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little simon/ava valentines drabble
Ava never really cared for Valentine's day. It hadn't been celebrated in their universe since the Quiet Rapture, and many of the space stations celebrated their own versions of the holiday before that. She had never really gone on a date, it didn't interest her and she was more focused on her work.
Things changed, if only slightly, when Simon came into her life. He was a constant, annoying presence who served to make her life a living hell. She couldn't help but hate the guy at first, especially since he was the man who committed the atrocity on Filament Station and regularly killed COI prisoners to feed to their fucking tree. At least, that was the case before she, Simon, and Jack were dragged into a universe where the Quiet Rapture never happened. They were her only tethers to the world, as they were the only ones who experienced the same Hell that she went through. When nothing they did mattered, when the dozens of deaths were a blip in a different universe, she couldn't keep the hatred that burned inside her.
After a few weeks, Jack skipped town to become a welder or something. She couldn't blame him, no matter how badly she wanted to. Simon became her main tether after that, and even moved in with his dog, Laika. Things had progressed to the point they were in a relationship together. It was incredibly awkward at times, and they were still trying to find their footing, but it was them.
All of this to say, Ava was currently looking for a box of chocolates on Valentine's day. She'd grabbed a small, cheap bouquet of flowers (ones she knew that said "fuck off" and hoped Simon would find the humor in) and a chain for his pendant.
Of course, it being Valentine's Day meant that pickings were very slim. She didn't want to give him a five dollar box, they were sold out anyway, but she couldn't afford to spend hundreds of dollars on one either. She knows Simon would have been okay with some cheap chocolate, but for some god-fish damned reason, she didn't want that. It had to be special. It had to be special and she hated it. It would have been so much easier to hate him and not be in a relationship with him, but she loved and cared for him so deeply that she would rather die underneath an ocean of blood than leave him.
As she walked through the rain soaked streets, she found a small candy shop. This one hadn't been on her list or the map she was given. With a shrug and running out of options, she closed her umbrella and opened the door. A small bell rung when she walked in, and the owner of the shop greeted her warmly. She returned the gesture with a small smile.
The interior was very warm and cozy, almost reminiscent of shops she'd seen in ancient photographs from before the Rapture. There were minor differences, such as gravel and water pathways for some inhabitants to help get around. As she browsed the half-empty shelves, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.
Nothing major had changed from before. She'd finally dyed her hair white, and she had a selection of fake eyes that she put on in the morning. Today, she'd gone with a fully black prosthetic with stars speckled in the dark. It was definitely not on theme but she couldn't bring herself to care. She was wearing a brown coat, a white button-down shirt, and black pants.
When she turned to her left, she saw some chocolates that were almost exactly what she was looking for. They didn't have Simon's favorite flavor, orange, but it was within her budget and she knew he liked everything else in it. She quickly grabbed it before anyone else could and paid for it.
It was a circular, black box with gold flakes and had a gold ribbon tied around it. It looked expensive while being inexpensive and carried two trays of chocolate. She put it in her bag and walked out.
The rain had gotten heavier at this point, so she huddled under her umbrella. At any moment, she was afraid a hover vehicle or a stupid teen in a hoverboard would splash mud on her. While a dog trying to escape the rain did spray water on her, that was all that happened. She'd made it back to her apartment. A loud yapping came from inside. With a sigh of relief, she unlocked her door and walked in.
There, standing in the kitchen, she saw Simon with a look of panic on his face. He was shirtless and wearing his apron while steam rose from a pot on the stove. His prosthetic arm was likely somewhere in the bedroom. A ball of white and brown fluff sped in from the living room.
"I- uh, thought you wouldn't be back for another hour."
"I said I'd only be gone for a few hours. What is this?" She looked around as Laika jumped on her leg. She gave her a few pats on the head and scritches behind her floppy ears. The small dining table they shared had candles, a small vase with a single flower, and two places set.
Simon lowered his head in defeat. "I was trying to surprise you with dinner."
"It smells good. What's cooking?"
"Marry me chicken, an old recipe from Mars. The pasta's almost done."
Ava quirked an eyebrow and chuckled. "Marry me chicken? Funny way to propose."
His face turned a bright tomato red. "I didn't think that through."
"Just kidding." She took off her coat and tossed it on the couch. Laika promptly jumped on the couch and laid on her coat which Ava smiled at. She took the bouquet out of the bag and handed it to him. "Happy Valentine's Day."
"Happy Valentine's Day. You got me flowers? Thank you." Simon smiled as he took them. "These are the ones that mean fuck off, right?"
Ava nodded and started looking for a vase to put them in. There was a small glass one on the windowsill. She took it down and then added water.
"I love you." Simon put the flowers in the vase and moved in to kiss her. His hand cradled her face and he gently rubbed circles into her cheek.
Ava leaned up slightly to meet him and held his face. His lips were soft and moved gently across hers. His facial hair dug slightly into her skin, but she couldn't get enough of it. Even though they'd given each other an awkward kiss goodbye that morning, it still felt like it had been a while since they'd kissed each other.
Unfortunately, they had to break away when the alarm for the pasta went off. She breathed shakily until her lungs decided to work properly.
"I love you too." After that, she put her bag on the counter.
Simon strained the pasta before he plated up the food.
"I'll be right back, gotta get dressed."
