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Scarlett and Grail had very different experiences when it came to the so called ‘holiday’ that came around every February. Darren was always particularly busy during that time of the year, back before he had met Devon, leaving Grail to fend for himself, hopping from one place to another to appease the pretty, lonely barflies that congregated in the dingiest of places. He wasn’t particularly proud of being the one to swoop in and make them forget about the men who had dumped them, though being Grail he couldn’t say he was ashamed either. As far as he was concerned, what was in the past was in the past; unless of course it was something he obsessed over and couldn’t let go. In that instance he was perfectly justified, holding a grudge.

This year was different, though. This year he actually had a steady girlfriend to spend Valentine’s Day with; not that he thought much of the holiday. Truth be told he thought it was all a load of rubbish, but time he had a girlfriend on February 14th, he was with Cass, and the majority of the day had consisted of cutting out paper hearts to entertain Pansy until her sitter had arrived. It really wasn’t anything special, as far as he was concerned. It was just a commercial holiday that made lonely people even more lonely. It wasn’t any more romantic than any other day of the year, though Grail Yates was far from a romantic.

He could admit that this year he hated the so called holiday a lot less than he had in years past. He hadn’t really planned on doing anything special – he would likely ask Darren for advice on what to get her without seeming like a sap, not knowing the first thing about flowers or anything else females tended to squeal over when they were presented with ribbons of red and pink. Not that he really thought Scarlett would go gaga for a pile of roses or a nicely scented candle, but he would have been a git to not get her anything just because he thought she wouldn’t appreciate them as much as another bird might; like Devon, for example, who had been more excited to find out that he was taking her to Hogsmeade than Scarlett seemed to be.

There was a reason he was growing fonder of the beautiful brunette as the months ticked by. Hell, the mere fact that the time flew by so fast had to mean something. She was easy to please; she didn’t make him feel like he had to go to great lengths to make her happy. She was just as satisfied with a burger as she was a grade A steak, which worked fine for him since he could barely afford his rent. She was a Quidditch star who was about to play for the world cup, and if Grail was the type to be intimidated, he would have been. He did wonder what the bloody hell she saw in him from time to time, since she certainly wasn’t using him for anything; he thought it had made it pretty obvious that he didn’t want anything from her other than her company, so things were pretty good. More than good, actually. It worried him a little, since he had this nagging feeling that things were about to go terribly wrong, but he had never been a very good optimist. For now, he was just going to appreciate the fact that he didn’t have any strong urges to hex some of the sickeningly cute couples who were exchanging Eskimo kisses on nearby benches. That was a big step for Grail. Scarlett seemed to bring out the best in him, even if she didn’t know it.

As she dragged him towards Honeydukes and presented her question to him, he was silent as he mulled it over. “Y’know I never really thought about it,” he admitted, looking at what there was to choose from. “I’ve always had a sweet tooth, but I’ve never been particularly choosey. I’m not fond of chocolate frogs, though. I prefer my candy to not have the opportunity to escape,” he said with a smirk, plucking out a truffle of his own. “I used to cheat with Bertie Botts though,” he recalled with a chuckle. “Darren and I used to cut off the tiniest bit where no one would notice, just to know the flavor, re-box them, and leave them for Aland.” He snickered again. “Poor bastard never caught on. Darren and I just kept insisting he got a bad batch.” He popped the truffle into his mouth. “And what about you? Any favorites I should know about?”