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Even now, staring out at the Scramble Crossing wasn’t bringing that same sense of calm it usually did. And the Fearless Fishwich in his hand? It definitely didn’t taste as good as usual. If his favorite pick-me-up couldn’t soothe him, what could?
Valentine’s Day was always hit or miss for Fret, but this year? Whew, this year in particular felt like an even lower blow than usual. After everything that happened in the Reapers’ Game, how he and Kanon bonded, and how he had genuinely worked with his friends to help himself open up, he thought that maybe, just maybe, there might be something there. But Kanon still wasn’t feeling it just yet.
It was an understatement to say it was a bummer.
Even the friendship piece of chocolate Rindo gave him didn’t help out. Sure, it tasted good, but man did it just… really stink. He knew Kanon wasn’t obligated to like him in any way, and maybe it was the fact that he was now more open and honest with his emotions, but it still stunk.
This was definitely going to be one of those Valentine’s Days where he would nope. Maybe a little retail therapy would be in order— pick up something nice for himself to help him feel better.
…Or one of the store clerks would think he was getting it for someone else— or worse, realize he was lonely as hell today— and it would all be miserable.
Maybe he’d just settle for some curry and then head home. Probably as good an idea as any.
The young man didn’t pay attention to the ding-dong of the automatic doors or the cashier who called out “Welcome to Justice Burger!” while he continued to absentmindedly chew his sandwich.
When a hand clapped on his shoulder out of nowhere, he let out a scream, and would’ve jumped if the hand didn’t keep him planted firmly in his seat.
“Hey, what you freakin’ out for, man?” came the voice of one Beat, at which point the tension was gone from Fret in an instant. He let out a long exhale, before taking a drink from his soda.
“Dude! You came up outta nowhere! Anyone would’ve freaked out,” Fret told him, unable to hide the smile on his face at the sight of his friend. Beat returned it with an even wider smile.
“Nah, dude,” he laughed, sitting down next to Fret at the counter, Fret’s eyes wide as Beat took the Cheesy Champion in both hands and tore off a large bite.
“Dude…”
“…What?” he asked as he chewed. Fret sighed and shook his head.
“Nah, nothing,” he said, chuckling softly, “So, how’s Valentine’s Day going for you?”
Beat looked away, staying silent, before he ripped another chunk off from his burger. He grabbed his drink, taking a long drink, avoiding any type of eye contact with Fret.
“…Beat?” Fret asked after a few moments of awkward silence.
“S’fine,” was all the blond boy huffed out in response.
Fret furrowed his brow at his friend for a moment, examining him as best he could, while finishing off his own sandwich. Even if he had still been emotionally stunted, there was no way he couldn’t tell something was up. But even with all the work he had been doing, he wasn’t entirely sure how to approach this topic.
Maybe it would just be better to let it rest for now.
“…Well, what about Rhyme?” he asked after a few moments.
Beat looked at him, brow furrowed in confusion, head tilted slightly, and— what made Fret burst into laughter— mustard and lettuce on his face.
“Ahahahaha— dude!”
“Whazzat?” Beat asked with a mouthful of food, before swallowing, “What’re you laughin’ at, bro?”
“You got stuff all over your face, man!” he said. Fret pulled out his phone, turned on the front-facing camera, and then showed it to Beat. The look of shock on Beat’s face was too good, and Fret couldn’t stop himself from tapping on the screen to take a picture.
Whether Beat didn’t notice or he let it slide, Fret didn’t know, but the boisterous laugh he made left Fret smiling even wider. He handed Beat a napkin, who was quick to wipe off his face.
“Ohhh…” Fret said as he finally started to collect himself and catch his breath, “Oh, that’s the first thing to make me laugh all day. Thanks, Beat Buddy,” Fret said, that joyful smile still on his face.
Beat tilted his head as he looked at Fret, “Why? Wha’s wrong with today?”
That wiped the smile off Fret’s face in an instant, which left Beat frowning softly, as well.
