Archive of Our Own

1 - Chi and Moca

For the first time in a long time, Chi and Moca were in the city for vacation. Not a friend vacation, like some may think when they set their eyes upon the two. It was merely just a coincidence that they were going to the same city, at the same time, on the same train.

Chi sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I don’t know how we even managed this.”

“Don’t act all annoyed when you knew that I was going out of town for the week,” Moca murmured, fiddling with the keychain on his backpack.

“You’re not the only one allowed to go on vacation, Moca!” Chi whispered-shouted, rolling her eyes. “If only Tsuki were here. That way this could’ve been a fun friend vacay. Not a forced Chi-Moca hangout.”

Moca groaned, ignoring the looks from people in the neighboring seats. Finally he asked, “Where did you even plan to go?”

Chi looked up from the book she had just opened. Unlike him, she seemed obsessed with annotating the pages, colorful tabs peeking out from the pages like blossoming sprouts in the spring. “Well.. there was this huge bookshop I wanted to go to in Osaka and I planned to stay at a small motel for a week.”

Moca looked incredulously at her. “You want to spend a whole week just going to bookshops? You don’t even want to visit, I don’t know, a restaurant or something?”

“I never said that! I’m just telling you my main plan. I need to find something to eat, you know,” Chi said, shooting Moca with a look of exasperation. “What do you even want to do in Osaka?”

“Food trip, duh.”

“See! Your reason isn’t any better than mine,” Chi said, throwing her hands up in the air out of vexation. Moca only shrugged.

“Whatever. It’s a shame though.”

Chi’s eyebrows raised. “Shame?”

“The restaurant I want to go to first is having a Valentine’s Day discount .” Moca said, his voice laced with disdain. He shuttered. “The discount’s for any couple that shows up. Unfortunately, the sale’s actually good.”

After a moment, Moca stared at Chi’s blank look. It was his turn to raise his eyebrows. “You good?”

“What if we pretended to be a couple?” Moca paused the same time Chi caught herself talking. The two of them stared at the other, neither of them brave enough to continue the conversation. Chi spoke again after an awkward minute. “Seriously. If we both pretended to be a couple, we could get you that discount and I would be able to eat some good food. Assuming that you have good taste.”

“Huh.” Why didn’t he think of that? “That’s… surprisingly not a bad idea.”

“Mind you, I have tons of good ideas,” Chi said, crossing her arms.

“ Right.. ” Moca looked at her with mocked suspicion. Chi’s long limbs reached over the table separating the two to playfully punch his shoulder. Moca winced and retorted with a swift kick under the table.

The typical annoyance that painted their faces melted off into fond smiles. 

Despite what the rest of the village said, there was indeed a reason the two of them were friends, not only bonded by the glue they would call Tsuki. In fact, when he was still in the city doing his old job, they were talking and visiting each other almost every other day. And if not physically, they were calling when they could. It may not look or sound like it, but the intent was there and that was enough.

Some may say that it’s some codependent bullshit, but they don’t question it. 

—

When the train came to a stop, Moca and Chi walked out of the cabin with bags in hand and a single goal in mind. Get that discount.

Valentine's Day was tomorrow, so some sales were popping up early. And to Chi’s delight, the bookshop she was planning to visit put up an early Valentine’s Day sale. Couples discount - Bring Your Partner, Buy 1, Get 1 Free.

“Oh my gosh…” Chi’s eyes widened, the corners of her mouth curving upwards. “Your restaurant can wait. Let’s go !”

Moca rolled his eyes, but let himself be dragged by Chi to the shop.

Admittedly, he didn’t mind hanging around the bookshop. Truly, what he was worried about was the amount of time they might spend here. If he knew anything about Chi, it was that she was a slow shopper and that she reads each and every synopsis. They could be stuck there forever.

“Okay, okay. Do you, like, have a list?” Moca said, staring at the book in her hands.

“I mean, yes. But it’s fun to look around, you know?” Chi said absentmindedly. Moca walked as she continued to wander the shop aimlessly, picking up whatever book she found interesting before putting it down to look at another.

Moca groaned, but promptly shut up when Chi’s head turned so quickly that he might've been afraid if she snapped it. “Moca. I get that you don't want to be here, but seriously. Find something to entertain you. Like a book, unless your lack of an attention span refuses to.”

Moca resisted the urge to retort, instead settling for an eye roll and walking away to browse for himself.

To his dismay, Chi proved him right and he was in fact able to entertain himself with the selection of books that were set out. Especially when he managed to stumble into the small plant care section nestled in the back of the shop’s second floor.

He doesn’t remember what time it was prior to him getting enamoured by a book called “Bonsai Trees and Other Botanical Wonders” by Shoku Bando, but when he looks up from the book and at the window, the sky is dark and the previous chattering quieted into hushed conversations. 

Moca looked around for Chi’s tall stature, still carrying his newfound book in hand. Weaving through aisles and aisles of seemingly never ending shelves of books, he finally found her sitting on a lounge chair with a stack of books on the floor next to her. 

“Chi!” Moca said, snapping her out of her trance. She was holding a book titled “Hairy Otter and the Deathly Hallows” by Jay K. Owling, some bird author that Moca recalled Chi mentioning offhandedly a few weeks ago.

Chi looked up from her book, jolting slightly. “Huh?”

“Look at the time! We’ve been here for hours!” Moca said, making a point to keep his voice as steady and  soft as possible as to not disturb the other customers.

“I- Oh!” Chi looked at her watch and then at the dark sky. “I’m so sorry, Moca! Let’s go.”

She quickly got out of the squishy chair and lifted the stack of books in her hands, handing half of the books to Moca.

“Hey! I’m not buying these!” Moca whisper-shouted, glancing around to see if anyone heard or saw them.

“I know,” Chi said. “I am. I just need you to pretend that you’re my boyfriend to get the buy one, get one deal.”

Moca sputtered, making an effort to ignore the blush that was threatening to heat his face. “ What ?”

“You heard me. I just need you to do this for me. Please ,” Chi begged. “I promise I’ll do your restaurant deal!”

Moca thought for a moment before sighing, glaring at the smile that began to take over Chi’s face. “Fine. Fine, fine, fine .”

“Thank you!” Chi whispered, her smile so bright that Moca felt the need to squint. Moca shrugged, still pushing down the odd fuzzy feeling that was desperate to seep out of his chest.

Moca followed her as she walked through the zig-zagging check out line and made her way to the free cashier at the counter.

“Hi, did you find all you need today?” the lion at the counter said. 

