Work Text:
Misaki really, really wanted to do something for Kanon this Valentine’s Day. She was so grateful for her very existence in Hello, Happy World!, so she clearly had to do something.
The only problems were... well, one, she had no idea what to do. Store-bought chocolates were pretty and all, but they seemed kind of impersonal. She might buy her a small box of those alongside whatever else she did, but that couldn’t be the only thing. The other problem was that while she probably (definitely) had a crush on Kanon, she wasn’t actually ready to tell her.
So, ideas, then. She really just... didn’t have any. What kind of skills did she even have that could be good on Valentine’s Day? She wasn’t an artist, or a writer, or a baker... all of this stuff was too hard, and she mostly just wanted to go to bed and think about it another day. Her little sister had asked her to make her a felt puppy, anyway, so she could start on that.
Actually, that could be it. She could make Kanon something sweet out of felt. She had already made her a jellyfish for her birthday back in May, and a cupcake plush for Christmas. Since it was Valentine’s Day, though, why not a chocolate bar? She could give it a face, and add arms so it could hold the box of actual chocolate that she was getting Kanon. Yeah, that was good. Achievable, heartfelt, decently cheap... everything Misaki could have dreamed of.
Kokoro was having fun working on her Valentine’s Day gifts. She was giving chocolate to her whole band, of course, but she wanted to do something extra special for Hagumi! After all, she needed the support, and Kokoro really liked her anyway. Like, really really liked her!
So she sat back, and thought, and thought, and thought, and... well, everyone likes chocolate, right? And there was that Michelle statue in the courtyard, and she was sure she knew someone she could call to make a scale model of Michelle out of chocolate!
“Hm... I wonder, I wonder... how am I going to transport a chocolate Michelle that big?” Kokoro was pacing around her room—well, more like marching, and talking to herself. “It’ll be even harder if it’s solid, so... oh! Maybe I’ll talk to Michelle at our next practice! She has to bring herself everywhere, after all!” Misaki wasn’t going to have a clue, but the three suits listening definitely were, and they knew who to call to make it happen.
Kanon, meanwhile, was suffering. She had written cards for all of her band... well, except for Misaki. She wanted to do something really sweet for her. She’d helped her come out of her shell, and she got happy every time they were together... that was a good enough reason, right? She felt like she was in love with Misaki, with the strange warmth that she felt whenever she went out of her way to help her. Well, she definitely was. That wasn’t even a question, but... when and how should she let her know?
Suddenly, an idea struck. She could do two cards—a normal card, with a full love confession in it, and an index card, with something short and sweet on it. Then, if she put the card in Michelle’s mouth at their rehearsal that day, Misaki would be certain to see it! It was the perfect plan.
All she needed to do was write the love letter. That might be the hard part.
Kaoru had never liked Valentine’s Day much. It carried too many bittersweet memories, and she was always buried in chocolates from women whose names she could barely remember.
However, this year, she was tired of being alone. After her performance with Chisato, she was certain that something had changed. And, although Chisato had her fair share of admirers herself, Kaoru was certain she could stand out among the crowd. After all, she couldn’t simply forget their childhood together. No matter how far they had split apart now, Kaoru considered her a close friend, one of the few people she could truly be herself with.
Her heart was telling her to do something amazing and extravagant, but her mind was telling her she couldn’t. As much as Chisato deserved the world and more, Kaoru needed something quiet and heartfelt.
So, after a while of deliberation, she decided—she would make her colored roses, with a poem she wrote attached and a few homemade chocolates. Perhaps it wasn’t the most original thing, but it was what felt right. Hopefully, Chisato would see that.
Hagumi just wanted to think of something! She liked Kokoro, and she liked giving her friends things, so why was it so hard?
Kokoro liked big things, right? Hagumi could do something big! She briefly considered batting a box of chocolates to her, but upon further consideration, she realized the box would break and the chocolates would all fall on the ground. That was no good.
Maybe she could paint a puzzle for her, though! Kokoro liked those, too—but then she had an even better idea! She could assemble a puzzle on top of a box of chocolates, and then invite Kokoro to take it apart and try it for herself! That way, she’d see the chocolates! Hagumi could even add a little note on them, so Kokoro would know she liked her.
