Single pringle here writing to you on this belated Valentines day with pointless Darhkatom fluff. XD Hope y'all enjoy!

-0-

"Y'know... I really like the pink one."

"That's all well and good, Nora," Nate said, "but... why do me and Behrad have to be here? Not that we aren't happy for you and Ray-"

"We are, definitely!" Behrad answered, seeing his friend was probably gonna go into some dramatic babbling session. "But... we aren't exactly prime time romance material, or shopping buddies you'd typically take."

"Well, apart from me, you two know Ray the best," Nora said, looking back at the little black dress, which had a more 'sexy' feel to it to her. "So I figured you two would know what he likes when it comes to girls appearances."

"Ray actually doesn't talk about that often," Nate said. "He prefers character content over physical appearances."

"Yeah, from what I've seen, he's just a good guy looking for a good-natured girl," Behrad added. "And he found one in you."

"...That is so sweet," Nora muttered.

"Ray's a big ol' softie, we all know this," Nate chuckled. "You probably couldn't even get him to call anyone ugly, even as a joke."

"I'll eat my foot the day that happens."

Both Nora and Nate looked at Behrad after his sudden odd comment, but they quickly forgot about it - for Nora was entering a bit of a panic. "Ugh - I only have three hours left before Ray gets back from his mission! And in that time I have to pick a dress, pick shoes, cook dinner, get some nice scented candles - this is all too much!"

Nate and Behrad looked at one another with pity for their friend and teammate. Ray, they knew, would honestly not mind if she wore sweatpants and a t-shirt to a fancy dinner date. Heck - he may prefer it. But still, they knew Nora genuinely loved Ray, and wanted to go all out. So, they hatched a plan.

"Tell you what - me and B will go get the scented candles and also set up a romantic-esque dinner setting on the Waverider," said Nate, "so that way, it takes some off your plate and gives you more time to shop and cook!"

Nora seemed to blankly stare at Nate for a moment. "You two just gonna leave me here to do this by myself, huh?"

"OH-Oh no no no! We won't if you don't-"

"Uh oh," Behrad thought.

But then, Nora giggled. "I'm just messing with you, Nate. That would be greatly appreciated, if you wouldn't mind. Let's meet back at the jumpship in an hour."

"Oh, not at all!" Nate smiled. "B?"

"Yeah, sure!" smiled Behrad.

And with that, Nate and Behrad ran off to go to the scented candle store, and Nora kept on debating between dresses. Eventually, she went with the pink one - it just looked more warm, and more loving too. The black one, however...

Well, that may come in handy at another point...

Now, she had to find some cute shoes.

-0-

"What did I get us into?"

"You could say that again."

Nate and Behrad were currently standing in front of Bath & Body Works - most males knew that if they entered here, they would not exit until the sun set upon the oceans. Okay, yes that was an over-exaggeration - but nearly the entire gender buys shampoo because it says "shampoo" on the bottle.

Trust the author, he's a male too.

"Well, keep in mind, we're doing this for Nora and Ray," Behrad said. "Chin up, huh? And besides, it will smell amazing."

"Right," Nate nodded. "Okay then.. let's go smell everything."

Behrad chuckled, having had many an experience with getting dragged along with Zari to go candle sniffing. He remembered how bored he'd get, to the point where he'd use his air totem to create a light breeze and mess up some people's hair.

"You ready bro?" Behrad asked.

"Let's sniff some good stuff," Nate sighed.

He and the air bender shot a look of humor at one another, and finally entered the store, clearing them of the patrons who were giving them interesting looks for making such a dramatic display of looking at the store entrance sign.

-0-

Nora was stepping out of the store, having got some cute black shoes to go with her pink dress - a nice contrast, and also a hint of that black dress she was saving for later. She was going to get Charlie to do her hair, as she knew she had quite a bit of experience in that field.

Anyway, as she was making her way back to the rental car, she caught up with Nate and Behrad - they both seemed a bit loopy.

"I think... I think we sniffed one too many candles," muttered Nate, rubbing his head.

