WHEN VALERIE WOKE up, it was still dark outside. Drowsily, she stretched, startling slightly when John placed a light kiss on her bare shoulder.

    "I didn't wake you, did I?"  Valerie asked quietly as John tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

    "No," John said in an equally quiet cadence, but Valerie could tell it was a lie based on how he had lied his head back on the pillow, his eyes half closed.

   Valerie didn't want to disrupt the silence,  as she was very tired and struggling to wake up in the darkness of room. Not to mention, she was recalling the time she and John had spent making love and then the kissing and whisperings of sweet nothings before they fell asleep together just a few hours before. She blushed at the thought and turned back to John.
    
     "What time is it?" Valerie asked, shattering the quietness that she'd already grown used to.

      "A bit past five thirty." John said as he himself stretched. Valerie sat up reluctantly from the warmth and comfort of his arms and looked around the room to locate her clothes.

        "I've got to get home. My mom is probably wondering what happened to me." Valerie said, though she really didn't want to leave just yet.

        "I'll have to drive you back. What do you want for breakfast?" John asked as he wrapped his arms around Valerie's waist making her shiver.

        "I'll eat when I get home." Valerie said as she was lightly tugged back down onto the bed, gladly allowing John to kiss her deeply. He was rather affectionate with her when they were alone; a true romantic, if you will.

         "John, we've got to get ready to go. My dad might be calling the cops by now." Valerie mumbled, though she knew her dad probably wasn't even awake.

        John pulled away and smiled at her, lightly caressing her cheek. "You're so beautiful, you know that."

       Valerie blushed a bit, smiling up at John before she laughed a bit. "You can't win me over with compliments. I've got to get dressed so I can go home and eat and maybe take a nap."

       "Aw, at least I tried." John said with a faux pout as he tried to succumb Valerie to another kiss. She kissed him quickly and then pushed him away lightly before she hopped out of the bed, forgetting for a moment she had nothing on.

She dragged the rumpled comforter off the foot of the bed and wrapped herself in it as she picked the clothes she'd been wearing last night off the floor.

"I have an idea," John said suddenly once Valerie had her bra and jeans on. Cheekily, she stole one of John's shirts from his closet and slipped it on.

"Oh?"

"Well I've been planning this a while,  but we should go on our first date. Tonight." John said, and Valerie grinned over at him as she went to his dresser.

"Where to?" She asked as she pulled open one of the drawers and tossed a pair of jeans and boxers at John.

"It's a surprise. But don't worry, there'll be plenty of ABBA and Elton John music on the way there." John said as he got out of the bed to get dressed, stretching as he did so.

"You know I hate surprises." Valerie said as she fell backwards onto the bed staring at the ceiling before John offered her his hand to tug her up.

"But this one is a good one. Be ready by eight yeah?  And bring an appetite. I'm gonna come over to your house so I can really get to know your parents, and then we'll blast some music on our way to our date." John said with a smile as he lightly brought Valerie's chin up so he could kiss her.

       "My parents already love you, John. I'm pretty sure they've thought we were dating for about a year now." Valerie said with a laugh as she pulled her hair up into a very messy ponytail.

       "I know, but I'd get to properly meet them. As your new boyfriend." John said, his voice growing meek as he spoke, looking down at his hands to avoid making eye contact with Valerie.

        Valerie softened, a smile spreading across her face as she brought John's hands to her lips and placed a light kiss on his knuckles, an action of affection that John often did.

        "They'd love that. I'd love that." Valerie said, and two of them shared a smile before Valerie gathered her things (among them the charms John had given her the night before) and they headed back to her house.
*****

      Valerie had spent at least five minutes making our with John on her doorstep before she bid him goodbye until later and snuck into her house.

   Thankfully, mostly everyone was still asleep, and everyone that had stayed over had either fallen asleep on the couch or in a guest bedroom.

Valerie gave a quiet sigh of relief as she made her way into the kitchen to make herself some coffee, deciding that even though she hadn't slept much,  she wouldn't be able to fall asleep again.

     "So," Valerie jumped and nearly dropped her mug at the sound of Brian's voice in her kitchen.

     "Holy shit, Brian, you can't just sneak around like that. Not in my house," Valerie hissed, setting her mug down and placing a hand to her heart.

"You and John, yeah?" Brian went on, as if Valerie hadn't spoken at all. Valerie was aghast and stuttered a little bit. Brian held up his hands as he went and leaned on the counter next to her.

       "We all saw you leave." He said, laughing a bit as he sipped some coffee. He didn't look like he had gotten much sleep, either.

Valerie smiled a bit, her once tense figure now loosening as she got out a pot from one of the cabinets and began to fill it with water. "Well, it was only a matter of time, wasn't it?"

