Knot Heart Chocolate (Valentine's Jeanne Alter x Ritsuka)

by AGeekyWriter

Jeanne Alter was desperate to come up with something new to shock Ritsuka for this Valentine's Day. Her last plot of trying to make a chocolate with a portrait of herself fell through, so she was at a loss. Thankfully, with a little bit of help from Artoria Alter and some additional advice from Kiara, an idea starts to form. Now she only has to deal with all the obstacles.

HELLO READERS. Yes, I am extremely late because Uni is busy, my podcast has been throwing a lot of work my way, and had a bunch of small celebrations and birthdays (and the SuperBowl) to contend with as family occasions all before the holiday finally crept up on me. The good news is that Pt 2 (yes this is likely to be a three-part mini-series) is nearly finished. I'll have some questions for you, the readers about that at the end.

So, first thing is first, well I skipped out on last Valentine's Day cause I didn't have an idea what I wanted to do. Although you can thank CosmicSky (go read their work) for at least planting an idea in my head. And Nova3_Mane on twitter or x for making a thread that helped give some inspiration. This is about a month's work with ever-increasing progression and uh...well I'm as comfortable with this pt.1 as I'm going to get lol.

So I started with the craft essence and Valentine event cutscene dialogue as a main blueprint of the conversation, and I thus constructed the fanfic around it. So those scenes in particular aren't just re-hashes, there is a lot added internal monologue added specifically for Jalter to add to hopefully both the hilarity and the weight of her feelings. I also wanted to give Jeanne Alter a bit more of Tsun personality than I usually do with my other work. Suffice it to say, this is apart from my other works because it can't really fit into the "canon" of my summer and Christmas fics. So the good news is this is just a small mini-series any Jalter fan could read! Yay!

As always there is probably errors and criticisms to be had which I do welcome, but please feel free to share your praise as well!

As always you can find me as AGeekyWriter on most social platforms where I occasionally post updates of my stories, chat about my writing, or talk about random things in general (such as Jalter cosplayers *COUGH*). I'm also on a weekly podcast CheapSeatCritics on youtube and other platforms.

As for the other parts of this story, I've got a question at the end as to what you as readers might prefer. So please leave your thoughts on that if you are so inclined at the end.

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Jeanne Alter stomped into her room with a huff. There was a hiss as the metal automatic door of Chaldea's system closed behind her. Even as it closed she could spot the pink drapes and decorations hanging in the hallway. The front door of her room hadn't even been spared from the wrath of those decorators going around and desperately trying to remind everyone that Valentine's Day was fast approaching.

Stupid.

She gritted her teeth, and with a huff, she threw her black cloak onto the bed and sat down.

It was no secret to her master or anyone else that last year's valentines had been a complete disaster. The year following that, likewise had also been a complete and utter disaster. She had worked tirelessly in trying to perfect chocolate and candy-making skills before the date to get her face on chocolate just right.

Only for that stupid idiot to chug her chocolate down like it was just any other piece. Like it wasn't the most fearful item she'd created in an attempt to intimidate him. Because he wouldn't ever dare to do something to her or the chocolate version of her.

At least…that had been the idea.

What had made it worse was the fact that with some retrospect, she agreed that she probably shouldn't have made it with delicious ingredients…even though her original hope was that it would add to that despair of him not being able to eat the damn thing. Basically, it required him not to be an idiot.

And Ritsuka had taken it so much in stride, that the following year, his gift to her was chocolate with his face on it, still sitting tucked away in a drawer in her room. Because despite her damndest attempts to prove to herself she could eat it like he had hers…she hadn't been able to.

If one were to peek into that drawer with chocolate that had probably grown stale by now, it was that she had managed to only eat around the portrait he'd made. The frame of the chocolate was gone, as were a few nibbles of Ritsuka's shoulder. But even then she'd eventually given up. Every time she looked at her she felt her face warm and her frustration grow.

More than that, it was delicious too.

Her feelings were anger, embarrassment, and a few others she didn't quite understand. It was a huge confusing jumble every time she'd laid eyes on it.

She gave up on trying to eat it almost nine months ago.

So what ground her and irritated her, even more, is that her master unknowingly beat her at her own damn game of trying to get him to realize the foolishness of trying to look out for her specifically.

He'd double downed even.

In the quiet of her room, Jeanne Alter bit down on her thumb with her teeth. Rituska had only started paying more attention to her since then. Even after the warnings that she would drag him to hell along with her.

There was some time when she thought she'd been unique, and he was only looking out for her. She had her doubts about that and after some easy investigating and snooping around, she found out that he looked after other servants too.

They were all a team here after all.

He was that way with everyone. Kind, open, and caring. So she clearly wasn't special. There were ways a few of the other lady servants looked at him, that made her heart burn and twist with anger. But they were clearly better suited. They were prettier, sexier, and could at least hold a pleasant conversation.

Not like her. Abrasive, bitter, argumentative, prone to anger.

But one memory stood out above the others even now. A memory where the others were all celebrating. Celebrating was never really her thing so she'd been content to stand on the sidelines and watch.

Her idiot master had chosen then to come up to her and tell her she did a wonderful job. She of course boasted in her confidence, drawing herself up. She hadn't remembered what she had said, but it had been something along the lines of "Of course, I did."

But instead of going back to join the others like always, Ritsuka stayed with her.

He needs to be taught a lesson.

She huffed out a breath, "I'm not special." Her fingernails dug into her skin hard enough now to leave marks.

And with valentines quickly approaching she needed to think of what to do now. The last thing she wanted was to get another chocolate portrait of him. And she wasn't sure she could stand to think of giving him another one of hers with how it turned out last time. Her master was getting bolder too.

Asking her stupid questions about how she was doing. What she had done that day. If she wanted to come see a movie with them. Asking what she thought about certain things. Wanting her input and feedback on things. If she wanted to make another doujinshi like she had over the summer.

Her notebooks, and drawing tablets were what buried that chocolate of his face in her drawer. Another thing she really tried hard not to think about. The summer spent with him making manga for a contest.

Her mind also went to that night when she asked him to dance in Shinjuku.

She blushed and smacked her cheeks. Something she recalled doing out of spite and anger as she maintained.

Jealous.

"Shut up." She huffed out into the quiet of the room.

Come on think, think you stupid dragon witch! We need to think of something that will wipe that damn smile off his face.

After about half an hour, she was still drawing a blank on what the plan for this year's Valentine should be. Brooding in the dark was fun for her occasionally, a fact she would never admit to anyone. But for this, it was neither productive nor conducive to coming up with a scheme to finally get her master to understand.

With a huff, she dispelled her armor and cloak. And with a brilliant flash of white and blue, she was back in her night outfit from Shinjuku. The fur blue sweater over her zip-up black dress, and her nearly knee-high boots. Appeared over her.

A weight seemed to lift from her shoulders as she'd made up her mind on where to go next. It was easy once she'd come to a decision. She threw her black cloak over her shoulder just in case Shinjuku was cold.

She would have smiled, if not for stepping right back out into that overly grotesque pink hallway, She scoffed and walked along with a frown on her expression. Trying to avoid anyone who might enjoy talking to her.

Like either her master, his sister, or that stupid saint.

Thankfully she managed to avoid them all on her way down to the rayshifting room.

A minute later she was down in the familiar streets of Shinjuku walking towards Moriarty's familiar bar.

###Jeanne Alter###

Artoria Alter was there when the popsicle in her mouth stopped between her lips. As she stared at Jeanne Alter standing just a couple of feet away from her. Her amber eyes were wide. The seconds of silence to follow were tense until she eventually reached up and plucked the popsicle from her lips with a pop and tossed it in the trash. "Are you serious right now? This has to be a fucking joke?"

Jeanne Alter bristled. Then her amber eyes narrowed. "Are you going to help or not?."

"Maybe when I'm finished fucking laughing at the very notion." Artoria Alter huffed and stepped closer. "Why on Earth would I ever help you with your stupid Valentine scheme? Why do you even need help?!" She waved her off. "Just go make another portrait of your face. I'm sure he'll like it just as much as he did the first time."

She doesn't know.

"That's not…going to work." She scratched the back of her head.

"Why not? He loved it-"

Jeanne felt anger boil up in her. "He wasn't supposed to like it okay!" Her amber eyes were fixed on Artoria Alter. "There I said. He wasn't supposed to like it. He was supposed to feel despair at not being able to eat something delicious. Supposed to feel intimidated by it-" she stopped and pointed at herself. "-because it's got my fucking face on it!" She grimaced. "Had my face on it…" She huffed out another breath.

Artoria Alter just stared at her, looking down the bridge of her nose at her fellow alter. "I take it back, that was a stupid idea." She drew herself up with a sigh and walked back to the counter of the bar. She tapped it twice. "Oi, tell my boyfriend we want two burgers. I want another beer too."

Jeanne huffed, "I'm not all that hungry."

"I wasn't getting any for you," Alter said.

She paused and peered past the ashen blond to the kitchen doorway. Emiya Alter was working back there and they peeked through the hole to look at the pair. They didn't quite smile, but there was a softness to a normally hard and determined expression.

Moriarty pursed his lips as he came over. "We do have a good selection of food."

"I'm not-" Jeanne Alter started.

"Get her a menu, the dumb bitch is going to need to eat something before the night is out. We are going to be here a while." Artoria Alter huffed. Then she turned to Jeanne, "I recommend house beers."

Jeanne was quiet and felt her lip twitch. "Ugh, just give me a drink menu too." Despite herself, she tried to ignore that smug look radiating off of the other alter. Then she pulled her chair out from the counter and sat herself down with a huff. She pinched the bridge of her nose, listening to Artoria pulling her chair out beside her. "Asshole,"

The other gave a gruff hum. "And yet somehow, I'm still the best you got." She grinned almost knowingly at her.

It made her stomach churn.

Who else would listen to you try to make a worthless plan?

They sat in silence for a few minutes while Moiraty fetched her menus. The conversation remained lulled until she placed her order. A part of Jeanne was grateful, another part of her recognized the quiet for what it was.

The respite in a coming duel.

Jeanne Alter could only hope that whatever came with this conversation she would have the next scheme idea formed. That was the most important thing because she needed to figure out how to get her feelings across. That she thought her master's whole attachment was a detriment overall. She took a long swig from her drink.

Artoria sighed, "So, on your original gift to him, a chocolate portrait of your face. You wanted him to feel despair?" There was a tone in her voice that suggested to her that she was still a bit confused by the idea.

Jeanne Alter sat up a bit straighter. "It was supposed to be intimidating."

She sighed, "I understand that, but I'm asking what the goal of it was?"

"T-the goal?" Jeanne Alter frowned.

There was a way Artoria Alter seemed to stare at her like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Then she hummed for a few seconds. "I think you should just confess to him. That will knock his pants in of itself, and it will fix your problem."

There was a beat of silence and Jalter's expression twisted her eyes narrowing a little toward her. "Huh? How would confessing help? I'm trying to…" She trailed off for a few moments considering the notion, wondering how might her confession be a good way to unbalance him. There was a beat of quiet as she stared at Artoria.

The other Alter again stared at her like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She sat back and looked at her pointedly, folding her legs as she did.

Why would I need to confess-

Jeanne blinked, her eyes suddenly going wide and her face warming several degrees of red. The implication from Artoria is an obvious one. It was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard. And it was completely untrue.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Right?

She huffed out a sharp breath and drew herself up. "I'm not confessing because I don't have feelings for him!" Her fingers curled around her glass and she took another swig. "It would also send the wrong message and just confounded the whole thing that I want to do. Which is to make him understand!"

Artoria Alter was now the one to look confused. "I thought you were coming up with an elaborate plan to confess to him?"

"N-no!" Jeanne Alter set the glass back down and made a point of trying to hold Artoria's gaze despite her blush. "That would be the exact opposite of everything that I want from him." She took a breath and forced herself to try and settle down. Her mouth twisted a little further as she curled her other hand into a fist.

It was a stupid dream anyway.

She sighed and nodded, "Which brings us back to my original question avenger?" Artoria leaned forward again, plucking up her beer bottle. "What was your intention, and what are you trying to make him understand if not your feelings?"

Jeanne pouted, "I don't have feelings for him," She repeated and then she forced herself to take a long breath knowing that between reflex and silence, Artoria was still waiting for an answer. "The goal…was to intimidate him and make him despair."

Artoria nodded, "Yes, those are reactions you wanted and failed to get." She folded her arms and her boot kicked the bar gently. "But what I'm asking is what did you want?" She shrugged, "Did you just want to do those things without physically hurting him?"

There was a pause as she considered.

What would have been my reaction?

She sipped quietly at her drink running through the scenario she'd planned originally. Back then, she had even thought about what she would say, word for word, if she had succeeded. A lot of time had passed since then so she couldn't quite remember the exactness of it, but the gist of it was somewhere between smug, unabashed surprise, and telling him to go hang out and dote over other girls that would be more accepting.

But he accepted her chocolate and ate it without question. Even going as far as to comment on how delicious it was.

Her eyes met Artoria's. "I wanted the reaction, to prove a point that I've been trying to make him realize since we met." Jeanne Alter was quiet as she took another swig and hunched over the bar countertop. "That he should stop bothering with a lost cause and focus on other girls." Jeanne was quiet and she grit her teeth.

That stupid idiot!

Her lips twisted more and she continued. "His reaction would have amused me. Because it would be a harmless lesson that won't actually hurt him. And…maybe it was supposed to stress to him how…" She considered and blew out a breath. "How pointless it all is."

"Was the amusement to you important?" Artoria raised a brow.

"Huh? I mean I guess? I think if I were amused, that is what would make it better." She straightened up a little. "To know that I was the one that helped him realize his stupid folly through the most indirect means of a chocolate portrait."

Artoria snorted, "So your plan's goal was to convince him that you are a horrible worthless bitch. Your means of doing that was giving him a portrait of yourself…that tasted delicious."

There was a beat of quiet.

Jeanne Alter looked away and finished her drink, chugging it down. "When you put it like that…"

"It sounds as stupid as it was?" Artoria suggested.

"Asshole," She muttered again, tapping the empty glass on the counter. Jeanne purposefully made eye contact with the bartender before turning back to the topic. "Yes, that's what the message was back then. Now…it's…" Alter trailed off again and considered and then stepped away from the subject again. "He gave me a portrait of his face last Valentine which was another clear sign that it didn't work."

Jeanne decided to deliberately leave out the details of him asking her small talk questions. Things that she deemed pointless.

Moriarty came over grabbing the glass. "Another?"

She hummed.

He went off to make the mix again.

All the while she never took her eyes off Artoria wondering what she was thinking. There was the way the corrupted king of knights eyed her. Like she was sizing her up. Jeanne prepared herself for another insult or snide comment. Artoria was like that whenever they had talks like this.

Jeanne wouldn't deny it would be the same thing if the conversation was reversed. But ultimately she knew Artoria would help. Jeanne would raise hell, and she would give Artoria Alter a hard time, but she ultimately wouldn't turn her fellow Alter away.

She hummed, taking another sip of her beer. "Fine, I'll bite, why do you want to make him think you're a horrible, worthless bitch?"

She stared pointedly. "Are you finished?"

"Whore?" She suggested.

Her eyes narrowed a little. "Help me or not, I'm already running out of time as it is. As much as it pains me to say it, my fellow avenger Edmond might be able to give me advice too."

The saber shifted and faced towards the bar when Moriarty dropped off the new drinks for both of them and popped open the fresh bottle of beer for Artoria.

Another beat of quiet passed between them as they both took swigs from their drinks. Artoria let out a satisfied sigh at the taste of the fresh brew. Then she turned her amber eyes right back to Jeanne. "Now I'm finished." She reached over and gave Jeanne's shoulder a push. "But my question is a serious one. Why do you want to make him see you that way?"

Jeanne straightened herself up. "I don't! I mean yes, I do…but not entirely. The last thing he needs is someone like me slowing him down."

Artoria hummed, "I think you should just confess then." She hid the smile behind the next swig of her drink.

"I-I'm being serious here!" She said starting to feel frustration boil over. The corrupted king was starting to feel like a waste of time.

Then there was that look again like she was sizing her up. "So am I, but hear me out." She peered around the bar looking at other servants. Then she seemed to scoot a bit closer. "You should confess as a misdirect."

Jeanne's brow contorted with confusion for a moment, "Explain."

Artoria tilted her head, "You want him to think you're a…" She bit her lip but smirked, allowing the silence between them to say it for her. "You want him to see you in a certain light so that he might better understand that you're not worth the trouble right?"

I…suppose…

There was a pang at the thought.

Right?

Her mouth started to twist.

Tentatively, Jeanne formed what she'd wanted to say. "Y-yes." She straightened up in her chair again. "But also…not quite…"

Liar.

Artoria hummed, "Then explain more before I continue."

Jeanne still hesitated, uncertain of how best to explain. Moreover, she was still uncertain of whether she should listen. "I want to prank him right and proper. Not… hurt him…" She clasped her fingers together. She could remember those days a bit better now as she thought about it. "The chocolate portrait was…" amber eyes flicked away. "Well…it had been about the duality of making something he can't have. Or wouldn't want to have to."

Liar

She blew out a breath. "It was something he wasn't supposed to like…or I guess I wasn't expecting him to like."

There was another small space of quiet as Jeanne sipped her drink for a moment trying to gather and order her thoughts as neatly in a constructed message as best as she could manage. It wasn't a memory she wanted to repeat in her mind. The way she'd reacted, with surprise, the way it had made her feel nervous and unbalanced. Something she'd struggled with back then.

It shouldn't be this hard…

She started thinking of the summer with him, making doujins, and his choice to stick by her through it all.

To express what I'm thinking.

She started slowly, now settling on the base of the pillar she wanted. It was the same goal for trying to learn how to use Katanas. "I…want him to think…" She hesitated, her lips twisting more. "That…I'm…cool." She settled, but even as the words left her mouth, they still didn't sound a hundred percent right.

Artoria sipped her drink. "Interesting. That's just as stupid as your previous reasons." She smiled.

Jeanne's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry, you know exactly how horrible you would be if I ever came to you for advice." Artoria tilted her head from side to side. "Why do you want him to think you're"cool "?" She emphasized the quotes with her fingers. She felt only partly mocked by it as once more Artoria was driving Jeanne towards the heart of a matter.

So you aren't useless.

She bit her lip.

So that you are accepted.

"I want to…thank him…I guess…but I also don't want to give him a completely wrong idea." She sat up a bit straighter. "I mean the reason I want to shock and intimidate him is that the message will be properly conveyed without muddling it enough for him to get the wrong idea about what I'm trying to say…"

Artoria's eyes narrowed a bit with thought.