"Alright." With Simon gone, she got her stuff out of the bag. She put the chain into a small white box and tied it off with a red ribbon.
In the back of her mind, a voice tried to tell her that it wasn't enough and that she was only doing this to get the forgiveness she didn't deserve. Earning his forgiveness was something she wanted but knew would never get. She was fine with that, had to be. After all, how do you come back from what she did? She quickly stamped out the dread and massive amounts of guilt that were stuck inside of her. Simon would say something if he was upset, something she appreciated about him. Laika, having sensed her distress, trotted up, alerted to her, and pawed at Ava until she sat down.
With a sigh, she sat down in a chair and Laika hopped on the chair and laid in her lap. Perks of having a service dog.
Simon came out wearing a dark green button-down shirt. He'd put on his dark grey prosthetic arm. His hands were behind his back not so subtly trying to hide a gift. His eyes grew wide and he quickly swore. She watched him race to the liquor cabinet and pull out a bottle of white wine and a couple of wine glasses.
"I knew I was forgetting something!" He laughed, truly laughed, as he set the bottle and glasses down on the table. He poured the first glass for Ava before he poured his own. It was only after he sat down that he seemed to notice what happened. "Hey, is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine now. Laika helped me out." She scratched behind Laika's ears. The little shit let out a short bark and hopped off her lap.
"I'm glad she did, she's a good pup."
"Yeah, she is." Ava smiled and looked at the table. "Food or gifts first?"
"Is there a proper way of doing things?"
"If there is, I sure as hell wouldn't know."
"Me neither. Gifts first then." Simon brought out a couple of small boxes.
Ava opened them with only a bit of hesitation. The first one contained a small box of her favorite flavors of chocolates, which was mostly mint. The other one contained a video game.
"I knew you'd been talking about it and I wanted to play with you." Simon murmured.
"God, what did I do to deserve you?" She quickly wiped away a tear that fell. She handed her gifts over to Simon. "Here. It's not much."
"Not much?" Simon gingerly unwrapped the presents. His eyes grew wide at the sight of the chocolates. He opened the other box and tears pricked at the sight of the chain. "Bullshit, you've- fuck I love you."
"I- I love you too." Fuck, why was she feeling like she was twenty. She's grown past that stage in her life. Already, she could tell Simon's worried eyes were plastered on her, so she decided to tell him. Fuck their decision to practice healthy communication. "I'm just worried my gifts weren't as thoughtful."
"Do I look upset?" That's not the whole issue, is it, went unspoken. "Listen, I did all of this because I wanted to. Because I love you."
I would have been upset regardless of how things went. "I feel like I have to make it up to you. Just for everything I've done."
"You don't, and you can't. I don't forgive you, I never will, but I want to move on. That stupid fucking blood ocean with the sub and the eel-fish god is far away from us. Nothing from that universe matters anymore." Simon took a breath and a quick drink from his wine before he continued. "But if you want to 'make it up to me' today, then just eat the food I cooked and the game I bought. We both deserve to live and be happy."
"How'd you get so good at this emotional crap?" Ava blinked away a tear that formed. She felt lighter. She wasn't absolved of her sins, but she didn't want to be, not when she was in the presence of the one person she loves.
"You handle the logistics, I'll handle the emotional shit." Simon took a bite of his pasta then paused. "Bad timing but uh- I also have a surprise in the bedroom if you still want to, yknow…"
"Will it include me hurting you?" She couldn't help but gently tease him.
"Probably." That blush she loved returned. "What did you expect?"
Ava chuckled. "Honestly, I expected exactly that."
She took a bite of her food and stars exploded behind her eyes. She was slowly getting used to eating better quality food after the Quiet Rapture left them with freeze-dried rations, but this almost made her bring out a ring she never bought. Fuck, she really would have to marry this man. Not today, but soon.
"How uh- how is it?" Simon eyed her plate nervously.
"It's alright. I don't think you put in enough love." She said as she took another bite. "No, it's fucking delicious. If we were married, I'd divorce you if you never made this again."
"The dish lives up to it's name?"
Did he really have to act so smug about it? "The dish lives up to it's name."
Simon did a little fist pump. It'd be funnier if he wasn't cooking dinner half the time.
Dinner went smoothly from there. They talked about this and that, when Jack would be visiting with his husband, and if they wanted another pet. Ava really wanted to get a cat, and Simon wanted to get another dog. They'd sort it out eventually. The topic of work came up, as it always did. Ava was due to start as a deckhand on a ship in a few months, while Simon had been working as a florist. Apparently, the amount of people who accidentally bought an extremely rude bouquet was astronomically high.
They got everything cleaned up, with many, many kisses shared between them. The leftovers were safely stored in the fridge until the next day, or until Simon decided to snack on them in the middle of the night.
They started up the game, a cozy farming simulator, and brought in the bottle of wine. At that point, Ava didn't really feel like using glasses, and just swapped the bottle back and forth with Simon. With both of them being lightweights, it didn't take long for either of them to get more than a little tipsy. Simon decided to bring in both boxes of chocolates. It was then that he told her that he preferred caramel over orange nowadays, so her gift ended up being perfect in the end.
She could only laugh when he told her this while caramel dripped onto his face. She insisted on cleaning it up, and well, the bedroom felt like a better place to be.
Despite everything, it had been a pretty perfect Valentine's day.