Yessss, this is belated, I know, but there was no freakin' WAY I was gonna pass up the chance to write a Valentines-day themed Neoshipping oneshot. 3

"I- I... don't...believe I got...s-stood up- on...v-valentines...day!" Balling her fists in despair, Cassidy sobbed breathlessly. "How d-devastating can it get?"

Her partner was leaned lazily against the wall opposite her, hands stuffed in his pockets and a somewhat discomfited expression gracing his face. He gazed uselessly at the girl, who was hunched at the end of her bed as she cried.

Cassidy's valentines date hadn't quite gone to plan. Clearly, she didn't take being stood up lightly.

The blonde lifted her head to fix Butch with a fierce glare, lip trembling. "Say something, will you?" she snapped, before bursting into a fresh batch of tears.

"...Well, for a start, ya could try taking a chill pill."

This rational suggestion only triggered the drama gene. "Don't tell me what to do!"

"Crying ain't gonna get you anywhere," the green-haired man reprimanded, eyes rolling wearily. He heaved a sigh when she continued sobbing, and reluctantly left his spot by the wall to fetch a wad of tissues from their en-suite bathroom. When he breezed back into the room, he perched down at the end of the bed with her, thrusting the tissues into her hands. "Here."

She gave a coarse sniff, snatching them from him eagerly. "...Why would I get stood up?" she mumbled as she dabbed firmly at her eyes, letting the tissues soak up her tears. When she glanced back up at him, she had two visible black lines down both cheeks, a result of her tears making her mascara run. "Look at me. I'm drop-dead gorgeous. Why would any sane guy give up this chance to get some of this?" She gestured to herself nonchalantly, lips forming a pout.

Butch shrugged. "Search me. His loss, eh?" he relied gently, passing her another few tissues when the used ones were carelessly dropped to the carpet. "You don't wanna spend your night crying over some guy you'd barely met, do ya?" he questioned, eyebrows raising with sympathy. He cocked his head in an attempt to see the girl's face, which was currently hiding behind her thick bangs. "Do ya...?"

She sniffed again, pausing for a moment. He was right, although she despised admitting it, and wallowing in self-pity certainly wasn't any fun, today of all days. "...Oh...you...you wouldn't understand, Butch!" she spat, scrunching up the tissues in her clenched fist and then releasing her grip to drop them to the floor, along with the others. "You never go on dates. You don't get it! You couldn't possibly understand how it feels to like someone, and then be let down by them!"

He frowned, leaning over to gather the dropped tissues. "See that trash can over there? It has a purpose," he grumbled, stabbing his index finger in the direction of their trash can, which sat only a few feet away.

Cassidy's faced scrunched up in a scowl. "Uh...hell-o? I'm sitting here sobbing from the depths of my soul and all you care about is the trash can? My heart's shattered!"

He scoffed at her self-absorbed attitude as he casually tossed each used ball of tissue into the small trash can, not missing once. "C'mon, you barely knew the guy. I'm pretty sure your heart's still all in one piece." He paused, lips curving into his roguish smirk. "Stone doesn't shatter that easily."

Cassidy growled and gave him a shove, trying to squeeze a few more tears out so he'd feel guilty. "It's Valentines day, Butch. And I'm spending it alone like a complete loser!"

"You're not alone," Butch pointed out, giving her side a nudge with his elbow. "Or...do I not count?"

"Of course you don't count!"

"Charming."

"Why should you count? You don't care about me! You don't even have anything useful to say! The only thing you're good for is making light of my pain! The decent thing to do would have been to console me a little, you know? Like friends should? But no. Obviously that's above you! Your tiny, stone cold heart couldn't possibly feel compassion for somebody else's feelings!"

He feigned offence, one hand on his chest. "Hey, all I'm trying to do is make you see it ain't really as big a deal as you're making it out to be. Ya know what they say, Cass- plenty more Magikarp in the sea!" he chirped, giving her a quick pat on the shoulder before he stood up. "Now, if ya don't mind, I'm gonna go out for a smoke," he said, taking his pack of Marlboros out of his pocket as he breezed over to their balcony.

