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White Day was an Old World thing.
Just to be clear: Billy had no clue about it whatsoever. That said, he did know that he needed to get something ready for Lighter. He wasn’t even sure what the significance was—or, if Lighter even cared about this random holiday. Rather, it was Nicole who freaked out when she heard
about the fact that Lighter bought him the new commemorative Starlight Knight Valentine’s Day Hero Special.
Given that he and Lighter had been treading a strange, but undoubtedly, romantic relationship since his departure from the Outer Ring. What were they? Nothing with a label, for sure. Lighter still got furiously embarrassed when Billy tried to introduce him as his boyfriend—not for the shame of dating a robot, but for the shame of dating at all. That was the way Lighter simply was.
The way Billy understood it, the gift was meant to be a return favor for running a few extra jobs for the Sons of Calydon. Lighter didn’t even give it to him on Valentine’s Day—in fact, it was probably two weeks late when they finally met again in New Eridu with Burnice and Piper in tow.
However, given Nicole’s reaction, Billy figured it must’ve been a big deal. Not to mention, Anby also mentioned something about how, in the romance movies she had watched, things like giving gifts on special dates were paramount to the longevity of a relationship.
Billy wasn’t really that convinced—neither was Nekomata, but that's another story altogether.
Despite the skepticism, he still found himself perusing the stores in Lumina Square. According to Nicole, a man like Lighter would enjoy gifts that boasted of his cool guy exterior—whatever that meant. Things like cool sunglasses, or a new leather jacket. Neither of those things were items Billy associated with Lighter—well, maybe the sunglasses part, but as much as Lighter claimed it was to preserve his mysterious persona, Billy was also more than aware of his eye injury.
Nicole, on the other hand, wasn’t convinced in the slightest.
Thus, Billy was doing last minute shopping. The conversation with Nicole was telling enough: she claimed that since Lighter had cashed in on something priceless for Billy, Billy needed to go through the extra lengths to do the same for Lighter. She even gave him extra allowance (this part, he was almost certain was coming out of his future paychecks).
On the other hand, at least Lighter agreed to the spontaneous invitation to meet up tonight.
That was, at least, something for Billy to look forward to.
“Well, Billy, am I a genius, or what?” Nicole declared, hand on her hip as she confidently showed off her haul at the cashier.
Billy stared at the assortment of items on the counter with a confused tilt to his head. If he were a more inexperienced robot, Billy was certain he would’ve popped a fuse given the scenario. He just couldn’t quite wrap his head around it. Then again, he supposed there were still a variety of things he had yet to familiarize himself with.
Romance, beyond films and celebrity worship, was one of those things.
Don’t get him wrong: he knew it well that within the computing of his core modules—the parts that could be declared sentient, at least—Billy’s affections for Lighter were true. It was the one thing he would know at the brink of malfunction, it was the only thing he’d know in a sea of jumbled code and haphazard upgrades.
Despite all that, the best thing he could conjure up at the moment was: “I don’t think much of this is Lighter’s style.”
“Oh, come on, Billy! What’s wrong about these items?”
“For one…” Billy started, picking up a pair of hotpants that had the word ‘HOTCAKES’ printed on the back.
“Oh, sorry, that’s mine,” Nicole said, snatching the shorts out of his hands and promptly dumped it back onto the pile of items on the counter.
“You were going to make me pay for it?”
“Yes—I’m the boss! It’s partially my money anyway!”
“Um, if you’re not ready to pay, I’d recommend taking this conversation elsewhere,” the cashier manning the counter piped up. To that, Billy and Nicole promptly shoved all the items back into the shopping basket and made their way to another corner of the store.
“I think just the leather jacket and gloves are enough.” Billy commented as they sorted through the chaos in the shopping basket, “And, maybe the new belt.”
Billy did not comment that the belt was for himself. He had needed a new one for a while now—he was just too busy spending his paycheck on Monica-related merchandise. That was besides the point.
“Well, fine, but you need to get him flowers, and chocolate, and bring him out for a meal.”
“Is all of that really necessary?”
The look Nicole shot him was scathing.
