Gay? I- I'm not-"
"Then kiss me and you can prove to everyone that you're straight."
"Uh…"
"You want people to stop calling you names, right?"
"…Sure?"
"Good. The hold still." Alyssa leaned in and kissed Connor, somehow still catching him by surprise. Frozen in shock, he just stood there and waited until it was over. Several students were watching them and he felt heat creeping up his cheeks. Eventually, she finally pulled away and smiled at him. "You're a good kisser. First time?"
"Uh-huh…" Connor's heart thudded against his ribs. His legs shook with the effort to stay standing. "I- I have to go…" Trying not to stumble, he grabbed his bag, Algebra notes still clutched in his hand and ran inside. Students weren't allowed inside before the first bell unless it was to use the bathroom. So he ran into the boys' bathroom and locked himself in a stall. He dropped his bag on the floor. The shaking in his legs caused him to drop next to it. Connor swallowed, very aware of how his heart was pounding in his chest. It felt like how he felt on patrol when he got outnumbered in a fight or a criminal ran off. Except there was no fight and no one too chase. Just him, alone in a bathroom stall on Valentine's Day, with the awkward taste of Alyssa's strawberry lip balm on his mouth. Connor frowned and rubbed the sleeve of his sweater against his lips. He sat back with so he could lean on the wall of the stall and closed his eyes.
Kissing Alyssa was nothing like he'd pictured it. Despite what he'd learned about not being intimate at Arsham, kissing had fascinated him. It seemed in the past year more and more of his classmates had started kissing. The boy's locker room before gym class usually had at least one conversation going about which girls the boys had kissed. While Connor had never understood the fascination the other boys had with girls, their stories had caught his imagination. Was it really as good as everyone claimed? Did it really make you that happy?
No, it wasn't and no, it didn't.
Connor shook a little as he kept rubbing his sweater against his mouth. Kissing Alyssa had been awkward and weird. And really uncomfortable. The thought almost brought tears to his eyes, so he bit the inside of lip hard to stop them. He thought about the butterfly feelings when he looked at the attractive boys in his classes. The way his mind wandered, wondering what it would be like to kiss them. How uncomfortable and upset he was right now after kissing Alyssa. Connor shook his head. 'No. I'm not- There's no just no way.'
The first bell rang, but Connor didn't move. Because he knew if he moved, then he'd have to go to Algebra. Where he'd have to sit next to Alyssa. 'And everyone will know we kissed,' he thought miserably, putting his head on his knees. 'Because somehow people just…always know these things.' One of the many mysteries of middle school. 'What if they can tell I didn't like it? Everyone already thinks I'm…if they already think it, then what will they say if they find out I didn't like it?' Memories of cruel, racist names being thrown at him surfaced. So did the feelings of anger and frustrations at how the words never, ever stopped until he made them stop. Until he punched the other kids until they stopped. Connor shook his head vehemently. 'I don't want to go through that again. I'd rather have everyone ignored me like at my old school than go through being bullied like that again.' Plus Roy definitely wouldn't keep him if Connor proved he had his father's temper and lack of self-control. The sound of the warning bell made him sigh.
'If I don't go to class, then they'll call Roy,' he reminded himself. 'And Roy won't let me patrol if I'm skipping class. Plus…he's already stressed out today. It's a hard enough day for him, I don't need to make it worse.' Connor took a deep breath, then slowly stood and picked up his bag. He left the bathroom and shuffled to Algebra. The last warning bell rang just as he entered the class. His seat, third row, fourth desk, felt like it was 100 feet away as he navigated his way through the other desks. A few people whispered as passed them, making his heart pound. When he sat down, Alyssa winked at him and Connor looked at his desk, smoothing out his notes as he did.
