Cavatina glanced at the parlor clock, trying to quell the small flame of nervousness that had started to bloom in her mind.
She probably just got held up or something on the way here, she told herself (although it did not do much in the way of reassuring herself).
The reason for her slight, not going to be major anxiety? It was Hearts and Hooves Day. Specifically, Cava's first Hearts and Hooves Day while dating Elegy. And Elegy was -- well, not late yet, but she would be soon if she took any longer to come pick Cava up.
Cava looked over to her parents and gave shot a trying-to-be-confident smile toward them. "I'm sure that Elegy will be here soon."
Her mother returned Cava's smile with a comforting, albeit tentative, smile of her own. Her father, on the other hoof, merely glanced at his watch and let out a quiet huff of annoyance. Prime Deal had never exactly approved of Cava's relationship with Elegy, especially considering her occasional tendency to be late. Sweet Talker, while wishing that Cavatina could have found a nice colt to date instead, was happy so long as her daughter was safe and happy.
A few minutes before Elegy would have been considered late, a knock came at the door. Prime got up and exited the parlor into the foyer, letting the visitor in. Mercifully, it was Elegy, saving both her and Cava from the potential horrendously awkward moment if she had been late.
"Good evening, sir, madam," Elegy said to the parents. Cava noted with amusement how funny Elly sounded when she talked seriously.
"Hello, Elegy," Sweet replied cheerily. "How has your family been?"
Cava nearly grimaced at that question. She knew how Elegy felt about her family... Luckily, Elly was able to answer politely and normally on the welfare of her parents, older siblings, and grandmother. She just hoped that Elly would not have to be bombarded with anymore familial topics that her mother could come up with. She also felt a twinge of awkwardness when she saw her father's grimace, as Elly was wearing her bandanna around her neck, as usual.
"You should probably get going," Prime told the two. "You don't want to miss your reservation."
"Yes, yes of course, Dad," Cava said, now more anxious to leave.
"Don't be out to late!" Sweet called after them as they walked out.
Cava rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Mom. We won't!" She then shut the door, letting out a small breath that she had not realized she had been holding in.
Elegy let out a breath of her own. "Thank Celestia that went so quickly. I was afraid it was going to drag on. Y'know, 'cause of my mom?" Cava nodded. The two began walking away from the house, and headed into the heart of Canterlot. "I mean, she always, like, psychoanalyzed the colts that my sisters dated, and the few mares that my brother 'hung out' with."
"I still can't believe that you have three sibling," Cava said with wonder in her voice. "I feel like Heart drives me crazy enough on his own when he wants to, and there's only one of him."
"Oh, believe me you get used to it," Elly said, smiling. The smile soon slipped off of her muzzle just as quickly as it had appeared. "Especially when they ignore you most of the time."
Cava frowned. Hearts and Hooves Day was supposed to be about love, romance, all the cheesy, cliché things. It was not a day for brooding, not even for ponies who were single. "Let's drop this subject for the rest of the day. I want the both of us to be happy today." She beamed warmly at her marefriend (that thought still made her feel a bit giddy inside), and grabbed her arm as they walked. She giggled at the sight of Elly's blush. "You know, for a pony who likes to act like she's all tough, I seem to have a multitude of ways for making you red."
"Oh, go screw yourself, preppy," Elly said, her good-natured grin sapping the malice from her words.
"But I thought that's what you wanted to do to me~"
Elly went redder. She hit Cava on the shoulder. "Cava!!" The two burst into a gale of laughter. Their mirth was cut off when Cava checked her watch. Her face went pale.
"What? What's the matter?" Elly's smile vanished too.
"We need to hurry! We don't want to be late!" She then grabbed Elly's hoof, and the two cantered toward the Jungle Paradise, where they were to have their lunch together.
The restaurant was not far from where they were, so they arrived soon, thanks to their haste. Once they had calmed down, Elegy checked the time to see if they were late or not. When she saw the time on the clock, she turned to Cava with a frown.
"Cava, we're ten minutes early. We had plenty of time."
"Yeah, but what if something had happened?"
Elegy raised her hoof and opened her mouth, ready to argue. She then took in a breath, and let it out, calming herself down. She really did not want to argue on a day like this, especially in a fancy restaurant. "Let's just go see if our reservation is ready." They walked over to the hostess, who must have been extremely tired and stressed from all of the reservations and couples who had come to eat here. "Hi, we have a reservation for two, for noon? It should be under 'Elegy.'"
The hostess - who, other than her smile seeming rather forced - appeared pretty chipper. She quickly scanned the large list in front of her, and tapped a spot with her hoof. She then grabbed two menus and beckoned them to follow her. They passed through what seemed like a maze of tables, almost all of them occupied by couples celebrating the holiday of romance. They sat at their table, and thanked the hostess. Though it was not the greatest and most romantic of spots, there was a large arrange of flowers close by them, sending a soft scent of sweet floral perfumes their way.
Their drinks and food took some time to arrive at their table after ordering, but the two mares understood. After all, it was the lunch hour rush on a holiday! The wait was made more acceptable by the fact that the food was delicious. They decided to skip dessert, as they did not want to make the kitchen even more busy than it was already, and it was only lunchtime, after all. They had a brief argument over who would pay the bill, before they eventually compromised and split it evenly. They thanked the staff who had served them on their way out (which was probably more than most of the ponies there were treating the busy servers), and headed towards the Canterlot Park.
Cava was glad to see that due to the lunch hour rush still bustling along, there were not that many ponies in the large park. The two sat down under a gazebo, and watched as a flurry of snow started to drift down lazily from the sky.
"Hey Elly, I wanted to give you this." She levitated a small box out of her saddlebags and gave it to her.
Elegy opened it with delicate care, trying her hardest to not rip the wrapping paper. Her face lit up with joy when she saw what was in it. A soft, pine green winter scarf that had been crocheted by Cavatina was folded neatly into it. She felt hot tears spring into her eyes.
"Thanks, Cava." She undid her trusty bandanna, and draped the scarf lovingly around her neck and over her shoulders. As she always did whenever Elegy removed her neck attire, she tried to ignore the old scars as well as she could.
"You look super cute with that on," Cava said, jokingly pinching her cheek with magic. Elegy merely swatted at her.
Elegy then pulled a much smaller box out of her own saddlebags, and opened it, revealing a heart-shaped locket inside. Engraved into the surface was a replica of Cavatina's cutie mark (a treble clef and bass clef forming a heart).
"Here, open it and look inside," Elegy told her excitedly.
Cava complied, and was delighted to see a cutout of a picture of the two making silly faces (from their first date, when they had gone into a photo booth), and a cutout of a picture of Elegy genuinely smiling for a serious picture on the other.
"Just to remind you who you belong to~"
Cava swiped her hoof at Elegy with a "oh, please!" expression, laughing. She hugged Elegy tightly, who returned the embrace just as fiercely. The two were quiet for a while, just enjoying the hug.
It was Elegy who broke the silence. "I love you, you nervous wreck."
"Right back at ya, 'rebel.'"
Author's Note
Happy Valentine's Day! 
