"Is there a reason why Sawamura look like a zombie?" Kanemaru asks as he sits down at the table for breakfast.
Sawamura's head is down on the table. His face is pale and his eyes are bloodshot and his only movements are only short twitches. "Makeup work. So much makeup work." he mumbles.
"What Eijun-kun means to say is he's on academic probation." Haruichi explains helpfully. "If he didn't turn in all his makeup work by the deadline he would've been suspended from all extracurricular activites, including Quidditch."
All of a sudden Sawamura shoots up. "Don't say those horrible words, Harucchi!"
"Sorry. Sawamura stayed up all night finishing those assignments, which is why he looks so dead now."
"Hey!" Sawamura shouts indignantly. "Sorry that my studies are more important to me than my looks!"
"Says the person on academic probation." Furuya says.
"You bastard!" Sawamura grabs the front of Furuya's shirt.
"I'll pick up the slack while you're off the team."
"I'm not off the team yet! And I'm not gonna let you hog all the spotlight!" This leads to an intense stare-off, something that was typical with the two rival Seekers.
Sawamura doesn't break eye contact, not even when he hears someone repeatedly calling his name.
Then he feels someone poke him in the back. "Sawamura, it's not nice to ignore people." says a familiar voice.
He turns arounds and there's Miyuki, casually parked on the seat next to him. "What's up with you? You look awful!" Miyuki says bluntly.
That comment earns him a hit on the head. "Ow, Sawamura! That really hurt!" Miyuki says, rubbing his head.
"You deserved it." Sawamura replies. They've been dating for a month and somehow Miyuki still manages to be a real asshole. For whatever reason, though, Sawamura still likes him.
"What do you want anyway?"
Miyuki grins. "So cold! Maybe I just wanted to see you, that's all!"
Sawamura stares at him.
"Okay, okay! I wanted to tell you that I have some stuff to take care of, so I'll meet up with you at Hogsmeade later. I don't want to spoil anything, but I've got a surprise for you."
"A surprise?" That kind of worried Sawamura. Miyuki's surprises were rarely ever good.
"Yep, but that's all I'm gonna say about it. I'll see you later." He kisses Sawamura on the cheek, which makes him blush and Miyuki smile. "I can't wait to eat your chocolate." he says lowly, just for Sawamura to hear.
He rubs his cheek as he watches Miyuki walk away when Miyuki's words start to register. "Wait, what did he mean by chocolate?" he thinks out loud.
"I didn't think you had any time to buy Valentine's chocolate, but you still did it." Haruichi smiles brightly at him. "That's really sweet of you, Eijun-kun."
"What do you mean, Valentine's chocolate?"
"...You do know today is Valentine's Day, right?"
"What?!" Sawamura shouts. The people around him collectively groan. "That can't be today! If today was Valentine's Day, I would know!"
Haruichi looks around the room, which makes Sawamura do the same thing. The dining hall is decorated with red and pink streamers and mini hearts floating in the air. He now notices that fruit punch is served with breakfast instead of orange juice. When he looks down at his plate, he sees two heart-shaped waffles.
"I thought the waffles looked weird." he says after a moment of silence.
"Speaking of chocolates," Toujou cuts in. He digs around in his bag and pulls out a small sack of chocolate. He turns to Kanemaru. "Happy Valentine's Day, Shinji!"
Kanemaru's face turns red as a tomato. "For me?"
Toujou nods. "Of course! I decided to make chocolate for all my friends this year!" He digs around in his bag again. "Here's yours, Haruichi. Hold on, I'll get yours next, Eijun." Toujou doesn't seem to notice Kanemaru dying next to him.
Sawamura digs his hands into his hair. "What am I gonna do? Miyuki's got this big surprise and I don't have anything for him!"
"It's not a big deal. Just buy him something from Honeydukes." Kanemaru tells him.
"Buying chocolate the day of Valentine's? You're so unromantic, Shinji!" Toujou says jokingly, stabbing Kanemaru in the heart for the second time.
"I don't have any money. I spent the rest of it on something important."
"You mean manga." Furuya chimes in.
"Shut up!"
