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It's February 13th.
Before this year, that was a day that meant nothing to Chihaya. In fact, the actual holiday on the 14th also meant nothing; she'd always just given her friends and family some store-bought chocolate and called it good. But this year…
She has a boyfriend.
That's weird to think about.
And even weirder—her boyfriend is Taichi.
If you'd asked elementary school Chihaya, or middle school Chihaya, or even first-year high schooler Chihaya who she thought she'd end up falling for, Taichi would not have been her answer. She would have said something stupid, like Doctor Harada.
Or maybe, if it were high school Chihaya specifically and she was feeling a bit more serious than normal that day, the answer would have been no one.
But she's so glad it was him all along. It took her forever to figure it out, but they have the rest of their lives to make up for it, she figures.
Even though he's not in Tokyo anymore, he's managed to make these the best months of her life, and she has to make sure that Valentine's Day is special for him. It's her job, and she loves him, so she loves having the responsibility.
But what she doesn't love is sitting at her desk, Chitose on her bed as "moral support" (which is just her scrolling through Twitter while Chihaya has a mental breakdown) looking up chocolate recipes.
"I have no idea what I'm doing," she says for the hundredth time.
These recipes are so complicated. Full of words she doesn't know, ingredients she doesn't know. And worse yet, the only person who would truly be able to understand them is Sumire-chan, but Chihaya can't very well enlist her help, knowing she probably still has some feelings for Taichi. At the thought, Chihaya groans, and Chitose sighs, clearly over the conversation. But she still offers advice anyway. "Chihaya, just buy him something and take it down to Kyoto with you. Everyone knows you're hopeless in the kitchen, so Mashima-kun probably isn't expecting anything homemade, anyway."
"I am not," Chihaya protests. "I'm just…not good at making sweets."
Chitose tuts. "You're so stubborn, it's ridiculous. You could literally burn down the house and refuse to admit that you can't cook anything." Chihaya sticks her tongue out at her sister. "What are you, five?"
Chihaya ignores the jab and turns back to her computer, eyes glancing over the webpage one more time. "I just…it's our first Valentine's Day. I want to do something special. And knowing Taichi, he's going to get a lot of chocolate from girls at school, too." She doesn't mean for it to, but the last part comes out sounding slightly bitter (having a hot boyfriend can be hard sometimes, okay?).
"Does that really matter? He's been obsessed with you since your first year of high school. It's not like he's going to take off just because some Kyou Dai girl gives him confession chocolates. Plus, knowing him, he's probably told everyone there about you, anyway."
Chihaya has to admit that that does make her feel a little better. She's not really sure that she's much to be proud of at all, but she does love how much Taichi loves her in spite of that. She feels a smile play at her lips. Chitose takes the expression change as her out, and stands up.
"If you really want to do homemade, I'm sure mom'll help you."
"But that's embarrassinggg," Chihaya sighs, then gets what she thinks is a great idea. "Wait, can you help me, Chitose?"
Chitose does not think that's a great idea.
"I'm going out of town tomorrow. I have to pack. And besides, this is your thing. You're gonna have a lot of Valentine's Days left with him, so you'd better figure it out now."
Chihaya lets her forehead fall to her desk with a thump. "Why do you hate me?"
Chitose snorts out a short laugh. "Whatever. So dramatic. I'll see you when I get back."
"Have fun," Chihaya calls, voice muffled by the wood in front of her face.
After a few more seconds of wallowing, she picks her head back up. How hard could this possibly be?
It turns out, very hard. Very very hard.
After a solid two hours in the kitchen, all she has is burnt chocolate, a room covered in batter, a body covered in batter, and the smell of an overstrained oven.
"How do girls like Sumire-chan do this so well?" she groans, putting her hands on her hips and leaning backwards to stretch out her stiff back. She cringes when she realizes she just spread chocolatey palm prints across her sides.
She's leaving on the first shinkansen tomorrow morning, and it's…she taps her phone screen to life to look at the time. How the hell is it eleven-thirty already? Regardless, she's really out of time. She'll have to buy something in Kyoto tomorrow while Taichi's in class.
