White Day Silvaze
Anxiety was brewing within Blaze, anxiousness of a strength and flavour she hadn't experienced before. Three weeks had passed since Valentine's Day, and yet she's gone two weeks barely seeing her Valentine. He always seemed to have somewhere else to be and something else to do. Before that day their contact had been nonstop, spending hours together almost every day, but in the past two weeks, Blaze couldn't have spent more than three hours with him. This week they'd met only once! That was Monday, today was already Sunday, it was completely surreal. What was Silver up to? Why had he changed like this? Had she done something wrong?
Blaze had taken a walk to clear her head, a simple stroll through the city, but those thoughts polluted her mind. He'd settled into the Sol over the past couple of years, living with and looking after Marine, but in all that time he'd never acted like this. In all the time she'd known him, he'd never acted like this. Was it because of Valentine's? Had she taken a step too far forward; made an advance he didn't reciprocate and ruined their partnership? No, it couldn't be. Before these weeks though, she'd been sure her pining was mutual. If anything Valentine's had only further cemented that. It was so strange, he'd been overjoyed before dissolving into a blushing mess of a hedgehog she could still see in her mind's eye. Even the week following Valentine's had been wonderful, what would once be two friends spending time together shifted a degree more romantic, having meals together and spending time in the castle library.
The closest to a potential cause had been her gift. She'd made him chocolates, resigning a solid week of effort to the task in an attempt to offset her awful cooking skills. Truth be told, judging by the final product, she'd been foolish to think a single week was enough. While they'd ended up roughly heart-shaped they'd tasted closer to charcoal than chocolate. Try as she might to find a better gift they all seemed imperfect, too impersonal, so she'd handed over the best of that embarrassing attempt. Despite its imperfection though her gift surely wasn't the issue. He'd been so thankful when she'd presented them and even fought through their horrendous taste to finish the entire box, regardless of her protesting.
Silver wasn't a good enough liar to have faked his gratefulness, let alone his joy the following week. For all the time she'd known him the hedgehog's heart had been firmly fastened to his cuff. He'd to lie about not being scared or try to hide his tears, but his body would always betray him. He'd insist far too much, trying not to look her in the eye; he'd done such as he swore the chocolates were good. That'd been the last time he'd lied to her; something else was amiss.
She came to a stop, she'd been so lost in her thoughts that she'd rather lost her position. A quick glance to her surroundings quickly rectified that; she was near the edge of the city. The area was mostly residential but she'd come here with him quite a few times, one of the houses had been converted into a café that made some of the best cakes in town. It'd been their last date before he became scarce; he had such a sweet tooth. She supposed they hadn't really discussed it; whether or not they were actually dating. It'd just, kind of, happened, she'd just kind of assumed that outing was a date. Their outings had been recontextualised in her mind, but had they in his?
Blaze had turned to wander home when she felt something roll down the back of her ear. She glanced to the sky only to find it grey, droplets were beginning to fall and here she was; without a jacket and a solid mile from the castle. She could conjure flames to mitigate the rain but doing that among people wasn't the best idea. Warm light was ebbing from the café's windows, beaconing her to enter. Seeing little other option she forced herself inside, prepared to face warm light and the scent of coffee. The scent and light were indeed inside but they were far from the first thing to catch her attention.
Silver was here, not sitting at a table but behind the counter; eyes closed and his chin rested in his palm as he leaned against the worktop. An apron obscured much of his chest fur, as she approached she sighted the nametag attached to it. His form was already unmistakable, from his quills to his glowing hands, but she read that label three times to confirm what she was seeing. Silver had gotten a job? Not only that, Silver was working here? She glanced around the café's inside, being so small and out of the way she was the only customer. If there were other employees they must have been in the back, they were all alone out here.
His quills had tumbled from their usual upright formation to messily lie upon his face; gently parting them revealed heavy black bags beneath his eyes. Her brow hardened further. He'd gained a job and lost sleep? However he'd been spending his time, he'd clearly been pushing himself too hard. As she gently brushed back his quills, trying to return them to their regular position, Blaze felt him shift; hand dropping to fully lean against her.