Jeanne hummed. "I want him to understand I appreciate him…but I want to shock and intimidate him so he doesn't get the wrong idea."

The other alter stared blankly at her. "So you want to confuse him?"

She huffed, "No I don't, that's why it's so difficult!" Jeanne stopped herself short of snapping and blew out a long breath. "I…don't think I could convince him I'm…" She trailed off and her nails dug into her bicep as she hugged her arm. "Even if I wanted to convince him I was worthless…the idiot wouldn't listen."

He would just make a plethora of excuses.

But you know better.

Her mouth twisted as her eyes fixated on the drink still sitting on the countertop. The empty space where her food might go in time. She took another few seconds to expunge the unnecessary cascading thoughts.

Artoria hummed and leaned forward with a small smile. "So you don't want him to think you're a horrible bitch and a whore…" Her tone was more jesting than dry in her previous statements. The words might've been cruel, but that small smile there was very genuine.

It had been enough to supplant any up-and-coming bitter feelings that she might've had. Jeanne didn't want to say it. It would be an admission she knew all along that despite her best attempts at saying or doing otherwise. That she had been accepted. That too, came with a litany of expectations she feared she would never live up to.

"Huh, seems you and I do have something in common after all." Saber Alter leaned back and downed the rest of her beer bottle.

Jeanne watched quietly for a moment. Wondering if all she had said had managed to make as clear a picture for Artoria Alter, as it was now finally for her. To thank him hopefully without misinterpretation. For him to think she was mature and cool. It reminded her a bit as to why she chose to try and learn how to use a Katana with her summer spirit origin and why she still occasionally practiced with them.

He thinks they're cool.

It was within a small huff of a quiet laugh that she had come to an understanding. Jeanne plucked up her glass again to drink a little bit more. There was a little bit less weight around her heart she realized that while she still had trouble accepting the fact her master wouldn't be pushed away so easily…there was the fact that…he had at least accepted her. Mess and all that she was and still considered herself to be.

"I suppose." She slowly agreed. It made her blush just a little as she took a long swig from her next glass.

Now I only need to get this stupid idea of confessing out of my head. Damn it!

There was a hum from Artoria as the other Alter shifted, reaching now for the next bottle that Moriarty had already brought. "Okay I'm starting to get a little bit of an idea, I think though, this will add to an elaborate ruse. But it's only half baked…so…we'll work out the rest of it as we go along alright?"

Jeanne still had her doubts, her expression made it obvious.

"Confessing even as part of a prank wouldn't work?"Artoria asked pointedly again. That smug smirk plastered on her lips was near enough to drive Jeanne right back up the wall.

She still bristled. "No, it wouldn't." Even as she spoke Jeanne could feel her cheeks warming again at the notion. There was an idea in it she could see if she could get over her embarrassment, where it could work. But it would require a few things to avoid a heartbreak for him. She would have to check in and see about his interest in other girls. For it to work he would have to have enough interest in herself to buy into it.

Then when the turn-off of the joke came it would have to be in a controlled situation where he wouldn't be overly hurt by it. She smiled that the teasing aspect of it would give her so many worthwhile things to pull on if she could get him to buy into it. However, the main issue was the prevailing one: she didn't have the time to do all that research.

Valentine's was less than ten days away, her scheduled date to go in and bake her chocolate was nine days away. It was all too close at hand for her to even think about doing something so elaborate.

Artoria hummed and straightened up. "Then what I have in mind is still in the same vein of confession, but more indirect as you merely only be dropping signals for him to misinterpret." There was a sly grin that came over her expression. "It will still require a fair bit of fortitude, strength of will, and perhaps a gullible master." She held up her hand. "Without the confession, the name of the game for you will be purely ambiguity."

Jeanne tilted her head a little, her lips twisting at the thought. "How would-"

The other alter held up a hand, "Hear me out." She seemed to have straightened herself up. "You should make heart-shaped chocolates." She frowned a bit and considered. Then she held up a finger. "Valentine's Day is synonymous with hearts, so it's ambiguous enough in choice shape that it might be confused with a generic holiday candy." Artoria held up a second finger. "It will also still get across the point of your feelings."

Her lip twitched and Jeanne Alter found herself at a loss for words.

That actually sounds like a good idea.

Artoria shrugged, "You just give it to him like you normally do." Then she paused again and tilted her head from side to side. "As for the mature, cool, aloof…vibe." She made a wave toward her. "I have a few ideas for that?" She started working from the ground basics of the plan, wanting to build it up in a way to fit with the reaction of what she wanted when pranking Ritsuka.

Even still there was a gleam in her eye that made her not trust Artoria.

So she started throwing in her own edits.

Heart-shaped chocolates were something she quickly agreed to after thinking about it. With hearts being the most prominent and obvious thing about the holiday, such things would be abundant. Ritsuka would never guess or misunderstand her feelings.

The thought still made her blush.

The heart-shaped chocolates were decided that they would be the first part of three acts to get that message she wanted through. It would be a good gift, to set up what was to happen later. Which was essentially turning into a dare for her master. It was something he would obviously say no to. Like with the previous Valentine, she would try to have him prove her right again about who and what she is. But it also wouldn't be done in such a way that it could accidentally hurt either of them.

Evil cursed dragon witch.

Part two was how she would give the gift of chocolates herself. The shape of it was obvious and would be hopefully helpful enough to draw his attention. But not too much, because he would start getting the wrong idea. If he did, she could direct his attention to the fact that they might be store-bought, or that they simply match the theme of the holiday.

It was, however, part three of the plan that she was having some serious doubts over. This was the part of which Artoria had to spend the better portion of their evening debating over whether it was a good idea. Then they debated over the necessity of it. Artoria pointed out that if the heart chocolates were all she'd done, it would simply be equivalent to nothing because of all the other gifts Ritsuka might receive. And it was part three that would allow her the chance to look cool and mature.

The part that would make him like her more.

Ultimately Jeanne relented given that point.

Artoria scarfed down her two burgers and another beer. Jeanne fancied herself with one burger and a side of fries and finishing off her second drink

And then they were off into the night in the leftover city of Shinjuku.

###Jeanne Alter###

Jeanne Alter tried desperately to ignore the fluster on her cheeks as the pair of them stopped in front of the shop. The sound of their boots crunching in the snow had been the only thing that filled the quiet. It was impressive the shop was even open given the lateness of the hour. What was more impressive was that a servant still went about running the place even after all the life in Shinjuku had vanished when the singularity cleared.

Moriarty's bar made sense. It was a place where people could go to unwind and rest. There were food, drinks, and occasionally karaoke nights, and game nights. None of which she really participated in.

Because you have no friends.

Shut up!

No one likes you.

Her twisted expression at the thought slowly started to smooth as it seemed there was no other way around it.

Then there was this shop, in a dark corner only three streets away from the bar, with neon lighting signifying the fact that it remained open despite the lateness of the hour. It meant of course that someone was working inside. Not something someone would easily be able to tell from standing out on the street.

A niche shop she never thought she'd walk into.

Artoria popped a bubble from her gum. "Come on, no point in standing out here."

Jeanne blinked and stumbled. "W-wait you're coming in with me?" She blinked eyes wide with a slight panic. She had spent the entire walk here just mentally preparing to deal with whoever owned the damn shop. She hadn't spent a single second even entertaining the idea that her fellow Alter would come in with her.

The pale blonde smirked, "I have to pick up something for Emiya Alter anyhow." She swayed her hips confidently and pushed open the door.

In contrast, Jeanne shrunk into her shoulders, "This whole idea is stupid…" She muttered. Once again she thought about the possible reaction that her master might give her if she went through with it.

He would reject you.

Her lips twisted again as she breathed out cool foggy air.

Maybe, probably, she could blame a fair portion of her decision to go along with this on the alcohol. But on the other hand, she couldn't deny that she wanted to see what her master's reaction to her would be.

She followed after Artoria eyeing one of the mankins with very thin, see-through clothes, that she could see the white gray color of the plastic stand underneath. It was about all that was displayed outside to see. The rest of the windows were buried in oversized posters, not allowing an easy look into the shop itself.

The door rang a bell, archaic but the noise for her was no less deafening. Her eyes tracked immediately to things she wasn't here for. She tried not to blush at the toys and phallic shapes that lined the window interior shelves. She followed after Alter and tried to avert her eyes following after Artoria Alter, who was walking with her chewing gum straight down the middle ile towards the back.

Jeanne mostly succeeded in averting her eyes to all the other things that lined the isle, strange shapes, toys, and themes. The only one she was trying to rapidly obliviate from her memory was something that had to do with the round table.

Artoria for the most part headed right to the clothes section, filled with latex, lace, silks, and fabrics woven into small scarcely form-fitting attires.

Lingerie, Artoria had concluded, would be phase three. The aspect of the plan, like the chocolate portrait of herself as she intended, would serve two purposes in the plan. If she could get him to see her in it, in a casual way, it might make him consider her more long-term that he would never dare curse himself with a dragon witch like her. Failing that, of course, he would see her as mature and cool.

Right?

There was still a form of doubt in her mind about that. Her heart skipped a beat wondering what the hell she should do if the plan went awry this time. There wouldn't be something so simple as a chocolate portrait at stake. It was a gamble through and through, to both get him to understand, and if not that, at least he might think of her as someone who wasn't a mess. That she was mature and cool and that she wasn't a mess, abrasive, or an accursed witch all the time.

Artoria popped her gum. "Well, it'll certainly get his attention." she touched her chin tilting her head and looking at one of the first things in the line of clothing.

Her amber eyes went wide as she looked at it. It hid nothing, that was the point of it she assumed. Leather straps would go around her curves, but leave everything perfectly and cleanly exposed. The thought of her wearing something like that in order to twist Ritsuka sent a blush up her cheeks. "N-no. Definitely not!" She refused.

The other alter huffed, "I was thinking more about myself actually." She stood confidently and closed her eyes picturing whatever scenario she wanted Emiya Alter to see her in with that. Whatever it was enough to send a shiver up Jeanne Alter's spine. She even walked up to it and pulled at one of the straps meant to cup her left breast, her grin widening as she mimicked the post of the manikin with a hand on her hip.

This woman is fucking crazy.

Now she couldn't get the image of Ritsuka seeing her, in that, out of her head. Her face must've been bright red.

She turned to storm out. Coming out here and even agreeing to go this far was too much. It was a mistake. But she barely gotten two steps towards the door when she got pulled back.

Artoria caught her hand and dragged her back. "You're already here, may as well pick something out for him." She pulled her back.

Jeanne twisted her arm away. "N-no. I know what you're doing. All you're doing is setting me up!" She cursed.

Heart-shaped chocolate. Gift giving. Lingerie.

She felt her lips twist and her amber eyes narrowed. "I'm such an idiot for even thinking you wanted to help!" Jeanne ran her fingers through her white hair digging her nails into her skin as her mind couldn't shake itself of that image of him finding her in a room, walking over to her, and leaning over her to-

Stop it.

She gritted her teeth. There was no prank in this she could see that now. Her heartbeat started to increase and her breath started to shake. This would result in the exact opposite of what she wanted.

Right?

Jeanne can't drag her master down with her. She wanted him to enjoy the holiday even if it wasn't with her. It had to be harmless fun, but get the point across that he should be with someone else.

Was it so much of an impossible goal?

Artoria grabbed her wrist, "Then pick out something for yourself."

Her eyes narrowed at that. "Why the hell would I ever need any of this?!" She snagged her wrist away from Artoria. "What is the point of me being here? This is supposed to be-"

"Need any help, dears?" There was a deep feminine voice that came from a few feet away. It was enough to grind Jeanne's rant to a screeching halt. It also oozed a sensuality that caught her deeply flat-footed. As she spun around to see Kiara Sessyoin. The woman stood with her fingers folded neatly together in front of her.

Her amber eyes went wide, almost fearful.

Artoria answered for them both, "No ma'am. Just wondering if you have this in my size possibly?"

Kiara hummed, "Oh, that one just came in so I'll have to have a look." She looked at Jeanne her eyes seeming to pierce right through her for a moment. Like she could see all those nerves as exposed flesh. That she seemed to all at once understand her hesitation. "It's okay to be nervous dear, not everyone likes to show off for their relationship in such a manner."

Jeanne huffed, "I'm not in a relationship." She regretted how unflinchingly honest the comment had been. It was almost instantaneous, as it seemed to pique the woman's interest even more as she seemed to draw closer.

"Oh…trying to get someone's attention then?"

She blushed furiously and looked away. "N-no I just wanted to…" She trailed off as realized she was going to stumble over her words.

Thank him? Make him think you are cool? Try to keep his respect for you?

Make yourself useful?

Any word she said she realized would have just dug her another far deeper hole in the ground. So Jeanne did what she considered to be the smart thing and clamped her mouth closed. She averted her eyes from Kiara.

Even the way the woman laughed oozed a sort of tender eroticism that was good at making her feel both welcome and uncomfortable all at once. Kiara turned her head back towards Artoria Alter and smiled warmly. "She is cute, I like her."

The saber snorted, "So does her master."

"Shut up," Jeanne breathed out. Her nostrils flaring. "I can't believe you got me to agree to this." Her eyes tracked to that one manikin with all those leather straps that would leave the wearer exposed.

Artoria hummed, "As I said I was thinking of it more for me." She grinned, tilting her head, and gave Jeanne a nod. "You should get something a bit more modest."

Kiara interrupted them before Jeanne could snap back. "Oh, it's alright sweet fallen saint, there are yet many options for you to see that would have a more modest look to them." She winked. "Enough to make your master's heartbeat for you."

There was a panic that gripped her heart. She started to shake her head a few times. "That's not what I want."

I have to explain to her now too?!

Kiara, while she didn't look surprised, did raise an eyebrow at that. "Well, perhaps you would care to explain to me the goal if not seduction then." She turned a little on her hips. "Edward, dear! I need a size…of a customer's measurements we should already have on hand." Then she tilted her head and looked back at Jeanne. "As for you dear, come take your measurements down."

Jeanne's face felt like it was on fire, and it wouldn't stop for however long she stayed in this stupid shop. But Artoria, who had found the time to grab her arm again, passed her over to Kiara's hand.

The other woman's grip was far gentler. Once again oozing that tender caring tone that no doubt made others think she was motherly, but all the while that eroticism to her voice made her flinch. "And while we get yours, you can explain to me exactly what you want, and exactly how you intend to use us as a part of your…grand plan." Then her expression seemed to grow more gentle. "And it's alright dear if you ultimately don't buy anything. It's not an easy thing to do. You need confidence and comfort."

Alter's brow twitched.

I am confident.

Liar.

She breathed out slowly and rubbed at her cheeks letting Kiara guide her further into the back towards her changing rooms.

Edward was there humming and staking a box. Edward Teach was not a man Jeanne was ever expecting to find. Her mouth dropped agape. "Ah, if it isn't the queen of summer's servfest." He made a playful bow toward her.

Kiara made a noise. "Tch, not now dear. She isn't sold on being here as a good idea."

The pirate captain shifted. "Oh, why? You're so beautiful, men would devote their lives for you if you gave them the chance?"

Jeanne felt her face somehow grow warmer. "Shut the fuck up Teach!" Her voice grew lower. "It's partly your fault too that I'm here at all!" After all, it was Edward who'd loaned her and master their hotel room for the Doujin contest. It was Edward who had told her that her sister was competing in some stupid manga drawing competition.

She grit her teeth.

It was because of that she spent so much damn time with Ritsuka, her master.

This bastard.

The pirate captain looked confused. "Wait what did I do?

Kiara let go of Jeanne's hand and walked up to Teach and tugged his beard down to kiss him on his cheek. Her hand on the side of his head. "Did you hear me earlier darling?"

He smiled suddenly goofy.

Jeanne's eyes went wide. She suddenly felt that she was intruding on their relationship. That sinking feeling slipped away as she watched them kiss. Because of all that had happened this night thus far, she couldn't just stop thinking about a kiss with him. It ground at her as it was making it more difficult to stick with her idea.

He barely accepts you.

Her amber eyes drifted to the floor.

Would it be so bad…?

You'll curse him with hellish flames.

She sighed and shook her head free of those cascading thoughts and turned to eye them again. Jeanne really didn't want to think about it, and it took effort to pull her mind away from Ritsuka. The pirate and Kiara were just parting again. Edward smiled at her and then paused at Jeanne, the glare was prominent but neither of them pushed the matter any farther.

He sounded cheerful, she thought, when he started talking to the other Alter nearer the front part of the store.

Kiara grabbed her hand, "Come on, you have to tell us what you want and your plan still. Do that if not the fitting at least." It was her voice that was lulling her. It was also perhaps the cheerfulness in Blackbeard's voice. It must've been a combination of things. But all of them were pressing enough on her mind.

So Jeanne did as she asked and started trying to describe again what she was intending and why as she had with Artoria Alter. Everything from heart-shaped chocolates to this and at least the starting reasons for it.

###

"I see," Kiara said carefully. She paused for a moment and touched her chin in thought. "I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Jeanne Alter looked at her pointedly.

Even the woman's laugh at her expression seemed almost sensual. "No, not about the lingerie my dear, but I think I understand your worry." She chuckled a little. "Can I tell you a secret dear?" She made to look conspiratorial and peered down the hallway towards the front. As if she were looking out for something.

Artoria and Blackbeard's voices were things Jeanne could hear from where she was. Standing out of sight of the hallway, half tucked into one of the changing rooms. Her blue sweater was off as she zipped up the front of the dress again, and adjusted the black fur around her collar. But her movements stilled as Kiara leaned a little towards her.

"It's normal to worry." Kiara smiled. "You care for him enough to not want to hurt him. But you also just want to thank him." She tilted her head from side to side. "That is all normal dear." She stood up for a moment. "Would I be wrong in guessing that you also don't want to ruin the balance of your relationship with him?"

She was quiet because the answer was so obvious she felt like she didn't even need to voice it. That's what had made this plan so complicated in the first place. Jeanne Alter had wanted a lot…probably too much she would admit. But still, it had to be this way, because she wouldn't have it another way.

For him.

Kiara's chuckle was gentle in the privacy of the backroom of their store. "The truth of it is, I don't think you need…" She gestured to the store around her. "This, to get the point of it across. But…" She winked a little playful. "...if you want him to think you are cool and mature…might I add one more stipulation to your plan to go with it?"

At that, Jeanne shifted and tilted her head a little. She had been relieved that it wasn't a necessity. Yet somehow, she knew that Kiara was being honest when it was perhaps going against her business. However, she couldn't deny her curiosity at her wanting to add a little bit of an edit into the plan herself.

Jeanne nodded once. "Go on?"

