Valentine's Day

"Now you're sure you two don't need anything?" Fairy Godmother asked she paused halfway between the couch and the door. She'd stopped in to check on Jane and Carlos on their movie night. She was letting them use one of the dorm hall lounges for their date since, while she did trust them, mostly, she still didn't think being alone in one of their rooms was appropriate.

"We're fine, Mom," Jane told her as she and Carlos looked at her over the couch. They'd been leaning up against each other, when Fairy Godmother walked in carrying some extra snacks for them. She laughed as she saw that despite it being Valentine's Day, they were watching horror movies.

"Now can we please have some privacy?" Jane added as she realized that her mother was stalling.

"Oh, alright," Fairy Godmother relented. "But don't stay up too late. I expect you both back in your own rooms by twelve-thirty."

Jane nodded.

"Yes ma'am," Carlos replied.

Such a sweet boy, Fairy Godmother thought. She spent so much time dreading the idea of her daughter dating, but she was happy to see that Jane had found such a likable young man. And she had to admit to herself that the two of them looked adorable together. Like the pair of lovebirds that they make movies about.

"Okay, enjoy your night, and please…don't…uh…please behave," she said.

"Mom," Jane whined at what was a very awkward instruction since she knew what her mother meant by "behave".

"I'm sorry, I'm a mom, I can't help myself," Fairy Godmother answered quickly and uncomfortably with a raising of her hands. Jane shot her mother a look. "I'm going, I'm going," she finished as she hastily left the room. A second later however, she peeked around the door frame. "Please behave. That is all. Goodnight. Have fun. Again that is all," she said so quickly Carlos and Jane almost didn't make it out.

"That got awkward fast," Carlos said.

"Imagine how awkward it would've gotten if she'd walked in a few seconds earlier and caught us making out," Jane told him.

"Yeah," Carlos let out slowly.

He and Jane had started out watching movies, but little stolen pecks here and there as Jane jumped into him during the scary parts of the movies had turned into a full blown make out session quickly. Eventually the movie played on, unwatched, as they laid across the couch. They didn't know how long they'd been kissing when all of a sudden Jane lifted herself off of him, sniffing the air.

"It's a good thing you smelled her cookies from down the hall," Carlos said thankfully.

"Mom bakes those things with just enough nutmeg to make them stand out so that I know that smell anywhere," she admitted as she recalled the scent of the cookies sending her into a flurry of motion, almost shouting at Carlos to sit up because her Mom was coming. They'd managed to get themselves composed enough – Carlos sitting against the arm of the couch and Jane tucked into him, making sure to grab his arms and place them around her waist – that Fairy Godmother didn't sense anything amiss as she brought in the baked sweets. "But…now that she's gone," Jane said in a flirty voice as she sat on Carlos's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling playfully at him, "where were we?"

She leaned in and began kissing him, ignoring the movie they'd paused when Fairy Godmother walked in. As they continued to enjoy the moment, Carlos thought back to something he'd overhead Liz say about Jane – it's always the quiet ones.

"You know when you said that you were bringing me to the Enchanted Lake again, I assumed you planned another picnic like our first date," Mal smiled.

"I thought about it, but figured I should try and do something a little bit different," he said, his glowing smile making Mal feel all loopy inside.

Like he arranged, the exterior of the stone perch they were sitting on was lined with bright white luminaries that provided a soft, gentle glow for their dinner. The table had two small candles illuminating their immediate area. But the part that took Mal's breath away were blue and purple water lanterns floating on the lake water.

"The lanterns are nice," she told him as she looked again at the dancing colors they created on the water's surface as they floated.

"They were Mom's idea actually," Ben revealed as he took a bite of the food they were eating. "She wanted to make sure you enjoyed tonight."

Mal looked off to the lanterns again and smiled. She liked knowing that Belle had helped. It told Mal that Belle was accepting of the relationship between herself and her son. Truth be told, as close as she'd gotten with Fairy Godmother, Mal was also making an attempt to get close to Belle. Fairy Godmother kept reminding her that if she continued to see Ben, that it was important for Ben's parents to like her, especially Belle since Ben was a little closer to her than his father. Mal nearly let out a giggle when she remembered asking what it would mean if Beast didn't like her and Fairy Godmother answered with, "Don't worry about that, he's gruff and acerbic with everybody, even if he likes them."

Mal had to look up the meaning of the second word and thought it described him well.

"You look beautiful tonight," Ben said, breaking Mal out of her reverie.

"Thank you – for the third time you've said that," she grinned.

"I know, but, as much I like how you normally dress –"

"You mean tight leather and denim?" she interrupted him with a small, knowing smirk.

Ben smiled like someone who'd been caught trying to be facetious and nodded. "As much fun as that look is, I like seeing you like this – softer, more…"

"Feminine?"

He gave her a small nod. Mal leaned onto the table, Ben doing the same to keep his gaze on her. She looked at him over the candle, their eyes meeting.

"It's not a look I usually go for because, well…I always feel like it isn't really me. But, I really do like the way you look at me when I wear a dress."

