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It wasn’t like Fushimi didn’t like dessert. As long as it wasn’t too sweet (or too crispy, or too mushy, or too fruity), he was fine with having one or two pieces. He wasn’t that fussing about the visual image of the dessert either, though it was better if it didn’t look extra cute or fancy. Well. The point was, Fushimi might sometimes have a sudden crave for sweets and had every right to deliberately buy some at the town’s biggest bakery.
Totally not because it was Valentine’s day and Fushimi had just caught a glimpse of Misaki’s favourite brand of cupcakes through the bakery’s window on the way back from work, nope.
Fushimi was aware of how people were throwing sneaky glances at him, probably judging very hard. What? He didn’t even do anything, just glaring at the cupcakes for the past ten minutes and debating with himself whether to throw away his dignity and bring them home for an undoubtedly will-laugh-his-ass-off redhead.
Really, why did he get himself into this stupid crisis?
“Saruhiko! Look! Look!” Fushimi turned around as Misaki pulled at his elbow, overly enthusiastic like a big puppy as always. “They’re selling new cupcakes for Valentine’s day!”
“They look like big pink hearts with dirty little hearts on them. Disgusting. And calm down, you’re yanking my bone out of its socket, Misaki” He complained, but obediently followed his friend anyway.
“Oops, sorry!”
“You didn’t sound sorry in the slightest. Stop pulling me.”
“Sorry! Come on, I want to see if there are more Valentines-themed cupcakes!” Misaki was all but dragging Fushimi into the bakery, smiling blindly like he had just found a treasure chest.
“Tsk. Why are you so excited, Misaki? Valentine isn’t the day for someone who can’t even look at a girl in the eyes like you.”
“S-Shut up! Girls have nothing to do with me wanting to eat cupcakes, okay?
“Sure. And that’s why you are just a blushy virgin.”
“Che! Make fun of me one more time and I won’t buy you anything. It’s my turn to hold the wallet today, remember?” Misaki pouted while waving cash like a fancy fan to portray his point. The cute little scene did not make Fushimi’s stomach flutter or anything.
“Whatever. I don’t exactly like cupcakes.”
“You don’t hate them either, and since you hate almost everything it’s good enough! I’m gonna buy you one anyway! Eating cake alone in Valentine is just too depressing, no matter how you look at it…”
Fushimi was a second away from pointing out that by social standard, it was still equally depressing to eat cupcakes with a male friend instead of girl’s chocolate, but Misaki had already started to drag him forward by the wrist. It was warm, the place when Misaki’s fingers resting on his skin, and Fushimi let himself be led with a small smile.
They wandered aimlessly around the cake shop, Misaki admiring stupid cupcakes while Fushimi stealing glances at his friend’s shiny amber eyes.
“These bouquet-shaped cakes look nice, doncha think?”
“Hm? I guess. They suit your name, Misaki~”
“Gzee!Don’t call me that in public! Anyway, how about these?”Misaki picked a rather dumb looking cupcake decorated by a tiny superhero figure who Fushimi had absolutely no idea about.
“Not interested.”
“Meh, you really are stuck up guy.”
“Tsk.”
“Oh! Look, look! Aren’t these ones kinda cute?” The redhead pointed at a tray of freshly baked cupcakes and grinned. They were penguin-topped cupcakes with snowflake details. The penguins even had different expressions and wing poses, though they all looked somewhat cutely awkward. Misaki picked a particular cupcake at the far corner. The penguin topper must have some errors because its eyes were much thinner than the rest’s and wings hanging down loosely by its side. “Oh! This one looks like you, Saruhiko! Can you see his I-am-judging-you-so-hard glare and I-don’t-care-if-the-world-end-whatsoever pose?”
Fushimi threw a nasty look back, not caring at all that he did look like the penguin.
“Hah! Penguin IS the symbol for social awkwardness, after all.” Misaki only laughed harder. “Oh, it’s from the cake brand that I like, too!! I’m soooooo gonna buy this.”
“Cute animal toppers are for kids, Misaki.”
“La la la. I can’t hear whatever you said. Don’t insult my holy cupcakes.” The redhead picked another hyper excited looking penguin cake (detailed down to the blush and flower on its head), and brought them to the pay counter. “Come on, let’s bring them home! I want to eat them ASAP!”
The cashier took one look at them, then went straight into a fit of giggles. “Oh my. You two really make a cute little couple.”
“W-W-What! We’re N-NOT! What the hell!?”
“Oh.” The cashier raised an eyebrow at Fushimi who just gave a non-commitment shrug, and smiled all-knowingly. “My bad, I was talking about the pair of penguin cupcakes. Happy Valentine’s day anyway! Please come back next time!”
“Thanks! Being able to eat delicious cakes together with Saruhiko is definitely a happy thing, so we’ll come back lots and lots!”
“… Tsk. What the hell, stupid Misaki. But…100 points.”
“Ah? What did you say?”
“Eh, no, nothing.”