The alter ego grinned, smacking her fingers gently against her knees with a couple of taps. She seemed to fill with excitement. "How about you change the scenario from trying to surprise him with the lingerie to something a bit more disguised? Ask him to help pick out clothes for you. You can go shopping with some other stores and get a line of clothes. Have him sit there and judge you for a while." She closed and winked at her. "Then you throw a set of what we have here in there for him to gawk at you."

Her amber eyes went wide.

Kiara giggled. "That way, you can disguise the general purpose of it more. Plus you get to flaunt yourself in other outfits for him too."

It was about halfway through her reason that Jeanne Alter felt her mouth drop open. Because it actually made even more sense with the way Kiara had set it. Had that been what Artoria Alter was getting at? She tried to think back on their conversation over dinner.

"It would have the benefit of making you look sexy too."

"I don't want or need to look sexy, I just want to shock him a little in an amusing way!"

"This will do that and more."

And if Jeanne Alter did what Kiara was suggesting, it should work to perfection because she could mix it in with a few other outfits. All she had to do was think of an excuse as to why she would want his help over other servants.

Jeanne felt an evil smirk come over her expression as the plan at last had the final shape in it. It was all coming together smoothly. Now as she slipped on her blue sweater, she only had to find a piece that wouldn't embarrass her as much as the one Artoria was getting. That, at least, had to be manageable.

Kiara stood up and hummed, "Oh, that's the face of someone who's made up their mind?"

"Fufufufu, yes." Jeanne grinned, "I have. I think your idea gave me the last piece I was missing to put this whole Valentine's gift together for him." Then her smile faded a little as she looked across from her. Slowly that smirk and confidence faded as she ran a hand through her hair. "I'd…still like something…a little closer to modest."

Kiara hummed, "It is still a fairly wide collection, but I'll rule out some of the more kinky stuff for you then." She led the way back toward the front. "Come along dear, the night is still young."

Blackbeard and Artoria Alter were still talking, but it had moved now to the counter where Artoria had two bags, indicating that she'd either bought herself a few other things, or Blackbeard had talked her into it.

Jeanne tried to pay them no mind as she followed Kiara.

The other woman hummed again, "Carmila likes these." She flicked an assortment as she passed by. Walking past, however, indicated to Jeanne that it was probably not something she would want. Jeanne found herself having to agree with that sentiment. There was a bright red latex look to it.

It reminded her of Carmila's working outfit for the upcoming casino trips to Vegas. Though this one in the store seemed brighter.

Kiara chuckled, "She comes in to help design things from time to time. Keeps it all interesting doesn't it?"

Jeanne tried to smile, but for her, it still felt a little awkward. Eyeing the wall of clothes that cupped a whole corner of the store. With some on display, others just hanging in iles off to her left. She wondered exactly where Kiara was taking her in the store. There might've been a specific selection she wanted to show her.

You'll run off scared.

Her lip twitched.

Kiara then peered back behind her shoulder, "You like drawing doujinshi's right?"

Jeanne felt herself blink suddenly coming crash back from the recesses of her cascading thoughts. "I…yes, I do when I have the time."

"Would you be interested in coming back to design for us?" She smiled a little and spoke as if in that same conspiratorial whisper. "I saw your swimsuit design, that was all you, wasn't it? With the mix of red and black."

The avenger tried not to blush, "I…it…I mean it wasn't all me." She said quickly. Jeanne really didn't want to think about having to come back to this place right now. It was nerve-wracking as it stands. There was even a phallic shape labeled "Hercules" for crying out loud. She averted her eyes so much that she ended up fixating on something in silk.

Neither item helped to get her mind off Ritsuka. She quickly smacked herself in the forehead, much to Kiara's amusement.

Relax, you're almost out of this stupid hole in the ground.

Kiara came to a stop and gestured. "These are simple…and I think you'll find something more tailored to your liking here…"

Jeanne followed her gesture staying quiet. Ultimately after a quick scan, she had to agree. They weren't more than a simple two-piece set, that would still cover her unlike whatever her fellow alter was purchasing.

The fabrics were thin, and some were more see-through than others, which she ultimately steered away from. They also came in a variety of colors, some bright and vibrant overall, and others with a dark appeal to them.

Kiara hummed, touching her chin, "If I were to suggest further for you, I would stick to darker colors to contrast with your skin color, since you are paler than most others." She turned her eyes to Jeanne again. "Like your berserker spirit origin, and your current get-up, the darker clothes accentuate your skin more."

Still, Jeanne fought a blush scratching her head as she looked away. "Thank you, I was…" she huffed out a small nervous chuckle. "I was looking into darker colors anyway…I…don't like wearing vibrant colors." She decided to avoid commenting on the thankfulness for at least attempting to find some more modest lingerie in their collection.

She didn't want to be rude as she was slowly realizing that none of it was catching her eye. Most were either still too embarrassing or revealed too much. Like she found one covered her front very well, but there were only simple strings in the back.

Once more she was plagued with the thought of Ritsuka seeing her like that. It like many of the others left none to the imagination.

It also helped her filter what she was looking for even more. Knowing that sometimes only part of the clothing would be modest as a deception. Carefully she set the set back onto the rack and moved along.

Kiara stood patiently nearby, watching her with a keen interest in what she might pick out. Or she was waiting for her to take a closer look at something that might lead her to another small suggestion.

Jeanne forced out a slow breath. There was a red lace one that actually looked nice, if not for the color. The fabric was thin to accentuate her skin, but it was also thick enough in parts that it still hid all the parts that she wanted. There was a sort of floral and bow pattern to it, where bows stuck out of its ties, and there were splashes of black in the form of flowers where the red color might seemingly be too much.

The owner hummed, evidently taking note of what she was looking at. "I get one in black for you? But I'm afraid I don't have that on hand." She stepped forward to pluck the two-piece set on the hanger.

She hesitated, "How long would that take?"

Kiara shrugged, "No more than three days. Besides, now that I have your measurements it could probably be even more fitting for you if we do a custom order anyway." She smiled and spun it around to the backside for Jeanne to see.

Evidently, she had picked up on her not liking just strings.

The backside was more modest, while it would accentuate her curves, it still left at least something to the imagination, unlike the others she'd been looking at. Jeanne's face was probably still red and she ran her fingers through her hair. Once again that approaching trepidation was coming. Her amber eyes flicked away and towards the door.

I can still leave.

Artoria Alter wasn't close enough to stop her.

The owner spoke as if she didn't get her thoughts at all. "For you…I think I'll change all those little florets to a color more suitable for you…" Kiara paused to look at her, "I seem to remember your sword has a purple or violet jewel, would that be good?"

She nodded stiffly, "I…uh…guess I should pay you?"

"You can now, or you can wait until your order is in, for when you come back to pick it up." Kiara started walking off towards the counter.

Jeanne huffed, "What makes you so confident that I'd even want to come back?" Her mouth twisted. "You yourself admitted that you didn't see a need for this." She tried to smirk a little and followed a few steps after her.

I don't need it.

Kiara nodded slowly in agreement. "I said 'need' dear." She turned around and gave a sensual smirk of her own. One that sent a shiver up the fallen saint's spine just looking her in the eye. "'Want', however, I think, falls into a much different category don't you?" She tilted her head, almost daring her to contradict her.

Jeanne had half a mind to do just that and contradict her. However, even she had to admit defeat on that one. The want would have been obvious on her face the moment Kiara had talked her into it. The fact that Jeanne had let her talk her into it. The fact she'd even been willing to follow her back through the store and search through the other lingerie articles without much prompting, all even with a small discomfort. She really tried not to think about all the things that were in motion now to try and prank her master. All she could hope for was that it would be worth it all at the end of it.

Damn it!

But she thought of asking Ritsuka to see her try on new clothes and slipping the new black lace lingerie in was a very tempting thought. So Jeanne said nothing and followed Kiara to the counter with Blackbeard waiting by the register.

###

The cold winter-ridden streets of Shinjuku were like a welcome relief that the worst part of her night was over. The embarrassing flush of her cheeks that she'd been experiencing for what had felt like the past half hour, was finally slipping away as she stepped out into the cool air, her boots crunching into the snow.

"Hm, no bags?" Artoria's voice cut through the air. Her fellow alter had been waiting outside and popped another bubble of her gum as she eyed Jeanne Alter up and down for a moment, two backs hanging from the crook of her arm.

Jeanne frowned at her, "I did buy something." She held up a receipt with the shipping ticket on it in qp. "Just have to wait a few days."

Artoria huffed a chuckle in the cool air. "A custom order?" Then her grin widened into a smirk as she pushed off the wall. "Kinky."

"Fuck off." Jeanne muttered, "I want to get as far away from this place as I can." She turned up the road and could hear her fellow alter following just behind her, their boots crunching in the thin layer of snow that covered the ground.

"So, what did you get? Something more modest and in black I presume?" Jeanne could hear the smirk in her voice. Undeterred, Artoria's voice dropped back into that straight teasing tone that she had. "I'm sure it will seduce him."

"Shut up, will you! I'm not trying to sleep with him!"

"So you keep saying." She huffed a single laugh.

Jeanne Alter came to a stop in the snow and spun to face her. "Seriously what the fuck is your problem?" She could see her icy breath rising into the air. She could feel her mana pulse with anger as her glare turned harsher.

Artoria stared at her for a few moments longer in silence, pausing in front of her. Once more she seemed to look her over. A silence stretched between them like a standoff, and she was debating how to react. That gum once again popped and she blew out a breath. Her shoulders relaxed a little and she stepped around to Jeanne's right side, stopping when they were shoulder to shoulder. "Honestly?" she asked quietly. "Not a damn thing." She then turned her head to look at Jeanne pointedly. "But you need to figure out what you are going to say and do."

Jeanne straightened it up a little and watched Artoria take a few steps ahead. She had only just turned to follow before she saw her turn and look over her shoulder.

The other alter shifted. "I overheard the plan…it sounds…good. I think it will work." There was a small smirk on her expression that made Jeanne shiver. "Just don't fuck it up more than you already will I'm sure."

"Asshole," Jeanne muttered.

"Alright, well I'm going back to the bar." Artoria stretched for a moment standing on the tips of her toes, her bags swaying in her hand. "I think I'm in need of a burger for dinner."

"You already had two burgers for dinner."

"No, I had two burgers as an appetizer." There was a more even grin on her expression now. "I think I want to go and tease my boyfriend before he gets off his shift later. "Want to come along and watch?"

Jeanne blew out a breath, "No offense but I think we've had our fill of one another tonight." Her words had come out angling towards a slight bitterness. "You go have fun with your boyfriend, I just want to go back to Chaldea and lay low from all the Valentine humbug for a while." She rubbed her forehead and prayed she didn't walk anyone like that annoying saint or either of her masters.

Artoria hummed, "Well, avoid the free kisses section from Kiyohime. And if you see anyone else on a date, send'em to Morarity's bar. My poor alter ego would like it if her Emiya could get some time off the kitchen probably."

At that, Jeanne snorted. "Fine…" They reached the street where they would part. "See ya,"

"See you." Artoria turned and gave a wave over her shoulders, walking around with two plane bags under her arms.

Then Jeanne walked back to the leyline and awaited her ray shift back. Even as she ended back where she started in the white sterilized halls of Chaldea. She realized that she had no idea what else Artoria bought and somehow that made her nervous.

###Jeanne Alter###

It cost her four mana prisms to switch from her avenger spirit origin to her berserker one. For this she viewed it as more of a necessity due to the slight personality changes that the class differences applied to her. She was more likely able to move from one conversation to the next, and her thoughts were less likely to remain stuck overthinking things.

It wouldn't prevent her from overthinking but it was certain to help at least a little when it came to matching wits.

Because Valentine's Day was now two days away. And it was her turn to back chocolates, having scheduled her time as best as she could late at night when other servants were unlikely to bother her.

The brown bag from that store in Shinjuku sat on her bed, next to her other articles of clothing trying to mix and match a few things. Her amber eyes were fixed on the clothes pile for a moment before she blew out a breath and quickly dug her hands into her head rubbing really hard not caring if she messed up her hair.

"Shut up" she whispered into the quiet air.

Nothing will help you.

She gritted her teeth and continued trying to ignore it. Now in her bathing suit, as she eyed herself in the mirror, she started straightening out her hair again. Her mouth twisted. The idea was wearing her bathing suit was a kind of practice. It was closer to being in just the lingerie if she took off her jacket, and removed her stockings and all the leather straps for her katanas. It would be just down to the two articles of clothing and strings. And her bathing suit was something that everyone had already seen her in.

So it can't be that bad.

She blushed at the thought and smacked her cheeks again. "Shut up," She whispered again. Absent-mindedly she tugged on the hem of her black and red jacket, straightening it over her shoulders. Then the hem of her gloves. She stared at herself in the mirror one more time harshening her glare.

Heart-shaped chocolate treats. It can't be that hard right?

Jeanne Alter breathed out and leaned towards the sink wetting her hair just a bit to straighten it.

Just another Valentine.

After another moment she finally managed to pick herself up, katanas strapped behind her back, hips, and thigh, and stepped out of her room.

Somehow in the intervening week, the hallway had only gotten more pink and flourished out with more decorations. Much to her dismay, a banner had been hung over the windows just outside of her room saying "Love is in the air" with hearts and bows to mark Cupid. As with the usual chaos that came with Valentine's Day, Jeanne Alter found herself trying to navigate the late-evening crowds of Chaldea.

Evidently earlier that day, Ishtar and Artemis had gotten together to shoot fake arrows with hearts. The ruling of course that someone had to confess their feelings if they were hit. It had been the hit part of the game that day.

Atalante walked by guiding Lily, Jack, and Nursery Rhyme. Jeanne gave her a nod as she continued as they were about to pass by. She had been hit twice, the heart-shaped arrows sticking from her, still sticking to her skin. Alter realized and she came to a stop almost gawking.

The kids were following behind her cheering her on.

"Not a word." The Greek huntress threatened.

Alter laughed nervously and gave a nod as she closed the door to her room behind her. She was tempted to follow just to see who. But even if it wasn't a confession, she suspected that she knew exactly who she was going to be honest with regarding her feelings.

Achilles seemed the likely answer.

Jeanne Alter took a long breath and continued down the hall. Making her way towards the cafeteria. As she went along she spotted others spending time with their partners. She felt an irritation grow in the corner of her mind at their smiles and well wishes.

Idiots. Why can't they just be affectionate at other parts of the year?

You're alone.

Her mouth twitched.

Sigurd and Brynhildr were getting cozy at one of the windows. Brynhilder was sitting in Sigurd's lap holding onto his arms that had wrapped around her to keep where she was sitting. Her cheeks were flushed wrapped in each other's arms and whispering sweet nothings. There was an open box of chocolates nearby that they were both working their way through.

Jeanne Alter thought about Ritsuka holding her that way.

And her mind came to a screeching halt. She froze and had nearly walked into the wall.

Wait, why did I think of him?!

It won't ever happen to an evil dragon witch like you.

What? No no, I want…

You're worthless.

She seethed and her anger had shifted almost completely. That damn voice in her head reared its ugly head again and this time she stepped off one of the beaten paths to the cafeteria and hissed at herself slamming her fist into the metal wall. "Would you just shut up for five seconds!" She whispered harshly.

I don't need you making this fucking harder!

Useless.

I already made chocolate with my damn face on it! This is going to be a cakewalk compared to that!

She smacked herself in the forehead again, despising the very nature of it. Her fingers curled into her palm hard enough to leave marks. Tensely she silently berated herself for not even managing to calm down. Which made her nerves even more frayed as her hand twitched. "Stupid no good fallen saint." She whispered.

Fallen saint.

She gritted her teeth and stood alone in that darkened hallway hunched over against the wall. "Shut up." She whispered again.

That's when a thundering noise in the hall made her stiffen upright. Soft thumps against the hard white tile floor. Her eyes went wide recognizing it as movement, someone sprinting at full speed, she spun around just in time to feel the wind knocked out of her. She toppled down against the tile floor hissing as her head slammed into the tile.

Suddenly she was very warm.

She lifted her head from the tile grabbing her forehead with one hand and with the other she found it stuck. Jeanne Alter coughed, squeezing her eyes shut. This time when she moved her head to lie down another way, wanting to take a moment, she found something softer there to cushion her instead of the cool tile. "Ow," she hissed.

There was a groan and rapid breathing the mark of someone who'd been running. "Sorry…Sorry, are you okay?"

But it was the sound of his voice that seemed to pull her away from focusing on the blow to the head she'd just gotten. She froze her amber eyes fixing to that of the thing that had hit her. The person that had hit her. The warmth of his body was so close that she could feel heat radiating off of him. There was a glisten of sweat on his temple. He wasn't in a mystic code like he normally was, today it was just a simple shirt and pants. Both were stained with sweat.

Ritsuka, her master, was there over her, their limbs tangled together. His blue eyes were wide on her filled with worry.

Stupid dragon witch.

The one person that was around that could make her feel even more confused. "M-master?"

You were in his way.

Her lips parted as she realized their position. She was under him as she breathed in and out she could feel his chest against hers. One of her hands was trapped under her back, his arm was under her shoulder.

His hand her head was resting on.

One of her legs was curled behind his, tangled together. His other, free leg brushed against her other knee. All the while she could feel her face warming with his proximity. The way he was sweating from excretion wasn't helping.

The warmth that was radiating off him was almost as comforting as it was sending her into a panic.

He tried smiling but there was just a nervous twinge of his laugh, that all at once promised her everything would be okay, but something was wrong all the same. It was a laugh she had grown accustomed to hearing when he was trying to diffuse a situation. It was a laugh he did for her probably realizing her surprise, discomfort, and…

"Sorry, I didn't see you until it was too late." Then his head spun around to look where he'd come from. Then those blue eyes which had been soft only a second ago when looking at her, hardened considerably. "We have to go." He whispered.

What?

Her eyes went wide as suddenly he was pressing up against her, leaning over her, for just a second as he tried to pick himself up.

We?

Her amber eyes went wide as that blush finally reached her face from ear to ear. "What?" she managed aloud.

He managed to untangle their legs as they were.

Jeanne belatedly realized she should probably try to help and quickly moved to untangle their arms. Failing to realize that by moving his arm away she wouldn't have a cushion for her head. And she braced herself for the cold tile floor. Only his other hand lifted her again as he rolled away from her.

Ritsuka was finally off of her.

She breathed out slowly, trying to ignore the warm feeling touching her from ear to ear.

His voice intensified, "We need to go-" His whisper airing almost now towards command, that she could almost sense her own mana being compelled. It was enough to knock her nearly right back out of her confusion. "-right now."

She had barely gotten the time to slap her hands together over her chest with increasing embarrassment as she stared at him eyes wide. "Wait-"

But he was already ahead of her and had, while supporting her back and grabbing her hand, pulled her to her feet with him. Then he continued sprinting as fast as he could manage her wrist caught on his hand as he tugged along behind her around the corner.