"Well, it helps when you're the most beautiful girl in the world," he complimented, forcing Mal to blush harder than she'd ever blushed before. Suddenly, as she felt the heat on her cheeks staying longer than she was used to she had a single thought, one that she'd tried to hold back from letting creep into her mind. But as their relationship kept going, kept growing, and kept evolving, the thought kept popping up every time Ben did or said something like he'd just done.

I hope he marries me.

The night was clear with not a cloud in the sky. The temperature was a little on the chilly side, but not enough that it meant that the convertible that Jay and Audrey had arrived in needed its top up. The two of them were laying on the grass, enjoying the music of the concert that was taking place in the park that Audrey had brought them to. There were near the back of the crowd, just far enough to still hear the music, but affording themselves enough privacy to feel like it was just the two of them.

"Never would've picked you as a free concert in the park kind of girl," Jay told her as they laid on the blanket, Audrey snuggled up to Jay, her head on his chest. Jay had a momentary feeling of déjà vu as he remembered a dream he had a while back of the two of them laying just like this.

"Well it helps that I have this really hot boyfriend who showed me that you don't need to go all out and spend a lot of money to show a girl a good time – or boy as the case may be," she said as she listened to his heart beating through his clothes.

"Except for the car," he pointed out. He heard Audrey let out a mock gasp and felt her lightly slap his chest.

"I will have you know I borrowed that from Grammy," she retorted. "And besides, it let me wear this totally cute outfit," she smiled. Jay grinned as he remembered looking at her when she picked him up. She was wearing a 1950s inspired pink halter sundress with matching white heels. Her hair had been done a side swept look with a carefully placed flower in it to give her that extra feminine classic look. Combined with what he now knew was her grandmother's 1955 Bel Air, and she looked like she'd stepped out of some vintage car ad.

"And you look great by the way, Foxy."

"Thank you, baby," she said leaning up and giving him a kiss on the lips.

"So what are we doing after the concert?" Jay asked, feeling a little out of step with Audrey having already planned the way the date was going to go, something he was used to doing. For all her efforts to change, some things never would, and Audrey was definitely the type of girl to feel like if her boyfriend was taking her out, then he was the one who was supposed to plan the evening out. Sure, she might let Jay know that maybe she was hoping to do or see something particular, but it was still up to him to make it happen. But for tonight, she had decided that she wanted to be in charge.

"There's a picnic basket in the trunk," Audrey finally answered. "I figured that we could find some place nice and private, and have dinner and then see what happens." Jay looked down at her and just remained silent. "What?" she asked, starting to feel nervous.

"I'm thinking that maybe I should just let you plan out the dates from now on."

"This is a one night deal," she corrected him with a sweet smile. "After all, deep down, I really am an old-fashioned kind of girl."

"Not that old-fashioned," Jay smirked as moved some hair behind her ear, and leaned down to kiss her. As the music of the band played on, the two of them began losing themselves in each other and forgot that anyone else was around.

"I don't like being blindfolded," Evie whined as she walked slowly, letting Doug lead her.

"I know you don't, but I don't want you ruining the surprise," he told her as he gently pulled her in the direction he wanted.

He'd picked her up at her dorm room a little over forty-five minutes ago, and almost fainted on the spot. He'd asked Evie to wear something a little more on the formal side, but what she decided on forced him to remember how to breathe. Her dress was a dark blue, almost black, satin, A-line sleeveless gown. The top had a V-neckline which was a little more revealing a look than Evie went for. In fact, as the dress reached to the floor his eyes were then drawn to the slit that went almost up to her waist, letting Evie show off one leg, and made his wish he could see the other, he realized the entire dress was a far more mature – sexier was the word that came to mind – look for his girlfriend, but she pulled it off flawlessly. She'd straightened her hair, parting it on the right and letting it fall to her shoulders with soft curls at the ends to complete the look.

Evie smiled softly as she saw Doug look at her with the most loving and awestruck stare. She giggled when he finally caught his breath and was able to speak.

"You look gorgeous."

"Thank you," she said appreciatively. "You don't look to bad yourself," she complimented him as she straightened his bowtie. "So, are we going?" she asked him after a few seconds when he didn't move.

Doug shook his head, shaking off the daze that Evie had put him in. "Going…yeah. We're going," he stammered as he held out his arm. "You are going to love this surprise," he promised as they started walking off.

Now he was finishing leading her to where he needed her. "Are we there?" she asked when they stopped moving.

"Uh-huh," Doug sounded as he moved behind her and began untying the blindfold. "Okay, take a look," he told her as he whisked off the blindfold.

Evie let her eyes open and adjust, and then felt them widen. In front of her was the most amazing sight she had ever seen. They were in a castle's garden. Doug had spread strings of white lights all along the walls making it look like stars were covering them. In the center of the garden was a white gauze canopy over a matching white table and two chairs. There was a trio of floating candles resting on top of a silver tray with rose petals scattered around them in the center of the table. A smaller serving table with covered trays was positioned next to it.