The girl who sat on the other side of Alyssa got her attention, then the two girls conversed for a few seconds. When they stopped, the second girl looked at Connor and made a kissy-face at him. Connor glanced away, but accidentally caught the eye of the boy who sat to his right. The boy smiled at him. Two of the boys sitting behind him gave him pats on the back. It seemed like half the class knew. 'Maybe it's not so bad,' Connor thought as he put his notes away in his backpack. 'If they think I liked it and leave me alone, then it's worth it. I don't want any more trouble. I don't need any more trouble. I just want to get through the 8th grade.'
— —
"Thanks for the warning," Mia said as she sat down at their usual lunch table.
"What'd you mean?" Connor asked as he opened his lunch and pulled out a few candy hearts, then shoved them into his mouth.
"I mean, I would've appreciated a little warning about you and Alyssa Mariano."
Connor suddenly became very interested in his heart-shaped sandwich. "There's nothing to tell."
"Oh really? Is that why everyone is saying you two were locking lips before the first bell?"
Heat crept up Connor's cheeks. "It's nothing, Mia. Can you drop it?"
"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Connor. Believe me, I'm the last person who'll judge you for making out. I'm just a little hurt you didn't bother telling me you liked her."
'But I don't like her! I didn't even like the kiss!' Part of Connor wanted to bang his head off the table. It was weird having people think he liked Alyssa when he didn't, but he also didn't want them to know he didn't like it. So he was stuck. "It's just…personal."
"Is this like…a Buddhist thing?"
"No- Well…maybe. I don't really know. Can you just drop it, please?"
"Alright. There's no need to be so jerky about it. I'm on your side."
For a moment, Connor almost considered telling Mia the truth. How he hated the kiss with Alyssa. How he wished he could've kissed the boy who sits in front of him in English instead. The really attractive one with blonde hair who was always playing basketball. He didn't though. A secret wasn't much of a secret if he started telling people. 'Besides,' he thought as he shoved more candy hearts into his mouth. 'Once I say it out loud it's…a thing. And I don't want it to be a thing. Not yet. Maybe not ever.' Connor unwrapped a lollipop. "How'd you think Roy's doing?"
"Good, I hope. I'm worried about him, Connor. He's been so…weird since Kaldur dumped him and now…it's like all that never happened."
"Its a show. I think he'd rather run around and pretend everything's fine."
"Other than the special dinner tonight, how much worse do you think it'll get?"
"No clue, but I think we should just take it in stride. On Valentine's day last year, he was out all night with Kaldur. All night. They went to dinner, wandered around the city, gave each other gifts, probably spent a lot of quality time in Roy's bedroom." At Mia's look, he shrugged. "Kaldur was still in Roy's bed the next morning. I just think we should take all the gifts in stride. Let him get it out of his system."
"Hm…. You got a point. Well, hopefully, Roy's in a better headache when we get home."
Connor nodded in agreement. "Hopefully."
— —
Jade tried not to roll her eyes as she watched Roy. Unfortunately, it wasn't easy because he kept insisting that there should be paper flowers on the table in addition to the real ones. "You know," she said casually as she followed another triangle into her paper. "When I thought about all the things I could learn from an archer and detective of your caliber…origami wasn't on the list."
"I'm a man of many talents," Roy smiled. "These paper flowers will be great on the table during dinner."
"Oh of course." This wasn't weird or over-the-top at all. It was perfectly normal, really. "You go to therapy this weekend, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"No reason. Just making sure."
Roy smiled as he looked at the small pile of paper flowers on the table. 'They're perfect,' he thought. 'They're amazing. It's so cheesy, but thoughtful. I love it, Kal-' As soon as the thought went through his mind, he swallowed. Without thinking, he knocked all the flowers onto the floor.
"Hey! What're you-" Jade stopped when Roy dropped to the floor and started tearing the flowers into small pieces. "Oh geez…" She sighed, then dropped to the ground in front of him. "Roy. Roy! Hey, hero!" without waiting for an answer, Jade put her hands on his. Roy froze, then slowly lifted his head. "What the hell going on?"