Haruno appears suddenly carrying many bags of chocolate in her arms. She dumps a few on the table. "Here, guys! The managers and I made chocolate for the entire Quidditch team."
They each take a bag and eat the chocolate inside. "Wow, Haruno-chan, this is really good!" Haruichi says. They all nod in agreement.
"Really? Thanks, you guys!" she says brightly. "I still have a bunch of chocolate left to give out, so I'll see you guys later."
Seeing her gives Sawamura an idea. "I know! I'll just make some chocolate for Miyuki. It'll be more special that way, being homemade and all."
"I didn't know you know you knew how to make chocolate." Toujou remarks.
That makes Sawamura pause. "Um, I don't actually." Another collective sigh.
"I can help you if you want, Eijun-kun. I was planning on making chocolate, anyway." That catches Furuya's attention.
"You know how to make chocolate, Harucchi?"
He nods. "Yep, my mom taught me." Haruichi stands up. "The kitchen should be empty, but we'd better go now."
Sawamura stands up quickly. "Yes, sir!"
Kazuya peeks around the corner before breathing in relief and walking around. I can't let my guard down, even on Valentine's Day. Kazuya thinks. After he finished helping out the teacher he accidentally ran into Shirakawa, who sarcastically told him that Mei was looking for him. Whether they were dating or not, Mei and Kazuya always exchanged chocolates. This year he forgot, mainly because his head's been filled with thoughts of Sawamura. It's not like he can tell Mei that, not to mention that he's pretty sure Mei's is starting to think that Kazuya's avoiding him(which he is, but it's better if Mei doesn't know that). If Kazuya avoids him on this day of all days, then Mei will definitely start to get suspicious. Then Kazuya might actually have to deal with this situation.
Should I go see him? We are friends. It wouldn't be that big of a deal to just pick up some chocolate and give it to him. Except it would be a big deal. He doesn't want Mei to get the wrong idea. Plus, giving Valentines to anyone other than your boyfriend, especially your ex-boyfriend, would be hard to defend no matter what side you look at. The last thing he wants to do is hurt Sawamura. Shaking his head, he clears those thoughts from his mind. It's the most romantic day of the year. All I want to do is spend it with Sawamura. Thinking that made Kazuya want to hurry up and get off campus.
Suddenly there's a tap on his shoulder. "Miyuki!"
He jumps. "Oh, it's just you Kuramochi. You scared me." he says.
Kuramochi squints at him. "What's up with you? I called your name a million times."
"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What are you even doing here anyway?"
The question incites an instant wave of anger from Kuramochi. "Because it's fucking Valentine's Day there's no safe place on or off campus! Couples are all over Hogsmeade, the common room, and basically every empty hallway. So I'm trying to find a place to breathe."
Kazuya feels a smirk coming on. "Alone on Valentine's? Don't be sad, I'm sure you can find someone to keep you company. Speaking of which, where's Ryou-san?"
Whether Kuramochi goes red in embarrassment or anger, Kazuya doesn't know. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"
"Nothing, nothing."
Kuramochi opens his mouth, probably for an angry retort, when a loud vibrating noise interrupts him. Kuramochi takes out his phone, widens his eyes at whatever popped up on the screen, and sends a quick text back.
Kazuya, wearing his full Cheshire Cat grin, asks, "Who was that?"
Kuramochi refuses to look at him. "Ryou-san wanted to know if I was up for playing videogames in the common room, one on one. I guess he kicked everyone else out."
Kazuya laughs. "Remind me why I let you give me romantic advice?"
Naturally, Kuramochi punches him. "Shut up! Anyway, why aren't you polluting the air with the other couples? Don't tell me Bakamura dumped up on Valentine's?"
"Haha, very funny. I just need to grab my gift from my room and then I'm meeting up with him." He tries to act cool, but the soft look on his face betrays him. He can't wait to see Sawamura.
"Ugh, save that mushy look for Sawamura."
Kazuya laughs and wraps an arm around him. "Aw, don't be jealous! I'm sure Ryou-san might surprise you with some chocolate of his own."
Kuramochi shakes him off. "Yeah, right. Why would Ryou-san get me chocolate? It's not like we're dating or anything."
