This instant. This very second. This was momentous in Miles life.

It was the very first time he had bought a Valentines card that did not have any funny cartoons or jokes in it.

It was a sweet thing, with a short and cute message inside it, lots of red, traces of pink and die cuts on the sides. The message implied he liked and cared about their friendship, but opened the door for more, which was perfect.

The chocolate box was another thing entirely. He DID think about removing the chocolates, putting foil wrap inside the box and bringing chicken instead, but as 'funny' and 'original' that might have been, it totally ruined the intent of the card, so he went for the standard. A square golden box of assorted chocolates which he had had the audacity to open and remove the little 'cheat sheet' that told people what each chocolate had inside. Where was the fun in knowing before hand?

The movie he'd picked for them to see was a bona fide romantic teen 'chick flick'. It was unavoidable since it was Valentine's, but he was willing to take the bullet. Then again, the cineplex they'd go to had other movies in display, one of them a recently released sci-fi action flick, full of testosterone and special effects. He'd leave it on the plate as option B, or maybe option Z, since she could always end up picking something else. Even though he was pining to take the laser/plasma burst bullet, he knew this was her day and a romantic comedy might work for the best.

Miles roamed around the hallways of the mansion, looking for Ruby's room. Had he ever been in this wing before? He didn't live at the mansion so the living quarters were the areas he visited the least. His dogs were next to him and he could always have them follow her scent, though he was fully intent on leaving them behind at the mansion during the date.

Eventually, he found the door to her room. He adjusted his blue shirt and his black jacket, patted his head to feel any unruly hairs trying to hold a revolution, checked there was no dog hair or dirt on his jeans or sneakers, shook his hands to release some tension and then proceeded to knock on her door.

So it had been quite a long time since Ruby had a date, well at least the knowledge of her big sister. Maybe it was for the best that she didn't tell Emerald when she was going out with someone, considering Emerald's normal reaction to things.

The wolf woman didn't try to ruin her little sisters social life, she just didn't want Ruby to get hurt and no one could really blame her for that. After the thing's the Lupin duo went through it was no surprise how she acted. No one else really understood her in the same way Ruby did and it was a scary thought for her that one day, Ruby might not be around her as much as she was.

So of course when Ruby called her with ecstatic glee, telling her about her date, Emerald was a little reluctant to let her little sister go on it. Not without meeting the lucky guy first, after all a guy had to be pretty damn special to think they could try to woo her baby sister. So once Miles knocked on that door, it was opened but instead of the bright and bubbly Ruby at the door, Emerald was there, in all her scary big sister glory.

Hilariously enough, she wasn't trying to be intimidating this time, it was just sort of the aura she gave off, especially since she was coming to the door dressed in ripped blue jeans, a shirt with a claw marks design on it, a leather biker jacket, brass knuckles and steel toed combat boots.

"So you're the guy Ruby's been talking about, come on in, she's in the bathroom getting ready, she's been talking non stop about ya for days," Emerald told him, trying her best to give him a friendly smile. The wolf woman stepped aside, allowing Miles in, but it might be hard not to notice those cautious eyes watching him.

Miles swallowed. It was the type of swallow you can notice the adam's apple going up and down as his eyebrows went up, clearly letting the woman know she was not the person he was expecting to open the door. Well, at least she didn't have a broadsword this time around, but her clothes immediately gave the vibe of a woman not to be trifled with. She was polite and smiled but her eyes were zoned in on him like gunsights.

"Thanks" he said, trying not to imagine Ruby bathing lest her sister could read minds or body language or ohGodI'mgonnadie. He then remembered Ruby mentioning her name: Emerald. A wolf shifter. His memories of her in the dream were fractured at best, so he tried to keep his comments on the here and now.

"I'll wait. I think I'm early anyway" he said as he entered the room and still felt her gaze on him, even from behind. He felt like he was being X-rayed. Worse, it was more like one of those TSA machines on airports where they can look at your bits and you never know if it's just an old dude behind the tinted glass or a gaggle of girls pointing and mocking at you on the screen.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Miles" he said, as he left the card and the box of chocolates on a table and turned to her offering a hand to shake, making sure it wasn't sweating.

"Happy Valentine's!"

So, sometimes in life, you get a feeling, deep, deep down in your gut about something that was going on or something that was happening. At this very moment, Emerald was having one of those feelings and judging by the body language of the poor kid in front of her, she was likely scaring him to death.

Good Emerald thought with an absolutely devilish grin. The wolf woman shook the young mans hand firmly, her strength showing in that grip of hers. She gripped him just hard enough to hurt, but not even remotely showing the full extent of it's strength.

While Emerald wasn't heartless, she did know that one of the best ways to get someone to listen was through fear. It wasn't good to do that if you had a pup or something like that, but when it came to some kid that was trying to woo your little sister, that was something else entirely.