Cassidy glared daggers at him, raising a manicured middle finger the moment his back was turned. It wasn't his fault she'd been stood up, of course, but he was the number one victim for blame placement. "I couldn't care less about the other Magikarp. Joe was the one- he had a Porsche, for goodness sakes! A Porsche!"

Butch shook his head slightly as he lit the cigarette between his smirking lips. "Ah. So you liked him 'cause he had money," he remarked, his tone of voice indicating amusement. "Ya lil' gold-digger."

"Nuh-uh!" the blonde retorted furiously, cheeks flushing bright pink. "Not...completely. Look, just lay of the smartass remarks, Butch. I'm feeling dangerously tempted to come over there and shove you off that balcony if you don't shut your mouth."

He laughed and took a puff on his cigarette. "You need to mellow out, Cass."

Cassidy suppressed anger. God, she wanted to go over there and hit him. He just didn't get it. It was Valentines Day; the worst day of the year to be stood up. "You need to un-mellow out and understand that I'm having a hard time," she snapped, pausing. "I...guess I can't blame you, though, for being so inconsiderate. I mean, Valentines day wouldn't be a big deal to someone like you, someone who doesn't even know what love is."

Butch blinked and glanced over his shoulder at her. "I don't know what love is?"

"You heard me, raspy. You have no idea. You completely lack compassion. You never consider other people's emotions- well, neither do I, but that's different- you're just so...indifferent, to the concept of being close to people. Think about it; you never go on dates, I've never seen you allowing yourself to get particularly close to another girl, you never talk about anything remotely to do with romance or feelings... Still, I suppose nobody's ever loved you, so how could you possibly understand?"

Butch swallowed and turned his head back to look over the balcony at the barren landscape surrounding Headquarters, taking a long drag on his cigarette. Damn, that girl could be cold sometimes. "Is that really how I come across?"

"Yes."

"Huh..." He frowned to himself, seemingly contemplating something. A moment later, he dropped the remainder of his cigarette and crushed it under his boot before making his way back into the room casually. Cassidy was peering at him in anticipation, probably expecting a sudden outburst of rage and a rant on how cruel she was to him and how it wasn't fair.

"Meet ya back here in an hour. Doll yourself up a bit."

Cassidy blinked, cocking an eyebrow at her partner curiously. "Sorry?"

He gave a brief shrug as he crossed the room to the door. "Clearly you think I'm nothin' but a selfish, dispassionate jerk who has no idea of what romance is- so, I'll just hafta show you otherwise," he replied breezily. "Catch ya later. One hour, Cass. Be ready."

One long hour trudged by, and with about ten minutes to spare, Cassidy was doing the finishing touches to her hair and make-up. She thought to herself, as she ran a mascara brush through her already long lashes... what was Butch up to? Was this a date? He didn't really leave much to the imagination, it was obvious he was taking her out somewhere. It was all so spontaneous. She could only assume that this whole thing was just a way of him proving a point, or maybe he felt bad about being so insensitive.

The blonde cracked a smile at her mirror image, content with her appearance. Her golden hair was completely down and free for a change, the flowing locks ending just above her waist. Her outfit consisted of a short violet-coloured dress and a pair of shiny black stilettos.

The moment she heard the door open, she quickly placed her hand on one jutted out hip, attempting to look casual. Her eyebrows shot up when she set eyes on her partner. The usually rough and inelegant Butch had on a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black slacks and very new-looking smart black shoes. He even had his green hair slicked back with gel.

"My oh my," Cassidy remarked, cupping her hands over her cheeks in mock surprise. "Someone scrubs up well! It's nice to see you've made some effort for once in your life."

He grinned, giving a quick bashful shrug as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Heh, nah, I just threw this on," he lied. Of course he wasn't going to let slip that he'd rushed down to the mall just to buy a whole new outfit to impress her.

"Sure you did," Cassidy scoffed, eyes flicking up to his neat hair. "You should have your hair like that more often. It's...flattering on you."

His cheeks flushed. Did...she just pay him a compliment? "I guess, uh- heh, ya don't look to bad yourself," he commented with a shy nod. "I've always said you look pretty with your hair down."

