Aster double checked to make sure he'd remembered Jack's present and then headed out the door to meet up with his boyfriend and Ana for their daily walk to school. When he looked up the street, he could see that the two of them were already waiting for him by the Romoli's house, so he picked up the pace and quickly joined them.

As he approached, Ana called out, "Happy Valentine's Day," while Jack just smiled and waited for Aster to reach them. If the artistic teen had been paying a bit more attention, Jack's uncharacteristic silence might have worried him, but he was too busy thinking about his present and so the moment slipped by unnoticed, leaving Aster untroubled as he quickly returned Ana's greeting and then pulled his boyfriend close for a kiss.

Hey, it was Valentine's Day, a little PDA was allowed, even if it did leave Jack blushing a pretty pink when they pulled apart.

The blush just made Aster smile, Jack was far too embarrassed by this kind-of stuff for someone who was so gung-ho when they were alone. At least he wasn't pulling out of the hug, though that probably had something to do with the fact that Ana had seen fit to start off without them.

Knowing that they'd soon have to hurry after the blonde and go to school, Aster leaned in for a final chaste kiss and then whispered, "Happy Valentine's day, Frostbite."

At these words, Jack pulled out of the hug with an exclamation of, "Oh, right!"

Then he took off his backpack and set it on the ground before bending down and unzipping the front pouch. "I almost forgot about this."

As he spoke, Jack took out a present that had been messily wrapped in silver paper and then got to his feet. Once he was standing again, Jack held out the gift with a nervous exclamation of, "Happy Valentine's Day!"

Aster took the present from Jack's outstretched hands curiously and examined it in silence as an amused grin spread across his face.

"You know, you're supposed to unwrap it, silly." Jack commented worriedly when it appeared that Aster had no intention of opening the gift.

The words only made the artist smile grow as he replied, "I'm simply admiring your wrapping job, Frostbite. I didn't know it was possible to use this much tape on such a tiny present!"

Jack grinned and shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry, I've never had to wrap anything before."

Aster stopped examining the gift at the admission and looked at his grinning boyfriend in surprise. "What, really?"

Jack merely nodded and waited for Aster to open the gift.

Though the Australian could think of a few more questions, he didn't say anything. Instead, he unwrapped the present.

When he'd revealed the item hidden beneath the silver paper, all he could do was laugh and lean forward to gently press his lips to his boyfriend's forehead.

Jack had gotten him a small, snow white, stuffed rabbit with an Easter egg wrapped in its arms. Even without close examination, Aster could tell that Jack had repainted the egg by the fact that it was like no other Easter egg he'd ever seen. Instead of some spring time color or pattern, the ceramic egg was painted a soft, icy blue with a surprisingly well done outline of Australia traced in bright green.

When Aster pulled back, Jack was blushing and shuffling his feet nervously, clearly concerned about the quality of his gift. Before Aster could say anything, his boyfriend began to mumble and explanation, "It's a jackrabbit. So, you know, you can think of me when you see it. I know it's not the greatest gift ever, but I thought…"

Aster placed a finger to his boyfriend's lips, silencing him, and then said, "It's great and I love it."

As Jack grinned with pleasure, Aster reached into his back pocket and took something out. Jack tried to see what it was, but his boyfriend kept the item held firmly out of his sight. "You have to close your eyes if you want your present."

Jack gave Aster a tiny pout, but followed his command.

Once his eyes were closed, he felt Aster's warm fingers brush against his neck, running some kind of cord along his pale skin. When Aster's hand fell away, the cord remained and, after a moment, the Australian's deep voice said, "Okay, you can look now!"

Jack's eye's fluttered open and he glanced down at his neck. Around it, on a short, almost choker length, black cord hung a simple pendent, no bigger than a pencil's eraser.

After a moment's hesitation, Jack cautiously reached up and ran his fingers over the smooth, silver and gold charm curiously before looking at his boyfriend with frosty eyes full of questions. Sensing the albino's confusion, Aster smiled and explained the meaning behind his gift.

"It's an Australian surfer's charm."

That didn't seem to clear anything up, so Aster began again, looking a little embarrassed this time.

"When I was six years old, my uncle took me to the beach to give me my first and only surfing lesson. I'd been begging to go for years and, since we were moving away, he knew it was his only chance to grant my wish.

"I was absolutely terrible, but it was still one of the best days of my life. When we were all done and I was nursing more bruises that I could count, he took me to a little shop right along the boardwalk. It was full of all these different charms, hand made by the owner. My uncle told me that every real surfer wore one, so I needed one, too.

