YAMATO put her hands on her hips and smiled as she studied the space where she found herself. The clock read 5:30. "Alright, I took full advantage of my kitchen. Chocolate appetizers, chocolate soup, and steak with chocolate sauce as a main dish. And of course, dessert will be my special heart-shaped chocolate cake."
The clock read 6:30 inside the dining hall, where there now stood one singular table with a pink tablecloth and a lone candle in the center of an array of dishes and utensils. "Alright, it's done! Now, to call the Admiral." She stepped out of the dining hall. "Admiral! Admiral~!" She blinked. "... Huh, where's the Admiral?"
WHEN he walked out of the store he held in his hands two boxes of ginger thins, a chocolate bar, and a bag of dark roast coffee. He looked up and took note of the moon, waning gibbous. Once back in his car he drove off, taking the way home down familiar streets. The slow, curved road he drove down was lined with trees, the odd man walking his two dogs, dimly lit street lights. There was more light at the intersection, though after that, it was again darker and quieter. The white lights of the library windows faded behind. He turned left to find a gate, which opened once he pushed some number keys on a pad to his left, a window roll away. He sped up the incline to the end of the neighborhood, and there slightly to the left at the top of the hill, parked in the driveway in front of the garage door flanked by two green light bulbs. He stopped the car, took out the things he'd bought, and stood there looking up at the house for a while.
When he stepped inside his two dogs ran to the door and jumped onto him. He set his things down in the kitchen, and his dogs followed him upstairs and to his door. He stepped inside.
"WHAT is it, Yamato?" The Admiral stepped into the dining hall, whereupon his eyes fell onto the table topped with dishes and plates. "It smells so sweet in here."
"Happy Valentine's Day, Admiral!" Yamato started by raising one of the dish covers to reveal some sweet bread covered with chocolate. "I made us a full dinner with various chocolate-based recipes!"
"... oh, wow." He blushed a little. "Geez, you didn't need to do all this, Yamato... everyone I've run into, pretty much, has given me chocolates already! Mutsuki, Richelieu, Zuihō..."
"But they're not your wife, are they?" Yamato wrapped her arms around his neck.
He smiled and chuckled nervously. "Correct."
THE beagle knocked over his chess pieces with her tail as she made her way to the corner and sat down, looking up at him.
"So cute!" He knelt down and began to pet her. The Schnauzer watched for a second and jumped onto his knee, whereupon he began to pat her head and rub her fur as well.
THE Admiral, wearing now just his boxers and an undershirt, slipped under the covers next to Yamato. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder.
HE rolled over onto his back, then rested his head on his pillow again. He stacked a third pillow underneath his chin, then pulled it off and hugged it. The bedspread started to fall off, so he pulled it over himself, and folded his legs so that the spread covered his feet. He put his cheek onto the pillow and held it with one arm underneath, another on top, then buried his face in the pillow, then sat up and looked down. He could see the vague outline of his feet and his nightstand with the help of the light shining through his curtain-covered window. He buried his face in the bottom pillow and covered his head with the top pillow.
THE most distant shores, we are constantly reminded, lie within the person asleep at our side. — Pico Iyer, 2000.