Her jaw dropped a little, eyes downcast. It wasn't like her to come over flustered, but...he so rarely gave genuine, polite compliments about her appearance like that. It was somewhat weird, hearing him call her "pretty". Weird, but pleasant. "Thanks."

"You're uh, welcome."

She lifted her gaze, making a prompt recovery from her embarrassment. "Whatever. Now, enough of this- what are you doing? I mean, what's this about? I don't want you to take me on a "date", Butch." She made sure to use air-quotes as the word date left her mouth.

The tall agent shrugged, swallowing and giving the back of his neck a quick scratch. "Tough break..." he mumbled. "I already booked us a table. Don't look at me like that, Cass. I'm doing you a favour; you wanted to go out on Valentines day, right? So I'm taking you out- just as a friend." He heaved a sigh when her expression remained reluctant. "Look, I know I'm not exactly your idea of a dream date, but surely I'm better than nobody at all?"

She eyed him for a moment. The way he was talking, this was nothing more than a sympathy date. Plus, he'd already booked a table, so perhaps she could just grin and bear it. "Fine," she eventually said, nodding and turning back to her bed to grab her designer purse. "I could do with a night out anyway. Where are we going? The nearest burger joint?"

"Sure. I got all swanked up like this just to go for a cheap hamburger. Fires are on me, babe," he said sarcastically as he ambled over to the door to wait for her, holding it open. "Whaddaya take me for?"

"A guy with the most unrefined sense of style ever."

"Ya don't think much of your partner in crime, do you?" he remarked feebly, smirking at her. "I'm taking you somewhere nice."

Cassidy flashed a smile at him with her freshly glossed lips, snapping her compact mirror shut and chucking it in her purse. "I should think so too. Let's jet."

The swish, up-scale restaurant Butch had chosen came as a big shock to his partner. It was on the classy, quiet side of town and had a private parking lot. Inside was beautiful; lavishly designed, with low lighting and a romantic atmosphere. Who would have thought it?

The two Rocket agents were seated at a table for two, where Cassidy shrugged off her designer coat and draped it over the back of her chair, shifting a little in her seat before resting folded arms on the linen-clothed tabletop. Butch hesitated before taking his own jacket off, rummaging for something in the inner pocket.

"Uh, I kinda...got you a little somethin'- considering it's Valentines day and all," he grunted, pulling out a rose coloured envelope and a tiny white teddy bear with a pink ribbon around it's neck. "Heh. Cute, huh?"

Cassidy struggled to hide the glee in her eyes as he handed them across the table. She was secretly buzzing with delight, deep inside. Just the fact that he'd thought to get her a gift was sweet of him. "Yes, it certainly is. I think I'll name him...Biff," she chirped, placing the little bear down and picking up the envelope. She swallowed, eyeing him from beneath her lashes. "Butch, I...I know I was a little pissed earlier, but you didn't need to...you know...I feel bad. I didn't get you anything." She heaved a sigh as she pried open the envelope, pulling out a white card with a red heart design adorning the front, along with "Happy Valentines Day" in elegant, swirly letters. She opened it, eyes scanning Butch's scrawled handwriting.

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Some poems rhyme

This one doesn't.

Happy V-day, partner,

From Butch.

Though she was secretly delighted with his efforts, she couldn't help but chuckle at this one. She glanced back at him over the top of the card, placing a hand on her chest. "You have...such a profound way with words, Butch," she gushed sarcastically, before cracking a smirk and placing the card down on the table. "Thanks. That was really... sweet of you."

He shrugged aloofly, reaching for the menu. "It's nothin', Cass. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm starved. We'd better get our moneys worth at this place."

Cassidy picked up the other menu that rested on the table and studied it, eyes deftly scanning each gourmet course. "Wow. It really is fancy," she remarked. Luckily for her, countless past dates had wined and dined her at classy venues like this before, so she was familiar with at least a few of the pretentious dishes. Her partner was, unsurprisingly, bewildered.

"What's this?" he muttered, narrowing his eyes at a French course. "...Horse...horse ov- ovaries?"

"Hors d'oeuvres. It's pronounced 'or derves'."

