[V-DAY EVENT] Rain, Rain, Please Stay (Lovi)

[Nicoleta]

A cloudy afternoon was not a rare sight in London. The real rarity in this situation was that a certain Romanian was actually up and about in daylight. Nicoleta had always loathed the daylight - the mornings and the afternoons - yet this day in particular summoned her to finish up some business. Business that was... well... important enough to compel her to disrupt her sleeping schedule... on Valentines day too. So it was safe to say that the woman didn't particularly look all that happy. No, not in the presence of chipper lovebirds and sappy lovesongs. There was a chance she would fare better in the night but as of right now, her gloom matched the weather. The most conspicuous of her un-holiday spirit was in her clothes. She was wearing all black like a shadow, her body weaving effortlessly through the crowd of color. Her countenance... well, spelled only chagrin. Displeasure. Her chatoyant eyes were sharp with condescension. Good thing she didn't really celebrate this kind of Valentines day, favoring 'Dragobete' instead. Today was just another day to her. A long day. So many people were in love--or feigned love, as she would put it. Still, the couples looked pretty convincing, their cheeks florid, their lips glossed with mirth. Jealous? Nicoleta would defend herself by saying that she was feeling too lethargic to be normal. But yes. She was somewhat jealous. With her hands dug in her coat pocket, she walked through the little narrow pavement that lead into Regent's park. The click of her heels made a monotonous noise, one after the other. The serene ambiance was a nice break from all that noise. Londoners in love was the most disturbing sight. As she sauntered on her way, she felt something tap her nose. It was unexpected, like a surprise kiss. The woman blinked, her face neither expressing delight or annoyance. She lifted up an arm and opened her palm, only to catch another raindrop. When she looked up, it hit like a ton of bricks. Then it began to pour. Fuck. Nicoleta scowled as she put on the hood, holding her shoulders to insulate some more warmth in her body. She was already soaked. Cursing in Romanian under her breath, the Romanian continued forward. What a great fucking way to celebrate Valentines day.

made by FLOU of OTE.

[Deleted]

Waking up earlier than usual that morning to get himself clean and ready for the array of dates to come, Romano certainly hadn’t prepared for what the day had in store for him. He hadn’t expected his seemingly perfect plan for Valentine’s to go down the drain and straight into hell quite as fast as it had. Apparently, having a date with more than one chick on Valentine’s day was something that could be likened to a criminal offense in most girls’ minds. Ridiculous. And how the hell was he supposed to know, anyway? He didn’t know that telling his first date he had to run at 4 because there was another babe waiting for him elsewhere was a bad thing. If anything, shouldn’t she have been flattered? She was the first one he came to. Come on. He dated many girls at the same time all the damn time, why should this day be any different? If anything, Valentine’s should be the day he was allowed to have more dates and more fun than usual; out of all the days in the world, this one was the most heavy for his wallet. Can’t a man get a little something in return for all those expensive gifts he had to get for every single girl he met? No? Fuck Valentine’s, then. He always did consider it a stupid trick to steal money off of good men, anyway.

The Italian sighed, slightly hanging his head as he treaded the busy, chilling streets of London. Seeing nothing but waves of couples passing him by pissed him off, if not because he was alone and miserable and seeing others be happy didn’t help at all, then because he knew walking that close to someone must’ve warmed you up a great deal, and his ass was freezing. He knew London was probably nothing compared to some of the more Northern countries covered in snow and shit and polar bear piss all year, but this was still way too cold for a Mediterranean man like him. If he hadn’t feared for his dear life that the mafia might catch him should he return, he would’ve flied back to Italy ages ago. And yeas, he had considered a vacation near his old home country, like maybe in Spain or Greece or something, but his cowardice had told him not to go anywhere near that part particular part of Europe. He’d rather freeze his ass off than get it loaded full of lead, after all.

Romano kicked a nearby can. Everything was that bitch-ass can’s fault. Yeah.

The thought made him feel a tad better… until it started to rain. Fuck.

