"Chotto matte Titus! Don't add tha-" Sphinctus's voice got cut off effectively by the horrible sound of steaming and squelching from said magi's latest concoction. Aladdin burst out into laughter at Sphinctus' disgusted expression after peering hesitantly into the pot. Currently, Sphinctus, Aladdin, and Titus were crowded around a single pot in the Magnostadt Academy Kitchen. Titus was attempting to make gratitude chocolate for his girlfriend Aramei but was failing miserably, evidenced by the myriad of chocolate splatters dotting the once-immaculate walls like some confectionary murder scene.

"Titus, you're the most powerful magician in the academy, and you're the magi of the Reim Empire. A magi. Of the Reim Empire. Seriously," Sphinctus sighed, shaking his head. "How can you not make chocolate properly..."

"Ne ne Titus, don't worry, it's only your 25th attempt, and we have all afternoon, so don't give up, ne? ne?" said Aladdin a little too innocently as Sphinctus pushed his robes up to cover his nose.

"Arigatou, Aladdin," replied Titus, obviously not getting his message to stop. He hastily emptied the pot into the chocolate-covered sink and grabbed some more chocolate bars from the counter behind him, adding it in once more.

"Ehehe!" Aladdin scratched his head, sweatdropping.

"How do you even know Aramei likes chocolate anyway?" asked Sphinctus.

"Ah well, you see, Aramei and I were walking around Academy City to observe the war reparations, and I bought chocolate..."

"Titus-san! Look over there! It's a cat!" Aramei let go of his hand to point.

"Really? Where?" he asked, eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Aramei giggled and skillfully swiped one of the chocolate bars he was holding in his hand.

"Oi, Aramei!" Titus pouted. Chocolate was pretty expensive, even for a magi like him. And besides, she told him she didn't even like chocolate...

"I'll pay you back, I will!" She smiled brightly, and turned at the sound of the pattering footsteps and laughter of three small children running by. They were dirty and dressed in rags. The sight reminded Aramei of Marga's previous situation, and her smile faltered. "Oi, Kodomo-tachi!" she called, causing them to stop in their tracks and run up to her, curious to see what she wanted.

"Hai!" she said, squatting down to their height. "Douzo," she said kindly, breaking the chocolate bar she had just artfully stolen from Titus in four. "These are for you." She handed a piece to each of them.

"Hontou? A-arigatou, nee-san!" The eldest boy said in awe, eyes sparkling. She ruffled his hair affectionately, and they tackled her to the ground in a hug.

"A-Aramei?!" said Titus in alarm as he stared helplessly at the shapeless mass of black robes and brown rags on the ground.

"Anytime!" she replied to the children in a rather muffled-sounding voice.

"Janae, nee-san!" the three said, running off with their already-melting chocolate pieces in their fists. Aramei stood up and brushed her robes off as if nothing had happened.

"Titus-san, let's go back home so I can make an early dinner for Marga, ne?"

"Ah." He smiled softly.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Tadaima!"

"Okairinasai, Titus-niichan, Aramei-neechan!" Marga smiled, bouncing around them excitedly. "I set the table already for all three of us!"

"Arigatou, Marga-chan! I'll start cooking then!" Aramei returned the smile, put down her things by the door, and went off to the kitchen. "Titus-san, go and rest. Marga-chan, check my robe pockets, I left something in there for you!" she called. Marga rushed over to the bag and took out the quarter-piece of chocolate. Her eyes widened.

"Aramei-neechan daiiiiisukiiiii!" she shouted, making Aramei giggle. Marga ran over to Titus, who was collapsed on the couch with his eyes closed, still not fully recovered after abruptly coming back from the dead. "Ne ne, Titus-niichan! I'm happy you finally caught on!" she whispered.

"Eh?" he said, eyes half open.

"You realized that Aramei-neechan loves chocolate!"

"Ehhhh?" he repeated, sitting up abruptly.

Marga sighed. "Seriously..." she began in a familiar manner. Titus wondered if she was secretly hanging out with Sphinctus or something of the sort. "Aramei's favorite thing to eat is chocolate, but it's expensive, so she pretends to hate it so you won't buy it for her. I thought you caught on and bought her chocolate, but now I guess not..."

"...And then she told me I was too naive and that I should be more aware of such things, and that I should be more direct and confident with Aramei..." Titus continued ranting.

"Ne, Aladdin!" Sphinctus whispered, beckoning frantically with his finger to the blue-haired magi. "You distract him by pretending to listen to what he's saying and asking him questions, and I'll make the chocolate so we can get out of here quick!"

"Hai!" Aladdin turned to Titus. "Ne, Titus-san, sometimes I wonder how Aramei fell for you anyway, since when we all first met, she called you an arrogant idiot while Sphinctus and the others were laughing, and thought you were a girl like I did, ehehehe! And when we were fighting during the Iktyar, she was shouting for me to pummel you into the ground. Whenever we talked about you, she'd always tell me how much she hated your despicable attitude and pride. And also, the only time I've ever seen her rukh turn pink was when she was passionately crying over your skeleton, so you've never really consciously made her flustered, right?"