She shifted her grasp, taking his cheek in her hand, and leaned in to half-whisper. "Silver, what on earth are you doing here?"
Yellow eyes slowly flickered open, slowly regaining their light as he dizzily looked up to her. He mumbled something unintelligible, briefly closing only to snap back open as he recognised her. The hedgehog shot up straight and very nearly headbutted her chin.
"B-Blaze, what're you doing here? W-Welcome?" His voice was hoarse, lack of sleep had affected more than his outward appearance.
Already he was struggling to meet her serious stare, "Why didn't you tell me you got a job? I've hardly seen you the past two weeks."
"W-Well… um…" His vision flickered from her back down to the counter. "I needed money and I saw an advertisement so I just... g-got one?"
The feline's brow only furrowed further, "You needed money?
"Y-Yeah, I just needed money. That's all." He wasn't giving proper answers; Blaze felt her blood begin to freeze. Why wasn't he? Did he need money at all?
As worry further grew she felt her ears fold back, "Silver, what did you need the money for?"
"N-Nothing important. Just a silly thing." His fingers were fidgeting, almost rapping against the surface. "Y-Yeah, it's just for something silly. Nothing really important, b-but as unimportant as it is it's expensive so… i-its just taken a lot of time." Overemphasising the point, Blaze knew he was lying but she couldn't read his mind. Whatever it was, it wasn't small and it wasn't silly; at least not to him.
"As long as it's not too ridiculous you know I'd help you, especially if it matters enough to hide it. You're clearly working yourself to death." When his response wasn't immediate she lowered her hands to the counter, "What is this really about?"
Though she couldn't quite see, his eyes were surely locked on her hands. "I-I… I just…" Silver's head lowered further, quills had tumbled into his face as he fumbled for words. They were getting nowhere. She'd never seen him like this. It was like her heart had stopped, everything around them forgotten as her mind pursued some kind of conclusion. As much as she tried to avoid the thought, explain it away, Valentine's wouldn't leave her mind. He hadn't lied then, but had his stance changed since?
"Silver, look at me." She heard the bite in her own voice but, despite it, he did as she asked. The worry was plain in his face, even through downed quills. This was so unlike him, surely that meant something was wrong. Her fists clenched as she heaved a sigh, steadying herself. It was best to get it over with. She'd had to know before her worry grew any further, "Was Valentine's a mistake, have I pushed our partnership too far?"
"Wh-What? No! I-I'm here because …" Words seemed to fail him for a moment, quills flew from his face as he took her fists in his hand. She could see the panic in his eyes, eyes that hadn't left her. "Valentine's day wasn't a mistake. You've done nothing wrong, i-it's just I-I..." Just as he was about to lose his metal she felt his grip grow tighter, bright yellow eyes bore into her amber ones. "I wanted to match your effort!"
It took a moment to process, worry driving her to scrutinise every word, but with his eyes locked to hers, she could tell he wasn't lying. His heart was on his sleeve in it showed he was too scared to lie. This wasn't her fault, a wave of relief swept through her but hadn't washed away all of her worries. He still looked awful and he hadn't explained himself. "What do you mean match my effort?"
Blaze felt her hands lift from the woodwork, still held in his tight grip. "I… just…" His vision darted from her for a moment but he shook it from himself before she could call it out, "White day's so soon and I really wanted to make it up to you, b-but I don't have any money and i-it'd be wrong to use your money to get you a gift." He leaned in the bags beneath his eyes became all the more clear, "I-I wanted to surprise you like you surprised me."
He'd tried to explain himself but while she understood he wanted to get her a gift Blaze didn't understand why. What was this White Day? Why was he so set on surprising her on it? Her grip shifted to hold his hands but Blaze couldn't quite unfurrow her brow, not yet at least. "Surprise me? How long were you going to keep this up, what's White Day?"
"W-Wait, you don't know what White Day is?" The hedgehog's face paled. "I-I thought… d-does White Day not exist in this dimension?"
"I've never heard of it before but, Silver," She maintained her stare, she had to know. "How long were you going to do this?"