Given the choices, Billy was stuck between a rock and a hard place. What was worse? Denying Nicole and facing her wrath or risking Lighter promptly turning back the way he came the moment he catches sight of Billy?
What scared him more at the moment was Nicole’s wrath.
He’d likely change his mind later, but for now, he complied with her requests.
As much as he’d like to protest, Billy could also recognize the novelty of it all. Billy was still a robot that was granted sentience at the end of the day. Most of the time, he allowed Lighter to teach him about these things, things like affection and intimacy and the exact tongue of which Lighter’s love language resided. That said, watching Nicole go about these very same aspects of romance and courtship in an entirely different way was intriguing.
He wondered how Lighter would react.
Lighter had always felt so certain in his preferences, so unshakeable in his beliefs, Billy couldn’t help but feel curious about what could happen when presented with such things that were so obviously miles away from what Lighter knew. Billy could deduce that the immediate reaction would be some form of embarrassment, but after that, would Lighter find himself enjoying it too?
Billy waited at the playground in Lumina Square.
How he managed to convince Nicole to forego dinner reservations was a wonder—not to mention, he had to make sure Anby and Nekomata still had enough to eat after their purchases this morning. Sure, he could plug himself into Random Play’s generator and call in a few favors, but he doubted the managers would be able to feed both themselves and two other people on top of that.
Even then—while he did tend to call in favors with those managers rather often—he’d prefer not to do it because his (or, is it Nicole’s?) expenses affected their entire crew.
Thus, the meeting was set at sunset for a picnic in a playground. It was quiet here, even quieter after the sun went down. If the movies were any comparison, Billy supposed it was sufficiently romantic.
Billy stared out into the sea as he leaned his weight against the railing. Beside him was a paper bag, the leather jacket they had bought earlier sitting idly within. If he had a heart, Billy was sure it would be racing right now. He had never done anything quite like this before, he supposed the emotion he was trying to name was excitement. Or, perhaps, it was anticipation.
Whatever it was, it allowed for the idea of Lighter to fill his circuitry with something warm.
Something like a small flame that was created to light a cigarette—harmless but comforting after years of doing it.
“Billy?” The familiar voice registered on his hearing module.
There he was—Lighter.
His screen shifted to display his smile as he greeted the other, “Hey. Did you just get to New Eridu?”
“Yeah. You told me to meet you around this time—surprised I was punctual though, I thought I’d get held up at the gates a bit.”
Like cogs that turned in perfect synchronicity, they reached for each other. Intimacy wasn’t either of their strong suits, but it did seem that Lighter enjoyed it. As for Billy, he had upgraded his contact modules a fair bit—and, well, safe to say, it paid off. The feeling of warm fingertips combing through his hair and Lighter leaning his weight into the embrace of Billy’s arms was always a welcome sensation.
Billy was only a few inches taller than Lighter, but it wasn’t a lie to say that he loved to take advantage of it. He tipped his head down, resting his chin on Lighter’s head as his boyfriend nosed into the collar of his red leather jacket.
“S’good to see you. I missed you,” Lighter said, after a long pause. It was unexpected, and out of character. If Billy had to guess, it would be because the last time they met, they didn’t get a moment to themselves at all.
It seems even Lighter could be clingy.
“It’s good to see you, too. I know you missed me,” Billy said, half a tease and half from his own cockiness.
“Don’t start,” Lighter huffed, promptly trying to pull away but Billy held on tighter, unwilling to let him go. Lighter didn’t bother to try again. Instead, he sunk deeper into Billy’s touch, greedy and insatiable in all the ways Lighter would never be caught dead doing.
For another few minutes, they stayed like that—tangled in each other’s arms, catching up on much needed affections. Lighter’s breathing was steady, taking in deep exhales through his nose and soft exhales through his mouth. There was once where Lighter told him that he smelled of motor oil and leather balm—he wondered if the scent was soothing to someone like Lighter.
He hoped so.
Finally, when they managed to pull apart, Billy grabbed the bag from the floor and gently nudged it into Lighter’s arms. He might as well get this over and done with so that they could move on with the rest of their nights doing far more familiar things—nothing to do with the whimsical nature of romance, and more to do with their long-established romantic bond.
“Happy White Day.”
