Author's Note: I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Richard
"Watch your step there!" the train conductor called out to him as Jellal stumbled onto the platform.
He blinked once or twice, squinting a little as his eyes adjusted to the late evening sunlight that flooded Oshibana Station. After two weeks inside the Magic Council's archives, he was still adjusting to actually being outside again.
"Ahh, thank you and good evening!" he turned and replied to the man, who tipped his hat in response.
Up ahead, the train's whistle blew and it pulled away, heading towards its next stop at Clover.
"I can't believe it took me two weeks to escape Doranbolt's clutches," he muttered as he watched the train leave. "Maybe Erza was right, and I am too nice. And I do need to learn how to say no to people."
Maybe it was because of the large amount of very angry mail that he was receiving, but Doranbolt was in an extreme hurry to lift this ridiculous curse that had afflicted the entire kingdom's chocolate as soon as possible. It had taken him two weeks to convince the man that there was nothing he could do to help, despite his extensive background and study in all things obscure and illegal.
It wasn't as if he hadn't made an honest effort at solving their problem either. He had hoped, as much as anyone else, to lift the curse before White Day arrived. But now White Day was almost here, and he hadn't yet thought about what to do.
"Well, at least I still have tomorrow to think of something," he said as he turned and started walking back to the small house that he rented for himself. His shoulders were aching from being hunched over books for two weeks, and there was nothing more that he wanted right now than a good night's sleep. "That's an idea, though. Maybe I can give her some coupons for back rubs..."
The streets here in Oshibana were mostly quiet at this time of day, though almost everyone he passed greeted him with a smile and a nod. It was a small, obscure town on the railroad line between Hargeon and Clover, not nearly as big as the merchant cities of Magnolia and Hargeon to the south. But that suited them just fine, since Oshibana turned out to be just what they needed - a quiet, friendly place where they could relax and have what at least resembled a normal life during those periods when there was nothing to do.
"Our young master is finally back?" asked his elderly neighbor when he arrived at the small house on the outskirts of the town that he currently called home. She leaned out the window as she watered her plants, and greeted him with a warm, kind smile.
"Yes, but unfortunately I was not successful this time," he replied with a bow. "I'm afraid that unless they think of something by tomorrow, there will not be any chocolate for anyone this White Day."
"That's a pity," she laughed, "but you seemed to be sick of chocolate only a month ago."
It was true that he'd received more chocolates than he knew what to do with on Valentine's. He blamed the Weekly Sorcerer for the unwanted attention. Ever since they decided that he was "Fiore's Hottest Resident Bad Boy Turned Good," the resulting coverage had shot him to the top of their list of "Mages I Want to be My Boyfriend."
It was kind of disturbing how quickly he went from one of the most wanted fugitives in the kingdom to one of its most popular celebrities.
He personally didn't like this new attention any more than he liked being a fugitive, but Erza didn't seem to mind. In fact, she seemed more proud of it than anything else…
"Yes, and I am still thankful that you helped me dispose of it all before the curse came down," he replied, smiling. "I think you might have saved my life."
"Well, we are always happy to be of help. With you and your guild here, it's doubtful that we'll ever get attacked again like that time when Eisenwald almost destroyed our train station."
Jellal winced slightly. He had still been on the Magic Council at the time, and he knew that Fairy Tail had caused quite a bit of destruction to their station too. But he was glad that the town's residents were so supportive of their presence here. He had been worried about what they might think about a guild comprised entirely of ex-criminals taking up residence, and he had worked hard to appear as normal and respectable as possible.
And of course the other members of the guild hadn't exactly been helpful in the matter.
"How lovely it is to see you finally back," said a familiar voice.
"Richard!" Jellal jumped a little upon hearing his voice. He turned around and saw that the man was holding a large pink box and wearing an enormous white apron and chef's hat.
"I am deeply sorry that you were unsuccessful at lifting the curse," he said in a booming voice that was sure to echo down the street, though he didn't sound sorry at all. "Chocolate is an excellent way of conveying one's love, but is that not true of all food? For food is what gives us sustenance, what makes our bodies whole, what gives us the energy to live each day to the utmost! There truly is no better way of showing one's love than through the sharing and gifting of food, be it chocolate, bread, oranges, or potatoes! Just the thought of it positively fills me with so much love! Is it not the same for you?"
Richard leaned in uncomfortably close and grinned at him.
Jellal could see from the corner of his eye that his neighbor had forgotten all about her flowers and was gawking at them. A few passers-by on the street had also stopped to stare. He had no idea what brought about or why he deserved this sudden ambush, though his terror level was most definitely rising.
"Uhh, Richard, could we discuss this tomorrow at the guild? Now isn't a good time…" he asked, praying for a positive response. He really did not want to give the impression that their guild often had loud, insane discussions about food and love.
"But when is it not a good time to discuss love?!" Richard practically shouted in his face. "Especially now that we are so close to White Day, that most cherished day when couples express their love to each other in so many ways! But remember, food is most definitely the best way! Which is why I've brought you this!"
He opened the pink box and revealed a large, triple-decker cake decorated with blue candy hearts, red candy roses, and with Jellal's face plus the word "LOVE" drawn on the topmost layer in icing.
Jellal instinctively took a step back when he saw the cake. What was the meaning of this? Was Richard trying to confess to him or something?
"I see that you are truly amazed at this excellent token of love," Richard declared, mistaking his expression of shock for something else. "I worked an entire day and night on it, so I could fill it with thoughts of love and make it the most wonderful gift possible."
"Uhh, thank you…" he said, temporarily rendered speechless. Was this some kind of joke? He thought that everyone in the guild knew that he loved Erza. But with the small crowd that had gathered around them, he realized that he would really prefer to end this scene right now and sort everything out tomorrow at the guild.
Richard handed him the cake and winked at him.
Jellal smiled weakly in return.
"I will see you tomorrow then," said Richard as he turned to leave. "And remember always, food is the purest form of love!"
"Yes, see you…"
"What a remarkable young man," said his neighbor once Richard had walked out of sight.
"Yes, very remarkable," Jellal replied, before escaping inside of his house.
He collapsed onto an armchair, suddenly feeling extremely tired. The cake in his lap was in a magical temperature-controlled box and apparently still warm. It did look delicious and Richard was in fact an excellent cook. Maybe he could give it to Erza for White Day…
But no, that would feel so terribly wrong. There was no way he could do something like that, not to Erza.
But it would be such a waste to let one of Richard's excellent cakes stay uneaten. And there was certainly no way he would show the cake to anyone else.
There wouldn't be any harm if he just ate it himself, would there?
