Hi...I realized after I posted chapter eight that I'd finished chapter nine yesterday...so here it is...I hope you enjoyed chapter eight and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Warnings: ...pretty much exactly what I said for the warning in chapter eight....
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and the original characters/spells/places....so, please do not steal them, thanks....:)
Enjoy!!!....hmm, maybe R&R? but ONLY if you want to...but please do, they make me happy and smile on the inside /grins/
Chapter Nine: Valentine's Day
Lily
"Gabe, do you know where Kit has been disappearing to lately?" Lily asked as she watched Kitsune try to sneak away from them on their way to Hogsmeade. She turned to glance at Gabe, lacing their fingers tightly.
"I dunno, but I imagine she's probably sneaking off to see some boy…" Gabe replied before he brought Lily's hand up to his lips. He kissed the back of it chastely, sending her an adoring smile.
"If that's the case, why won't she tell us about him?" Lily wondered to herself.
"Your guess is as good as mine…" Gabe replied as he tugged gently on Lily's arm. She sighed and started walking again, shivering against the cold February wind.
The couple walked through Hogsmeade, stopping in at a little tea shop that was infamous for Harry's disastrous date with Cho. Gabe shuttered at the amount of pink and fluff that made up the decorations.
"Lilly, do we really have to be here for our date?"
Lilly laughed and nodded. "Yes sir, we do have to be here for our first official date."
"But why…this place is so…frilly!"
Lilly laughed harder and led Gabe to a table. "One, because this is where my father (Harry) had his first date, and second…I know James has a date here too, and I want to know who it is he's having this date with."
"Oh…so we're here because you want to bud into your brother's life? Okay, cool with me…I suppose," Gabe grinned. Lilly slapped his arm and huffed. "Just joking doll, you know that."
"Yeah…OH! Shush, James is coming in!"
The two watched James open the door to the tea shop, a hand nearly the same size as his in his hand. James turned his head with a smile, holding the door open for his date. Kitsune blushed and walked through the door.
Lilly's jaw dropped as she stared at her best friend and her brother. Gabe gawked, confused. He and Kitsune were very close, he basically knew who she liked. He'd had no clue that she fancied James.
"Are you seeing this, Gabe?" Lily demanded in astonishment.
"Yeah…I am," Gabe replied as he forced himself to get over his shock.
"How come we didn't see this?"
"I imagine because we were too wrapped up in each other for the past two and a half months…" Gabe replied logically.
Lily nodded and directed her gaze to the menu that sat on the table. A witch came up to them and they placed their order.
Karin
"Silhouette…" Karin whispered.
"Hmm?" Silhouette hummed as she listened to Karin's heartbeat. A small smile played on her lips at the speed with which Karin's heart was going.
"I love you…"
Silhouette sat up and stared at Karin. "I love you too, babe…"
Karin blushed and leaned on her elbows, kissing Silhouette shyly. "I never said it, in all the time we've been together… I know it's true…"
Silhouette smiled and wrapped her arms around Karin. "I'm glad…you don't know how long I've waited to hear those words come out of your sweet little mouth…or how happy I am to finally hear them…"
Karin giggled and pulled Silhouette on top of her. They started kissing, their hands slowly exploring each other.
Silhouette pulled away, her face flushed and her breathing heavy. "Karin, promise me something…"
"What?" Karin panted, her eyes hooded.
"Never ever leave me, 'kay?"
Karin smiled and nodded. "Never…not even for death…"
James
"This place is…interesting…" Kitsune commented as she sat at the table James led her too.
"Yeah…" James chuckled. He looked around the tea shop nervously, his cheeks a light shade of scarlet. "I kind of wanted to come here because my father had his first date here…of course…from what I understood, that was kind of a disaster…."
Kitsune laughed and squeezed his hand. "Well, I hope our date isn't a disaster…"
"Me too," James replied happily. He glanced out the window and happened to catch sight of Ailbhe, Thor, Shardae, Jason, and Saya. His chest tightened slightly but he forced the feeling away.
Ailbhe was the type of person that preferred to ask someone rather than be asked out. Any person who every tried asking him out was turned down. That's why James didn't. He, instead, decided to wait for Ailbhe to ask him. Ailbhe took too long.
"James…why did you ask me out in the first place?" Kitsune asked suddenly. She noticed his gaze.
"I…because I like you…" James replied. He turned his gaze to her gaze. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason…but mostly because I know that you like Ailbhe…and have for a long time…" Kitsune murmured.
