"Hello, Nico."
Nico paused mid-chew to see Umi standing over her. Her hands were behind her back, which Nico found slightly suspicious. Nico swallowed the food in her mouth before smiling. "Hey Umi. What's up?"
"I am sorry to interrupt your lunch like this, but…" Umi paused, a slight blush spreading across her features. "I figured it was a good time to do this."
"Do what?" Nico asked, tilting her head.
"Just…I need you to come with me. We cannot do this in a full classroom," Umi said as she turned to leave. Before Nico could see what she had behind her back she quickly shifted whatever it was to her front. Nico got up and followed, curious as to what her girlfriend was up to.
Eventually they found themselves in an empty classroom. Nico pouted. "So what's the big deal?" She asked.
Umi looked down shyly. "I got these for you," She whispered. She finally took out the object she had been hiding, a simple white box tied with a pink ribbon, and held it out toward Nico. Nico took the box and examined it for a moment before undoing the ribbon and removing the top. Inside the box were an assortment of chocolates. Nico smiled.
"Thanks, Umi," She said before popping a chocolate into her mouth. Raspberry cream, and a damn good one too. She slowly savored the sweet before she noticed a folded piece of paper tucked into the side of the box. She reached for it quizzically and slowly unfolded it. What greeted her was wholly unexpected, and yet entirely predictable. In almost neurotically neat yet beautiful handwriting was a series of haikus.
The bright blinking stars
Like diamonds in the night sky
Humbled by your shine
Rain falls in the night
The drip-drops loud as thunder
My heart beats the same
Waves crash on the shore
Reaching up towards the moon
Longing for her touch
Nico read the rest of the haikus in incredulous silence, a small blush spreading across her features. She looked up at Umi to see that she was positively glowing with embarrassment. Nico smiled before setting the chocolates and haikus down and moving closer to Umi.
"You are such a freaking dork," She said sardonically before grabbing Umi's collar and pulling her down for a kiss. Umi resisted briefly before giving in, savoring Nico's taste. She tasted like dark chocolate and raspberry, probably because of the chocolate she'd eaten earlier. Umi gave a small moan of approval.
"You taste good," Umi said as Nico pulled away. "Bitter and tart, but with a hint of sweetness. It's very you."
"I think you need to stop talking," Nico responded and went in for another kiss.
"Well, Eli-chan, what do you think, nya?"
Eli took a moment to attempt to swallow the bite she'd taken. In front of her was a box of what she assumed were supposed to be brownies, but they looked more like a burned, black mess than baked confectioneries.
"They're, uh, very nice, Rin," She said with a forced smile, finally managing to get the "brownie" down her throat. In reality the brownies weren't very nice at all, with a dry, crunchy texture and a taste that more closely resembled charcoal than chocolate.
Rin seemed blissfully unaware of her girlfriend's struggle to force down her gift. "Really?" She said with excitement, bringing her hands up to her chest and bouncing up and down. "Rin worked super hard to make them, nya!" In that moment Eli noticed something unusual.
"Hey, Rin, what happened to your hand?" As soon as she said this, Rin glanced down at her left hand. It was wrapped in gauze bandages, held together by medical tape.
"Nyahaha…Well, when Rin was making your brownies, she touched something hot and burned herself," Rin explained. Eli's heart warmed a little. Rin had poured herself into those brownies, even if they hadn't turned out well. Even if they tasted like pencil lead she would still treasure them.
"Rin…give me your hand." Confused, Rin extended her right hand. "Your injured hand," Eli clarified. Rin slowly held out her other hand. Eli took it into her own, running her thumb along the bandages. Slowly she brought the hand to her face, before kissing it softly.
"There," She said with a smile. "I kissed it better." Rin just stood there dumbstruck before lighting up like a street lamp.
"Nyaaa, thank you Eli-chan! Rin's hand feels better already!"
"Wait, Rin, no! Don't take off the bandages, you still need to give it time to heal!"
"H-happy Valentine's day, Kotori-chan!"
Hanayo was adorable 24/7, but Kotori had to admit that she was especially cute at this moment, blushing radiantly and shyly holding out a box wrapped with a ribbon. Kotori giggled, taking in the wonderful sight before her. "Thank you, Hanayo-chan," She said appreciatively as she took the box. She slowly undid the ribbon and opened the box to find…
"…Riceballs?" Kotori said quizzically. Well, leave it Hanayo to try to put rice into romance. Hanayo's blush deepened.
"Th-they're special riceballs! Please try them!" She pleaded. Kotori stood still for a moment before shrugging and taking a riceball from the box. Here goes nothing, she thought as she carefully took a bite.
Sweet. Sweet, with a slight hint of sour. Dense. Creamy. Rich. A glorious, wonderful taste filled Kotori's mouth and seemed to spread throughout her entire being. She closed her eyes and almost moaned in ecstasy as she savored the riceball's filling. She nearly fell over in sheer pleasure from her legs shaking as she squeezed every last drop of delight from the small bite she had taken. All things seemed to grow distant as she reveled in the glorious sensation of flavor. Finally she swallowed, and in her mouth was left a sweet, slightly fruity aftertaste.
"Um…Kotori-chan?" Hanayo asked with concern.
"…Cheesecake," Kotori said softly, finally coming down from her flavorful high. "You filled them with cheesecake."
"Y-yeah," Hanayo responded sheepishly. "Cheesecake is your favorite, so I figured I could put cheesecake filling in some riceballs. I'm sorry if you don't like it…"
"No!" Kotori blurted out. "I love them! They're the best thing I've ever eaten!"
"Really? You mean it?" Hanayo seemed to glow, her face a bright red and a bright, broad smile spread across her features.
