#1366 - Valentine's Day Meme

[macho_tomboy]

VALENTINE'S DAY MEME

Comments

[drosyrenfys]

So... RNG hates me and Dorothy at the moment. I keep rolling 4 and then 9, and then 4 again. Would you like to roll instead? Maybe you'll have better luck, because... Dorothy doesn't do angst very well. :X

Got a a 3! flavors I'll leave up to you if you're into that kind of thing.

[au_avenger]

[Dorothy, do you have any idea how hard it was visit you at home in time for this ridiculous holiday? He had to rent a room at a tiny inn the next town over and slay over his usual recipes - she liked the little bit of white chocolate cranberry cake she'd allowed herself to try, so having hauled his ingredients here, he went into overdrive. Zucutto cupcakes that are dark chocolate with rich mousse filling and mint and vanilla frosting line the tiny kitchen. There's also chocolate almond coconut cups, just a dozen, their perfectly spherical shapes making him somewhat proud.

The problem comes when he, a rich man from New York, shows up at her house balancing three boxes of extremely expensive chocolate at her doorstep. It's a small town and everyone gaps at him.

The fact he knocks on her door holding these does not help matters.

I just read over the effects for the flavours and laughed. Zucutto cupcakes=insa"I LOVE YOU MY BFF".

[drosyrenfys]

To be perfectly honest, she has no idea whatsoever how hard that could be. It was difficult enough to put together the money for a train trip to New York. She could only imagine how hard it might be to get to hers for a specific date, and then come to her small town sticking out like a sore thumb

Flavors are optional. I'll let you pick if we go for them - I don't want to strong arm the RP

[au_avenger]

Howard straightens up and looks him in the eye, aware acutely of two things. One, thing was not as good of an idea now as it had been at four in the morning when he was baking. Two, Howard should really have seen this coming. But the sight of Dorothy rips all tension out of his body and he smiles widely at her, looking accomplished.

"Well, you popped by uninvited once. Figured I'd return the favor. And I know you like most of my cooking - God only knows why - so I brought you something as sort of a thank you. For brightening up my life. And since there's only one place in NYC to get rainbow roses this time of year, I figured I'd hop to it before they were gone."

He delicately sets everything down, except the flowers, which he hold out to her. "I don't do big batches, but they were literally the last left. I hope they're okay, Dory."

I don't want to force anything, but that made me laugh so hard. It's probably not even that funny.

[drosyrenfys]

"Oh, goodness," she breathes, looking from the boxes he sets aside and then to the flowers. This is quite elaborate, she thinks, but then again, this is Howard. He doesn't do things half-way, and this is hardly an exception.

There's surprise on her face at the roses she takes into her arms. Dorothy hadn't told Howard of her adventures over the rainbow, or how lovely she thought the symbol was, or even how much color in general brought a smile to her face. Well, perhaps he could have guessed that last part, or maybe he just thought these roses would be perfect for her. Oh, but it doesn't matter. The gesture has her heart fluttering in her chest.

She looks from the flora to Howard, holding the stems in her hands she gathers him in her arms, careful not to crush either of them. He brought all of these things to her, and it makes her so much more than happy. She feels spoiled, and Dorothy has never felt anything close to spoiled in her life

Inability to vocalize love = buying things, for him.

[au_avenger]

"I know they're gaudy, but... they're vibrant, and they're beautiful. Just like you. Before you life was starting to bleed into one day after another. It was like you woke me up. So I thought all the colors reality could offer would be a good start." He gently rescues the flowers from being squished in her embrace, smiling at her radiance. How could someone so simple make life seem so much brighter?

"I had to do this because... you helped wake up me from a point in life where everything seemed to be blending together and getting darker. And you didn't even know me. You're an angel. I, um, don't know how bad winters are here in Kansas, but I got you something from down in Queens. I thought you might like something bright to keep you warm."

How is there no such thing as "too cute"?

[drosyrenfys]

It rarely snows where she lives, and while the temperatures do drop below freezing, the farm still cares for their animals and prepares to plant crops once the temperature warms above thirty-five degrees at its coldest. Such is the reason Dorothy has only a couple sweaters layered on. She can't answer his question like that, though

I love their gentle, gradual awkward shipping. Awww.