“Yup! Is the Valentine's Day discount already available or..?” Chi said, staring at the small discount poster plastered on the wall behind the cashier.

“Oh, yes! Is this your boyfriend?” the lion asked. 

“Yep! We’ve been together for 2 years already. How time passes..” Chi said, looking up, reminiscing. Moca had to give it to her, she did look pretty convincing.

The lion looked down at him, staring at his face, likely observing him to see if they were faking. Moca felt his face heat up, the blush that previously wanted to emerge blossoming. He felt tingly under his gaze, glancing away to avoid eye contact. Still looking away, Moca nodded pathetically, ignoring the way the cashier smirked knowingly in the corner of his eyes. God, he felt his knees wavering and a wave of goosebumps take over his arm.

After a moment, the cashier smiled softly, probably satisfied with the mental torture that he enacted on him, and went back to scanning the rest of the stack.

Chi pulled her card out, making small talk with the cashier that Moca didn’t make a point to engage in. 

“Have a happy Valentine’s Day, you two! And happy reading!” He said, nodding a goodbye. Moca returned the gesture, his eyes darting away when he met eyes with him, trying to disregard the intentional look he gave the two of them that likely implied something else between the “couple”. 

When the door of the shop closed, Chi let out a sigh of relief. “I really thought he would question us more.”

“Right..” If anything, the cashier was definitely more of an ‘actions speak louder than words’ kind of guy. Especially with the looks he was getting. 

“If we were able to bypass that inspection, I wonder how they would figure out if people are faking or not,” Chi said.

“Maybe it’s purposeful… or something..”

“Did you say something?”

“Nope. Nothing.”

The two walked down the dark streets of Osaka, swerving around the crowds of people. As they quickly walked through the mass, Moca felt a hand grip his, tugging him. When he looked down, Chi’s hand was holding his, but it didn’t seem like she was fazed in the slightest (unlike him). It was probably an unconscious decision to make sure they didn’t get separated, but Moca couldn’t help but feel warm inside from the gesture.

What?

Moca almost tripped over his own feet when the realization hit him smackdab in the face. Did he like Chi?

No way. That couldn’t be right. Chi was one of his best friends. Even if they bantered a lot, it never really meant anything or evolved into a grudge. So, there was no possible way that he had a crush on her. And why now?

Moca blamed the fact on Valentine’s Day and the cashier’s suggestive facial experiences towards the two of them. This admiration (infatuation?) had to be temporary and would wear off after the weekend. Yeah. For sure.

—

The two friends met up again the next morning after parting to go to their respective motels. It was Valentine’s Day, meaning discounts and sales were blooming everywhere.

At first, they had only planned to pretend for Moca’s food trip, but, if they were going to sacrifice their dignity for food, why not just go all out?

First it was Moca’s planned restaurant where they had a rough start, poorly convincing the waitress they were together but managed to slip by somehow (Moca had a feeling she had seen the blush that erupted on his face). Then was a strip of shops that all seemed to have Valentine's Day sales; better discounts for actual couples that showed up. Ensue a round of splurging. To Moca’s surprise, the shopping didn’t suck as bad as he originally predicted. In fact, he actually kind of enjoyed himself. With Chi, of all people.

Well, that’s a lie. Contrary to popular belief, Moca didn’t hate Chi. He didn’t dislike her, either. Sure, their banter got out of hand sometimes (to the point that Tsuki needed to rein them in), but they were still best friends. It’s just, with his ego and pride, he would never admit to enjoying her company, even if the fuzzy feeling continued to stick.

Chi pointed at another place, this time a pottery workshop. On the window of the establishment was a red and pink poster reading ‘Pottery Painting Session for Couples! 20% Couples Discount !’

This time, instead of the usual groaning he did, Moca just stared in disbelief. This wasn’t just a store, but an event specifically for couples. Meaning that they would deliberately act as if they were in a relationship while surrounded by other couples. How embarrassing .

“Seriously?” Moca said. He ignored the heat in his cheeks, opting for just staring at Chi with a deadpan expression.

“What? I’ve always wanted to do something like this, and if we pretend to be a couple, it’s a 20% discount!”

“Wha-”

“Come on ,” Chi begged. “We’ve already been pretending to be a couple all day for deals, so why not this one?”

“We’ll be surrounded by other couples, man!” Moca said.

“So? It’s not like they’ll question our relationship. That would be really weird”

Moca thought for a moment before groaning. “Whatever. Fine. Let’s do your pottery thing.”

“ Yes !”

—

The room, admittedly, was relaxing and peaceful, the quiet chatter of the other pairs surrounding them like a cozy blanket. The studio itself was decorated with trendy pastel colors he’s seen on social media posts and the tables everyone sat at were tastefully decorated high rustic wood countertops. But…

“So, where did you two meet? Me and my boyfriend met at a roller rink down in Hareshima, and we’ve been together for 3 years!” A salamander woman, Sano, said, pointing at her armadillo boyfriend, Arima.

Moca didn’t even try to force a smile, subtly glaring at Chi for the situation she managed to put them in. Thankfully, the other couple didn’t seem to notice.

“O-oh. Uh, me and Moca both met in, er, high school..?” 

‘ Wow. Real slick, Chi ,’ Moca thought, amused. Chi seemed to read his mind and glared at him before recomposing herself so quickly that he couldn’t tell if it actually happened.

“Oh my gosh, that’s so cute! High school sweethearts!” Sano said, smiling so widely that Moca wouldn’t be surprised if her face split into two. “Don’t you think that’s cute, sweetheart?”

“That’s quite cute,” Arima said, his voice deep but genuine. “You should let them have some time to themselves, Shoko. I’m sure they would like some time alone.”

Sano-san blushed, but nodded. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to keep you two from your date.”

“It’s alright,” Chi said, smiling.

Moca appreciated Arima’s straightforward and quiet demeanor. It made for a chill painting session and, honestly, he just wanted to paint his mug and be done with this. He didn’t ask for an interview.

Sano turned back to her table to continue painting her point, continuing her previous conversation with Arima. Moca could tell, even if the conversation looked one-sided, Arima was definitely enjoying himself, nodding and smiling to whatever she was saying. 

Chi sighed and whispered. “I thought it would never end. I was freaking out .”

“I could tell,” Moca said. “High school? Seriously? We didn’t even know each other in high school.”

“I told you! I panicked,” Chi said, sulking. She continued to paint her tea cup, this time using a green to paint the rim.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s fine. I’m sure they bought it.”