As she scrubs at the countertop with a sponge, she thinks about it more, and comes to a conclusion: this isn't just about chocolate.
It's another way she's failed Taichi.
She grits her teeth and presses down harder on the tile.
After getting to bed far too late, sleeping through the first few shinkansen trains and not actually arriving in Kyoto until 2:30, and then wrangling her bag into a coin locker at the station, Chihaya gets on a bus heading to Kyou Dai. Despite the extra rest she accidentally got this morning, she almost falls asleep standing up and has to catch herself on the handrail a couple times. Then she wears herself out further by running all over the (much larger than she expected) campus to look for the life sciences building.
But it's worth the exhaustion when she finally gets inside the right one and sees him.
They've discussed his schedule before, so she has a vague idea of where he is when, but she was still lucky, and surprised, to stumble upon him not even 10 feet into the building.
And he's also just as gorgeous and awe-striking as usual.
She takes a few seconds to just stare at him. He's with a couple guys and a couple girls, leaning over one of the guys' phones with his normal nose-crinkling smile on his face as he watches whatever video is playing on the screen.
She doesn't want to interrupt, but she also really does.
"Taichi," she calls, and at the sound of her voice, he snaps his head up. When he sees her, the biggest, goofiest grin spreads across his cheeks, and he pushes his way through his crowd of friends to make his way over to her. He gathers her up into his arms, and she nuzzles against the side of his neck as she hugs him back, taking in his smell and the way he feels pressed against her. People ask her a lot what she misses most when she's apart from Taichi, and she thinks it might be this—just having his arms around her; his chest being pressed against hers; feeling his heartbeat, strong and steady, just like the rest of him. And his voice in her ear, just a whisper, saying, "Hey, you."
She giggles a bit, aware that she sounds like a little kid, but too purely giddy to care. "Hi."
"I can't believe you actually came."
She leans back far enough to look him in the eye. "I told you I was going to come."
"Yeah, but…I dunno. It just feels surreal, I guess."
She rolls her eyes fondly and kisses the tip of his nose.
"Yo, Taichi," one of the guys he'd left behind calls out. Taichi lets go of Chihaya and turns back around. "This your girlfriend?"
Taichi smiles again, prompting laughs from his friends. "Yeah," he confirms.
"A-ah, nice to meet you," Chihaya says, suddenly a little embarrassed that their first impression of her was her clinging to Taichi in the middle of campus. "I'm Chihaya."
"Oh, we know," the guy says, laughing, but it's not mocking—just amused. "We've heard all about you."
Taichi's cheeks flash red. "Shut up, Ryo," he grumbles.
"So you talk about me, huh?" Chihaya asks teasingly, nudging his ribs with her elbow.
"Sometimes…"
"All the time," Ryo corrects.
"That makes me happy," she says, loudly enough for Taichi's ears only.
He's still lit up pink, but he smiles at her nonetheless. "I'm glad."
After leading Chihaya down a more secluded corridor and attacking her with a few kisses, Taichi groans and leans down, resting his forehead against her shoulder. "I don't want to go to class. Not when you're here."
She laughs, bringing a hand up to the nape of his neck, fingers playing with the feather-soft hairs there. He hums in appreciation. "It's just for a couple hours. I'll still be here afterwards."
"Promise?"
She rolls her eyes. "No, I thought I'd take a daytrip to Kyoto to see you for five minutes, then get back on the shinkansen to go home again."
"So sassy." He straightens back up. She puts on her most innocent smile. "Stop. That expression is creepy on you," he teases.
Chihaya puffs her cheeks out into a fake pout. "I don't know what you're talking about, Taichi. I'm an angel."
He pokes at her cheek, then leans in closer. "You'd better not be one tonight."
"Eh—?" Chihaya squeaks. Her face heats up so much she's sure it would be burning to the touch if he were to reach out. "Taichi, we're in public." Something about being with her in person makes him really bold, she's noticed, and while she loves it just like she loves everything else about him, it still catches her off-guard sometimes.
He smirks at the effect he had on her. "No one else is over here. But anyway, you have your key, right?"