Nora couldn't help but chuckle - poor boys...

"We got like, five different ones, and two of each," Behrad groaned. "Is that good enough?"

"Its more than enough," Nora smiled, trying to suppress her laughter. "Now come on - you two get in the back. I'm only in the mood for using a little magic if we get pulled over."

Nate and Behrad complied very quickly, and found falling asleep to be the best option. They were conked out by the time that they reached the jumpship, and Nora had to use some magic to get them aboard. All typical in the daily life of the Fairy Godmother.

-0-

Nora sighed, looking down at the cookbook that she had swiped from the library - none of these "romantic" recipes were screaming Ray Palmer to her - figuratively and literally! She was getting more and more frustrated by the minute... this was the last thing she needed right now. She only had an hour and a half left to prepare for Ray!

"Gah - I should've just splurged on those Hamilton tickets," she muttered. "He always likes musicals..."

She then rounded the corner, and entered the kitchen - and stopped dead in her tracks.

Mick was in there.

Now, she didn't dislike Mick - but something about him always made her apprehensive about approaching him. Ah well... not like she couldn't do her hair, makeup, or outfit before getting to cooking dinner, right?

"Hey."

Dammit, he noticed her.

"H-Hey Mick," Nora said nervously. "W-Whatcha doing?"

"Making dinner," Mick said gruffly. "Double quad-decker sandwich; you want one? I can quickly make another."

"No, no thank you," Nora uttered, "that-that'll be fine."

Mick gave her a look, and a tiny smirk seemed to form on his lips. "You're wanting to cook for Haircut, huh?"

"How are you so perceptive?" sighed Nora. "But... yes, yes I am. And I don't wanna fabricate it, I want it to have love in it - no offense Gideon." "None taken," the AI said cheerily. Nora smiled, before continuing. "None of these recipes scream 'Ray' to me. And I just... I want it to be special, y'know?"

Mick thought long and hard for a moment, before speaking up again. "What are you going all out on?"

"Why does that matter?" Nora asked.

"It does," Mick insisted. "Now - what are you going all out on?"

"Uhm... l-looks, setting, scent... why?"

Mick then took the cookbook from Nora's hands (she was about to drop it anyway), and set it on the counter. "Lasagna."

"What?" she asked.

"Lasagna," said Mick. "Its Haircut's favorite food that actually takes time to make. And I'd be willing to show you how to make it."

"R-Really? You would?" Nora asked, shocked by the sudden gesture of kindness that the former arsonist (well, that was debatable) was extending to her. "The offer's only good for the next minute, so take all the time you need to ponder," Mick said, but a tiny smirk told her otherwise.

"I-I'd gladly accept," Nora said, smiling softly.

"Good," Mick smiled. "You'd have needed my help anyway."

Nora rolled her eyes, and chuckled good naturedly as she walked over to the kitchen counter to get started with Mick. She subtly let it slip she wouldn't tell anyone about this, but Mick... actually didn't seem to mind. He said that Haircut being happy meant that everyone else would be happy, and that the Waverider was due for a good day. Plus, his newest novel was coming along well.

Mick was a very interesting specimen...

Now she could tell why he was a fan favorite.

-0-

"So love," Charlie said, grabbing the clippers and a comb. "What look are ya wantin', then? Cute? Sexy? Soft? All of the above?"

"Let's go... soft," Nora said, "if you can achieve that."

"Hon, look at my do that I did myself," Charlie smirked. "Not to brag, but I'm no newbie when it comes to clippin and shapin hair."

"Heh, go figure," Nora chuckled. "Alrighty then... how long should this take?"

"If we're lucky, around an hour or so," Charlie said.

"Oh... oh I hope Ray and Mona are late getting back from their mission then," she whispered to herself, fiddling with her hands underneath the cover coat.

"What's wrong love?" asked Charlie, raising a brow.

"Charlie... could you be so kind as to ask Nate and Behrad to go set up the table and kitchen for tonight? They said they would," Nora asked politely, "but only if they're up for it."

