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"Hey, Shuichi! Harumaki!" Kaito burst into the classroom and made his way over to where his two friends were sat in the corner, eating chocolates in now-broken silence. There were no classes today, but the trio had basically claimed this classroom as their unofficial 'hangout spot', and met there every free day they had unless they were busy.
"Ah, good morning, Kaito." Shuichi greeted, and Maki nodded at him, mouth still full.
Kaito sat down on a nearby desk, surprised. "Wow, you guys already have Valentines? Ain't it a bit early to be eating chocolates?" Shuichi flushed at this, and... was Maki also blushing a bit?
"W-well, Kiibo-kun made these for me. He came to my dormroom earlier this morning and was really excited to see what I thought of them, and they're really good so after I had one I guess I... didn't think about stopping." He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment before looking at the clock. 9:03 AM. "...Yeah, I should probably stop for now." As Shuichi put the chocolates in his bag, Kaito turned to Maki, who seemed to be avoiding eye contact and fiddling with a piece of chocolate.
"How about you, Harumaki? Where'd you get those?" Instead of a response, Maki seemed to pout before shoving the chocolate in her mouth. Had she always had such a sweet tooth? "Hey, is... everything all right? If you have a problem, just tell me about it!" Still no response.
"I think it might be Chabashira-san." Shuichi spoke up. Maki glared at him, and he hesitated before deciding to continue. "She came up to us as we were walking here, handed Maki the chocolates, said "Happy Valentine's Day Harukawa-san!", then... saw Yumeno-san and Yonaga-san walking together and went off to give them their chocolates." Oh. "She probably made some for all the girls, but I think Maki got her hope-"
"Shut up, Shuichi."
"Ah- sorry, Maki." The silence that followed was awkward, and Kaito tried to think of something to say to cheer her up.
"Well, if she got some for every girl, it must mean she doesn't have a crush on anyone and made them just because! That, or she has a crush on every girl" - which, thinking about it, was a lot more likely - "so it's just a matter of who asks her out first!" Maki ate another piece of chocolate as Kaito and Shuichi waited for a response.
"...I'm not upset, no matter what Shuichi says, but thanks anyway I guess." That was probably the best they were going to get. Satisfied, Kaito reached into his bag.
"Speaking of Valentines..." with a flourish, he pulled out two boxes of chocolates, one with 'Shuichi' written on it and one with 'Harumaki' written on it. "Ta da! I can't let a holiday pass without getting something for my sidekicks!" The two smiled, before taking their respective boxes.
"Thank you, Kaito. ...Ah, but I didn't get anything for you!" Shuichi started to panic, but Kaito waved him off.
"Nah, don't worry about it, I try not to eat sweet stuff too often. I can't go to space if I'm unhealthy!" There was a huge smile on his face as he said this, but Shuichi still seemed hesitant, biting his lip.
"Still, you went through all this effort..." He mumbled, and Maki nodded in agreement.
"Yes, you went through all the effort of going to the store and buying two boxes. It would be unfair to not give anything back." Maki's words were said blankly, and Kaito visibly recoiled.
"H-hey, I'm not good at baking! By the time I made a nice batch all the ingredients were gone, so it was either buy ingredients and probably not have anything for you guys or buy chocolates and definitely have something! Jeez!" Kaito jokingly pouted, expecting Shuichi to laugh a bit or Maki to roll her eyes (and maybe laugh a bit herself), but they simply sat there, staring at him.
"So..." Shuichi finally started. "The batch you did make..."
"Oh, yeah! I meant to ask you guys, have either of you seen Kokichi around?" Shuichi shook his head, and Maki looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Why would I know where he is? You know I try to forget every time I see him."
"Y'know, I still think if you two just talked-"
"No. Never."
"Fine, fine." Kaito sighed, before pulling out two boxes with 'Kokichi' written on them, the 'i's dotted with little hearts and the 'o' itself just a heart, and placing them on the table. "Since I have time, can you tell me what you think of these? But like, without eating them." Before they could respond, he opened one of the boxes to reveal a bunch of slightly-misshapen-but-still-clearly-hearts chocolates.
"Um... they look nice, Kaito, but I don't think we can really judge them without trying them. You'll just have to hope for the best, I'm afraid." Shuichi said, and Maki nodded in agreement, exasperated.
"Oh..." Slightly embarrassed, he moved to the other box. "Well, what about this!" He opened it to reveal a bouquet of flowers, miraculously undamaged. Though, on closer inspection...