Who knows he might try to be her mate one day and because of that, Big sister Emerald had to make sure that this guy was going to be a good fit for her little sister. Even if he was a good fit in this strange future dream they all had, that was not a guarantee he would be a good fit now.

"Take care of her tonight alright? I'm trusting my little sister to make good decisions and I'm trusting you to treat her like the precious little lady she is," Emerald told Miles, that grin still plastered on her face. However, this one was a lot more threatening, like a wolf staring at the next lamb it was going to eat.

"Emmy! Don't be mean to Miles! Remember I can hear you through this door! Ruby's voice rang out clearly from behind the bathroom's door.

Emerald let out a sigh, her body relaxing a little. The redhead still wanted to keep her eyes on Miles but she knew that if she did anything too drastic, Ruby would never forgive her. The werewolf flopped onto the green sheeted bed in the room with a low grunt, acting disinterested in the whole thing but occasionally glancing at Miles. Her little sister meant everything to her and she would be dammned in hell if this guy did anything to mess with that delicate little heart.

Ow.

Ow. Owiee! OW!

Miles did not mutter a peep. He felt tempted to, but he gritted his teeth in a forced smile as the wrench the woman had for a hand gently crushed his fingers. Some instinct in the back of his head kicked in, telling him not to complain and take it like a man. Anything else would make him look weak, though he was sure she already knew he was no world class athlete. Still, taking in the pain made him look better than shrieking like a girl.

Then again, it was a woman doing the crushing, so maybe 'shrieking like a girl' was not the best comparison.

When she let go of the hand, blood started to flow back to his fingers as he moved them to check everything still worked. Emerald then delivered a warning veiled as casual conversation through a grin that had no amusement behind it. He found himself nodding without even thinking about it. You really didn't think when someone threatened you like that, you just agreed to whatever terms they gave you!

Then he heard Ruby's voice from behind the door and that gave him some relief. Emerald was just being protective and he understood that, so he tried to put her at ease.

"Don't worry, I will" he said truthfully as he did intend to be careful, not only in the way Emerald imagined he could screw things up, but also keeping an eye out for any trouble. Miles visible mutation was his dogs size and eyes, a trait that was sometimes overlooked, but Ruby's ears and tail were far more visible, so he'd do his best to avoid anything remotely troublesome.

"It's mostly food and a movie. And chocolates. And maybe some games. Nothing too crazy or wild or stupid..." he said, hoping to high heaven nothing crazy, wild or stupid would get in their way, or else he might lose his head.

Anxious didn't even begin to describe what Ruby was feeling right now. This was the first time in a long time she had been out on a date so she just wanted everything to go perfectly. The timid fox girl peeked out from a crack in the door and partially saw Miles and her sister. While she wasn't too concerned, she still wanted to double check to make sure her sister hadn't done anything too terrible to him yet. All looked and sounded well for now so she continued to get ready.

After around ten more minutes or so of complete and utter silence between the two other than an occasional shuffle from Emerald, Ruby stepped out of the bathroom, a slightly nervous smile worn on her face. The fox girl wore black denim jeans, a large leather coat that went down to her waist, knee high boots and an icy blue t shirt that had a drawing of a little owl on it. The fox girl wore very little make up, no doubt this was her sisters doing but there was just enough to accentuate some of her features.

It was quite cold out today so she didn't want to wear a dress, despite how much more appropriate for the date that would be. It was either looking “good” or freezing her tail off and Ruby certain didn't want to freeze her tail off, especially not around her first date. She had to make a good impression even if they had been on who knows how many dates in the other world.

“You look great kiddo!” Emerald told her little sister, a happy smile on her face, being the first to approach her. Emerald lightly tussled Ruby’s hair a little, laughing as the fox her let out an irritated groan at her sister messing up her hard work. “Oh relax, you're gonna to be fine.”

Ruby glared up at her older sister for a moment before giving her a quick hug and she felt the wolf woman immediately relax in her grasp and return the hug. It wasn't that hard to tell how worried Emerald was about her, that and the fact that this was her least favorite holiday didn't help matters. Ruby opened up one of her coat pockets and smiled at her sister before handing her an envelope. The fox girl watched as Emerald’s features softened immediately and she stuffed it in her own jacket pocket. This earned the little fox girl another hug.

“Happy Valentine’s Day big sis,” Ruby whispered softly, just before the sisters broke apart again.

Without saying another word, Emerald walked out of the room, giving Miles a quick nod before completely leaving the room.

”Sorry about my sister,” Ruby apologized to Miles’ her voice soft and sincere. ” “This is just sort of a sucky time of year for her and she worries about me is all…so where are we going on this magical night?”

