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The day has finally come. It’s already been one year huh.
“That cursed day…Why can’t we do away with that dumb custom already?”
Yumeoi was staring at his calendar. It was already that month, and the next day was already the fourteenth day of it. Yes. Valentine’s day. a day during which he used to receive natto-flavored chocolate from his friends as a joke back when he was in highschool (it was an all-boys one too, so no chance of receiving chocolate from a pretty girl either). And…That was about the only good memory he had of this day. Relationships suck anyway, so he didn’t want to have anything to do with it, and having an entire day dedicated to love was so…urgh.
“What the fuck is Valentine’s day anyway?”
A commercial ploy. Love is only a chemical illusion anyway, a mix of brain signals and self-administered drugs coming from the body, which coupled with hormones, create that disgusting cocktail that people happily celebrate for no reason. Pft, what a bunch of idiots. This is why humans and society should go down already.
Ordinarily, he’d spend that godforsaken day away from everyone and everything in hopes of forgetting it even was a thing, but he couldn’t do that this year.
He had received an invitation from Roberu to “hang out” without any precision. Surely he meant taking it easy at home and playing games right?
Wrong. A few hours before the appointed time, he received a message from the bartender that told him that they were going to the mall.
“B..but I want to play more Pokemon! I want to 100% the game, can’t we just hang out indoors?” But his plea was ignored, so he could only sigh as he grabbed some of his nicer clothes and prepared for going outside his apartment. As much as he hated the whole deal, he’d make sure to be presentable –partly for his own sake, but mostly to make sure Roberu wouldn’t feel ashamed to be with him.
Thinking back on it, maybe he had overdone it because Roberu immediately whistled as soon as he opened the door to greet him.
“Yumeoi…we’re going to the mall, not some kind of fancy restaurant. But you look great!”
Yumeoi felt his face burning a little. Roberu never pulled any punch when it came to his awkward moments. Part of him hated him for it, but it still felt nice having someone that could be so honest and straightforward with him. He never had to be worried about Roberu faking things or pretending they were on good terms, simply because the bartender always said things outright, and in the rare cases he didn’t, made sure it was easy enough to read his intentions.
“Hold on, I’ll change to something more casual!” Yumeoi hesitantly replied, but he didn’t even have time to do that, because Roberu grabbed his hand out of nowhere to pull him out of his apartment (or more like his private fortress at this point) and closed the door to signify that it was too late to turn back.
“...Or not, I guess.”
Yeah, thinking about it, the burgundy shirt was probably fine, but the waistcoat and patent leather shoes were probably a little too much. Not that he could do anything about it because Roberu was already pulling him in the elevator.
A push of a button and ding, the elevator started to go down, heading towards the real world.
“What have you been doing lately, Yumechan, well aside from playing games?”
“As if I was supposed to be doing anything else?”
“Wow, and you’re the one always telling me to take care of my health and not stream too much. Glasshouses and stones…” Roberu chuckled while giving him the elbow.
“In my case, Arceus is an exception, mister ‘I’m happy as long as I stream!’” Yumeoi replied with a smirk.
“What’s wrong with that, if I’m happy at the end of the day!”
“Nothing, as long as you don’t overdo it!” Yumeoi sighed while leaning against the mirror panel at the back of the elevator.
Another ding interrupted them. They went outside and the first thing Yumeoi noticed was the wind that seeped into his very bones. Cold, his worst enemy. To think he didn’t even have the foresight to take a coat. Then again Roberu looked even worse for wear in his bartender outfit. It took them around ten minutes to get to the mall but it really felt like an eternity. There was a good chance they’d both catch a cold at this point, given how they were both shaking like leaves as they made it in.
The place was packed full of people, and lots of couples. A nightmare on earth. Yumeoi wondered why he even accepted the invitation. Come to think of it, why was he always saying “yes” to Roberu anyway?
What was Roberu to him?
Yumeoi didn’t exactly see him as a friend. More like a friendly co-worker. But then, Roberu was kind of an irregularity. He was the only one he actually spent time with offline, for some reason. No. He didn’t have any friends anyway, and refused to admit that Roberu could actually be an exception. He wasn’t even sure about the way he felt about him. Feelings were just like that after all. Kind of blurry, escaping the words that were supposed to define them. What he felt for Roberu didn’t fit in the boxes he knew of. Even the intensity of his feelings varied for no reason. Sometimes he merely felt comfortable at his side, sometimes he considered him an annoyance, and on some rare occasions, he felt butterflies in his stomach when hanging with him. Was it because he couldn’t help but find him weirdly charming and entertaining at times, or something else altogether? Maybe that? That feeling that resulted from his own weakness to people he found charming? Eww no way, no way in hell. It was probably just the stress of being around someone, no big deal.
He tried dissecting his own perception the best he could, to no avail. Nothing conclusive came out of it so he just gave up altogether. Roberu was there, and he was there with him, no need to think further than that.
Yumeoi reconnected with reality to realize Roberu was nowhere to be seen. He was probably not too far, but the place was so overcrowded he couldn’t say for sure. Then suddenly, something touched his shoulder. He turned around to see a box of chocolates, then Roberu’s hand, arm, shoulder and face.
“Jeez, you startled me!”
Roberu instantly smiled at his reaction.
“That’s on you for daydreaming! Here, obligatory chocolate!”
“Ah…Erm, thanks I guess!” Yumeoi fel his face warm up a little. Even if it was obligatory, it was the first time he received chocolate that wasn’t work-related, or a joke –or both– on that day. It felt strangely warm and comforting. Maybe this day wouldn’t turn out to be as bad as he thought.
