My Funny Valentine

Title: My Funny Valentine

Author: Diane

Fandom: One Tree Hill

Characters: Nathan/Haley

Prompt: 8 - Dinner

Rating: Mature Rated (to be on the safe side)

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own a thing!

Spoilers/Warnings: This is set during S1 after Nathan and Haley have exchanged those three little words. Try and suspend belief over the fact that this doesn't exactly fit the timeline of the show. ;)

Summary: "These are for you," he said, holding out a small bouquet of flowers and his smile grew wider at how happy she looked. He'd never bought a girl flowers before but if it meant having her beam at him the way she was doing right now, he may just have to do it again.

Author's Notes: I wanted to write a little Valentine's Day ficlet and the idea for this suddenly popped into my head. This has been written for my fanfic table at 25fluffyfics.

The table was set, the macaroni and cheese was almost ready and the house was all Haley's; her parents having gone away for the night to enjoy their own Valentine's Day celebration.

She couldn't help feeling nervous as she awaited Nathan's arrival. She checked her watch for what must have been the fifth time in ten minutes and saw that only a couple of minutes had passed since she'd last done it. Walking into the hall, she checked her reflection in the mirror that hung from the wall behind the front door. She'd spent longer than usual getting ready, carefully applying her make-up and curling her hair, pulling the sides of it up and away from her face with the red and black combs she'd bought at the drugstore the other day.

The outfit she'd chosen consisted of a black, knee-length skirt and a matching shirt, several buttons on it having been left undone to reveal the red silk camisole she was wearing beneath it. She'd considered wearing a dress but nothing had felt right and, at least with this, it was comfortable which, given how anxious she was feeling, was definitely a good thing.

Going into the kitchen, Haley checked on the mac and cheese which was bubbling away nicely in the oven. She almost dropped the salad bowl when the doorbell suddenly rang and placing it down onto the dining table, she went to open the door, taking a final deep breath before she did so. "Hi," she said, smiling at him and it was seeing the nervous look etched on his own face that strangely seemed to relax her.

"Wow," Nathan responded as he looked his girlfriend up and down. "You look great."

Blushing, she bit her lip shyly. "Thanks... You look pretty great, too." And he did. The blue shirt she could see peeking out from under his leather jacket brought out the colour of his eyes and reinforced her reasons for it being her new favourite colour instead of the purple she'd favoured since she'd been a little girl.

"These are for you," he said, holding out a small bouquet of flowers and his smile grew wider at how happy she looked. He'd never bought a girl flowers before but if it meant having her beam at him the way she was doing right now, he may just have to do it again.

"They're gorgeous, thank you." Taking them from him, she opened the door wider and gestured for him to come in. "I'll just go and put these in some water. I'll get us some drinks, too and--"

Nathan cut off her little ramble by pulling her to him and covering her mouth with his, his arms instantly wrapping around her. He moaned into her mouth and gave her waist a gentle squeeze when she began nibbling on his bottom lip with her teeth. "Hales..."

"Are you hungry?" she asked, her voice a husky whisper.

"Uh huh," he managed to reply.

"I made mac and cheese."

"I wasn't talking about food." His lips curved up into that smirk of his which he knew she secretly loved and he laughed when she swatted his arm. "Hey!"

Haley laughed along with him. "Okay, you go into the dining room while I put the flowers in some water."

"No."

"No?"

"No, I'll come in the kitchen with you. I can get us something to drink while you sort out the flowers."

She couldn't seem to stop smiling and to think she'd been feeling so nervous about tonight. This was her first proper Valentine's Day and she really wanted it to go well and so far, she couldn't be happier. She watched him remove his jacket and after he'd hung it on the rack by the door, she took his hand in hers and led him into the kitchen, reluctantly releasing him while she went to find a vase to put the flowers into. Holding them up to her nose, she breathed in their scent, her heart fluttering in her chest at his thoughtful gesture. Okay, so it was Valentine's Day but from the whispers she'd heard about Nathan, it wasn't a holiday he seemed to particularly like.

A shiver ran up her spine when she felt him standing behind her, his front pressed against her back and his mouth right by her ear. "What'cha thinking about?"