"Ritsuka?" She asked after him, worry in her expression and her mind racing and cascading. Like him, she was familiar by now with all the chaotic things that tended to happen to them here around the World Security Organization during any holidays.

Normality in a sense had become the abnormality.

Shit are there enemies?!

Then they rounded a corner, and she heard the loud crash of a sliding metal door being flung open behind them somewhere. Her eyes blinked and she tried to look back, not able to catch sight of whatever it was.

But she picked up speed to match him. She was a servant after all, and eventually, she was the one tugging him along. Making a mental map in her head of the building trying to figure out the best escape route.

Only she found herself tugged harshly to a stop as Ritsuka paused at a door. The janitor's closet was what the sign read. Confusion trailed up her spine at the thought as the door opened and he pulled her inside with him. She wanted to protest the idea because it wouldn't hide them from beasts.

Only his hand went over her mouth. She yelped in surprise too as his other arm wrapped around her torso hugging her to his chest. They were both against the door with only the service light of the panel to light the room. The sliding metal door's lock clicked closed behind them. It was still enough to illuminate their expressions.

He's hugging me.

She struggled gently not wanting to accidentally hurt him with any servant strength. Pushing her shoulders back into his chest and shaking her head.

He's holding me.

She tried to pull away next.

He's warm.

Ritsuka re-affirmed his grip on her. "Ouch," he hissed quietly.

She asked him to let her go, even if the words came out muffled.

He's hugging me.

Jeanne Alter's amber eyes were wide on Ritsuka for a moment, tensely grabbing his wrist. It was all too much. She wanted to scream at him; she pushed her legs off the ground into his chest wanting to break free and give him a piece of her mind.

"No noise." He whispered carefully, "Artemis and Ishtar might hear you."

She froze in his arms, her eyes wide on him.

They're still playing?!

Horror came across her features as she thought of them having found the two of them in their state in the hallway. The state they were in right now. She also thought about what might happen if they had decided to aim their heart arrows at her next. Panic gripped her heart as she stilled herself as still as she could be.

What would I say?

What if you ruin everything?

There was a tension in his expression that was mesmerizing, but even with her breaths on his hand, she slowly allowed herself to relax in his arms. Her eyes rolled back as she closed her eyes for a moment, breathing out slower.

His ragged breaths were growing lighter, and in the dark, she could make out the slow calming down of his heart as his diaphragm pushed up against her back and shrunk away with each exhale he took.

She enjoyed it.

A fact that she would never admit to anyone ever. Ten seconds must've passed before finally she tapped his wrist over her mouth and looked up at him.

He nodded and moved his hand away instantly. "Sorry," He mouthed silently at her.

Jeanne Alter blushed and gently punched his shoulder. "Idiot," She breathed out under her breath. But whatever lecture or rant in anger she'd been about to give she stopped short and saw a blush forming on his cheeks.

He averted his eyes a bit and slid down the length of the door until he was on the ground, kicking his legs out.

She stared at him and watched as relief washed over him. Jeanne Alter forced herself to turn away from him and grabbed her biceps, digging her nails into her arms as she looked at the off-colored aqua-green tiles in the dark service lights of Chaldea's Janitor's closet. She tried not to think about his arms wrapped around her.

Idiot.

Useless.

Saved us both.

She blew out a breath and at last walked over and did the same to him. Jeanne pressed her back up against the door, sliding down until she was right beside him. Though instead of spreading her legs out she hugged them to her chest running her fingers over her skin. Jeanne Alter too, breathed out a sigh of relief. Relief that her master wasn't in any real danger. Relief that he had gotten them both out of a precarious position and a situation neither of them wanted to be in. She wiped at her forehead as she huffed a few quiet laughs into the air. "Fufufu. Morons."

Minutes must've passed before one of them dared to speak again.

Slowly Jeanne Alter turned to him then she pushed him not forcefully enough to hurt him."Idiot, I thought you were in real trouble!" Her whispers were harsh, and her eyes bore into him, more grateful for her berserker spirit origin than ever. She was able to move past the incident more quickly than she normally might've been able to.

Ritsuka scratched the back of his head, "I was…" Then he offered her another sheepish smile. "Just not in danger..." He straightened himself out against the janitor closet's metal door and leaned his head back. "They are adamant on hitting everyone with their cupid arrows before the holiday passes."

Jeanne Alter huffed out a patient breath, closing her eyes, and looked down. "I had heard about the game they were playing, but I figured that they would be finished with it by now." The more she thought about it, the more stupid it was. She could've just worked up a lie on the fly if they asked her right. Frankly for that matter so could her master. Her eyes narrowed a little and she turned to look up at him. "Why did you care anyway, just lie to them when they hit you."

His blue eyes went wide looking at her.

It was a look she couldn't place and it made her feel like something about her looked wrong. She blinked looking down at herself. "W-what is it? Why are you looking at me like that? You couldn't…what did you just not think of that or?" She trailed off and saw him shaking his head.

Then he shifted a little. "You…really don't know?"

She shook her head.

Did I miss something?

Ritsuka blinked, "Well uh…you were right to trust me I suppose…and your initial fear about them is correct." He scratched his hair. "They are…" he paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. She noticed as well that he'd seemed to at last catch his breath.

He must've been running for a while.

Then his eyes fixed themselves to her. "The arrows they are shooting have…spells. It makes you…more…open. It's not a love spell or anything. But if someone you have feelings for is in the room with you…well…" He trailed off for a moment. "Artoria Pendragon got hit while she was waiting for Archer Emiya to come in for his cooking shift…"

Jeanne Alter stared.

Ritsuka fell quiet as he watched for her reaction.

Her reaction was the same as it had initially been; utter horror. It was by pure luck that her master had managed to find her and get her out of that hallway before they arrived. Her fingers twitched suddenly terrified that they might come through the metal door and stick her with an arrow anyway.

You'll ruin everything.

She grabbed her head and shrunk into her shoulders. "Oh shit…no no. I need to get to the cafeteria. They aren't allowed in there at least right?"

Please let there be rules. Please let there be rules. Please let there be rules.

Ritsuka nodded, "They aren't allowed to go into the kitchens or the rooms of other servants. So you can go door to door if you want…anyone who might let you in for only a moment." He huffed a few chuckles. "They also aren't allowed to spawn camp you…"

She blinked. "Huh?"

He shook his head. "Sorry uh?" His brows knitted together again as he tried to think of how to describe that. "They aren't allowed to simply wait for you to leave whichever room you are in. It's the only thing that makes it fair."

"How's it being enforced?" She wondered.

"Cameras. And someone will tell Gilgamesh. Da Vinci and Roman only agreed if they were to keep it harmless and they abided by the rules. Otherwise, they get volunteered for constant farming shifts for three months."

Jeanne Alter winced.

Ritsuka huffed, "Exactly my thoughts. All is fair in that way. They also can't use their servant abilities when chasing a normal person…but nothing says they can't hit me while I'm with someone else and claim it as a…misfire."

Jeanne Alter blushed a little more at that.

They would very much bend the rules to their advantage.

With one last breath blown out with a huff, he stood up and straightened the hem of his shirt. It was form-fitting and for Alter, it gave her a clear view while he straightened the lean tone muscles that were underneath. Once again she was grateful for the berserker spirit origin. Because when he spoke, her mind moved on. "Well, they are probably gone by now…want to come along?"

She blinked.

He offered his hand out to her to help her back to her feet.

Jeanne Alter reached out and then hesitated. "Where are you going?"

"My room. It's been a long day."

She pulled her hand back, thinking better of it. Jeanne Alter was content to wait there for a while longer by herself. She didn't want to get hit with an arrow, especially with Ritsuka nearby. It would just…

Complicate things.

You'll ruin everything.

Her smile twitched, as she shook her head. "I…think I'll stay here for a while longer if you don't mind." She turned her eyes away from him feeling a blush come to her cheeks as she averted her eyes. "Hey…uh? Don't get the wrong idea…about this but uh…" she trailed off and her fingernails once more dug into her skin.

Ritsuka straightened and paused for a moment and those blue eyes were fixed to her she knew before she even spoke.

It's stupid.

She forced herself to look up at him. "Thanks," she whispered. Then she silently nodded at him and then nodded again. "Thanks for saving me."

One of the things she liked about Ritsuka was that he didn't make fun of her when he could see her being honest about things. His smile was smooth as he nodded accepting. "Of course. You would have done the same."

You're selfish.

I don't-

You would never have done the same.

She dug her nails into her skin and huffed out a single chuckle. "Not sure if I have that confidence that I would."

Evil dragon witch.

He hummed, "You would have." His voice was growing firm. "And besides you weren't in danger…" Then he winked at her. "Like me, you were just in trouble."

She snorted but still made a disgusted sigh afterward. "Just get going already, master. Sleep is important for you humans." Jeanne Alter leaned away from the door allowing him to leave and a rush of cool air as the door hissed open and he walked past.

"On it ma'am." He looked over his shoulder at her. "Good night Jeanne."

She lifted a few fingers above her arm. "Night," And the door hissed closed once more.

In the quiet that followed after she laid her head back against the cold metal and blew out a long breath. Ultimately she liked her choice to stay although she might miss out on dinner at the cafeteria in Chaldea.

But I can wait here until the Artemis and Ishtar go to sleep themselves.

She smiled.

Furthermore, the later it is at night the more likely I'll be alone.

Her time making chocolates would be easier for her to manage. No disturbances. No questions as to why she was making heart chocolates. All the risks were minimized and that alone was more than enough reason to stay there for a little while longer. She grinned despite herself at the thought of her master.

The idiot helped me prank him, and he didn't even know it.

The grin turned into a small sadistic smile forming on her expression, one that never quite reached the softness in her amber eyes. "I'll have to use that against him somehow…" She giggled quietly to herself while waiting patiently in the dark for as long as she might until the cafeteria cleared out properly.

###

There was an access panel in the janitor's closet that allowed her to inform Archer Emiya that she wouldn't need a time slot, she was gonna make her chocolates when the kitchen was mostly closed at night.

Jeanne Alter realized, a bit belatedly after sending the message, that he probably still had his hands full of whatever Artoria Pendragon came out of those cupid arrows. Whether it augmented their personality like a drug or if it had done anything else. She regretted not grilling Ritsuka for details while he'd essentially trapped them in a room together. The way he'd hugged her to his chest-

She bit her thumb and curled her other hand against her stomach.

Stop it.

Her breath turned heavy as she shook herself and smacked herself again. The ingredients of what she was going to make the chocolate with had long since been figured out. She finally slid herself back up to her feet along the metal door. Frowning and straightening the straps of her clothes and the hem of her swimsuit jacket.

Her frown formed as she shook the small pain of her thumb free.

As she'd hoped all the halls were empty and so was the cafeteria. She flicked some of the kitchen lights on and it illuminated in part much of the cafeteria with long dark shadows from the angled light with only small service lights that were pretty much nothing.

She grinned and started gathering what she needed. Once her workstation was set she went over to the barrels and pots that were holding the Cocoa powder. Most of the prep work was being done constantly by the chefs during the two weeks leading up to the holiday. Part of the reason that Jeanne Alter was so intent on coming today was because simply Archer Emiya always produced the best prepped Cocoa powder.

He always went the extra mile for such things and tended to the cocoa beans through their roastings. The next batch had even been prepared for tomorrow. She peered into the pot where the last form of chocolate liquid was stirred with all the ingredients mixed together. It was starting to harden, but that wasn't necessarily the issue she realized. The stove of course had turned off and the last person in the kitchen hadn't washed the pot away. Or perhaps they knew she was the last one coming in for the day and thus left her the task of cleaning up the workstation.

She turned the stove on low so that the chocolate that had hardened would warm and melt once more. Next to the Cocoa powder that had been prepped for her, she lined up the other basic ingredients, Cacao butter, some maple syrup, and vanilla extract. She took the portions she needed and lined them up at her workstation. There were only two things after which she now needed to check on.

There was a line of cardboard boxes of grouped packages organized by dates at which servants scheduled their time in the kitchen. Ever since how chaotic the first string of holidays and strange happenings that occurred at Chaldea such things became streamlined. The box for her stuff was the last one that day's largest box with the label of her name on the package.

It was the gift-wrapping decorations she'd wanted. She ordered a tin box of pink, and black lace, going fully for what she hoped was a store-bought appearance of heart-shaped chocolates. But it wasn't nearly as important as the chocolate right now.

She started by mixing all the ingredients, throwing the portions she needed into the mixing and churning pot. There was an automatic machine that would do this part for her when it was all crushed together, but really Jeanne Alter could deny her forming a grin at the prospect of using her servant strength for something so simplistic. She could store leftovers for others to use the following morning, whoever was going to come in first.

Flow overcame her, as it often had when she was working on those doujinshi during the summer servant fest. Now as she worked along it came to her as well as she fell into work mode to make her chocolate. All the details of her plan seemed to fade away. All the emotional troubles, thoughts, and feelings.

If one could spot her working alone in the kitchen from the low-light cafeteria, one might have caught a small smile on her lips as she worked, and a stain of chocolate left on her cheek when she tried the mixture making sure she was getting it right.

She had long since decided to make four total. Two different types. Something for her to test when it was completed and another for whichever she decided. Was the best one. She'd spent a lot of time since last Valentine's thinking about what she should flavor her chocolate with. Blending into the flavors and how she might decorate it. Going all in for a simplistic appearance with a heart shape, and maybe some hardened chocolate syrup for decoration, but going all in on the flavors.

One would be laced with light mint that she ground into a fine powder so it wasn't chunked. Not enough to overwhelm the flavor of the chocolate turning into "mint-chocolate" but a quantity enough that it might accent the flavor of it a bit.

The other would be flaky sea salt which she ground down as much as she could into a finely thin powder.

There were other flavors she considered but none of them seemed to be jumping out to her like those two things were. She had recalled times separately when she'd been listening to her masters talking about sweets that they both liked. Jeanne Alter was just grateful to have been in the room when it happened.

It gave her a competitive edge over all the other servants who were preparing their chocolate gifts.

"Fufufu."

They don't stand a chance.

Adding complexity onto complexity was sometimes fun, which is how both she and her master had managed to make chocolate portraits. However, with this particular chocolate came a lot of other ideas she needed to complete.

Jeanne Alter was quick to shake her head at those ideas. Once again allowing the workflow to distract her from all of it.

Shaping it was perhaps the simplest thing that she could do. In preparation, there were some metal heart-shaped molds to help hold the chocolate in the shapes they were formed in. Alter was careful not to mix the two batches now separated from the main large pot that the kitchen had been using. She used the biggest one deciding that just one large chocolate for him should do no matter which flavor she went with.

Once the chocolate shapes were formed they needed to be cooled so that they were in their solid shape. So her chocolates were spread out on a single backing sheet and metal oven pan. There was only one heart-shaped mold of the size she wanted.

So she would have to cool them separately, and add the dark chocolate splatters last, and cool them again. By the time her batches were ready for molds, she spied the clock mentally tallying; Half an hour per chocolate. Two more hours, which would put her at three in the morning by the time she was finished.

Jeanne Alter molded her first chocolate and kicked the stove to its lowest setting to keep the chocolate warm until it was time to mold them. The last thing she had to keep her mind off things was to clean up.

She put away all that she no longer needed.

And when that was done all she had time left to do was wait. Waiting for her was always the worst part of committing to doing anything.

At least I'm technically done with making the chocolates.

She peered into the freezer room but walked past. She walked past all the other decorations and messages that people wrote in the darkened cafeteria. Jeanne Alter touched her chin to try and read some of the other messages. When she spotted one from Joan of Arc, her normal self, confusion was the first thing that came to mind.

The handwriting was messy, un neat. But the grammar and syntax were all correct.

Someone helped her? Or is she getting better at reading too?

"To my wonderful sisters-tch." Jeanne Alter cut herself off and stepped away from all the messages. She didn't need to read or want to care about the rest of it.

And so what if she is getting better at reading like me?

Alter hugged herself as she walked away passing some of the gifts and baskets that had formed in the last corner before at last dragging herself back to the kitchen. Jeanne Alter rubbed her eyes as she ended up finally back where she'd started near the cool metal counter where the last of her ingredients waited.

She blew out a breath and went through the motions as best as she could manage thinking of literally anything and everything else but the reason why she was there.

Until at last nearly an hour and forty-five minutes later, the four hearts were done, and she splayed over them that last drizzle of dark chocolate that would also need its time in the cooler. But this time there was no need to do them one by one since the shape had been molded. They all went into the fridge together.

And this time she dragged a chair into the kitchen when she finished packing her ingredients and tools away and cleaning her workspace. She sat herself down resting one leg over the other, and regretted not bringing another chair as she hugged herself for a moment. Finally, now that it was over she blew out a more relaxed breath.

It had been a stressful myriad of an evening that stretched to this moment. She only had to wait another fifteen minutes before she tasted the heart-shaped chocolates and made her final decision.

###

The four heart-shaped chocolates were in front of her on the brightly cleaned silver pan, with foil underneath. Jeanne Alter, now that she was looking at them, was even more nervous. She knew they would taste good having made similar batches before, and had perfected her skills with it ever since almost in preparation. But now it was simply a matter of discerning which one was better.

She lingered over one in the corner, knowing that at face value all of them looked the same. However, she'd organized them specifically so that she wouldn't forget.

Jeanne Alter reached for her first one holding it between her hands as she looked down a bit closer at her work. The spatter of dark chocolate over the heart wasn't uniform, in its jagged lines, but it worked. She smiled, angling for her first test.

Only there was something behind her. She detected it, sensed it, and felt the fact that there was a presence all at once. Before she could react, arms wrapped around her waist and she was pressed back slightly against his chest. Her thighs pushed against the cool metal table infront of her.

"There you are Jeanne, I was looking for you." His voice was light and playful as she always knew it to be. And it was very very close to her.

Wait what?!

She froze in that instant, unable to speak. His fingers traced gently from the underside of her breasts, down the line of her navel.

No no no!

Her cheeks started to burn.

His chuckles were warm; they sent vibrations through her skin as he pulled her closer, and she could feel his throat rumble with his gentle laughter on her skin.

"R-ritsuka?" She asked. Jeanne was afraid to look back. His voice was enough to know that she was there. She knew what his chest felt like too, being pressed against her back. Both from battle and what had happened only hours ago. So she didn't have to look back and see, but her mind went into a frenzy as she stared at the four heart-shaped chocolates.

Jeanne could see that black hair out of the corner of her eye, and she saw him slide into her view only a bit. His chin rested against the nape of her neck, sliding over to her shoulder.

He'll see.

She inhaled to speak again.