"Just to the end of this week, I figured I'd have enough for something by then. I thought you'd have already guessed what I was doing and not mind. That you'd be surprised I did so much, not that I vanished in the first place." Fear vanished, quickly replaced with concern as guilt overtook his face. She swore water was welling within his eyes. Weakness, brought on by tiredness, had clearly compounded with regret. "I-I wouldn't have done it if I thought it'd worry you, I-I'm so sorry Blaze."
Her shoulders lowered, she felt her ears flick upright. Blaze brushed her thumb over his. It wasn't perfect, but he'd alleviated the worst of her worries. She still had questions and he clearly wanted to give answers but they ought to do this properly. Blaze turned from him to glance behind her, double-checking the café was empty, before making a proposal. "Do you want to sit down and talk about this?"
"Y-Yeah, ok." She allowed a small smile to creep onto her face, as it did (though regret was plain in his eyes) she watched his disposition slightly brighten. "I can make us some tea, get some cake a-and explain all of this."
"I think I'd like that." Her smile grew and with it, further anxiety was eaten away. Their grip released but she didn't turn away yet. She reached across, wiping away a potential tear. "I'll see you at our usual spot, don't take too long."
Blaze felt him lean into her touch again, "I won't, I promise."
With that she turned, making her way toward their spot. Rather than regular seating the café exclusively used couches and tea tables to give a more homely feel. Their usual place was off in the far corner of the establishment, next to a fireplace set to roar in the winter. The table was low, made of mahogany and marked by mug stains, while the couch they sprawled upon was made of a fuzzy, dark green, material. She slid over to the far seat, beginning to collect her thoughts.
While he'd been an idiot it at least sounded like he was a well-intentioned idiot… her well-intentioned, naïve, idiot. Despite her smile, she wasn't content, not yet at least. If he couldn't properly explain himself then her worry would undoubtedly regrow but she trusted that he'd do his best. Hopefully, after this, they could return to normal. Well, they'd have to find their new normal first. Whatever that was.
As he approached she finally saw his full change in wardrobe, quickly scanning him up and down. To go with the black apron they'd given him a pair of old dress shoes, they were a little battered around the edges but had been polished so at a glance they looked new. Blaze thought his cheeks were red from tears but quickly sighted pinkness at the tip of his ears, evidently, her staring had embarrassed him. There was something cute about it, both the outfit and seeing him so flustered. If it weren't for the bags beneath his eyes, fighting his blush for space, she'd have probably told him. As long as those black marks lingered so would the seed of her worry.
He utilised his psychokinesis, with a wave of his hand lowering the pot and mugs before a slice of cake gently landed before her. Coffee cake, the treat she'd order when she rarely indulged in sweets. Of course, he knew her well enough to pick her favourite. He cast her a pensive glance, setting a much too sugary apple slice down in front of his spot, before taking his place. The hedgehog didn't lean back, despite his tired body clearly wanting to.
"Where do you want me to start?"
"First, how did you get like this? I can't believe this job is keeping you up all night. Is that to do with this White Day too?"
"Oh, w-well, actually," He gripped his arm, "When I said I got a job… that was a lie. I-I wanted to get you something really good so I got two."
Her eyes widened, "What do you mean you got two jobs?! Silver you can't…" While she was about to scold him for being so stupid Blaze was rather overwhelmed by the pace of her heartbeat and a newfound heat on her face. They hadn't been together for a month. Well, they'd know each other for years and years, but they'd hardly been together romantically! Sure they'd danced around that fact long before Valentines, there had been glances and hugs that went on much too long, but he was willing to go so far so soon? "Y-You shouldn't have done that! It's no wonder you fell asleep standing!" Blaze, quickly realising how loud she was being, turned away in an attempt to cool off. No matter the gift he was working toward, him going to such an effort was far more valuable. Stupid, yes, but valuable. "W-What's the other job?"
"I-I thought it'd be good with my power, so I asked around at construction sites and managed to get some part-time work moving supplies." Blaze felt him shift, undoubtedly leaning in closer as she'd turned away. "I was sure it'd be easy but I guess I ended up too much."