"Oh, my…Doug…oh, my God! It's so beautiful," she gasped as she turned and kissed him.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Evie," he wished her as their lips separated.

Evie nodded, holding back the urge to tear up, not wanting to ruin her makeup. "Where are we?" she asked as she began looking around again.

"Snow's castle," he answered her. "Well…the one she uses when she's here in Auradon," he clarified

"A castle? You brought me to a castle?"

"Well you are a princess," Doug told her as he gently grabbed her waist and pulled her to face him. She draped her arms over his shoulders and looked into his soft green eyes.

"I'm not a real princess," she said glumly, though still smiling.

Doug leaned down and gave her a small kiss. "You're my princess," he said matter-of-factly, like he was simply repeating a known piece of knowledge.

How did I get this lucky, Evie thought as pressed her lips back to his. After a few seconds, they broke apart and Evie looked back into eyes. Doug saw her lips quiver and her brow furrow just slightly like it did every time she was debating what to say next and wanted to pick her words carefully.

"Evie?"

Evie leaned and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "I…I love you," she said softly.

Oh my god, did I just say that, she thought once the words left her lips. On his end, Doug was slightly caught off guard by what he'd just heard. He looked back at her in stunned silence, the seconds ticking by making Evie feel nervous that maybe shouldn't have said anything even though she hadn't really thought about what she said. It was more instinct and gut reaction to what he'd said to her. But then Doug leaned down and gave her a quick kiss.

"I love you, too."

Evie felt her heart start to beat like a drum at a fast pace and her stomach suddenly felt like a million butterflies were inside it. She also felt like she was floating and she half expected to leave the ground and see fireworks going off in the sky. She practically leapt into him and kissed him hard, Doug returning the kiss with equal fervor. This time she didn't let this kiss be broken as quickly as the others and soon the two of them had momentarily forgotten that they still had a dinner to enjoy.

Carlos and Jane were still making out. They'd taken a few small breaks to rest their lips, have a few snacks, actually watch a bit of some of the movies they brought, and most importantly, get a chance to breathe. But as they always ended up, they eventually went back to kissing each other. Right now, they were laying on the couch, Jane on top of Carlos. They'd lost track of time of how long this session had lasted when the moment was broken by the sound of an alarm beeping.

"Is that your phone?" Jane asked as she lifted herself slightly off her boyfriend.

"Uh…yeah…its 12:01," Carlos answered her.

"Twelve-oh…Mom gave us until twelve-thirty," Jane told him confused, and a little annoyed.

"I know, but…I have a surprise for you," he said, as he started to sit up, gently moving Jane off of him.

Jane took a seat on the couch and watched as Carlos got down on his hands and knees on the floor. She looked over and saw that one of his arms was reaching under the couch. What the…, she thought. "Got it," she heard him utter after a second or two. Carlos then lifted himself off the floor and sat back down on the couch, a medium-sized rectangular box in his hands. "This is for you," he said handing the box over.

Jane looked at the box quizzically. "But I thought we said we weren't going to give each other Valentine's Day gifts," she said holding up the gift.

"We weren't, and I didn't," Carlos told her. Jane held up the box as proof that he was mistaken. "It's after midnight," he informed her, a cocky grin on his face. "It's not Valentine's Day anymore." Jane immediately softened her expression as the realization that he was right. It was now past Valentine's Day, so technically, this wasn't a Valentine's Day gift. "And something tells me you're probably the only girl getting a gift on February fifteenth."

Jane looked at Carlos, not knowing what to say. She then looked at the box, and…

"You're so sweet," she gushed as she began opening the box. When she finally got it open, she saw that it was a small photo album.

"I know it's kind of old school, but Liz thought actual printed pictures were better than digital ones," Carlos told her as Jane opened it, anxious to see what pictures he was talking about.

The first picture she saw was one of her and Carlos the night of the coronation. It was taken after the attack by Maleficent, when everyone was partying and dancing. She was in her blue ruffle dress and he was in his black and white leather jacket. Upon closer inspection she could see that as they were standing next to each other, their hands were grazing, almost like they were trying to hold hands even that night. The next picture was of the two of them at the hospital after Carlos had gotten hurt. He was laying back on the hospital bed, his leg propped up and Jane was next to the bed, holding a cup of water to him so he could drink from the straw. Jane looked at him, wondering how he got this one.

"Liz took it," he informed her.

The next few were taken during little moments. A picture from Ben's party over the summer, a couple from the double date she and Carlos had with Mal and Ben after the whole backyard pool incident. The two of them in their Halloween costumes, one with Mal and Ben in their costumes. There were pictures from their early Thanksgiving, and lots from Christmas and New Year's.

"Oh my God, I love it," she gasped as she leaned over and gave him a tight hug and a kiss. "But now I feel bad that I didn't get you anything."

"I don't need anything," he told her.

He's so sweet, she thought this time. I am so getting him something, she further mused, though with a little disappointment as she saw that looking over her gift had cost them nearly the entire last half hour and she knew her mother would be checking up on them.