She had asked herself this question many times on the way to his house. She was still asking it when she reached his doorstep. Unfortunately she didn't know the answer.
What was she doing here?
It was Valentine's Day. Zelos was probably having fun with his fangirls. Shihna sighed and rang the doorbell. I hope he's not home, she thought.
I hope he is home...
The door was opened by a very cheerful Zelos Wilder. "Yo, Shihna! Are you here to confess your love and give me chocolate too?"
The tone of his voice and the big grin on his face disgusted her. "Me? Confess my love to you? That's the most disgusting idea I've ever heard," she answered, her words overflowing with annoyance. She glared at him fiercely. I shouldn't have come here. I should have stayed in Mizuho.
"Aww...don't be so cold, my gorgeous hunny. You know you can't resist me. Why else would you be here?"
"I don't know!" Shihna exclaimed. "I thought that maybe I could get a break from everything if I came here, but I guess I was wrong. I'm just going to leave and-"
"Shihna." Zelos grabbed her wrist to prevent her from running away. "Sorry...I didn't know you were so stressed out."
Shihna kept her eyes trained on the ground. She felt like such an idiot.
"I feel a little dissapointed though."
She looked up.
"You didn't give me any chocolate!" Zelos whined.
"You have enough chocolate to last you five years," Shihna said, pointing at the boxes of chocolate Zelos had under his arm.
"It's the way my hunnies show me their love," he answered cheerfully.
"I don't love you, so I don't need to give you any," she said, stepping inside.
"And yet you still bother with visiting me," Zelos said softly.
"I didn't come here specifically to see you," she muttered, clenching her fists.
"Oh, really?" Zelos raised his eyebrows. "Then why are your eyes telling me that you want me to be with you?"
"I-I don't!" Shihna stuttered, her face as red as Zelos' hair.
Zelos reached over and ran a finger over Shihna's cheek. The smile on his face widened when she gasped at his touch. "Yes, you do." He started to move even closer to her.
"Master Zelos, you were supposed to leave for your appointment with the king five minutes ago," Sebastian interrupted suddenly.
"Oh yeah!" Zelos pulled away. "Thanks, Sebastian!" He quickly put on his shoes and started to run out the doorway. "I'll be back in a bit, okay? Just preoccupy yourself with something until I get back."
Shihna didn't have the time to form a response. "...Idiot." She sighed and shuffled towards the living room, dragging her feet on the carpet. She sat down on the couch, keeping her eyes on the floor. She didn't want to look up. A big pile of chocolate happened to be sitting on the coffee table. The fancy packages disgusted her. "Does he seriously like getting all this chocolate?" she muttered under her breath.
"Miss Shihna, perhaps you would like to make some chocolate for Master Zelos?" Sebastian asked. "He likes things that are handmade, but everything he's gotten is storebought."
Shihna considered this for a minute. "It'd just be a waste if I made some. There's no way he would eat all this."
"He donates most of it to the unfortunate people who live in the slums," Sebastian answered.
"...Oh." Shihna stood up and stretched. "I guess I'll give him something for being nice then."
Sebastian smiled. "All the materials you will need are in the kitchen."
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"Finished!" Shihna exclaimed triumphantly as she finished tying the bow on the heart-shaped box of chocolate. She sighed in relief. She had somehow managed to finish everything before Zelos had come home.
"Oi! Shihna!" Zelos burst into the kitchen. "Whatcha doin'?"
Shihna turned around, hiding the chocolate behind her back. "N-nothing!"
Zelos grinned slyly. "It can't be nothing. You have a smudge on your cheek."
"I do?" Shihna reached up to wipe it away. "Is it gone?"
"Nope." He moved forward and pulled out his hankerchief. "Let me do it." Shihna stood still, as he wiped away the smudge. "All gone," he said cheerfully.
"Th-thanks..." she mumbled.
"No problem," he said. He studied her for a moment. "What are you hiding from me?" he asked.
"N-nothing!" Shihna lied, her face flushing.
"Let me see!" Zelos exclaimed childishly.
"No way!" Shihna started to run away from him.
"Yeah way!" Zelos said, chasing after her. He quickly cornered her. "Come on, hunny. It isn't that personal, is it?"
Shihna's blush deepened. "I...umm..." She held the box out to him. "This doesn't mean that I like you in any special way, okay? I was just bored!"
Zelos didn't respond for a while. "...Thanks," he finally said. "I didn't expect anything coming from you." He held the box as if he didn't really know what to do with it.
"Sebastian said you like things that are handmade, but I don't know if it turned out well," Shihna said nervously. "I've only made chocolate once before..."
"If it's from you, I'm sure it tastes good," Zelos said softly. He slowly undid the ribbon on the box. "I'm sure it will."
Shihna shuffled her feet nervously as Zelos opened the box. "Don't be too dissapointed if it doesn't taste good. I warned you."
"Looks good," he said, taking out a giant chocolate heart. "I might get fat eatting all this."
"I didn't say that you had to eat it," Shihna mumbled, looking down at her feet.
Zelos broke off a piece of the chocolate. "I don't mind gaining a bit of weight if it's from you." He put the chocolate into his mouth cheerfully.
"Idiot."
Zelos chuckled softly. "Here." He held a piece up to her mouth.
"I can feed myself!" Shihna said, her face burning again.
"But we won't look like a couple if you feed yourself!" Zelos protested.
"We're not a couple!"
"And she says this after she gives me heart-shaped chocolate for Valentine's Day," Zelos said.
"I told you, I was bored!" she retorted.
"That's just an excuse, my darling hunny. In reality you love me."
"I do no-"
Zelos stuffed the piece of chocolate in Shihna's mouth. "You're so cute when you try to deny it."
Shihna glared at him as she chewed on the chocolate irritably. "I don't love you," she stated, when she finished. "I never will."
"Maybe if you keep telling yourself that, everybody else will start believing it too," he said cheerfully, poking her in the forehead. He placed the heart back into the box. "Thanks, Shihna."
"Y-You're welcome."
Zelos suddenly reached over and hugged her. "Will you give me chocolate next year too?" he whispered in her ear.
"If I feel like it..." Shihna mumbled, feeling nervous about being so close to Zelos. She realized that the top of her head barely reached Zelos' shoulders. Had he always been this tall? Was their childhood really that long ago?
"What if I feel like it?" he asked.
"I don't care if you feel like it," Shihna said, pushing him away. "I'm not obligated to do anything for you."
"Happy Valentine's Day," Zelos said, ignoring what she said. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Stay over for dinner tonight, okay?" He said it more as a command than a request. "I'll get Sebastian to set everything up." With that, he left the room.
Shihna was glad that Zelos wasn't there to see how red her face was. "...Idiot," she mumbled under her breath.
"...I love you."
SakuMeiMei Says: I'm sorry it's late! This should've been up a week ago, but I ran out of time. Byaaah! But now it's here! And it's done!
Hehehehehe...