He'll think you made them for someone else.

His voice hummed in her hair. "You're up quite late, I wonder what you are working so hard on at this hour?"

Jeanne opened her mouth to speak only she found her throat dry and no words escaping her lips. Her eyes went wide and forced herself to keep looking forward. Unable to meet those blue eyes that would discern everything. All she could do was hope that it bought her a few seconds so that she might better come up with an excuse. Something that would allow her to throw him off the game just for a moment.

But her mind blanked and she winced when she heard him hum.

Too late.

"Oh, a confession heart-shaped chocolate, just for me?" His breath was warm on her neck and it spread the blush all the way to her ears, as his arms around her waist seemed to tighten. "My sweet Jeanne-" His lips touched her ear and she shivered.

N-no, wait! I-

The warmth was radiating off her body over to hers, as he traced his fingers around her stomach and belly button. Jeanne Alter squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to squirm. She didn't want to hear what he thought. It would embarrass her further and she could scarcely feel her face with how warm it was getting.

Maybe he'll tell you how worthless you are?

No no no! Shut up!

But it was all too late. He already presumed it was a confession. He had already called her sweet. Which means it was something far worse than all of that. One of his hands traced down to her thighs and she shivered at his touch. His voice was low and seemingly prescient as he spoke to her with a hunger she didn't understand. "All you ever had to do was ask me." There was a warm rumble in his throat as he chuckled again. She felt his lips brush her skin just beneath her ear at the corner of her jaw.

There was a sharp crack, as the heart-shaped chocolate in her fingers snapped in two.

And she moaned.

###Jeanne Alter###

She awoke with a warm sweat and a start still sitting in that chair in the kitchen. Her amber eyes were wide as she stared up at the ceiling lights. Jeanne Alter didn't have the strength to move for yet a moment longer. Feeling the cool metal of the table dig into her calf where she'd angled her feet up against the edge, still untouching the tabletop.

She was warm.

Her movements were slow and tentative as she touched her cheek and even through her black gloves, she could feel the red heat on her skin.

There she lingered in the quiet light pale lights of the kitchen for a moment, her mind aghast with both confusion and wonder.

What the hell was that?!

Then as if to break the silence of the evening she shot up from her chair knocking it over onto the tile floor.

The chocolate!

Jeanne ran to the fridge and pulled it out, blowing out a sigh of relief realizing that it was all still there. Even as the relief came over her she spied the clock and noted that she'd dozed off for only a short half hour. It was only with that she grinned. There was no chance anyone saw her chocolates then.

Jeanne Alter shrunk into her shoulders and sighed. "Stupid dragon witch." She tsked and shook her head.

You should know a dream such as that when you see it.

She touched her forehead after she laid the chocolate heart shapes out. "Fufufu, as if he would ever look at me like that."

Evil witch.

The thought came and went and there she stood over looking for chocolates taking a deep breath before trying both. The first one she'd tried was the crushed mint that had been powdered into the chocolate. It was good and she was quite pleased with it. But she found that the one with sea salt just had a little bit more of a kick. The chocolate of course was a healthy brittle, it broke apart easily.

The quiet cracks in the suffocating quiet as she went to both chocolates. She stuffed down her sea salt test one and licked the edges of her gloved fingers. It came out as good as she'd hoped. She'd worked hard on it so she decided to keep the spare mint one for herself. Jeanne Alter grinned as she opened the package and laid out that hot pink and black tin on the counter, sliding it closer.

There was no way Master wouldn't taste the effort and quality of my chocolate.

She finished looking at the heart-shaped chocolate on the thin baking foil baking sheet. Her lip twitched and even before she made it away, that sense of paranoia came over her. Her amber eyes once more scanned the darkened cafeteria around her.

"There you are Jeanne, I was looking for you."

Jeanne Alter forced herself to take a long breath after confirming that it was still empty and that she was alone. Her amber eyes fixated on that heart-shaped chocolate sitting between her fingers, the one she'd selected to give to him.

"Oh, a confession heart-shaped chocolate, just for me?"

A blush started to form but she couldn't understand why she was smiling despite it. Then she shook her head.

It was a nice dream…right?

Her lips twisted a little.

It will ruin everything.

There was a twitch this time in her expression as she thought about it. He wouldn't misunderstand it would he? It was generic enough to be thought of as something store-bought. He wasn't there to actually see her make the chocolate.

But you boasted about how great it tasted.

Jeanne Alter froze and her eyes went wide again as she stared at the heart shape between her fingers.

But that's not-

Your effort will ruin everything.

She swallowed and stared at the heart intently feeling another blush spread across her cheeks.

But it looks like some fancy store-bought chocolate!

She started to panic just a little and she clicked her sandal heels against the ground a few times as she once more looked at her surroundings. Reaffirming the fact that she was by herself. She had to know that because there was time enough perhaps to think of something else. Time to bake something else.

Jeanne's blush only got worse when she thought of the dream, and how it had reminded her of how he was holding her in that closet only hours ago. How close he'd gotten to her in that dream, running his hands gently across her chest and thighs.

"All you ever had to do was ask me."

His voice echoed in her mind as close as it was to her then. The whisper of his lips at the base of her ear. The warm hands tracing down her navel, the warm breath on her neck, the touch of his lips at the base of her ear, and the edge of her jawline.

Jeanne Alter squeezed her eyes shut.

And a crack filled the air as the tension snapped.

Her eyes flicked open and she saw that the heart shape had been snapped into two. The brittle chocolate was no match for her turmoil. She shuttered and her breaths quickened in the silence of the cafeteria.

Damn it, I…

She considered for a moment.

Wait, if it's not a heart shape…there won't be any confusion!

Jeanne Alter eyed the two broken pieces of the heart shape. She decided she could break it up even more into smaller pieces. More cracks filled the quiet air as she doubled down with a huff of a laugh.

The idiot will probably not even notice. I just need to convince him even more that it's store-bought.

It tastes too good to be store-bought.

IT TASTES FINE. The metal tin already looks store-bought!

"Fufufufu," She finished breaking the heart-shaped chocolate up into long thin slices and realized that no chocolate in the world would ever look like that.

It could be a unique store-bought chocolate. Besides, the moron wouldn't care! So long as it's a thoughtful gift!

And looked over at the tin metal box. There was a thin hot pink material in there for her to place the chocolate on. But it didn't feel like enough even as she gazed at it. She bit down on her finger as she glared at it.

It's store-bought. It needs to look like it got shipped here!

Then she straightened up. "Packing straw." She ran back to the boxes with all the packages. There had to be packing straw for one of the creative Valentine's chocolates that were being made that year.

Then she remembered the gift baskets near the signs out in the cafeteria. Those always had packing straw.

Jeanne Alter burst out of the kitchen and skimmed a little packing straw off the top of each basket. It would be the perfect thing to sell it to master that it was a store-bought chocolate after all.

And since it's not a heart shape, there would be no misunderstanding.

She packed the straw in over the hot pink material blanket and then put the broken leftover pieces of chocolate after it. Jeanne Alter smiled smugly to herself having thought around the new problem, closing the tin and tying the ribbon in place over it.

All the preparation phases for her Valentine's gifts were done. Now all she had to do was wait for the right time. She huffed a few chuckles and spotted the other two heart-shaped chocolates that she hadn't eaten. The mint one that she'd tried, and the other one that was supposed to be Ritsuka's if she'd preferred to choose that one.

She frowned.

Evidence.

So the other chocolates came with her back to her room and she once more made certain that the kitchen looked like no one had been there at all, before shutting off the lights.

###Ritsuka Fujimaru###

As was custom the last half day before Valentine's Day, it was the last surviving masters of humanity that were the ones booking their time in the kitchen. So it was there the Fujimaru siblings stood in aprons over some of their more civilian-like attire.

Ritsuka grinned a little.

Ishtar stared at him with a bitter look in her eye.

He was in a place that was off-limits to their game.

She made a pointed gesture that she would get him when he next tried to escape. Something of which he doubted very much. He had long since plotted his escape route out of the cafeteria in a manner that would keep both Ishatar and Artemis occupied. It was the least they could do to avoid them.

Ritsuka smiled and shook his head as he watched the two archers step away from the kitchen counter.

Archer Emiya was serving the last portions of lunch. Boudica was helping him in another part of the kitchen whipping up one last batch of soup. For the most part, however, both of them kept clear of the part of the kitchen that had been turned into a chocolate-making station. His sister Gudako had a wicked grin on her expression.

He hummed quietly to himself, "And what are you up to this time?"

Gudako's fingers were stained with chocolate and her orange-red hair was different from the usual style of tying it off to one side. Today, it was all tied neatly behind her in a bun, and underneath a hair net. "I was thinking of a prank." she chuckled a few times and that edge of wickedness seemed to vanish into a small smile. "I mean we are always the ones getting pranked during holidays as such…"

Ritsuka and Gudako had settled on making a bunch of small treats. On the counter, they had five trays of tons of smaller chocolates.

I guess that is a valid point.

He plucked up one of the trays and walked it over to the fridge that had been, by now, cleared away of all of the other chocolates that had been made by staff and other servants. He stacked the trays neatly on top of one another and closed the fridge door. He chuckled a couple of times as he thought about it.

"Well, Artemis and Ishtar must certainly be brought down a peg or two considering the trouble they are giving everyone." Ritsuka walked back over two more trays and intended to put all the chocolate in the fridge as needed. The first batch had been completed. The first of five or six.

Gudako snorted a laugh. "Well, I'm happy you agree with me." She stepped away from the stir pot and wiped at her brow with a grin. "I think with a few of the male servants organizing their Valentine's gifts, it would be appropriate if we can disrupt them gently." She touched her chin with a hum. "It wouldn't surprise me if a few ladies were doing the same."

Before Ritsuka could respond, there was some cheering in the cafeteria that pulled at both their attention.

Atalante had arrived, but not in the usual manner most of them had expected of her, which was with typically the child servants in to. Today she arrived wearing bridal style with a deep red blush on her cheeks from Achilles.

Gudako's eyes widened. "When did that happen?" She looked at him.

"A little after you left, I had only just wrapped up dinner when they managed to snag her before coming in to get food." Ritsuka tilted her head.

Achilles gently set Atalante down at a seat and kissed her. The Huntress was blushing the entire time but appeared to be affectionate back all the same.

Well, she didn't punt him across the room.

Ritsuka's eyes tracked to the other person he knew had fallen victim yesterday. She was sitting at the counter she always was. At a corner that allowed her to spy on Archer Emiya whenever he was toiling away in the kitchen. The only difference between those days and today is that there was an obvious tension about her that had vanished.

Every time Emiya had bothered to look her way, she seemed to smile with a small red glow coming to her cheeks.

Gudako hummed wiping her hand on her apron, and cleaned a stain of chocolate from her cheek. "Well, it seems like you left at the right time yesterday. Especially if they managed to get the huntress famed for speed. How did you escape from them?"

"Distraction, mostly. After that, it was working my way through the back rooms." He huffed a couple of chuckles. It was right after that he remembered running quickly around a corner as fast he could barely have the time to check infront of him, as he thought he'd gotten a good lead on his pursuers…

When he ran right into Jeanne D'Arc Alter.

Speaking of all the shenanigans that happened yesterday, Ritsuka remembered how…he'd been when Jeanne Alter was about to suddenly get involved with that incident. He felt his cheeks warm with an embarrassment of not having seen her up until he collided with her. And again when they had been tangled up. There was that last bit where adrenaline had taken over too, as if he needed to protect her. Which was about the stupidest "manly" thought he'd ever had considering who she was. He thought of them hiding in that closet together with him hugging her close. Not at all what he had intended or realized he'd done until he'd both explained and she'd gotten loose.

He could remember her warm breaths on the palm of his hand.

Ritsuka blew out a breath and shook his head violently a couple of times.

Get it together, Ritsuka.

Gudako tilted her head looking at him. "What is it?"

He smiled a little and shook his head. "Nothing…just realizing I might've screwed up my progress with Jeanne Alter yesterday."

"Oh?" She licked the chocolate from her fingers ."What did you do?"

"Well, I ran into her…literally for starters when trying to get away from Ishatar and Artemis." He moved to wash his hands. "I hadn't seen her all day, either working on her valentines or the training simulator…so I…didn't know if she knew about the game. And I think…she wouldn't have wanted to be caught…I also admittedly didn't want her to get caught because of me…so I ended up dragging her into the janitor's closet."

She blinked her eyes, going curious. "Oh?"

Ritsuka huffed a nervous laugh. "I ended up hugging her and covering her mouth…made a fool of myself that's for sure." He stepped aside for his sister to have a turn.

"Oh…" She trailed and touched her chin. "Well…given how much progress she's made in trying to open up to others…" Gudako frowned a little as if trying to gather her thoughts. "Actually yeah…I…think you might be in trouble for that one." She scratched her cheek as she approached the sink. Her lips twisted a little, "I don't know how she would react to that sort of thing…the girl has problems on the best of days. Getting hugged and dragged around by the likes of you out of nowhere might've irritated her."

"That's…what worries me…at least a little." Ritsuka leaned against the kitchen counter and folded his arms considering. "Things calmed down after a few minutes…but I can tell I think I overstepped her boundaries." Suddenly his lips twisted. "Tch, damn it. I'm such an idiot like she always says."

Gudako snorted, "Wow you really care about the way she sees you."

Ritsuka made a pointed look at her.

There was a beat of quiet as her smile faded and her eyes narrowed. "Ritsuka, is there something you…aren't telling me?"

He was quiet and he looked away with a sigh.

I don't know.

He eventually came to a decision that his sister would no doubt take notice of. He took a deep breath, straightened upright, and once more fixed his eyes on her. "We got off topic. We were trying to think of an easy prank? Another batch and we'll be halfway done…something we should consider if we intend on using candy?"

Gudako did notice the change in subject, but she seemed to accept it after a beat of quiet. She came to stand shoulder to shoulder with him, also leaning back against the counter. There were times that the two of them enjoyed poking and prodigy at one another. They did it to keep each other upbeat on some days. But they both had an intuitive sense of the other when they shouldn't.

After a few seconds of standing side by side with him, looking at a big stir pot on the stove."What would we do? A funny flavor?"

At that he considered and it was good enough to get his mind off the issue for the moment. But even as he focused on a possible prank, he couldn't help but think of her. It had been Shakespeare who'd encouraged her first prank, making a chocolate portrait of herself. A lot of her reasoning at the time of course had gone over his head…but…

"Masters." Emiya bowed his head in greeting.

Ritsuka was pulled from his thoughts, "Archer."

He smiled a little. "How are things back here?"

Gudako grinned, "Good, thanks for all your hard work in preparing the cocoa beans in advance."

He hummed and smiled. "Well, me and Boudica are about done, leave the pots out when you are finished and the dinner shift with Raikou will clean them up." He scratched the back of his head. "She's been insistent on us leaving her more work."

The siblings shared a snort. Ritsuka smiled a bit brighter. "Of course, would you pass along our thanks if you see her? We will pass along our thanks in person of course, but we don't know if or when we'll run into her."

Emiya waved over his shoulder. "Will do…" Then he paused back at the doorway and turned around a little. "I…may have also heard your plan…or I guess your makings of one." He huffed and put a hand on his hip. "I have a suggestion if the two of you are interested?"

Gudako and Ritsuka exchanged a look.

His sister hummed, "Go on?"

"Have you considered making some chocolate spicy?"

###Jeanne Alter###

She was still in her berserker spirit origin, and at this point, she figured she would stay in it. Realizing belatedly that her actions the previous night were baseless and sprawlingly imaginative. Jeanne Alter had also slowly realized that if she'd been in her avenger spirit origin, the chocolate would've been accidentally burnt.

Can't control yourself.

Jeanne Alter today had only two tasks for herself. She had managed to put three outfits together, falling short of the ideal five to better hide the fact she'd bought lingerie thinking it would make her seem cool. Another reason she stuck with her berserker spirit origin. She hoped it would allow her to better prepare herself for looking cool.

The other was going to try and schedule her time with Ritsuka before his day got filled with all the other gift-giving and chocolate gifts that he would get tomorrow.

She stalked along the long hall corridors keeping a keen eye out for any specific archers that might ruin her plans for the day. Jeanne Alter was careful enough about that when she spotted them she managed to avoid being seen herself, coming through the second cafeteria entrance. Unfortunately, as soon as she walked in, she was face to face with herself.

Joan of Arc. Her wide blue eyes blinked away in surprise, "Oh, Jalter, it's good to see you!"

Suddenly she felt miserable and looked away with a scowl. "Yeah, wish I could say the same."

Joan was dressed in her saintly uniform it seemed, all white with her blonde hair flowing out behind her. She was still upbeat despite the tension. "There isn't any reason to be rude, Alter." She sighed, blowing out a breath. "I didn't see you come in to make valentines chocolate yesterday…assuming you still wanted to make one-"

"Of course, I wanted to make one!" Jeanne Alter realized only a second later that she shouted. Her eyes narrowed towards Ushiwakamaru who had a chocolate sticking from her mouth. "What are you looking at?"

The rider smirked, "Nothing much." Then she continued past as if nothing had happened at all. Though whatever Alter had said, had made her smile even wider and it made her even more uncomfortable knowing that.

Joan hummed, those bright blue eyes bouncing between her and the now retreating form of that rider servant. "I was…wondering if you needed any help?"

Jeanne Alter clicked her teeth. "Tch, I'm already finished. Fufufu, I came in late to avoid those damned cupid wannabes." She straightened up her eyes narrowing right back at the blonde saint. Her voice wasn't quite accusatory but it was a near thing. "I didn't see you finish your chocolate either, did you finish yours?"

The saint nodded, "I did." She looked sideways a little bit. There was little else for her to say knowing that Alter would just be defensive, evasive, and abrasive. But the important thing she'd been worried over had been squared away. She scratched at her cheek and tried to smile hoping it would at least diffuse the situation somewhat. "I made a few actually…" She trailed off stopping herself.

I don't know why she is worried anyway.

Eventually, Joan cleared her throat. "Well, I'll leave you to it then Alter, I heard you were gonna go shopping later…so have fun with that too!"

That stupid bitch was probably running her mouth again.

Her amber eyes narrowed scanning the rest of the cafeteria looking for that alter counterpart of hers.

Sure enough Artoria Alter was seated as far from the counter as possible sitting with Edmond, and Emiya Alter. She was busy gorging down a hearty meal while the boys beside her were talking deeply about something else. Edmond was standing as if he'd only come over for a quick and casual chat.

Jeanne Alter seethed and marched over.

Her aura exuded a hatred that drove others to get out of her way. It was like mana leaking out and it had worked. One of the young girls Illya had bumbled about and had looked at her with wide eyes before she backed out of the way.