After a while of walking the Italian shook his head and raised his gaze from the ground, tired of looking at the puddles growing ever larger as rain continued pour, only to catch a glimpse of a peculiar sight. Amidst all the couples sharing umbrellas and rushing to get out the rain – probably to have some vertical fun in their pretty pwetty bedrooms filled with rose petals and chocolate and shit – stood a lonely figure, hood raised and seemingly cold. Romano stopped, and another proper look quickly told him it wasn’t just any person standing there alone and miserable; it was a girl. Alone on Valentine’s. Just like him. Now, Romano didn’t believe in fate, but he sure did believe in taking advantage of a favorable situation when one was offered to him. She was alone and didn’t particularly seem to enjoy it, and neither did he. They both needed some company. He didn’t care about any kisses or cuddles or crap, he just wanted a girl to talk to, to spend the day with and at least try to have fun.

So now, how the heck should he approach the girl? A short, scrawny guy soaked in rain water, looking grumpy like someone just pissed into his cereal and stole his breakfast bread was hardly an attractive sight. Didn’t help that the girl was a looker, from what little Romano managed to see of her face. He’d need to do something really classy or cool to catch her attention and make her not walk away the minute he opened his mouth. But what? He barely had the money left to buy a bus trip home at the end of the day, and he didn’t exactly have the time to go visit any stores anyway.

Romano looked around, but no matter where he turned to look, all he saw was couples rushing past, their colorful umbrellas flashing past his eyes. Damn it. If only he had had an umbrella too. Well… well, in theory, he did have one, safely tucked away under his coat to never see the light of day, given to him by his oh-so-lovable grandfather. But that one was… No. That one didn’t exist. He preferred to think it didn’t.

Sharing an umbrella would have been an amazing way to attract the girl’s attention though; not only would he come off as a gentleman, he could get an excuse to get her close and save himself from the damn rain. But alas, there was nothing he could do. He didn’t have the money to buy a new one, and the mere thought of snatching one from one of the couples scared him. You did not fuck with lovers on Valentine’s, oh no.

The longer Romano stood in the pouring rain, watching the girl walk further and further away from him, the more he started to glance at his coat and rethink his stance on taking out his own umbrella. It was the single most embarrassing thing he owned, but at the same time, it was the only thing he could use to ever hope to get a girl for the day. It was being alone versus losing his pride now, and the decision was all but easy. It wasn’t only after the girl was so far Romano had trouble even making out her silhouette that he finally decided to fuck it and just… take out the damn thing. Maybe… maybe he could throw it on the ground and pretend he’d found it? Suddenly the Italian’s face lit up. Hey, yeah, that’d be perfect! That way, it wouldn’t be his fault the umbrella sucked. Perf-fucking-ect!

So, Romano pulled out his umbrella and speeded after the woman, opening the thing and throwing it into a nearby bush just as he was about to catch up to her. He took in a deep breath and put on his best “don’t really care” face as he ‘happened’ to see the umbrella being whipped about by the wind.

“Oh!” He exclaimed as loudly as he could muster. “What’s that stuck in a bush there? Some pussy-ass umbrella? Ugh, such a hiiideous print it’s got!”

Walking towards it and hoping to god the girl had both heard and turned to look at him, Romano bent to pick up the source of his embarrassment; a bright yellow umbrella decorated with images of ducks, equally bright orange in color. The ducks were small, smiling, the kind you could find from kids’ baths as toys. Definitely not something that should ever be found from a grown man’s umbrella. But, with this brilliant act of his, he should have the embarrassment part covered. Hopefully. He was quick to pick the thing up and bring it to give cover to his head as he turned and ‘accidentally’ happened to see the woman.

“Oh, hey,” Romano began as aloof as he could muster, cocking his head in hopes of looking cool. “You alone? That’s a rare sight. I thought all the pretties were the first ones to be picked off today.” He walked closer, trying to be as casual as he could. “You uh, seem wet. Need a…“ His confidence was taking a skydive the more he thought about his umbrella and offering it. “An umbrella or something? Because I just so happened to find this hideous thing and it’s probably big enough for two.”