"Or anything, huh?" Kazuya says smugly.
Another hit. "I wouldn't be too cocky if I were you, Miyuki," Kuramochi says, shaking out his hand. "Knowing that idiot, he probably didn't even get you anything."
"You underestimate Sawamura too much," he says confidently. "I'm sure he thought about this more than I did. He might even have a surprise for me!"
"Yeah, yeah."
On the other side of the castle, Sawamura sneezes.
"Eijun-kun, be careful not to-"
"Ow!"
"-burn yourself."
Haruichi sighs as Sawamura drops the tray on the counter and blows on his burnt fingers. Well, at least we didn't burn down the kitchen or the chocolate. Actually, the chocolates turned out pretty good! Haruichi looks at his perfectly baked chocolates and Sawamura's slightly misshapen ones. Well, mostly good.
"I did it! It was hell but I did it!" Sawamura cheers. "Miyuki's not gonna know what hit him!"
Haruichi hands him the bags for the chocolate."You know, if you told Miyuki-senpai why you forgot to get him chocolate I'm sure he would've understood."
At first, he doesn't think Sawamura hears him, since he's too busy being enraptured by the bag's changing patterns from hearts to stripes to polka dots(even though he's been going to Hogwarts for years Sawamura still gets amazed by magic), but then he speaks up.
"I know it's not a big deal and Miyuki would've understood but, I don't know, I still wanted to do something for him." Sawamura quietly admits. "It's my first time ever seriously dating someone. And it's Miyuki. Maybe it's stupid, but I feel like it's important I give him something today, even if it's just weird looking chocolate."
Haruichi is stunned silent for a second, which makes Sawamura chuckle nervously. "Sorry, I'm not making any sense."
"No, no, I understand." It almost makes Haruichi laugh. Eijun-kun only thinks of two things: Quidditch and Miyuki-senpai.
"Hey, Harucchi, can I ask you a question?"
"Um, sure." He's taken aback by the sudden subject change.
"Who're the bags for?" Sawamura asks, pointing to the two neatly tied up candy bags sitting on the counter.
Haruichi picks up one of the bags. "Well, this one is for Kuro-chan!" he says cheerfully.
"Kuro-chan? Why does sound fami-wait. Are you talking about Furuya's stupid cat?"
"Yes, Kuro-chan. And you shouldn't call her stupid! That's why she doesn't like you."
"I don't care if that damn cat likes me! I haven't forgotten the time she almost clawed my face off." Sawamura shudders at the memory. "It really hurt!"
"She's really nice if you're gentle with her."
"I don't know how to be gentle with the devil!" Sawamura shakes his head. "What about the second bag?"
"T-The second bag?" Haruichi repeats nervously. He hoped all the Kuro talk would've distracted him from the second bag.
"Yeah, the second bag. Who's that for?"
"Well, it's-it's for, uh, it's for-Eijun-kun, look at the time!" Haruichi says suddenly, pointing to the clock. "Aren't you meeting up with Miyuki-senpai? He's probably looking for you now."
It's a weak diversion, but Sawamura falls for it. "What? Ah, you're right! I'll see you later, Haruichi, thanks for your help!" Sawamura grabs his chocolate bag and dashes off in a hurry.
Haruichi sighs. I'm sorry, Eijun-kun. I'm still too embarrassed to tell you. He thought that maybe Sawamura picked up on his not so subtle crush, especially considering all the time all three of them spend together, but apparently not.
Grabbing his two bags, Haruichi heads for the common room.
Furuya is dozing off with Kuro in front the door to the common room when he hears a familiar voice.
"Furuya-kun?" He'd know that soft-spoken voice anywhere. Furuya opens his eyes to check and it's Haruichi, standing right in front him. Kuro opens her eyes too and jumps up at the sight of Haruichi. She rushes over to him and rubs up against his legs.
"Haruichi? What are you doing here?" Furuya says between Haruichi coos of "Hi, Kuro-chan!" and "Did you miss me?".
"I could ask you the same question. Why aren't you in the common room?"
He rubs his eyes and yawns. "Your brother kicked me out so he and Kuramochi-senpai could play videogames."
