Parker Damhnait was sitting on his bed in the apartment that he shared with Tate working on his laptop. He didn’t have enough money to go to college, but working double shifts at The Corner Cafe had helped him build up a tiny lump worth one online class at the community college. It was on the Philosophy of Warfare, and Parker dove headfirst into the reading, drinking down idea after idea.

After the battle in Elysion, Parker had been keeping a low profile. He wasn’t sure what was going on in the dream world, but he knew that he would need to be prepared when the next battle came. Lucky for him, that fight would not be happening tonight. Community was on his TV, Tate was out, and Parker had two kittens curled up in his lap. Aristotle was passed out and belly up; Derpraline was snuggled up to his thigh, snoring loudly.

Every so often, Parker reached down to scratch Aristotle on the stomach, causing an avalanche of sleepy kitty paws pushing away his fingers. He was distracted and reached down blindly, his fingers bumping into the straw brim of Derpraline’s latest hat. Pausing, he stared down at the puff of cream fur. Signs of affection were rare to nonexistent between them, but in a mushy lapse, Parker reached down and scritched Derpraline under the chin for just a moment and then went back to typing on his laptop.

The little kitten opened both eyes very suddenly, the big blue irises bouncing around. Had... Had... Had Parker just given her cuddles? The tiny guardian cat was so excited that she almost fell off the bed. Something sparkled in her eye, and she flipped over, tumbling end over end. Parker jutted out a hand to catch her. “Be careful, Derp,” he said, putting her back down beside him.

Derpraline sniffled, her wide eyes watering. The star on her head glowed briefly, she murmured a happy little chirrup, and then cuddled back up to her adopted senshi keeper. Parker continued to type away on his keyboard, utterly oblivious.

Two hours later, Parker had put his laptop away and was busy opening his window. Dani had sent him a text to stop by her house a few minutes ago, and he never missed out on an opportunity to see her. As per usual, he pulled out his henshin pen and transformed.

Only... it wasn’t exactly as per usual:

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Surprise echoed in the Eternal Senshi of Sand’s eyes, his mouth agape. He turned slowly to face Derp who was poised at attention on the edge of his bed beside a still-sleeping Aristotle. She looked more pleased with herself than words could possibly express.

“Derp,” he said, shaking his head, “how did...? I mean... what did?”

The little kitten exploded with sound: “HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY, TARANIS! DERP LOVES YOU TOOOOOO!” And then the tiniest guardian cat of them all tackled her first Eternal Senshi backwards through his open window -- in the name of love.