Closed Little Roses

[Derek Tahana]

Derek had been looking forward to this moment all day. Finally, the dance with Emilia. To find out her response to his question, be my girlfriend. He even had a little present for her, since his parents had said if she says yes to it, you have a girlfriend on valentines day and she should get a present. Derek was all about tradition and following what he was supposed to. Partly because he thought that was how he should behave and because he though if he was trying to be a prince for Emilia he might as well do everything right and proper. The boy was stood in his suit, properly suited up for this event, black tie and everything and he felt a certain level of nervousness, unsure as to what her reaction to his note and roses would've been because he had sent a few. With varying messages because he wanted her to feel appreciated on this day, and because there had been a few things he needed to ask. He was nervous but he was also so excited about what this event would bring. He knew he was a little early, hoping to make up for being the late for the yuleball and he was going to wait patiently until she got there.​

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia had been overwhelmed with roses, and they had almost all been from Derek. Three pink ones, two signed with his name and the other one anonymous. In in one he had asked her to be his girlfriend. On top of that, she had received a red one without a note. It had made her heart beat faster, and she needed to see him and to thank him for everything. She wasn't sure if the red one was from him, but she hoped it was. He had completely overwhelmed her with the sweet gesture, and she felt a little bad for only sending him one. She also needed to tell him that she did want to be his girlfriend, as she hadn't had the chance to do that yet. She hoped he wouldn't change his mind. Emilia rushed to the great hall, and her eyes widened at the sight of Derek in his suit. She hadn't worn a dress that was too formal this time, and she regretted it a little as she saw how good he looked. "Derek." She said, a little breathless as she stopped in front of him. She needed him to know how much she appreciated what he had done for her, so she didn't allow herself to think. She pulled him into a hug, wrapping her arms around him. "Yes! I mean... I got your note, I want to say yes..." She pulled back, looking at his face. "I got your roses... you sent me so many." She blushed, smiling. "I love them so much!"

 

[Derek Tahana]

Derek smiled happily at her when he spotted her. "Hey," he said casually in reply as she greeted him. She looked really pretty to him, he liked the the skirt that seemed to fit with the theme of the flowers at such an event. He smiled at her, happy she had received all of the roses he had sent, "Yes to which parts?" he had a small smirk on his features, "Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked specifically the small smirk still on his features because to him that was the most important question that he had asked, "I'm glad you loved them, I wanted to make our first valentines special!" he wanted to show her that he cared and follow the traditions his parents and wider family had taught him about being a boyfriend, "You deserve the best princess," he told her with a sure and confident smile, truly meaning what he said. he thought that treating Emilia like a princess was only right, since she loved them so much and all of those stories and Derek liked seeing her smile a lot, so he always wanted to make her smile.​

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia laughed nervously as he asked her what she was saying yes to. She wanted to keep her composure like a real princess, but couldn't manage it. She flapped her hands around for a moment as she searched for an answer. "The... you know!" She said, then nodded as he asked if she wanted to be his girlfriend. "That one, yes!" She said, blushing. She hid her face for a moment, attempting to calm down, then peeked through her fingers. "It's hard to believe this is real." She muttered, looking at his perfect face as he continued being perfect. "I've liked you for a while..." She lowered her hands, clasped them together, then unclasped them again. She bit her lip for a moment. "Thank you." She said softly. "You're... you're so good at all this stuff, you always know exactly what to say and you keep doing these things that are so nice..." She twirled a lock of hair around her finger nervously. "I don't know if I can be as good at all this..." She glanced at him nervously. "But I will try. I promise."

 

[Derek Tahana]

Derek couldn’t help the smile which formed on his face when he asked his question. He was pleased though that through all of her reaction, the answer was indeed yes she wanted to be his girlfriend and he would happily be her boyfriend and thankfully that made them official, ”I guess that’s us official,” The boy was a bit surprised at how easy that had all been, dating and then asking, not nearly as hard as his parents had said it might be. He just kept his smile on her as she spoke, nodding along, ”I don’t need you to be good at this,” the boy finally replied, he didn’t particularly think he was good at it, largely he went off the advice of others, of those around him. He was trying his best because he’d always been taught to treat the person you like with respect and kindness. ”You just be you, and that’s enough for me,” The boy liked Emilia for her and not because she was acting in a different way or trying to be good. The teen held out his hand to her, ”Shall we dance princess?” Derek had a warm expression on his face and he was just ready to spend time at the valentines day dance with his girlfriend.​

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia grinned brightly as Derek said they were now official. It was true, but it was also very strange to think about. "We are..." She said softly, blushing and smiling happily. It was a little scary, not in the least because Derek seemed to know exactly what he was doing and it was slightly alarming. It was a little like he got some sort of handbook that she hadn't received, and she hoped she wasn't going to mess this up. When he said he didn't need her to be good at this, she sighed softly. "I want to be good at this... you're so good at everything, like... you know what to do or say every time." She said softly.His words about her being herself were sweet, but also another example of how perfect he was with his words. Emilia flushed a little. "I'll try to stay myself." She said with a small smile. "I don't know how to be anyone else." She added softly, though sometimes she wished she did know how. Sometimes she wished she was like Evelyn, confident and beautiful. As he asked her to dance, she nodded gratefully. "I'd love to." She said, taking his hand. "Dancing with you is always wonderful." She hesitated. "And now... you're my boyfriend." She almost whispered the word, blushing even more brightly. "I think it's sort of in the rules that we have to dance on Valentine's day... right?"

 

[Derek Tahana]

Derek smiled easily at her, he could understand why she wanted to be good at this, he was trying his best, but he was also taking a lot of advice from everyone in his family about how to be with her. ”I’ve been asking my family for advice,” he admitted with a little smile, he didn’t want to get things wrong with emilia, he wanted to treat her right, so while it was true that she didn’t need to act in any way other than herself, he did want to make this better and he had been taking advice from others on how to be best with her. He didn’t need her to be anyone but herself, he liked her so much just as she was, he liked the idea of being her boyfriend, though the word was still a little foreign in his mouth, but he liked it. The boy was glad that she accepted his offer to dance and took his hand too. He lead her out to a quiet part of the great hall where they could just dance within their own peace. The boy put his hand gently on her waist, and led the dancing, ”Have I said how pretty you look tonight princess,” the boy asked as they began to dance. He had the little present for her in his pocket, but the boy wasn’t sure when to give it to her, he thought maybe now, but Derek wanted to dance with her and spend a good amount of time with her, just enjoying the fact that Emilia was now his girlfriend and they were dancing, The boy liked her so much and this valentines day had gone so well for him, for them. He was so happy. ​

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia was clearly surprised as Derek admitted he had asked his family for advice, but she was also flattered. She hadn't told her own parents about this yet, just because she was a little worried they would be too protective of her to allow her to date yet, and she had really wanted to. She smiled hesitantly. "They must have given great advice." She said softly, as she really appreciated everything Derek had done for her over the past weeks. They moved to the dance floor, and Emilia blushed a little as she felt his hand on her waist. He led the dance, and Emilia put her hands on his shoulders. "Thank you." She said shyly as he said she looked pretty. "You look very handsome yourself, prince." She added a little softly. Mostly, she could forget about the people around them, but she would still be embarrassed if anyone had overheard. "Did you practice dancing too, with your family?" She asked him, though there was a slight teasing note to her voice now. She did wonder how he had learned to dance so well, but also wanted to joke around a little. She really felt at ease with him, and felt like she could do that.