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“Ken-kun!”
“Oh! Mamoru-senpai!”
“I was looking for you! Kou-kun said you were hiding back here!” Mamoru said as he sat down next to Kensuke outside by the flower beds.
“Yeah, I just wanted to get away from all the noise for a bit,” Kensuke told Mamoru.
From the open windows nearby, the two of them overheard all the lively noise and excitement from Aoharu Gakuen’s special valentines day baking event. Several clubs were participating in mixed teams to prepare sweets that would be judged by the teachers and student council members.
“I thought Ken-kun likes these kinds of events? Aren’t you really popular since you’re on the soccer team?” Mamoru tilted his head to the side confused. Kensuke thought he looked cute like a puppy.
Kensuke laughed. “Even though I am on the sports team, I can’t compete with Captain Reiji or Kai-senpai. Maybe if I was a little taller?” Kensuke held his palm over his head, blocking a bit of the sunshine that peeked through the tree leaves.
Mamoru chuckled. “Ken-kun is still growing, I’m sure you’ll reach that point soon!”
“You think so?”
“Positive!”
Kensuke smiled. “By the way, what was the reason you were looking for me?”
Mamoru gasped. “Oh that’s right! I almost forgot!”
Kensuke watched Mamoru rummage around in his school bag to pull something out.
“I wanted to give you this!” Mamoru handed Kensuke a colorful decorative bag filled with orange and yellow gummy bear shaped candy tied with a decorative orange and white striped ribbon. “They’re tangerine and honey flavored gummy bears! I saw it when I was buying candy to pass out to our friends today!”
“Oh!” Kensuke admired the bag with little candy bears. “Is this really for me?”
“Mm! You mentioned you like tangerines before! And the colors remind me of your little flower charm you always carry!” Mamoru beamed with excitement. When Kensuke didn’t say anything, Mamoru worried, “Ah–but if you prefer a different kind of candy I could change it, but I would need Kou-kun’s help wrapping it pretty again.”
Kensuke laughed and shook his head. “Nope! I’m good with these gummy bears! Thank you, Mamoru-senpai!”
Kensuke saw the instant relief on Mamoru’s face. “Good! I’m really glad! Don’t worry, they’re low in sugar too, so you don’t have to worry about eating too much since you’re on the sports team.”
“I can work off the calories, Senpai!”
“Oh, true. Ken-kun is always so active!”
Kensuke smiled. “You should try being more active, senpai!” Kensuke couldn’t help teasing a little, softly poking Mamoru’s side.
“GEH–Ken-kun, don’t poke me! I’ve been plenty active with the gardening club! Those sacks of fertilizer aren’t light!” Mamoru pouted, which was cute and made Kensuke wanted to tease him more but Kensuke decided to be good.
“Haha, sorry! That reminds me, I have something for you too!” Kensuke pulled something out of his bag. “Sorry I didn’t have time to wrap it all pretty.” Kensuke handed Mamoru a box of dark chocolate.
“Whoa! Ken-kun, these chocolates look fancy!” Mamoru’s eyes lit up.
“It’s not as fancy as the kind Kou can make, but I hope you like them! I asked Mori-senpai what kind of sweets would be good to help you while you’re studying for exams, and he recommended dark chocolate!” Kensuke explained.
“Thank you Ken-kun! I’ll be sure to enjoy these while I’m studying!” Mamoru was happy. “This is the first time I’ve ever received a box of chocolates of my very own!”
Kensuke blinked and couldn’t help but think about Mamoru’s comment. “First time? You mean you’ve never, ever received valentines chocolates? Not even the courtesy kind?”
“At school, it was mostly all the boys who had girlfriends gifting chocolates, and of course I never had a girlfriend so I didn’t participate.” Mamoru gave an embarrassed laugh. “Of course, the teachers at the orphanage have given us chocolates before for our valentine's party. They said we could each have our own share, but I would always share mine with the younger kids since they all look so happy receiving them!”
“Mamoru.” Kensuke sighed and patted Mamoru on the head. “Then, from now on, I’ll make sure you always get a box of chocolates! I don’t mind if you decide to share them later, but I want to let you know I’m gifting them to you personally!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to eat them all, Ken-kun!” Mamoru said.
“Don’t eat them all at once,” Kensuke advised.