“Yeah..” Chi said. “You know, even if Sano was a little pushy, she’s really nice. The two of them are a cute couple, don’t ya’ think?”

“Hm..” Moca looked past Chi’s shoulder and observed as Sano laughed so hard that she was shaking their table and Arima was quietly watching, a prominent smile overtaking his features. “Yeah. Really cute.”

Chi sighed dreamily, looking up to the ceiling dramatically. “I wish I was dating someone..”

“Have you ever dated anyone before?” Moca asked.

“Nope!” The answer took Moca aback. 

“Really?”

“Yeah. I was never really one for dating, especially when I was in high school and college. I tried once with some college friends at a bar, but it was too much for me,” Chi said, still not looking up from her mug. Moca noticed, though, her painting movements slowed. “What about you?”

“What about me?” Chi nodded. “Uhh.. well, I didn’t date at all when I was in junior high or high school. But in college I dated this one girl for a bit, but we agreed that it wasn’t working out and parted. It was mutual, though, so it wasn’t bad.”

“At least it wasn’t messy,” Chi said. Moca hummed, focusing on painting a straight line across the top of his tea cup. “Have you, uh, thought of dating again?”

Moca looked up from his pottery. “Huh?”

“I mean, have you considered dating? I know there’s not a lot of action in MV, but have you, like, even considered long distance?”

“Sure, yeah. But I’m not experienced in dating in general and a long distance relationship doesn’t sound like the best way to hit off my barely existent dating life," Moca said quietly.

Chi was silent for a few moments, leaving Moca time to work on his cup. He was almost done, the small, shaky paintings of tea bags and leaves decorating the outside. 

“How about me?”

Moca’s eyebrow raised. “What about you?”

“Why don’t you try dating me?”

Moca paused. 

Did she- did she really just say that? Was he hallucinating? Was this all some sort of cruel lucid dream sequence he wasn’t aware of? 

“What?”

Chi flushed, a pretty pink coloring her cheeks. “We both don’t have a lot of dating experience. And we seem to both be interested in dating. So why not us? Besides, if it doesn’t work out, we can just go back to being friends, right?”

Moca felt the infamous heat that he’s been suppressing all day come back to light, making its way to his face. He knew that he was red, and he couldn’t even find it in him to care. 

"Where'd that come from?" Moca asked, putting down his pottery.

"I just- I mean- ugh. I don't know!" Chi blushed down at her lap. "We've been spending so much time together and I've just been thinking on how well we've gotten along. How, even though you didn't want to, you joined me in at that bookshop. And how you agreed to be my fake boyfriend. Or how red you get at the idea of anything slightly romantic. And how we're at this couples pottery date right now. Even after so many years of being friends, we've still managed to stick together, despite all our arguments and whatever. And I've been thinking this entire time, 'Wow. I love Moca.' But that phrasing began turning into 'Wow. I love Moca.' My platonic feelings for you began to develop into this, I don't know, weird amalgamation of affection and infatuation." 

Moca flushed. Where did that confession even come from? It was... so purely fond that it was throwing him off. Don't get him wrong, Chi was one of his best friends, and even if they got into a lot of fights or insulted each other more than the average pair of friends, he still loved her. Platonically. But now, a whole new world had opened that he didn’t know existed. Doors are being thrown open so quickly that he felt like he didn't have the time to breath.

In the back of his mind, he knew that if they were to even break up, it would end up badly and they would both have to pick up the pieces they left for each other. Tsuki would be caught in the middle, and their friend group would be at risk for failure. But, if it did work out…

He remembered what Mori said about his pessimism. Something about having to look toward a brighter future and what not and not focusing on the possible worse parts of things that haven’t happened yet. He couldn’t really recall the exact quote, only the meaning and feeling. He wanted this. He wanted to be with Chi. And he wanted Chi to be happy with him.

He just needed to stop being a coward.

“Yeah. Uhm, yeah, let’s date.”

“You don’t have to say yes, of cour- What?” Chi blushed harder, a sight that Moca definitely wanted to see again.  “Was that a yes?”

“Yeah, Chi. I, uh, I want to date,” Moca said, looking down at his lap. God, he couldn’t face her like this. This was more embarrassing than it seemed in his head. "I'm not- I'm not great at talking about... this stuff. But I know that I want to try this. I know I make it seem like I don't like you, even if we are friends, but I... really don't."

Moca watched how Chi's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open slightly.

"Even if you are a little annoying sometimes, I still find myself coming back to you. When I'm feeling down and whatnot, the first thing that comes to mind is seeing you. You've become... uh, really important to me over the past few years."

“Really? For real?" Chi beamed, her face pink. Her glasses were slightly askew. It looked cute. "You’re not, you’re not just saying that to make me feel good, right? I don’t want you to force yourself to date me if you don’t want to.”

She was really considerate, Moca thought. It was really admirable and cute, honestly. Not that he would admit such a thing. Yet.

“No, I’m not just saying that, Chi. I actually want to date you.”

“Oh.” Chi paused. “Woah.”

“Woah?”

“My heart’s racing really fast. It’s a little weird.” She placed her hand on her chest, likely feeling it’s beat.

Moca smiled at her with an disbelieving look plastered on his face. “Huh?”

“It’s like, I have these butterflies in my stomach. But in a good way? I’ve heard about this sort of stuff in books, but I’ve never actually experienced it until now. I feel very light, as if I could walk on water. And-” A hand covered her mouth. “Hmm?!”

“Please..” Moca said. His head was tilted down and his eyes were shut. But, a red blush was clear as day on his face. “You’re so embarrassing…”

“In a good way, right?” Chi smiled gently. It’s been a while since she looked at him like that. Instead of the mocking or playful grin she always wore around him, this felt more personal. Like a look of love.

Moca returned the smile with a look of love of his own. “In a good way.”

2 - Elfie and Paige

It was Valentine's Day (or Valentine’s Night ) and Elfie and Paige were working the night shift at the General Store. Not many people came at night, considering the MV’s ridiculously small population and the fact that people aren’t coming in at night to buy furniture (unless they were a certain rabbit).

Elfie and Paige had been dating for around 6 months already, getting together during the summer festival. They were each other’s firsts. Meaning, today was their first Valentine’s Day.

“Elfie?” Paige called down from the top of the staircase.

“Hm?” Elfie was sitting down behind the counter, particularly focused on a new book she had gotten a few days ago.

She could hear quick footsteps hopping down the stairs, Paige revealing herself not even a few seconds later. “Wanna do something?”

“Uhm, what?”

Paige playfully rolled her eyes. “It’s Valentine’s Day ! We should do something!”