[Nicoleta]

The sound of rain drummed on. As she trudged on, her footsteps created an annoying splashing noise. Between the noise of falling rain, she heard someone run her way. Something fell, the noise heightening her senses. By peripheral vision, she instinctively stole a glance to see a man. In a split second she turned away after assuming he was another passer-by. Regardless, she formed fists under her underarms just in case this guy wanted to fuck with her. Nicoleta was fully capable of beating shit up in any condition, in any weather. “Oh!” The exclamation was loud enough to capture her attention again. That was a little... too loud. It sounded deliberate. Obvious, perhaps; for there was no one else around but her. Regardless, her curiosity slowed down her steps as she became more alert of this stranger. All that was on her mind was whether or not he had been following her. Cute. “What’s that stuck in a bush there? Some pussy-ass umbrella? Ugh, such a hiiideous print it’s got!” Though she was still continuing her walk, Nicoleta felt an amused smile creep on her lips from the shadows cast by her hood. The humor she managed to extract from this situation was enough to make her stop to turn around and face him. She looked at him expectantly, which in turn, gave her a greeting. “Oh, hey,” he began, looking as casual as he could. “You alone? That’s a rare sight. I thought all the pretties were the first ones to be picked off today.” Playing coy, she raised a brow, deciding to mutely watch him execute the whole act. “You uh, seem wet. Need a… An umbrella or something? Because I just so happened to find this hideous thing and it’s probably big enough for two.” Nicoleta's hazel eyes crinkled as she suppressed a laugh, obviously very entertained with what he was doing. Yet she kept her poise to appear only slightly impressed; inwardly she did acknowledge his attempt because the fact that he had the guts to do this was praisable. Ah, men and their manner of courtships. It never gets old. "Well, well," Nicoleta began melodically as she glanced at the umbrella. Duck-prints. Her eyes shot back up at him after realizing what he was doing and why it had went with it in this manner. Interesting. Comic relief did exist in London after all. "I would be pleased if you do that for me," She played along as she took off her hood, following up with a winning smile. "You would save me a lot of trouble on this lonely Valentines day, handsome. I hope you didn't go through too much trouble just to help little old me."

made by FLOU of OTE.

[Deleted]

Okay, so there he was, standing under pouring rain, firmly holding onto a bright, duck-printed umbrella with what had to be one of the most pathetic poker faces ever dancing upon his features. This was it. This was the moment of truth for Officer Vargas. He'd done what he could, and there was no more turning back for him anymore. Sink or swim, the die was cast and all he could do now was wait for the results.

Too bad he hadn't thought to wait under the umbrella, rather than behind it; the rain was still pounding down hard on his form, flattening his hair against his head and bringing his bangs to his face. Oh god, he must have been such a pathetic sight - like a stinky, soaked dog trying to beg for a treat he probably couldn't in a million years get. Not from a girl like this. Damn it. He should have thought his shit through better before raising his voice...

I mean, come on, fucking duck-prints.

"Well, well."

Romano tensed instantly, gaze nudging upwards to meet her eyes - or what he could see of her eyes from behind his hair, anyway. He had never exactly excelled when it came to reading people, be it their actions, words or expressions, and so he had no idea what her tone or word choice implied. All he could think was that at least she hadn't burst out laughing or slapped him, as a part of him had kind of expected those reactions - after all, he was a grown man with a kiddy umbrella stalking behind her on what was almost an empty street by now.

He should have worn his police uniform. Really, he should've, chicks were usually crazy for those. Why did he ever not wear it, anyway? Okay, step two if he survived through her initial reaction; he'd somehow offhandedly mention he's a cop. That was bound to bring his coolness level up a notch and subsequently decrease his creep-o-meter reading. Yeah.

But for now Lovino just held his breath in anticipation, the knuckles of the hand holding the umbrella turning whiter and whiter by the minute. If his plan didn't work, the god damn umbrella would so get it. And so would his freaking idiot of a nonna for dumping that ridiculous piece of crap on him.

"I would be pleased if you did that for me."

Aww, he knew he'd blown it, come on, wasn't like-

Wait, what? ... Really?