Construction work!? He really had been working himself to death, between that and the hours the café was open he'd have hardly had time to sleep. It was no wonder she'd hardly seen him, had he even eaten properly? "Regardless of how much you wanted to surprise me, you shouldn't have gone that far. I don't want you hurting yourself. How many hours were you working?"
"I work here from eight till three and then spend as much time as I can helping on a construction site." He explained, "I've been trying to do five hours there but after the first week I haven't really managed." Blaze felt his hand gently top hers, finally, she turned back to face him. "I just wanted to match your gift so badly, I didn't care how tired I was."
Hearing the regret in his voice she couldn't help but turn over her hand to hold his, as she did she felt their knees collide; what little of her blush had faded returned in full force. "My chocolates were practically worthless Silver, they certainly weren't worth two weeks of work."
"You'd never made chocolate before though, right? You put in real effort there and even past that, by making you took a step I was too scared to. You furthered our relationship." She watched him finally lean back against the couch, almost beginning to relax. "Besides, I ate them, all didn't I? They were better than you think."
Embarrassed as she was, Blaze couldn't help but roll her eyes, gently kicking his foot. "No more lies. I saw your face after the first one, you wolfed down the rest to try and mask it. You're lucky you didn't choke."
Silver raised his free hand and their tea began to pour itself. "R-Regardless, what you did had a lot of value to me and as part of White Day, I'm supposed to double or triple that. That's why I got two jobs, I really wanted to surprise you but at the very least I want to get you something to match that." His face had taken on a look of seriousness, "So, despite everything, even if White Day doesn't exist here, I still want to get you something. I-Is that ok?"
"If you're really set on getting me something that's fine, but no more working like that. No more hurting yourself." She made sure to emphasise that. No matter how he explained it, nor how it felt hearing he'd done so much, she wouldn't let him work himself to death. "What even is White Day?"
"Oh it's just a little holiday thing, it's really not important." He seemed almost embarrassed but, following another teasing kick, words began to spill forth. "I read about it when I lived in the future. It's called White Day because people give gifts that are white or in white boxes rather than the red associated with Valentine's. " He explained, "It's an answer to Valentine's Day. If someone got you a gift on Valentine's but you didn't get them anything a month later you're supposed to return that effort. White Day gifts are meant to be more than twice the value of those given before, t-to make up for the lost time I guess. By furthering our relationship you did something really important to me, a-and I didn't think I could do anything three times its worth, so I wanted to at least try to match it."
As he explained Blaze, fairly quickly, came to understand his mistake. Being from a destroyed world Silver had only read about events and traditions, he'd never actually experienced them. When Sol had their winter festival he'd assumed snow was a guaranty, he had a habit of either taking traditions literally or at the very least having an idealised version of them. This was no different.
"You're so naïve, you shouldn't try to equate monetary and personal value. Despite how bad my chocolate was, it clearly meant a lot to you due to the effort behind it. I feel the same about what you've done." She tried to explain, "Knowing how much my gift meant to you and knowing you'd go to such lengths means more to me than any gift could, foolish as that was."
Raising his effort again seemed to embarrass him further; he sunk deeper into the couch. "You're right, I-I guess I lost myself in the spirit of it. I wouldn't have done it if I knew White Day didn't exist here, I'm sorry Blaze."
She squeezed his hand, "You didn't notice no one else was preparing? No advertisements, no one talking about it?"
His blush grew even brighter; she heard the plinking of sugar cubes and clinking of teaspoons within their cups. "I kind of let myself get too busy to notice, outside meals I've hardly even talked to Marine. She knew what I was doing but… I guess she just didn't know any better either." He reached beneath his apron to tug at his chest fur, "That or she thought it was funny. I worked myself to the bone, didn't spend time on other things."
Their hands parted as he floated across their teacups. He'd dropped two sugar cubes in hers, as he knew she took it, and six had taken residence in his cup. "There are better ways to go about it, learning a skill to share or finding a gift that shows how much you know me rather than caring about whether it's valuable."
He seemed to fully relax, his smile growing to match hers, only for a puzzled look to briefly cross his face. "What do you mean sharing a skill?"
