a/n: We all need a little romance in Valentine's Day, even on a frantic workday.

All the good things belong to Monolith Soft, but I built the Sakuraba Auxiliary Skell Refueling Station by myself, as well as a girlfriend for Vandham.

Vandham (6 roses)

He couldn't spot her in the refueling station, which was just as busy as she'd warned him it would be. Every bay was full, and it seemed she had a full staff running the joint, but no Lila Brown was visible. He nodded to several customers, tried not to trip over a Ma-non with a hammer, and pretended it was normal to be carrying a bouquet of bright pink roses. Lila hadn't answered the knock on her office door, either. Vandham was growing frustrated. He had less than 10 minutes before his next meeting, and if he didn't spot her now, he probably wouldn't see her until Saturday. The roses would be wilted by then, and he'd have to sit through a presentation on Things Curators Desperately Need for nothing

He snagged the elbow of the assistant manager as the dude flew past, almost flipping him onto the ground. Gino snarled at him, then stuttered to an angry grumble. "What the … oh, man, get lost. We busy today!"

"Where's Lila?"

"Cleaning skell innards. Customer with a weak stomach and a tendency to freak out during spore events. Ug-lee." He gestured toward the third and closest repair bay.

Vandham walked over and looked up. Several hoses were snaking into the cockpit of the skell, hissing and whooshing in unison, and he could see someone squirming around behind the misted glass. He reached up and banged on the side. "Lila!"

He was glad to hear her muffled response. "Hang on a tick. I'll be right out." In a moment, a flushed face popped out of the side window. It took her a moment to realize who had wanted her attention, but as soon as she did, her smile more than distracted him from the dirty bandanna around her hair and the smears on her face.

The smile only lasted a second, and was replaced by her professional expression, friendly but completely unexceptional. "Commander. What a surprise. What can we do for you?"

He'd hidden the flowers behind his back. A juvenile move, maybe, but he couldn't help himself. "Come on down for a sec. I got something for you."

"But I thought we agreed …" she started, then shook her head. "I'll be right down." He watched with appreciation as she squirmed out of the side window, twisting and stretching to slip free of the pilot's capsule, and then slid rapidly down the front of the skell.

"BLADE doesn't approve of that way of exiting skells."

"I didn't want to pop the hatch and risk flooding the area with the mess I'm trying to clean up. Might splash on your boots, sir."

"Skell sickness isn't pretty."

"That it is not, sir. What did you bring me?"

When he pulled the flowers from behind his back, he knew he'd done good. Her dark eyes lit up like a summer night full of fireflies, and the blush on her cheeks matched that of the flowers. "Oh, Jack," she breathed. She reached for the bouquet, but instead of taking the flowers, she held his hand in both of hers. Her eyes were on his. "They're beautiful. Pink roses! Oh, Jack, thank you." Her fingers stroked his wrist.

He couldn't repress the shiver that went up his arm, and had to cough suddenly. "I figured you'd like them, even if we're too busy to do much else today."

"I love them." She paused, then accepted the flowers and pulled them close to her chest. She didn't say anything more.

"Glad you like them."

The smile disappeared from her face. "I didn't get you anything."

"That's okay. I wanted to get you something."

She tilted her head for a moment. "Come over here." She led him right up to the stepladder next to the repair bay's fuel selection panel. She climbed one, two steps, then reached into one of the pockets of her work overalls, pulling out a safety pin. She leaned towards him. "Hold still." He was content to do as told. Even with the added scent of fuel, degreaser and other more unspeakable substances, she still smelled like books and coffee and warmth. She fumbled around the area where his human heart had once been located. "There."

Son of a gun. She'd pinned the smallest blossom to the strap of his tank top. He gave her a wry smile. "I look like a someone on his way to prom. I take it you're expecting me to wear this all day."

"Yes, please. Wear this too." Then she planted a solid and lingering kiss on him.

a/n: SMOOOOOOOOOOOCH.

Next up: Lila.