Whoa, hey guys. Long time no see. (For a multitude of reasons: moving, junior year of high school being insane, crashed computer, Homestuck taking over my life, etc.)

Uh. I actually have a series of semi-important announcements, but I'll wait until I get to the end. Until then, happy Valentine's, and enjoy this hastily dashed-off fic!

O-o-O

Breakfast for dinner was a Kane family tradition for most holidays, and as far as they were concerned Valentine's Day was important enough to merit heart-shaped pancakes, especially since this was the first year that Carter actually had someone to invite over for Valentine's.

He said a silent prayer in favor of his parents not embarrassing him—like they hadn't every other time Zia had come over, but whatever—as he slid across the entryway tile in his socks to answer the door. The latch caught, as always, and then he finally managed to wrestle the door open to a shivering Zia Rashid.

"How are you even cold?" he asked as she shrugged off her jacket and stepped out of her sneakers. "It's almost seventy degrees."

"It's freezing," she said, and waved back at Carter's dad and his shouted greeting from the kitchen.

"Not my fault you're a freakishly cold-blooded desert child," he teased her, and she punched his shoulder.

Carter's mom poked her head out of the kitchen doorway, blond hair up in a knot. "Hello, sweetheart!"

"Hi, Mrs. Kane," Zia said.

"Dinner isn't quite ready yet, but there's a dish of chocolates out in the living room for you kids to share."

"You're only telling me this now?" Carter demanded. "Sadie's probably eaten them all."

"Well, we'd better go grab some," Zia said, and took his hand to tug him through the door.

Between the two of them they managed to rescue a few handfuls of candy from Sadie, and Carter was enjoying the lingering aftertaste of chocolate when his dad called them in for dinner. There was a massive plate of pancakes waiting with a jug of syrup, and his mom's best plates set out on the table. Carter barely managed to suppress a snort when Zia spread her napkin over her lap—seriously, who did that?—although it didn't stop him from catching her fingers under the table, and tickling her palm as soon as she was in the middle of a "serious" conversation with his dad about a new hieroglyphic translation.

Everyone was on their second serving of pancakes when Carter's dad said, "Isn't your school having a dance tomorrow?"

"Yes, Dr. Kane," Zia said. "Actually it's the 'Sadie Hawkins dance', which is ridiculous, but no matter."

"Are you two going?" Carter's mom asked.

"Nah," Carter said. "Zia's insane and she has to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow."

"Four a.m, if we're going to get technical," Zia corrected him.

"On a Saturday?" his dad said.

"Speech sectionals are tomorrow," Zia said. "We have to leave early if we want any time to do warm-ups before our rounds."

"How do you warm up for a speech?" Sadie asked.

"Mostly tongue twisters," Zia said. "And a few acting exercises."

"Well, best of luck," Carter's dad said.

"Thank you," Zia said.

Due to the ridiculous early bus time, Zia wound up leaving right after dinner, but not before Carter snuck a good-bye kiss in the hall.

O-o-O

Whew. Okay. Announcements!

I'm actually going to end this story here—sorry!—but I'm not done writing fic by a long shot; I've just set up shop elsewhere. You can find me on AO3 (archiveofourown dot org) as larkgrace, or—if you're into Homestuck—my other penname is fishprincessfeferi. Side note: you should read Homestuck, if you have an immature sense of humor.

Other announcements! MuseGirltheauthor (Katie) and I are actually writing a Kane Chronicles/Homestuck crossover fic sometime in the future, and it's going to be amazing, and include Zia meeting aliens and Walt being on the end of a million Grim Reaper jokes and Sadie hunting for frogs and Carter being adorably clueless. Did I mention Zia meeting aliens? Because it's hilarious.

We've actually finished the first story from that crossover 'verse—you can find it under my fishprincessfeferi penname; it's the first in a four-part series of one-shots.

Anyway. Happy V-day! May you all enjoy the abundance of smoochfic that I'm sure is flooding the archive.

-Callie