“I won’t! I want to thoroughly enjoy Ken-kun’s chocolates!”
Kensuke laughed. He really enjoyed hearing Mamoru’s stories.
“Ah, Mamoru-kun!” Hina found them.
“Hina-san! What’s wrong?” Mamoru got up.
“Nothing’s wrong! Haruto-kun was asking if you’d like to help set out the flowers for the event’s after party.” Hina noticed Kensuke right behind Mamoru. “Oh! But if you’re busy, you don’t have to–”
“No worries, I’ll help of course! Sorry, Ken-kun, I’m going to meet Haruto-kun to help out,” Mamoru apologized.
“Totally cool! Ryo’s probably going to come out looking for me anyway, so I was going to head back inside!” Kensuke got up as well, securing the gummy bears safely inside his bag. “You can text me later when you’re done!”
“I’ll call you, Ken-kun!” Mamoru said as he quickly packed the dark chocolates in his bag and waved goodbye.
Kensuke waved and watched Mamoru run off with Hina to attend to the garden club duties before heading back inside through the open window.
“Ken! Don’t jump in through the windows!” Ryota scolded.
“I didn’t step in the flowers or mud!” Kensuke defended as he quickly changed into his indoor shoes that he had stored in his gym bag. “Please don’t tell on me!”
Ryota sighed and held back for once. “Fine, as long as you help me carry the boxes of fabric supplies later.”
“But those boxes are really heavy!” Kensuke pouted.
“It’ll be a good workout for you.” Ryota smiled.
“Okay, okay!” Kensuke didn’t mind helping of course, but he was always surprised how heavy those boxes can get even though they were only filled with fabric.
“What were you doing outside anyway?” Ryota asked as they walked through the halls.
“I was talking to Mamoru-senpai! He even gave me candy!” Kensuke answered honestly.
“Oh, I see. So you also got a honey lollipop,” Ryota understood, but Kensuke stopped for a moment.
“Eh? Honey lollipop?” Kensuke was confused. “Not gummy bears?”
“Gummy bears? No, Mamoru-senpai bought a whole bag of lollipops and was passing them out to share,” Ryota told Kensuke.
“Oh.” Kensuke thought to himself. Was he the only one that got gummy bears?
“Ken, stop spacing out! The after party is going to start soon!” Ryota called Kensuke’s attention and Kensuke realized that Ryota was already down the hall.
“Sorry! I’m coming, Ryo!”
“Phew, that’s the last of the flowers!” Mamoru finished placing down the last potted floral arrangement by the tables.
“Good work, Mamoru.” Koki came over and handed Mamoru a clean towel.
“Kou-kun! Are you already done with the baking event?” Mamoru asked as he gratefully accepted the towel to wipe off his sweat.
“Yes. All that’s left is waiting for the results to be announced after judging and the awards ceremony,” Koki answered. “But I think everything for our team went smoothly.”
“I see! Good work to you too, Kou-kun!”
“Thank you, Mamoru.” Koki smiled. “Were you able to give your valentines present to Ken?”
“Yes! I found him outside by the flower beds like you said!” Mamoru told Koki. “I hope he likes the gummy bears.”
Koki chuckled. “I’m sure Ken will enjoy them. You picked them out specially for Ken, right?”
“Mm! At first, I thought I would give him a honey lollipop like everyone else, but…” Mamoru paused.
“But?” Koki waited for Mamoru to speak.
“Somehow, it’s kind of strange, but I felt like I wanted to give Ken-kun something different? I don’t know how to explain it well.” Mamoru looked perplexed by his own words.
Koki chuckled. “Don’t worry, I understand Mamoru.”
“You do?”
“Yes, but you’ll have to figure out those feelings yourself. I bet Ken already knows,” Koki hinted.
Mamoru tilted his head confused again, but before he had time to ponder further, Hajime called everyone’s attention to start the after party celebration.
Later, after Mamoru called Kensuke to let him know when he was done with helping out the garden club, Kensuke asked Mamoru to walk home with him after the event was over.
“The after party was really fun! And as expected, Kou’s team really whipped out!” Kensuke commented as he walked home together with Mamoru.
“Mm! All of the team's sweets looked so tasty!” Mamoru agreed. “I thought the cat cookies looked too cute to eat!”
Kensuke laughed. “You can always take a picture before you eat it!”
