AN: Just some V-Day fluff :) Shout-out to ValancyStirling for giving this the once-over just a few hours after finding out this story existed. I appreciate you, my dear!

Della sighed, leaning against the door of her apartment after she closed it and locked the deadbolt. It had been a long week doing the legwork for this case. Perry had been busy every night, and she with him a few times. At the office til the stars were fading and dawn was just edging over the horizon. They'd been certain, however, that they could tie things up tightly enough that they'd be able to slip away for a bottle of champagne and a few minutes of dancing in celebration of St. Valentine's day.

Everything was going according to plan until, at 18 minutes past six and 12 minutes from their reservation at the Silver Slipper, Tragg waltzed in as they were getting their coats. He asked cheekily why Perry hadn't been poking around the body of the key witness, discovered less than an hour before in his motel room up the canyon, a 32 slug just over his ear. That had led to a several-minutes long game of cat and mouse, Perry fishing for information without giving away how little he truly knew, and Tragg trying to drop only as many little breadcrumbs as he thought were necessary.

Instead of eating dinner in a place so secluded and private they could hold hands over the table, they ate dry applesauce crackers with slices of deli cheese in the car on the way to the motel.

Rather than holding each other close on the dance floor, Della held tight to Perry's arm as they examined the motel room for any hint as to what had gone wrong.

And now, when Della should have been cozied up closer to her boss than any secretary should be, she was coming home to an empty apartment.

He'd sent her home for some sleep.

"Come to me tonight," she requested quietly, breaking their rules about affection in the office as she leaned in for a kiss.

"It'll be late, Darling," he warned, coming after a second kiss.

"Please," she entreated with another brush of her lips.

"Yes," he answered with one final kiss before tapping her chin and sighing heavily as he went out the back way.

Della flicked on the overhead light in her bedroom. A bouquet of red roses lay against her pillow and a card was leaning against the alarm clock. The sneaky devil. How he'd managed this surprise, she didn't care to guess.

A few hours later, she was fast asleep. The roses were in a vase on the table and the card was tucked away with the other sweet things she saved.

Perry had learned how to come in quietly and get ready for bed without waking Della until he was getting under the covers beside her. Tonight was no different.

"Happy Valentine's day," he murmured in her ear when she shifted against his chest. "I promise I'll make it up to you."

"You already have, just by coming home."

"We could still celebrate," he offered as she twisted under the covers to face him. "What did I ever do to deserve you?" Perry asked as she sought his lips in the dark.

"Just keep coming home to me every night for forever and we'll call it even."

He couldn't help but kiss her again.