Work Text:
Shopping Trip
‘Do you have the list?’ Rhea called out as she gathered up the multitude canvas bags she’d collected in her attempts to be more environmentally friendly when buying for over two dozen individuals on a weekly basis.
‘Of course, here.’ Rico came over waiving the list in front of her face as evidence of his usefulness. He stepped back at her glare however, as she snatched the ratty paper off him and stuffed he bags into his arms.
‘Here, take the bags, what good is shopping with a vampire if he doesn’t do all the lifting?’ She exclaimed, smirking at him as he juggled the myriad of bags and followed her out of the hotel suite.
The sun had just set in the distance, and they piled into Rico’s car, Rhea was never sure what it was, but it was small and black and noisy, and she always struggled to fit the groceries in, but she never picked anyone else to go shopping with. She loved spending time with him one on one, they weren’t a couple, but she had feelings for him, ones she hadn’t fully explored, and alone time was always a good way to explore them.
Walmart was only a twenty minute drive, they made small talk about the court, Rhea talking about her new responsibilities, a bit of gossip about Cassie and Pritkin, Rico was sure he was about to propose, Rhea scoffed that Pritkin wasn’t the type.
The talk of their coupled up friends fell heavy over them. They’d not talked about it, but the spark was always there, casual touches left Rhea breathless and Rico frozen up, even while he flirted at her in company. They breathed a sigh of relief as the supermarket loomed ahead of them, Rheas busied herself with a final check of the list before they parked up.
They had a routine now, Rico would grab a cart, while Rhea would head to the fruit and vegetables and start checking her list. Today however the entrance was full of valentine’s cards, balloons, flowers, chocolates and monstrous stuffed bears. Rhea froze staring at the pink, red and black hell before her, heart shaped signs over the stands printed with the date and bargain prices made her squirm, she had forgot the date. It was February, the day in question was tomorrow and while it was never a holiday she’d thought of before, it suddenly felt maddeningly important. Rico rounded the corner and froze staring at her and the mountain of tacky love tokens. Rhea turned as if to move away, a flush of red creeping up her cheeks, equal parts embarrassment and shame at wanting such things for herself. She caught Rico looking over, their eyes catching each other, full of words unsaid, duty and responsibilities getting in their way over months.
‘It’s so tacky isn’t it?’ She said to try and lift the mood.
‘Yeah, it’s a silly holiday, if you love someone who needs a date to tell them?’ He said, it had been an attempt to lighten the mood, but had pressed heavier on them than either had expected. They completed the shopping in record time, practically running through the store to complete the job.
An awkward journey home was followed by Rhea dragging Fred in to help empty the bags while she made herself scarce, escaping to her room before she cried. She paced the room for five minutes, breathing herd to try and stem the feelings, she couldn’t be angry, they’d never talked about the possibility of being together. She knew he had feelings for her, but had never pushed her to talk about it.
Ten minutes later she was back in the kitchen cooking dinner for 20 hungry kids distracting herself from her heart. The night passed like any other, Rico was always nearby, but the flirting was gone. She thought that Valentine’s Day may have destroyed their potential completely.
Rhea woke in the morning, the sky was overcast and threatening rain, something Vegas got so little she was actually excited that it might remind her a little of London. She washed and dressed quickly, ready to make breakfast, she nearly stepped on the gift bag by her door she’d been so distracted, a card peeked out of the red bag, her named scrawled across it in a messy hand.
She returned to her room and sat on the bed to read the card, it was red and black, covered in hearts with Be My Valentine in red embossed lettering on the front, the words inside professing love, but they weren’t important, the hand written part was:
Rhea
We haven’t talked about this really, but I like you, a lot. Please be my Valentine.
Love always
Rico
He’d bought her a small stuffed bear, holding a pink heart with valentine written on it and a box of candy, Lindt chocolate, which was her favourite, and covered it all in tissue paper. She teared up, holding the bear to her as her tears fell softly, she hadn’t ruined anything.
He was where he always was on a morning, helping with the cooking; he was surprisingly good for a vampire but this morning she didn’t want what she’d always had, another mundane morning, she wanted more. She walked towards him, handed the spatula to Fred who was leaning on the counter and walked him into the lobby, one of the few quiet areas the suite had.
He started to speak, maybe make some excuse for the gifts, maybe apologise, but she never gave him a chance, she reached up to him, taking his face between her hands and kissed him, his initial shock wore off quickly as he picked her up and kissed her back, making her shake with desire.
‘Wow’ she breathed as he finally let her up for air.
‘Happy Valentine’s day Rhea.’ He whispered in her ear.
‘Happy Valentine’s Day to you too.’ She said before reaching for him for another kiss.