They visited a bunch of shops together, stopped at a café to recover and have some nice drinks and pastries (Roberu never failed to appeal to Yumeoi’s sweet tooth whenever he could). The hours went faster than Yumeoi could see them pass on his watch, and at some point he felt a little guilty. Roberu sure was being very attentionate with him. Being spoiled like that while doing nothing in return was just wrong in his book. Even if it was out of goodwill and the other party didn’t expect anything in return, that kind of unilateral generosity wasn’t something he could accept so easily.
“I’m going to buy something, can you wait for me?” He finally said after mulling over. Roberu smiled at him and answered with his typical kansai accent. the dialect always felt reassuring somehow.
“No probs, I’ll just check other places! Let’s meet up outside of the mall in ten minutes?” Roberu checked his watch as he said the words, before giving him a sorry smile.
“Oh, we’re already done for today?” The words escaped Yumeoi’s mouth. His own tone surprised him. He sounded childish and a little despondent to his own ears.
“Yeah, sorry I have plans for the rest of the day, I hope you aren’t mad?”
“I’m…I’m fine! I’m glad this is over so I can go back to playing games and working on my next song!”
“Ow, I’m sorry if this was a chore to you. Maybe it was a bad idea to invite you in the end…”
Roberu clearly saw Yumeoi losing his usual calm composure and panicking over the fact he realized that he may have sounded rude just now. And that reaction made him somehow a little happier than he usually was.
“No,no,no! I’m sorry, this was a great day, I had lots of fun! Anyway I’m on my way, see you in a bit!”
Roberu was glad to hear him stumbling a little on his words. Ever since they had met, he understood that somehow, Yumeoi treated him differently from others. He wasn’t sure why and in what way, but it felt nice being special to him, even when said someone else always denied the fact with all of his might. Roberu hoped that someday, when someone asked Yumeoi about his friends, he'd think about him before saying with assurance he didn't have any friends.
So he did something he wouldn’t usually do. Instead of going to other shops like he said he would, he walked around and checked on Yumeoi from a distance. He saw him enter a confectionery to buy something. He could see his pale slender friend look outside the shop while distractly answering whatever the clerk was saying (Roberu couldn’t quite make out what they were saying), before taking a box of chocolates and putting it in a plastic bag in a hurry. It was fun to see him do everything so fast and walk away –or rather run away– from the shop while looking at all the couples with a mix of fear and anxiety.
Whoops, that wouldn’t do. Roberu checked his watch and hurried outside the mall to pretend that he’d been waiting for him there all along. After a while, Yumeoi arrived and planted himself in front of Roberu. His eyes shifted as he handed him –or rather threw at him– a fancy box of chocolate.
“Here, obligatory chocolate from me too. Happy Valentine I guess.”
“Wow, what a fancy box, look at this heart shape, and at the beautiful ribbons! You sure went all out for me, do you like me that much?” Roberu made sure to tease him as much as possible as soon as he saw the box. Then again given how it looked, there was no way he’d just look at it without at least one snarky comment.
It was also very fun to see Yumeoi as he was more or less realizing the meaning the box might have from an outsider's perspective. His expression shifting from surprise to embarassment in a flash was kind of entertaining in a way.
“They…they didn’t have any of the simple models left. I know this one looks cringe, but the chocolate is what matters! Just forget about the box already!”
Roberu ignored him and continued to inspect the box. A piece of paper with golden letters was hanging from it. He took it and read it out loud.
“From Yumeoi to Roberu. With my everlasting love for you.”
Roberu couldn’t help but burst out laughing as Yumeoi turned somehow even paler than usual.
“Ah…Erm…Eh? Why? What happened? Oh wait, the clerk asked for my name and the recipient’s name…so that was why…Wait no! This isn’t what you think! This is an accident! Just forget about everything related to that damn box. Throw it away as soon as you’re done with its contents! This never happened, alright? Yumeoi was losing himself in a blur of comments, and it only contributed to make Roberu laugh even harder.
But somehow, this all felt incredibly endearing. Yumeoi was a good friend for him, but the more they hung out, the more confidently he could say that Yumeoi was somehow really, really cute at times. Or something like that? Anyway, he couldn’t reasonably let such an opportunity to tease him more.
Roberu brought the box to his lips and looked down.
“I didn’t know you felt that way about me, but I guess that’s fine too.”
He expected Yumeoi to instantly react so he could laugh some more, but instead, Yumeoi looked at him, not saying a word. Just that was enough for Roberu to find himself at a loss for words in turn. The silence was short and yet felt so damn awkward.
Relax, it’s just the atmosphere getting to me. He had to break the silence somehow.
“Sorry! I just wanted to joke around, but if it makes you feel all worked up, then there’s no point. Anyway, let’s just forget about it and go home, alright?”
“Who’s worked up? I’m not worked up at all! I already told you, this is all an accident! Anyway,I have plans, so see you later!”
“Plans like rolling around at home for the rest of the day?” Roberu said before letting out a small laugh.
“No comments, I’m on my way, bye!”
But before Yumeoi could leave, Roberu exclaimed, loudly enough for everyone to hear.
“I”ll be sure to return the favor on White Day!” With a victorious smirk on his face as he saw Yumeoi hurry up and leave as fast as possible in hopes people would forget about his very existence, or something like that.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t even said the most important thing. Maybe he should send him a message. Roberu took his phone, hesitated a little and then typed.
“Happy Valentine’s, Yumechan!”
Message sent, and after a few minutes, a reply.
“Happy Valentine’s, I guess…Robechan?