[au_avenger]

"Dory, please don't cry. I just wanted to make you as happy as you made me when you came to visit. All... all I want is to see you smile. When you're not around life becomes a dull blur." He wraps his arms tighter around her, letting her sob into his shoulder, and murmurs softly in her ear, "All you have to repay me with is a smile and being my friend. That's enough for me, Dory." He presses a kiss to the side of her forehead, content to be wrapped up in her presence. "You're my miracle. Not the other way around."

They're so fluffy everywhere. I adore them.

[drosyrenfys]

Oh, if only he knew dull the way she does. A lack of color fills the fields and the house, and Howard and his world of magic and warmth brought more of that to her. When they'd met he expanded her horizons. When she visited, he showed her the color and bright lights of the city. Now that he's here, it's as if he's bleeding color into her world.

She lets out a laugh into his shoulder, turning her cheek to press against the damp splotch on his coat. "Howard, you have made me the happiest girl in Kansas just by being here." She tucks a hand into her pocket to remove her handkerchief, wiping it over her cheek with a wide, yet watery grin. "I may fall in love with you, if you aren't careful."

It's so nice to write romance without the sex, if you don't mind me being too candid.

[au_avenger]

He knows a dullness very few other ever know, a dullness of constantly being on guard and seeing every luxurious building as a battlefield full of liars he has to dodge. He knows what it's like to shut himself down and work because work is safe and no one can hurt him that way. He knows what it's like to let the colors of the world fade into meaninglessness, because there was no one there to share it with even if he had wanted to.

Howard wraps his arms around her more supportively, and before he can filter it, the words, "I don't think I would mind that too terribly, Dory."

He wouldn't. It would nice to be not so painfully alone for a change. In the most populated city on Earth, he often felt as if he were invisible and meaningless, only good for inventing and making stock holders happy. It was a terrible thing, to know his only value lay in being used.

Except with her.

I completely understand. There's a huge difference in cr buildup. This is a lot less forced, imo.

[drosyrenfys]

He knows what it's like to be lonely in a world of people, which Dorothy finds so sad. He's told her how alone he's been, how tired and careful he is in his daily life. Howard is afraid of getting hurt again, and she knows this well

I love that there's build up here. Everything is more meaningful. (And cute.)

[au_avenger]

"You act like I've bought you the moon, Dory," he says, blushing and fcusing on the white boxes. "These are Zucutto cupcakes. They're dark chocolate with chocolate mousse filling and mint and vanilla frosting. There's also chocolate almond coconut cups. And I made some candied almonds." Oh cooking Gods, be kind to this frail soul. He knows not what he's doing.

He smiles at her, ducking his head a little, unaware he was even able to be bashful. It's weird, how she brings out all these feelings in him he'd forgotten he could even feel.

"If they're terrible, I can be gone by sundown."

Well, there's definitely a lot of cute with these two.

[drosyrenfys]

He might as well have bought her the moon. He's only bought her two gifts, made her several more, and brought himself to her. It's a big deal to a girl who's used to getting an occasional gift for Christmas and her birthday. She grins excitedly and sets the flowers in her lap.

"Oh, even if they aren't good, please, don't go," she tells him happily. "I'm sure they'll be just fine. Will you open one?"

She sets a hand over the bench beside her to offer him a seat. If she's going to be tasting it, and they sound all so lovely and rich, he should taste them as well.

[au_avenger]

"Sure," he says, even though his brain tells him 'this will not go well' and 'you're being creepy'. He gingerly opens the box of cupcakes and holds one out to her, feeling more nervous than when he made his first speech on physics at college.

[drosyrenfys]

She takes the small cake, looking it over thoughtfully. It looks good, and she's more than excited to try it. First thing's first, though, she drags her finger through the frosting for a taste, giggling softly because that is good. With a small bite, she already knows it's rich, but it's good, and she's more than pleased. "Have you tasted any of them yet?"

[au_avenger]

Good lord, she was cute. No wonder her uncle was worried. Dorothy would be drowned in suitors in anywhere else, even the next town over. How do people this oblivious exist? He's envious in a way; he was never this pleased with simple things. Every time he had a moment like that his father would stumble in drunk or one of the neighbors would be making a ruckus...

"No, I didn't. I was a little scared of overthinking things if I started that."