She could ask Kasumi to help, too! She had a whole girlfriend already, after all.
So all of the girls got to work on their plans.
The suits helped Kokoro find someone who could make massive chocolate statues, and managed to send in a copy of the Michelle costume so they knew what size to make it. Kokoro asked them to make sure it was wholly solid—after all, hollow chocolate disappeared so much faster! She even decided to write a note with it. Extravagance was all well and good, but Kokoro wanted Hagumi to know she loved her! So she doodled hearts and stars and everything in between on a sheet of paper, writing a few sentences about how she loved Hagumi’s smile—and even her frown, because it meant that Kokoro had a chance to make her happy again! She put her heart into the note, preparing to slip it into the Michelle chocolate’s paw when it arrived so that Hagumi would have to find it eventually! She knew as soon as she finished that this Valentine’s Day would be amazing!
Kaoru worked tirelessly to color various roses in greens, blues, purples, oranges... she even made one that was wholly rainbow, which she decided would be the center of her little bouquet. She then added in a few white lilies, finalizing that aspect of her plan. Of course, she also had chocolates to make—she followed an online recipe to make some with an acai/strawberry filling, hoping that Chisato would appreciate them. The first attempt came out looking bad, but tasting good, so Kaoru saved those. She was certain her band would appreciate her bringing them to rehearsal, even if they weren’t the prettiest. The second batch was a winner, though. She added some of the acai/strawberry drizzle she had left on top, and then they were done! She had also chosen to write a poem, which she scribbled ideas for in class. She was certain Chisato would understand the literary references she had slipped in, and hoped she could appreciate how she had dropped them all at the end. Perhaps it was a symbol of how Kaoru’s love for her was willing to overcome the persona she had set up, and it was also a symbol of Kaoru running out of literary references, but when she wrote it, it was lovely.
Kanon deliberated over what to write on Misaki’s index card, but she ended up with “I think you’re beary cute!”. Cheesy? Absolutely, but it was true: Misaki was cute. Well, her muscles were more on the hot side, but Kanon knew she would actually die if she tried to tell Misaki that part. Besides, it wouldn’t fit with the text size Kanon was using. As soon as she finished that, she started work on her actual love letter! She had been right about it being the harder part. She cared so much about Misaki, and even if Hello, Happy World! split apart, she didn’t want them to. She didn’t know how to get all of her feelings out in a letter, but she did know that she could start by beginning it with “I think I love you”. There was so much she could say, and so little paper to say it with... but if she and Misaki actually started dating, she could say it all to her in person, right?
Misaki went out with her sister to the craft store to pick out some nice brown felt—she was almost out at home, after all, and making a giant chocolate bar required a lot of it. When she got back home, she genuinely excited to get to work—something that had started happening a lot more since she had joined the band, honestly. It may have partially been because Kanon just made her happier, more motivated, and more comfortable with herself... and even when the other band members helped her out, there was always a solid bet that Kanon was in on it. And, even though Kanon probably wasn’t going to do anything special for her on Valentine’s Day, Misaki wanted to repay her for all she’s done—and if they ended up being girlfriends because of it, then it was a good deal. When she was making the chocolate bar, even as her sister pestered her about what she was doing and why, she felt warm. It was... nice, honestly.
Hagumi and Kasumi became an unstoppable team! As Hagumi measured the chocolate box so she could make sure that the wood fit around it, Kasumi started working on solving the puzzle on a piece of cardboard so they could transfer it over easily. Kasumi had even suggested gluing that same cardboard to the bottom of their handmade box, so they wouldn’t have to use more wood to make a bottom. It was actually really smart! The two of them made the work fast, hot gluing wood together at the same time and making sure that the other didn’t get burned. Then, when all was said and done, Hagumi slipped the chocolates in while Kasumi slid the puzzle over it. One could definitely tell it was handmade, but it was still super cute. Kasumi even suggested that they paint the outside of the box pink, for Valentine’s Day. Of course, once they finally finished, Hagumi beamed when Kasumi told her that Kokoro would definitely accept her confession!
