vatheon | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who: Zelos and Zelda (and anyone else who'd wander by their house?)
When: Early afternoon
Where: Zel residence in Ordo
Style: Prose
Status: Closed unless there's a reason someone would drop by

The entire house smells like chocolate.

Not the cheap, store bought kind either, the real deal. Bits of orange peel, cocoa powder, and vanilla pods lay strewn about on the counter amidst heart, rose, and star shaped molds, measuring cups, bowls, and mixers. The far counter is covered with recipe cards and various fruits that go well with the confection, including a tray of already drying chocolate-dipped strawberries. The cherries seem to be next.

And in the middle of it all, Zelos stands resplendent in his pink "Kiss the Cook" apron and his hair tied in a high ponytail to keep it out of his face and his work. He's currently very carefully stirring a bowl of the raw cocoa mix, turning the spoon in just the right way to avoid making bubbles.

Valentine's day is serious business.

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Zelda emerged from her pile of books and papers in the living room to attempt to find out just what that smell permeating the entire house was. What she found was Zelos in the kitchen, evidently running his very own candy shop.

"Zelos? What are you doing?"

He grinned, not taking his eyes from his mixing. "And here I thought you were the smart one~ I'm making chocolate!"

"But what could you possibly need this much chocolate for?" Zelda is utterly bewildered. "Are you planning to throw a party?"

"Nope! It's for all my hunnys all over Vatheon! You can have one now if you want~ Special preview for my beautiful and ever so considerate roommate." He grins again, this time glancing up at her. "The strawberries are good but I think that plate over there has my best dark chocolate yet if you want something a little less sweet."

Her voice is flat when she speaks. "You're giving out chocolate to all the women in Vatheon? Why?" If Zelos is under the influence of some sort of new curse, it's Zelda's responsibility to make sure that he doesn't make a complete fool of himself.

"Why not? Everyone deserves to get a little something on Valentine's. And anyway, I do it every year." Finally satisfied with his mixing, Zelos carefully starts to pour the chocolate into a mold tray that has cute little animals for shapes. "I'm just glad I managed to find all the ingredients for everything here. I wasn't sure I would, this being a different world and all."

"Valentine's?" Zelda paused, then recalled Johnny's broadcast and a mention of February 14th. She had almost forgotten with all the preparations for a possible attack. There were other dangers here in Vatheon.

Valentine's Day!

"Oh! Oh no, I hope nothing happens..."

"Yeah, it would completely suck if we got attacked or something and it ruined the whole holiday!" He gets the feeling that's not what Zelda meant but all this chocolate isn't going to make itself so his attention is somewhat divided.

"You aren't under some sort of Valentine's curse, are you? One that forces you to make chocolate?" Zelda actually sounds worried about this prospect. It's kind of adorable.

Okay, that makes him pause and look at her. "You're serious..."

He bursts out laughing and puts the bowl down, having poured all the molds. He brushes a bit of hair behind his ear and washes his hands, still chuckling. "Of course not! Like I said, I do this every year, so I promise I'm totally doing this of my own free will."

"Of course I'm serious! This place has curses related to major holidays, you never know. We have to look out for each other," she replied, pouting. If Zelos is going to laugh at her like that, she'll leave him to fend off hoards of fangirls by himself!

"Alright, alright, that's true. I guess I can't blame you for being anxious considering everything that's been going on. It seems like you're particularly up in arms about this holiday though." Zelos shrugs, drying his hands on the bottom of his apron. "What did you find during your outing with the freaky bull butterfly Troll, by the way? I haven't had a chance to ask you."

"Don't call him names." Zelda folded her arms. "There's a forest up on the island that is protected by a barrier. If you try to go at it from above, it simply pushes you away. If you try to enter by foot, you will wander back towards the entrance within a few minutes. I'm quite certain there's something important hidden in there."

"Oh yeah? Huh, I wonder what. Maybe the priestess Carol was looking for is hanging out there." He shrugs and crosses the kitchen to check the oven. "Hm, not quite done yet."