"I-" Roy didn't know what to say. Tears spilled over in his eyes and he let out a sob. "Kal… Last year… He- He made me a hundred of these flowers."
"Why would you make them then?!"
"I don't know!" Roy sat back and ran his hands through his hair. "I just don't know! I can't today, I just can't, Jade! He's gone. He's really gone and I- don't want him to be. I want him back! I want him to hold me and kiss me! I want to hear his voice! For him to laugh or make sarcastic comments under his breath when he thinks no one is listening! He was my best friend, Jade! I- I thought he'd always be by my side, but now he's gone! He's gone!" Roy wrapped his arms around his knees and buried his face as he sobbed. "Can-Can I tell you something?"
"Sure?"
"Sometimes- Sometimes I go through the messages on my phone. I re-read our old conversations. Over and over. Like he's still here."
Jade groaned. "Let me guess, you still have all the pictures of him on there too, right?" When Roy nodded she sighed. "Let me see your phone."
"What?"
"Phone, hero. Now."
Roy slowly handed the phone to her. "Why?"
"Because." Jade deleted the conversation Roy had with Kaldur, then moved on to his photos. "I know you still love, Kaldur'ahm. You have to move on though. Holding on to him like this isn't healthy."
"I don't want to…"
"Well, he's gone, so that's basically your only option."
"It hurts."
"It's called heartache for a reason, lover-boy." There were so many photos of Kaldur on Roy's phone, too many in Jade's opinion, but she deleted all of them. "I know it's hard but it's going to be ok. You'll wake up one day and he'll be nothing but a distant memory."
"I don't want that."
"Yes, you do. Because whether you like it or not, what you had with him is over. He dumped you, broke your heart, and caused a relapse in your mental illness. Even if you cross paths with him, I'm willing to bet you'll never get back what you two had before."
There was a long few seconds when Roy didn't say anything. Eventually, he swallowed and looked at Jade. "He was my best friend…"
"I'm not an expert, Roy, but I'm sure it'll hurt for a while. But you'll get over it. You got over what happened with Oliver Queen. If you can get over that, you can get over anything."
Roy snorted. "I don't know if I'm "over it". If anything my recent behavior suggests otherwise."
"I'd say that's all on Kaldur'ahm at this point. You were fine until that night." When she finished deleting all the photos, Jade pulled up Kaldur's contact, then held the phone out to Roy.
"…I really don't want to-"
"Doesn't matter. Look, you love the guy I get it. But he's not coming back, Roy. He doesn't love you. If he did, then he wouldn't have ended things the way he did. You're never getting back what you had. You've got responsibilities here. You need to take care of yourself to fulfill them, so it's time to move on."
Roy stared at the phone, then slowly nodded. He took a deep breath, then accepted the phone from Jade. 'She's right,' he thought. 'Kal's gone. He's not coming back and even if he did, there's no way I can trust him again. Not the way I did. Jade's right. If he loved me, he wouldn't have done what he did.' So, even though it hurt to think about, even though it still felt like someone had forcibly ripped his heart from his chest, Roy deleted Kaldur's contact. It left a hollow and sad feeling in his chest, but his brain was telling him it was necessary. The two of them sat in silence for a few seconds before Roy quietly said, "Thank you."
"It's nothing." Jade tried to move away, but Roy grabbed her hand. She froze, trying to ignore how her heart pounded in her chest at his calloused fingertips.
"You don't have to do any of this. And I wouldn't expect you to. You know…normally. So, seriously, thank you."
Jade swallowed and jerked her hand away. "I told you it's nothing. I'm just here until you've got all your traumatized ducks in a row. Then we'll be even. Got that, hero?"
"Got it."
