WHO: Rhys Nott & Juliet Dearborn
WHAT: Rhys has a present for Juliet lolol.
WHEN: February 16th
WHERE: Hogsmeade
RATING: PG-13 for Juliet's dirty mouth!

Even though Valentine's Day had never exactly been one of Rhys' favorite holidays in the year, this year it was definitely his favorite. And not just because he was going to see his disgruntled, less-than-real-even-though-she-really-is girlfriend in a few minutes, while she had no clue he was in Hogsmeade. Oh no no. Though that did help him put up with the cold. It was because of what he was giving her on this blessed day. And honestly, Rhys had never been so proud of himself concerning a gift ever; it was perfect. Juliet would absolutely hate it, of course, but that was the point. It would drive her up the wall, and really, what better way to say 'we're-still-dating' than something like this that would last for years and constantly remind her of him while she was whisked away at school?

Rhys moved slightly in his spot, and he shifted the box for Juliet from one arm to another. The contents inside slid a bit, but he knew it would be fine. It was cold outside, and it didn't help that he was standing on the edge of the street where Juliet would be able to see him plainly. But it was worth it; oh, well worth it.

After a few more minutes of waiting, and watching various Hogwarts students walk by, Rhys finally spotted her in the crowd. There was no doubt that she had see him, and he smiled at her, not moving from his spot just yet.

What the hell was he doing here?

Seriously. What. The. Hell.

Juliet stopped dead in her tracks as she caught sight of the familiar head of dark hair off to the side of the village road, her eyes only widening for a split second of shock before narrowing dangerously to glare. Bloody fucking---just when she'd thought that he was going to leave her alone, just when they were in that blissful state of not talking to each other, he had to show up at Hogsmeade. On Valentine's Day (don't think she'd missed that). This was so---well, so Rhys and she could have smacked herself now for not expecting it, but---god dammit. A number of nasty hexes ran through her head all at once, only the sight of a hitwizard standing within her proximity coaxed her hand to unclench from around her wand in her pocket.

After several long moments of staring lividly at him, Juliet finally forced her feet to move, sending her stalking angrily over to him. "You had better have a reason for being here that isn't pissing me off or I'm going to take out the ninja star Vance gave me and put it to proper use."

Even Juliet's death glare couldn't possible make Rhys falter. Yet, anyway. Maybe perhaps if they saw each other again in oh, say--- a month. But right now, nothing she could do or say would actually make him feel anything but upbeat.

"I've missed you too," he answered with a smirk spread wide across his face. Rhys shifted the box again, propping it on his right arm this time. Hell, he had not remembered it being this heavy before. Either way, it was only a matter of seconds before he gave it to her anyway. "Of course I have a reason," Rhys answered sweetly, completely ignoring Juliet's tone. "Do you think I would come to visit you for no apparent reason whatsoever when I know how invested your are with your school work this year?"

Without waiting another second, Rhys pushed the medium-sized box into Juliet's arms, hearing the thing inside scratch and slide with the shifting of weight. He thought about giving her a kiss on the cheek for a second, but then decided against it; couldn't get too carried away just yet. "Happy Valentine's day," he piped, retreating his hands to stick them into the pockets of his cloak.

Juliet had resisted asking what was in the box, but it was easy to see that she was horribly confused by whatever it was. It was moving, scratching... it almost felt like it was alive. Call it master intuition, but she could tell right now that this thing wasn't something that was going to please her very much. Rather, it seemed like something that was going to downright piss her off if it was--

--"What the bloody fuck--"

It was indeed an animal, but it looked more like a ball of white fur with a face lost inside. Through the open lid of the box the thing peered up at her with big, beady eyes, all innocent and obnoxiously cute and downright disgusting. Juliet looked back up at Rhys, deadpanned. "You've got to be kidding me, Nott."

It was hard not to start laughing at Juliet's face. Honestly, Rhys tried extremely hard to pull his face back tight and make it look like he was generally interested in her taking the lid off of the box. In all actuality, he didn't care if she caught onto his amusement with the whole thing, because this was just perfect. After all, Coride had suggested it. How wrong could he go there? She had even squealed to the suggestion, which really had sealed the deal for Rhys.

"I am not kidding you," he answered in a sweet tone, looking down at the thing. Yes, it was repulsive, but other people would love it; he had previously tested it on Will just to make sure. Rhys reached his hand into the box to to pet the furry rodent, only that only resulted in the chinchilla squishing itself further into the corner of the box. Whatever. "His name is Nibbles," he stated in a brisk tone, watching it closely.

"I expect you treat it as you would with our children," Rhys stated plainly, pulling his hand out of the box and moving his attention to Juliet again. He looked at her expectantly with a blank look, as if saying something like this was actually normal.

"Nibbles?" Juliet repeated, unable to keep the disbelief out of her voice, try as she might. He was--holy fuck, she hated him so much. He was completely--this was--stupid sodding bastard. "Nibbles?" If she were an inch less shocked at the whole of this situation, she'd go and smack the amused look off his face (but then again, a slap seemed to be the cue for 'snog me', so maybe not), but as it were, Juliet was completely stunned by the absolute stupidity and gall that it had to take to be him right now, that--

--"Our children?" Okay, had she heard him right there? Was he really enough of an idiot to say--oh wait, this was Rhys. Of course he was. He was always full of idiocy, and within the last few minutes it seemed to be coming in hoards. "We don't have children, Nott, we are not dating, and you do not get to show up to Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day to give me your sick idea of a gift just to get your kicks, so--" Juliet shoved the box back at his chest "--take your repulsive bastard child and run off and find someone else to pester."

"Yes, Nibbles," Rhys answered back quickly, nodding slightly. Ah, yes. Her face was priceless. The thought that perhaps he was taking this a bit too far floated around over his conscious, but Rhys quickly swatted that away. He was attempting to make a point, wasn't he? More than attempting, actually doing. So yes, Juliet was just going to have to suck it up because he was not getting stuck with Nibbles for any longer.

"How you would treat them, obviously we don't have children now," Rhys supplemented quickly, his eyes rolling up for a second before focusing them back down on Juliet. Luckily enough he had looked down when he had, or else Rhys would have dropped poor Nibbles onto the ground. He cocked an eyebrow at Juliet as she shoved it back into his arms and began to talk. "You are aware that it is physically impossible for a wizard to technically have a chinchilla as a legitimate child?"

He let out a sigh. Juliet thought she was going to get rid of the rodent that easily? Oh, no no. "Yes, well I'm aware that you're probably overwhelmed by this new responsibility over another living being, I sure that you're fully capable of handling it. In the meanwhile, I have to go." Just as Juliet had rammed the box into his arms, Rhys did the same to her. Only this time as he leaned in, he quickly gave her a kiss on her cheek before pulling back. Not wasting anytime, he took two steps away from her and then disappeared with a loud crack.

Having grabbed onto the box before realizing that he was shoving it back on her, Juliet's fingers curled tightly around the edges as she stared at the spot where Rhys had just Apparated from in disbelief. Several more seconds of this, processing what the hell had just occurred, and she let out a sudden, frustrated yell.

The chinchilla--Nibbles, fucking--jumped and elicited an ear-piercing bark and ran to cower in the corner of its box, shaking in abject terror at the temperament of its new owner. Juliet seemed not to care, however, as she quickly shut the box and stalked back up the road towards the carriages.

Valentine's Day was officially the worst holiday ever created.