[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Reyne sat alone at the table, staring at the single rose placed in the vase in the centre. Sure, it wasn't the fanciest of places but she had hoped that her date would have the decency to show up.

She sighed again, as she looked at the time, and asked the waiter for the bill. It was clear that he wasn't going to come, and that meant the end of the road for them. There had been too many missed dates, too many wasted moments, and this was the last straw.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

As she walked home past the brightly decorated shops and cafes, Reyne thought about the holiday. It seemed she was always alone on Valentines, and this year was no different. She sighed, as happy couples walked past her on the street, and tried to ignore the pink confetti which was falling from the balconettes above.

She finally turned into her street, past the gaudy signs proclaiming it to be a national holiday, and paused to retrieve the mail. She snorted at the postcard from her friend, and scowled as she tossed the valentine's flyers into the trash.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

She closed the door behind her, and let out a long sigh. She had been really hopeful about her valentine date this time. He had been so considerate at the beginning, but now... now she wasn't sure he remembered her at all.

She left her shoes by the doormat, and hung her coat on the hook, brushing off a few stray bits of confetti. Honestly. she thought to herself, it's just a stupid commercial holiday. It shouldn't even bother me anymore.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Thornton stood in the doorway with his arms folded, looking at his little sister. He hated himself for it, as he wanted nothing more than to comfort her, but he knew she would want her space initially. Just a few moments for her to pull herself together, and then he could intervene.

"Not so good, huh?" he asked, walking over to pull a piece of pink confetti out of her hair.

"You could say that" Reyne answered, voice cracking slightly as she frowned.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Reyne leaned in and hugged her brother tightly. It was good to come home to a comforting presence, even more so on days of heartbreak like this one. For a moment, she just allowed herself to breathe and be comforted.

Thornton hugged his sister, and scowled over her shoulder. He hated seeing her hurt, and more than anything he was glad he was around to help her today.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Reyne stepped back, and took a deep breath. "I don't want to think about stupid valentines any more, Thorn, I just want today to be like any other normal day." She blinked back her tears, and avoided her brother's eyes.

Thornton did not miss the way that moisture gathered in Reyne's eyes. "That's a pity;" he told her, "because on normal days I don't make you special hot chocolate with marshmallows floating on it, and I don't tell you that I bought two tubs of ice-cream the other day which are still in the freezer." He grinned at her; he knew how to make her forget about her sadness for a while.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Reyne smiled, even as the tear ran down her cheek. She knew she could always count on her big brother to help her feel better. She began to smile wider as he continued to chatter, getting wrapped up in his plans for them.

"And we'll make pillow forts like we did when we were kids, and we can watch a movie - we can even take the popcorn machine and mini fridge in there with us!" Thornton grinned; he could see that Reyne was smiling, which was definitely a step in the right direction. "So which one do you want; very Berry or Razzmataz?"

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"Surprise me" Reyne said; to her surprise, she really did feel better. "I'm going to go get changed into something comfortable, and I'll start bringing the building supplies down."

Thornton grinned at her enthusiasm. "Excellent; I'll get the spoons and the munchies, and then I'll come up and give you a hand. Let me just set up the base of our fort." He began moving the furniture in their living room around, in order to push their section couches together into a square shape. To be fair, this was exactly why he had insisted on buying section couches for both corners in the first place.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Reyne shook her head as her brother went to work on the couches, and hurried off to get the mattresses down. She grinned at the memories of them doing the same thing throughout their childhood whenever one of them had had a bad day. Thorn had always known exactly what to do when she was upset, and she had made sure to reciprocate whenever he was down.

Dragging the mattresses into the front room, she laughed at her now out of breath brother, before squealing as he tried to tickle her. "Go and get the rest of it" Thorn said, inserting the double mattresses into the hollow left by the section couches.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Twenty minutes later, the two of them were in their pyjamas in a pillow fort with bed sheets hung from the rafters, watching a funny movie about a Tuskow and a Roosken. As Reyne tucked into her ice-cream, bits of popcorn fell out of her hair (the popcorn fight had occurred shortly after the movie began). She grinned; this was definitely the best way to spend Valentine's day in her opinion. Nothing could beat being comfortable at home, munching on all sorts of junk food and enjoying herself with someone she loved.

Maybe next year she would plan this instead.