I decided to write a couple oneshots for Valentine's Day. (Yeah, it's overdone, but it's easy and fun to write. Don't kill me.) First is TsuStar. I've never written for this pairing before, and didn't really get into it until after watching the anime a second time. So here it is: Tsubaki and Black*Star's Valentine's Day antics.
Valentine's Day, Chapter One
Star-Crossed Hearts
Birdsong chirped through Tsubaki's window, gently rousing her from her sleep and causing her to yawn as she pushed some of her raven-colored hair out of her face. Taking a brief glance at the clock, she smiled a little, realizing that it was early enough that she didn't have to wake up quite yet. The Dark Arm pulled her thick blanket around herself, curling up on her tatami mat and taking in a deep breath of smoke.
Smoke.
Tsubaki's eyes snapped open. The smell hit her clearly now; smoke was wafting from outside her door. She shot awake, jumping up quickly right as the fire alarm began to go off. Frantically she slid open her door and ran charging into the kitchen.
"Black*Star!" She screamed. "There's a fire, we have to get-!" She cut herself off. Her aforementioned meister stood in front of the currently-smoking stove, waving his hands to try to get the flames to die down. His green eyes glanced behind himself. Noticing Tsubaki, he grinned.
"Morning, Tsubaki!" He beamed cheerfully. "I'm makin' ya breakfast!"
Tsubaki glanced around the kitchen, seeing nothing but a mess. Eggs were cracked on the floor, tea was spilled on the counter, and blackened pancake-like… Things were piled on the table. "The pancakes look nice," She smiled a little while she grabbed the stepstool from the supply closet before setting it below the smoke detector, climbing it the steps to try and turn the device off.
Black*Star looked confused. "Those aren't pancakes," He said. "That's the juice." Tsubaki nearly fell off the stool. She glanced over at the table once more, wincing a little at the burnt former beverage.
"I didn't know you could… Burn juice…" She said quietly.
Black*Star laughed. "Anything is possible with the great Black*Star!" He grinned, setting a bowl on the table containing equally blackened, thick, clumpy liquid. Tsubaki sighed, stepping down after having removed the smoke alarm's batteries.
"So I guess this is soup?" She attempted to smile. Black*Star shook his head.
"Nuh-uh. That's the toast."
The young ninja's weapon glanced down at her food. She didn't want to not eat it after her meister had gone through all the trouble of cooking it, so she scooped a spoonful of the apparent toast and placed it in her mouth. Withholding her gag reflex, she smiled politely at Black*Star and gave him a thumbs-up. He beamed.
"I knew you'd like it! After all, it's cooked by the great Black*Star! HAHA!" He guffawed.
Tsubaki continued to smile at him as she swallowed the repulsive "food". "It's good, Black*Star," She said, "But I'm not really hungry. Thank you anyway," She told him, immediately standing and beginning to clean up the mess. Black*Star merely shrugged while turning off the stove to get it to stop smoking. His weapon glanced at him while his back was turned, smiling fondly. "So what brought this on?" She asked.
Black*Star turned around, shoving his hands in his the pockets of his sweatpants. "Duh," He muttered, causing Tsubaki to raise an eyebrow. "It's Valentine's Day."
Tsubaki looked at the calendar, pulling the broom out of the closet. "So it is," She said as she begun to sweep. She hadn't put much thought into Valentine's Day this year. Every year prior since coming to the DWMA, she had been given boxes of chocolates from teenage boys who evidently thought she was attractive, although she couldn't see it. It wasn't something she really looked forward to, as she ended up going on multiple dates for the next week and barely got to spend the most romantic day of the year with the only boy she'd want to date.
After pulling the milk from the fridge, Black*Star began to drink directly from the carton. "After I got my own breakfast, thought I'd do something nice for the best weapon ever and celebrate the day by making her a gourmet meal," He continued idly, but Tsubaki's face flushed red at his words.
"Huh," She said, trying to appear like she wasn't blushing madly. "Black*Star?" She asked, trying to swerve the topic away from herself, "Do you ever get any Valentine requests?" "He must," She thought to herself. "He's strong, hardworking, and has excellent physique. Any girl would want to date him. Someone timid like me wouldn't have a chance…"
Her meister thought for a moment, but then shrugged. "Yeah, sometimes. Who wouldn't want to date the biggest star on Earth?" He boasted, smirking.
Tsubaki let out a small sigh while she swept. "Oh… Okay," She murmured.
"But I turn 'em all down."
This surprised the older teen. She turned around, looking directly at Black*Star. "… Really?" She said.
The blue-haired ninja nodded. "Yep! None of those peasants are worthy of my affection!" He declared. Beginning to walk back into his room, he added, "I'm gonna get dressed, 'kay? See ya in a bit."
Tsubaki smiled fondly at him once again. "Okay. I'll finish up in here," She said, waving a little. One his door was closed, she looked around the kitchen. Her optimism quickly disintegrated upon seeing the rest of the mess that she had only began to clear, causing her to sigh again. "Well… Even if he gave me ashes to eat and left the kitchen looking like it survived the apocalypse, it's the thought that counts," She told herself as she resumed sweeping.
Black*Star went out with little explanation soon after getting dressed, leaving Tsubaki alone in a quiet house. The Dark Arm then continued cleaning dutifully once she had changed out of her own nightclothes. She sighed after clearing the counter.
