Aelita pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs, almost dramatically. "Sissi, you don't understand."
"No, Aelita. You don't understand. You're letting your feelings get the better of you. You know he's not the one who creates the league's schedule for the season. You know it's not his fault he has a match to play on Valentine's Day."
"But... why does it have to be today? Of all days, today. And he didn't even tell me about it until a few days ago."
"It's not like you'll never have another Valentine's Day with him," Sissi replies. "Besides, think of it this way: he's going to be exhausted from the match and will want nothing more than to eat a nice meal and then relax. That's a pretty easy evening for you to plan, isn't it? You can make something from home, have a nice romantic candlelit dinner, and then give him a relaxing massage."
"That... that doesn't sound too bad, actually," Aelita admits.
"So, stop sulking and go plan your evening with your man."
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the motivation, Sis."
"Anytime."
With that, Aelita heads off to do just that. She sits at the dining room table and browses the Internet for a good half an hour or so, trying to find an interesting recipe that she can cook for her fiancé. The game is really far away—in Bizanos, against Pau FC—and the team has to use the jet to travel. As such, this is one of the games that Aelita is unable to attend, simply due to the logistics of it all.
No matter, she thinks. All the more time to make things that much more special for him today.
And yet, try as she might, she can't figure out what she's going to cook tonight.
With a sigh of exasperation, she slams her laptop shut and stomps towards the kitchen. She opens the refrigerator and peers inside, taking stock of what usable ingredients she has available.
Suddenly, it hits her. I have all the ingredients to make my favorite recipe from when I was little! He's gonna love it for sure.
"Alright," she mutters to herself. "Let's get cooking." She goes back to the dining room to grab her laptop so she can stream the second half of the game while she prepares the ingredients a la mise en place, having already watched the first half on the television earlier. As she watches, she leisurely chops and slices her way through carrots, purple cabbage, green onions, and more. She puts the knife down and does a little jig when William scores his second goal of the match. She watches with rapt attention when his teammate Yohan takes a penalty kick. By the time the match is over, she's chopped up all her veggies and mixed together the bang bang sauce, which is currently chilling in the fridge. She mixes the veggies up to create a deliciously colorful slaw. The only thing left to do now is fry up the fish. But she'll wait for him to get back to do that.
She's watching a baking competition show on Netflix when her phone rings.
"Hey, Princess," William says, sounding tired. "I'm on my way back. We won the match, but we're pretty beat. Can't wait to get home."
"Perfect. I have a nice surprise waiting for you," she teases.
"Ooh, a surprise? What kind of surprise?"
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore."
"Fair enough. I'll see you soon."
"See you soon."
Aelita hangs up and smiles to herself. She's excited to see his reaction to her outfit later on. In the meantime, she lays down on the couch, resumes the television show, and allows her eyelids to droop closed.
The next thing she knows, William is gently shaking her awake.
"Lita, I'm home," he says softly.
"Mmm, welcome home," she replies sleepily.
"Did you fall asleep?"
"Maybe."
He smiles. "You're adorable."
"Shut up."
"Make me."
"Gladly." Aelita sits up and pulls him in for a kiss. "Happy Valentine's Day," she says.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Princess."
"So, I'm making us dinner."
He sits down beside her. "What are you making?"
"My favorite childhood dish, but altered to be a little less... childish. Tacos, but with fried fish filets instead of fish sticks."
William frowns. "Pfft. Shoulda just used fish sticks. I would've eaten those."
"William James Dunbar, did you forget this is my house? If you don't like my food or my methods, I will kick you out."
"Okay, okay. I'm kidding. I'm sure it'll be great."
"Damn right it will be." She stands up from the couch a little too quickly. She nearly falls over, but William grabs her hips and steadies her. She playfully pushes his hands off her a little too quickly. "Uh-uh, Mister. No touching the chef."
"Yes, ma'am," William replies, saluting.
"Now, just relax. You deserve it. Put on a funny YouTube video or something. I'll bring the food out."
"Yes, ma'am."
Aelita rolls her eyes and walks into the kitchen. She seasons and breads the fish, warms the tortillas she luckily has in the pantry, and brings all the dishes out to the dining room.
William sniffs dramatically from the living room. "Smells good, Princess."
"Thanks," she replies.
"Can I come in now?"
"Yes, Will. You can come in now."
William walks in, sits down, and digs into his plate.
"Holy shit," he says. "This is fucking delicious."
"I promise it tastes better with fish sticks."
They finish their dinner and spend the rest of the night cuddling and watching funny videos in bed.
"I'm so glad I have you," Aelita says, snuggling closer to William.
"I'm so glad I have you, too," he replies.
"I can't wait to marry you."
William presses a kiss to her forehead. "Ditto."
Suddenly, Aelita remembers something. "Go into the hallway really quick."
"Uh." William raises a brow inquisitively. "Why?"
"Mind your business. Maybe I need to loose a massive fart."
"As if you haven't let the nastiest ass air I've ever smelled out in front of me before."
"Just go, Will."
"Fine." William gets out of bed and walks into the hallway.
Aelita rummages through her underwear drawer and finds the perfect piece to wear. It's a see-through red lacy slip dress with a plunging neckline and a thong underneath.
She slips it on and does a little twirl in the mirror.
"Perfect," she says to herself.
She walks out into the hallway and clears her throat. "Come back in," she says.
When William enters the bedroom, his jaw drops. "Holy fuck," he says.
"Like what you see?" she asks, batting her eyelashes.
"Hell yes."
"Good. Because you have a bit of lost time to make up for, Mr. Dunbar."
"Is that so, Ms. Stones?"
"Yes. It is. So, show me just how much you missed me today."
William smirks. "Challenge accepted."
So William did.
Aelita and Sissi walk side-by-side towards the fine arts building, chatting about their Valentine's Day celebrations.
"So, how was your Valentine's Day, Sissi?" Aelita asks.
"It was amazing," Sissi replies. "Odd took me to a fancy restaurant in the city, and then we went dancing. We had a lot of fun."
"That sounds like a wonderful date," Aelita says.
"It was. What about you? How was your Valentine's Day?"
"It was good. William and I had a nice dinner at home, and then we spent the rest of the night cuddling and watching funny videos."
"That's sweet. But I bet that's not all you did."
"What do you mean?"
"I saw the line of hickeys on his neck."
"Oh." Aelita blushes. "Well, I guess you could say that."
"I knew it. Anyway, are you ready to find out these results?"
Aelita sighes. "Honestly, no, not really. I feel like I aced the audition but bombed the callback. I wouldn't be surprised if I get Ensemble."
"Don't be so negative, Aelita. I'm sure you did great."
"Thanks, Sissi. I hope you're right."
The two women walk into the fine arts building and head towards the bulletin board where the cast list is posted.
"I'm nervous," Aelita says.
"Me, too," Sissi replies.
"Okay. Let's do this."
They approach the bulletin board and scan the list.
"Oh my God," Aelita says, her voice barely above a whisper.
"What?" Sissi asks.
"I got a lead."
"WHAT?"
"I got a lead. I got Janet, and you... oh my God! You're the Drowsy Chaperone herself!"
"OH MY GOD!"
"I can't believe it!"
"Congratulations, Aelita! I'm so proud of you! Of us!"
Aelita and Sissi hug each other tightly.
Sissi squeals. "We're going to be the best Janet and Drowsy Chaperone that France has ever seen."
"Damn right we are!"