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[anachronos]

Ripley was a nervous ball of energy. It was silly. He'd been 'seeing' Graham for a while now, he liked to think he could be confident in the other man's feelings for him by now. It didn't stop the flutter of butterflies in his stomach any time they made plans. Generally speaking, Christmas had always been his favorite holiday. But he felt a new thrill of excitement with Valentine's Day arriving. It was Graham who made him feel this way. A hopeless romantic, lost in schoolyard nervousness of the thrill of a relationship. He had almost forgotten what it was like, the rush of energy and excitement, the worry of making a fool of himself. It was a legitimate concern. He often made a fool of himself. But Graham seemed to like even that aspect of him.

Setting Mocha down on the floor, Ripley gave a slight groan as he realized his affectionate kitten had left fur all over his clothes. Okay, so he had no real reason to dress up. He wasn't sure Graham even had plans, or would want to do anything to celebrate. But he had dressed for the occasion and he knew the Sheriff was coming over, at least. What did you get another man on Valentine's Day? He had found some chocolate covered coffee beans and a few other sweets, but flowers seemed ... off, somehow. You couldn't really buy someone like Graham <i>jewelry</i> either.

He tried to brush the loose cat hairs off his clothes and shook his head as Wolf shambled over, toy in his mouth, looking up expectantly.

"Not now, Boy. Your human is having a crisis." He gave the over-sized pup a scratch behind the ears and ran his other hand through his hair, spiking it up. This was ridiculous. Graham obviously liked him. A lot. So why did things like this always make him nervous?

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[heartless_huntsman]

What do you get your narcoleptic, caffeine addicted, secret and absolutely wonderful boyfriend for Valentine's day?

A nice, big 'I'm not banging the mayor anymore' would probably have been great, but Graham hadn't quite cracked that nut just yet and it bothered him more with every passing day.

In all honesty he hadn't been sure if they were supposed to be getting each other stuff or doing anything special at all. They hadn't really talked about it and right now Graham was kicking himself for not asking. He was pretty shit at picking out presents even when he was sure the occasion called for a gift, so the added uncertainty of not being sure if he was supposed to be bringing anything did nothing to ease the decision making process.

In the end he'd decided on getting Ripley something because he wanted to, and that had helped.

... it was still a pretty stupid present.

He'd dressed up too, figuring this was a good a time as any to prove that he did own a suit, and was feeling a little nervous himself as he knocked on Ripley's door. Hearing Wolf's excitement muted through the wood made him smile though, and he felt tension ease out of his shoulders as he rolled them a little and waited for Rip to come let him in, hoping the other man would think he cleaned up well.

[anachronos]

Ripley about tripped over both of his furred children trying to get to the door, and if Graham was listening he probably heard a few cut off exclamations before a slightly flushed Ripley opened the door and grinned sheepishly at his 'secret' boyfriend.

"Good evening, Graham." The sheriff got a dorky grin as Ripley pulled Wolf out of the way to let Graham in. It was good he was there. Maybe now Ripley could stop agonizing over this and just enjoy the other man's company.

He paused and stepped back, not realizing he fell silent as he let his eyes wander appreciatively over Graham. Yes. He did clean up very nicely. It really was never very fair how attractive Graham managed to be in just about anything he put on. Ripley was going to have to test this sometime.

"You look really fantastic, Graham. I feel like we aught to be going out." He gave a light laugh. They wouldn't, though. Because they were still a secret, and nothing stayed that way for long in Storybrooke. It was Valentine's Day, on top of that...

Shut up, brain. Ripley opted for pushing the door shut and kissing Graham, instead.

[heartless_huntsman]

"We should be going out."

Mumbled against Ripley's lips before kissing him again, one hand holding on to the present as the other curved around the back of the other man's head to hold him close.

His frustration with how stuck he was feeling bled into the kiss, making it fierce and a little rough. None of it had to do with Ripley of course, he just wished he could shout from the rooftops how amazing this man was, and he couldn't because he didn't know how to untangle himself from the mess he was in with the town's power hungry and quite unscrupulous mayor. He did not want her to make Ripley's life hell just because the barista had managed to do something she had never been able to.

He had made Graham feel.

[anachronos]

As he often did, when Graham got that edge to him, Ripley just relaxed and gave into it, returning the fierce insistence of the kiss with his own shoved back frustrations. It was a bit difficult keeping a secret like this from the rest of the town. Mostly because Ripley had a difficult time acting as if nothing was going on in public. It was lucky he'd spent so much time with the Sheriff before they'd started actually seeing each other.

One of his hands found the side of Graham's neck and he pulled him deeper into the kiss before letting go. He had to push Wolf back with a laugh, as the canine demanded he also get attention from their guest.

"You know, you can be a real pain sometimes, Wolf. Go on then. I wouldn't want to make him jealous, stealing all of you for myself, Graham."

Teasing amusement filled his tone as he watched the other man, trying to lighten the mood they'd put a slight damper on for a moment there.

[heartless_huntsman]

"Wolf knows him and me are forever, there's no need for jealousy."

He bent down to scratch Wolf behind one of his floppy ears, but didn't sit down on the floor for a proper cuddle like he usually tended to do.

"I'm sorry pal, but I'd like for the suit to look good at least a little while longer."

[anachronos]

"It's a dashing look for you, Graham. Almost makes you look like a gentleman." The teasing tone was matched with that bright smile of his.

Ripley didn't even bother to pretend he wasn't taking in all of the way that suit fit the sheriff. Graham looked damn fine dressed up like that, and while Ripley was, honestly, a little disappointed they weren't going out, he was also somewhat thrilled to be keeping that sight to himself.

"I'm sure we can find plenty of other ways to celebrate on our own."