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Staring at the calendar marking the date on his phone, Sakuma sighed, then groaned, like it had somehow personally offended him doing nothing more than the job it had been programmed for. It might as well have, considering the date in question.
Valentine's day was coming soon.
Under any other circumstances, Sakuma wouldn't have cared much -if at all- for the day, at most only bothering to awkwardly pick the few gifts he would receive out of politeness and quickly tossing them at any teammate that would appreciate the gesture better than he ever could.
That year, however, it was different.
It was the first Valentine's day since Genda became his boyfriend.
He had to do something special, Genda deserved that much. As awful as he might be with this sort of stuff and overly romantic gestures, Genda was worth that and more.
And so, a week or so before the now dreaded day, Sakuma started coming up with a few ideas- or trying to, at least. He soon realized that when it wasn't a spur of the moment kinda thing, a kiss or a hug when he suddenly felt the need, he absolutely sucked at being romantic. Not ideal when all he wanted was to just make his damn boyfriend feel loved and appreciated like he deserved.
With the day inching closer and shame at not coming up with anything nice to do for him slowly killing him, Sakuma's panicked mind settled on the single, pathetic thing it could come up with by then. Chocolate. It was a classic, and people really like to claim that classics always work or some other bullshit like that, right? Besides, Genda had a horrible case of sweet tooth. No better way to win him over than through his stomach.
... Except he couldn't just be cheap and go buy it at the store- well, he most definitely could, but Genda deserved better than that. And he was the absolute worst at any recipe that involved anything more complicated than chopping and boiling ingredients.
It’s alright- it can’t be that bad, right? He just had to follow the recipe, it won’t be so bad.
... This was going to be hard.
After much debating, Sakuma decided that giving it a try wouldn't hurt- he still had enough time to come up with something else if his attempt at making chocolate from scratch ended up failing (like he already half expected. Well, it was more of a fairly certain bet on his absolute failure, honestly). And so, he steeled himself, looked up online a relatively simple-looking recipe and ventured to the nearest store to fetch the ingredients. He was a man on a mission now. A terrible, poorly thought and most likely suicidal mission.
When he returned home, he carefully lined up and checked every ingredient on the kitchen counter, to then pull out the recipe and start measuring. It shouldn't be so hard, really, following instructions step by step was something even little kids could do. He got this, really.
… He very likely didn’t.
An hour, many burnt pots, suspiciously sticky spoons and some very sad attempts later, Sakuma was ready to admit his defeat. He wasn't even sure some of the kitchen supplies could be recovered anymore. He winced at the sight of a pot's alarmingly burnt bottom. He couldn't do this- nope, not at all, what the fuck was he high on to have ever even thought it would be remotely possible for him to make this without any major causalities, let alone making it well.
He was about to give up, dubious stains on his clothes and kitchen counter, when the doorbell rang. With a groan, he pushed himself up and willed himself to walk to the door, grumbling under his breath as he went to open it- and froze when he saw Genda standing there with a tiny, awkward smile.
“Uh… did I come at the wrong time…?”
Sakuma stared. Genda stared back with a tiny chuckle.
Then, it hit him- and Sakuma was ready to bash his head against a wall. Multiple times.
Of course he just had to forget about their plans for Genda to come over the one time he was trying –and still very much failing horribly- to prepare a surprise. Just as his luck would have it.
“N-no, I just-” and he sighed, quickly realizing that there was no excuse he could pull out to explain… well, the battlefield that the kitchen had become.
Genda just blinked, quiet as he took in the sheer chaos.
“… Do you need help cleaning this up?”
“Y-you don’t have to bother- you came here to see me, not help with the mess I made-”
But it was too late to protest, Genda already looking around for something to clean with, already too familiar with the place.
“It’s alright- you know I don’t mind. Besides, I can’t just sit around and watch you struggle.”
And just like that, Sakuma could already feel his entire face on fire. Damn it, it wasn’t fair- Genda is just too good for him. Or this world, really, what with his endless kindness… among other things.
Anyways-
“So… what were you trying to do, exactly? You’re not exactly one to go out of your way like this.”
And there it was- in the middle of cleaning once Sakuma had gotten over his sudden wish to crawl into a hole just enough to help.
And now that wish was coming back with the speed of a bullet train.
“I… W-well…”
Genda just stared at him expectantly. No matter how much Genda loved him and how he would be the one least likely to judge him, it was still very much killing him inside. And outside soon too, probably.
A deep breath- come on, he could say it. It’s not like it mattered much by now, right?
“I-I… I was… t-trying to make… chocolate…”
Well, that still very much threatened to kill him.
Genda blinked, looking at him, a smile tugging at his lips.
“Chocolate? And what’s the special occasion?”
Oh, he definitely knew.
“It was for you, you ass-!”
… Oh. He wasn’t supposed to say that. Well, fuck.
“… You… were going to make me chocolate?” to say Genda was surprised was an understatement, eyes wide and stopping entirely in the middle of his cleaning.
“I-it was supposed to be a surprise-” might as well confess everything by now. “You deserve something special for Valentine’s day! But… well…” The mess spoke by itself.
For a moment, it was all silent, Sakuma too busy cursing himself out to really look at his boyfriend. Then, he suddenly felt a hand taking his, looking up just in time for Genda to plant a gentle kiss on his cheek. He could feel the smile against his skin.
“Thank you.”
“What…”
“You did all this for me, right? Even though we both know you’re… not really good in the kitchen.” Regardless, he was still smiling when he pulled back. “You tried. For me. That’s enough.”
Of course Genda would say something like that… Except it wasn’t.
“I-It’s not enough! You deserve the best!”
It was the very least he could –should- give Genda.
And Genda seemed to half expect that answer, already knowing well his boyfriend by now, half frown, half pout on his face.
“You’re… you’re not going to budge on this, are you?”
“Of course not.”
“Alright, then… how about we finish cleaning this up and try together this time?”
Sakuma blinked, the sudden offer taking him aback.
“Together…? But…”
“Spending time with you is already enough of a gift for me.” His eyes were suddenly softer. “And that way we can enjoy something we made together, right?”
Not like Sakuma could really say no to him… that, and by now it was better than turning up on the date with barely scraped together, burnt and lumpy chocolate.
“… Fine.”
As they went back to cleaning in peace and silence, occasionally exchanging a peck on the lips or cheek, Sakuma couldn’t stop himself from thinking how Genda was truly a blessing in his life.
And Genda definitely knew more about this than he ever could- his help and instructions were lifesaving, pointing out things that Sakuma didn’t even so much as think of. Now, if he could pay more attention to what they were doing rather than keep staring at his boyfriend… not his fault that he was so perfect.
The new batch of chocolate was much sweeter than he ever thought it could be.