After all of the work, the day finally came. Kokoro had practically planned out their schedules for them: Rehearsal first thing after school, then they could all have a party at Kokoro’s house! Then, after that, they could do whatever they wanted. Luckily, everyone was able to follow that schedule.
Rehearsal started, but Misaki was having trouble focusing. Mainly, she was having trouble seeing. It was really dark in the Michelle suit, but there seemed to be something else going on. She was stumbling around, barely able to work with her equipment—which was definitely a problem. Fortunately, Kanon realized pretty much immediately.
“Hey, um, why don’t we take a break! Um, it’s... hot in here? And Michelle’s really fluffy! So I’ll bet she would like to take some time outside in the fresh air!”
Kokoro smiled, big and wide. “That’s a great idea! Kanon, you can take her outside, okay?”
If Kanon wasn’t exclusively doing this to flirt with Misaki, she would argue that Kaoru’s outfit was a bit more suited to the outdoors—but since she was a lesbian, she put her jacket on and walked out with Michelle anyway, holding her arm to guide her. Of course, she made sure to grab her card and chocolate box for Misaki.
Kokoro tilted her head. “Is Kanon a furry?”
“How fleeting...”
This is why Misaki was tired all the time. Thankfully, Kanon got her outside quickly.
As soon as they were out the door, Misaki popped off the Michelle head.
“All right, let me see what’s going on with this...”
As she was examining it, a card fell onto her legs.
“Huh? What’s that?”
Kanon turned red, beginning to stammer a bit. She had expected her to see it during rehearsal, not now.
“Um—well, you see, it’s, ah-“
“I think you’re... beary cute?” Misaki chuckled lightly at the front. She had to squint to read the tiny font Kanon had written her name was—definitely an intentional design choice. The way Kanon was burying her head in her hands was probably a dead giveaway, though.
“It says it’s from, uh...” Misaki looked even closer, before suddenly withdrawing. “Oh. I, um...?”
Kanon figured there was no going back now. “I... um... happy Valentine’s Day!” she said, smiling. “I actually really... you know, wanted to show my gratitude for you! Um, can you put the head back on really quick? I want this to be a surprise...”
Misaki looked at her somewhat confusedly, but put the head back on regardless.
Kanon took a deep breath, taking a moment to hype herself up. Then, she leaned in to kiss the mouth of the Michelle suit, using one hand to slide the chocolates and her card into Michelle’s paw while the other wrapped around her waist.
As soon as her gifts were firmly in Michelle’s paw, Kanon pulled back, looking at her with a nervous smile on her face.
Misaki had turned a soft pink, but was trying to keep her cool anyway. “I... couldn’t tell what you were trying to do, so could you maybe try again?” She gestured towards her lips, before realizing that was a dead giveaway that she could tell exactly what she was trying to do.
Kanon immediately turned a firetruck red upon realizing this, and moved to cover her face—but not before Misaki could lean in to kiss her again, for real this time.
Misaki moved her free hand (free paw?) up to rest on Kanon’s shoulder, as Kanon slowly relaxed enough to drape her arms around Misaki’s neck. Kanon knew they were outside, but she didn’t think it would do much harm if she gently licked Misaki’s lip—which was fair, honestly, as Misaki mostly just squeaked and opened her mouth a bit. They comfortably sunk into each other’s touch, and as soon as they finally pulled apart, they realized that Hagumi was both there and confused.
“Huh? Michelle is... Misaki? But... Michelle isn’t a girl, she’s a bear! And Michelle was Kanon once, too! Does that mean that Misaki is Kanon is Michelle? But that doesn’t make sense! Kanon is right there! You can’t kiss yourself! Unless you can? Aah, this is really confusing!”
Misaki wasn’t sure if she was more embarrassed or confused, watching Hagumi ramble like that. Kanon was definitely more embarrassed, though.
“Anyway, Kokoro wants us to practice again! Kanon, is Michelle feeling better?”
Misaki smiled at Kanon, and upon noticing that, Kanon nodded.
“Mhm! She’s feeling great now!”
“Yay! Okay, let’s get back to it!” Hagumi dashed back in, ready to pick up her bass again.
Misaki stood up, put the Michelle head back on, and offered a hand to Kanon.
