A/N: Ah, it's incredibly late! I'm sorry! But I've had this idea in my head since January and it's been sitting in there developing so, hopefully, it will be good. Also, just something I was pondering the other day when I was watching some season one episodes. Number one, nowhere in the first (or second, for that matter) does it say that Summer's mom left her. It says her parents divorced. Number two, it never says she has a bad relationship with her father either. In fact, in episode 1.25 The Shower, we're told she has an excellent relationship with her father, even going as far as to say he's her best friend. In episode 1.22 The L.A., she talks about how her mother started blowing her off because she was having an affair. I think that both of her parents are still in her life at this point. But, I think that because they don't really have an active role in the show, like, say, Kirsten, Sandy, Julie, and Jimmy (I miss him!) do, they also don't have an active role in our stories. So in turn, we've invented this story so that neither of them are really involved. Sorry, that was just a long, rambling thought I've been thinking about for a while.

Happy Valentine's Day

Seth was sitting on his bed, reading a comic book when Noelle wandered into his room. Originally, they were going to stay in a hotel but Kirsten said that was silly when they had a perfectly good guestroom right here. So Sam and James took the bed while Noelle and J.J. slept on the air mattress.

"What'cha doing?" she asked, standing with her hands clasped behind her back and peering at the comic in his hands.

"I'm reading a comic book. What are you doing?"

"Standing here, talking to you," she told him smartly.

"Isn't it a little late for you to be up?" he asked.

The little girl shrugged. "Mommy hasn't come and got me yet."

"I see," Seth said as he made room for the girl to sit on his bed.

"Guess what tomorrow is," she said as she climbed up next to him.

"What?"

"Guess." Seth knew this was a five-year-old's favorite game so he played along.

"Valentine's Day."

"Right!" she said. "I have a Valentine."

"Yeah? Who is it?" Seth asked.

"His name is Steven. He lives back home though so I cant see him."

"How do you know he's your Valentine?"

"Because," she said. "I just know."

"Oh, I get it," he said, remembering what it was like he was five. Not to say that he had a Valentine then. Or ever.

"Is Summer your Valentine?" she asked him.

Seth was a little taken aback. Now, even his five-year-old cousin was on to them? "That's kind of a complicated question," he said.

"Why? I like her. She's really nice. And she's really pretty."

"She is very pretty," Seth agreed. "I'm not so sure about nice, though."

"Is she your girlfriend?" Noelle asked, looking up at him.

"No," Seth told her.

"Do you like her?"

"Yes, very much so."

"So why isn't she your girlfriend?" Seth decided that little kids ask way too many questions.

"Because she's scared," he said, not realizing that this answer would provoke more questions.

"Scared of what?" Noelle asked, genuinely confused.

Seth sighed and tried to think of the best way to put this. "She's scared that I might really love her."

"Oh," Noelle said, looking away. "I think she likes you."

"She might," Seth said, smiling to himself.

"Are you going to have babies?"

"Whoa, what's with all the questions tonight, Noelle?" he asked.

"I'm a curious child," she told him and he had a feeling she had heard that somewhere else.

"Yes you are."

"Seth?" Kirsten said as she came into his room, saving him from a conversation he did not want to have. "Oh, there you are, Noelle. We've been looking for you."

"I've been here the whole time," she told Kirsten, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, it's time for bed," she said, holding her hand out to the little girl.

"I was talking to Seth," Noelle informed her as she hopped off the bed.

"What about?" Kirsten asked, as Noelle placed her hand in hers.

"Summer," she said and Seth groaned inwardly as they started to head out of the bedroom. "He told me that he likes her. A lot."

"Really?" Kirsten said, turning and raising her eyebrows at Seth.

"As a friend!" Seth yelled in a weak defense as they disappeared into the hallway.

Apparently little kids don't just ask a lot of questions. They have really big mouths too.

-

The first thing Summer noticed when she woke up was the smell. The scent of roses was everywhere. It was so strong she wondered if she was waking up in a florist. She forced her eyes open and the next thing she saw was the color. Red. It was everywhere. She rubbed her eyes, making sure to get rid of every bit of sleep that might be clouding her vision. She sat up and looked around taking in everything.

First, her bed was covered in rose petals. They were scattered across the entire surface of her bed, including her. She pulled a petal from her hair and watch as if fluttered down to lay with the rest of them. Her eyes traveled around the room, noting more rose petals. There were some on her desk, dresser, and nightstand, though those were a little sparser.