Emiya Alter and Edmond noticed.

Artoria Alter pretended she didn't. She took a bite of a chicken leg in the soup. "What are you coming over here for? We aren't meeting until later tonight."

Jeanne Alter glared at her then her eyes flicked to Emiya and Edmond. "Scram,"

Edmond huffed, "Fuck off, I'm having a conversation." He turned to Emiya Alter.

Emiya Alter was more diplomatic than that, and whether he sensed her growing irritation or not, he was practical and detached very much in a way that his counterpart wasn't. He looked right at Edmond. "Let's move the conversation. I want to rope Kiritsugu in with us anyway. It seems he might know best." He stood up, only a hand caught his wrist and he looked back with a raised brow.

Artoria Alter had caught his wrist as she continued to take another bite out of her chicken leg. She hadn't even bothered to turn Emiya Alter's way.

But the irritation was palpable.

Emiya Alter sighed, leaned over, and kissed her cheek. "Better?"

She hummed but said nothing else. However, it was clear that was what she was after and let him go. Then after a few seconds, she set the chicken leg down into the bowl. Her eyes flicked up at Jeanne Alter standing across from her stiff and angry, with her arms still at her sides indicating her embarrassment.

Artoria Alter licked her fingers. "Well, now that you've driven my date away, what the hell do you want?"

Jeanne hissed, "I want you to keep your mouth shut better is what I want." Her lips twisted and her shoulder dropped as she sat adjacently at the table. "That damn saint already knows what I'm up to, which means someone had to blab about it!" She spoke through gritted teeth. "And if my-" She cut herself off, stopping herself from using that infernal sibling word. "And if that stupid saint knows, then our masters both probably already know."

The saber sighed and leaned back a little to stare at her. "Do you know how goddamn busy it is for our masters when it comes to holiday events?"

"Of course I do-"

She scoffed, "Clearly not. Otherwise, you'd know they're too damn busy today to hear any stupid small talk." Artoria Alter's lips started to twist. "What's more it wouldn't fucking matter if he did know. What is knowing about shopping for yourself going to do? What would he say? Does he think it's going to be a confession or something?"

"I- no shut up, you're confusing me." Jeanne Alter grew flustered. "Tch, the damn idiot is smart. I don't want him even considering or hearing anything about what I'm doing. So what I want is for you to keep your damn mouth shut until we are done." She folded her arms and rested her chin in her palm looking towards the wall. "Actually, keep it to yourself until after Valentine's Day."

Artoria Alter snorted, "What will you have confessed by then?"

Her lips dropped and her frown grew deeper and she clicked her teeth.

The saber sighed, "Fine fine, sheesh, you and your damn elaborate schemes." She sat forward and took another bite of her soup.

The pair sat in silence for a minute longer.

"Was that all you came here for? Just to lambast me?" Artoria raised a brow at her.

Jeanne Alter meanwhile was just coming down and blew out a breath. "No, I came here looking for Ritsuka. I wanted to see when would be the best time to see him tomorrow." She tapped her fingers along the countertop. "I got distracted from that whole thing…obviously."

"Obviously," she repeated playfully. Then she sighed, "Well now's your chance, both of our masters are slaving away on their chocolates for the year." She gestured to the kitchen.

He's here?

She blinked and forced herself to breathe out slowly, hoping he hadn't noticed her outburst.

Of course, he is here. It's the day before Valentin's.

Jeanne Alter lifted her head, eyes flicking towards the kitchen. After a few seconds, she could make out Gudako's orange-red hair from the door frame before it vanished a little farther back into the kitchen. And if she was in there, it was almost a guarantee that Ritsuka was probably somewhere in there too.

Artoria Alter hummed, "By the way, how did the heart-shaped chocolate go?"

At that, her gaze turned to a blazing fire once again as she glared at the saber. "Shut up," she said.

That did confuse her. "I…didn't say anything?"

"It went fine, alright?" Jeanne Alter stood up abruptly and left Artoria Alter to eat the rest of her meal. The pair of them already had a set time to meet up anyway. So they could reconnect much later.

For now, she would see if she could book her time with Ritsuka. She winded her way past all the criteria tables and other servants eating and drinking. Such was the time between the missions that saved humanity.

And she was the only one in her summer spirit origin.

Jeanne Alter shrunk into her shoulders a bit as she walked stiffly towards the countertop before the kitchen. Emiya and Artoria Pendragon were off to one side in the corner. Whatever conversation they were having was clearly a pleasant one judging by the way the two of them were holding themselves.

She went for the waist-high door that separated the kitchen side from the dining hall side and she smiled when Boudica saw her and just gave her a nod to come in. It was a sign that things were going smoothly for once.

###Ritsuka Fujimaru###

His loving and caring sister was like him, jovial when they were happy. It was no secret by now how hard life had been for them to get here, just as it was no secret now, that they would always make the most of their downtime. So when his sister smeared chocolate on his cheek, things quickly started to escalate.

She had the lid to a pan in one hand, and a large whisk in the other.

Likewise, so did he have a lid to a pan and a ladle. They both shared a wicked grin. The chocolate that had been smeared onto his cheek had that dash of spice Emiya had suggested and he'd refused to try it.

Gudako grinned.

Ritsuka had gotten her back, and she had a stain of chocolate on her neck, her eyes narrowed a little.

But he'd had a better weapon. So it led to him chasing her around the center countertop thrice before she grabbed the lid she was using like a buckler shield now. The pair of them stood a few meters from each other.

"Say you're sorry."

"Not in your life." She grinned.

He snorted.

The sheer ridiculousness of how they were standing off to one another is how the woman he'd been talking about only a few minutes ago found them. It was Gudkao who noticed first because his back was to the door.

Slowly she shifted out of her stance and stood more normally with pan and whisk still in hand.

He blinked and turned around.

Jeanne Alter was standing there with wide amber eyes looking around the room.

Gudako also cleared her throat first, "Hey Jalter, what's up?" She rested the pan cover against her hip and raised a brow. He was grateful for that because even he wasn't entirely sure what to say at that moment.

Especially after last night.

Well, I'm certainly not making a good impression.

He straightened himself up and did likewise, mirroring Gudako placing the pan lid against his hip as if it were the most normal thing in the world to do. It was the best he could to try and chase away the image of himself looking like that idiot she always called him out to be. It was only then, like last night he realized why it had been doubly embarrassing.

She was in her summer spirit origin still.

Jeanne Alter seemed to jump as she scratched the back of her head. "Sorry to disturb you both uh…" she trailed off and then she seemed to draw herself up. Her shoulders were stiff and she stepped fully into the room.

Thankfully the first batch of chocolates is still in the fridge cooling.

"I was wondering master, uh, masters," She corrected, "When would be the best time to drop by and see you tomorrow?" Her lips twisted a little. "I'm…not going to be at the gift exchange or whatever."

Ritsuka blinked, "Really? Why?"

He saw her lips twist. "Because it's stupid and I really don't want to deal with that Saint being overly affectionate to her "sisters" in public." Jeanne Alter sighed a little and looked at Gudako first.

"Oh uh, morning is probably the best for me." She grinned. "Edmond wants to take me out to Shinjuku for a date, and the other knights are probably gonna occupy my afternoon." She scratched her cheek.

Then those amber eyes swept to him and suddenly he felt like he was being called out. "I…uh, I think late morning or early afternoon will work best." He scratched the back of his head. "Gotta be at the big party…as you know." He trailed off a little and something struck him as whatever he'd said was wrong.

She eyed him for a moment and she breathed out slowly. There was a way those amber eyes seemed to glare right at him. Her mouth started to twist a little, her cheeks started to turn a bit red which made him further think of last night.

Come on keep it together.

His blue eyes still remained on her.

Come to think of it though, she is very cute sometimes.

He blinked.

Where did that come from?

Jeanne Alter scoffed a little and suddenly her embarrassment was gone. Something more casual was in her eye as if she'd settled on something. Given his cascading thought process, it was "Fine, that will work. I'll be there at ten in the morning for you Ritsuka." She then looked over to Gudako. "I'll be there at nine forty-five for you, will that work?"

His sister nodded, "Works for me."

She stepped closer and Ritsuka straightened up. She was only a couple of meters away as she put a hand on her hip. He wondered if that was a mocking choice she'd made. "I also have plans tomorrow night. And I can use a second opinion on some outfits before I go…" Her eyes flicked to Ritsuka. "Preferably a man other than Gilles, that creep…"

Ritsuka felt his throat dry up and his blue eyes go wide. He blinked with utter surprise.

That was certainly out of the blue.

"Uh…" He dropped the pan lid and it clattered onto the tile floor. He tried not to wince and look even more lame. Ritsuka took a long breath and tried to speak normally. "I…can do that…for you…but I…have a question about…" He stiffened upright as she got closer. Her amber eyes seemed to look at him with an intent somewhere between murderous and complete focus. It took everything out of him not to go off track with what he was trying to say. "I mean why me? Certainly, anyone could give you a better opinion."

She was close enough that he could hear her whisper under her breath.

Idiot.

Then she said, "Why not you?" Her mouth twisted and there was a red tint on her cheeks. There was a beat of quiet as Ritsuka could make a blush of his own crawling its way up his neck. "What are you…" Her eyes went wide. "Hey! Don't you dare get the wrong idea about this you hear?!"

Ritsuka nodded once then twice, wondering what the fuck was happening.

Then she nodded once like him. "Good." She seemed to tug at the hem of her summer spirit origin jacket. "Good," She repeated. "Then I'll see you after the party…" She was about to leave and she turned away.

He blinked, his brain finally catching up with him. "Uh wait- my room or yours?"

She seemed to eye him again for a moment. "Yours, since I'm asking for your help it would only be fair right?"

"Right." He agreed and he huffed out a breath. Ritsuka nodded and offered a small smile to her.

She quickly turned away again as if she didn't want to look at him. Her posture was stiff again as she headed for the door.

Maybe she is trying to get back at me?

This time he managed not to wince or speak awkwardly. For him, he'd been thinking about an apology ever since his life slowed down just a bit to realize what he'd done by accident. "Jeanne?" He asked.

She stopped again.

"I just wanted to say sorry…" He blew out a breath. "For last night I mean…I just…didn't have time to explain it until we were in there." Ritsuka fixed his blue eyes to her knowing that his punishment for it would come sooner or later. "I just thought…well…I figured you wouldn't want anything to do with that game they were playing and…well…" He scratched the back of his head. Then he breathed out slowly again, smooth. "Sorry," he repeated.

Jeanne Alter was still facing away from him. And it was almost an eternity it felt like until she turned around and walked back up to him. He straightened up for a moment, worried about what she might say.

But he caught a red tint on her cheeks despite her expression. She pouted a little looking away from his sister, and in a manner that only he could see her expression. Then slowly, deliberately she reached up-

And ran her gloved index finger smoothly up along his cheek clearing away the chocolate stain.

He remained frozen in place, his blue eyes not daring to look away from her amber ones even as that red tint on her cheeks seemed to finally stretch all the way to her ears. "You did the right thing…I…didn't know about the arrows…so…" She trailed off and then cleared her throat. "As I said last night…thanks."

With that Jeanne Alter walked away outstretching that chocolate-covered index finger for him to see before pressing it into her mouth as she turned away towards the door. It made his heart skip a beat, his face turned red.

Then the realization hit him and he winced.

Because that wasn't normal chocolate that ended up on his skin, and he really tried not to laugh at the way she'd frozen stiff short of the doorway.

###Jeanne Alter###

It had gone far better than she thought. She'd made him nervous and it had put him out. Things that made her smirk to herself. It had gone so well she was considering going back to her room to write it down in her journal. She'd had to improvise while giving Gudako a heart too.

But it would work out better by the end, because if his sister got one of her spare mint hearts, she just needed to find a wrap for it, she would be able to affirm that it was a meaningless gesture to her brother.

The end bit, with the chocolate on his cheek, had also been improvised. But she had little doubt that she looked cool and sleek when she did it. It had to have put him off guard. For her that had been a bit of revenge for the way he'd almost embarrassed her with his stupidly timed apology. She delighted in his blush. Making a big show of cleaning her finger of chocolate off the corner of her lips. So…

What the hell?!

Why did it feel like her mouth was on fire?

Jeanne Alter touched her lips and slowly turned around as she felt her eyes starting to water. Her amber eyes narrowed towards his two masters. Her face had turned red and that steely glare she wanted to give them came out as something more of shock and surprise.

Gudako was grinning a little bit, looking partly smug.

Jeanne Alter swallowed the chocolate remains and gaped at the two of them with complete surprise. Whatever feelings of cool that she'd had were washed away in that instant. Sweat had formed on her temple and her face had turned a different shade of red. No tears fell, but her vision was blurred. And it was a near thing. She hadn't even the words to speak as she glared at them.

Ritsuka was the only one who moved. At that moment he closed an with a wink and touched a finger to his lips asking for quiet.

Then all at once, she understood.

Making spicy chocolates?! As a secret?!

Carefully and calmly Gudako pushed a milk carton and cup towards Ritsuka, who poured her a cup.

Jeanne Alter calmly as she could manage joined him shoulder to shoulder. She fanned her face for a moment and tried not to squirm in place. That would've been far too embarrassing even for her to try to save face from. It would ruin her entire plan for the holiday. Riitsuka worked fast, picking up on her discomfort.

And she plucked up the cup when he was finished and chugged it back. "Guh-" She came up for air and breathed out heavily. Her voice dropped into a whisper, not caring for looks at the moment as she stared at Ritsuka. "What the hell was that?"

Her master grinned a little, then he looked at his sister.

Gudako hummed, "Call it a little payback." She winked at her. "But since you were our unofficial tester just now, we'll give you a heads up of what chocolate to not grab."

Jeanne Alter blinked, "Fufufu, you're both far more devious than you appear to be." She looked at Ritsuka again for a moment, enjoying the small smile on his expression. To her delight, he took that as a compliment. He leaned towards her just a little and it made her realize how close he was to her again.

She held her ground.

"Only on small things." He agreed. Then he leaned away and stepped back. "So…tomorrow?" He asked and she was equally delighted that she could hear the slight uncertainty in his voice. It made him endearing.

A different blush came to her cheeks.

He wouldn't ever-

SHUT UP!

She turned to leave quickly, "Tomorrow." This time she left uninterrupted and squeezed her eyes shut as she practically stormed out. Running her fingers irritatingly through her hair. All the way up until she was back near the table with her other Alter form. Once more everyone avoided her.

Artoria Alter blinked looking at her.

Jeanne clicked her teeth and took her leave. There was no more reason to be here. So she headed down the simulators really wanting to smash something until it was time to meet up for shopping later.

###

The shopping was easy because she already had three outfits, not counting the surprise for Ritsuka. She wanted to show off her purple dress to him because it had been a long time since she'd worn it. Plus she was hoping it would spark that particular memory of them sharing a dance in Shinjuku.

Another one was a sort of modified version of her usual Avenger clothing without the cloak and the armor. The black and red waist skirt had been fixed from its frayed look, and she would wear it with high stockings and purple heels instead of black. She also would lose the sleeves under her armor over her fingers which gave it a short-sleeved look, keeping the frayed ends on the sleeves. It was probably her least favorite as it stood on its own. It seemed too much like what she wore to battle, and it didn't fit the aesthetic she wanted.

The last one was that black dress she wore under her blue sweater. The spirit originated from the fact that she often wore her "normal" clothes. She ditched the blue sweater, however, and opted for some higher socks to go with her boots. However, even then she wasn't certain. The dress by itself seemed too short and her boots, while high, weren't high enough.

It was all for show of course. Jeanne Alter never intended either to go to Shinjuku for the late-night party, nor the big party in the cafeteria. But the excuse served its purpose in either case.

She'd checked ahead to see Ritsuka's schedule.

He'd also never made the reservation to go to the late-night party. Which means she wouldn't have to worry about being caught for not going.

The fourth to last outfit she had, was inconsequential, mostly. She had based the inspiration for it off of Artoria Alter's traveling abroad spiritron dress. Though it had a bit more of a modern look. Ripped denim, and a black sweater for comfort in colder weather. The shit was plain, which helped to show off some of the bracelets she wanted to wear for it. Her shoes were probably the most difficult to sort out, debating between heeled boots and sneakers. It was an outfit she could "attend" the late-night party in.

The last outfit was a Japanese school uniform. She had some special plans for it, considering it was going to be the piece she showed off just before she pulled the wool over his eyes. Her grin widened a little at the thought of teasing him in that too. The outfit had a black top, with a checker patterned short skirt, and a plain white undershirt.

And then she had nothing to do but wait until the following morning.

###Jeanne Alter###

She took another bite of that spare mint chocolate heart. That was the point of having made two. And she had forgotten to scrape together something fancy to put it in for Gudako. She realized belatedly that if she didn't put something together for Gudako, her two masters might talk about it, and realize that Ritsuka had gotten a special one wrapped in a tin box, packing straw, and a cloth.

Spare packaging, of which there hadn't been any, because she hadn't fucking thought of it at the time. She wanted to smack herself in the forehead. She had several times as she tried to run around finding some lace fancy bag that would work. Eyeing the stupid clocks that counted her down to her first meeting with Gudako.

While they looked the same, they tasted different and that would be enough to excuse the fact that they came in different packaging.

Right?

Eventually, she found one. A simple golden lace bag that she intended to bring quickly back to her room to finish wrapping. However, Jeanne Alter couldn't take a moment to celebrate finding something at the last possible hour. Her eyes went wide when she saw that red-eyed, black-haired, golden archer.

Ishtar had spotted her.

She bounded around a corner and dug her sandal heels into the metal for a prana boost.

She shot away at an angle trying to gauge the distance to plan her landing in that outside hall of windows.

Alter landed skidding and bounded off again. This time though, those strange arrows whizzed by her as she ran.

Shit.

Her amber eyes went wide.

No no no. NOT NOW!

She grit her teeth and sprinted down a different corridor trying to take a shortcut through some of the lesser traveled halls. But Ishtar to her horror was gaining.

And the arrows were getting closer and closer to her mark.

But she was close, one of the arrows missed her so closely that she could feel the wind that it bent around it.

However, by the end, she'd made it and couldn't resist flipping Ishtar off. It was a narrow escape, but even still it was far closer than she wished. Too close for comfort she snagged the angle of her door and threw herself back into her room. She slammed against the cool metal floor with a grown as the door closed behind her.

Panic gripped her heart.

Too close damn it.

She touched a hand over her chest and huffed out a tired breath. "Damn it…" Of all the other things she desperately didn't want to contend with, two cupids running around trying to ruin everything was the last thing she wanted.

Her nails dug into her skin for a moment.

What the hell am I worried about anyway?

She rolled onto her side with a hiss.

