Yuki was grinning as he let himself into her apartment. "Happy Valentine's Day, Machi," he said cheerfully, giving her a kiss hello and handing her a fancy red heart-shaped box.
She took it gingerly, looking up at her boyfriend suspiciously. "What's this?"
"It's chocolate, of course," he said matter-of-factly.
She stared at him for a long moment. "Why? Girls are supposed to give boys chocolate on Valentine's Day."
Yuki shrugged. "I heard they do it the other way around in the West. I thought it might be fun. Am I not allowed to buy you things?"
"That's what White Day is for," Machi said stubbornly.
"Can't I do both?"
Machi muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like "damn rich kids."
Yuki tilted his head to one side to look at her. "Really, what's so wrong about this?"
Machi turned red. "You—you're making my chocolates look bad, okay? You didn't have to get something so damn expensive."
Yuki thought once again how very cute Machi was when she was flustered. "If they're from you, I'll treasure them no matter what they taste like," he offered gallantly.
That was the wrong thing to say.
"Are you saying you think I can't even make chocolates? There's nothing wrong with them! They're just not fancy store-bought chocolates from—" she turned the box upside down to look—"from Belgium!"
"I'd rather have homemade chocolates," Yuki said honestly. "They're more special that way."
Machi was silent for a long moment, and Yuki watched as her cheeks went a delicate shade of pink. Still, she did not look entirely convinced.
"I just want something from you," Yuki repeated.
Machi hesitated, then reached up to kiss him. The kiss started out rough and a little clumsy, but after a minute it settled down to something slower and more sensual. Then Machi pulled away and smiled at him, and he couldn't help thinking dumbly how beautiful she was when she smiled.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Yuki."
She seemed about to say something else, then, but Yuki didn't give her a chance to.