Fushimi shook his head to snap out of the embarrassing memory. Really, he thought he had forgotten about it, however, when he saw the familiar cupcakes in front of him all of it came rushing back. Misaki definitely wouldn’t remember, though, that idiot had air in his head instead of brain. If Fushimi bought this silly cake back, he would end up being so fucking lame. Totally out of character. Uncool.
Besides, a holiday as pointless as Valentine was for teenage girls with dumb puppy crush, after all. It had nothing to do with him or whatever, so why the heck he felt the need to buy Misaki something?
Fushimi continued to glare at a certain angry-looking penguin (huh? Was that an actual scowl?) for another good ten minutes until a security guard came over and looked at him with such murderous eyes that even someone like Fushimi withered a bit. For some reasons, his instinct kicked in to tell him that if no purchase was made, he’d be in deep shit trouble with this guard.
Sighing heavily, he picked the scowling penguin onto his tray before walking a few steps to the counter. Mere seconds later, he paused, having serious second thought, and turned around very reluctantly. Well, it wasn’t like he hated sweet, and the cake would look out of place if it stood alone in the Valentine-themed box, so…
Tsk. Damn it.
How stupid.
But…
“Being able to eat delicious cakes together with Saruhiko is definitely a happy thing!!”
Fushimi gritted his teeth and took another cupcake. Its penguin wore a really irritated expression, it was so strangely relatable that Fushimi vaguely wondered what exactly was the deal with the bakers.
“That would be 700 yen, thank you. Please wait a moment, I’ll tie a ribbon around your box.” The cashier, a young woman who couldn’t be a day over 25, smiled at Fushimi. “Hope you enjoy Valentine’s day with your beloved.”
“Don’t assume. I don’t buy chocolate, do I?” Fushimi reflexively denied even though he could feel heat climbing into his face. Irritated, he clicked his tongue and pretended that the floor was interesting.
“Well, you look like more like someone who would buy meaningful gifts from precious memories than people who just follow the mainstream. It’s written all over your face.”
“What.” Fushimi blinked. This bakery really was full of freaking scary people…
“Oh, I can also see that you love this person very much.” The woman pointed to the angry penguin (Seriously, how the fuck she knew?). “But you don’t seem like the type to know much about how to be romantic properly, mister officer.”
“Leave me alone. Are you a fucking psychic?”
“I’m just a very observant lady.”
“…Whatever. I don’t care. And my life is none of your business.” Picking his beautifully decorated box of cupcakes up, Fushimi made a mental note of never going back here again. He also should report to the Captain that there was a suspicious bakery which might or might not be the hideout of high-leved strains.
“Of course, officer. By the way, as a Valentine’s bonus gift, here is a voucher for the grocery store further down this road. Everyone would fall for a sincerely done dinner,” The cashier winked, “especially if it from someone who normally doesn’t seem to show his care.”
Romance was so fucking overrated, Fushimi bitterly thought as his hand betrayed him and took the voucher. He swore it must be some kind of wicked mind-control power.
The voucher got a 50% discount for pineapples, only on 14/2.
“What’s wrong, Saru? You look really pale. Are you feeling sick? Gzee, I keep telling you to eat vegetables but you never listen, and then you go and get sick every month.”
“Shut up. I’m just a little tired, that’s all.”
“Well, it can’t be helped. I’ll cook something for you. Something hot and easy to eat… Porridge, is that okay?”
“Hm…are you going to put pineapples in the porridge again?”
“Of course! I like them and you can eat them, I can’t see the problem here. It’s vitamin! Vi-ta-min, you hear? You anti-veggies freak!”
“Pineapples don’t belong to porridge, Misaki. Nor fried rice. Nor hot pot. Nor –“
“Shut your mouth! Isn’t it all because of your shitty diet? I put them in because I care about you, stupid Saru!”
“…Fine. Just …don’t put more than 3 slides in. And make it mild-flavoured.”
“So demanding. You should get your lazy ass up and cook for me sometimes, too.”
“Maybe someday.”
Fushimi clicked his tongue ever so exasperatingly.
Cooking wasn’t that hard, right? Recipes were all over the internet, yeah, it was all step-to-step operation. There’s no reason he couldn’t excel it.
Three hours and forty eight minutes later, as Fushimi stared at the slightly burnt steak-and-pineapple kabobs he realized that, fuck, of course there was a limit to the things he was fully capable of. It wasn’t perfect, so it wasn’t good.
After letting out a heavy sigh, he cleaned up the mess that was once his tidy kitchen with the intent to erase all the traces of his failure. However, when he brought the food to the trash bin, Misaki’s bright smile floated into his mind. That idiot had tried to drill the idea of “happiness” in him over and over again, always saying that even the smallest affectionate action Fushimi did would make the redhead happy. And being happy didn’t mean that everything must be perfect, it was the thought that counted.
Even though a tiny corner of Fushimi still doubted such a thing, he put the tray back to the table and took a taste check. It was burnt a little and a tad salty, but definitely edible. Maybe, just maybe…Misaki wouldn’t mind?
The clock pointed at 7 p.m, Misaki would be home soon. Fushimi decided it’d be the best for him to leave the kitchen before he lost courage and ended up dumping the kabobs for real.