Elfie flushed as she hid her pink face behind her book. “We have work though.”

This was Elfie’s issue with being nocturnal. Her sleep schedule didn’t align with her girlfriend’s, let alone the rest of the village. This meant that all the shops were already closing and they weren’t able to go due to their shift. And if she tried to go in the morning, it would be way past her bedtime and she would be groggy during work. It was a miracle that Paige was so accepting of her biology.

“I know! That’s why I brought Valentine’s Day to us !” Elfie didn’t have time to question what she meant by that when Paige pulled out a nicely decorated gift basket from behind her back (how she didn’t see it, she wasn’t sure).

The gift basket was beautiful. It was clear that it took Paige a while to curate it; there were two whittled figures clearly meant to represent them, her favorite chocolates, a book that she remembered mentioning to her a while back, a card clearly handmade, and were those earrings?

Elfie stared for a while before making eye contact with Paige, whose hands were fiddling with the handle of the basket. “Do you, uhm, like it?” Paige asked hesitantly.

“It’s… so beautiful, Paige. My goodness, it’s so pretty.. Thank you..” Elfie could feel herself tearing up the more she looked at it. Her girlfriend made something for her . She didn't know how exactly she got here, but she knew that she was so lucky.

Paige beamed. “Yay! I’m so glad you like it!” She set the basket down on the counter and went to bring Elfie into an embrace.

It wasn’t like the casual hugs she used to give before they were dating. This felt more personal.

Elfie felt her body ease into the warmth of Paige’s body, bringing her arms around her neck and resting her head upon her shoulder. There was a moment of comfortable silence that Elfie always enjoyed, reveling in the pure intimacy of it.

“Thank you,” Elfie whispered in her ear. “Seriously. Thank you, hon-honey.”

Paige pulled away, her hands gripping Elfie’s shoulders as she stared into her eyes as if she was looking for something. “Honey?”

Elfie swallowed. “Do you, I mean, is- is that okay?”

“Oh, no, of course it’s okay, Elfie,” Paige said, smiling. “I was just caught off guard. You just don’t typically say stuff like that in public, that’s all.”

Did Paige want her to? From her reaction, it made it seem like she liked it, and wanted more. Was she not giving her enough attention? Elfie knew that she wasn’t a fan of PDA, but if Paige was seeking it, then she should’ve told her.

Elfie looked into her girlfriend’s eyes. “Paige. Do you want me to use, uh, pet names with you?”

Paige’s face turned pink, avoiding eye contact. “You don’t have to, you know. I know you don’t really like things like that, and I don’t want to force you to do things you don’t want to do.”

“No, no. It’s okay. I’m just not used to it,” Elfie assured her. “I promise.”

“Are you sure?” Paige said quietly, her head now nestled into the crook of her neck.

“I’m sure.”

They stood there for a few more moments before Elfie (reluctantly) pulled away.

“Sorry,” she said. “The basket. It’s so pretty, and I really appreciate it. Actually…”

Elfie stepped away from her girlfriend and walked over to the counter, pulling a gift bag from behind. “I also got something for you. I know it’s not as much as your gift, but..”

“No!” Elfie jolted in surprise and Paige winced. “Sorry! I mean, thank you for the gift. It doesn’t matter what you got me, Paige. I value everything you give me, no matter what it is.”

Elfie reddened as she handed her the bag. “ Happy Valentine’s Day, ” she whispered.

Paige grinned and kissed the corner of her mouth before taking a look inside the bag. Elfie smiled softly, reveling in the lightheadedness that overtook her. 

“No way… this is so cute!” Paige held up a small book that was decorated in paper mache-d leaves, stickers, and scraps of colored paper.”You made a scrapbook?”

“Mm,” Elfie nodded.

Admittedly, Elfie had worked on it late in the morning, way past the time she was supposed to be asleep and resting for her next shift. But it was worth it seeing how Paige’s eyes lit up at photos of them that she pasted in, or how her eyes would get glossy whenever she skimmed over the letters and notes she wrote in there, too.  

“Elfie… this is so thoughtful of you..” Paige’s eyes were watery and her bottom lip quivered. Elfie looked at her girlfriend with absolute horror.

“Why are you crying? Are you okay? Was the scrapbook bad? I’m sor-”

Paige chuckled wetly. “Can you kiss you?”

“Oh. Uh-Uhm. Yeah. Yeah, sure.”

Paige reached up, grasping Elfie’s jaw, stroking her cheek with her thumb. She caressed her soft fur, carefully grazing her lips with her finger. Her hand trailed down from her jaw to her neck, and Paige kissed her on the cheek. Then her nose. And then the corner of her mouth before finally placing a chaste kiss on her lips. 

“Thank you, Elfie. I love it.”

Elfie was quiet for a moment, her mouth slightly open, still absorbing the deep affection just displayed in the form of a pair of lips. “Mm..”

Paige giggled. “Everytime I kiss you, you seem to go love-drunk or something.”

“That’s ‘cause I do, honey,” Elfie says, rubbing her nape, embarrassed. Not just from the pet name, but also the idea of going love-drunk from just a kiss. Who knows what would happen if they spent a night together.

A blush crept up her face at the mere thought of sleeping with her girlfriend. Paige looked at her, confused, smiling up at her girlfriend’s blank look.

“You good there, Elfie?”

Elfie nodded, the pink on her cheeks still prominent. “Never better.”

3 - Yori and Miyabi

It had been almost 7 years since Miyabi’s passing.

Yori held hands with Pipi as the two of them walked to the cemetery. She was holding a card in her right paw, the pink, glittery paper making it evident that it was for Valentine’s Day. He had one as well, just not as decorated.

It was a tradition. Ever since her death, Yori made a point to leave gifts and cards on her grave every holiday, and Valentine’s Day was no exception. And, after Pipi got into art, she’s been creating cards of her own.

“Dad… I’m scared,” Pipi said quietly, squeezing his hand in between her little paw. Yori smiled softly, squeezing back.

“It’s okay. There’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s just mommy.”

Even after going to this cemetery many times, Pipi’s always been afraid of the place. Whether it was the eerie feeling of the area, the graves and engravings, or the vague memories of her mom, he wasn’t sure. But, for as long as she was scared, he tried to be a safety net for his daughter.

Pipi whined, now squeezing harder and gently grasping his leg as they approached her grave, while happened to be in a dark corner of the cemetery. Yori patted her head affectionately and carefully guided her to the grave.