"Nothing," she mumbled, her body involuntarily leaning back and resting against his. God, how she loved the way they seemed to fit together. A moan tore from her throat when he brushed her hair away from her neck and began pressing kisses along it.

"You smell so good, Hales."

Tilting her head to the side to give him greater access, she said, "You do, too."

"How 'bout we skip dinner and just go and make out?"

Haley couldn't think. Nathan's mouth was working its magic on her neck while his fingers had slipped just under the hem of her shirt and camisole and were lightly caressing her bare skin. Just those simple touches had her body on fire... God only knew what it'd be like when she finally made love with him.

"What do you say?"

"Huh?"

Taking the flowers from her and placing them on the counter, Nathan turned her around in his arms and cupped her face, his face lowering towards hers. He brushed his lips over hers, repeating the action a second later before sealing their mouths together and kissing her deeply. Retreating long moments later, he traced the tip of his tongue around her lips, slowly sliding it between them when they parted, granting him immediate access. The taste of her was intoxicating and he couldn't get enough.

A sudden dinging sound had them reluctantly breaking apart and Haley could feel the blush infusing her skin.

"Please tell me that wasn't the doorbell?"

She giggled. "No, don't worry. It's the oven timer which means the food's ready."

"So, I guess that's a no on skipping dinner then, huh?"

Nodding her head, she told him, "Damn right, buddy. I slaved over a hot stove all day for you, I'll have you know, so the least you can do is eat it when it's ready."

Nathan laughed at her mock-serious tone. "You can't blame a guy for trying." Going over to the fridge, he opened the door and peered inside. "What would you like to drink?"

"Just some water, thanks."

"Would your dad know if I snagged one of his beers?"

"Oh yeah, he counted them before he and my mom left."

"Crap! I guess it's water for me, too, then."

"That's probably for the best considering you drove over here."

"So I won't be staying over tonight seeing as your parents aren't coming back?"

"Well, that all depends on how good you are," she said, giving him a wink.

Smirking back at her, he teased, "I think you know just how good I am, Hales."

The blush which had only just disappeared was now back and she shook her head. "You're terrible."

"I thought I was good."

"You know what I mean." Damn, her guy could tease. Turning her back on him, she opened up the oven and after pulling on a pair of oven mitts, she removed the dish of mac and cheese she had made from scratch and placed it on the wooden chopping block. "You take the drinks in and I'll dish this up."

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied, the smirk still quirking his lips as he passed by her.

As soon as he was out of the room, Haley fanned herself with one of the oven mitts. Picking up a large serving spoon, she scooped up some of the cheesy pasta and placed it onto the plates she'd already gotten out of the cupboard. Making sure she'd turned off the oven, she carried the plates into the dining room and set them down onto hers and Nathan's placemats. "Here you go... I hope you like it."

"It looks great, Hales, and so does the table. I, uh, I'm glad you invited me over tonight. I don't usually do this."

She knew what he meant but she couldn't help teasing him. "What, eat food?"

"No," he answered. "I meant celebrate Valentine's Day. This is the first time."

"It's my first time, too. It's kinda cool that we get to share that together." She chewed her lip as she felt her face heat up yet again that night.

Nathan took her hand in his, his thumb stroking over the back of it as he spoke. "Yeah, it is." They shared a long, lingering look before he coughed to clear his throat. "C'mon, let's eat before it gets cold."

Nodding at him, Haley picked up her fork when she suddenly remembered something. "Wait! I forgot to put on the music and--"

"We don't need music, Hales."

"Are you sure, 'cause I could run upstairs and grab a CD... It won't take a minute."

"It's fine."

"Okay," she whispered, picking up her fork again and digging into her favourite meal.

"This is awesome!" Nathan told her a minute later after he'd swallowed his first bite. "You didn't tell me your talents included cooking."

She blushed at his compliment. "My grandma taught me to make it when I was younger," she informed him. "I was always asking her to make it when we'd go and visit her and in the end she showed me how to make it myself so that I could make it at home, too instead of making do with the packet stuff which is also a favourite. The from scratch version is the one I tend to make on special occasions."

"Like tonight?"

"Like tonight."

They chatted about this and that as they continued to eat, Haley regaling him with tales of her childhood growing up in a houseful of kids while Nathan listened attentively, enjoying the sound of her voice and her laughter.

