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After missing the Jovians meeting the night before (He'd had a lot to think about, okay?), Babylon was glad that his Valentine's day plans with Vindemiatrix were still intact. Still, he was sort of worried that missing a team meeting required more apology than just, "I love you," and there was something sort of weirdly monumental about making it to a third Valentine's day as a couple. (Even if he had been in Alaska last year and settled for sending action figures and a Skype call.)

The knight made sure to show up early, so he was already waiting when Vindemiatrix arrived. There was a bubbly feeling in his stomach, giddy and nervous. They'd gone to Vin's asteroid before, but that had just been to look around - who knew what Vin had planned for tonight?

When Vindemiatrix touched down on the edge of the roof, Babylon jogged over and kissed him hello (he'd missed getting to kiss his boyfriend on the regular, for serious). "Oh wow, Super looks great on you!" he said enthusiastically, fidgeting with the gift-bag in his hands. Everyone was powering up and here he was trying to figure out what the ******** to do with himself. "I uh, got some stuff, but you can wait until we're in space to open it if you want."

He figured that the senshi of wine would be the last person in the world to have qualms about underage drinking. But there was also candy. And an action figure. Because Babylon believed in being prepared.

"Yeah, well, suits you perfectly, then," Babylon replied, laughing as Vindemiatrix spun. He couldn't see whatever visions it was that Vin had on his asteroid, so he could only go off the present, but the direction his uniform was taking seemed like a perfect match for his homeworld. And, speaking off!

"Very nice," the knight observed, giving Vin's little flourish a round of golf-claps. As he accepted the offered hand, he considered the likelihood that Vin had practiced that little move in front of a mirror - probably, but then, Babylon had a tendency to do much of the same when he wanted to seem suave. (Although he seldom succeeded in actually being suave.)

"Alright," he said, giving Vin's fingers an apprehensive squeeze. From what he recalled, side-along Senshi space travel felt... a little different from knight travel. "Can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be tonight."

"Wow," breathed Babylon, looking around in wonderment as his vision cleared. This was a very different part of the planet than they'd last visited - even though it had been some two years, he remembered the Venice-like city from their first visit with absolute clarity. "You know, even if you didn't plan it - you did well." For emphasis, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to Vindemiatrix's cheek.

"God," he breathed, taking off his cloak and folding it over his arms. "It's nice here," he said. Winter in Fairbanks started in approximately September, and it was still February in Destiny City, so coming somewhere temperate was a hugely nice change. Babylon unbuttoned the top buttons of his coat and considered shedding it entirely, something he hadn't done since his time on the Surrounding, years ago.

"Okay," Babylon said, looking around, staring off down the beach for a moment, and then pulling his attention back to his boyfriend beside him. "Lead the way, yeah?" He'd follow Vindemiatrix pretty much anywhere, and seeing as they were on his planet, well, Babylon was pretty sure Vin had plans for them. His heart made a funny little lurch. Plans, he thought, honestly completely clueless - but looking forward to finding out.

Babylon nodded, giving Vindemiatrix's hand a squeeze. "Whatever you want to do," he said, since he wasn't exactly in a position to lead a tour of someone else's homeworld! "You could probably find, like, some kind of scientific survey of how big this place is supposed to be," he said thoughtfully, walking beside the senshi like a loyal puppy, with just a bit of spring in his step.

"Don't think they can see the ocean from space, though," he added. They all knew about plenty of things that would have the scientific community in an uproar. "Anyway, we can look for as long as you want. I'm happy just to spend time with you. And-"

He grinned excitedly at the prospect of finding some ancient technology and taking it for a joy ride. "That sounds amazing. I am fully in favor of space ships."

Babylon had an embarrassing number of wilderness survival courses under his belt and that had included an elective class in surveying and mapmaking, so all this sounded more than good to him. "We can try to get a grasp of how big the island is, yeah," he agreed. "I could bring a pedometer and a compass and we could pace it off." And he blushed at the peck on his cheek, because he was still giggly and excited around Vindemiatrix - absence made the heart grow a lot fonder.

"Plants," he said thoughtfully, glancing around. His own wonder was barren as far as he could tell, never mind the dead trees. Europa had gotten sick eating space plants, so at least he knew they were a thing. Or hadn't hers come from earth?

"I'd bet on grapes," he said, after a while spent looking up and contemplating the absent seagulls. "You're senshi of wine, after all. Wouldn't you bet on grapes?" It just made sense, he thought, reaching over to give Vindemiatrix's hat a pat. Not that Vin had fixed it askew, but... He just wanted to touch it. The knight smiled.

"No space ships, no," he said, wondering what his ancestor would make of the senshi he liked to kiss. "And yeah. Mercury's, like, really cold?" He didn't totally get how that worked. Eternal night or something like that. "Anyway, it's a city up in the mountains. I could, uh. I could take you there sometime. If you wanted to go?"

He reached over, slipping his fingers between the senshi's. "So how've you been?" he asked.

Babylon nodded. Having never been to Italy himself, he couldn't well judge the climate and how it compared. "Sorry about your uncle," he said awkwardly, not really sure how to respond. God, sympathy was hard to make sound sincere, even when it was. He wasn't even sure he knew what is was Vindemiatrix's uncle had - or how to ask without being tremendously weird.

"Yeah, I'll take you when we've got a good chance to go," he said happily, glad for the change of subject. "You might want to bring a coat."

But anyway, space grapes. It seemed like a good time to point out what had happened to Europa. "Not to be a total buzzkill, because, like, space wine sounds totally awesome? But you know, Europa got, like, crazy, medically-induced-coma sick from eating stuff she was growing on her moon? So we should be careful about it."

He liked his kidneys. He liked Vin's kidneys. It was in their best interest that all their kidneys continued to work. Wine, though. He held up the gift bag. "We could take a break?" Babylon suggested. "I want to show you what I brought."

Glad that he'd staved off the possibility of getting sick off space grapes for the moment, voiced his agreement and followed Vindemiatrix up onto the wreckage. The tower seemed stable and sturdy enough for something that had collapsed over the centuries, and it didn't take long to amble down towards the water.

"So," Babylon said, sitting down and patting the spot next to him. He smiled up at his boyfriend. "This is really nice. Figures your asteroid would basically be a resort."

Reaching into the bag he'd brought, he held up the bottle of wine. "I've got no idea if this is any good or not." It was something cheap and white that he'd picked up at the grocery store on the stockboy's recommendation. He set the bottle down on a flat spot of plaster and then placed a corkscrew carefully beside it. Next, Babylon pulled a box of chocolates out of the bag.

"These," he said, "I know are actually good. They're from a local chocolate place. Kind of an assortment. Should be a chart on the lid."

With his free hand, he dug a giftwrapped box out of the bag and held it out. "And this is for you," said Babylon with a grin. "Sorry, I got kind of excited about unpacking everything at once."