The flowers they had given to her a month ago had rotted away, leaving only a slight purplish hue on the grass. Pipi let go of his hand and sat down in front of Miyabi.

“Hi, Mommy. Happy Valentine’s Day! Dad told me that you used to make him cards for Valentine’s Day and stuff, so I made you one, too!” She held up the glittery pink card to the tombstone. “I used glitter and a lot of pink, for love! But I added some blue inside–” Pipi opened the card to reveal a crayon drawing of all three of them together with a heart above them. The sky was colored a bright blue and the grass was so green that it was borderline neon. “–Because I know it’s your favorite color!”

Yori smiled as PIpi continued to talk to her mom. Yori had come to the conclusion that she was quite emotionally intelligent and seemed to take the topic of her mom well (especially for a kid her age). And with her new art hobby, she was able to channel all her feelings onto paper and canvas.

Despite his own feelings (that he’s still struggling to understand, even for an old fox), he finds that watching his daughter talk so happily with her mom even without her physical presence was healing enough.

When Pipi was worn from speaking, she curled up at his feet and soft snores began to arise from her throat. Yori softly smiled, sidestepping so as to not squash her, and sat down in front of Miyabi. He sat his card down next to Pipi’s, where it sat near the tombstone.

He hesitated for a moment, before looking back at where PIpi was sleeping, and sighed. Yori began to talk to her about anything, everything. About the store. About Pipi. About Tsuki, Elfie, and the rest of the villagers. About how badly he wished she was here. Or how badly he needed her to be here.

And, for the first time in a long time, silent sobs began to emerge from him. Tears ran down his face and only the blades of soft grass underneath him.

The moment he got himself under control, he exhaled and stood up, groaning at the ache in his knees. Yori picked Pipi up from where she was resting, being extra cautious as to not wake her up. As he began to walk away, he spared another glance at her grave before whispering:

“ I love you .”

4 - Tsuki and Ken

Tsuki wiped the sweat droplets that were forming on his temple off with the end of his scarf. Thankfully, the February chill helped keep his temperature at bay and prevented him from overheating. If it were May, June, or, god forbid, July , he would’ve been worse off.

The majority of the tasks he needed to do today were practically done, leaving him with only one thing left on his to-do list. Get flowers from Rosemary .

It was a quiet Valentine’s Day in MV. It’s been almost a year now since he’s moved back from the city, and he’s noticed some stark differences. Years ago, he would’ve been bombarded with pink and red advertisements. Half his coworkers would’ve been talking about their plans with their girlfriends after work and the other half would have asked around for a drinking session after their shift to mourn their own singleness. 

He’s tried to date in the past, before MV. She was sweet and quite pretty; they were together for a year. Their breakup was mutual, both of them admitting that it just wasn’t working out. Tsuki still had her contact in his phone, and they would still talk sometimes to catch up (she got engaged last month and they planned to get married next October; he was invited).

But, now he had Ken. It was a miracle that they were able to take a stab at their relationship; MV wasn’t exactly known for having a large population, let alone a dating scene.

This wasn't their first Valentine’s Day, but Tsuki wanted to surprise him with something. Anything, really. Although, it wasn’t exactly the most romantic thing to have their Valentine’s dinner at a bar (let alone Ken’s job). Neither was having a date at Bobo’s ramen cart or Momo’s tea shop (places where they couldn’t get enough privacy. Plus, they hung out there all the time). So, Tsuki decided Valentine's Day was to be spent at his house.

Even if Ken wanted to deny it, he was a good cook. His beef-carrot stew and spring rolls were not to be messed with. A homemade meal for your boyfriend was plenty romantic, Tsuki thought. 

He smiled as he shoved his farming tools into the shed and trudged into his nicely air-conditioned house. The feeling of the cool breeze coming from the vents dried up the rest of his sweat, leaving him dry and refreshed.

Thankfully, Rosemary was having a special Valentine’s Day sale on flowers. Tsuki wasn’t exactly sure if Ken was a flower person or not (and if he had a favorite), but it was worth a shot if it could set the mood.

Grabbed his sack, Tsuki walked out of his house and onto the path going to Rosemary’s plant shop. From a distance, he could see pink and red heart decorations strung outside her store.

A tiny bell rang above him as he entered the store, the smell of mulch and fertilizer wafting into his nostrils, clearing his sinuses.

“Ah, Tsuki,” Rosemary said from behind the counter. She was holding a clipboard and pen. “I was just taking stock of my plants. Feel free to buy. We have a sale today, if you weren’t already aware.”

“Thanks, Rosemary,” Tsuki said, smiling. He didn’t comment on the dark eyebags plastered on her face (‘ She looks worse than the last time I saw her ’).

Strolling through the shop, the rabbit picked through the selection put out. Prices were marked 30% off today, so he couldn’t help but take a clay pot with him, too (he had a Money Plant that was waiting to be put into new soil). At the end of the aisle were a set of new arrangements that he didn’t recognize.

“Woah.” Tsuki’s eyes slightly widened. “You got roses now?”

Rosemary softly smiled. “Yes! I’m glad you noticed. I just got them in stock for Valentine’s Day.”

Tsuki thought for a moment, studying one of the flower arrangements. It was a mix of red and white flowers, all of them neatly put in a glass vase and tied with a large pink bow. “I’ll take it.”

“Amazing.” Rosemary clapped her hands. “I’ll ring you up, then.”

Rosemary bagged the rose arrangement and clay pot and handed him his receipt. She nodded to him as she did so. “Have a good day, Tsuki. It’s nice seeing you again.”

Tsuki grinned. “Yeah, you, too, Rosemary.”

He was halfway through the door when he said, “Be sure to take care of yourself!”

It was an innocent sentence, but he could tell that Rosemary had been taken aback; the way her ear twitched erratically and the “subtle” sharp inhale didn’t help.

If Rosemary’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, he didn’t say anything. “Yeah. Thanks. I will..”

—

Tsuki unlocked the door to his treehouse and sighed, going to change his red scarf to his home-only blue scarf. He tripped over something whilst doing so.

“Oof!-”

Tsuku stumbled, catching himself on the edge of the green couch. He glared down at the offending object, but immediately ceased when he saw a pair of shoes that definitely weren’t his. He’s never owned a pair of black sneakers, let alone worn out ones.

That could only mean one thing.

“I’m home!” Tsuki called out, listening for an answer, his ears twitching up.

His ears stood upright, picking up the sound of heavy footsteps trudging down the stairs. His feet could feel the vibration of each thump .

“Tsuki?”