Furuya heavily protested his removal, especially since all he wanted to do was sleep on the couch.
"Go to your room if you want to sleep." Ryousuke had said.
"I like sleeping on the couch better."
"I need the room to myself."
"I won't bother you."
Ryousuke smiled. "Alright, Furuya. I'm in a good mood, so I'll give you two options. One, you take your cat and calmly walk out. Two, I'll drag you outside. The decision is yours."
Needless to say, he sat outside with Kuro.
"He really kicked everyone out? Sorry about that. Aniki is kind of aggressive when it comes to Kuramochi-senpai." Haruichi reassures him.
"Why are you here? I thought you were helping Sawamura out." Furuya considered going with them to the kitchen, but decided against it. He'd rather be kept in the dark about who Haruichi's making chocolate for then come to terms with the fact that there's someone out there that Haruichi cares out enough to make them chocolate. And that, of course, that person isn't him.
"We just finished. Speaking of that," He pulls a bag out from his messenger bag and crouches down.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Kuro-chan!" It's a bag of chocolate. Haruichi made Kuro a bag of chocolate.
Kuro has literal hearts in her eyes. Haruichi opens the bag for her and she digs in eagerly, meowing happily. "I'm so glad you like it! Don't worry, Furuya-kun, they're chocolate-flavored cat treats."
Furuya can barely hear him. He doesn't know whether to be happy that Haruichi's special person is Kuro or angry that he has to compete with his cat for Haruichi's affections. He peeks at Kuro, who's being petted by Haruichi. She turns back and looks at him, and Furuya swears she has a smug look on her face. He recognizes the stinging burn of jealousy.
"Hello? Furuya-kun?" Haruichi waves a hand in front of his face.
"Huh? What?"
Haruichi stands up. "Are you okay? You seem quieter than usual."
Furuya stands up too. "I'm fine."
Silence.
The longer the silence stretches on, the more Haruichi starts to fidgets. A part of Furuya wants to invite him to go to the Three Broomsticks, just to hang out. But he knows he shouldn't. Today is another reminder that Haruichi will never feel the same way about him, no matter how much he wants him to. If he wants to get over Haruichi, he can't hang out with him today. So Furuya stays silent.
"Um, Furuya-kun!" Haruichi finally says, and loudly at that. It makes him jump.
"Yes?"
Haruichi's face is really, really red, which confuses Furuya. "Haruichi?"
Haruichi is silent for a few seconds. "Furuya-kun I-I made you-here!" he says suddenly. He shoves something into Furuya's hands. Furuya looks down.
It's chocolate.
It's sweet-smelling, homemade chocolate that Haruichi made just for him. Or he thinks he did.
"Did you make anyone else chocolate?" Furuya asks, point-blank.
Haruichi looks surprised at the question. So surprised, he answers honestly. "No, only you." He lets the answer hang in the air before realizing his mistake and following it up quickly with, "And Kuro-chan of course! After all, it wouldn't be fair to only make treats for her and nothing for you-"
But it's too late, Furuya has tuned him out, only hearing the words, 'Only you' over and over again. He feels himself start to hope again.
Furuya grabs Haruichi's shoulders. "Haruichi. Let's go to Honeydukes. I'll buy you chocolate."
Haruichi starts fidgeting again beneath his palms."You don't have to do that."
"I want to. Come on, let's go. We can stop by the Three Broomsticks after." Furuya pulls Haruichi down the hallway despite his protests. If he tries hard enough, Furuya can pretend this is a date.
Little does he know, Haruichi is doing the same thing.
Sawamura looks all over the place for Miyuki, when he realizes that they never set up a meeting spot.
Stupid Miyuki! Sawamura curses in his head as he stops to catch his breath. Now how am I supposed to find you?
He pulls out his phone to text Miyuki, when someone whispers "Boo." right in his ear.
"Holy crap!" Sawamura leaps back. He hears the sound of Miyuki's laughter behind him. "Miyuki, what the hell?" He barely has time to hide his chocolate in his hoodie pocket.
Miyuki's still snickering. "You should've seen your face."
