My friend Commander "Shrimp Pie" had this wonderful inspiration.
It is night, the hangar is silent. But Rei is still with his beloved super-fighter, B-503 Yukikaze.
Although feel so comfortable in her cockpit, however lieutenant is chocked up by something: His Yukikaze, a.k.a. Mave, the empress of fairies, the dominator of skies, the goddess watches over everything, is self-evolving every single second to become faster, stronger and smarter, will it be one day that she becomes so powerful that doesn't need him?
"Still dating with your dream girl?" Here comes lieutenant's lovable, kind-hearted yet internally tortured friend, Major James "Jack" Bukhar.
Rei stands up from chair, Jack continues with an "evil" grin: "Tomorrow is a big day."
Rei: "What big day? Major campaign against JAM?"
Jack: "Nah, tomorrow is February 14th, or Saint Valentine's Day."
Rei sits back: "So what? Some idle couples find good reason to purchase and deliver roses and chocolates, it does not concern me." He closes canopy, means "Why don't you go back to your cell and play ACE Combat or H.A.W.X?"
Jack: "Still can't take a joke? Pal, you gotta learn enjoying happiness of life." He walks away.
The next day, Rei goes to his office as usual, however during the progress he senses the atmosphere is strange, many SAF personnel are peeking him, some even giggle in a very low volume. "I have a bad feeling about this…" He opens the door, figures out the bad feeling becomes true: A huge bouquet of roses is resting on his desk.
"What IS this?" Rei moves close to observe, the bouquet is colorful, even some rare and expensive species are included, and the number of roses seems cannot be clearly counted for a while. "It must reach a wrong destination." Rei is quite puzzled.
"It definitely arrives at the correct place." Says Jack: "Since you were not here when it was delivered, I signed it for you. Look, here is the card with it, the name is yours and the address is here."
Rei checks both sides of the card repeatedly, as well as the flowers themselves, but finds no information about the one who purchased it and ordered it to be delivered here. "So…tell me, pal." He looks at Jack: "It this your trick?"
Jack: "Hey! Am I so idle to send a man flowers?" At this second, both of them hears something is dropped just outside the door, it is Captain Foss, she is shocked upon hearing their conversation and dropped her files.
Foss: "Major…you really send roses to lieutenant? So you really have feelings to…" Her eyes are widened as ping pong balls.
"No no no!" Jack is embarrassed: "I didn't buy this."
Foss: "So it is send by lieutenant to you? I never think…" Her eyes are widened as tennis balls.
"I didn't buy this either! Don't know who planned this…" Rei signs as he puts bouquet back to his desk.
Foss begins to show interests: "So lieutenant has an admirer? A girl? Is she pretty?" She picks up files from floor.
Jack: "But…I remember a girl should send chocolate if she wants confess on Saint Valentine's Day…"
"So it's not girl…oh my! You are confessed by man?" Foss shows more and more interest about this affair: "Look, some of them are rare species, very expensive…I heard different roses have different meanings of love…is that man's feeling to lieutenant so complicated?"
Jack echoes with Foss: "Red means passionate love, white means pure love, yellow mans breaking up…" None of them notice Rei's expression becomes more and more uneasy.
"Knock it off! Why don't you play ACE Combat or H.A.W.X if you are so idle for wild guesses?" Rei rises from chair and leaves since more and more people are looking here. He turns back half the way to the door and carries the bouquet with him to leave the uncomfortable office.
After lunch, Rei walks to hangar, but is intercepted by Jack: "Come with me." Major drags lieutenant to opposite direction.
Rei: "What are you doing? We're still at work."
Jack: "The florist is right beside the supermarket we frequently visit. We may find some clues."
Moments later.
Keeper of the florist: "That bouquet was ordered online, the customer account had already been resigned, here's only information I have…" She passes Jack a piece of printed paper.