Sphinctus almost faceplanted directly into the pot of boiling chocolate. "Oi! Not like that! Be more sensitive!"

"Aladdin..." Titus shot him a murderous glare, teeth gritting.

"Ehehe, gomenasai, Titus-kun!"

"I'm-you're finished, Titus, don't kill Aladdin, look, the chocolate's done! Ahaha!" said Sphinctus, clearly nervous that a fight might be brewing (no pun intended).

"Hontou?" he walked over to the star-shaped baking pan filled with the chocolate.

"Yup! You totally did it, it was all you!"

"Hai! She'll definitely like it!" Titus said happily.

"That's the spirit!" Sphinctus cheered genuinely. "Now give it to her later, after it sets in the fridge."

"Give Aramei-san a flower, too!" added Aladdin thoughtfully.

"Hai! Arigatou!" Titus ran off quickly out the door.

Sphinctus sighed once more. "Titus is one lucky guy. Tch, snagging the most powerful female student magician in the academy, and the third most powerful in the school. Not to mention, she's actually pretty cool and nice. And kind of cute," he said in afterthought, swiftly checking to make sure no one heard. Titus would probably attack him for saying that. But then again, Aramei probably would too.

"Yokatta," said Aladdin, relieved. He grinned. "Thanks for saving me, Sphinctus-kun."

"Ne! You caused it yourself!" returned Sphinctus, pinching Aladdin's cheeks with both his hands.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Aramei gazed upwards at the starry sky as she hugged her knees to her chest, letting her black hair flow loosely behind her. Her magician's hat and staff lay next to her on the pillowy green grass. She had been practicing her water magic all day on one of the new lawns in Academy City to catch up to Yamraiha-sensei, who had taught her when she was in Sindria, but things didn't seem to be going too well.

"Ah, doshiyou, should I just go back home?" she asked aloud to herself. Aladdin and Sphinctus were currently watching Marga at the house, but she hadn't seen Titus all day, and, even though she would never admit it aloud, she was missing him a little. "What is Titus-san doing anyway…" she looked around at the bushes nearby. She tilted her head a little. "Why are they rustling when there's no wind?" she asked aloud, and as if the bushes had heard her query themselves, they suddenly stopped moving. "Hn," she shrugged, suspicious yet too exasperated at the moment to investigate.

The sound of rustling grass interrupted her thoughts, and she turned around to see Titus walking towards her. She jumped up to greet him. "Oh, hey Titus-san!" she said cheerily, face lighting up.

"Aramei, I haven't been able to see you all day...gomen. You're probably tired and sleepy from practicing all day, and knowing you, you definitely haven't eaten yet, and I know you're not in the best of moods at the moment..."

Aramei smiled at him serenely, amused and almost relieved upon listening to his familiar and adorable ranting. For someone usually naive, he was so perceptive when it came to her feelings, and Aramei herself had been one of the most closed-off people anyone would ever meet. That was one of the things she liked-no, loved about him; he could see past any of her facades, deep through the jaded window into her soul, in such a way that no one else ever could. He truly knew her. All of those true feelings and thoughts picked up through just his eyes-and that strong, pure understanding was simply all she needed.

"Titus-san, it's okay, you've just made me feel much better than I was before."

He relaxed and smiled down at her. "Okay." They gazed at each other for a moment, lost in each other's eyes.

"Oh, ahem." He coughed deliberately, head bowed downwards. His cheeks were already flushed pink from her gaze. So much for being confident. "Ano, this is for you," he said cautiously, taking out the chocolate and flower from behind his back and handing it to her.

"Aramei, we've been through a lot together, and it's-well-it's a thank you for-for being there for me when I needed it, for accepting me for who I am, and for-everything!" he continued, sounding a little frantic.

By now Aramei's face had turned the color of Ren Kouha's hair. "A-ano, d-demo-" she stuttered.

"I-I know you love chocolate...Marga told me," he admitted, causing her to laugh.

"Arigatou, Titus-san. The chocolate is delicious, and the flower is so pretty," she said in awe, taking in the delicate beauty of the crystalline carnation in her hands. "Your magic really is beautiful." She paused, bashfully leaning forward to plant a light kiss on his cheek. Well, that was how it was playing out in her mind, but she was too nervous to actually do it. She glanced at his lips and then quickly away, failing to notice he was doing the exact same thing.

"Aramei...I know I'm not too experienced with the world around me and that I still have a lot to learn, and not just about magic. But the one thing I do know and that I can confidently say for sure is that I…I love you." he said, avoiding her eyes. Her eyes widened in shock.