I don't have meaningful feelings.

Dragon witch.

She ground her teeth and blew out a breath trying to push the thoughts from her mind as best as she could. But she remained the cool metal on her cheek helping to soothe the small excretion her body underwent. "I know," She whispered. "But…today…will be a good day. Everything will go as planned…"

Liar.

She ignored it and blew out a long slow breath.

One thing that gave her solace, was that they would also be at the big parties. So they might leave her well enough alone when she tried to get her clothes over to Ritsuka's room. It made her grin sadistically. That she might escape their games through to the end of the holiday.

After a few seconds more, she pushed herself up and looked around her room. Gudako's chocolate was sitting on her desk unwrapped, still in its heart shape. She made short work of it, breaking it into pieces like she had for Ritsuka's. Alter didn't want to risk that either.

She had no idea what she might call the chocolate yet. Because she couldn't exactly call it a "heart-shaped" chocolate when she'd finished. Though simply calling it a valentine or prank chocolate might work she thought.

And then she was ready. The neat golden lace wrapping for Gudako's candy was done. Jeanne Alter pushed her hair back and looked down at herself still in that summer berserker spirit origin. Took one last look at the clock on the wall and nodded to herself.

It was time to go, and she brought both gifts with her. She peered out into the hallway, and this time took a quiet approach to avoid the two roaming archers that were still active. It didn't take long since memorized the route to both masters' rooms. With that pink tin box and black ribbon in one hand, and the golden lace bag in the other, she was off.

Making sure no one could hit her while she waited outside, she peered down both sides of the long hall before knocking on the door. Thankfully she didn't have to wait long even while she tapped her foot.

Gudako was there, her orange hair pulled back into one ponytail, a change from the way it normally was. "Hey Jalt, you're right on time!" She stepped to the side and also took a moment to peer down the hallway after her.

Jeanne Alter took a moment to appreciate how similar the siblings kept their rooms. They were practically identical in that way. Mostly organized, with only a few things of random clutter that helped it to avoid a certain clinical appearance. It felt lived in. In a way, it helped calm her just a little more compared to how antsy she was feeling.

The door slid closed.

Her orange-haired master was wearing a tank top and had a towel over her shoulder, indicating she'd finished her morning routine. She could hear water running in the bathroom which also indicated to her what her master was intending to do.

Jeanne Alter took that as her cue to continue quickly and get out of her hair. The last thing she wanted was to disrupt her day any more than she might. It's not like she had much to say anyway. She really just was here to drop off the chocolate. She stuck the bag out to her without waiting. Her lips twitched. "A gift…Or whatever." She said, trying to pass it off. "I ordered it and the shipment got bungled…so…" She trailed off when she noticed that Gudako was already opening it to try it.

Alter's eyes widened. She hadn't even gotten halfway through her excuse about why it looked so terrible. About how bad it would taste comparatively.

Her orange-haired master smiled. "Chocolate's chocolate Alter." She grinned, as she pulled out the top piece of the chocolate where the big heart curve had started. Her smile faded a little as she seemed to ponder it for just a second.

Jeanne Alter felt sweat form on her brow realizing now was a good litmus test. Suddenly she was happy that she came to Gudako first. Her reaction would be key to understanding how her plan might work with Ritsuka.

Did she notice?

"Alter, did you get one of these for my brother?"

Shit!

Her face started to warm. "What? N-no of course not. I got you both something different." Jeanne Alter gestured to the pink tin box in her other hand. "It's rude to get people the same gifts for Valentine's Day you know? So of course I got something different! I mean what would it be like if you guys talked to one another about the stupid gifts you received? How embarrassing would it be if you guys found out that it was the same thing you got!" Alter cut herself off, biting down on her lip.

Shit.

Gudako's golden eyes were soft as they eyed, her conveying more amusement than anything else. As if patiently waiting for her to stop before speaking.

Stupid Dragon Witch!

"Uh…" She put a hand on her hip. "Anyway…it's a…you know…" she trailed off again her amber eyes fixed themselves to the floor between the praying for something random to come waltzing through the door to ruin this one-sided awkwardness.

But Gudako finally spoke up to spare her. "Thank you for the chocolate Alter." Her golden never wavered as she watched the summer berserker fret. "You know if you want to pursue my brother you have my blessing even if you don't need it." She winked seemingly far too comfortable with the prospect.

Jeanne Alter looked flabbergasted at even the suggestion of it. Was she just as blind and dumb as her brother was? How the hell was she supposed to convince her that was the last thing she wanted? Her mouth twisted a little.

Wait-

Her amber eyes formed a glare. "I DON'T HAVE FEELINGS FOR HIM! Why would you even SUGGEST that!? I…" She trailed off. "I …j-just wanted to give you a thanks that's all. For all the hard work that you do!"

I don't have feelings for him.

Liar.

SHUT UP I'M NOT LYING,

Gudako chuckled again a couple of times with that gentle smile still there. "Sorry, I…" She paused and straightened up. "I…" She scratched the back of her head and huffed out a breath. "I guess that might've been rude of me to presume."

Jeanne Alter hummed and nodded once. Then twice. Yes, that was exactly the response she'd wanted.

So why?

"Good," she said.

Why does my heart ache?

Gudako turned the chocolate over in her hand. "It looks great Alter. I bet it tastes wonderful too." She smiled again for her. Her head flicked up to Alter and she bit into the chocolate piece she'd taken from the bag. For just a second Jeanne thought she had slipped it past her.

"It's not the best store-bought chocolate ever… but-" Jeanne trailed off again realizing that there was no point. Something in Gudako's demeanor had changed. But it was for not, because the reaction had only been delayed.

Delight overcame her master's expression and her golden eyes bulged as she stared at her. "Oh my gosh Alter you made it didn't you!? It's soo good!"

No.

NO.

Her eyes went wide. "No, I didn't, as I said…got it from a store."

"Alter no store-bought chocolate tastes this good!"

NO NO NO NO

She was certain it didn't taste that good. She was sure of it. Yes, she had put the time and effort in and then realized the shape was too embarrassing to give him.

Jeanne Alter felt her eyes widen even further in horror and recoil.

I can't have made it that good?!

Gudako finished the chocolate piece she'd plucked from the bag. "I'll savor it for sure Alter." She huffed and she pulled out a second one, a piece that had been broken into a strip. She gestured it towards her. "I'll bet no one else beats it today."

You spend months planning it.

Yes but.

Hours to make it.

She bit her lip and her fingers curled at her hip. She'd made another damn failure of a prank hadn't she? Her mouth started to twist realizing she needed to think of something else quick. Her eyes flicked to the side. "It's not that good…" She trailed off trying to think about what the hell she was going to do.

Gudako got the one that wasn't as good.

Rtisuka will be able to tell that I made it and it wasn't store-bought just by the taste of it.

She winced a little. It was all coming apart at the seams again and there wasn't anything she could do to stop it. The kitchen was busy with all those last-minute chocolate makers so there was no way she could go make another one out of an emergency. It meant she was stuck with the chocolate she intended to give him. And that she needed to think of some good cover stories fast.

From that point on she was seemingly on autopilot for the rest of her conversation with Gudako. As she tried to wrack her brain desperately for ideas.

Gudako blew out a breath finishing the second piece. "Seriously, it's amazing. I think it'll pair great with my morning coffee." She hummed eying the coffee maker in her room and seemed to ponder having a cup right at that moment, or after she finished getting ready.

Jeanne Alter nodded, "It…might." Her eyes narrowed for a second thinking about it.

Yes, it would go great with coffee.

She inhaled sharply.

But if he has too much bitter coffee…he won't be able to taste it. I can still say it's store-bought that way!

Gudako coughed, pulling her attention back. "Thanks for stopping by Jalt, it's a shame you won't be at the party later…but uh…" She trailed off for a second, "I'll send my brother with some of our…non-prank chocolate to you later." She winked.

Jeanne Alter nodded excitedly and spied the clock. She might be a few minutes late, but she could run down to the cafeteria and brew a pot of coffee.

It'll have to be bitter and pure black.

She could hardly repress the grin and relief that came over her. Jeanne Alter's plan had gone a little astray already since the start. But all of it was still salvageable. The heart shapes were broken, but even if they were, they were generic enough as hearts on Valentine's Day that he wouldn't notice the effort. The coffee would help alleviate the taste issue Gudako just presented to her. And then there was still her crown jewel after dinner.

All of it could still add up together perfectly.

Gudako seemed to notice her grin, "Well…I'm happy that you're more expressive now too. I can see why brother respects you so much."

Her mind came crashing to a screaming halt as if she'd been plucked like a turnip from the ground out of her thoughts. Her amber eyes flicked back to Gudako. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She shrugged, "You're just…more open now. It suits you." Gudako waved her off with a few chuckles. "Pay me no mind, you should get going. While I don't think my brother has any plans…you should hurry before someone else snags your time away from him." With that, she smiled and turned away.

"Right." Jeanne Alter said simply not wanting to dwell on those stupid compliments that she'd been paid. The last thing she wanted right now was to get bogged down in all those little things that would annoy her even more. She showed herself the way out. "Have fun at the party tonight master."

And once she was out the door and it had closed she sprinted for the cafeteria with that hot pink tin box tucked under her arm.

Yes, I can get there, make a pot, and only be a few minutes late.

###Ritsuka Fujimaru###

He threw on the standard Chaldea uniform black pants and white jacket. Ritsuka eyed his digital clock on the wall. He'd just gotten out of the shower and his hair was still a little damp and matted against his skin. Ritsuka ran a hand through his hair, correcting the appearance, looking just a little bit more normal.

His hair was still just a little damp.

Ritsuka looked around his room and considered for a moment.

She's running late.

A small frown touched his lips as he found himself wondering what to do. He had done as Jeanne Alter asked which was clear his morning schedule. His blue eyes fixed themselves on some of the paperwork he had left over. Farming reports for materials, and there were plenty of battle reports to comb over too.

It wasn't that he had much to do that morning anyway. A part of the reason they decided to throw a party this year was to avoid having to make an overly complicated schedule like the last two times. In the first year, everyone just dropped by unannounced. The second year there were so many people that big lines formed outside of the master's rooms and in the control room. It got to be too overwhelming so it became a week-long affair as the better scheduled things.

There was also the fact that they were still growing accustomed to whatever events, antics, and problems tended to happen around the days they celebrated.

So this year in anticipation of gift-giving and the adventure the universe would throw at them, tentatively they scheduled a party where it could all happen at once. Servants could still schedule time if they wanted with masters, but it had become surprisingly few.

For Ritsuka there had been only one person who'd scheduled time. Just when he had formed the expectation that none would. He blushed as he sat himself at his desk rubbing his hands over his face. "Stop it…" he whispered to himself.

There were a few things he suspected of course. She was coming to give him a gift of some kind and he was still wracking his brain about the whole outfit talk they'd had the previous day. He also was careful to bring some of the non-prank chocolate he and his sister had made some bigger batches of for the party.

And…

He tried his hand at making something for her specifically. Though he wanted to avoid making one of his faces again. This time he opted to go with making her sword…or a facsimile of it. It worked. Mostly. There were just a few details he might try to add to it before they met again later that night.

Don't overthink it.

Ritsuka blew out a breath and spotted the clock to be ten minutes now fully past when she'd asked to see him. So while waiting he got a head start on all that paperwork that would need to be handled over the next few days.

A noise came at the door a while later. He'd only just gotten through the first document and stood back up crossing the room. The door slid open to find Jeanne Alter standing probably a little closer to the door than normal. She was still in that berserker spirit origin of hers making him have just a single pang of regret he'd decided to make a chocolate out of her avenger sword. She also had a black bag over her shoulder and a pot in the other.

Even as the smell of the black coffee touched his sense of smell, he became instantly distracted. The fact she hadn't spoken or was bothering to look at him at all. Her amber eyes were narrowed down the hall. She didn't wait for either of them to say a greeting either and without looking at him she walked straight in, pushing him back and inside as if she was desperately trying to get out of the hall.

He was confused. "Uh? Alter?"

Her eyes went wide suddenly, removing her hand from his jacket. "Sorry, Artemis was down the hall I think." She spun around and quickly started pressing his door panel to shut it with her finger.

Then she grinned almost sadistic. "Fufufu, I gave them the slip I think. But one can never be too careful."

Ritsuka blew out a breath and nodded once. "Well, it's been an eventful morning by the sounds of it anyhow. All the cooks are in the kitchen talking about what last-minute specialties they might want to cook up for the party."

The black bag over her shoulder was heaved off, held firmly now within the grasp of her fingers as Jeanne Alter turned to face him. "Uh…right." She tried to grin and then it faded awkwardly. "So hey…I brought some coffee, want to split it with me?" She hefted the pot up for him to inspect more closely.

Did she bring a whole pot?

He hummed, "I have a coffee maker here too you know?"

She winced.

And he regretted blurting it out.

"Ah…well." Jeanne Alter trailed off. "I mean I know that…I just wanted to come with a fresh pot…that way we didn't have to wait you know." This time there was a grin that came over her entire expression and she straightened up. "Besides, it's been a while since…we just hung out and had coffee together ya know?"

Ritsuka nodded, not wanting to say something so glaringly stupid again. It was a gesture not worth pointing out. She wanted to have coffee with him before she gave him his gift. He was perfectly fine with that. "Alright, well, then I'll grab a couple of my mugs…" He gestured around his room and smiled. "Just make yourself at home, and set the coffee on my countertop."

She left that black bag on his bed and followed him to the counter.

He fiddled with cabinets and found two plain white mugs, with only the Chaldea logo on the side of it. He had two personalized ones in there too, but he didn't bother with them. When he came up he watched her fiddling with his coffee machine. He coughed asking his question without having to speak.

She blushed. "Oh…I just…thought I'd start another one…." She smiled at him, her brow twitching. "Ya know…because I might be here a while?" She laughed a couple of times and once more that smile faded as she looked off to the side.

I guess that sounded lame to her.

Then she blushed. "I mean, uh? I can help you out with your work if you like? Not that I want to be here a while it's just that-"

Ritsuka took a breath, "Alter?"

She cut herself off, biting her lip.

He nodded, "Just hold off on the second pot for now…alright?" Ritsuka scratched the back of his neck, wincing at his attempt to bail her out. "It…might get cold by the time we finish…"

Jeanne Alter's eyes flicked away from him and nodded lamely.

Quietly he stepped closer to her, setting out the mugs for her.

She bounced back quickly, smiling a little more genuinely again, and poured them both full a mug from that first warm pot she'd brought. Something about her just wanting to share some morning coffee with him made his heart dance. Though he had to admit, he couldn't remember the last time they shared some morning coffee.

Things around Chaldea were always busy.

It was probably before a mission. Or it was during their summer servant fest doujinshi manage creation cramming.

He was excited at least in part.

Jeanne Alter with his mug in hand walked over to his bed. She straightened the covers out for a moment, then plopped down, at the end, next to her bag. Alter sipped her coffee gracefully and kicked her legs for a few minutes while she savored it.

He saw her brow twitch.

She is up to something.

Ritsuka followed a little after looking for his sugar. And frowned when he noticed it wasn't there. "Huh…weird." It wasn't all that weird…but he could've sworn there was some leftover from earlier. He sipped at the coffee she brewed, and almost recoiled. It was probably the most bitter black coffee he'd had in months. His blue eyes went wide as he stepped away from his counter.

He popped it open and found the small carton of milk was gone, and so was the creamer.

What the…did…I use the last of it yesterday?

This time he managed to control his expression because she could see it.

"Master?" she asked.

"Nothing…I…" He scratched the back of his head. "I think I'm out of creamer and milk…which…uh…" He trailed off realizing that he'd already said a few things wrong today. So he settled back down and instead of making excuses he spoke plainly with a huff of a laugh. "It's nothing. Your coffee is just stronger than I expected."

She sat up a little straighter but looked right at him with a pout. "I thought you said you liked black coffee?"

He coughed. "I do…I do," he assured her. Ritsuka took another swig this time for her to see. "I'm drinking it."

Jeanne Alter hummed and gave a nod evidently pleased with herself.

Over the coffee or something else.

At last, he turned away from the counter and managed to settle himself in his desk chair, sitting adjacent to her by a few feet. Moving some of the clutter away on his desk so he could set his mug down if need be. He took another sip and wondered for what reason or another she was interested in hanging out for a bit.

A reason that he found out was either elusive to her as well, or she really just wanted to hang out with him. Nearly an hour and a half went by with the two of them drinking coffee. All she did was occasionally smile at him and then sip at her coffee. Which they both were going through at quite an alarming rate.

It was about half an hour in, he realized his water bottle was missing from his desk too. Though he had no idea where that possibly could have gone.

And as he realized with more time passing, that she fully intended to make a second pot using his machine. She started at about the hour and ten-minute mark. He watched her work his room's coffee machine effortlessly. Humming to herself for a moment.

They had made some attempts at small talk but it was mostly her just refilling their mugs as they did their own separate things. She asked him occasional questions about the reports he eventually started reading. He in turn asked her what she was planning on working on next since she'd developed a knack for writing and drawing.

But even those conversations seemed to end abruptly without intention.

However, he still had reason to smile, just a little. It was nice sharing his morning with her company even if they weren't talking or doing anything meaningful. It was just nice, he realized, to have her there in the room with him.

She had taken his tablet, which to her delight had drawing software hooked in. It had been something he added onto his tablet when they got back that summer. Even he needed to use it sometimes. But he watched her smile a little at him. So she went about it, storyboarding, drawing, or writing, he didn't quite know. But there was a time when he spied her over his shoulder lying flat on his bed still facing towards the end, kicking her legs, her stylus moving in that familiar way. Her tongue was sticking out in that way when she was happy, but concentrating. The sort of thing he hadn't seen since that summer so vividly.

He let her be, happy to see she was content to just share some morning coffee with him.

And then she came to fill his coffee again, and it was nearing the two-hour mark. Ritsuka thought with how raw his mouth tasted, and how much caffeine he drank, there was little chance of him sleeping tonight.

###Jeanne Alter###

"...Here. Have some more coffee." She poured another mug full for him again. Grinning brightly as she did. It was nearly time. This one should be the last. The only way to gauge that it was working was to drink exactly the same amount of the bitter black coffee she'd made for herself too. She could barely taste anything in her mouth. She was thirsty, which meant that he was too. It was like a raw soreness from all that bitterness.

And while he was certainly oblivious, she had gone so far as to realize that she needed to hide a few things. She took his water bottle while he'd been searching, tucking it under the folds of his blanket where the shape could be mistaken. The creamer and milk were a bit more difficult. The coffee machine was right above the mini-fridge. She'd watched him dig for his mugs while she "misplaced" them.