"I was thinking that myself. It warrants further investigation, but it takes a long time to get to the forest if you can't fly." Zelda looked over the chocolates Zelos had made quietly. Well, he did offer! She picked up one of the strawberries and took a bite.

"It's good." She sounds surprised.

"I might go check it out at some point myself." He starts placing cherries in the little round molds so he can cover them in the sweet chocolate when it comes out of the oven nice and melted. "Of course it's good! The Great Zelos is a master at everything he touches, of course~!"

"But of course," she teased. "Be careful if you go up there, though. It's quiet, but in an unnatural way..."

"I'll be careful. I'm always careful! I'm the most careful person alive~!" Another grin flashes across his face as he goes to retrieve the now melted chocolate from the oven to pour over the cherries. "So, got any Valentines plans yourself? A steamy date with one of your beloved books maybe?"

"Oh yes," she answered, sounding sugary sweet. "I'm going to stay up with a good book all night long~ be sure not to interrupt us, my book is a very private sort."

Zelos lets out a mirthful 'hmm~♥' at her response, glad she's in a good mood... but he can't resist a perfect opportunity to tease her. "I guess all the guys who seem to have taken a liking to you will be disappointed~"

"Don't be silly, there's no one that actually means it." Zelda just looks curious, not particularly shy. She honestly thinks that anyone flirting with her is teasing at this point.

She really couldn't tell? "Oh man, did I finally find something you don't know everything about? There's at least two that have the hots for you, Zelda-baby! And I think Tieria you might even like back~"

He really hadn't been spying, but the network was something they didn't have on Aselia and it was a great way to keep an eye on what was going on in Vatheon for a busy guy like Zelos. If people forgot to filter their conversations, it's totally not his fault!

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about," she sputtered, lifting her hands up defensively. "And don't call me baby! And Tieria is perfectly nice, of course I like him, get your mind out of the gutter!"

Please, please say that Zelos hadn't seen the message she left in Tieria's inbox during the curse...

Ooooh he had, however, Zelos may be a prankster at times but there's no way he would hold something she said under the influence of the curse over her head. It left him to open for her to do the same, in any case. "Well, maybe you should give him something for Valentine's Day, then. Or maybe that kid from your world, too. The one that brings fresh milk every morning."

He'd recognized an off change in Zelda's demeanor every time the other Hylian paid a visit (so nearly every morning). She was always kind to him, but there was a strained sadness about it that Zelos couldn't help but notice. The reaction piqued his curiosity, but that's not the sort of thing you just ask outright and Zelos has a healthy respect for boundaries in that sort of instance.

"I wouldn't want him to get the wrong idea," she said quietly. Sola. So much like Link, and yet he wasn't. "I care for him, but... it cannot be like that."

"I hear ya there." He set the tray of chocolate covered cherries aside to dry and shuffled through some recipe cards. "I hate sending the wrong message."

"You don't think that all of this does that?" Zelda gestured to the entire kitchen. Zelos was putting in a lot of work for his hunnies if he didn't plan on a relationship with any of them.

"It is your business, of course, but I know that I would certainly take it as a sign of interest if a man gave me chocolates on a supposedly romance-oriented holiday."

Edited 2012-02-01 22:56 (UTC)

"Nah, of course not. I'm always up front with everyone about where we stand from the start and so long as everybody gets something, then no one feels like they're left out or that I'm playing favorites but still knows I care~ It's a win for everyone!"

Except my poor mixing arm, that is. He grabbed another bowl and started piling in ingredients for another batch.

"Well, I'll just have to come make sure they aren't poison every now and then," she said cheerfully. She plucked another one off the counter and left Zelos to his devices.

He grinned, getting the joke, but he just couldn't resist a jibe back as she headed back into the other room. "Poison would defeat the purpose, Zelda-baby~!"

Amused at Zelda and himself, he went back to producing his several metric tons of chocolate.

Well she can't just leave it if he's going to call her that again. She called on her magic and flicked her hand, causing some of the chocolate he's mixing to fly up at his face.

"Just Zelda, please." And with that, she closed the door tightly against further retaliation.

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