“Coffee, coffee. Too much stress in a day and no coffee can kill a man.”
As soon as Fushimi finished making coffee, the door swung open under the brutal force that was Misaki’s merciless kick.
“YO! SARUHIKO! I’m home!”
Trademark short, tousled red hair, bright smile, skateboard in hand, all that made Misaki Misaki. And really, Fushimi didn’t even know how to handle the fluttering feeling in his stomach as he greeted his brisk partner. “Good evening, Misaki.”
“Wrong! I told you, you are supposed to say ‘Welcome home’. Say it again!”
“…Welcome home, Misaki.”
“That’s more like it!”
Laughing throatily, the redhead flopped down the couch, attempted to lie his whole body on it, but stopped when noticing Fushimi standing near with two cups of coffee in hands.
“Scoot over.”
“Okay~” Misaki moved and took the pink cup at the same time, but still occupied most of the couch. Fushimi found himself not minding in the least that Misaki leaned against his side the moment he sat down. “Ahhhh, I’m beat tired. Today my co-workers were awfully pissy for some reasons. They kept bickering with each other and some glared at me even though I did nothing to them. Well, I did yell at them back, but you get the point.”
“Huh. Now you say that, I think my fellow clansmen were snappy, too.”
“What’s with all of them anyway?”
“Who knows. Maybe it’s the weather. The date. Whatever. Human’s trendy emotion is hard to understand.”
Fushimi took a sip of his coffee, thinking hard about how to break the shocking news that he had prepared dinner and desert today. Without losing his cool, of course.
“…Say, Misaki.”
“Hm?”
“I…”, Fushimi gulped. Ugh, this was surprisingly difficult. It’d be better to stay silent after all. “Today is…”
“?” Misaki titled his head, looking at Fushimi dead in the eyes. Somehow, that straightforward gaze made Fushimi want to cover his face. His heart beat a little faster and he felt light-headed all of a sudden.
Turning his head to the wall to avoid eye contact at all costs, Fushimi muttered weakly. “If you get to eat cupcakes and food with pineapples, you’ll be happy, right?”
Eh. Wait.
Fuck, that wasn’t what he wanted to say! No, it was, but not those choices of lame words. What the heck, brain!?
“I-I meant, I got you some, that is. So be grateful, idiot.”
There was a sharp sound of something being placed on the table, followed by clothes rustling. Misaki’s entire body weight disappeared from Fushimi’s shoulder as if being burnt. Fushimi bit his lips, still refusing to turn his head around.
“S-S-Saruhiko!? Really? For ME? On VALENTINES!?”
“So noisy…”
“WHERE IS IT? I know, there, isn’t it?”
Like a storm, Misaki hurled over the couch and dashed into the kitchen, much to Fushimi’s wariness. Okay, now came the moment of truth. He wasn’t nervous at all. Who would need Misaki’s approval anyway?
He didn’t turn all the way around to stare at the kitchen door, waiting for Misaki’s return. Totally not.
“Saruhiko! Did you actually make these kabobs? They’re so fucking GOOD! I didn’t know you can cook things like this! So cool!”
Fushimi could hear chewing sounds in between loud praises, and had to fight with himself not to smile.
“I see the cupcake box! …. Ah. This – this is! Saru, you remember!”
Another earsplitting storm of footsteps. Misaki reappeared in the living room, one hand holding the kabob dish and the other the cake box. He placed everything on the table and reclaimed his spot on the couch, leaning so close to Fushimi that they practically shared living space. His hazel eyes were all wide and shine, they almost looked like glowing amber.
Not really knowing what to say, Fushimi shrugged. “Happy valentine’s day, I guess?”
“I am definitely happy! Thank you!” Misaki grinned, a rosy blush crept onto his cheeks and the tips of his ears. “ I-I did make some pudding for you earlier today, the kind with mild flavour that you like. They’re on the highest shelf of the fridge so I guess you didn’t see it. We can enjoy it later, okay?”
“So that’s my present?”
“Y-Yeah. And…, uhm, this is Chitose’s stupid suggestion, but, one more, here, so…” Stuttering every two words, Misaki shyly raised his right wrist, showing a beautiful red ribbon tied into a small bow. “W-Well?”
Fushimi stared, as though he couldn’t believe his eyes. “Misaki…”
“B-But we should eat first, nah…?”
“Sure.” Even as he said that, Fushimi had already closed the gap between them and went for a searing kiss, arms wrapping around Misaki’s waist. Warm and sweet and just a hint of pineapple, the taste of Misaki’s kiss was as rewarding as always. He pulled away a little just to push the redhead further to the back of the couch, chest heaving for air, and lowered back down with the intent to bring their lips together again.
Only to meet with the taste of cream and sugar.
Fushimi opened his eyes to see that instead of Misaki, he had just kissed the angry-looking penguin on the cupcake. The real Misaki was hiding behind it and blushing really bad like a virgin he was.
“Damn it! I said, a-after dinner!”
Fushimi kissed the penguin again and laughed. Being romantic was difficult, but this was so worth it.