"Oh, right," Butch chuckled. "They oughta spell the words how they sound. Ya know, I don't even know what half of these things are." He stared at the strange appetizers, suddenly feeling incredibly uncultured. "...Maybe we should have gone to a burger joint."

Cassidy rolled her eyes at him. "Look, I know what some of this stuff is, so I'll recommend a few things," she decided haughtily, clearing her throat and tossing back her hair as she scanned the menu again. "Now, if you'd just quit looking at the complicated words... Marinated mushrooms are nice, or some sort of tartlet- I had tomato and goats cheese tartlet when I came to a fancy restaurant with Mark, and that was nice. And there's soufflé or different types of fish too. I think I'm going to have the wine-poached salmon with black truffles," she decided, setting the menu down and smiling at a dumbfounded Butch. "So?"

He blinked, eyes flicking up to meet hers. "I don't know, Cass. It's too pretentious to suit my tastes...I mean, don't they have something regular like fried chicken?"

She heaved a sigh of frustration, resting her palm against her forehead. "You choose a classy restaurant like this and then complain that the food's too pretentious? Just pick something, Butch. They have roasted chicken?"

"With prunes and cabbage? Yuck."

"Ugh, okay..how about a soup? Or a stew? Lobster bisque?" the blonde suggested impatiently.

"Lobster what?"

"Tomato and spinach crepes?"

"What're they?"

"Like a pancake."

"...Why would there be spinach on a pancake?"

Cassidy pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, closing her eyes for a second. She knew it was too good to be true; Butch, dressing up fancy and taking her to a classy restaurant. His incompetence spoilt everything. "Just pick something, will you?" she snapped, crossing her arms and leaning back in her seat, fixing him with an icy glare.

Butch blinked. Sure, his pallet wasn't the most refined, but who was she to act so disgustingly ungrateful when he was doing her a favour? "...Who's paying for this, Cass? Are you paying for this? No. I am. So shut up and quit acting like a brat," he hissed. That shut her up. "Maybe I'll just skip the main course and order dessert."

"You can't do that!"

"Why?"

"Because! You can't come into a place like this just to order a dessert! Don't you know a thing about dining etiquette?"

"Never heard of it," he replied shortly, flipping the menu over to study desserts. Ah, now these were edible. "I'd rather order something I know I'll enjoy, than go ahead and pay for something even if I don't have an idea in hell what it's gonna taste like. I'm gonna order the chocolate crepes."

"Fine," Cassidy uttered. "Go ahead and look like a stupid child."

"Gladly," Butch retorted, flashing her a fake smile which vanished the moment his face was hidden behind the drinks menu. His eyes trailed down the list of fine wines and champagnes. "...They lack beer."

"You lack class. Why don't we order some champagne?" Cassidy suggested hopefully, catching the nearest waiter's eye to have him come over.

"Are ya kiddin' me? Look at the freakin' price of this stuff! Sheesh. Why's it gotta be so overpriced? Hell, I'm gonna be bled dry by the time-" He promptly shut his mouth when he received a kick under the table from Cassidy, who was staring daggers at him. He only realized the reason behind her cold glare when he glanced to his right and spotted a snooty looking waiter standing beside the table.

"Uh...heh..."

They ordered their food, along with a bottle of the horrendously overpriced champagne, and chatted about work and life in general while they waited. It wasn't long before they were served. Cassidy's salmon looked beautifully prepared with little green garnishes around the edge, and Butch had his chocolate crepes, which looked delicious with drizzled chocolate sauce and sprinkled sugar- although he was clearly irritated that they were much smaller than he'd expected. Just as irritated as Cassidy was over the fact that he hadn't chosen a main course like a normal person.

The two of them ate quietly, only exchanging comments on the food now and again. Despite being a little put-out with Butch's fuss over the menu, Cassidy had since relaxed and was beginning to enjoy herself. She was feeling almost...glad that she'd allowed her partner to take her out tonight. She appreciated his efforts, even if they were a little...well, inexperienced. It wasn't his fault he didn't know much about being a gentleman, it just wasn't him.

Cassidy smiled to herself. She knew deep down, she wouldn't have him any other way.

