“Happy Valentine’s Day, baby.”

Elle grinned as she felt Warner wrap his arms around her from behind, the bouquet of roses he’d gotten her brushing her face. She turned around to face him and smiled.

“Hi. So, where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

He led her to his car and they drove to a restaurant at the end of town, where they sat at a table with candles and flowers and soft violin music playing in the background. It was the perfect night, the perfect Valentine’s Day, and Elle thought that nothing could be better than this.

“Listen, Elle, I just wanted to say that you mean so much to me, and I’m glad we’re here together.”

“Me too. Warner, I love you.”

She watched his face twist as he forced a smile, trying to figure out the right way to react to her proclamation.

“Oh, Elle, I…” When he saw her face fall, he softened, “I love you too.”

They finished their dinner and smiled and laughed, but both of them knew that he hadn’t meant it.

XXX

Elle sat on the couch in her dorm room, popcorn on the table and her pillows propped up, prepared to enjoy hour after hour of Lifetime movies, when there was a knock at her door. The prospect of walking to the door seeming pointless, she opted for yelling.

“Come in!”

Emmett appeared in the doorway, walking in and shutting the door behind him.

“Hey.”

“Oh, hey!”

“You’re certainly…peppy today.”

“More than normal?”

“No, not really. You just seem…different. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine, I’m fine.”

Emmett gave her a look, going past the façade she was trying to put on as he moved to sit beside her on the couch.

“Fine. I’m not okay. I hate this day.”

“Valentine’s Day? Why? Of all people, you seem like the person who would-“

“Love it, right? It’s so romantic and cute and pink, and I hate it!”

“Why?” he asked, looking confused.

She sighed. “When I was in college, Warner took me out for Valentine’s day…”

She went through the whole night, finishing with his half-hearted ‘I love you’ lie, and at this point Emmett couldn’t tell if she was going to scream or cry with the mixed emotions in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “I can’t…fix that, but…I did come here for a reason.”

She looked up at him quizzically, her expression shifting to a confused one.

“I can’t give you dozens of roses or candlelit dinners or promise you a future full of everything you’ve ever wanted. I’m not Warner, and I never will be. But…I love you, Elle, and that’s all I can give you.”

She looked shocked, her eyes widening, and he looked down. “Look, I shouldn’t have come over here and said that, especially on Valentine’s Day- how cheesy is that?- and I think I’m just going to go home and you can forget that I ever-“

He was cut off, abruptly, by Elle’s lips on his, her hands winding around his neck. When they broke apart, she smiled at him, his eyes still looking shocked.

“I love you, too, Emmett. And that’s all I need. I don’t need expensive presents or nice dinners. I just need you. You and me, that’s all we have, and that’s all we need.”

He smiled back at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“So. Do you still hate Valentine’s Day?”

She leaned into him, smiling into his familiar corduroy jacket.

“Not so much…”

A/N: Well, that was random. And fluffy, even for me. Wow. But Valentine’s Day kind of calls for that, even though I’m a little late in posting. Any thoughts?