Triple Point

Chapter 69: Settling Down

Once February began, Elsie set aside her need for socialization in favor of establishing set guidelines for their first Valentine's Day together. At first, Camilla thought it was unnecessary, but once she realized she didn't know what the average couple's Valentine's Day entailed, she agreed that she'd be more comfortable with a set plan. Plus, Camilla knew that Elsie wasn't one for plans to begin with, and the fact that she was trying to make one meant she was doing so with Camilla's feelings in mind. The gesture alone was a sweet enough way to commemorate the holiday, but Camilla knew Elsie would disagree, and she kept that thought to herself.

After some discussion, they agreed to keep it simple by cooking and eating dinner together, and no gifts were allowed. It was just as well, since Camilla had to spend the day at work, and Elsie was scheduled to spend the afternoon of the holiday at a photoshoot. While the day wasn't going to be filled with elaborate events, Camilla liked it that way, and Elsie was happy with the idea as well.

As soon as Camilla finished work the day before, she and Elsie stopped by a nearby grocery store to pick up what they needed in advance. In their laziness, they decided on an easy spaghetti dinner, complete with garlic bread and salad. Surprisingly, it was Camilla that remembered dessert right before they went to check out, and Elsie found an apple pie while Camilla grabbed vanilla ice cream for Elsie and a random sorbet for herself.

Camilla wasn't sure if her squad had any plans for Valentine's Day, but she didn't feel it was her place to ask. Instead, she simply gave them the option to start their day early so they could end early, and her squad unanimously agreed on a 0430 start time and a 1300 finish. While working through lunch was also an option, they also unanimously agreed that metas weren't meant to survive while skipping meals, and the idea was vetoed almost immediately.

In the last couple hours of their day, Camilla's concerns about asking personal questions were resolved when her squad began discussing their after-work plans on their own accord. They were driving their LUV around Long Beach for their rounds, when Mack asked Finn if he ended up getting a date for that night.

Finn sighed, dejected. "No. She said she was flattered, but she already had plans."

"The kid likes this sixth year girl at the Academy," Mack explained to Camilla, earning him a kick on the back of his seat from a flushed Finn.

"Hey, don't kick the driver!" Mack yelled to the backseat, then shook his head at Camilla seated in the passenger's seat. "These kids and their hormones."

"Focus on the road, Olomana," Camilla replied monotone.

"Well, did you at least take my advice?" Nakia asked from the seat behind Camilla.

"What advice?" Mack asked, looking between the two kids through the rearview mirror.

When Finn had gotten guiltily silent, Nakia rolled their eyes and answered for him.

"I told the kid that if he wanted to be taken seriously, he needed to start dressing like an adult," Nakia said, referring to Finn as if he wasn't only a year younger.

"There's nothing wrong with how I dress!" Finn snapped.

"Oh please," Nakia said with a mocking laugh. "Your wardrobe looks like the clearance rack at a kids' store."

"The kids' sizes are cheaper and they still fit me," Finn hissed back.

Nakia smirked. "Well, they definitely don't fit your age, unless you're trying to look like a ten year old."

Finn glared at Nakia before taking a deep breath and straightening his posture, determined. "Fine then, Pala, after work, why don't you show me how to dress then?"