As she flicked her eyes up, planning to thank Butch for the wonderful night, and how she appreciated his efforts; her smile vanished. He was chewing with his mouth open, and had somehow managed to get chocolate smeared on his left cheek. She grimaced. "Don't you have any manners?" she hissed, thrusting a napkin at him.

Her rolled his eyes, swallowing his mouthful before snatching the napkin and dabbing around his mouth. "Sorry."

Cassidy scowled and sat back, huffing to herself. Okay, so perhaps she would have him another way, in some respects.

Butch brushed off her contemptible attitude and took a long swig from his glass of champagne until there wasn't even a dribble left. He let out a refreshed sigh, slamming his empty glass back down on the table. "So, did you enjoy your-" An extremely loud burp cut his sentence short. "Heh, sorry- better out than in!"

Cassidy's cheeks turned red, and she rested her elbows on the table, her face in her palms. "Ugh, don't be so disgusting."

"I'm not. It's a natural human reflex, if that's disgusting then-"

While reaching over to pour himself another glass, the green-haired man unintentionally knocked over his partner's glass in the process, earning a scream from her as the bubbly liquid slashed all down her front, soaking her.

"Oh, shoot...sorry, Cass, I didn't-"

She burst into tears, scraping her chair back and grabbing her jacket before hurrying away as fast as her stilettos could carry her; past the other staring and giggling tables, and out of the front exit. She stood there, her coat wrapped tightly around her wet torso as she let the night breeze blow her tears away.

Why did the night have to be such a disaster? Why, out of all the dates she'd ever been on, was this the only one that turned into an embarrassing catastrophe? If only Butch had known all along that all she'd wanted from him was a hug and a pep-talk when she'd been upset. That was all she'd wanted. Some solace when she was feeling blue. She didn't want him to inform her of what a drama queen she was, and that there were plenty more Magikarp in the sea. She didn't want him to go to stupid efforts, trying to impress her and then embarrassing her in the process. Was he really too thick to see the only thing she cared about was...him taking her feelings into consideration?

"Cassidy?"

She blinked back tears when a raspy voice broke the silence. "What?" she snapped, keeping her back to him.

Butch wavered behind her warily. "You okay? Sorry 'bout what happened in there. Obviously I didn't mean to spill the champagne all over you."

"I don't care about that."

He blinked. "You don't? But I thought-"

"You don't care about me," she interrupted coldly, eyes downcast.

"...Huh?"

She swallowed and blinked back the tears that were welling up in her eyes, composing herself before she whipped round to face him. "You don't care about me!" she shouted. Her voice, filled with despair, made him jump a little. "All you care about is...I don't...know. But I know I never wanted you to take me out tonight, Butch! I never asked you to bring me to some pretentious restaurant and try in vain to impress me! God, it's...it's humiliating!" she snapped, a tear streaming down her cheek. The look in her eyes suddenly softened as she stared at him, and a lump grew in her throat, making it hard to get her words out. "I didn't want any of that...because it's not you. And..." Her voice wobbled. "-And believe it or not...y...you, are what I needed tonight. I mean- I...I wanted you to be a little more sensitive when I was upset. That's all. I wanted you to care, and be there for me, because nobody else ever does!"

Butch felt sudden guilt as she burst into another set of tears. It was odd, he knew he had no reason to be feeling guilty; he'd done a good thing tonight. He'd just wanted to cheer her up. Maybe he'd gone the wrong way about it.

He held his arms out, welcoming a hug. He was relieved when she collapsed against him and allowed the embrace. He gave her a comforting squeeze- extra tight, because he owed it to her for not realizing sooner that comfort was what she needed. He pulled back after a minute or so, only to gently tilt her chin up so she was forced to look at him. He wanted to say something; some words of reassurance or an apology, perhaps. But their eyes locked, and before he knew what he was doing, he seized this sudden opportunity and pressed his lips against hers.

They only broke away to part for air after minutes, their eyes locking just as they had seconds before it happened.

"...I do care, Cass," Butch whispered, a little breathless from the kiss. He reached up and stroked a stray blonde hair from her blushing face. "That'll never change."