"…I'm going for a walk." Without waiting for a reply, Jade grabbed a sweater as she walked out the door. She shoved her hands as deep into the pockets of the sweater as she could while she walked. The pounding in her heart and excited butterflies in her stomach made Jade grit her teeth. 'I'm really a piece of work,' she thought bitterly. 'If there's anyone on Earth who has the worst possible track record, it's me. Runaway from my responsibilities to my sister? Check. Become a dangerous assassin for a shadowy organization? Check. Have to get saved by a hero? Check. Fall in l-' That thought made her stop in her tracks, then scowled at no one in particular (though it still scared a few people around her), before she started walking again. 'Yeah, no way. No way in hell am I in love with a god-damn hero.' That would be insane. It would be idiotic.
'Roy and I are about as different as two people could be,' Jade thought, stepping around a dog. 'He's a hero, I'm not. In fact, I'm the farthest thing from a hero as you can get. I literally kill people for a living. Roy is right up there with the Bat in how serious he takes the "no killing" morality. Which is understandable.' And the fact that she understood, that part of her sympathized with what Roy had gone through, also made her angry. 'I'm a bad guy! I've fought Roy and his friends before! I've actively tried to hurt them! Why should I sympathize with him?' Other than the fact that Roy was a nice and surprisingly understanding person. He had a 'save the world' complex but in the best way. Not from any kind of hubris or desire for glory, like a goddamn normal person. No, it came from his own traumatized past and wanting to help others. Jade groaned.
'It's so infuriating! Why does he have to be so nice and compassionate?! And that way he looks at you! Like he's listening and understands you! Who does that? Why should he even care? Roy has more baggage and issues than any other person I've met. There's no reason someone like him should feel obligated to be so helpful to others. But he does!' And part of Jade was impressed by that! Impressed and attracted because Roy was unlike any other person she'd met. She'd never gotten to know someone who had a heart as good as Roy's. 'It's disgusting. I'm an assassin. A cold-hearted killer. I should leave. Just go back to my own normal life. Before all these…good feelings make me soft.' But she had to stay to make sure her debt to Roy was repaid. And…she liked Roy.
Definitely not in a romantic way, because there was no way she was in love with a hero. No way, definitely not. But he was fun to talk to. He was really passionate about books; surprisingly passionate actually. He was interesting and really smart. There didn't seem to be a topic he couldn't have an insightful conversation about. It was such a difference from the quiet and solitary life of an assassin. 'I bet Roy doesn't really think of me as a friend. Why would he? He's so moral. He despises killing. Why should someone like that be interested in having any kind of relationship with me?' Plus, Jade was going back to her life as an assassin. There was no way she'd be able to maintain any kind of relationship with Roy.
'Not to mention I just had to pull him off the floor after sobbing about his ex. I know I told him to get over it, but it'll be a while before he's over Aqualad.' Well…not Aqualad anymore, but still. 'God only knows how long it'll be before he's ready for something like that. I'll be long gone by then.' So there it was many good reasons why she shouldn't bother with any kind of relationship with Roy. They were from completely different worlds and stood on different sides of the morality line, Roy definitely wouldn't want a killer like her, and she'd be long gone before Roy was ready for another relationship. Several logical and perfectly valid reasons.
And yet Jade couldn't stop thinking about him. The glint in his blue eyes. How his smile had the smallest intricacies to it if you looked hard enough. The way he was so passionate about everything he did and there wasn't a single thing in his life that didn't matter to him. He was attractive and even as an assassin, Jade knew an attractive man when she saw one.
'Doesn't matter,' Jade thought as she pulled the hood of water up to obscure her face. 'There's no way Roy will ever care about me. Not really. I just need to learn to live with it.'
— —
Dinner went off without a hitch, and absolutely no signs of Roy's break down while they were at school. Neither Mia or Connor mentioned how over the top dinner was. They smiled and ate, telling Roy how much they were enjoying the continuous stream of sweets and surprises. No matter how much they thought it all was, seeing the smile on Roy's face when they told him how much they enjoyed it was worth putting up with everything. As usual, Roy turned to offer fro Jade to come to the Arrow Cave with them, but she was gone before he could even get the question out. So they went off without her.