Tsuki made eye contact with Ken, who swiped his eyes with his fingers and yawned deeply. His gaze softened. “Sorry, were you sleeping?”

“Mm.. it’s fine, sweetheart,” Ken said. Tsuki flushed at the nickname. “I just woke up.”

Ken descended down the last off the steps and made his way into Tsuki’s personal space. He draped his arms across Tsuki’s shoulders and buried his chin into its crevice. Tsuki heard a sigh of relief and blushed at how his arms tightened around him. Their height difference made the position a little uncomfortable, but he couldn’t help but feel pleased at how easily his seemingly tough boyfriend melted at his touch.

“ Happy Valentine’s Day ,” Ken whispered, nuzzling his face near his ears, making Tsuki redden.

“Happy Valentine’s Day to you, too,” Tsuki said with a smile.

Ken took the bag out of his hand and carefully set it down onto the floor before pushing Tsuki against the door, making him stumble.

“Wuh?-” Tsuki was cut off by the feeling of Ken’s lips against his. It had been a long time since they’ve been able to spend time together. With Ken’s night shifts and Tsuki’s long days of hard labor, they never found the time to truly enjoy each other’s presence. It seemed like Ken was looking to take care of that.

They broke apart after a moment and Ken rested his forehead against Tsuki’s.

“ Missed you ,” Ken panted. 

Tsuki closed his eyes, reveling in the comfortable silence that engulfed them. That week had been so tiring . The farmer’s union was scrambling to gain influence on policy and carrot prices were decreasing, which hit him like a truck. Especially without the expensive technology that many large farming companies had, he was struggling to move forward. But all those worries and frustrations seemed to melt away at the touch of his boyfriend.

“Missed you, too,” Tsuki said, his eyes still closed. “I was going to make dinner for the two of us. Tonkatsu and beef stew, if that’s alright with you.”

Tsuki felt Ken nod against him. When he opened his eyes, Ken was staring. Tsuki snorted and lifted his hands to trace his boyfriend’s face with his fingers. If you told him that he’d be dating Ken two years ago, he would’ve chuckled and waved you off. 

“Do you want my help?” Ken asked. His cheeks were tinged with pink, a stark contrast from his typical tough-guy persona. Tsuki found it adorable.

“Sure.”

Ken backed off to allow Tsuki to pick up his bag of flowers, which he then set on the dining table. Tsuki walked into the kitchen and pulled ingredients from the refrigerator, including defrosted beef and a bag of carrots.

He didn’t say anything, but watched how Ken followed to wash his hands and began to chop the carrots the same way he taught him months ago. Despite it being a small action and nothing inherently romantic, it still gripped his heart knowing that someone was using the skills that he taught them.

Tsuki put “Summer ‘75” into the cassette tape that sat on a side table near the kitchen and listened to how the music flowed into the silence of the house, pairing with the sound of chopping and water boiling.

He wouldn’t trade it for the world.

5 - Bobo and Moca

Bobo silently cooked a bowl of ramen for the Candiru Corp surveyor (Olson, she said her name was), the sound of boiling soup and the crunching of produce filling the area.

It was the day after Valentine’s Day. It wasn’t that he was crazy about love, no. That wasn’t the reason why he was so on edge. Instead, it was that, for the first time in his adult life, he had developed a crush.

Call him dramatic, but he felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest whenever he saw the village’s infamous turtle walking about.

Ever since an unremarkable, insignificant day in high school when he found out that he wasn’t just attracted to women, he came to terms with his attraction towards both women and men. But, as far as crushes went, he never acted on them and only had two in his entire lifetime. So why now? Let alone on the village’s resident grump?

The revelation of said crush came to him the day Moca and Chi came back from their trip to Osaka. The whole village knew about it considering not much happened around those parts and the whole idea of traveling was enough to make it into the newspapers.

Bobo had half-joked with Tsuki, who was left behind to tend to his farm (although, apparently, he hadn’t planned to go in the first place and his friends’ conjoined trip had been a total coincidence), that he had expected them to be at each other’s throats when they got back or, at least, not be on speaking terms.

He was caught off guard when Tsuki laughed hard, almost choking on the noodle he was chewing on. After he got himself composed, he chuckled and said, “I bet that they’ll be quiet for the next few weeks. Those two needed this trip together, anyway.”

When Bobo questioned him, Tsuki just shrugged. “It’s like a frenemy sort of relationship. They don’t actually hate each other. In fact, they were already extremely close before I moved back to MV. Honestly, I think they have some underlying tension that they’ve finally consoled.”

“Underlying tension?” Bobo asked, momentarily pausing his cooking.

“Yeah. I’ve always suspected there was something going on between those two. I just hope this trip resolved it because it could seriously help the both of them. Especially Moca.”

Moca. That guy had been his issue for weeks now. Bobo realized a month ago that he was attracted to the turtle after having a single heartfelt conversation whilst he ate a bowl of ramen on some random Sunday.

He never thought of himself as someone who fell in love easily, but to fall in love with a man after one conversation was certainly out of his expertise. 

“Really now?” Bobo laughed to himself, suppressing the confusion and odd discomfort that threatened to overtake him. “I wouldn’t know, since I arrived at MV way later than those two.”

“Mm..” Tsuki slurped some soup from his spoon. “Yeah… They always say that the other is an annoyance, but the romantic undertones say otherwise…”

Another pang in his heart resounded and Bobo realized why he never dabbled in romance in the first place. He was never one to initiate relationships, waiting for them to come to him. And, sure, maybe it worked once in high school, but he was an adult now, not some touch starved teenager.

Olson hummed and nodded in agreement. He had almost forgotten that she was still waiting for her food, and he hastily got back to chopping the green onions he had left unattended.

“You know ‘bout this, Olson?” Bobo said, not looking up from the chopping board. She hummed again. He could hear the shrug in her voice.

“Eh, not really. I just think it makes sense. Once I went to survey Chi-sama last month and all I could hear behind her was Moca-sama telling her to ‘come back and finish the damn round’.” Olson emphasized with air quotes. “I think they were playing a board game or something.”

Tsuki snorted into his cup of water, while Bobo continued to absorb this information. 

They spend a lot more time together than he thought. He used to think that they did it just to spite each other. Maybe take a gander throughout each other’s houses and mess with things just to be an annoyance. He’s almost embarrassed that he never had the thought of them genuinely being friends.

Though, what he’s more embarrassed about is how he can’t shake the idea of Moca out of his head. He wasn’t sure whether what this feeling was; jealousy? Resentment?

