Tonight, Tonight

[Jennifer Moon]

Jen smacked the canvas with the paintbrush hard, sending blue paint everywhere. She'd decided that tonight was a good night to start on a new painting, and since most of her house mates were off doing their own thing, she'd commandeered the common room. Her easel was set up in the middle of the room, the beanbags having been piled in the corner for the time being. Bottles of paint were scattered on the small table, and there were dirty paintbrushes soaking in a cup of water on top of the mantle.

She knew well in advance that she was going to make a huge mess, as she wanted to try a new painting style. It looked like a paint bomb had exploded. Every color of the rainbow was splattered on the canvas, the floor, and even Jen herself. Her normally blonde hair was streaked with forest green, and her cheek was dotted with a dark blue. She had made sure to wear an old pair of paint-stained overalls and a bright blue tee-shirt (also paint stained), and had tied her hair into a high ponytail held in place by a garishly orange hair tie. Her wand was in the pocket of her overalls in preparation for the many Scourgify charms she'd need once she was done in the common room. 

Humming to herself, she hit the canvas again, sending blue droplets of paint onto the bib of her overalls just as there was a knock at the door. She stepped back from the canvas and admired her work-in-progress before heading over and throwing the door open. 

"Uh... hi?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "What're you doing here?"

[Washington Kennedy Rockefeller]

Wash had been in bed reading when he remembered that there was something special he was stop supposed to do that evening. Unfortunately for him (and, it seemed, Jen), he had no idea what it was. It wasn't his birthday, he had no papers to write. It was, however, February. And that meant that it must have been Valentine's Day.

So quickly he had dressed, brushed his hair, grabbed the flowers and the chocolate bar and scurried quickly over to the domicile of the Hippies. He did not expect Jen to be covered in paint. Surely she had remembered that it was Valentine's Day long before he had.

Now he felt awkward. Perhaps she hadn't wanted to celebrate, and just hadn't told him. There was no turning back now, though. "Happy Valentine's Day, Jen."

[Jennifer Moon]

Jen was normally not the type to celebrate Valentine's Day. Prior to this year, it had been just another day of the week to her - with the exception of people eating lots of candy and an excessive amount of PDA on campus. Now that she and Wash were dating, though, she had wondered what (or if) they were going to be doing anything in honor of the holiday. When they hadn't really discussed making plans, she was a little disappointed, but she shrugged it off. He'd probably just ask her to the dance and that would be it.

She crossed her arms over her chest, dragging the paintbrush she had been holding across the front of her overalls by accident and smearing more paint on herself. "You... you do know it's not until next week, right?" she asked, an amused smile crossing her face. She had to admit, it was pretty cute that he sort-of remembered.

"Are those flowers?" she asked, looking down to what he was holding in his hands. She grinned and stepped aside, opening the door wider. "Want to come in?"

[Washington Kennedy Rockefeller]

He looked down at his feet, suddenly embarrassed. "Truthfully, no." How was he supposed to know? "I had no idea when it is." He had never needed to. And she looked busy and paint-y. "Sorry." He was. Even if it had been a few days since they had spent some quality time together, he didn't want to interrupt that which he knew she loved.

He raised his hands to show her. "Roses." Like her middle name. "And a chocolate bar." Cookies and cream, his favorite. "I'd love to come in." He stepped over the threshold into the warm and eye-hurting House of Hippies. "So, when is Valentine's Day, really?"

[Jennifer Moon]

"Don't be sorry," she said with a smile, leaning on the door. He was adorable, standing there on her porch, dressed nicely and holding a bouquet of roses. She suddenly felt self-conscious of her own appearance - she must have looked an absolute mess in comparison, not to mention the state of the common room. Her cheeks flushed.

Although she was surprised to see him, she was glad he was here. Outside of classes, she hadn't really been able to see him much. She wiped her hands on the thighs of her pant legs and shut the door behind them. "It's Wednesday," she answered, stepping close to him and leaning up to kiss him on the cheek, careful to not get paint on him.

She pulled out her wand and cast a quick scouring charm on the common room. It wasn't terribly effective, but it did dry up the paint that it didn't remove. "Let me go change," she said, gently taking the flowers from him with a smile. She would need to find a vase or something.

[Washington Kennedy Rockefeller]

People said that a lot, don't be sorry. He had never understood it. It was the same as telling someone not to be sad. You would never tell someone not to be happy, or excited, or... His point was made in his head. Wednesday? Wednesday was a strange day, with a mispronounced name and smack in the middle of the week. Off of that weekend excitement, but not yet looking forward to the coming weekend. Just sort of there.

The beanbags he had come to appreciate had been piled in the corner and still had some dried paint on them. As far as he could see, there was nowhere to sit. Exhaling loudly, he leaned against the wall and turned the chocolate in his hands while he waited for her to return.

[Jennifer Moon]

Jen tossed a grin behind her as she ran up the stairs, roses in her arms. The room she shared with Colby was empty, and she glanced around quickly to locate some kind of container for the flowers. She gave up after a minute, not wanting to make Wash wait for too long. She laid the flowers on her bed and made a mental note to put them in water later.

She changed into a dress quickly, splashing water on her face and hands to remove the paint. There was nothing to be done about the stuff in her hair, and she sighed loudly. Oh well. She was back downstairs in a flash and she skipped over to her boyfriend with a smile. "So what'd you have in mind for tonight?" she asked, rocking back on her heels excitedly.

[Washington Kennedy Rockefeller]

He pushed off the wall and stood up straight, smiling down at her as he did so. "I thought we could go back out to that little clearing," The one where it had rained and they had had fun. "Eat, drink, and be merry." He actually had nothing to drink. "I'm afraid you'll have to provide the drinks, though. All I have is the chocolate."