"Are you ready for some dessert?" Haley asked a while later when they had both finished and she was placing his empty plate on top of hers, ready to take it into the kitchen.

"Is that code for us making out?"

For what felt like the millionth time that night, her face flushed bright red. "No, I was talking about the cheesecake I picked up from Karen's."

"What flavour is it?"

"Raspberry," she replied.

"That's my favourite. I don't remember telling you that." His face registered his surprise at her having found that out.

"You didn't. I, uh, asked your mom when I saw her at the café the other day." Keeping her eyes focused on his, she added, "I wanted to make tonight really special."

Intertwining their fingers, he smiled warmly at her. "You've definitely done that, Hales."

"Good, I'm glad. So, dessert?"

Tugging on her hand, Nathan gently pulled her out of her seat and sat her down on his lap, his arms wrapping around her waist as he whispered, "Later." Threading his fingers through her auburn curls, he held her steady as he raised his lips to meet hers. The kiss they shared was soft and tender but with an underlying passion that had his heart racing wildly in his chest.

"Let's go into the other room," Haley whispered several minutes later once she'd managed to catch her breath. "The couch will be more comfortable."

"Oh, I don't know," he teased. "I kinda like you sitting on my lap."

"Yeah, I can tell," she teased back and she couldn't help laughing when he actually blushed at that. "Thank God I'm not the only one blushing tonight."

"I'm not blushing... It's just a bit hot in here."

"Yeah, you can say that again."

Easing her off of his lap, Nathan stood up and placed his hands on her hips, "What about the dishes?"

"Well, we can do the dishes if you'd rather do that now or--"

"They can wait!" Pulling her in tighter, he seized her lips, kissing her again and again, losing himself in the taste and feel of her.

Haley wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers stroking across the back of his neck and she moaned into his mouth when he moved even closer to her and she could feel his hardness pressing up against her hip. The fact she was causing that made her feel so...powerful. "Nathan?" she managed to say between kisses.

"Uh huh?"

"I have to give you your Valentine's Day gift."

Giving her a crooked smile, he nuzzled his nose against hers. "Oh, I think you're already giving it to me."

"You're so bad!"

"You like me that way," he whispered, his mouth peppering her skin with kisses.

"Yeah, I do," she admitted.

"You know, if you let me stay over tonight, you'll have plenty of time to give me my gift."

Giving him an exaggerated sigh, she tried to keep a straight face as she said, "Fine, you can stay over but no funny business."

"Scout's honour," he told her, holding up his fingers.

"Yeah, like you were ever a Scout."

"True, but it was worth a shot."

Pressing a kiss onto his lips, Haley pulled back from him, her face still beaming as she stroked over his cheekbone with her thumb. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Their faces inched closer together until their lips were once again touching but before the kiss got too heavy, Haley drew back from him, breaking the kiss much too early for Nathan's liking judging by the look on his face. "Let me just put the dishes in soak and then I'm all yours."

"Hah, I knew you wouldn't be able to resist from doing that."

"Whatever," she replied, biting her lip to try and keep from smiling. She couldn't help that she'd taken after her mother.

He helped her carry everything into the kitchen, his eyes roaming all over her curvy, petite form as she flitted around the room. Shoving his hand into one of the pockets of his pants, he fingered the small box that held her gift. Tonight was certainly a night of firsts for him.

"Okay, all done," Haley said a few moments later as she approached him. Pushing herself up onto her toes, she kissed his lips softly, smiling against them when she felt his arms wrap around her.

"Do you want your gift now or later?"

Tilting her head to the side, she regarded him curiously. "I thought the flowers were my gift."

"Nope. I got you those 'cause I knew you'd like them."

Her heart melted at him saying that. "You're too cute, you know that."

"Just don't tell anyone," he quipped.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

Removing the box from his pocket, Nathan handed it to her.

Carefully tearing away the silver and red wrapping paper, she slowly opened the box and gasped when she saw the silver charm bracelet lying on a bed of blue velvet. "Oh my... This is beautiful, Nathan. Thank you."

The anxious feeling in his stomach melted away when he heard the sincerity in her voice and he breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "You really like it?"

"I love it! Will you help me put it on?"