"I'm kind of grateful that Valentine's Day is on a Saturday this year," She murmured, "That means I don't have to get asked out by all of those classmates. But…" She trailed off, looking around the now-spotless kitchen, "But Black*Star's gone, too, so it doesn't really matter." She set the washcloth in the laundry bin robotically. To Tsubaki, any day spent without Black*Star, whether alone or with a boy she didn't care about, was boring and pointless.
Tsubaki looked around dispassionately, searching for something to catch her interest. The apartment was rather peaceful and quiet in Black*Star's absence.
"The quiet's good for one thing, anyway," She said to herself.
She didn't get to do it often, but Tsubaki found meditation calming and relaxing. It wasn't as if she was frequently stressed; she simply liked to clear her mind in silence on occasion. Although, with Black*Star around, she didn't get much opportunity to do so, anyway.
The house was devoid of every sound, excepting Tsubaki's deep breathing, as she sat in lotus position, her legs crossed over themselves on in the living room floor. However, luck isn't one to shine on the Dark Arm, and irony often takes its place. Therefore, as soon as Tsubaki closed her eyes, the front door was thrown open.
"Your star has returned!" Exclaimed Black*Star. Tsubaki nearly jumped two feet in the air. She turned around to face the door, but stopped suddenly. Her meister held a mass of red and pink in his arms. "Got somethin' for ya!" He beamed, poking his head out from behind his haul before he promptly dropped it. His weapon stood, walking over. She stared at the pile, sifting through it slightly. There were dozens of candy-filled hearts, with everything from dollar store brands to gourmet boxes of chocolates. There were also other gifts, including heart-themed stuffed animals, a heart-shaped pillow, and a couple music CDs.
"Where did this all come from?" She asked, picking up a stuffed dog with a heart in its paws.
Black*Star grinned. "Thought that after that awesome breakfast, I better follow-up with some just-as-awesome stuff!" He said. "The best partner ever deserves the best Valentine's day ever, right?" He shot her a thumbs-up.
Tsubaki's face burned red once again. "I'm really the best?" She turned her face downwards.
"Course ya are!" Black*Star shouted, throwing his arm around her shoulders. "I wouldn't let just any kid be my weapon; they had to be the absolute greatest!" His smile became slightly gentler as he turned his head to look Tsubaki in the eye. "And here you are. So there," He winked.
Tsubaki's heart began pounding when his face was so close to hers, but she did an excellent job of maintaining her calm exterior until he jumped up.
"All right, I'll leave you to marvel over my excellent gift choices!" He proclaimed, sauntering over to the couch and television.
Tsubaki smiled at his retreating form, but then switched her attention back to her gifts while keeping an ear open for her meister. It was instinctive; whenever he was near, even if her eyes were focused somewhere else, she had learned to listen for him in order to help her ninja if he got into trouble.
Pulling out one of the CDs, she inspected it. "Kalafina's latest album," She said softly to herself. Looking over the other albums, she discovered more of the same band. Confused, she sat back. As best as she could remember, the Dark Arm had only mentioned once that Kalafina was her favorite band.
"He remembered," She smiled to herself, but her smile quickly fell. "Or… Maybe he's just attentive," She thought. Wanting to test her theory, she moved around to see her meister sprawled out on the couch, watching Saturday morning anime. "Hey, Black*Star," She began. The young teen's attention turned to her.
"What's up, Tsubaki?" He asked, but then looked slightly concerned. "Is there something you don't like?"
Tsubaki immediately shook her head rapidly. "No, that's not it at all!" She exclaimed quickly with an awkward smile. "I was just, um… Wondering if you knew what Soul's favorite band is. You know, for future reference."
Black*Star blinked. "Uh…" He drawled slowly, "Um… Three Days Grace?"
Tsubaki's smile became gentle. "Oh. Thanks," She told him, satisfied. "He just named the first band that came to his mind," She giggled to herself, able to read her meister like a book. "It's no small secret that Soul loves T.M. Revolution. This means that Black*Star really was paying attention when I said I liked Kalafina. And if he pays more attention to me than his best friend…"
Black*Star was entirely engrossed in his TV shows, when suddenly he felt something warm and soft on his cheek. His eyes widened as he whipped around, seeing Tsubaki leaning close to his face.
"You're so sweet and thoughtful," She smiled brightly, ruffling his hair a little before she stood up. The young ninja's green eyes followed her as she began picking her new stuff up from the kitchen and carrying them back to her room. Slowly, he brought a hand up to gently touch where she had kissed him.
"By the way, Black*Star," Tsubaki added, walking from the hallway for a second trip, "Where'd you get the money to pay for all of this?"
Black*Star stared at her for a moment, trying to remember how to speak. He processed her question over and over in his mind. After a couple seconds, it finally clicked. "Oh," He said, pulling something from his pocket. His weapon visibly stiffened.
"My credit card?!" She exclaimed. Her wide eyes didn't leave the plastic rectangle for a moment, but then she sighed. After a couple seconds, she shrugged and laughed. "Well… It's the thought that counts."
I'm not sure if it's ever mentioned in the canon that Tsubaki meditates, but it seems to me like something she'd do if the house was quiet. I also think she'd like Kalafina. (The band that sung "Lacrimosa", the 2nd Black Butler ending theme, and the song at the very end of season 2) They do a lot of traditional-sounding music mixed with rock. It's cool. I don't own it, though. Or Three Days Grace. Or T.M. Revolution. (Guess what they did the opening for. It's not hard.) Oh yeah, and some of breakfast failures are a reference (that I don't own). Points if you get it. See ya next chapter, guys!