It wasn’t Moca’s fault for his feelings. But, at the same time, he can’t help but get upset over the fact he’s missed his chance. From what these two were saying, Chi is a step ahead of him. Scratch that; she’s leagues ahead of him.

Ideas and ‘what-ifs’ began to flood his mind. How many times did they call each other a week? When was the last time they went out to eat with each other? How often did they visit the other’s house? How long have each of them harbored these feelings? Was Moca even into men? Have they kissed before? Did they touch each other? Platonically or romantically? What was it like to be in close proximity with Moca? Was his touch gentle? Or was it rough and passionate?

Bobo turned away from his two customers, hiding the warmth that bloomed on his face. He felt like a prepubescent boy again with a raging crush with his only sort of understanding of romance being from shoujo manga.

Ugh . Bobo fought the urge to drag his hand across his face in frustration. He ignored the itch and instead carefully placed Olson’s bowl in front of her. The ends of her mouth slightly curled upwards, the equivalent of a grin for her. He smiled back and began to clean up his work area.

It was a nice distraction for the internal romantic issues that continued to press on despite him knowing that he had no plans to act on them.

‘ Oh well ,’ he thought. He might as well daydream about their nonexistent relationship, just like he always did whenever feelings like these ever arised. It was a little depressing, sure, especially since he really did want to pursue this relationship. But, that will have to wait until he gets another opportunity.

How he hated missing golden opportunities. What a pain.

 +1 - The Aftermath

Two days after Valentine’s Day, Tsuki, Chi, and Moca were back together again for a get together. Tsuki didn’t have any errands to run, Chi wasn’t cooped up in her house reading, and Moca had pushed through his pride to make it. A rare day for the three of them.

“So,” Tsuki started. “How was your vacation?”

Moca flushed and looked away almost immediately. Tsuki stared at him with a confused expression and turned to Chi. “Did.. something happen?”

“Oh, uh,” Chi scratched the back of her neck. “Yeah… we were gonna tell you sooner, but… you know?”

Tsuki looked at her incredulously. “No. No, I don’t know.”

Moca sighed, but it didn’t have the same annoyed undertone that typically shined through. Instead, it sounded… endearing? Was that the word? Either way, it caught Tsuki’s attention. 

“What she means to say is that we’ve started dating.”

—

“WHAT?” Tsuki yelled. They were sitting in his living, and the shout echoed off the walls of the hollowed out tree.

Tsuki stared at his friends’ expressions. Moca, despite being the one to admit it, looked like he was going to explode with how red his face was getting. Chi, on the other hand, while not looking like a tomato, still had a tinge of pink dusting her cheeks. Both weren’t making eye contact with either him or each other.

“Are you guys being serious right now?” Tsuki said. “Not that I don’t support you or anything, but you two were at each other’s throats just a few days ago.”

For all it’s worth, Tsuki had been practically begging for a sign or really anything that would get his friends to get over their prides and egos and finally get together. For this to be the final domino and being out of the blue was beyond him.

Chi and Moca looked at each other before Moca spoke. “Let’s just say we did a lot of thinking during our trip to Osaka.”

“Right…” Tsuki looked at the two of them suspiciously, but shook his head a second later. “Whatever. The point is that I’m happy for you two. It’s about time that you guys got together.”

Chi whipped her head around to stare wide-eyed at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Didn’t you guys know? You two already fight like an old-married couple,” Tsuki said. “It felt obvious.”

“We fight like a-” Moca looked at him with disbelief written on his face. “What are you talking about, man?”

“Come on, guys. You seriously didn’t see it?” Tsuki raised an eyebrow. “Whenever you two have arguments, you still manage to look at each other like you hung up the stars. Moca, Chi listens to your mixtapes when you’re not around.”

Moca spun around to look at Chi where he found her burying her head in her hands. 

“And Chi. Moca reads your book recommendations and keeps a journal of annotations just so he can talk about them with you.”

Chi looked up, eyes wide. “You do?” She asked softly.

Moca blushed hard, looking away. “I told you that with confidence, Tsuki…”

Tsuki observed his two friends side by side. Admittedly, they were an odd couple, especially for a pair that bickered a lot. More than a lot, actually. But, as their honorary “couples counselor”, Tsuki could see the signs from miles away.

For two people who identified themselves as “frenemies”, they sure were stuck at the hip. Tsuki remembered the day he came back from the Big City and found Chi panicking in front of his house. When she explained to him that there had been a robbery, Moca came the second he found out to see if Chi was hurt, telling her to “ sit down, dumbass. You could’ve gotten hurt. ” Of course, he disguised it as typical annoyance, even if his health check and first aid procedure felt weirdly intimate. Then there were the multiple times Chi would pick Moca up from the bar to bring him home because “ I don’t want to subject you to his true personality ,” she would say. But, then again, she was always the one to volunteer and, sometimes, Tsuki would occasionally catch her looking at Moca with worried eyes that only someone who truly cared could muster.

So. It really wasn’t that much of a surprise. Maybe it was to them, but Tsuki wasn’t sure if he could fake any more shock than he’s already put out. In fact, he was more shocked by the fact that they weren’t aware they acted this way.

Tsuki sighed, out of both affection and exasperation. “Look, I’m just glad that you two are happy. Right?”

The two of them nodded in unison. Tsuki didn’t miss how Chi’s hand slowly intertwined with Moca’s and how she squeezed it. Moca’s face exploded into what Tsuki could only describe to be “tomato-like”.

“Great,” he said. “Now, do you guys want to head to Yori’s? I’ve run out of snacks and we’re going to need some for movie night.”

“Sure!” Chi smiled. “Moca?”

He shrugged. “Why not?”

The trio entered Yori’s General Shop, the small bell above the door ringing to announce their arrival. It was early afternoon, so neither Elfie or Paige were clocked in. Yori sat behind the counter with a newspaper in hand. Tsuki could hear shuffling coming from upstairs, which he immediately attributed to Pipi.

“Hello, you three,” Yori said, looking up from his paper. His gaze scanned the three, but noticeably stopped at Chi and Moca. 

‘ He must’ve heard from Benny. Or Floyd ,’ Tsuki thought. For such a chill guy, Floyd was quite the gossip.

“Did you two enjoy your vacation?” Yori eyed them suspiciously. Not out of malice, no, but out of a sort of paternal instinct that Tsuki thought was only to be reserved for Pipi. He clearly knew about their trip, just not exactly what.

The two looked like alert meerkats against the poorly disguised interrogation that Yori was trying to enact. It felt almost as if he was trying to give them “the talk” despite all three of them being in their twenties, respectively.

