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Every year, Natsume got letters and chocolates for Valentine's Day. Every year, he would read none of them and leave the papers scattered around his room, until he found the energy to clean and throw them away. For him, they had no value. A girl confessing to him in person? That would be totally different. Love letters simply weren't something he appreciated that much.
Not like Tsumugi. His unitmate was not as popular as Natsume was among girls (firstly, how would that even be possible, and secondly, it wasn't a competition, neither a thing Natsume enjoyed, okay?) but the amount of pink envelopes he recieved on February 14th increased a bit every year. Always, the bluebird would talk to Natsume about all the sweet words and anonymous love confessions, and how much he wished the one who wrote them would have also written their name.
"I don't know if I can return their feelings if I don't know their identity!" Tsumugi had complained, over and over again.
"Do you have feelings for someonE, senPAI?"
Tsumugi had never gone silent so quickly.
That conversation happened a year ago. This Valentine's, there were no letters in Tsumugi's locker at Yumenosaki Academy. It wasn't Tsumugi's locker anymore, and with his graduation he had left that silly tradition behind.
It was also the last year Natsume would be getting colourful and perfumed envelopes with glittery words and cookies inside. The last year he wouldn't read them. The last year he would eat the cookies, because he wasn't going to let them go to waste.
How could he read someone's true feelings about him, so sincere, so innocent, when he knew he wouldn't be able to return them? In the case a letter wasn't anonymous, how was he supposed to talk to the girl? Not that it mattered. There was a time where that was the reason behind his reluctance to read the love letters. Now, Natsume just knew that no matter how beautifully written they were, they would not make him fall out of love with that idiot. Really, that would be wonderful, because there was nothing in this world Natsume hated more than his stupid crush in a stupid boy no spell was able to erase. Love was a difficult matter in magic. Unstable. Powerful. His was so powerful, in fact, nothing he had done to get Tsumugi out of his mind had worked.
So there he was. On Valentine's Day. In NEWDI's office. Hating himself. Slipping a small scented envelope inside of the pocket of Tsumugi's coat, hung by the door. Feeling pathetic.
Because there was no way Natsume would ever talk about his feelings. This was Tsumugi's one and only chance. Should he not find the note, it won't be Natsume's problem, and it won't be the end of the world either. He just needed to get it off his chest, that was all.
As the magician walked home, he promised to himself to read all of the letters he got this year, not because he planned on doing something about them, but because he, as well, was a coward. And he also had the hope to get an answer that, deep down, he knew would probably never come.
....
Tsumugi was exhausted, the only thing he wanted after such a long day of work was to lay in the sofa and read, but maybe he was too tired to even concentrate in the book. The best he could do was take a shower and go to bed right after.
Thinking just this, he intended to get the keys to his apartment out of his pocket and was met with a paper he didn't recognise. Tsumugi wasn't the one to leave random notes in his pockets.
As he looked at the paper, he realized it was a red envelope, and a light fragrance met him as soon as he brought it closer to his eyes, so that he could see what was written on it.
"Roses...?"
Not finding any name, he opened it after turning on the nearest lights. The first thing he took out was the almost burnt chocolate cookie. Tsumugi was no expert, but it didn't look like it was bought in a store. Only when he read the note Tsumugi realized what day it was.
"Happy Valentine's Day" it read, straight to the point.
It wasn't signed.
But there was no way Tsumugi wouldn't recognize Natsume's handwriting.