“Oh right! Ken-kun is smart!”
“My sister always does it whenever she buys sweets that are cute. She always gets mad at me though when I eat them right away before she can take a picture,” Kensuke remembered.
Mamoru chuckled. “You two sound close. It must be nice to have siblings.”
“Mamoru-senpai is also an onii-san too, though? Since you looked after younger kids.”
“Mm, although we weren’t related by blood, I did care for them like siblings!” Mamoru reminisced. “Looking after younger ones can get pretty tiring, but every day was so lively and fun!”
“Do you miss them often? Since you moved into the school dorms with us?” Kensuke couldn’t help but wonder.
“I do when I think about it, but I can always make time to visit them. Kou-kun said I could share the extra sweets leftover from the baking competition with the teachers and kids at the orphanage, so I was thinking of stopping by after school tomorrow!”
“Oh, sounds nice! Mind if I tag along? It sounds like a lot to carry for one person, so I’ll help!” Kensuke offered. “Of course, if it’s too intruding, I can help you carry them and pick you up later.”
“No, no, I don’t mind at all if you tag along, Ken-kun! I’m sure the teachers would be happy to meet you since we’re friends! The kids too, they’re very energetic but they’re all nice!”
“Friends, huh?” Kensuke looked a bit lost in thought.
“Ken-kun?”
When the two of them stopped at a crosswalk waiting for the light to change, Kensuke couldn’t help but ask, “Mamoru, was I the only one who got the gummy bear candy?”
“Hm? Of course! I bought those only for you, Ken-kun!” Mamoru answered.
“Even Kou didn’t get any?”
“I–I did ask Kou-kun for advice on what I should give you, and he was the one that suggested candy that’s low in sugar but still sweet enough to enjoy,” Mamoru admitted. “I was originally wanting to bake you something with Kou-kun’s help, but I wasn’t confident enough that it would turn out well and we didn’t have enough time in between preparing for the school event.”
“Hmm. I see!” Kensuke seemed satisfied hearing Mamoru’s answer. Even if it wasn’t a clear answer yet, Kensuke was still happy inside.
“Um, what about you, Ken-kun?”
“Hm?”
“The chocolate…um…” Mamoru played with the buttons on his cardigan.
Kensuke smiled. “I only gave chocolate to Mamoru-senpai today!”
“Eh? Really?”
“Why do you look so shocked? Well, of course I did consider giving Ryo and Kou something too, but it’s hard to think of what to give Kou-sama with all the chocolate he receives from his fans and how he bakes amazing desserts.”
“That is true.” Mamoru understood from the chocolate dessert served at the event.
“Ryo also gets lots of chocolate from fans of his fashion designs and creations as well, but he complains about people leaving them in the club room because he doesn’t want the chocolate to get on the materials,” Kensuke mentioned. “He only accepts chocolate after club activities are over and outside the club room.”
“I-I see, as expected of Ryo-sama.”
“I know, why don’t we bake something for Kou and Ryo together?” Kensuke suggested.
“Together?” Mamoru asked.
“Yeah! We can borrow the kitchen at the dorm and make something! We could buy the ingredients tomorrow after we’re done visiting your orphanage!”
“Oh, that sounds like a fun idea, Ken-kun!” Mamoru agreed.
Kensuke smiled happily. When the light finally changed for them to cross, Kensuke quickly took Mamoru’s hand and ran together across the street.
“Then it’s a date tomorrow, Mamoru-senpai!”
“Mm! Wait–a date?! Ken-kun!”
Kensuke laid in his bed at the dorm comfy in his pajamas, but he was too excited to fall asleep yet. He reached over to grab the bag of gummy bears from Mamoru to admire it again.
As Kensuke held up the bag, he noticed a small folded card that was hidden inside the ribbon.
“Huh? Was this always here?” Kensuke carefully pulled it out without messing up the ribbon. Inside was a message in Mamoru’s handwriting.
Ken-kun:
A sweet treat for you who always shines like a star when you’re working hard! I’m cheering you on! Fight!
Fujimura Mamoru-senpai
Kensuke laughed as he read the card until it was memorized in his heart.
“Seriously, I’m going to have to try harder to have you realize my feelings, Mamoru-senpai.” Kensuke kissed the bag of gummy bears.