She nods. He'd given her a key to his place when she came down here for the first time back in December, saying, "You can come visit any time, okay? Any time." The statement was made half out of desperation to see her more often, and half out of him trying to prove he has nothing to hide, even when he's hundreds of kilometers away. But all she heard in that moment was, "I love you."
It's been one of her most precious possessions since.
"Good. I'll see you tonight, then."
"Mm-hmm. Have a good class."
Taichi puts a finger under her chin and gently tilts it up toward him. "One more," he says, then presses a sweet kiss to her lips.
She smiles. "I love you," she reminds him.
"I love you, too. So much."
As much as she doesn't want Taichi to go to class either, she knows it's important that he skips as little as possible—he wants to be a doctor, after all.
Plus she has an errand to run.
She gets her backpack from the station, makes her way to Taichi's and throws it in his genkan, then looks up a few shops on her phone before heading back out to complete her Valentine's Day mission.
There's no way this is happening.
She has one job as a girlfriend on Valentine's Day, and that's to bring her boyfriend chocolate.
And all of the nice candy shops in Kyoto are sold out of exactly what she needs.
They suggest a convenience store.
She honestly thinks it might be better to have empty hands than to give Taichi convenience store chocolate on Valentine's Day.
Defeated and with deflated shoulders, she trudges back toward Taichi's place. How is it that both of her plans fell through? How is that even possible?
Maybe she's starting to absorb Taichi's lack of good luck.
Once back in the apartment, she slumps down on the couch. She has to think of something else. A plan C. What can she get instead of chocolate?
But…
It's not that she's jealous or anything, not exactly…but she's sure he's going to come home with chocolate from girls at school. They've probably had it prepared for days, while Chihaya herself had spent that time stressing about what exactly to make…and in the end, even after all that worrying, she has nothing to show for it.
She throws her head back against the couch and groans, allowing herself another minute to have her pity-party.
Then, she launches herself up into a standing position.
That's enough of that.
Maybe she can still salvage the holiday, and that means she has a night to plan.
In the end, she's not exactly proud of what she comes up with, but…
Of course, no restaurants are taking reservations anymore, since it's Valentine's evening at this point. That means she needs to find another way to feed Taichi (obviously cooking is out).
So she makes her way around the corner to the little burger shop that he loves so much, picks up his favorites, and then goes to the convenience store for drinks.
After all is said and done, she gets home just minutes before Taichi does. She's about to start plating the food when she hears the door unlock. Somehow, her stomach manages to sink at the same time that her heart starts to soar.
"I'm home," Taichi calls.
"Welcome back!" she says, but she can't quite tell if her voice is as chipper as it would usually sound.
He looks up at her and grins, so she guesses it passed the test. After setting down his bag and kicking off his shoes, he steps into the kitchen area.
"Mm, take out."
"Oh, uh…y-yeah."
He smiles and opens the bag to peek inside. "You remembered?" he asks, his grin growing.
"Huh?"
"You remembered how much I like this place." He looks at the messy handwriting scrawled across one of the boxes. "And what I always order? I only took you there once."
She's…confused. Truly baffled by this reaction. She'd expected him to be grateful—no matter how forced it might be—but he seems…genuinely excited?
"Yeah, um…but you were so excited to take me back then, so of course I remembered it all."
"Thank you, babe," he says, leaning over to kiss her. She returns it, but there's still this weird nagging feeling in her gut.
When he pulls back, he looks down again, then laughs, the sound loud and warm and truly jovial, just like his laughs always are. "And wine? Chihaya, you're only 19."
"You know they don't care about that at the convenience stores…" she mumbles, then can't hold it in anymore and blurts, "Don't you think something is missing?"
"Hm?" Taichi asks, raising an eyebrow. He pulls a french fry out of the takeout box and pops it into his mouth. Once he notices her tight expression, though, his morphs until it matches. "What's wrong?"
"I—" she starts, then trails off, not quite sure how to continue. "It's Valentine's Day. You're supposed to get chocolate."
"Uh…yeah, I guess, technically. So?"
