"Utena-sama."
She'd no sooner stepped in the door of their kitchen than Anthy called her in that gentle, passive-but-direct way she had. It was never a question when Anthy called her name, it was a statement, as if Anthy enjoyed the sound of the syllables being said aloud. Her voice held no passion, she showed no signs of joy or excitement, but the repetition - the needless use of the name itself... for some reason, Anthy seemed content when she spoke it.
At the sound of Anthy's voice, Utena looked up from the mail she was examining. "Hm? Himemiya, have you been cooking?"
Anthy smiled, looking pleased. "Yes! I made you your Valentine chocolate!"
Utena choked on nothing. "My-? Himemiya! You're not serious!" Her eyes fell on the platter Anthy was holding, which she'd somehow failed to notice until now. Oh, boy. That was one HUGE piece of chocolate. Utena's first thought was to wonder how her friend had managed to keep Chuu-Chuu away from it.
She made it over to Anthy to examine the chocolate more closely. Anthy held the chocolate out to her. "Am I supposed to say 'Please accept my feelings'? Is that right?"
"Er..." Utena looked from the chocolate, which looked fantastic, to Anthy, who looked unfazed by her hesitation. "Himemiya... Do you know what this Valentine chocolate stuff means?"
Anthy opened her eyes and gave Utena a placid look. "I think I do, Utena-sama."
"You're supposed to give these things to boys you like. Not to other girls!" Even as she said it, Utena knew it was futile.
The answer was expected. "But I'm your bride, Utena-sama!" Anthy smiled again. "And I do like you!"
There was a silence between them, in which certain things were not said. A silence in which Utena considered things. A silence in which, after a pause, Utena reached out and broke off a piece of the chocolate which had her name written on it in romanized letters, and ate it.
She smiled. "This is delicious, Himemiya," she said, and broke off another piece.
"I'm so glad!" Anthy replied, cocking her head.
They sat at the kitchen table, and Utena ate her chocolate, and Anthy smiled and watched her, and in the corner somewhere, Chuu-Chuu slept off the stomach ache he had from pigging out on chocolate earlier.