“It’s just…” Fret sighed, shaking his head, “It’s dumb. Valentine’s Day today and… I dunno, dude, I was kinda hoping Kanon would want to give me chocolate or something.”
Beat’s frown grew a touch, “Oh… damn. Sorry dude. I know you like her and all.”
Fret shrugged, trying to play it off, but he knew he probably wasn’t that convincing. Hopefully Beat wasn’t able to catch onto it too clearly.
“It’s… well, it sucks, yeah, but I’ll manage, I guess. Maybe.”
Fret paused for a moment, allowing himself to finish his sandwich, licking some tartar sauce that had fallen onto his thumb. He looked over at Beat, who had somehow nearly finished the giant cheeseburger and fries he had gotten.
Beat was looking his way, too, having just shoved a few fries in his mouth, and Fret could’ve sworn his friend’s face had gone a bit red.
He tilted his head slightly, looking up in thought… Yeah, it did seem a bit warm in here? Fret looked around, noting how many people had come in to grab a meal or a drink.
Made sense.
Quiet went over Fret and Beat as Beat started to finish up his food, a strange serenity to it all despite how busy even the inside of Justice Burger was that afternoon.
“Hey, bro, you busy after this?” Fret finally asked. Beat shook his head as he finished his last fries.
“Nah, dude. Just gotta meet up with Rhyme for dinner. Why?”
“You wanna hang out a bit? I don’t feel like headin’ home yet,” Fret shrugged.
Beat instantly broke into a wide smile again, “Fo’ sho’ dude! Was hopin’ we could hang!”
“Yeah? Rad!” Fret laughed, the two high fiving right after. Beat went quiet for a moment after while Fret was checking his phone. By the time he looked up again, his friend once again seemed a bit uneasy.
“You ready, Beat buddy?” Fret asked. The nickname caused Beat to light up.
“Let’s bounce, yo!”
“Yeah, yeah!”
Once they were outside, there were just as many people out at the Crossing as usual— and after their time in the UG, it was still a little weird to be back in the RG and be able to bump into people again.
Beat shoved his hands in his pockets, hunching his shoulders as he looked around.
“Hey, dude?” Beat finally asked.
“Yeah?”
“Can we head over to like, I dunno… Hachiko or somethin’ quick?” he asked, voice a bit quiet. Fret was… confused.
“…Yeah? I mean, I guess. Any reason why?” Fret asked slowly, looking at Beat with a curious, furrowed brow.
“Nah, just… feel like visitin’ that dog statue,” he paused for a beat, “Or somethin’.”
Fret wasn’t entirely clear on what was going on, but shrugged and went along with it, following his pal along quietly. It was only a few minutes to get there at the slow, relaxed pace they both took, looking out at the sea of people around them who rushed around Shibuya just like every other day.
Rindo definitely had a point about this city being special with how busy and chaotic it was. The thought caused the edge of Fret’s lips to turn upwards a bit.
Once they finally reached the Hachiko statue, Fret shoved his hands in his pockets too, looking around.
“So, whatcha wanna come here for, bro?” he asked.
Beat started to shuffle his feet, glancing downwards. Fret frowned, bending down slightly to look his friend in the face.
“Bro?”
After a few moments, Beat eventually let out a loud sigh, fishing for something in his pocket, before he pulled out a closed hand.
“Look, there’s… something I wanna give ya. And it’s probably gonna seem hella lame or… somethin’, but I just want you to like, listen, I guess,” he said.
Fret nodded slowly, still pretty confused, “Uh huh…”
Beat held his hand out, turned over, and opened it up, dropping a tiny piece of chocolate in Fret’s hand— which he barely caught at the surprise of it all.
“What’s this?” Fret asked, unwrapping the neat foil packaging on it, “…Chocolate?” He was too busy looking at it to notice Beat looking away, cheeks and the tips of his ears turning pink.
“Y-Yeah,” Beat choked out.