The Italian man blinked, finally moving his hand to brush away the strands that hindered his vision just to make sure he wasn't imagining things. And, as he did, he saw the girl with her hood down now, a bright smile lighting up her already pretty features. So he'd... heard right, then?

"You would save me a lot of trouble on this lonely Valentine's day, handsome. I hope you didn't go through too much trouble just to help little old me."

All the confidence Lovino'd lost earlier suddenly came back to him in a rush so strong that it almost knocked the Italian man off his feet and onto the asphalt. A victorious, pride grin crept onto his face and his slumped posture straightened in an instant into something that danced on the edge of being comically overdone. Oh, yeah, his natural charm still worked, even when drenched and equipped with children's toys. Well, either that or the woman was seriously screwing with him, but he didn't want to take such a depressing possibility into account right now. He wanted to be on top of the world some more. He liked the view.

"Yeah?" He more confirmed than asked, grin ever widening. "Well, 'Handsome' here'd love to give a lovely little lady like you a Valentine you won't forget~" he was leaning towards her just a tad as she said that, only to feel slightly bummed by her height. Would have been cool to be tall and lean over her, but alas. He'd gotten the shitty short genes. Oh well. He was doing pretty well just like this. Now to just... show her how cool he could be. What was that earlier about... oh, yeah, letting her now he was a cop. Right. Awesome.

"And trouble? Ha!" He almost sounded amused as he repeated that word and waved his hand dismissingly. "This ain't no trouble at all. After all, it's a cop's duty to protect the citizens." He tried to puff up his chest as he said that and looked at her meaningfully. "Especially if the citizen just so happen to be fucking gorgeous. ❤"

With that, he took a step forward and brought the umbrella over the girl's head. Not that it did much when she was already drenched, but hey. The thought was what counted and all.

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OOC: Shush it only took me eight months to reply ok.

[Nicoleta]

As expected, it only took a couple of sweet words to amp up whatever pea-sized confidence he had. It was very typical of a man, and even more typical from a man of the Romance nations. Nicoleta had her plucking of tasting the many sorts of men and their flavors. Through experimentation, she found that she only needed to smile. With that, Nicoleta did smile as how a child would when observing a circus monkey.

"Yeah?" His smile was going to burst out of those ruddy cheeks. "Well, 'Handsome' here'd love to give a lovely little lady like you a Valentine you won't forget~" He leaned towards her, and she 'accidentally' brushed his hand with her. An innocuous hand-brush, usually a carelessness in the swing of the motion, was rewarded to him for being so silly. These small, subtle things add up.

She snorted. "Oh please." Nicoleta hastily added a soft chuckle to feign embarrassment. In actuality, she wanted to barf. How was she going to never forget this Valentines day? The clouds were pissing, it was way too early in the morning, and couples are swinging around with their smiley smiles and whatever shit Hallmarks sells to motivate sex. Well fuck, she was giving herself a headache; unfortunately, she was suffering from being a chronic bitch.

Nicoleta swallowed, and the little click of those inner muscles seemed to shift her mindset. Well alright, time for fake Nicoleta to shine and focus on his dick. Cheesy flirting should be enough to satisfy this Italian-whatever-nationality-he-really-is.

"A cop?" Interested, she gave him a lasting look, and flashed him a coquettish smile. 'Fucking'. Oh, she liked that word. Very good word choice. It reminded her of something else of a similar tongue. But, a police officer, eh? Nicoleta had many close encounters of his kind. She loved how they begged.

Protect me at the cost of many. Such words hummed in her head.

"Ooh. I hope protecting is not all you do." She crooned with a wink. His determination had childish undertones, but for some reason, she appreciated it all the same. Nicoleta wondered just exactly how much thought he was putting into this conversation with her. Did he think much of it at all, other than that she was just a pretty face? She hoped he was as simple and stupid as that, and that this was just as innocent as it seemed. Nicoleta flexed her fingers underneath her sleeve, the paranoia seeping out of her skin.

She flicked the top of her hood off, and it fell to her shoulders. The rain had bundled her hair into downward pointed clumps that still dripped. Nicoleta brushed her hair to the side, and tucked some hair behind her ear before turning to look at the curious stranger. Her eyes averted up, and the ducks could not have been a more odd sight. She could not help but to splay away from what would be a lewd conversation to a somewhat more light-hearted one.

