Valentine's Special~ With all the ships!

#1: Lance and Gladice (pre-COD)

Gladice stared at the long box in her hands, wrapped in bright pink paper with a purple bow. Raising an eyebrow, she looked back up at Lance, his golden curls bouncing around his face. "You do know that my birthday's not till next week, right?" she asked, sarcasm lacing her tone. Lance just shrugged.

"I figured I'd give this one to you early." He smiled eagerly. "Go on, Gliss, open it." Gladice stuck her tongue out at him, tearing through the paper most ungracefully.

"Don't call me Gliss," she demanded. It was the nickname he'd had for her since as long as she could remember. That was what he called her at first, because he couldn't properly pronounce her name. And, at the time, she had hated the name.

But it didn't seem that bad, anymore. "Whatever you say~" Lance sang, sinking down next to Gladice on her bed. Once all of the wrapping had been sufficiently removed, she opened the box and gave Lance a confused expression. Inside was a shiny new fencing sword.

"Er...I love it?" She didn't fence, but she supposed she could take it up. Still, she was disappointed; she had thought Lance knew her better than that.

"And this is why I needed to give it to you early. 'Cause I'm also going to give you one free fencing lesson." He grinned smugly at her. "No need to thank me twice." Gladice blushed and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I love-" she caught herself and cleared her throat "-that you would do this for me." A smile formed on her lips, as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Of course! Your sweet sixteen only happens once, you know." Gladice punched him in the arm.

"It's still a week away, feather brain," she teased, poking his head.

Lance chuckled. "Alright, alright. So, when do you wanna start?" The girl sighed.

"Now's good, I suppose." Standing, she reached a hand out and smiled, keeping her embarrassing secret crush to herself. "So let's go."

#2: Evan and Rosette (post-COD)

It was a nice summer evening in the tropical kingdom of Maldonia, the warm lights of the castle barely illuminating the small village around it. Rosette leaned out over her balcony, breathing in the salty air of the ocean surrounding the island. The silence was relaxing, and even after five years of living there, the princess was still getting used to the constant warmth. And she still couldn't imagine having to rule it one day. "Il innamorato?" a voice called to her from the doorway. She swiveled around, relieved to see her husband standing in the doorframe.

"Yes, les époux?" she responded, as she fiddled with her frizzing hair. Evan chuckled, moving forward and petting the locks down with his broad hands.

"I've managed to put Paolo to sleep, but Rico is asking for his mom," he sighed, kissing Rose's forehead.

Rosette pouted. "Aw, but I was looking forward to going to sleep early tonight. Can't your mother send him to sleep, just this once?" When Evan shook his head, Rosette took a deep breath and rubbed her cheek. "Alright, I will go tuck him in, but you are coming with me." With a smile, he intwined their fingers and pulled Rosette down the long corridor and into their older son's room. The four-year-old was seated in his bed, the covers pulled up to his nose. "Rico," she called, and the little boy yanked the covers down, revealing his bright hazel eyes.

"Mama!" he replied joyfully, his eyes following her movements, while she scooted next to him and stretched her legs out on his bed. Rico hugged her arm, and she smiled warmly at him.

"What do you need, dear? Why won't you let Papa tuck you in?" she asked, stroking his wavy hair. The little boy gazed into her eyes hopefully.

"Sing, Mama." Rosette hesitated, glancing up at Evan, then back at Rico.

"A-Are you sure you don't want Papa to sing to you? He is much better than me," she attempted, but her son was shaking his head. She exhaled sharply, and thought of the tune in her head. Her favorite lullaby... "Dodo, l'enfant do, l'enfant dormira bien vite. Dodo, l'enfant do l'enfant dormira bientôt~" The song continued for a few verses, but she quit singing once Rico had fallen asleep. "Goodnight, baby," she whispered, planting a kiss on his head, as she gently laid him down under his covers. Rosette quietly moved to the doorway, noting that Evan had slipped away during her lullaby. Shutting off the lights, she made her way back to her room, placing her hands on her hips. "You'd better have a good reason for leaving me th-" Evan cut her off with a kiss, his hands wrapping around her waist. When they pulled apart, she stared at him in awe. "What was that?"

He grinned, nuzzling into her neck. "I love you," he breathed, pressing his lips against her jaw. "And happy anniversary."