Brian laughed victoriously, and Valerie hurriedly shushed him, though she couldn't help but laugh along with him.

"Oh, I knew it! Everyone did, really." Brian admitted as he set his now empty cup of coffee on the counter by Valerie.

"Of course you did," Valerie said as she placed her kettle on the stovetop, turning back to Brian who was watching her.

"You say everyone saw us leave? It was nearly two in the morning!"

"Yep, everyone definitely saw you," Brian replied, rolling his eyes at some snores that came from the living room.

"Ooh, Freddie and your mom got super drunk. So drunk, they sang a duet at the piano. I don't know what song it was, but it sounded awful. Payton crashed upstairs in a bedroom - she can't drink and she got really tired , and Mary knocked out with her." Brian informed Valerie, and she let out a tiny snort of laughter.

"Sounds about right. And my dad? What happened to him?"

"Fell asleep in the dining room; no one had the heart to wake him up."

"Wrong. No one had the guts to wake him up," Valerie corrected. Brian gave a little laugh, although he knew she was right.

     "So you and John had sex-" Brian stated blatantly before Valerie cut him off.

"Brian!"

"Well, am I wrong?" Brian asked, his arms crossed as he looked down at her, his eyebrows raised as a smile started to form on his lips.

"No, you're not." Valerie said defeatedly

"Ah, Freddie owes me twenty quid then." Brian said in a very matter-of-fact tone.

"What? We got bored waiting for the two of you to get together, so we just started betting on it." Brian said with a shrug when Valerie gave him a stunned look.

"Honestly, I'm not surprised. But yes, we've done it. And we're going on a date tonight." Valerie said, a wide smile appearing on her face as she leaned against the counter with a happy sigh.

Brian smiled at her, happy to see that she was so in love. It had been a while since he'd seen her like that.

      "Did he tell you where he was taking you?" Brian asked as Valerie took the honey and loose leaves out of her cabinet.

       "No, he wants to surprise me. And he wants to meet my parents. Properly, y'know." Valerie said with a smile. Brian reached over to give her a hug.

      "That's great. I'm glad. Better start naming your kids." Brian joked, and Valerie nudged him away, the two of them laughing as the tea kettle began to screech.

        Valerie took it off hurriedly and she prepared a cup of tea for both her and Brian.

      "Freddie's going to want to plan out your outfit,". Brian said as Valerie stirred in some honey to her tea.

      "Oh, lovely, I know. Better wake him up soon because that might take all day." Valerie said with a laugh as she started to rummage through her fridge to make everyone breakfast. Most of her relatives had gone to hotels, but a lot of her friends had crashed in guest bedrooms.

      Brian helped her make breakfast with some vegetarian options. And by the time Freddie was awake, he was already planning out Valerie's outfit.
*****

     June, Ed, and Valerie were alone that evening. They were playing Scrabble in the dining room when the doorbell rang.

      "That'll be John," Valerie said as she sipped the last of her water and got out of her chair to head over and open the front door.

       When she opened the door, she was greeted by John holding a stunningly large bouquet of brightly coloured flowers.

        "Hi," Valerie said breathlessly as John leaned in to kiss her, lightly crushing the flowers between them as he did so. Valerie allowed him to kiss her quickly before ducking away to protect the flowers.

       "John, these are lovely." Valerie said as she stuck her nose into the flowers to smell them and ultimately began a sneezing fit from inhaling too much pollen.

       "Right, let's go put them in a vase, yeah? Save you from an allergy attack." John said with a laugh as he wrapped an arm around Valerie's waist. She closed the door behind them as they headed down the hallway and into the dining room where her parents were discussing the legitimacy of the word en and whether it counted because it was in Spanish.

        "'Ello', Mr. and Mrs. Cartaya. How are you?" John asked when they hadn't yet taken notice to John and Valerie walking in.

       "Oh, my boy, I'm sorry. We didn't notice the two of you." Ed said apologetically as he stood with some effort, his mustache bristling a bit as he exhaled heavily before lumbering over to shake John's hand.

"We were a bit invested in out game of Scrabble." June explained as she pulled John in to a tight hug.

      "Oh, I know that all too well. Freddie can't get enough of Scrabble. Always makes up words to get as many points as possible. It drives Brian mad." John said with an airy laugh, as June had hugged him so tightly he'd lost most of his breath.

       "I know. I've played with him and Brian before. Quite the competitive lot." June said as she pulled away and straightened John's jacket.

       "Yes, they really are." John agreed with a nod as Valerie linked arms with him and smiled at her mother and father.

      "Well, you've known John. My boyfriend. We're going out so I won't be able to mediate your game of scrabble."  Valerie said quietly, her and John sharing a look before smiling and turning back to her parents.

