Dietrich thought Valentine's Day was one of the silliest holidays. Why only show the utmost affection and love for one's significant other on one day, when it should be shown every day? The cards were sappy. He didn't care for poetry. The giant teddy bears took up far too much space. It was all nonsense.

When he entered the house from shoveling yet another round of snow from the driveway, he saw the kitchen counter was covered in candy and pastries. Box upon box of chocolates. Jars of honey. Tubs of cookies of all kinds. He was certain there were at least three cakes, too, and… five containers of big cinnamon rolls?

Dietrich hung up his coat, looking over this sea of goodies. Perhaps I was too hasty, dismissing Valentine's Day. As good as all these treats looked, he wasn't sure what to do with all of them. He enjoyed a well-made dessert, but this was... a bit much. Who even sent all this? Dietrich sighed, entering the kitchen and studying the mounds of sweets that blanketed the counter. He glanced around, making sure he was alone. Well, having just one right now will not hurt. He could hear Esther was upstairs, so he crept over to the counter and tried to pick which treat to open. He took a box containing a peanut butter-filled heart-shaped chocolate that was nearly a foot long and equally wide. Sure, it was supposed to be cut into more manageable pieces, but where was the fun in that? He was about to take a bite from the chocolate when he heard someone coming downstairs. Uh-oh.

"What are you doing, Hans?" Esther asked.

The evidence was in his hands. Dietrich flushed red with embarrassment. "Well… eating chocolate, it seems."

"You are going to make yourself sick if you eat that whole thing."

Dietrich snorted. He had done far worse than this before. "Watch me."

"No, I'm not watching you." Esther sighed. "Your friends have apparently banded together and sent all this to show you that 'Valentine's Day can be fun.' They didn't have to send so much."

"So much? No such thing. It is not our fault that the Rats are such good chefs and have excellent taste in chocolate. Perhaps they could not decide what to send, so they sent everything they possibly could."

"Hans—" Esther picked up one of the cakes, "Just one cake would have been enough. Not an entire bakery!" She looked over the counter. "There isn't enough room in the refrigerator and freezer combined to store all of this."

"Well, the honey will last forever in the cabinet."

"Hans, we already have four large jars of honey."

"And what is wrong with having five more?" Dietrich gestured to the honey on the counter. The chocolate was starting to get soft in his hands, so he took as big a bite as possible from it, and moaned with delight at how sweet and creamy the chocolate and peanut butter were.

Esther gave up. "Fine. Eat that, but no more for the day."

Dietrich watched Esther attempting to find places throughout the kitchen to put the treats. He could hear her cursing Troy and the others under her breath, but she stopped when Dietrich said, "Esther?"

"What?" she replied.

Dietrich held out the chocolate heart. "Would you like some?"

Esther didn't say anything as she walked back over and took a small chunk off the chocolate heart. She then reached up to ruffle Dietrich's hair. "Do me a favor, Hans."

"Anything."

"Make all of this last, and remember to share." Esther picked up another box to find a place to store it. "Huh. Troy found those honey-vanilla crème donuts."

"He did? I am not sharing those."

"Hans—"

"I will share everything but those. Deal?"

"Oh, fine."