"A-ano, I-"

He pulled her towards him and crashed his lips against hers, letting his hat fall quietly onto the ground next to hers. She could feel his rapid heartbeat match her own as he pulled her even closer. Aramei slowly recovered from shock and sighed into the kiss, closed her eyes and rested her hand lightly against his chest. She stayed in his arms for a while, savoring his warmth, and he hers.

Then their shared bliss was quickly shattered by the sound of a certain blue haired magi. "Yay!" cheered Aladdin, springing out of the bushes and racing up to the couple (who had promptly broken apart), followed by a giggling Marga and a smirking Sphinctus with leaves tucked arbitrarily in his white hair. "Sugeiiii, you guys really hit it off." He grinned.

"Hehhhh, I've never seen so much pink rukh in my entire life," Aladdin remarked slyly, all childish innocence replaced with a suggestive smile on his face.

Aramei wanted to shout "Urasai!" like she normally would but Marga was there, so she settled for a very uncharacteristic "Iyaaa!"

"Ano saa ano saa Aramei-neechan, Titus-niichan, are you guys getting married?" Marga asked, eyes sparkling and hands clasped together in such innocent hopefulness. Aramei flushed an even deeper red that could probably rival even Kouen Ren's hair at this point.

Strangely, Titus didn't seem that embarrassed at all (although his face did turn a bit pink in Aramei's opinion) and skillfully dodged the subject. "Marga-chan, it's very cold outside, Aramei-neechan and Titus-niichan will be home in a second, but we have to finish talking about something together, ne?"

"Ah, hai. Sphinctus-nii, Aladdin-nii, I told you we shouldn't be out here," she scolded. "Let's go home and wait for them to come back." Marga put her hands on her hips and looked up at them.

"A-ah, hai," they both replied, surprised as she grabbed their hands and practically dragged them back home (much to Aramei and Titus's amusement). The two grabbed their things from the lawn and sat down awkwardly at the nearby fountain, setting them down on the empty ledge space beside them.

"Marga-chan is adorable." Aramei finally spoke after what seemed like an eternity.

"She is." Not as much as you are, he thought, but at the moment, he felt too shy to say it.

Pause.

"Th-that was my first kiss," she continued, stretching her arms out in exaggerated motions.

"M-mine too," he replied, looking anywhere but at her.

"I was going to say something earlier before you..."

He laughed nervously, scratching his head. "Ah, sou dayo ne." They glanced quickly at each other and looked away in opposite directions. Silence fell upon them, and they listened to the fountain water rushing and the crickets now chirping merrily from the lawn. Aramei heard the bushes rustle once more in the now burgeoning wind, despite the absence of the three mischief-makers once residing there.

Titus cautiously turned back to look at her in secret as he waited. Just gazing at her made his heart beat into overdrive. Her hair flowing freely in the wind, her sparkling chocolate-brown eyes, her lips pursed in a cute little pout as she became lost in her thoughts…she was perfect, so much so that it felt unrealistic for him to feel this way.

Arriving at a final decision, she turned suddenly towards him, causing him to come out of his reverie.

"Titus-san, iie-" she shook her head, "Titus." She smiled timidly and scooted closer to him.

"N-nani?"

"I-I love you too," she said firmly. And with that Aramei kissed him and shocked him so much that he fell backwards into the fountain with a huge splash, dragging her right into the cool watery depths with him.

He quickly stood up and they helped each other slosh their way out of the fountain, Aramei gathering all her things and Titus's hat from the ledge into her arms.

"Gomen, Aramei, I was a little surprised," he said, looking over to her. He smiled happily. "Arigatou," he added in a shyer tone.

She giggled, and shivered once she noticed the cold night air hitting her face. "We're all wet now. Too bad neither of us knows a drying spell..."

"It's fine, and it's cold anyway, let's go home now," he said. A playful smile spread across Titus's face. He paused for a brief moment, and then swept her off her feet, carrying her bridal-style.

"Ehhh?! Titus?!"

Titus laughed at her shocked expression. He then leaned down and whispered slyly in her ear: "It's good we don't know the spell, or else I wouldn't be able to make up an excuse to keep you warm like this." He kissed her forehead lightly and carried her home.

And as she lay comfortably in his arms looking up at him, Aramei couldn't help but think that no kind of chocolate or flower could make up for moments like these. The feelings they had for each other were more than enough.

And that idea was more powerful than any magic ever in existence.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Extended Ending:

"Oh, hey you two." Aramei greeted Aladdin and Sphinctus. "Ne, Sphinctus-san, thank you for the chocolate!"

"T-Titus made it though," he replied.

"Sphinctus, I know Titus, he can cook adequately enough, but he has no sense of the proper ingredients, he loves experimenting, he invents new inedible substances and he's the worst at boiling."

"Ah, sou...ehehe!"

"On another note, we're going outside so I can have a proper magic duel with you two. Marga told me it was your idea to spy on us, and Aladdin encouraged it."

"Nani?!…Ne! Ne! Aladdin, wait! Come back!"