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“Do you think I was too obvious?”
“Only to people who remember Valentine’s Day is coming up.”
Takeru stood in his kitchen, pouring black, dark chocolate into square molds. He frowned.
“He’s not stupid.” Takeru said, wondering when it had become so instinctual to defend Yusaku.
“Of course he isn’t, but he doesn’t pay attention to things like this.”
Takeru set the bowl down and observed his molds. Flame had a point, but still his stomach bubbled with nerves. The fire ignis came to join Takeru, peeking over his shoulder at the chocolates cooling.
“If this is a romantic holiday, and you’re planning to confess, why aren’t they hearts?”
“I didn’t want it to be weird… hearts felt too cutesy.”
“Does it matter when they get digested into goo either way?”
“The presentation matters!”
Takeru sighed, stuck a finger in the remaining dark chocolate. He licked it off and couldn’t suppress a wince.
“Bitter…” he muttered before sliding his finger out of his mouth and sticking out his tongue in distaste, “I hope he likes it.”
“He seems to be fond of very dark chocolate.”
“Mm…” Takeru’s mind wandered to the rare ghosts of smiles Yusaku had given him for one of the previous chocolate gifts (or tests, rather). Yusaku was always striking and beautiful, even with his eternal bedhead, bags under his eyes, rumpled uniform. Yusaku was probably the only person on the planet that could look pretty despite being a wreck.
But when Yusaku smiled; brief smiles… smiles sparked by emotion, not forced, Takeru felt special—like he got to see something others didn’t.
Like maybe there was a chance Yusaku would return his feelings (or at least give things a chance)... Maybe Yusaku would want to hold hands—want to kiss Takeru—maybe he would kiss Takeru first—
This crush was killing him. He had to confess tomorrow. He would.
/ / /
Takeru had wrapped and unwrapped and rewrapped the box of chocolates until he was finally satisfied around midnight. Yusaku didn’t have a favorite color so Takeru couldn’t wrap it with that in mind. In the end, he settled on plain white paper and red ribbon.
He was gonna do this. He was!
Takeru caught Yusaku at the school gates like usual, waving and feeling the familiar lightness in his heart Yusaku’s presence always brought.
“Morning, Yusaku!”
“Mornin’.” Yusaku yawned, his gaze quickly falling to the box in Takeru’s hands. Green eyes lit up with curiosity.
“They’re um…” Takeru had thought to give them to Yusaku later, somewhere more private maybe, but Yusaku looked mildly interested now.
“F-For you!” Takeru thrust the box towards Yusaku, quickly flipping it up when he realized it was upside down. His heart thundered in his chest.
Yusaku took the box, head tilted as he looked at it, interested maybe. No blush on his cheeks, he looked entirely calm.
“Why?” He asked finally, meeting Takeru’s gaze steadily. Takeru wished he could be a tenth as calm as Yusaku was.
“Be-because…” I like you! “I…” Spit it out, spit it out!
“Are you okay, Takeru?” Yusaku seemed worried now, which was flattering but not what he needed!
“I’m fine! I’m fine. They're just—I just—they’re friendship chocolates! I saw them at the store and thought you might like them—t-they’re really dark chocolate.”
“Oh…” Yusaku’s eyes were a little wide as he looked down at the box and Takeru wanted to throw himself off a roof. Friendship? Friendship?! Yusaku was his friend of course, but he also had the worst crush in the history of crushes and there was nothing platonic about that or the message he’d actually wanted to deliver with the chocolates. Yusaku was definitely gonna realize they were handmade and that Takeru was just a big, dumb weirdo and—
“Thank you, Takeru.”
Yusaku’s words snapped Takeru out of his self-flagellation and stopped his heart in his chest. Yusaku held the box casually at his side like it was no big deal, but he was smiling softly.
“Yusaku…”
But the moment was over as quickly as it had come. Yusaku cocking his head towards the school.
“We’re gonna be late.”
“Oh—right—sorry! Let’s go.” Takeru said, but he wasn’t sorry at all. That had gone all wrong, but Yusaku had looked at him in such a sweet way there was no way Takeru would forget, even when the euphoria wore off and he felt like a moron. He could tell Yusaku another time—there would be another chance, he was sure.
/ / /
/ / /
“How did someone with such a bad personality get homemade chocolates?” Ai asked, sitting on Yusaku’s computer monitor. Yusaku rolled his eyes.
“They’re friendship chocolates from Takeru, and he said he bought them.”
Friendship chocolates? Ai thought, frowning. He was familiar with the concept—he had read a lot about the holiday after it had come up in one of his dramas. He liked the idea of it—the drama and passion of people gifting each other with chocolates and declaring their love for one another! And also, sometimes you gave your friends chocolates just because.
But this… Ai was sure these were not factory made. They did not look factory made. No one sold chocolate this dark in boxes for valentines and they were just a little sloppily formed, and tucked into the box in wax paper without a tray.
He watched Yusaku put a third one in his mouth, letting it melt.
“Those look pretty dark—what kind are they?”
“Just dark chocolate—darker than the stuff you find at the store usually though.”
“I see, I see… And they’re friendship chocolates? From Takeru?”
“That’s what I said.”
Ai couldn’t help but laugh a little. For someone so smart, Yusaku was an idiot sometimes.