“What?” Lighter asked, staring down at the bag.
“White Day—it’s today. That’s why I called you out here—for a picnic and to pass you your return gifts.”
“What’s a white day?”
Billy stared at Lighter whose gaze was just as confused as Billy’s. This was awkward. In all the scenarios he had conjured up in his head, none of them featured Lighter not even knowing what White Day was. Granted, neither did he up until this morning.
“It’s… a celebration.”
“Is it? Haven’t seen anyone celebrate it ever.”
“According to Nicole, it was a big thing before the fall of the old capital. It’s a day for people who received chocolates on Valentine’s Day to return the gift to the person whom they accepted the chocolates from.”
Lighter raised a brow at that, “I didn’t give you chocolates on Valentine’s Day. Besides, didn’t you say you didn’t like it because of how it messed with your taste module?”
“You gave me the Starlight Knight Valentine’s Day figurine.”
“Well, that was mostly from Sons of Calydon.”
“It’s still a Valentine’s Day gift.”
Lighter glanced up at Billy through the rim of his sunglasses, skepticism thick in his irises. After a long pause, he asked, “Did Nicole set you up for this?”
As perceptive as always, nothing that Billy did could ever really slide past Lighter. Either that, or he just knew Billy all too well. In the face of the leaders he followed, Billy didn’t know the word ‘no’—it was the same with Big Sis, too.
“She did,” Billy said, a heavy sigh resting on his voice as he simulated a weary noise.
Upon hearing that, Lighter let out a chuckle. Then, another. At last, he burst out into a hearty laugh, throwing his head back as his hands moved to rest against his stomach. Watching Lighter like this, entirely amused by the idea of Billy being coerced by Nicole and outwardly showing his enjoyment, it brought a soft laugh to Billy too. The robot was embarrassed, surely, but more than that, he was once again reminded of how deep his affections for Lighter were.
With a few more giggles that bubbled out of him, Lighter reached out to grasp Billy’s head in the cup of his palms. Softly, slowly, but free of any hesitation, Lighter pressed a kiss to the edge of his screen with a smile still etched into him.
“Thank you, but I have no need for it.”
“You haven’t even seen what it is yet!” Billy protested. That said, he did also pick it out solely because it was the only appropriate gift for Lighter amongst all the other things that Nicole had grabbed off the shelves.
“Is it expensive?”
“Sort of?”
“Then…” Lighter pulled back just enough to grin at Billy. From behind the lens of his shades, Billy could see the glint in his eyes, ready to cause a little mayhem—the Outer Rings certainly have shaped him into a wild character. Billy didn’t mind it, rather, he loved it. Lighter continued, “If you still have the receipt, how about we return it and use that money to go out on a proper date?”
Billy’s hands found their way to Lighter’s hips, intrigue making the whirr of his engines go a little louder than usual, “And, what did you have in mind?”
“Mm. Maybe we can take a drive out of the city with some good grub—I don’t care about this whole Valentine’s Day thing, I just want to spend time with you.”
“Well, Lighter. Seems like you know how to convince a robot,” Billy declared as he grabbed the bag out of Lighter’s grasp and held Lighter’s hand in the other. He was about to make a beeline for the store before they closed their shutters—even then, he doubted that would change their plans. They’d just have to find cheaper alternatives.
“Hey,” Lighter said, digging his heels in before Billy could drag him off.
“What is it?”
“Thank you,” Lighter murmured, and Billy’s eyes, as sharp as they were, picked up the sight of pink dusting his cheeks, “For trying to do this for me.”
‘I love you’ was the phrase that lingered on his vocal module, waiting to be spoken into reality. However, Billy was never one to say those words—it was mostly because he was a robot, so any emotion at all still felt like he was trying too hard to step into a human’s shoes. He instead squeezed Lighter’s hand as he replied, “If it’s you, I’ll do anything, Lighter.”
Perhaps, this series of events wasn’t the White Day that Billy had envisioned he would be having earlier today. However, it was certainly a scenario that suited them far more. He may not have understood the fantasies and whims of human romance, but he was happy enough to accept the complexities of romancing Lighter.
“Let’s go, Billy.”
Billy didn’t have to be told twice.