"Like taking someone to do something they never have before or making them something you hope they'd enjoy. I suppose that's why chocolate is a popular Valentine's Day gift," The feline half reflected and half explained, "Most people like it but don't know how to make it, they have to invest time and learn for another person. It shows a commitment."
Despite the explanation, he was still deep in thought. Curious as she was Blaze took a sip of her tea lest it cool, he was probably just taking in her words and planning something. By the time her mug lowered he'd gone from looking confused to quite embarrassed. The second she caught his eye Silver quickly raised his mug, taking an overlarge drink, and when it finally lowered his face had turned from pink to red.
Silver attempted to speak at least three times but on each occasion the hedgehog clearly found himself tongue-tied, returning a very empty cup to his lips. On what seemed to be his fourth attempt, just before she could start chuckling, he managed to blurt out a question, "I-I guess then, seeing as it doesn't exist here, I can give you my gift whenever rather than on that day, right?"
Blaze blinked at that, she didn't know what she'd expected but it hadn't been that. Perhaps that he had some idea or no idea, maybe that he'd keep thinking about it, but he not only had an idea but some idea of when he'd be ready to present the gift? Surely he planned to learn a skill rather than take on more jobs,
The cat managed to push aside her curiosity, nodding to him. "Yes, take all the time you need."
"Oh, I-I meant it'd be done sooner rather than later. I-I guess I could do it on the day too but..." Intrigue broke free of her control but before she could ask an object floated into her vision; it was the coffee cake, set atop its plate. Thick, wet looking, dark brown sponge with a layer of beige icing in its centre and a thicker layer on top. Crumbled walnuts and diced cherries topped the external icing layer in a generous, but not overwhelming, manner. "I know it's your favourite so, while I was working here, I figured I should learn how to make it."
It took her less than a moment to process. Cup set in her lap she plucked the saucer from the air. "Y-You made this?"
Blaze felt the heat on her face, her heart had returned to that overwhelming rate. Since his arrival in civilisation Silver had found a hobby in cooking, mostly for Marine and on occasion Blaze herself, but she couldn't recall him baking before. He had learned an entirely new craft for her, while working himself to death no less. She hadn't been able to tell his version of the cake from that of prior visits, even this close it both smelled and looked exactly as she remembered.
"Y-Yeah, it should taste right? Coffee's still a bit strong for me so I'm not certain b-but…" Seriousness broke through embarrassment, his hands clenched into fists. "If it doesn't I'll keep practising until it does, I promise!"
Lifting her dessertspoon Blaze carved off the left corner, managing to procure a sizable chunk. The taste was exactly as she remembered, no; it was better than that. The coffee flavour was perfect, neither overwhelming nor underwhelming, and the softness of the sponge was great, but understanding the effort that had gone into it seemed to catalyse her taste buds. Watching him try not to stare, bashfully turning away to collect his own cake, and understanding the effort he'd put in only added to her enjoyment. She could taste his effort, even stupidly overburdened and surely tired to his wit's end he'd learned to make this because she liked it; even ignoring his own distaste for the bitter flavour. Without knowing he'd done exactly as he should have in the first place.
As her spoon returned to the plate Blaze could see the sweat on his brow. His apple slice was floating untouched in the air, eyes were locked on his lap and his right hand was rising to tug at his chest fur.
Before his fingers could land she gently reached across, fingers lacing between his. His eyes flickered to hers. While she was certain blush still lingered on his cheeks it was undoubtedly more prominent on his. "It's perfect Silver."
"I-I'm glad you like it, Blaze," Though relief washed over him the compliment only empowered his stutter, "Th-Thank you."
"For what? I should be the one thanking you."
"I-It's just… I messed up so much trying to fulfil a tradition that doesn't even exists, you've put up with a lot and I worried you. I should have paid more attention to-
Blaze didn't let him finish; instead, she pushed the sugary slice through the air and into his mouth. As he swallowed she allowed a larger smile to cross her lips, "Thank you, Silver."
Silver, despite his blushing, managed to match her grin, "Y-You're welcome."