“I have something for you too, by the way. I can give it to you while we’re heading to Kokoro’s house, maybe?” Misaki suggested.
After rehearsal had ended, Kokoro seemed to be excited for the main event—the party at her house! She was even more excited to finally give Hagumi the chocolate Michelle.
Unfortunately, the real Michelle couldn’t even be there to see it. Kanon had been pretty clear about bears and their special Valentine’s Day traditions. That was okay, though! She was sure Hagumi would smile even if not everyone could be there.
On their way there, in the back of Kokoro’s literal limo, Misaki handed Kanon a felt chocolate bar. It had a cute, simple face, and its wire and felt arms were clutching a card and a tiny box of chocolates.
“Don’t read the card out loud here or anything, since it’s kind of embarrassing, but, um... I hope you like it.”
Kanon couldn’t hug Misaki fully with her seatbelt on, but she did lean her head on her shoulder. “I love it! Ah, I can’t wait to put it with the others you’ve made me... you’re really talented, Misaki!”
Misaki smiled, blushing as she crossed her arms. “It’s just a little practice, really...”
“No, you’re amazing!”
Kanon’s constant compliments turned Misaki into a bit of an embarrassed mess by the end of the ride, but that didn’t stop the passage of time, and they eventually made it to Kokoro’s mansion.
Kokoro triumphantly slammed open the door, excitedly marching with her band members to one of her party rooms! Of course, the chocolate Michelle was currently hiding in another, but she’d show it to Hagumi eventually. For now, she was going to be a great host for a great party!
Meanwhile, Hagumi was clutching her puzzle behind her back. She just had to get Kokoro alone to give it to her! Or she could give it to her right then, but she really didn’t want to pressure her. So she was going to wait, and everything would be good.
Besides, Kokoro threw amazing parties, and this one was no exception! There was a lot of candy, fun lights, a dance floor that didn’t end up getting used but was still really cool... Hagumi was having fun with all of it!
“Hey, Hagumi!”
“Kokoron!”
Hagumi hugged her, and Kokoro hugged her back, continuing to ramble excitedly.
“I’ve got a really cool surprise in the room across from here! Do you want to come see it?”
Hagumi gasped. This could be her chance. “Absolutely! I’ll bet it’ll be great!”
“It totally is! Come on!”
Kokoro skipped to the other room as Hagumi closely trailing her, throwing the door open to reveal a life-sized chocolate Michelle.
Hagumi was in awe—complete and total awe. It was huge! And it was Michelle! And it was chocolate!
“Surprise! I really like you, so I wanted to make you a Valentine’s Day gift! It’s solid chocolate! And, look, look!” Kokoro pointed to a sign the Michelle was holding, that was also made of chocolate. “It says ‘I love you, Hagumi’! Cool, right?”
Hagumi looked like she was about to cry from happiness, so she squeezed her eyes shut to try not to, and Kokoro seemed to notice.
“Hey, hey! Hagumi, why’re you crying?”
“I’m just so happy!” Hagumi couldn’t even hug her, since she was still holding her puzzle, but she really wanted to. “Here, I have something for you, too!”
She thrust the puzzle forwards into Kokoro’s hands.
“I didn’t know what kind of animal you liked, so I picked a dog puzzle! Kasumi helped me make the whole thing, and we had a whole lot of fun! Oh, and if you want to, you can take the puzzle apart and redo it whenever you want!”
Hagumi was smiling, and it made Kokoro smile even wider when she took it. “Thanks! You know, I really like your smile!”
Hagumi blushed, giggling a little. “Thanks!”
“But I realized I don’t mind your frown, either! Because it means I really get to show you why you deserve to smile all the time!” Kokoro said that so nonchalantly as she set the puzzle down by the Michelle.
It turns out that was all Hagumi needed to actually start crying, tackling Kokoro into a hug.
“You’re so nice! I love you so much!”
“I love you too!”
Hagumi held onto her for a minute, and as much as she never wanted to let go, she was also definitely eyeing that chocolate Michelle.
“Go ahead, eat as much as you want!” Kokoro encouraged.
“Ahh... I don’t know if I can really eat all of that! It’s so big, and you said it was solid, too...”
