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"Huh? Joker-san, the student council wanted to sponsor a chocolate fountain for Valentine's Day... what is this?"
"Oh, did you say chocolate fountain? I thought you said chocolate mountain."
this joke makes no sense because they're speaking Japanese but oh well
"W- well... a chocolate mountain is good too..." The student council president stood wide-eyed and open mouthed, staring at the colossal thing that had been constructed seemingly overnight in the school courtyard. It was like something you'd find at an amusement park, not at a school festival. "How on earth did this thing get here?"
I watched Asahina with a faint smile on my lips. The other boy's sense of wonder and excitement made all the hard work worth it. He didn't need to know that Joker-sama had rounded up half of the students and even some of the teachers in order to hastily construct the mountain.
Well, it wasn't really a mountain. It was just a shoddily assembled three story wooden building of sorts, slapped together from a variety of prefabricated parts. It definitely wasn't up to code, but it was good enough for a day's fun. The walls were covered in wrapped chocolates, each one attached with a spot of glue, and the cheap furniture was stacked high with candy and chocolates.
"We built it, of course." Joker-sama was grinning, amused by Asahina's reaction. "Do you like it?"
"Yes, I love it! We can go inside and eat as much as we want, right?" Asahina was almost drooling. "It looks like so much fun!"
Except that... fun like that was meant for couples.
Couples...
"Hayato, why don't you show the Ace around inside? Yuki can be the first guest of the BL school chocolate mountain!"
I felt my face turning red, and I forced a cough to try and cover it. "Myself... with Asahina?"
"Yes, that seems fair. After all, you worked so hard to help build it."
Sonoda, who was standing beside Joker-sama, jabbed him with one elbow. "Kiyo, I thought you said you weren't going to--"
"Eiji." Joker-sama's eye flicked in his direction. "I thought you said you weren't going to ruin my fun anymore."
Sonoda folded his arms over his chest with a huff. "Fine, do whatever you want, but don't blame me when it goes horribly wrong."
"Right, right!" Joker-sama stepped forward, grabbing one of Asahina's hands, and then one of mine. "You two, go in and explore."
And with that, he pressed our hands together. Asahina clung to my fingers almost reflexively, a big smile on his face. "Ehehe, I can't wait to see what's inside! Come on, Chiba-san!" He dragged me into the mountain with unexpected strength, motivated by the promise of candy.
I let him pull me along, unable to supress a smile as his hand clasped mine tightly. I was holding Asahina's hand. My heart pounded.
"Oh, wow, look at this!" Asahina was stunned by the sheer volume of chocolate that filled the space. We were lucky that it was cool outside. I couldn't imagine how awful it would be if everything melted into a giant, sticky mess.
He was reaching for a bowl of chocolate-covered caramels on the table, but I tugged on his hand, stopping him. "Asahina. Don't eat any of these."
"Huh, why?" His cute pout made my cheeks turn red.
"The high quality chocolate is on the top floor. It was Sonoda's idea. He wanted everyone to fill up on the cheap candy first. He's planning to sell all the leftovers at the cafeteria later."
"Hey, that's cheating!" Asahina looked around for the stairs and tugged on my hand. "Let's go get the good stuff! I'm going to eat so much, you'll have to roll me out of here!"
I didn't doubt the truth of that statement.
We skipped the first and second floors, and when we finally reached the third, I told Asahina where Sonoda had hidden the best chocolate. It was in the far corner, a place that was so shadowy that most of the students wouldn't even notice that there was candy.
But.
Instead of chocolate, there were small white figures everywhere.
Stuck to the wall, and on the tables, and suspended in the air.
Little white things with soulless, empty eyes and black, open mouths.
I made some sort of shrill noise and backed away, nearly knocking over a shelf full of candy. A ceramic bowl slipped from one of the shelves and shattered on the floor, scattering chocolate everywhere.
I let go of Asahina's hand and whipped around, hand reaching for my sword, but I wasn't wearing it.
As I moved, my face plunged into a cloud of tiny white ghosts.
I screamed.
"Chiba-san! No, don't..." Something grabbed at my hand, but I shoved it away. There was another crash as more dishes fell to the floor. And another blur of white as I backed away, only to be surrounded by more ghosts.
Something grabbed me from behind, and I froze.
"Don't... don't touch me..." But my voice was only a whisper.
"Chiba-san, no, it's just me!"
Asahina's voice. Asahina's arms, embracing me warmly.
I blinked and my vision cleared. Asahina was nuzzled against my back, his arms tight around my chest. And all around me were...
"They're marshmallows, Chiba-san! Joker-san is teasing you again!"
Asahina sounded angry. I shook my head. "But... Joker-sama is testing me. This is my training. I have to get used to it..."
"It's not training! It's just cruel!" Asahina let me go, and I turned to face him.
"It's training," I insisted. "Because... even though you've helped me, I still have these sorts of reactions. I'm weak."
My face was red. After everything Asahina had done for me, after facing that spirit together, when I'd been able to protect him... to have a relapse because of ghost-shaped marshmallows, of all things. It was too embarrassing.
Warm hands petted my cheeks. "Don't feel ashamed. You've overcome your fear, but that doesn't mean you'll never be afraid again. It's been less than a year since those worries were put to rest."
"But... it's shameful."
"It's not," he insisted. "What's shameful is that Joker-san is still doing things like this to you. I'll talk to him later."
"You don't have to do that."
"Yes, I do. And," Asahina's hand went to the back of my head, pulling me closer, "Chiba-san, I'm so proud of you."
"Asahina, I just screamed over marshmallows. That's nothing to be proud of."
He shook his head. "That's not it. You recovered so quickly. Your fear didn't get the best of you for long. You're so strong now, Chiba-san!"
Strong.
But it wasn't true.
Asahina was the strong one.
I bent my neck, and he rose up on his toes, meeting me halfway as I pressed my mouth to his. He smiled against my lips, reaching up to wrap his arms around me.
We kissed there in the haunted chocolate mountain, surrounded by dozens of tiny marshmallow ghosts that twirled and danced on their strings.