"I was looking for you, you bastard!" Sawamura says, grumpy. Miyuki never misses a chance to tease him.
"Sorry, sorry. I'll be serious now." His laughter settles into a gentle smile. "Come on, let's go somewhere more private."
They end up at an empty trail. Sawamura is a little nervous about his chocolate so he says, "You go first."
"A little eager, aren't we?" Miyuki says, chuckling. "I wanted to go first anyway."
Miyuki takes out a huge box. "Here. It's your favorite, right?"
Sawamura takes a closer look at the box and discovers it a jumbo pack of Chocolate Frogs. He's never seen anything more perfect. "Wow, Miyuki! Where did you get this?"
"I have a friend who has a friend."
"This is the best surprise I've ever gotten! I mean, other than finding out I was a wizard." Sawamura looks up at him with bright eyes. "Thank you, Miyuki."
That earnest look makes Miyuki feel a little embarrassed. "Jeez Sawamura, you're so easy to please. That isn't even the surprise."
"It isn't? What's the surprise then?" He reminds Miyuki of an excited puppy.
Miyuki pulls out his wand. He takes a deep breath and prays this will work.
In a deep, strong voice he says, "Flora Augmentum!" A bouquet of beautiful roses appears in thin air and lands in Miyuki's hands.
"This is your surprise," he says as he hands Sawamura the flowers. "Happy Valentine's Day."
Sawamura's wondering gaze makes Miyuki's breath stop short. "Whoa, Miyuki. When'd you learn how to do stuff like that?"
"It wasn't easy. You need strong magic to make things appear out of thin air, so I had to practice for weeks. But seeing your face now makes it all worth it. Did you like it?" A stupid question but he asks it anyway.
"Of course I liked it! That was really really cool. It was almost like you were Houdini or something!"
"Like I was Hou-what?"
The confused look on Miyuki's face makes Sawamura burst out laughing. In moments like these Sawamura remembers how much of a pureblood Miyuki is. It constantly amazes him how little Miyuki knows outside of the Wizarding World.
"It's nothing, Miyuki. Just a Muggle thing." he says in between giggles.
"I'll add that to the growing list of confusing Muggle things. Anyway, it's my turn." Miyuki looks at him expectantly. "Where's my chocolate?"
Sawamura stiffens. Compared to Miyuki's gifts his tiny bag of chocolate seems like dirt. He thinks about telling Miyuki that he forgot to get him chocolate but immediately rejects the idea. He'd rather give Miyuki crappy chocolate than no chocolate.
He pulls the bag out of his pocket. "It's not as fancy as your chocolate but here. Happy Valentine's Day."
"You made me chocolate?" Miyuki says, looking at the bag in disbelief.
He looks at the ground. "Yeah, I did."
Miyuki didn't know what to say. "Wow, Sawamura. No one's ever made me chocolate before. I guess you win for best surprise."
That makes Sawamura's head snap up. "What are you talking about? It's not that big a deal."
"Can I try one now?" Sawamura really doesn't want to see Miyuki's reaction to his chocolate, but he finds himself not being able to say no.
"O-Okay." he says simply.
Miyuki unties the ribbon and takes out a piece of chocolate. Without hesitating, he sticks it in his mouth. This is the weirdest chocolate I've ever tasted. Somehow, he managed the chocolate too bitter yet too sweet. Miyuki thinks. He peers at Sawamura. Sawamura is still looking at the ground, shuffling the leftover snow on the ground with his foot. He thinks about Sawamura baking the chocolate, maybe burning himself a few times, and putting it in a pretty bag, all for him.
"It tastes really good, Sawamura." The expression on Sawamura's face almost makes him laugh.
"Really?"
"Really." Miyuki smirks and ruffles his hair. "Why didn't you tell me you could cook? You'll make a good housewife someday."
Sawamura shakes him off. "Stop it, Miyuki! And don't call me a housewife!"
Miyuki pulls him in close and kisses him. Sawamura immediately wraps his arms around Miyuki, vaguely noticing as the flowers and box drop out of his hands. Feeling Miyuki's tongue slide into his mouth, he can't be bothered to care.
All and all, it's a good Valentine's.