Work Text:
Sinking even further into the oversized beanbag chair that’s already threatening to swallow him whole, Itachi watches as the rest of his classmates distends into a Valentine’s Day party induced frenzy from the safety of the little reading nook in the furthest corner of the classroom.
At the very beginning of the month, Miss Mei had sent everyone home with pink and red flyers to announce that their class would be celebrating the holiday with a themed party at the end of the day.
Miss Mei decorated her entire classroom to reflect her favorite holiday (the woman is in love with the idea of being in love); the classroom door was lined with black construction paper and had the saying, ‘our class is filled with sweethearts,’ in pretty pink cut out letters while different colored hearts were glued to the paper, each one with a different student’s name in even prettier handwriting. She’d even hung up some of the craft projects the kids had worked so hard on as decor - one of which was cut out pictures of them blowing kisses, little cut out hearts floating from their outstretched palms. (Those would be going home in their goodie bags today, as gifts for their parents.) Pink and red balloons were tossed around the floor while a few special heart shaped balloons danced around the ceiling. Even all their desks were covered by alternating pink and red plastic table cloths. Tied to the backs of their chairs were goodie bags that the children had decorated a few days before. Currently, they were being filled with Valentine’s Day cards as they class walked around to socialize.
Or in Itachi’s case, unsocialize.
(he’d already given all his Valentine’s cards to Miss Mei before class started this morning so that she could slip them inside the goodie bags while she was setting up for the party during recess.)
Shisui, of course, isn’t gonna let that happen.
Itachi realizes all too late, only just now noticing he’d lost track of the curly headed boy while he was thinking of a way to sneak over to the snack table (pink lemonade, red fruit punch, and water, as well as an assortment of both handmade and store bought baked goods had been so graciously donated by the parents of room twenty-seven thanks to Miss Mei including a sign-up sheet with her flyers.) when he pops up in front of him, a half eaten chocolate chip cookie (made by Kagami) in one hand, and a non-half eaten chocolate chip cookie in the other.
“Why are you off all by yourself?” The cookie crumbs on either side of his mouth do nothing to lessen the worried look on his face. “We’re having a party.”
Itachi looks at him dryly and Shisui takes a second to rethink about what he’s just said.
“Okay, you’re right, that was a bad question.” He looks at him bashfully and offers Itachi the non-half eaten cookie. Itachi takes it and scoots over to make room for Shisui who didn’t ask to sit. Itachi just knew he wanted to - just like Shisui knew without knowing that Itachi wanted the cookie. There’s no way to sit on the beanbag chair without the two of them touching, so he gets comfortable against Itachi’s side. “You know you could’ve just stayed with me…”
Itachi points at his face and Shisui, looking a little embarrassed, wipes the crumbs away. “Not when all the girls chase you around the second they see you.” he reminds him, quietly, hiding his little frown by nibbling on his cookie.
At that fact, Shisui wrinkles his nose and flushes a shade of red so bright, he looks like one of the balloons. It was true that all the girls fawned over Shisui - trying to sit next to him at lunch, only to be scared off by Anko, or, as Itachi had said, quite literally being chased around the playground at recess, but Shisui was a lot faster than them.
One particular girl in their class was always trying to get Shisu’s attention. Anko’s scowl doesn’t deter her, and instead of running after him, she simply waits until Shisui stops to catch his breath to be able to approach him. “I think Sabrina is gonna ask me to be her Valentine.” His admission is even quieter.
Itachi doesn’t like the way his belly gets tight when Shisui says that. It almost makes him feel sick. “Would you tell her yes?”
Why wouldn’t Shisui? Sabrina was very pretty with her dark green eyes and long black hair that was often tied back with a bow that matched her outfit. Today she was wearing a baby pink dress that went down to her knees and frilly white socks under her black Mary Jane shoes. She even had on a glittery lipgloss that she’d tried more than once to leave on Shisui’s cheek.
Shisui stares at him like he’s grown a second head - maybe even a third. “No way!” And he bumps his shoulder into Itachi’s, “girls are gross,” and given how his tummy feels, Itachi is inclined to agree, but Shisui keeps talking. “Besides, there’s someone else I wanna ask to be my Valentine.”
That sick feeling suddenly turns sad. His shoulders slump and he’s having a very hard time looking at Shisui, so he keeps his eyes on his cookie, instead. “Y-you do?”
“Of course I do, silly!” He lets out a laugh and reaches into his hoodie pocket, carefully pulling something out. It’s a homemade Valentine’s Day card made from red construction paper and littered with tiny scribbled doodles. Itachi can tell by the shape it’s folded into that once opened, it’ll make a heart. “Daddy told me that you should ask the person that means the most to you to be your Valentine.”
Shisui proudly presents it to Itachi; Itachi looks at it like it’s going to bite him.
“Who?” He finally builds up the courage to ask.
It becomes clear to Shisui then that Itachi isn’t taking his hint. “Take it,” he insists with an impatient excitement, waving it in his best friend’s face, “and find out for yourself!”
Itachi very much does not want to do that, he’s already too anxious thinking about who’s name could be written on the inside, but it’s like his hands have a mind of their own and suddenly he’s reaching for it. “Oh,” he opens it to reveal his name, written very prettily.
(Shisui practiced and practiced and practiced even more on making sure his handwriting was the neatest it could and probably would ever be.)
Itachi looks at Shisui, big grey eyes meeting big brown ones. “You…you want me to be your Valentine?”
I mean the most to you?
You always will.
“I do!” He grins, crookedly and scratches at the back of his curls. “so, uh, will you?”
“Yes, Shisui,” Itachi’s lips curl upwards and he holds the card to his chest as if it’s the most precious thing he ever will, “I’ll be your Valentine.”
Shisui never thought he’d feel happier - that is, until he dumps out his goodie bag on his bedroom floor that night with the intention of sorting the candies and the cards. A green construction paper heart falls on the very top of the pile, meaning it must have been at the very bottom of the bag.
Forgetting everything else, Shisui scoops it up and feels his heart soar. He smiles down at the handmade card, fingers tracing along his best friend’s signed name.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Itachi.”