Title: pretty liars
A/N: For the Hanakotoba Zine! I really liked delving into Aoi and her many masks.
Summary: On Valentine's day, Aoi's father gave her Anemone's, Nene gave her carnations, and Akane roses. Pretty flowers to hide their tricks, lies, and deceit. She knew better than to trust them.
(if only they knew better than to trust her)
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Anemone:
On Valentines day, Aoi entered the dining room to find a bouquet of anemones on the table. The white flowers were carefully arranged in a vase, a red ribbon wrapped around the glass to finish off the ensemble. Beneath the vase was a card, one that Aoi didn't need to open to know its contents.
It was the same every year after all.
Looking up from his newspaper, her father noticed her stare and smiled. His white teeth gleamed in the gloomy morning light, as though even the sun couldn't muster enough energy today. "For your mother."
Aoi's eyes flickered to him, then back to the vase. The silken white petals couldn't hide a black center, and she tried not to laugh. Even his flowers reflected his true self. Donning an unauthentic smile, she gave the most inoffensive reply she could manage. "They're lovely."
For a moment, he said nothing, and she wondered if he could see through her lies. If he knew she could see through his.
"They're your mother's favourite," he replied benignly, and the moment was broken. After taking a final sip from his coffee, he got up, his chair scraping harshly against the ground. "I can't wait for her to wake up, so I'm leaving them there."
Aoi glanced at the time—it was only 7:30. Her father had an hour and half till his work started. His work was only half an hour away. Where are you going? she almost asked, but she didn't really want to know. It wasn't where he said he'd go, and that was all that mattered. Any further speculation was pointless. "Drive safely."
Mug in hand, he stopped beside her. "Of course. And don't worry," he plucked a flower from the vase, presenting it to her with a wink. "I haven't forgotten about you at all. Happy Valentines."
He had mistaken her stare, but she didn't bother to correct him. Instead, Aoi smiled even brighter, taking on a sugary sweet look as she delicately accepted the flower. Holding it to her nose, she smelled it and sighed blissfully. "Thanks! I'll give you some chocolates later."
"I look forward to it. I have something better prepared than this, don't worry," he added, his big hand landing in her head. He ruffled her hair once before letting go. "Anyways, see you later."
"Bye!" she chirped back cheerfully, watching as he disappeared down the hallway and out the front door. The second she heard the lock click, her smile vanished. Pinching the flower between two fingers, Aoi walked to the trashcan and dropped the limp plant.
Her mother could fall for his insincere words if she wanted to. Aoi refused to.
Chrysanthemum:
"Aoi!" Nene chirped as she stood in front of her desk. Despite her energetic bouncing, she carefully plopped a bright blue mesh bag on the wooden surface with a soft thud. A delicate white chrysanthemum poked out of the top of the bag and Aoi followed its stem down to the cookies inside. "Happy Valentine's day!"
"Aww, that's so sweet." Aoi hummed as she pulled the drawstrings, opening the top just enough to pull out the flower. It was a lot more work than she'd expected from Nene. It was also a lot better than she expected considering her friend's general clumsiness. Holding the flower to her nose, she breathed in its sickly-sweet scent. Disgusting. "It's lovely!"
"Ehehehe." Embarrassed, Nene rubbed her wrist. Her fingers were covered in bandages and Aoi was glad to see that she'd guessed right about that at least. "I'm glad you like it."
Inserting two fingers into the bag, Aoi carefully snatched up a cookie. It wasn't even burnt, a rare achievement for a girl who could barely make it through a single home-ec course. A nibble verified that it was a little sugary, not overly so, and maybe Nene was better at cooking than she thought.
Or maybe, Aoi wasn't the real reason they were made. Glancing at Nene's desk, she noticed another bag poking out of the opening, a flower attached. Carefully hidden, it looked like something out of a shoujo manga.
The only question left was who that special someone was. After weeks of watching, Aoi wasn't any closer to guessing just which classmate Nene would disappear with for hours at a time. Smiling brightly, Aoi looked up. "Giving anyone chocolates this year?"
"You?" Nene cocked her head, puzzled. "They're chocolate chip cookies."
"No, I meant…" Aoi dropped her voice to a low whisper, dragging out each syllable for emphasis. "Some-one spe-cial?"
"What?" Immediately, Nene flushed and she shook her head violently. It was a good thing no one else was around; Nene's pigtails would have demolished them. "N-no!
Aoi didn't know how to respond to that obvious lie. Resting her chin in her hands, she tried to wheedle the answer out. "No?" She pursed her lips doubtfully, her eyes big. "Not even a crush?"
"Definitely not!" she squeaked. The denial was quicker this time, but Nene's skin turned two shades darker. She looked like an apple, the blush spreading from her cheeks to her ears.