Chi spoke up first. “Yeah. We went to a bookshop and ate at a bunch of restaurants. Plus, the motel was nice.”

Yori blinked. “You two shared a room?”

The couple flushed.

“Oh, n- no !” Chi stammered. “I meant that we both had rooms. I was just saying my room was nice.”

Moca was uncharacteristically twiddling with his thumbs, Tsuki observed. Even in his peripheral vision, Tsuki could tell that he was uncomfortable. It made sense; Moca was aware of Yori’s slight dislike towards him and he probably didn’t like the idea of the old man lecturing him on how he decides to date. Thankfully, Moca didn’t say anything. Tsuki was half-sure that if he did, the supposed interrogation would go sideways.

Yori hummed, hiding his growing smile behind his newspaper; ‘ M.V’s Wise Elders! ’ Huh.

“How ‘bout you, Moca?” Yori said, now focusing his attention on his poor friend. The turtle’s head snapped up so quickly that Tsuki was worried that he’d pull something.

Moca coughed. “It was good, Yori. to a few restaurants and We went to a few restaurants and to this pottery event.”

Yori looked between the both of them for a few more seconds before ultimately giving them the “pass” or, in other words, his approval of their relationship in the form of a nod and smile.

It wasn’t that they needed his approval. It would be weird if everyone in the village needed to gain Yori’s approval before getting into a relationship. But, it was an unspoken thing between the three of them that Yori was their “father-figure” of sorts. Chi wasn’t as close to her parents than she was with her brother, and Moca didn’t like a lot of his extended family. Tsuki’s parents or grandparents weren’t around anymore. So Yori to them was like the equivalent of their father in adulthood.

Chi exhaled and Moca’s hands dropped to his side, likely out of relief. 

“ Anyway ,” Tsuki started. “We’re just here to grab some chips upstairs.”

Yori smiled with the same paternal aura that Tsuki recognized in a lot of slice-of-life dramas. “Alright. Have fun, you three.”

They murmured their thanks and made their way upstairs.

When they were out of sight and hearing range, Moca groaned into his hands. “I had a feeling he was going to do that.”

“How did he even find out about our trip? We didn’t tell anyone besides you, Tsuki!” Chi said.

Tsuki held his hands up at the accusation. “I didn’t tell anyone, I swear.”

Chi’s eyes softened. “Don’t worry. I don’t think you said anything. I just,” she sighed. “How did Yori even find out?”

Chi and Moca looked at Tsuki as if he had all the answers. He looked at them with tired eyes, but, unfortunately, they weren’t exactly wrong in this instance.

“It was probably Floyd,” Tsuki said, shrugging.

“ Floyd ?” Moca managed from between his teeth.

“I mean, he did see you two going into the same train car, right? He must’ve known where you two were going from your tickets, too.”

“Makes sense…” Moca said, still looking royally annoyed. “Who knew that guy was a gossip.”

“Well, Benny probably milked it out of him, actually,” Tsuki said, looking up. “He did post about your trip on the Daily Carrot. Local MV Residents Visiting Osaka! was the header, I think.”

The couple looked at him with disbelief. Before they could ask him any more questions, Tsuki waved to Pipi, who was busy reading a comic ( Neko no Bōken , it read). She waved back, but didn’t seem to be too interested in making small talk. He grabbed multiple bags of carrot chips and tossed some over to his friends.

“Pick out whatever stuff you guys want. I’ll pay,” Tsuki said, holding out a thumbs up. Moca nodded a thanks before grabbing a chocolate bread. Chi took a pack of Sentos and a carton of carrot juice.

“Is Ken joining us tonight?” Chi asked out of the blue. They were at the counter, paying for their things (with Tsuki’s money). Tsuki shrugged, ignoring the interested glance Yori gave him (‘ for an old man, it’s pretty noisy ’).

“Eh, I’m not sure. If he is, he’s coming pretty late.” Chi nodded.

“How’s it been for you guys, actually? I haven’t really asked since you two got together,” Chi said. Moca jerked his head in agreement.

“Yeah, how are you two lovebirds?” Tsuki swatted at him affectionately with a smile, making Moca smirk.

“Not bad. Our schedules are different, so we haven’t had much time to spend together,” Tsuki said. “But I did see him for Valentine’s Day, so that was nice.”

“Oh!” Chi clapped her hands excitedly. “How was that for you? Anything special?”

Tsuki smiled as he recalled a few days ago. “We made dinner together and watched a movie. It’s been a while since we’ve been able to catch up.”

“Aww!” Chi’s eyes sparkled. “So romantic~”

Tsuki chuckled, rolling his eyes. Moca gagged, but Tsuki could tell there was no hostility behind it. “You know, Elfie was telling about her work date with Paige-”

“Wait.” Moca paused. “They’re dating ?”

“You didn’t know?” Chi said, looking at her boyfriend with a furrowed brow.

“No!? I thought they were just really good friends or something.”

Chi and Tsuki looked at him like he had grown three heads.

“Paige once posted an article about how she was going to deal with a ‘difficult co-worker’ that basically translated into how she planned to get closer to Elfie,” Chi said, recalling that odd Daily Carrot issue.

“Oh, I remember that!” Tsuki said. “Paige wasn’t very subtle about her crush.”

“Huh.” Moca shrugged. “I guess it makes sense.”

“Oh, yeah. Bobo was asking me about you yesterday, Moca,” Tsuki said.

“He what?” Moca’s face scrunched up. “What does that guy want with me? We barely even talk.”

“Something about you and Chi’s relationship. I’m not really sure what he was asking,” Tsuki said. “All I know is that he looked a little pained.”

“Pained?” Chi asked.

“Yeah, he was acting weird.”

“Maybe he was stressed that he didn’t have a date for Valentine’s Day,” Moca snickered. Chi rolled her eyes.

“I doubt it. Bobo doesn’t seem like the type of guy to care about those things,” Chi said.

“He’s basically married to ramen,” Tsuki said, making Moca giggle again.

“Don’t encourage him,” Chi muttered.

Yori bid them goodbye as he handed them their snacks in a paper bag. They walked out of the store and onto the path towards Tsuki’s treehouse. The walk there wasn’t long, and it was only a matter of minutes until they were inside.

“You know, I’m glad we’re hanging out today,” Chi said. “It’s been a while since we’ve all gotten together.”

Tsuki smiled at the sentimental connotation that he picked up on. Moca seemed to agree as he nodded along with a rare warm smile, one that he only presented when he was vulnerable.

“Yeah…”