Nodding, he took the bracelet from her and fastened it around her wrist, liking the way it looked against her lightly tanned skin. "There's only a couple of charms on it for now; a book and that music note thingy..."

"It's a treble clef," she said, smiling as she fingered the delicate little charm.

"The lady in the jewellery store suggested it when I mentioned you were into music. Anyway, I figured I could get you more charms the more we get to know each other, you know, as birthday and Christmas presents."

"That's such a lovely idea. I just wish I'd thought of something like that for you."

Kissing the corner of her mouth, he said, "Hey, I'm going to love whatever you've got me."

Turning her head slightly, she kissed him properly, her tongue slipping between his lips to playfully tangle with his own. "I love kissing you," she whispered when they eventually pulled back from each other.

"I love kissing you, too. Hell, I love doing everything with you."

Haley took his hand and interlaced their fingers, a shy smile illuminating her face. "Ditto! C'mon, let's go into the other room and I can give you your gift. I asked Luke's advice and he said you'd like it so if you don't, you can blame him."

"Noted." He saw an envelope on the coffee table that was situated in the centre of the room and he watched as Haley picked it up and handed it to him. "Happy Valentine's Day, Nathan."

Quickly opening it, he removed its contents and grinned when he pulled out two tickets to the next Charlotte Bobcats versus Dallas Mavericks game. His grin grew even wider when he saw that she'd got them great seats. "Hales, these are awesome! Thank you." Pulling her towards him, he lowered his head and brushed his lips over hers before deepening it and showing her just how grateful he was.

It was Haley's turn to breathe a sigh of relief. "Really?"

"Really! Now, I just have to decide who I'm going to take with me," he teased, quickly moving back from her when he saw her hand moving to smack him. "I'm only kidding. It'll be kind of a late night though driving back from Charlotte afterwards."

"Yeah, which is why I thought we could make a night of it. I mean, the game is on a Saturday so we could spend the day and night there and come back home on the Sunday. Only if you want to though... I mean, we could--"

Nathan cut her off by touching his mouth to hers, suckling her bottom lip between his own and gently tugging on it as he drew back slightly. "I definitely want to." His voice had taken on a husky tone as his mind was suddenly filled with images of them sharing a hotel room. "Would your parents be cool with us going away together overnight?"

Haley nodded. "I talked to them before I ordered the tickets and they're fine. My dad did say he wanted to have a little talk with you before we left though."

"Please tell me you're kidding?"

"Nope, sorry!"

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

She laughed. "Maybe just a little. Look, it won't be so bad; he trusts me and they've gotten to know you pretty well since we've been dating and they like you. I mean, my mom's always asking if you want to stay for dinner when you're here and she doesn't do that for just anyone." Batting her eyelashes at him, she asked, "Isn't it a small price to pay for us to spend the night alone together? Just imagine of all the fun we could have."

His imagination was already going into overdrive and there was no way he was going to pass this up just because he was too nervous to have "the talk" with his girlfriend's dad. Sure, he knew that it was unlikely he and Haley would be doing anything more than what they were already doing, but still. A night without interruptions where they could just hang out and do whatever they wanted... It was more than worth it.

"So, what do you say?"

"I say hell yeah!"

Haley jumped into his arms and yelped in surprise when Nathan picked her up and twirled her around. "It's going to be a great night, I can just feel it."

"It is going to be just us, right? I mean, you're not going to tell me that Luke, Brooke and Peyton are coming, too?"

"Of course it's going to be just us. It is a Valentine's Day gift, after all."

"Thank God."

Holding her face between his palms, he rubbed his nose against hers before finding her lips and kissing her long and slow. He walked her backwards towards the couch and turning, he dropped down onto it and pulled her on top of him, adjusting her so that she was straddling his thighs. "How can I thank you for those tickets?" he asked, one eyebrow raised in question as his hands rubbed the smooth skin of her thighs just under her skirt which had risen up.

"How can I thank you for my bracelet?"

Threading the fingers of one hand through her hair, he directed her mouth back to his, pausing just before their lips touched to reply, "Oh, I'm sure we'll think of something."

They both laughed but the sound soon faded as they lost themselves in the feel and taste of one another. For their first Valentine's Day together, they hadn't done too badly.

Fin

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