"Hey, Roy," Mia said, smiling mischievously as she out arrows in her quiver. "Can we put like…tennis balls on some of these and play cupid tonight?"
"Absolutely not," Roy said without looking up from the computer.
"Oh come on, it'd be so much fun! What better way to drum up some good publicity for us?"
"You mean other than going around shooting random civilians with arrows that could potentially give them a black eye, or other bruises at the very least?"
"Well, when you say it like that…"
Roy smiled as he stood and stretched. "I was thinking this weekend we'll start working on you guys shooting together."
"We shoot together all the time," Connor said with a frown.
"I mean shooting in tandem. I have some ideas for trick arrows that will only work if you're nothing shooting at the same target at the exact same time."
"Sounds complicated."
"I'm still working out the mechanics, but we'll start tomorrow afternoon. Get dressed so we can keep the streets safe for all the happy couples out there."
Patrol was as normal as they could've expected it to be on Valentine's Day. There were plenty of thieves and muggers praying on couples out and about all over the city. Even though some of the civilians seemed as wary of the vigilantes as the criminals, the three archers did their best to be as un-menacing as possible. By the time the hectic patrol was over, Connor and Mia were exhausted, but there was still one more surprise waiting for them when they got home.
"Do you think he'll be like this next Valentine's Day?" Mia asked as she looked at the heart-shaped box of chocolates on her pillow.
"Mm'mm nnmmm," Connor answered, having already shoved two chocolates in his mouth. He quickly swallowed them. "I don't know."
"I hope not. I mean…everyone likes surprises, but this is a little much." There was a knock on their bedroom door and she leaned over the edge of the top bunk. "Come in!"
"You guys find your last presents?" Roy asked with a smile as he poked his head in.
"Yeah, Connor's already digging into his."
"Good! This is the last surprise of the day, so enjoy it."
"We will," Connor replied. "Thanks, Roy. Everything's been great."
"Yeah, thanks," Mia added. "It's…great." Great. Overwhelming. Causing jittery panic under her skin at the thought of how much Roy could ask from her in exchange for this day alone. Just fine.
"I'm glad you guys liked everything. Sleep tight."
As soon as the door shut, Mia jumped off her bed and went over to the window. She opened it and stuck her head out. "Perfect." The dumpster in the alley was open again, so she dropped the box of chocolates into it.
"Why did you do that?" Connor asked as Mia shut the window.
"Because I didn't want them."
"You could've thrown them away in here."
"Where Roy can see and get super bummed because I didn't want his gift? No thanks."
"Why didn't you want it?"
Mia shrugged as she climbed back onto the top bunk. "I just didn't Connor. He's given me enough. I don't need to owe him anything else."
"Owe him… Mia…you don't owe Roy anything. That's not what it's like here."
"Here… There… Its what it's like everywhere, Connor. I hate to burst your innocent little monk bubble, but people don't just do things to be nice." Not if you were her, anyway.
Connor shook his head. "Not with Roy. I know that's what it's been like for you in the past, but it's not like that here."
Without saying anything, Mia laid down and wrapped herself up in her blankets.
— —
After Connor and Mia went to bed, Roy sat in the living room with Jade. "Here," he said as he handed her a heart-shaped box. "For you."
"No thanks," Jade replied.
"You don't like chocolate?"
"I like it."
"So…" He shook the box a little. "Come on, it's good."
"I don't want it."
"Why not?"
Jade didn't look at him and stayed focused on the tv. "Because I don't have any chocolates for you and if I understand the concept of gifts correctly, its a two-way street."
"It doesn't always have to be. If you have to, think of it as a thank you for earlier. It's important to repay your debts, right?"
"…Right." Very slowly Jade took the box, then opened it. Without saying a word she took a chocolate, then placed the box on the empty cushion between them on the couch.
Roy smiled and took a chocolate for himself. "Happy Valentine's Day, Jade."
"Happy Valentine's Day, hero."