Jack is reading: "ID: 1122179715171711121? Just a length of random numbers…"
Florist Keeper: "The girl who receives the bouquet must be extremely happy. That was the most expensive one sold by my shop this Saint Valentine's Day. The customer truly spared no expense, although he seemed a little confused about meanings of different roses…"
Rei wants to clarify that it's him not a girl who receives the bouquet, but Jack drags him away: "Thank you for your time, miss shopkeeper."
On the way back, Jack complains: "Still no useful information…say, where are the flowers?"
Rei: "I threw them away."
Jack: "What? It's not appropriate to throw other's confession away!"
Rei: "I don't accept confession of unknown origin."
Jack: "If we find the origin someday…"
Rei: "Then it must turn out to be some idle person who enjoys tricking me."
Jack: "If that 'idle person' really has feelings to you?"
Rei: "I will tell her/him that I don't need it by plain language."
Evening, Rei returns from hangar to his cell. Once open the door, he sees that huge colorful bouquet is resting on desk, entire room is filled with sweet fragrance. Back to daytime, Rei intended to throw it away as he carries it out from office, but he suddenly felt that would be too cruel, however let this bouquet stay in office is still to "attractive" to others attention, although Rei himself never care about others' opinions, but still, he can't stand get to much unwanted notice from surrounding, so he transfer the bouquet to his cell.
Lets out a deep sign, Rei lies on bed, today's works are just normal, but the "rose incident" makes him mentally exhausted. "I need a dose of ACE Combat or H.A.W.X…" He turns over to rise up, then feels something is inside pocket. It is a piece of folded paper, Rei unfolds it, upon seeing the data of the "mysterious customer". Jack sneaked the paper into his pocket sometime earlier.
"1122179715171711121…1122179715171711121…what does it mean?" Rei is cudgeling his head for an answer, actually he has some special senses about these numbers, but he can't recall exactly.
Suddenly he rises up from bed with a rush: "Eureka! So it is you!" A warm and blissful smile emerges on his constant emotionless face. Rei stuffs paper back to pocket, carefully cradles the bouquet in arms, takes a deep breath of its intoxicating aroma, each cell of his is energized by the feeling of happiness…
Lunchtime of the next day. Jack returns from Brigadier General's "planetary bombardment from time to time", but when he enters the room, something even more lethal is detected-that is, a huge, colorful bouquet of roses is blossoming in an exquisite vase of carved patterns, and is placed on Rei's desk. Rei himself, is composed as if nothing happens.
Jack: "I remember you said you had thrown it away…"
Rei: "Indeed, but I threw it into my cell."
Jack sits down: "Her majesty told me the day before yesterday, someone hacked into SAF's financial system and diverted an amount of money. Do you know what, the number is precisely equal to the price of these flowers." He takes a sip of coffee: "Who has such gut to do this? Rei, you say that…"
Rei fondles the petals with caress: "Because although that girl herself is invaluable, however she's still haven't got a bean in her pocket. I'll pay for the diverted amount from my salary of this month. It won't be a problem if the hole is patched up quickly."
Jack: "Girl? So you had found who's behind the roses? What's her name? Is she beautiful?"
Rei: "Indeed I found her and she's the most beautiful girl among those I've seen, however I won't tell her name since that's the secret between her and me."
Jack is shocked and confused. Rei stands up: "Time to go."
Jack: "On the usual routine to hangar?"
Rei: "Nah, I'm going to mess hall, we are still at war right? So we gotta get myself physically refueled by food then mentally replenished by taking a nap."
Jack: "Are you get a fever or brain concussion?" Throughout his memory, Rei sticks with Yukikaze every single day, what makes him change old habits?
Rei leaves with vase and flowers carefully cradled in arms: "Anymore questions? I'm rolling. The earlier to mess hall, the better fuel you'll get."
As he's about to exit the door of office, Jack reminds Rei: "Don't forget respond your girl's confession by chocolate!"
Rei: "Chocolate? Well, it could be a little difficult…" Smiles warmly and blissfully as walks down the corridor, pays no attention to those who peeking, whispering and giggling.