She found a single rose sitting on her nightstand next to her cell phone. Coincidentally, her phone started ringing at that moment. She checked the caller ID and flipped it open, not able to control the smile tugging at her lips.

"You are so cheesy," she said in lieu of greeting.

"Really?" he answered. "I was going more for sweet and romantic. And maybe a little cheesy."

"I can't believe you did this. Where did you get all of the petals?" she asked him.

"I'm cool like that," he said. "So you're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad?" she asked, genuinely confused.

"I don't know," Seth said, and she could picture him shrugging on the other end. "It's just…kind of a big gesture when we're not technically…you know…" he trailed off.

"I love it," she told him reassuringly.

"Good," he said. "Because it took a hell of a long time to do."

"Still going for the romantic approach?"

"Not so much."

"I can tell. So," she said. "I get this big, romantic Valentine's Day wake-up but you're not here. What's up with that?"

"I was wondering when you were going to ask that," he said. "Open your bedroom door."

Summer peeled back the covers, her smile growing bigger, as she flung open her door. "Okay, what the hell?" She looked at the empty space in her doorway and heard Seth laughing on the other end.

"I totally got you," he said and she could still hear him laughing.

"Not funny," she said.

"Check your front door," he told her.

She bounced down the stairs, still not completely convinced that he would be there. She flung open the door and her suspicions were confirmed. "You know what? This is retarded. Seth Cohen, where the hell are you?"

Seth was laughing again and Summer was getting annoyed.

"Seriously Seth, where are you?"

"I'm at home," he said.

"Are you kidding me?" she asked, planting a hand on her hip.

"No," he said. "Why don't you go upstairs and get changed because I think my mom would be a little suspicious if you came over in your underwear, and then meet me here."

"Fine," Summer huffed, snapping her phone shut and dragging herself up the stairs. Halfway up, she stopped and glanced down at herself. She had a pair of striped boyshorts and gray t-shirt. How did Seth know she was in her underwear?

Before she got seriously creeped out, she convinced herself that he just knew what she slept in. Because he did. And anyway, he said he was at home, right? So she made her way up the rest of the stairs and back down the hall to her bedroom.

She opened the door to see Seth sitting on her bed, another rose in his hand. "I tricked you," he said as she broke into a smile.

She tackled him, falling backward on the bed and landing on top of him. "You're such a jerk!" she said, sitting up on his lap.

"I try."

"I can't believe you did all of this. It's like…wow."

"So you like it?" he asked again.

"Yes! Cohen, I told you. I love it. No one's ever done anything like this for me before. It's like totally cool. And just…" She didn't finish her sentence as her eyes continued to move around the room.

Seth leaned up and kissed her. "So does this mean you'll be my Valentine?"

She giggled and kissed him back. "Of course."

They fell back on the bed together, kissing. "So, I think we should spend the whole day here," Seth was telling her as his lips trailed down her neck. "Because, this is the one-year anniversary of the day that we really got it right. This. What we're doing now."

Summer giggled for what felt like the fiftieth time that day. "You mean like we did yesterday?" she asked, referring to their marathon session.

"No, yesterday was different," he explained. "Yesterday we were celebrating the loss of our virginities. Today, we're celebrating good sex. And a little bit of Valentine's Day."

"I see," Summer said as he rolled them over so he was on top. "This is a lot of sex."

"We'll only do it once," he promised her as his hand traveled up her rib cage.

And, of course, how could she say no?

-

"Summer!" Noelle said, flinging herself into Summer's knees and wrapping her arms around her legs.

"Hey!" Summer said, leaning down and picking her up.

"What? I don't get a hello hug?" Seth said, as they made their way into the kitchen.

"I haven't seen Summer since yesterday," she told him. "I saw you this morning."

Summer set the girl down, smiling at Seth over her head.

"You guys were gone forever," she said, accenting this statement by planting a hand on her hip. "Where were you?"

"Well, silly me, I thought we were only going to do it once," Summer said bluntly.

Seth immediately clapped a hand over her mouth. "What she means is, we were…uh…eating breakfast," Seth said, saying the fastest thing he could think of. "And we ate it twice. Ow!" Seth pulled his hand away from Summer's mouth. "So now you bite?"

"I wouldn't have bit you if you didn't have your hand over my mouth."

"I wouldn't have had my hand over your mouth if you weren't saying inappropriate things in front of virgin ears."

"What's virgin ears?" Noelle asked.