“Oh! Maybe...” Kokoro thought for a minute, her brain cell very hard at work. “We could have an eating contest! You, and me, and we could bring the rest of the band in, too!”
“Yay!”
They successfully recruited Misaki and Kanon, but as soon as Kokoro approached Kaoru to give her the chocolate speech, she shook her head.
“I apologize, my kittens, but I really must go. There’s someone very important to me who I need to see today.”
“But Kaoru, it can’t be a Hello, Happy eating contest without all of us!” Hagumi said, frowning.
“Ah, you do so tempt me... but I truly must leave. Still, please enjoy yourselves without me.”
Kokoro patted Hagumi’s back as Kaoru left. “Hey, it’s okay! We’ll save her some chocolate, and it’ll be a fun surprise!”
That much seemed to cheer Hagumi right up. “Okay! Let’s go catch up to Misaki and Kanon, then!”
As the rest of Hello, Happy World! worked on eating an entire chocolate Michelle, Kaoru made haste to Chisato’s home. She had unfortunately missed the Pastel Palettes Valentine’s Day performance, but she still wanted to see her.
When she knocked on the door, Chisato answered it, in a simple black shirt and jeans.
“Good afternoon.”
“What is it, Kaoru?”
“You see, I made you some things for this year’s Valentine’s Day. I do apologize for not being able to make it to your performance; I’m sure it was wonderful.”
“It went well.” She was clearly upset by something, but Kaoru really couldn’t tell what.
“Chisato, what thing haunts your mind?”
“You know what, Kaoru. If you have something, you could have just... mailed it to me, or handed it to me and left, or... any number of things.”
“Of course. Then...” Kaoru presented the bouquet that she had been holding behind her. “I made you roses. They may not be the most lovely, but they were made with the utmost care. And, of course, attached is a poem I wrote for you.”
As Chisato accepted the roses, she opened her mouth as if to ask ‘are you done?’, but couldn’t get the words out before Kaoru reached into her bag, pulling out a small bag with chocolates in them.
“I apologize if the drizzle got a bit smudged on any of these. It took me a while to find anything with acai, so... you know how it is.”
“You actually remembered that I like acai?” Chisato questioned, seeming genuinely surprised. Kaoru laughed.
“How could I forget? I have been in love with you since we were children, Chii-chan.”
“I thought you... you know, outgrew those feelings,” Chisato said. “You’ve changed. I’ve changed, too. How do you know that you love me, and not some ideal you have left over from when we were kids?”
“I’ve seen you perform as both an actress and a musician, we’ve performed together, and we’ve spoken many times even now. I don’t know who you think I am, but the important thing is that we are ourselves—and this Valentine’s Day, I simply wanted to tell you that you, the real you, are very important to me.”
Chisato held out her free hand, having tucked her gifts from Kaoru under her other arm. “Then, would you perhaps like to come inside? I don’t know if discussing this outdoors is best, but... it’s good to realize that you cared. All this time I thought you didn’t.”
Kaoru accepted her hand. “My dearest, I would like nothing more.” She looked Chisato in the eyes, and her face heated up. “Um, I mean... yes, please. I’d like that a lot.”
That was all it took for Chisato to smile and pull her in with her.
Kokoro and Hagumi spent the evening snuggled up on Kokoro’s ridiculously comfortable couch, watching cute animated movies and shoving chocolates into their mouths. It turned out that Hagumi gave the warmest, softest hugs ever, and Kokoro knew the names of all three of Shrek’s children!
Kanon and Misaki spent the evening texting each other cute messages, taking 10-minute breaks to cover their faces with pillows in embarrassment between each set of texts. Kanon was clinging to her chocolate bar the whole time, glad that Misaki understood her desire to shove her flustered gay face into something soft. Misaki understood a lot about her, really.
Kaoru and Chisato spent the evening holding each other and catching up on everything they had missed, as soon as Chisato found a suitable place for her bouquet. Chisato told her about Leon, and when Kaoru playfully suggested that they could have a dog of their own someday, Chisato practically dove under the blanket.
All in all, Hello, Happy World!’s Valentine’s Day was a big success!