They were still here of course, and she'd placed the creamer and milk back into his fridge at about the hour mark when she'd brewed their second pot. But it had worked so well that he seemed oblivious and had gotten used to the idea of drinking the coffee she'd made.

That had been a lot of additional quick thinking on the plan she'd made on the fly. In retrospect, she should have come here while he was showering or working out and taken care of all of this. But she hadn't the idea then to do all this. And she was pretty sure Chaldea would have marked her a visitor in his room at an odd time.

She wiped her brow partly out of relief. She looked down smugly as he seemed to bristle at the sound of the coffee being poured.

Idiot.

She could hardly taste anything in her mouth either and if she could put up with it, so could he. Besides it really was…probably the last one for both of them. This time she lingered with him leaning back against his desk.

"Uh…another cup..?" He spoke somewhat tentatively, setting down those oh-so-important reports.

She scoffed and sipped away speaking above her mug, as she looked away from him back at the countertop. "What? It's only your ninth." That smile didn't quite leave his expression as that rush of bitterness entered her mouth.

Yes, this is indeed the last one.

Her statement was a lie, it was really his tenth. But she figured it couldn't hurt to downplay it at least a little.

It had been too close with this last-minute addition to her plan. It had been chaotic in her mind as she remembered the add-ons that would need to be hidden, the milk and creamer, as she realized how bitter she'd made it just from the smell alone. She's managed to play off his curiosity at the missing drink mixtures with her demand quite well. She was so pleased with herself that he probably noticed her smile. Which she had to be in better control of now that the moment itself was approaching.

The sugar was a bit more difficult to snag, in that she hadn't. She'd thrown them at his bed knowing that they wouldn't make much noise as the small collection of them landed on the soft cushion. She could collect them later when she sat down in her bag after he snagged the water bottle. This one she would openly admit to being lucky as Ritsuka was running low. He only had three sugar packets left.

It had been a crazy series of events that would've been comical if anyone was watching from the outside. She felt her brow twitch at that and looked away, pressing her lips into line only for a moment.

I would never hear the end of it.

It had been close with her almost giving him a chocolate too good to be store-bought. But at last, this should remedy that problem since the bastard loved to eat the chocolates she gifted him in front of her. That too infuriated her to no end sometimes. Her lips twisted and she chugged back half the mug.

And tried not to wince.

He sighed and took another swig, then two.

Ritsuka seemed to notice that she hadn't left his side yet, and the near-empty pot was sitting there right beside them on the corner of his desk. His blue eyes flicked to her and she was looking at him with a tilted head.

Her fingers were tapping her mug as she watched him take a third and fourth swig. Mentally counting without looking directly at the mug to know where his coffee level was. She needed him to reach six swigs of the now lukewarm brew at least to catch up to where she was with hers. To know the exactness as best as she could estimate on the bitterness of his mouth's taste.

But again he'd noticed that she hadn't returned to what she'd been doing. "Uh…something up?" His brows seemed to narrow a little towards her.

She met his gaze. "What's with that look? Just shut up for a bit." her fingers tapped the edge of her mug.

His blue eyes were firmly on her now as he took another swig of the coffee and she could see the caffeine twitch in his eye. She tried not to smile oh so delightfully when he took that last swig, catching him up to where she was.

He didn't shy away from her intense stare, looking right back at her waiting for her to make the first move.

She hummed and nodded once. "Alright, that oughta be enough." She grinned sadistically letting that feeling flow over her with elated success. "You've now had ten cups of pure black coffee. No milk, no sugar, no nothing." Her grin seemed to widen. "Your tongue oughta be numb from all the bitterness right about now, fufufu."

Ritsuka straightened himself up a little in his chair. There was the slightest hint of surprise in his expression. She delighted in that too, taking it to mean that even if he understood fully now what was about to take place, she'd still gotten one over on him with the coffee.

Her sadistic grin widened as she ripped the black plastic bag away from the hot pink tin box. "And then…TAKE THIS!" She didn't quite throw it at him but she did shove it hard into his lap. There was no reason to be delicate after all since the chocolate was already in pieces. She grew smug while relishing in his surprise. Waiting for him to open the tin box as he pulled the ribbons away.

"That's right! A prank chocolate!" She exclaimed. Hoping that if she talked enough it would distract from the absurd jigsaw pieces that all those little forms of chocolate had fallen into until he ate a piece big enough to hide the heart shape itself completely. That way he would never know for certain, only guess. "Fufufu," Her laughter continued to air out into the room. "The coffee was so damn bitter, you'll never know what the chocolate tastes like." Her sadistic grin continued to widen.

His blue eyes peered into the box

And she continued just as he said seemed to focus. Yes, that too was something she needed to do because of her stupid original plan to make a heart shape. It was for the sake of ambiguity. It was all that other alter's fault for the fact she was now having to do this. She still smiled smugly. "And that's just what I was going for. See, I messed up when making the chocolate. I messed up so bad that I couldn't even get my head around how I did it so masterfully last time. So I numbed your tongue to make sure you'd have no idea how it tastes. The end."

A part of her hoped for a look of defeat. This was the playful prank part of her plan after all. The hope that she'd gotten him well and good for it. It served him right for thinking that she was ever worth more than a glance. Though it wasn't a look of defeat that she got, it was something else entirely.

His blue eyes went wide on her sitting still with a piece of the chocolate in hand. Even his mouth had dropped open a little as his eyes were fixed to her. His eyes focusing on her was what she'd wanted. That look of surprise, however…wasn't just a surprise.

Jeanne Alter felt her heart skip a beat as she stared down at her. "What's with that look? Are you stupefied? Frozen in disgust? Dumbfounded?" Her voice started to rise towards the end. She needed to know so she could course correct the situation immediately.

The idiot probably had another stupid thought about the chocolate.

He smiled, all at once as he overcame the shock. It was words he probably never thought he'd ever hear. Then it was obvious he'd probably smiled too much and tried to recover by shaking it away. "No, no I'm just shocked…" Then he smiled a little again, those blue eyes seeming to soften on her. It was a look that drove her up the wall because something had obviously gone wrong. "I'm also happy.

Her heart skipped another beat and her amber eyes narrowed toward him now with suspicion. "Huh, You're happy? Why!?"

Ritsuka huffed out a laugh as if he realized that it didn't matter if he was honest about it. He tilted his head eyeing her. That look of surprise and shock was gone. And he looked at her like she was the most precious thing in the world to him

Her heart stopped at that look and even before he spoke, she could feel a blush forming, and her heart dancing.

Who wouldn't want to be looked at that way?

Then he spoke simply as if it were a simple answer to a simple question. "Because you made this yourself."

"!" The shock had hit her all at once. Her heart jolted into overdrive, picking up its pace as everything she'd carefully orchestrated and put together fell apart in an instant with her stupid rambling from earlier. She'd gone through the effort of making it appear store-bought. That was what was supposed to make the heart shape more tolerable. But she'd ruined her own deflection if he picked up on it because she'd gotten ahead of herself. But it was still salvageable she thought.

Right?

Her mouth dropped open and she recoiled away from him and where he was sitting almost bumping back into his bed. She had to correct that stupid mistake right now before he did anything stupid with it." N-no I didn't. I misspoke." Her voice was quick and then she continued without stopping to catch her breath. " I meant to say I just bought it at the store! Yeah, that's just boring, store-bought, made with no feelings WHATSOEVER, chocolate!" She folded her arms for emphasis trying to ignore how flustered her cheeks felt with each passing second. Despite her best efforts, she could tell that she wasn't fooling him. It rankled her that he was just sitting there smiling amused at her. She huffed out a breath realizing she needed to undermine the value too. "It was really cheap, too! Only cost me ten QP!"

Then he huffed a chuckle. The laughter was short and it was somehow a sound that warmed her heart and warmed her cheeks further. Ritsuka quietly leaned back into his chair having yet to even try the chocolate.

How much bigger would this grave be if I hadn't come up with the stupid coffee idea?

He gently shook his head at her, as if expecting her to never have known this. "They don't sell chocolate for that cheap. Even the bad ones." Ritsuka's smile was still warm and ever-present.

But yet, another rug had been ripped out from under her. "Huh? They don't have anything that cheap?"

Damn it! I SHOULD JUST KEEP MY STUPID MOUTH SHUT.

Her brow twitched with irritation.

You have never been to a candy store. Someone worthwhile would have at least thought of that.

Shut up!

Jeanne Alter huffed out a breath. "Well, they did this time!" Her fingers squeezed on her bicep and tore her eyes off of him looking instead to that floor. A silence fell over the room after that and she could hear the slight rustling of the packing straw in the tin box as he set it down and to the side.

It had all gone wrong so quickly and she bit her lip. But none of that was super important. Not really at any rate to the whole point of it. It was all still a cover for what she really wanted to say. To thank him for all that he'd done. Everything else was to give herself an edge to do it in a manner that she could control.

But she'd lost that by making a fool of herself. Even with that though, she could still save face. Just by doing the important part.

I need to thank him.

For what?

In that lingering quiet her blush only grew with embarrassment. It was only when she risked a glance at him that she saw some red tint to his cheeks as well. She averted her eyes instantly again.

What the hell is that about? Why does he have a reason to blush?

He set the chocolate piece back down into the tin box.

Shit, he'll notice!

"So…" She cleared her throat and trailed off for a moment. Then she tried again after a few seconds. "Look, I…" her words jumbled up into a ball at the back of her throat. Those blue eyes were off the box again and fixed on her. She'd gotten his attention again fully. But those words just wouldn't jog themselves loose. "Uh…"

He raised a brow at her.

Coward.

SCREW YOU! And this!

Jeanne Alter's expression at last smoothed over and she cleared her throat. "I'm gonna get outta here…" Then she firmed a nod at herself. "Yeah…" Then she gave him one of her classic grins as she stepped around his chair and walked towards the door.

I don't have to be here when he eats it. Not like when I gave him the portrait of myself!

The metal door hissed open and she stepped out into the hall.

Besides I can just thank him tonight when I plan to give him a good prank. A prank so good that he'll wish that he did think the chocolate was store-bought and that this was all I had planned from the beginning.

You lost.

Anger came over her, frustration both at the voice. And fluster too as she remembered the way he looked at her in the middle of all her stupid rambling. She would get him back for that. She swore she would get all that and more tonight from him.

Jeanne Alter couldn't help herself, bursting back into the room. "THIS ISN'T OVER! YOU HAVEN'T BEAT ME YET!" She huffed a few times.

He was about to try the chocolate and he'd set it back down staring at her. "I'll look…forward to it?" Ritsuka tried saying then he trailed off falling quiet realizing that somehow that didn't sound right to either of them.

The anger vented Jeanne Alter still stood in his doorway and straightened up a little. She felt lame for having done that realizing that it hadn't helped the whole looking cool aspect of her plan. "Okay, I'm really going now." She waved over her shoulder and as she left the room she heard him.

"Alright, I'll see you later Alter! Thanks for the chocolate, I'm sure it tastes great."

She blushed and came to a stop in the hall. Jeanne Alter grew flustered realizing the idiot might think it was terrible and not bother to try it. She had after all put in all the effort to make him think it tasted horrible. Which it didn't. He just needed to think it was something store-bought but also meaningful.

Jeanne Alter grit her teeth and banged her head against the wall. Then she whipped back around, managing to hold the door just as it was about to slide closed again. The door hissed and automatically opened the rest of the way again. Jeanne Alter smirked, "Oh, one last thing. It might've just been on sale for ten QP, but there's still no other chocolate like that in the whole world."

Wait, wasn't that too special?

She wanted to make sure that it wasn't some super fancy thing right? Jeanne Alter wanted to hit herself in the head again for something so stupid without thinking. She rubbed the back of her head. "I don't even know what I'm saying anymore…ANYWAY, it's really valuable, got it?" Her eyes narrowed towards him and she made an angry face. So make sure you take the time to savor it. You hear me?!"

Ritsuka's laughter was still like a sweet melody to her ears even if it wasn't the full intention of what she'd been trying to say.

She felt that stupid blush come back.

Her master bowed his head towards her, picking up that piece of chocolate. "I will Alter, I promise to cherish it alright?"

That was satisfactory enough and she turned to leave again. Belatedly realizing that Ritsuka still had not, in fact, tried the chocolate she'd made yet. And she also belatedly realized with embarrassment that she did want to see him try it. Better yet she needed to see him eat a full piece so that she knew with certainty that he couldn't see the stupid original heart shape it had been in.

She didn't have the time to smack her forehead against the wall this time as she sprinted back into the doorway. Smacking her head against the corner of the wall as she pried the door back open. Jeanne Alter blew out a breath, red from ear to ear. "Okay, last thing, I prom-"

Ritsuka huffed out a breath. "It's delicious okay!" His mouth was full of that single piece of chocolate as he stared wide-eyed.

Jeanne Alter blew out a breath of relief and pressed her forehead against the cool metal of the door seal. And with that, nearly all of the strife had left her.

Good.

The thought was simple and her fingers balled into a fist as she held herself up against the doorway. She'd given him enough trouble as it was. She'd even taken up over two full hours of his time. Then she offered him a small smile. "I'll bring some sugar for your coffee when I come back later tonight."

He huffed a single chuckle. "Fine, works for me." Ritsuka tilted his head a little angling to look into the box as he took another bite of that piece. He sighed a little and she heard the edges of disappointment in his voice. "I just wish I could've seen it all in one piece."

One thing that the both of them had realized since she had taken to her berserker spirit origin, and often the occasions she still chose to do so, was that she had an uncanny ability to be perfectly settled in one emotion and state one minute. And be completely riled up at the drop of a hat.

Her face had gone red. "What? You're gonna eat it anyway, so what does it matter what it looks like? Who cares if it's broken, failed, or messy!? It's fine, because you can still eat it!" She stepped back into the room letting the door close shut behind her as she once again moved into his room. She was flushed with embarrassment and flushed with anger again all at once. "At least-

Of course, he didn't like it.

Shut up!

Even after everything, it was still worth nothing.

SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!

Ritsuka blinked. "No no- I didn't mean to imply that-"

"HEY! You listen and listen good! At least it tastes good, so don't you goddamn whine to me about it!" She slammed her hand down at the edge of his desk making the whole thing shake. Her mind was spinning and she grinned sadistically. "Next year... Ohhh just you wait until next year. Got it!? Next year, my chocolate is going to be SO GOOD that you're gonna get down on your hands and knees and cry like a baby! You'll beg for more like a fat pig!"

Maybe next year you won't break it. Or get a stupid idea?

She flinched.

Ritsuka blinked and shook his head. "No no." He stood up and grabbed her hand on his desk. "I like it Alter."

She blinked"Huh? You're satisfied with this one?"

He laughed a little, wiping his forehead and shook his head a couple of times. "Yes, Jeanne, I think it tastes wonderful. I hope I can save some for when all the flavor of this bitter coffee wears off a little." His fingers firmed their grip on her hand. "I mean…it…"

She stared at him almost dumbfounded.

He likes it?

Jeanne Alter nodded. Then she did so again, a smirk coming back.

See? SEE? NOW SHUT THE FUCK UP!

"Hmph! Is that right? IS THAT RIGHT!?" Her amber eyes fixed themselves to him. "Maybe I shouldn't have doubted your taste sensibilities."

Ritsuka shook his head, "Well perhaps not." He offered her a small smile and her smirk dropped instantly when he picked up her hand from his desk still sensing the hard tension in them and suddenly kissed her knuckles as part apology. He seemed to only realize what he did when he finished.

She froze and her mind came crashing to a halt once again. That blush replaced all the anger that had been there.

He blushed and stepped away, releasing his gentle grasp around her fingers. "I didn't mean to imply you didn't put effort in…" He scratched the back of his head and he tried and failed to ignore his own blushing cheeks.

The quiet lingered a bit longer this time as she looked down at her gloved hand. The warmth of his lips had already faded but she could still imagine it. Just as well she could remember how comforting it had been for him to hold her while they were hiding together. She breathed out slowly and didn't say a word as she took a step back.

"Uh…" Ritsuka filled the air a moment later. "I…was wondering, are you sure you don't want to come to the party later?" He seemed to draw himself up just a little. "I know that it's not really your thing but-"

"No." She said, her lips pressing into a line.

He can't get the wrong idea.

Evil dragon witch.

She shook her head and repeated herself. "No…I…" Her lips twisted a little as she grabbed her bicep. "I…it's like you said. It's not really my thing. Let them all have their fun and games."

There was a beat of quiet and she watched a blush crawl up his expression. And feared what he might've said then. But whatever thought it was, it had faded away. "Well…then…I guess I'll see you tonight before you go to Shinjuku?"

Jeanne Alter nodded once. "Yeah…I'll see you tonight." Then her amber eyes narrowed towards him. "Don't party too hard, I really do want your opinion."

Ritsuka huffed out a small laugh, "Better than Gilles right?"

She snorted, "Yes."

By so many unexplainable margins I would struggle to explain. It would take too long…days, maybe even weeks.

She stepped away from the desk and backed away towards his door putting a hand on the door panel. It opened once again for her at the simple command. "I…was being serious by the way." She smiled "I'll bring you some sugar when I come by with my wardrobe. Fufufufu." Then her smile turned a little sadistic. "You know, if the coffee was so damn bitter, why didn't you just use your creamer and milk in the fridge?"

And with that, she could see the palpable confusion settle on his expression. And she could delight herself in imagining what his face would be like when he went to check the fridge again. Knowing she'd long since put it back. She waved over her shoulder after she savored that lost expression of his. "See ya master!"

And then at last the door closed uninterrupted and she marched down the long hall blowing out another breath of relief. She relished the way her muscles seemed to sag for a moment as that relief filled her.

It had been a very stressful time dealing with all of that. And at least now she could get to the fun bit. There would be less confusion over this; She pranks him with the lingerie and after, she thanks him for everything he'd done so he didn't get so full of himself after she thanked him. Her brows knitted together. "Or should I thank him after?"

Somehow, with a reddening face, she realized that it might have been a bad idea to save the thanks for later.

It could be taken in context with the lingerer ruining that damn good shocked face she wanted to see on him.

Jeanne Alter slammed her palm into her forehead.

Damn it!

Her mouth twisted. "Maybe I can still thank him before I go through even the first wardrobe change."

---

So this story was broken up even before I was absolutely certain I wouldn't be able to make my self-imposed deadline of Valentine's Day. (Honestly, I could've made it if I didn't spend that time grinding (funny enough) Jalter's bond level during the event. That being said, I was going to ask you readers, if you would prefer a steady release schedule for this three-part mini-series? as in two weeks from now this will get an update (hopefully), or would you rather the rest of it be released around the next Valentine's Day?

In the former case, the work on my summer fic will be delayed for a while longer. Please share your thoughts below!