He looked her over. She looked good, especially for a rush job. "Or we could stay here and do the same thing. Except there's no privacy here." He liked having privacy with her, having realized this when she made him take his shirt off. Well, she hadn't made him, technically, but the point was made. "Yeah, let's go out." It wasn't about him. "Is that alright?"

[Jennifer Moon]

"Yeah, okay," she said with a grin, twirling around to grab her bag. She had enjoyed the last time they were together in the clearing immensely, and was grateful that that he'd suggested going back. When she'd taken him there the first time, she was sure he didn't like the idea of hanging out in the woods, but it had all worked out. "That sounds like a great idea! Let me go see what we've got, drinks-wise."

Jen slipped into the kitchen and panicked momentarily. Drinks? Like, regular drinks? Or the kind of thing that one would find at a Stooge party disguised as something else? Frowning, she opened the refrigerator and pulled out a few sodas to put in her bag. She knew some of her Hippie housemates liked to imbibe, but she didn't think they would be so bold as to leave the bottles in the kitchen, would they? She began opening cabinets haphazardly and found a dusty-looking bottle shoved in the back of one on the bottom row. Uncorking it, she lifted it to her nose and sniffed before pulling a face. It smelled like a combination of rubbing alcohol and cinnamon, but she tossed it in her bag anyway. Even if they ended up not drinking it, she could dispose of it outside the house.

She re-entered the common room and grabbed her jacket off the coat rack, slipping it on quickly and taking his hand. "Ready!" She smiled up at him as she adjusted the strap of her bag. "Let's go!"

[Washington Kennedy Rockefeller]

Wash didn't much care. He could see how getting drunk with her would be very fun, but he could also see why he might want to stay sober in her company (which is not to say that he was a frequent drunk; it had happened once). The banging sounds from in that kitchen where who knows what went on (he had heard good things about the Hippie food) made him wonder what was going on. Were drinks not generally in the fridge?

He squeezed her hand and opened the door wide to let the two of them through. He had been out there twice since that first day, but he did not know the route well enough to guide her, and so he let her guide him. He was slightly anxious to get there. The scenery was excellent, the rocks were lovely, and the forest floor wasn't as hard as he had first imagined.

"What were you painting, anyway? When I showed up." It had been very messy, and he hadn't known her to be so messy. Messy, yes. Messy enough that there would be paint all over the room? No.

[Jennifer Moon]

She turned a bit pink and smiled sheepishly. "I was trying to paint the rain," she explained as they walked, her ponytail bouncing along behind her. "I thought I could make it look more realistic if the rain was just sort of scattered on the canvas, you know?" Jen sighed and slumped her shoulders a bit. "But all I did was make a huge mess. I think there was more paint on me and the floor than anywhere else."

The walk to the clearing wasn't a terribly long one, especially for Jen, who probably could have guided them there blindfolded. It had been a little too chilly the last few days to come out, but as always, the clearing was empty. She let go of his hand and skipped ahead into the clearing with a laugh. "I love this place," she said, grinning as she placed her bag on the forest floor.

[Washington Kennedy Rockefeller]

"I've always loved the rain, you know." Except when it made him sick. "It looks so good coming down, but it doesn't stay for days and mess things up," As much, "Like snow." He liked snow, too. It was pretty and fluffy and white, and made for good snowball fights and sledding and building forts. "I don't know how I would represent it visually, though. It just sort of is." In his opinion, but he wasn't an artist.

He was glad to be in the clearing, and not only because it was their final destination. He felt more comfortable that they would see anyone trying to attack them, which made him more comfortable. That, plus the fact that he was with his girlfriend on a Day which was apparently not Valentine's, made Wash a happy camper.

"I know you do." He couldn't decide if he was supposed to sit directly on the floor or on the rock a few feet away, but decided that they were both dressed somewhat nicely, and settled for the rock.

[Jennifer Moon]

Her shoulders slumped further, as if she was a balloon being deflated. "Yeah, I'm probably just going to scrap it and start over." And this time, she would go back to her normal style of painting. It was considerably less messy, and she knew it would look better in the end. She did hate wasting supplies, but she didn't think this one was going to be salvageable.

She followed him over to the rock, smiling as she sat down next to him. "I never thanked you for the flowers," she said, turning her body toward his. Her knees pressed against his as she leaned in to kiss him sweetly. "They're lovely, thank you." 

[Washington Kennedy Rockefeller]

"You're very welcome." They really were quite nice, according to the florist. He had told the guy to give him his best bouquet. Then again, Wash was not a flower man, and therefore had no idea if he had received what he paid for. He kissed her back gently, hoping that there would be plenty more of that to come.

He released her after just a moment, despite wishing for more, thinking that perhaps it would be best to warm up first. Then, remembering what his plans had been, he tore open the wrapper on his bounty and offered her the top. He loved the stuff, and as much as he hated sharing, he figured she was worth it.

[Jennifer Moon]

Her eyes lit up as he offered her the candy, and she wasted no time in breaking off a piece. He must have known that the way to Jen's heart was through sugar. She studied the odd-looking chocolate for a moment before taking a bite. It was interesting, to say the least, but she liked it. "What is this?" she asked. "It reminds me of Oreos."

She held the chocolate in her mouth as she bent down to rummage through her bag for the sodas, finding one and handing it over to him. "I brought these," she said after she'd finished off her candy (thinking it would be rude to talk with her mouth full). "Oh, and I found this too," she said, pulling out the old bottle and giving it an apprehensive sort of look. "I didn't know if you wanted a drink or a drink," she explained with a shrug.