#3: Lance and Brook (pre-COD)

His purple eyes darted from Brook's stepfather, to her mother, to the stairs, then back to her stepfather. Mr. Smith kept staring at him with a stone cold glare, obviously taking note of everything wrong with the boy whom would be taking his daughter out that night. Brook's mom seemed calmer, though, a light smile across her face. As he lifted his eyes back up to the stairs with a gulp, his breath hitched. There was Brook, wearing an elegant lavender dress, her brown hair braided over her shoulder. It was only there to shield some of her paler skin, but Lance didn't really care. She was beautiful. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, he extended his elbow, which she gladly took.

"Well, I'll see you guys later," Brook proclaimed, waving to her parents as she tugged Lance over to the door. "Bye, mom! Bye, dad!"

"Bye, sweetie!" her mother replied, shortly before Brook closed the door and sighed. She raised an eyebrow up at Lance.

"What happened after I left? You could've cut the tension with a knife, it was so thick." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Nothing happened..." answered Lance nervously, shrugging. "I don't think your stepdad likes me very much, though."

Brook giggled, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. "Oh, he doesn't like anyone who comes courting me, so don't worry," she assured him sweetly, attaching herself to his arm. "Maybe he'll come around, if we have a good first date."

Lance smiled smugly. "Well, then, prepare to be amazed, because I've got the perfect date planned." The brunette's eyes lit up.

"Perfect?" she repeated hopefully. Lance winked at her.

"Perfect."

#4: Rei and Gen (high school AU)

"I cannot BELIEVE you!" Genevieve was seething with so much rage that Rei could practically see the smoke coming from her ears. Iso stood across from her with a scowl on his face. "Why would you even TRY to date her?! You're dating me, and she's got a boyfriend, anyways!" Rolling his eyes, Iso crossed his arms.

"Whatever, babe, it's not like I really like Aspasia, anyways. I just can't believe she went to you and blew everything out of proportion." He took a step forward. Gen took a step back. With a huff, he ran a hand through his hair. "Come on, we're tight, you and me. We just need to work this out." When he reached out to touch her arm, she slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me," she commanded. Rei tried not to be happy about this, but he had never seen her be so assertive, and it was kind of refreshing. Plus, he had never liked Isokrates, and he especially didn't like that Gen had put all of her effort into that stupid relationship just to have it fall apart. Still, a small part of him couldn't help but be relieved that his friend would be free of the scumbag. A grumble came from Iso's throat, just as his hand shot out and grabbed Gen's wrist. She yelped, and Rei was quick to shove him away from her.

Iso glared at them. "Is this because of him?!" He pointed a finger at Rei. "You just want to get on to your next toy, you-"

"What are you talking about?" Genevieve asked, a bewildered expression on her face. "This is about YOU trying to cheat on ME. We're over, jerk!" Throwing his hands up in the air, Iso turned his back to them.

"Fine!" They watched him storm off out of the park, until his shadow had disappeared through the metallic gate. The night wind felt cold on his face, but Rei was more concerned with Genevieve. She kept staring at the gate for a long while after Iso had left, then slow, steady tears began dripping from her eyes. Breaking down into a sobbing mess, she moved to sit on the bench closest to them, burying her face in her hands. Rei followed closely behind and sat next to her, rubbing her back. Once her crying had died down, he asked, "Are you okay?"

Gen shook her head. "I was so stupid... Why did I date him for so long?" Pursing his lips, Rei stayed silent, until Gen just shook her head. "Whatever, it's over now." That was true, it was over, but Gen was a wreck. And the two of them had sworn a long time ago that they would always cheer each other up. So, he knew what he had to do, what he needed to do, and what he'd been needing to do for a while.

"Hey, look at me for a sec." Arching an eyebrow, Genevieve turned her head to face his. They were only inches apart, he just needed to...

"Rei? Wha-" The sound of her voice gave him that one little push, and he closed the gap. Although he felt guilty when he could taste the saltiness of her tears, he could feel a hand touch his cheek, and as far as he could tell, Gen wasn't fighting it. Eventually, they broke apart, staring at each other with dumbstruck expressions. Rei finally broke the silence and whispered, "You're my best friend." And both of them realized it almost instantaneously. They were in love.

Soooo? Did you like it? Did you not? Let me know by following, favoriting, and reviewing! And happy late Valentine's day!

~Icee~