It finally clicked in Fret’s head.
“Wait, Valentine’s chocolate… for me?”
Beat brought his hoodie’s sleeve up to his mouth to help cover his face.
“Duh, dude. That’s why I gave it to you!” he said, unable to help but smile behind it— relieved Fret couldn’t see it.
A light flush crept onto Fret’s face.
“O-Oh…”
Fret’s mind suddenly started racing, a mess of ideas, thoughts, and theories crashing about in his head. He didn’t even realize that he had been holding in his breath before he finally blinked after a few moments. He held up the chocolate, looking at it carefully.
“So, like… uh… you made this?”
Beat nodded, “Yeah. I mean, Rhyme helped me a bunch with it. I almost burned myself a few times… you know chocolate is like, really hot when you make it, bro?” he asked.
“Wait— really? You, like, nearly burned yourself making chocolate for me?” Fret asked, a smile growing on his face. He looked from the tiny piece of chocolate to Beat, who still seemed a bit cagey with it all.
“Yeah…” Beat sighed. Fret quirked an eyebrow at him.
“…What?”
“Do you really gotta make me say it, man!” Beat shouted out.
Fret blinked twice.
“…Say what?”
Beat let out a frustrated groan.
“Man, I want you to be my Valentine! That’s why I’m giving you the chocolate!” he shouted.
“Whoa,” Fret said, “That’s…”
Beat sighed and shook his head, “Look, if you don’t wanna be, that’s fine. I know you really got a thing for Kanon, but, well… I was talkin’ to Rhyme and Shiki and Phones and… they just said to go for it, y’know?”
Fret nodded slowly, “Yeah, no, I…”
Beat quickly spoke up, “You can like, keep the chocolate, bro, that’s fine. I just wanted to let you know that… I like ya… I guess.”
Fret couldn’t help but smile a bit. Maybe Beat was getting help with this whole ‘emotions’ thing from Nagi, too? That would’ve definitely been a sight to see.
“Well…” Fret trailed off, examining the chocolate for a moment again, before he popped it in his mouth and began to chew.
“Huh, this actually tastes pretty good!” he said. Beat preened, hands on his hips, proud as could be.
Damn right it is! I made that with love and care, yo!” he laughed gently.
“No kidding! You’re gonna have to make me more I think,” Fret grinned.
“Huh?”
In a surge of confidence, Fret reached over to grab his hand, squeezing onto it.
“You wanted to be my Valentine, right, bro?” Fret asked. Beat’s face turned a deep crimson.
“W-Well, y-yeah. I mean…” he stuttered, swallowing hard to try and gather himself.
“Well consider yourself Valentine’d!” Fret laughed.
Beat still looked confused, “What about Kanon, bro?”
Fret shrugged, “I mean, hey, I like her, yeah, but, dude… I always thought you were the bomb since you saved our asses from Susy K,” he smiled softly.
“Oh yeah? So like… does that mean…?” Beat asked slowly, looking at Fret almost warily.
“That we’re boyfriends? I mean, I’m game if you are!”
“Man… I gave you the chocolate in the first place! ‘Course I wanna be boyfriends,” Beat laughed, holding onto Fret’s hand tighter.
“Hell yeah!” Fret said.
“So what now?”
Fret was silent for a moment, deep in thought, “Well, I mean, we can hang out… and I can always grab dinner with you?” he suggested.
“I mean, I already told you… me and Rhyme are gettin’ dinner…” Beat frowned. Fret’s smile widened a touch.
“I know. But you gotta introduce your boyfriend to your sister, yeah?” Fret grinned. That caused Beat to just about leap back in shock and surprise, eyes wide as he processed what Fret just said, before slowly loosening up and laughing.
“Y-Yeah!” he said with another bright, gentle laugh, “You wanna get going then, bro? We can hang until we gotta meet up with her?”
Fret let his thumb rest against the back of Beat’s hand, letting out a content sigh.
“You know it, Beat buddy.”