"Are these... fake?" Shuichi asked.
"Well, yeah. I thought it'd be funny 'cause, y'know, it's Kokichi. That, and real flowers are a pain in the ass to take care of, so they'd probably stress him out more than anything." He scratched the back of his head as he continued, mumbling a bit. "'M just worried he'll find 'em boring. Like, I'm not too worried about the chocolates 'cause he's always happy to get sweets, but flowers just kinda look nice, you can't eat them or anything, and they're kind of a predictable present." He scratched the back of his head harder, and started mumbling even more. "But also I don't think he's ever had, like, a proper Valentine's Day, like he's got his organisation but I don't think he's dated before and I don't think he ever expected to, 'cause he was so shocked when I confessed to him and there're so many weird things in his life so maybe he would appreciate a normal present, but also maybe-"
"Kaito, you're rambling." Maki interrupted. Kaito stopped, turning red, and Maki sighed. "Honestly, you do this every time. Birthday present, Halloween costume, Christmas present, and now this? I don't understand how you can date someone who stresses you out so much."
"I mean, the only reason I stress so much is 'cause I love him."
Silence again. Shuichi and Maki stared at him open-mouthed, seemingly surprised by his statement, and Kaito stared back, confused. They had been dating since Kaito's birthday, almost an entire year ago, so it shouldn't be weird to say that, right? Did they think 'love' was too strong a word? Kaito couldn't think of another one that even came close to how he felt. Eventually, Shuichi reached up for the hat that wasn't there to try and pull it over his eyes, and instead settled for looking to the floor and covering his face with his hand.
"...How...can you say such embarrassing things with a straight face...?"
"Even I'm embarrassed by that..."
"H-hey, I'm the one who said it! Why are you two embarrassed?!" Kaito could feel heat creeping up his neck. "See, now I'm getting embarrassed too!"
"Y-you should have been embarrassed before!"
"Well, I wasn't! Why should saying I love my boyfriend embarrass me?"
"B-because, it's so... so..." Shuichi's face was completely red by this point. He seemed to be trying to say something, but it was barely audible (Kaito swore he heard the word 'cute', though), and Maki put her hand on his shoulder before turning to Kaito.
"I think you should go find Ouma before Shuichi explodes." Kaito looked at the time - it was still early morning, but Kokichi might be getting worried that Kaito forgot, since they both wake up pretty early, even on free days.
"Yeah, I probably should." He closed the boxes and put them back in his bag before making his way to the door. "See ya later!"
"Bye."
"B-bye, Kaito!"
As it turned out, finding Kokichi was a very long process that went on up until Toujou came to get him for lunch.
"Hey, have you seen Kokichi anywhere?" Kaito asked her, and she stopped on her way to tell the next person.
"Yes - he's been in the kitchen with me making cookies. He came to me early this morning, panicking I believe, though it's hard to tell, and asked me to help him make some. It was rather shocking until I remembered the date. That said, please try to be tactful if he asks you how they taste - I don't know how they ended up, but with how many he threw away, I'd prepare for the worst." With that, she turned and left, leaving Kaito to make his way to the dining hall.
The only person there when he arrived was Kokichi - not surprising, as Kaito wasn't very far away - who immediately jumped at him. After all the times he had done this before, Kaito managed to catch him with ease, and once he did Kokichi planted a kiss on his cheek.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Kai-chan!" Even if he wanted to, Kaito wouldn't have been able to stop the wide grin that spread across his face as he placed Kokichi down and ruffled his hair.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Kichi." Kokichi let himself enjoy the pressure on his head for a second before pouting.
"No it's not! I was baking cookies earlier and when I tried to taste test one, I..." He looked close to tears, though both knew it was fake. "I burnt the inside of my mouth! It hurts so much, Kai-chan!"
"I see, do you need me to kiss it better?"
"Mm-hm! It'll take a lot of kisses to make it better though, so we should go somewhere else. I don't want to disturb everyone else while they're eating!" That was basically Kokichi language for 'I really don't want to be around lots of people right now', so Kaito simply nodded and went to pick up the plates that Toujou had set out before the couple made their way up to an empty classroom on the top floor that was rarely used. It was in good shape, if a little dusty in places, and had a nice view of the courtyard, though unfortunately there were no cherry blossoms due to it being winter.
As soon as they set their things down in a corner of the classroom, Kokichi sat on a desk, grabbed the cuff of Kaito's coat, and dragged him down so their faces were more level.