"Tch, ooh, that's a no-no," Charlie sighed sadly. "Apparently Gideon's having to treat them for sniffing too many candles."

"What?! Oh no!" Nora exclaimed in worry.

"Hehe, just yankin ya chain, mate," smiled Charlie. "But they are both laying down with headaches. Should be fine by tomorrow, Gid said."

"I can cover," Mick said, passing by.

"Ah, you're a darling Mick," Charlie smiled. "Gives a peck?"

Mick walked over, smooched Charlie on the lips, and walked off with a small smile. Nora, meanwhile, had watched all of this unfold - and was very taken aback by this. Mick and Charlie? Dating?!

"...So, uhm..." she said, still in a state of shock, "ho-how long has that been going on?"

"Oh, long story love," Charlie smirked. "But hey - we've got time, right?"

"R-Right," Nora nodded.

-0-

Ray sighed as he and Mona got back from a long and exhausting mission - who would've known that William Henry Harrison trying to talk himself into wearing a raincoat to his inauguration so he didn't die thirty days into his term was such a high-stakes game? Astra certainly had some tricks up her sleeve, that's for sure...

"Ugh, I need a nap," Mona moaned.

"Same here," Ray said. "But hey - my stomach's talking to me. I'm gonna go grab some quick dinner from the kitchen, you want anything?"

"No, but thank you!" Mona smiled. "Wolfie may come wanting some stuff later though, as a piece of warning."

"Oh, she's alright," Ray smiled. "See ya later Mona!"

"See ya!" she waved.

And with that, Ray walked off to go grab a snack from the kitchen - he really felt hungry enough for a full meal, but was so tired that he figured he'd just get a heavy breakfast the next morning. Or better yet, share it in bed with Nora... ah, that thought made him smile. He was so glad she didn't have any parties scheduled for the next week.

However... what he would find on his way was a rose path.

"Huh?" he asked to the air.

He looked at a note on the floor, and written in the most beautiful handwriting ever was, "Follow the roses". Now, it wasn't written by Nora - he knew her handwriting via the letters they had sent one another. This was even more gorgeous than that, somehow... though he'd never admit it.

He continued to follow the rose trail, and then came into a dimly lit kitchen. Well, not dimly; candlelight was the only light source, however. It smelled beautiful... but also, so many scents were clashing. It was off putting at first, but he soon adapted to it.

And then...

Nora.

She was sitting at the table, with the softest hairstyle he had ever seen on a human. She had on a cute and warm pink dress, and some black heels to complete her upper look. She had a happy smile on, and Ray felt more joy in that moment than ever... and she had also made lasagna? Oh, he should just pop the question here and now!

"Y-Yo-You-You, uhm... you di-did this?" Ray stuttered.

"Well, not by myself," Nora smiled, standing up, "I had... I had a lot of help. Mick, Nate, Charlie, Behrad... all of them made this possible for me."

"Huh, wow," Ray said, looking around, "Mick helped? That doesn't seem like him."

"Oh, it took a lot of begging," Nora faked (for Mick's sake), "but he finally agreed to help me with some itty bitty things."

Ray chuckled, and then sat down at the opposite end of the table to his girlfriend. "You... you... ah, Nora, I love you. I can't put it more plainly than that."

"That's all I want to hear," Nora said softly, smiling warmly at her partner.

And so, they ate and talked - but did more talking than eating.

After all, when your day consists of: Nate and Behrad being bedridden after candle sniffing, Charlie talking about the Tarazi sister and how cute of a couple she and Nate would make, and Mick actually being the one to have made the lasagna (with Nora helping here and there) and also laying the rose petal trail, setting up the room, and writing the note with that gorgeous handwriting...

Well, how could you not talk for over an hour about that?

-0-

Writing this during a particularly stressful leg of life... this was so relieving. I forgot how relinquishing writing could be. :) And Darhkatom is literally the best Legends pairing, I'm sorry, but it just is.

Anyway, let's all catch up soon guys! I've missed you all. :D See y'all next time! Love you all!

-Choco