"Hey, Seth. When did you get back?" His Aunt Sam walked into the kitchen and headed for the cupboard. "Oh, hi Summer," she said once she saw her.

"Hi," Summer said.

"Mommy, can we go swimming now?" Noelle asked.

"I think you have to ask your Aunt Kirsten," Sam told the child.

Noelle crossed her arms over her chest and stomped her foot. "But I want to go now."

"We'll watch her," Summer said.

"You will?"

"Of course. Come on, Noelle," Summer said, sticking out her hand, which the child eagerly accepted.

"Thanks so much," Sam said, as they made their way out to the pool.

"No problem," Seth said, following them out. "Hey Noelle, what's with the cowboy boots?" Seth looked at Noelle, who was currently dressed in a blue bathing suit with a frilly little skirt around the waist and a pair of white cowboy boots.

"Gosh, Seth. Don't you know anything?" she said and Summer turned around to smile at him.

"Yeah, Seth. Don't you know anything?" Summer repeated.

"Apparently not," he said as Summer took a seat on one of the lounge chairs and watched Noelle as she took her boots off and stepped delicately into the water.

"Are you coming?" Noelle asked, looking at Seth.

"I'll go change," he said. Then, turning to Summer, "I'll be right back."

"Okay."

Seth disappeared into the house and emerged a few minutes later in his swim trunks and a t-shirt. "I found a bathing suit top of yours but I don't think I have the bottoms," he said, speaking to Summer.

"Hmm," she said as he took off his shirt and dropped it on the end of her chair. "Wonder how that happened."

Seth smiled at her and walked over to the pool. "It might come in handy if you want to tan or whatever."

"I think I'll go put it on," she said, standing up. "Where is it?"

"It's in the bottom drawer, along with the rest of your crap that you're always leaving here."

"Gee, thanks," she said sarcastically as she went into the house.

Kirsten entered the kitchen and saw Summer. "Hey, sweetie. When did you get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago," Summer said, stopping to chat with her.

"Where's Seth?" Kirsten asked.

"He's out by the pool with Noelle," she said.

"Are you leaving already?"

"No, I was just going to change my top," she explained.

"Oh."

Just then, Sam came back into the kitchen. "Kirsten, what time are we leaving tomorrow?"

"Our flight leaves at eight."

"Wait, your flight?" Summer asked, confused.

"Yeah, didn't Seth tell you?" Kirsten asked, turning back to Summer.

"Tell me what?"

"We're going to Ohio for the weekend," Kirsten told her.

"Ohio? Why?" Summer didn't know who in their right minds would vacation in Ohio.

"One of Sandy's cousins is getting married. We're only going for a few days."

"Oh. Well, that sounds like fun. I guess." Summer also didn't know who in their right mind would get married in February. Especially in Ohio because it's, like, cold and snowy there.

"You should come," Kirsten said.

"Really?" Summer asked.

"Yeah," Kirsten said, going to the coffeemaker. "I don't know if Sam and I will be able to make it through the entire weekend with all those boys. It would be nice to have another woman around."

"Sure," Summer accepted. "I'll just talk to my dad."

Summer stepped into the hallway, pulling out her cell phone and forgetting about her bathing suit top altogether. She called her father who said he would be fine with it, once she reassured him that the Cohen's and some of their extended family would be joining her on the trip and it would not be just her and Seth. She then headed back out to the pool to find Seth tossing Noelle into the air and watching as she fell, splashing back into the pool. Instead of commenting on how dangerous that game was (he had played it with her many times and she often ended up with water up her nose), she stood by the edge of the pool with her arms crossed over her chest, tapping her foot.

"Cohen, out. Now," she demanded and he immediately obeyed because he knew her well enough to know that this was her warning tone.

"Yes?" he said, standing in front of her, dripping wet.

She smacked him in the chest, causing him to stumble backward a little. "Ow," he said, rubbing the spot where her hand had made contact.

"When, exactly, were you going to tell me that you were leaving for Ohio?"

"Um, today?" he said nervously.

"Wrong answer."

"I just forgot," he said, shrugging.

"Well, I'm going with you," she told him.

"What?"

"Your mother invited me and I accepted," she said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go pack." Seth looked at her, confused. "Pull up your shorts," she said randomly, reaching out and tugging them up on his hips. Then, she turned to go.

"Bye?" he said, trying to make a connection between her joining them on their trip and pulling up his swim trunks.

"Happy Valentine's Day," she said, blowing him a kiss as she left and he couldn't tell whether it was sarcastic or not.

"Happy Valentine's Day."