His obliviousness just frustrates Chihaya more. "I tried to make it for you, but, well…" She whips out Chitose's words, which she truly discovered are accurate last night. "We all know I'm hopeless in the kitchen." At that, a smirk tugs at the corner of Taichi's mouth. "Stop that," she whines. "Anyway, all I did was make a mess. So I thought I'd buy some down here, but everything was sold out, and I couldn't bring you convenience store chocolate."
She hides her face in her hands. She doesn't know when she started crying, or why exactly the tears won't stop flowing, either. This is so stupid. She doesn't need to be crying over this; it'll just make Taichi's night even worse.
The second her shoulders start quaking with sobs, Taichi rushes over to her. "Chihaya, hey. It's okay, really. I'm just happy you're here."
"B-but," she sniffles, burying her face against his chest as he pulls her into a tight hug. "It's our first Valentine's Day, and it's literally the only thing I have to do as your girlfriend, and I couldn't even pull it off."
"Hey," he coos, stroking her hair with one hand, the other on the small of her back to keep her close. "Think for a second. Have I ever cared about Valentine's chocolate?"
She takes a moment to seriously consider that. Every year at school, he got swarmed by girls pushing gifts of candy at him. He'd always accepted it politely, but she can't think of a time she ever saw him actually eat it.
"I guess not," she admits. "What did you do with all that chocolate, anyway?"
He chuckles and kisses the top of her head. "Gave them away. Some to Rika, some to Nishida and Komano."
"Mm…but that's different," she protests, doubt still churning her gut. "Those were from random girls. I'm your girlfriend."
"Yeah, and if you'd brought some, I would have eaten them and been happy to. But all I want is right here, in my arms. Okay? I'm so happy you're here, Chihaya."
Despite herself, she feels a smile work its way onto her face. "I'm happy I'm here, too."
"Good." He pulls back to look at her, then uses his thumb to brush away a stray tear that's trickling down her cheek. "And besides, now we have cheeseburgers. And…wine. Why did you think these two things would go together, anyway?" he teases.
"I don't know," she huffs, but she's still grinning. "It just sounded romantic."
"It is," he assures her. "I don't think you'll like it, though. Wine's pretty bitter."
"Just get the glasses down for me," she says, gesturing to the top shelf of the cabinet and rolling her eyes at him playfully. "I'll be fine."
They sit at the low table in Taichi's living room, Chihaya practically in his lap as he struggles to eat around her. When she notices and tries to move farther away, though, he wraps his free arm around her waist and shakes his head. "You're not going anywhere," he says.
It makes her heart warm.
She gags on her first sip of wine, prompting a teasing, "I told you" from Taichi. She drinks the rest out of spite.
And then, with the bottle downed, the cheeseburgers gone, and slightly cloudy minds, they find themselves in his bed, and Chihaya realizes quickly that there's no place else she'd rather be. It's cheesy, she knows, to think that while his arms are around her and his lips are against hers and he's moaning into her open mouth, but it's true. She loves him so much, and he loves her. How could she ever think he'd care about something as trivial as chocolate?
"Told you you're not an angel," he jabs afterwards, when they've settled down into a content tangle of arms and legs.
Chihaya blushes crimson. "Stoooop," she protests.
He smiles and kisses her forehead. "Okay, okay."
A thought occurs to her, then. She knows she shouldn't say it, but it sneaks out past her lips anyway. "Hey…did you get any chocolate at school today?"
Now it's his turn to blush. "Uh, well…yeah, a couple boxes."
"Where are they?"
"I gave them to some of the guys in my bio class this afternoon."
"Taichi, that was perfectly good chocolate! We could have eaten it," she teases.
He raises an eyebrow. "I thought it might make you jealous if I just brought it home."
She shrugs a little. "Maybe a bit, but…you know how to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world. You always have, but you really reminded me today."
"Good." Then he sighs.
"What?" she asks.
"Now I have to think of something as good as this for White Day. You set the bar too high."
She snorts out a chuckle. "I think I literally put the bar in hell."
He laughs in return. "Whatever, you dork."
"But I do love you."
"I love you, too. Thank you for today. It really was great."
She smiles and snuggles closer, prompting him to tighten his arms around her waist further. "I'm glad."