James blushed and hid behind the small menu he'd picked up. "I…well, yeah…but I like you too…"
"I know that," Kitsune laughed softly. She patted his hand comfortingly. "James, if it's any consolation…I like someone else too…but…well…that, at the current moment, is a hopelessly lost cause…"
James moved the menu, his gaze sympathetic and understanding at the same time. "…Gabe?"
Kitsune blushed. "Maybe…but you know…whatever…"
James smiled and shook his head. "If you insist."
"I do insist."
They both laughed and looked out the window in a comfortable silence.
Ron
Ron stared at the drawn curtains of his bed, his hands caressing the white rose that had been magically preserved for a little over four years. He didn't want to do anything more than wallow in self-pity. He was disgusted that that was all he wanted to do, too.
"I am so bloody screwed up!" He growled at himself.
Soft laughter caused Ron to sit upright and hide the rose before drawing the curtains open. He stared at Yoko. "What the hell are you doing here, you're supposed to be on a date with Ashton…"
"Right…I'll jump right on that date…when sodding Dumbledore rises from that pearly white tomb and tells me Kokako Ashton isn't a violent bastard who likes beating people younger and smaller and defenseless…"
Ron's eyes widened. "Oh…" Bloody TOLD you so!
"Yeah…" Yoko sighed and sat on his bed. "Well…I think I'm just going to read for a while…"
"Okay…I'm going to go back to what I was doing…"
Yoko grinned. "Have to ask…were you wanking and if you were, is that how you get off? Insulting yourself…"
Ron blushed and shook his head. "No!...does it look like I've had my hand down my pants and stuff?"
Yoko glanced down Ron's form with a slight blush. "Nope…but I just had to check…I mean, if you had been wanking I would've gone back down the common room…but I really don't want to put up with Kokako…"
Ron laughed. "I don't blame you…"
Yoko grinned and summoned his book. Ron blinked, closed his curtains, and smiled to himself. So, now you are single again…I knew you would be, I knew it, I knew it! (Dance party!) …Now I just have to muster up the courage to actually do something about this new found single-dom….
"Hey Ron, why does it smell like roses in here?" Yoko asked suddenly as he yanked the curtains to Ron's bed open.
Ron, who had pulled the rose out from its hiding spot and was toying with the white pedals, jumped and managed to hit his head on the headboard of his bed. Yoko stared at the white flower, a mixture of surprise and disbelief on his face.
"Ron…"
Ron stared up at his friend, a blush worthy of Gryffindor staining his cheeks, and swallowed thickly. "Y-yes, Yoko?"
"Can I ask where you acquired that rose from?"
Ron diverted his gaze to the flower in question, his heart pounded and he broke out in a cold sweat. "Umm…I…"
"May I see the rose, please?"
Ron nodded and handed the flower to his friend. Yoko took it and examined the petals and the stem meticulously. Ron watched Yoko, enjoying the curiosity play on Yoko's face. Yoko suddenly scowled, his gaze growing rather cold.
"This is the flower from Second Year…I had James send this to you…I thought that maybe the damn bird got confused, because you never got it or mentioned anything about getting a rose…I was really upset that you didn't seem to receive that thing! Why the in the bloody hell didn't you at least mention it to me!?" Yoko growled.
Ron flinched and looked at the floor. "I was afraid…" Ron began nervously. Yoko glared at him. "Don't give me that look…I know it was stupid of me to be afraid…I…bloody hell!"
"Do you have any sodding clue as to how painful it was for me to just be around you all the blood time!? Bad enough that I fucking live with you during the school year, but then I move in with you because my parents are rat bastards! Damn you, Ron, you and your blood fear!" Yoko cried as tears swelled in his eyes.
Ron's eyes widened and he moved to the edge of the bed. He pulled Yoko into a firm embrace. "I'm sorry," he whispered against Yoko's temple.
"You're a dick," Yoko grumbled against Ron's shoulder. He blinked and some of the tears fell to soak into Ron's dark blue shirt.
"I know…I'm so very sorry, Yoko…" Ron mumbled before he grabbed his courage by the balls and kissed Yoko's temple.
Yoko shivered and pulled away from Ron with a glare. "What the bloody hell!?"
Ron smiled sheepishly and pulled Yoko's face up to his. Yoko whimpered, his eyes fluttered close, and let Ron kiss him.