"Well? Are you gonna kiss it better?" His voice was sultry, breath hot against Kaito's lips, and Kaito responded by placing his palms on the desk either side of Kokichi and closing the gap between them. It started off innocent, simple lips against lips, but, of course, Kokichi's burns were on the inside of his mouth, and soon enough Kaito had slipped his tongue in, prompting a noise from Kokichi that affected Kaito more than he could allow while inside the school. Still, he indulged him for a little while longer, Kokichi's hands tugging at his hair as he softly moaned into the kiss before the two pulled away for air. "I forgot to mention," Kokichi started, breathless. "I also burnt my neck. And my chest. And my legs."
"Really? Can I check?" Kokichi nodded, and Kaito pulled his scarf down to check his neck. "Hm, I don't see anything, but I'm sure you wouldn't lie about something so serious." He gave another peck to his lips. "If it still hurts tonight when we're back at the dorms, I'll take care of it for ya."
"I mean, it's a free day. We can go now."
"Yeah, but it's also lunchtime, and I'm not letting you leave 'til you've eaten. 'Sides," Kaito pulled away completely and picked up his bag. "I've got stuff to give you."
"Hm... okay, I guess it can wait. Especially since I also have something for you!" Kokichi also picked up his bag, and took out one of the containers from the school kitchen, Kaito's name written on a piece of paper stuck to the lid, wrapped in a purple bow, and filled with cookies. "Here! I went through a lot of trouble for this, but it's worth it 'cause I love my beloved Kai-chan more than anything!" Despite how confidently he said that and how often he says it in public, his face still turned red. It was cute - Kaito got to see him like this a lot, but he could never get enough of it.
"Thanks, Kichi." He smiled and took the box from Kokichi, placing it down on a desk and pulling out the presents he had gotten. He handed them over, but his smile faltered as he realised Kokichi's had turned strained.
"Wow, you got me two presents, and in such nice boxes, too! You must really care about your leader, nishishi." Aaaaaand there it was. The whole 'evil supreme leader' schtick. Maybe two presents wasn't the best idea.
"Nah, that's not it. I mean, I care about you a shitton, but the boxes were just lying around at my house, and I had some money and decided to burn it on you. You wouldn't be a very good boyfriend if you expected more from me than I could afford." That seemed to do it. Kokichi may have his 'nice lies', but Kaito still fully believed the truth works just as well. "Anyway, check out what's inside!"
"I was getting to that! Jeez, what's with you and doing things fast?"
"Yeah, I'm the one that like doing... things fast."
"Glad you agree!" Kaito flicked him on the head, and he pouted before opening the box with the flowers in it. "Wow, I'm impressed! You completely subverted my expectations and got me a perfectly normal gift!" Normal, yes, but apparently not boring.
"I thought it was fitting - they're fake, just like you." Kokichi stifled a laugh, which Kaito took as a win.
"I'm surprised you have the mental capacity for symbolism, Kai-chan."
"Yeah? I'm surprised you even know the word 'symbolism'."
"I don't! It was a complete stab in the dark. Honestly, what kind of boyfriend are you to think I know what the word 'symbolism' means?" Having no idea how to respond to that, Kaito picked up a flower and slipped it behind Kokichi's ear.
"There. This is symbolic of you being cute." Kokichi flushed.
"Flowers are pretty, not cute. You really are dumb Kai-chan, you're lucky I can look past that!" With that, he picked up and opened the other box with the misshapen chocolates in them. "Oh, nevermind, actually, this is pretty smart. So you decided to shape them like regular hearts instead of love hearts, huh?" Of course he didn't. They both knew that.
"Yeah, figured you'd like that edgy shit." Kaito grinned, and Kokichi held the box to his chest, growing teary eyed.
"You know me so well...! I-I'm so touched! No one's ever called me 'edgy' before...!" He dramatically wiped away his tears, and Kaito rolled his eyes.
"Well, if you want me to call you that more often, I'll gladly do so. For now, we need to eat lunch so we can get back to the dorms." Kaito picked up his plate and sat down on a desk as Kokichi stuck his tongue out.
"Blegh, but it's all cold now!"
"She made sandwiches, Kichi."
"Yeah - sandwiches that are now cold!" Kaito laughed, and Kokichi laughed a bit too before the two of them started eating.
"...Hey, Kichi?"
"Yeah?"
"Love you."
"...Love you more, Kai-chan."