"Of course I mean it," Kotori said, smiling back. "But," She said, "I can't possibly eat all these riceballs on my own." She looked at Hanayo, a suggestive gleam in her eye. "Do you think you could help me out?"
Hanayo nearly tackled Kotori in a hug. "Yes!" She screamed. "I would love nothing more than to share riceballs with you, Kotori-chan!"
"You better have a damn good reason for calling me here, Nozomi."
Maki grumbled to herself as she closed the door to the darkened clubroom. She glanced around the darkened room, listening for signs of her girlfriend. Silence. She scowled before reaching for the lightswitch and flipping it on. What she saw shocked and confused her.
Nozomi was laid out on the clubroom table, wearing nothing but a lacy red bra and panties. She smirked deviously as Maki took in the sight. "Happy Valentine's day, Makichi," She said hoarsely. Maki gulped audibly, her face now having taken on a shade similar to her hair.
"N-Nozomi, what the hell?" She said, unable to tear her gaze away from the scantily clad girl on the table.
"I'm your Valentine's day treat," She cooed, still smirking. "I even got ya some toppings." She reached into her bag next to the table and took out two items: a bottle of chocolate syrup and a can of whipped cream. Maki began breathing heavily. Nozomi could literally hear her girlfriend's self-control falling to pieces.
"Y-you…" Maki couldn't find any words. She could only continue to stare as Nozomi unclasped her bra and slowly slid it off of her shoulders, revealing her perfect, round breasts, her nipples already visibly hard. She gaped open-mouthed as Nozomi took the whipped cream and liberally covered both breasts with it. She then grabbed the chocolate syrup and slowly drizzled it all over her torso.
"C'mere, Makichi," She said in the sultriest voice Maki had ever heard, lifting her hand and making a "come hither" motion with her finger.
Something inside of Maki snapped. She nearly pounced onto Nozomi, capturing her lips in a quick yet hard kiss, before grabbing one of her cream-covered breasts and quickly licking away every bit of topping before taking the nipple into her mouth, sucking hard and nibbling lightly. She pulled away and looked up at Nozomi, a predatory glint in her eyes.
"You're not gonna walk straight for a week," Maki said before going to work on the other breast. Nozomi held back a moan.
"I don't like empty threats, Makichi," Nozomi said, struggling to keep her voice level as she began to succumb to pleasure, "Ya better make good on that."
Honoka passed yet another café and eyed the happy couples inside. The café was lit with warm colors, in sharp contrast to the dull gray that seemed to be permeating everything else. She sighed deeply before continuing on her way.
She was going right home today. Everyone else in µ's probably had plans, and who was she to stop them from spending time with their girlfriends? To be honest, she was very happy for all of her friends for finding people to love and cherish, and yet she was still slightly jealous. She continued to walk slowly, eyes cast downward.
Is this why it's called National Single's Day? She thought as she walked. She never felt this lonely, even when she would see them flirt and hold hands in the clubroom and between classes. It was just that it seemed even more apparent that everyone except her had someone to be with today. Even Yukiho had plans with Eli's sister…
"Mouuuu!" She suddenly shouted out, gripping her head in her hands. "I must be the only person in the world who doesn't have a date on Valentine's Day!"
"What? No way, I thought I was the only one!"
Honoka turned toward the sound of the voice to see someone familiar yet totally unexpected standing over by a bus stop. She gaped as her eyes met a pair of bright jade green ones.
"Whaaaaat? Erena?" Honoka exclaimed, smacking the side of her face with one hand in shock. "What are you doing out here?"
"Well, what are you doing?" Erena asked.
"Going home. All my friends are busy," Honoka said, eyes downcast.
"Oh. Me too," Erena responded. She sighed deeply. "Tsubasa and Anju are off at a café or something." Erena was clearly trying to keep her voice neutral, but Honoka could hear a tinge of loneliness. "Usually they let me come with them, but I thought it wouldn't be appropriate today, since it's Valentine's Day and all…"
There was a moment of silence between the two as Honoka studied Erena's expression, traces of hurt scattered across her mostly stony face. She seemed so sad and yet she was trying so hard to hide it, what could she do?
"Well, I don't know if you're interested, but…" Honoka started, "I think a new donut place opened up near here. You wanna go get some?"
Light seemed to instantly flood into Erena's eyes. "Are you…are you asking me? To get donuts? With you?"
Honoka smiled brightly. "Sure!" She said. "I'll even treat you!"
Erena almost looked like she was about to cry as she ran up and grabbed Honoka's hands. "Yes!" She said. "I'd love to! Just lead the way!"
Honoka continued to smile as she led Erena in the direction of the donut shop. They made small talk as they walked, mostly about the antics of their groupmates. "So then we had to spend an hour picking up all the pieces of the coffee machine that were scattered around the clubroom, and then we were late for class, but seeing Tsubasa shuffle around like a zombie was kind of worth it," Erena finished.
"Wow, Anju's pretty harsh," Honoka responded as they approached the doors to the shop.
"I know! And, like, whenever I hear someone go 'oh, Yuuki-san is so sweet' I can't help but think 'oh you really don't know, do you,'" Erena said as they stepped inside. She turned to Honoka, a blush suddenly spread across her features. "Hey, Honoka-san," She said softly, "is…is this a date?"
Honoka turned to her, a wide smile across her face. "It can be if you want it to," She said. "After all, no one deserves to be alone on Valentine's Day."
Violets are blue, roses are red, I don't have a date so I wrote this instead. In order to avoid any more bitterness on my part I'm just gonna say that regardless of relationship status, I hope you have a nice Valentine's day full of sweet treats, whatever those treats may be and however you may have obtained them.