Was it a good thing if Nene was a terrible liar, or a bad thing? Aoi wasn't sure, though at least if Nene was better at this, Aoi wouldn't have realized it. She'd rather not realize the deceit than face it head on. Sighing, she dropped the question and pulled out another cookie. "If you say so."
"Yep, no crush, not at all," Nene rambled, unable to recognize a mercy for what it was. Clearing her throat, she clasped her hands behind her back and asked quietly, almost shyly, "What about you?"
"Me?" Aoi blinked. Just behind Nene, standing at the front of the classroom was Akane. She could only see his back as he cleaned the chalkboard, his square shoulders that she'd memorized since childhood. Tearing her eyes away, she shook her head. "Not at all."
"Oh." Disappointed, Nene's shoulders slumped.
"Hey, Nene," Aoi whispered, feeling a little mischievous. Or maybe she just wanted some revenge. "Have you heard the rumour of the Lover's Fountain?"
Freesia
Aoi stared at the folded white paper in her shoe cubby. Just like with her father's card, she didn't have to open it to know what was on it. She picked it up anyways, pinching the paper between two fingers as she retrieved it. It was no surprise to find Akane's neat writing inside, nor was it a surprise to find that he wanted to give her a Valentines gift privately.
Honestly, she didn't know why he bothered with this whole ritual. Whether it was behind the school gym or right here in the middle of the school entrance, they were going to do the same song and dance. It wasn't like it was a secret either—the whole school knew the moves, knew his obvious crush and her blunt rejections. It was naïve to pretend otherwise.
Either way, she obliged, carrying the rose-scented paper with her as she slowly walked around the gym. There, standing nervously next to the school pond, was Akane. His hands were clasped behind his back, as though his lean frame could hide the bouquet of roses he was holding. Well, not entirely lean—he'd filled out a little when she wasn't looking.
Aoi's hand curled slightly at the thought. First glasses, then after school disappearances, and now this—Akane was full of surprises.
She didn't like it, and she didn't know why.
"Aoi?"
Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she smiled angelically. Swallowing her distaste, she asked, "Yes? I don't have chocolates for you."
"That's fine." His smile didn't waver in the least. Perhaps this had become an obligation for him too, then. Something in her twisted at the thought. "I have something for you."
He whipped out the bouquet now, the dozens of flowers filling her sight. It was the paper's smell buta far stronger, and she kept her smile bright as she gently accepted the gift. Maybe she could give them to her mother. She deserved something better than her husband's thoughtless presents.
"Thanks." Holding the bouquet loosely, she waited for the final part of the dance. The earnest marriage proposal that she would flatly reject as she had their entire life.
Instead, Akane held out his other hand, containing a smaller bouquet of yellow flowers. Freesia, she dimly recognized as she stared at the offering like it was a bomb.
"They're for you too," Akane explained, scratching his cheek bashfully,
It explained nothing. This wasn't in the script. Aoi could only stare at the gift, not sure how to respond besides a confused, "Huh?"
"Red roses are the only things that can contain my love, but these flowers…they made me think of you." Reaching forward, Akane gently wrapped her free hand around the bright bouquet. "So I wanted you to have those too."
The roses, she could understand. This though…Akane looked at him, mystified. "How?"
"They're cute flowers," he answered, pulling one out of the bunch and pressing it to his nose. His eyes didn't leave hers. "But they're also a little childish."
She could tear her eyes away, couldn't move. "Childish?"
"Hiding within themselves, not telling the truth, seeing in others their own flaws." She couldn't be imagining how sharp his eyes were, how pointed his tone. "They're the very definition of immature."
For a second, Aoi forgot how to breathe. Did he know? The thoughts she kept to herself, the girl behind the mask? Did he see through her? She could almost taste the bitter tears of long ago, when he had said he'd hated her. Her heart clenched at the memory, at the potential repeat of it all.
"Despite that though." He kissed the flower, closing his eyes as he broke the spell. "An angel, through and through."
He smiled at her brightly now, and the moment was gone. Aoi remembered how to breathe. Her heart calmed. By the time Akane got onto his knee, she'd mostly recovered.
"Will you marry me?"
"No," she replied instantly, giving him one of those honey-sweet smiles that he never saw past.
"Right," he sighed, hunching over slightly.
"Well, then, bye! Can't keep Nene waiting!" Eager to leave, she waved quickly before heading back to the school entrance. Her fingers still trembled as she held the freesia.
Childish.
She wasn't.
Immature.
She wasn't.
Lying—
She wasn't. She wasn't. She wasn't.
With a sharp cry, Aoi hurled the flowers into the school garden. She wasn't any of those things. Her father was, Nene was, Akane was, but Aoi…
Aoi just had to weather those things from others. She was a good girl surrounded by liars. That was all.