"Did they issue you these umbrellas?" She asked as she exchanged him another sweeping grin. The idea of Romulus mandating the necessity of duck-printed umbrellas was a mental image to behold.

(11 months later FF)

[Lovino Vargas]

Wait a minute. Could it be that his attempt to hit on the woman was... actually going pretty well, so far? Not only had she not laughed at him for his haphazard attempt at smooth-talking, she'd actually showed rather clear signs of interest towards him; she'd brushed her hand against his, she'd smiled (even if, now that he thought about it, her smile hadn't been exactly befitting the situation....?) and not left him hanging when he'd offered his umbrella.

Lovino wasn't usually an optimist, especially not after having started his morning in the most fucking awful way possible, but he couldn't stop himself from getting just the slightest bit hopeful. This wouldn't necessarily bloom into a romance, but maybe they could at least be friends or someth- aw, shit, what the hell. No. He'd come this far, he'd take this all the way. None of that 'let's just be friends' bullshit. He had to ride the wave of success.

Just then the woman suddenly snorted, and all the confidence Lovino'd carefully build up cracked like a peanut under a rhino's ass. The Italian could have sworn he felt his heart stop for the briefest of moments - only to fall back into its regular pace when he saw the girl chuckle, almost coy. So, uh, wait a second. She was just... being shy? Because for a while there, he thought she was just messing with him, giving him high hopes just to watch him fall.

Hahaha! ... ha. Ha. Funny thought.

... But Lovino held his breath regardless as he waited for her to continue.

"A cop?" She asked, and her lingering gaze and tone of voice gave more hints towards interest piqued. He'd known it; chicks were crazy for cops. He couldn't help but grin, both over his correct hypothesis and finding at least some use for his badge - he certainly didn't get any respect for it from anyone else. Now if only he'd actually worn the damn thing.

"Ooh. I hope protecting is not all you do," she said with a wink, and like a kid given free rein in a candy shop, Lovino's heart was instantly won over. For all his snark and profanities, Lovino Vargas was never that difficult a man to please. He didn't need luxury, fame or riches - he wanted them, yes, but all he truly needed was a single soul acknowledging him. Seeing a girl smile due to something he said or did? Awesome, okay. It wasn't the biggest damn accomplishments out there to be sure, but it was his own personal victory and that was just fine, yada yada, there was a lady flirting with him here.

"Oh, no, 'course not," he reassured her, a grin tugging at his lips. "I do arrests, too."

Whether that was a lewd answer to a lewd question, or an innocent description of his job when asked, was pretty much up in the air. Two could play at this game, see.

Of course, all that was forgotten when her hood came off and her eyes turned to his goddamn duck umbrella. The Italian did his best to keep his wits about him, and every time his expression threatened to melt into worry, he snapped his smirk to return. Come on, calm down. It's only as embarrassing as you let it be, right? Right. No. Maybe. She had pretty eyes.

"Did they issue you these umbrellas?"

"...Huh? Yeah," the question caught him off guard and it showed as two rounds of blinks and a slightly agape mouth. He hadn't expected the sudden change of tone and subject, and it took him a while to understand what he'd just answered to - and that he'd answered wrong. "I mean, no. No, I just... found it over there." He waved his hand dismissively towards a random direction, before his shoulders raised in a shrug and disdain filled his voice. Okay, coverup story maintained. Now proceed to change the freaking subject. "But I wouldn't put it past the chief, to be honest. Fucker's made it his life goal to make my life miserable. And then the old coot thinks he's being funny or 'protecting' me or whatever..."

A decisive sigh, and he suddenly realized he shouldn't be ranting family issues to a stranger he just met. "But, uh, forget that. It's raining like shit and you're soaked as is," a brief pause, just enough for his heart to skip a beat when he finally built up the courage to ask: "Shouldn't we go inside?"

Inside where, he didn't know, but that was going to be the next step if she didn't turn him down here and now.

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ooc: only five months later I'M ON A ROLL