      June and Ed were smiling brightly. Ed was leaning against a chair, apparently having trouble staying up straight, but they were both grinning without a care in the world.

      They talked for a while about John and his relationship with Valerie, and how he kissed her at the airport. At around half past eight, John and Valerie said their goodbyes and started out of the kitchen. Before they could leave, however, Ed stopped John on his way out, pulling him aside so they could have a short(private) conversation.

Once John was done, he and Valerie walked hand in hand to his car. Once they sat inside and buckled up, Valerie asked him what Ed had told him. "He apologized before giving me the typical if you hurt her speech. And then he kinda welcomed me into the family." John said with a shy smile.

     Valerie grinned brightly as she leaned across the seat and kissed John on the cheek. "He's very sweet. Once you get to know him better, I reckon you'll like him even more." said Valerie brightly.

      As John pulled out of the driveway, he turned on one of the mixtapes that Freddie had made him when they went on tour of America.

    They drove along, singing loudly to Crocodile Rock and Come Together. John was very comfortable singing around Valerie, though he didn't like his voice at all. And he didn't sing nearly as loudly as Valerie did.

     They drove for a bit to a huge field that had many hills.  There were a few cars in the lot of the field. It seems many people had the same idea to come out and stargaze.

   "John, you planned a picnic?" Valerie asked as he popped the trunk open and pulled out a blanket and a bottle of wine.

  "And some stargazing. I love to hear you talk about the stars even though I don't know what the hell everything means." John said fondly as he reached into the trunk to get the huge pic nic basket. Valerie carried the bottle of wine, and the two of them trudged past many people that were leaving the park.

       John and Valerie walked up one of the hills and John unfolded the blanket beneath a tree. He set the basket down, and the two of them sat while he started to unpack the contents of the large pic nic basket.

       "Mary helped me cook most of it..... some nice steamed vegetables - I made those. Oh, Lancanshire hot pot. Or some vegetarian lasagna that Mary insisted I make. And of course Mary's famous peach crumble."  John said as lied each one of the contents of the basket on the blanket. He pulled out silverware and plates and settled one set in front of Valerie.

      Valerie was at a loss for words. "You did all of this for me?" 

      "Mary and I spent a whole day cooking, and then some. Ah, here's the fruit." John said as he pulled out a large container of what looked like sliced watermelon, strawberries, and blueberries.

     When he finally looked up at Valerie he saw her expression and laughed. "What? Did you want leftover salad and quiche?" He asked sarcastically as he placed an empty wine glass in her hand.

      "I- No," Valerie said, blushing. "I just didn't expect such a feast. Lancanshire hot pot? It's been ages since I've had it! No one ever has time to cook anymore." Valerie said as she ran a hand through her bright red hair.

      John smiled at her as he leaned across the blanket to give her a kiss that lingered for a while,  though neither of them minded much at all.

       "Thank you, John. Really, I mean it. You're too good to me."

       "But isn't that what a good boyfriend is supposed to do? Spoil you all the time?" John asked as he affectionately ran his thumb down Valerie's cheek, giving her a whisper of a kiss on her lips.

       "You were like this before you even asked me out. And the whole band treats me like this as well." Valerie countered, mumbling against John's lips. The two of them hadn't moved very far from one another.

       "Because they care about you. I care about you, Val. You deserve it. Now come on, how about some wine and food? Didn't spend all day cooking with Mary to not eat." John said with a smile as he pulled away to start serving Valerie and himself.

     "And when we're done eating, you can tell me all about that Great Square or whatever." John said as popped the cork on the wine bottle.

      "I'm surprised you remember me talking about that. Well done, John." Valerie said, genuinely impressed as she started eating, savoring every bite she took of the delicious food.

      "I'm not forgetful like you are." John said as he sipped his wine, grinning behind his cup and laughing loudly when Valerie smacked him lightly on the shoulder.

      "I am not forgetful!" Valerie exclaimed with a giggle as John deflected another hit to the shoulder my grabbing her hand and lacing his fingers with hers.

      "Really? You're not?  Right, what's my sister's name?"  John asked,  and Valerie sat for a moment.

      "Jessica."  She said with finality. She'd never met John's sister. In fact, none of the band had. She lived in Greece and showed no signs of coming to visit any time soon. She and John weren't on good terms, she knew that much.

      "Wrong. It's Julie." John said with a grin, kissing Valerie's hand as she tried to protest.

      "Argue all you want. I was right."  He said with a soft smile, and the two of them lapsed into a playful argument as they continued to eat and sip their wine,  every once in a while looking at the stars that finally weren't masked by the city light.