The fox girl looked like she was either going to bounce off the walls, faint or both. Her entire body was moving it seemed, between her tail and her ears, at the moment she looked more like a cat going after a mouse than a girl about to go out on a date.

The mood in the room brightened quite a lot more the moment Ruby came out from the bathroom, all ready to go. Miles couldn't help plastering a smile on his face the second he saw her. He didn't move from his chair though, letting the two sisters talk to each other. Emerald then showed a side of her he hadn't seen in the few minutes he had been there. The caring, loving sister side. It was quite endearing and for a second it even made Miles miss his family.

The smile vanished the moment Emerald gave him the nod. She might object to seeing his goofy grin while looking at Ruby but it quickly returned as soon as the older Lupin left the room.

Miles got up from his chair, chocolate's box on one hand, card on the other, a bit of a blush on both cheeks and wondering if he really deserved to date someone like Ruby. Maybe in a past life, he had been a saint of some sort and had accumulated lots and lots of good karma and this was his reward.

"You look wonderful!" he said, the dimple in his cheek quite visible. Ruby apologized for her sister, but he just waved a dismissive hand, trying to let her understand it was not a big deal, even though he had swallowed hard the whole time her sister had been in the room. "Good brothers and sisters worry, it's in the job description" he added, not commenting on Emerald's Valentine woes, lest she think he was being nosy. As to where they were going...?

"If it were up to me, we'd be going to Disneyland or maybe to a Hush Sound concert now that they're no longer on hiatus or I dunno, somewhere really magical and fancy" he said, feeling like there wasn't enough magic at the cineplex.

Miles was packing 67 dollars and 49 cents in his pocket, a mix of some savings and his monthly allowance that should keep him covered till the end of the month, but he was willing to blow it all out tonight if need be. A guy needed to make a good first impression on the first date.

"I was thinking about grabbing a bite to eat and maybe going to the movies, but we can go somewhere else if you want. Any ideas?"

Ruby's face lit up in a brilliant shade of red when she was complimented by her date, her tail curling around her body a little self consciously.

" Do you really think so? You look good too," Ruby Beamed, her expression bright and filled with happiness. She took the chocolate box and placed it on her dresser, just so she would be able to eat it later. Still holding the card in one hand, Ruby fumbled about her room for a moment as if looking for something she misplaced. The Fox girl's tail swished back and forth eagerilly once she opened her sock drawer.

Ruby had gotten Miles' a card, but it was a simple one without any I love you's or anything like that. It just had a Transformer,Optimus Prime, on the front and on the inside it said. "Let's roll out Valentine." with her signature and a little smiley face next to it. Ruby wasn't exactly the poetic type, but she figured something simple wouldn't be a bad choice.

The fox girl nodded a little in recognition when he said the intimidating sibling thing was part of the job description. In all honesty, it really seemed to be around her sisters. They would do anything and everything to protect her and she knew that. She just wished that they wouldn't be so harsh on others, half the time they didn't mean any harm at all. They just worried too much was all.

"Well since Disneyland and a concert is out," Ruby giggled, fiddling with the card that she had clasped tightly in hand. "I wouldn't mind going to a movie, I heard there was a new sci fi flick in theaters that sounded good."

Sure, Ruby liked a gooey chick flick as much as the next girl, but she did not want to see it on Valentines Day. The theater would probably be packed and there would be people doing who knows what in the back. The fox girl opened up the envelope that held the card and found...

... A poem, actually. It even started off with an acrostic.

Radiant smile and beautiful green eyes
Unique, sweet, smart and wise
Be my valentine! At least for the day!
You'll have fun, that much I can say!

The card was one of those that had a photograph of two little kids sitting in a bench at a park. They weren't hugging or kissing, but they both held balloons, the boy a blue one, the girl a pink one and they were both laughing. The inside of the card was empty, so whoever bought it had to fill it with his own words, which Miles had done. The second set of lines was not an acrostic, but at least they still rhymed.

Geez, who could have known it was so hard to write poetry?
I'd have an easier time understanding geometry!
You're worth the effort, so I had to try,
Hope you liked it, now kiss rhymes goodbye!

The next couple of lines didn't rhyme, but they pretty much ended the letter with a signature from Miles and the date.

From the bottom of my heart, you're a great friend and I really care about you,
So have a very happy Valentine, Ruby!

Miles D. Haxton
14-feb-2013

The boy enjoyed his Transformers card, opening it with a grin plastered all over his face and he was really looking forward to roll out this Valentine day, specially since the fox girl had suggested the sci-fi flick! She didn't mention romantic comedies and Miles did not even press the issue.

"Excellent!" he said, his eyes brightening at her idea and counting himself lucky. "Shall we move on, then?"