"He let me choose whichever one I wanted." Here Aster paused and pointed to the charm around Jack's neck before continuing on. "And that's the one I picked.

"I used to wear it all the time, but I stopped when the original chain broke. I'd almost forgotten about it, but when I was trying to think of a gift that'd actually mean something it came to mind. Luckily I still had it stashed away in a desk drawer. I think it's technically supposed to bring you good luck or something like that and I know it's jewelry, which isn't really your style, but…"

Aster's voice trailed off and he bashfully ran a hand through his hair, waiting for Jack to reply.

Instead of saying something, though, Jack simply leaned forward and kissed Aster tenderly. When he pulled back, he was smiling his Aster smile with his hands clasped around the surfer's charm like it was the most precious thing in the world. He didn't even need to say anything. The look on his face told Aster everything he needed to know.

The initial plan for after school had been to meet up and their usual spot and walk home, but Ana had ended up going off somewhere with Nick, leaving Jack waiting by himself. When Aster failed to show up, the impatient albino had headed to the art room to find his missing boyfriend, figuring Aster had lost track of time again.

As Jack entered the classroom, the paint splattered form of Marie emerged from one of the many closest that lined the walls with her arms full of paint and brushes. Seeing her heavy load, Jack immediately ran to her side to offer his help which she gladly accepted with a pleased, "Thanks, Jack.

"No problem. Why were you carrying so much at once anyway?"

"Because it's quicker that way and I'm looking forward to heading home today," she replied with a grin.

"Oh, got Valentine's plans?"

Marie set her load down on an empty table and motioned for Jack to do the same as she said, "Of course: go home, curl up with a good horror movie, and avoid the holiday like the plague!"

After that, she started to arrange the pile of arts supplies, but then she noticed the shocked look on Jack's face and started to laugh.

"Oh God, I sound like a bitter old maid! I just don't like Valentine's Day, that's all. Call it a hang up from back when I was in high school. My boyfriend knows he's not to even mention the event in my presence if he wants to stay in my good graces."

Unsure what to say, Jack simply smiled back and watched as she arranged the pile of paints. He was so busy watching that he didn't notice that someone was approaching from behind until two, strong, tan arms wrapped around his waist and familiar, warm lips were pressed to his cheek.

After a momentary moment of panic, Jack realized who it was and relaxed into the hug as Aster whispered, "Sorry, I lost track of time working on a new project. Forgive me?"

The question made Jack turn around so that he could smile at his boyfriend and say, "Of course!"

It was only then that Aster noticed the pile of art supplies on the table and he gave Marie a quizzical look before asking, "What's up?"

The teacher sighed and gave the boys a pained look. "The drama club is once again borrowing some supplies from us. I told them I'd leave the stuff out on the table so that they didn't go messing up my closets this time. Help me with the last load?"

Aster shrugged and removed his arms from around Jack before following the woman across the art room as he said, "I don't know why you don't just tell them no for once."

"School policy, I don't have a choice," was the pained reply as Marie handed Aster a pile of supplied to carry.

Once the duo finished arranging the supplies, Aster grabbed Jack's hand and pulled him into the pottery room with a mysterious statement of, "Come on, I've got something for you."

Once they were inside the room, Aster grabbed an object wrapped in newspaper off of one of the shelves and proudly handed it to Jack.

Jack took the offered gift and carefully unwrapped it. When he saw what was inside, he let out a tiny burst of laughter and gave his boyfriend an amused grin before saying, "You actually fired it?"

Aster nodded, looking immensely pleased with himself. "I told you it was one of my favorites."

Jack laughed lightly and looked back down at the gift. It certainly looked a lot better now than it had when they'd made it.

In his hands was the pot they'd created on Jack's first visit to the art room. Sometime between then and now, Aster had fired and glazed it, transforming it from misshapen lump into something beautiful, a winter scene with two figures standing close together on snow-covered ground, underneath the sprawling branches of a barren tree. Somehow, Aster had taken the lumps in the surface and made them look intentional. What had formally seemed like detriments to the piece, now gave a three-dimensional life to the tree.

Jack looked up at his boyfriend in wonder, completely at a loss for words. He'd always known Aster was talented, but this, this was something special.

"And that's part two of your valentine's present. I figured it'd match your room's décor," Aster explained before leaning forward and kissing his astonished boyfriend.

The kiss was cut short by Marie, who stuck her head into the room and said, "Okay, as cute as this is, I need to lock up. Go make-out somewhere else!"