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Today was Valentine's Day.
Nene wasn’t too immersed into this day. After all, she barely ever spoke to anyone else other than her troupe members (Emu sneaked into this school enough times for her not to become surprised upon seeing her anymore— her beginning to not sneak in would've been more strange) and two of the classmates she got this year, one of them whom she could never go on with her day without her wanting them to hang out at least for a little while (she was also told that they'd be going to America with their group, so these hangouts had gone to a stop for a while)
All that aside, she never really received gifts on this day before; sure, she'd get some from Emu, but they were just sweets she’d bring to everyone during practice. She never got anything in the romantic sense before– not that she cared. Actually, it would be way better for her if she wouldn't get anything instead of getting asked out by a stranger.
So, she treated this day just like a normal one. Ignoring all the girls gushing about giving their boyfriends chocolates or another girl handing her friend a gift with a sweet smile on her face, she approached her locker until:
“Kusanagi-sannn!!!”
“Eep…!”
The actor flinched when she felt someone hug her… then let out a sigh of relief when she turned her back to see who it was. Thankfully, no random stranger would ask her out this year either.
“Uhh… hello, Akiyama-san. H-how are you?”
Even if the two started talking to each other a lot more recently, Nene was still not that good at handling small talk with her.
Yet, Mizuki was always so bright and kept that big smile on her face whenever she’d see her. That air of cheerfulness and mischief she always had seemed to increase a lot more lately, though in a different way: she sometimes seemed happier, a little flustered even, whenever they’d be hanging out with the others or it'd just be the two of them.
She does seem a little off today, though.
“I'm good♪” she replied, “Actually, I have something to give you…”
Mizuki brought down her schoolbag from her back to hurriedly look for something — she could hear the clattering of its many keychains — and…
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Kusanagi-san!”
…Handed her a box of chocolates?
Nene glanced at it with a confused look, then back at her friend: she looked different than usual; she had a different ribbon in her hair this time and she did her makeup in another way today, too. She looks kind of cuter like this… no!
Her face felt warmer and her gaze shifted to the floor, trying to forget what she just thought of: “...What is this?”
“A gift, obviously!” Mizuki laughed, “I made them with the help of a friend. She's really good at baking, so…”
Huh.
“But- you could've given this to anyone else. Shinonome-san, Yoisaki-san or your other friends, for example…” she stumbled along her words for some reason. She knew how close she was with her group and also Rui, besides she never gifted her anything in this sense in all these years until now, “why'd you make them for me?”
“Eh…”
“I already gave them gifts, so I thought I should make one just for you. Besides, I'd say we're close friends too, are we?”
Even if she didn't know her that well, she could tell that this wasn't exactly the truth— she wasn't stupid to not notice the way her voice was softer or how she couldn't even look at her as she said that regardless of the big smile…
...but it wasn't her business to randomly start interrogating her. She could just be nervous. “...Maybe?”
“Alright alright, now what are you waiting for? Open it!”
The girl decided to comply only because she got more and more curious, carefully unwrapping the ribbon from it, and opening the lid, to see…
“...tulips?”
They really looked good, Mizuki was right. Whoever helped with making the chocolates is really good at baking; they looked accurate enough to what they wanted to achieve, and continuing to stare at them got her more and more inclined to try a piece.
“Yep! Do you like them?”
“Yeah, but…” her hands were fidgeting, “You didn't have to do this. You could've just made regular chocolate…”
“But that would be boring, wouldn't it?” Her friend put her backpack onto her shoulders and was already waving her goodbye, “Hope you like them!! Don't forget to check—”
“Huh?! Wait-”
Mizuki ran away before she could hear everything else.
As the bell finally rang, signaling that the last class was over, Nene began walking home.
She still couldn't stop thinking about what happened.
While it was very nice of her to gift her something on Valentine's, she was still very lost: not only did she never tell her what her favorite flower was (it wasn't tulips, and she didn't think they were there because Mizuki tried to guess,) but she also didn't understand why the chocolates are so specific. If Nene actually got given something that wasn't from her troupe, she would've expected them to be regular ones and not so different — So, why specifically that?
Maybe she couldn't stop thinking about this because the girl was acting strange. She rushed off so far, and normally Nene would've been sort of annoyed, but now she was just wondering everything and thinking about her-
!
"Ow! Watch where you're-
“...Rui?”
“Hello, Nene,” he turned around to greet her, his usual smile reappearing, “It’s quite nice to see you again. I didn't expect to find you just when school ended…”
He stopped right as he spotted the big box in her hands,
“You received chocolates?”
“Yeah,” she said, eyes shifting down to the object as well, “from Akiyama–”
Rui instantly approached her looking like a deer in headlights, as if he never knew the concept of friends whom they barely hang out with making them chocolates for Valentine’s (to which she still didn't know the reason why she did that)
“Why are you so surprised?”
“No reason,” the director’s shocked expression turned into one of interest, and he touched the box, “can you open it?”
“Uhh… sure.”
Nene opened it and his head propped into view, beginning to closely inspect the chocolates.
“Tulips, they look handmade too… whoever helped her make this put a lot of detail into it. Spending all that time just for this…”
When he finally stopped, he crossed his arms, “Nene, have you considered looking up the flower’s symbolism?”
She noticed the grin appearing again, “...Why?”
“I know Mizuki. She tends to make her gifts signify something important at times; she must've meant something by giving you these kinds of chocolates on this day.
You two have gotten closer after all.”
Nene gulped. She wasn't sure what to think about it.
They've gotten closer, and she knew it. They'd only ever talked when Mizuki came to help Rui with something before— she was grateful that she helped make their costumes, and she expressed that.
That was the only ‘meaningful’ conversation they had up until after this year’s school festival (to which she couldn't understand why Rui looked so down for a longish period of time, and to which she heard more and more rumors about the girl and something happening to her); Mizuki tagged along more and more times after that. She sometimes had a soft look on her face, one she barely ever saw before, but one she kind of liked: it was nice to see that Rui’s friend, and maybe hers too, was having fun.
With her briefly nodding, Rui continued, “Do you want to look it up after we get there–”
“And have Emu try to see what I'm looking up on my shoulder and Tsukasa yelling at me to practice? No thanks.”
“Then, how about you do it now? I'll hold the chocolates. Also, maybe you should be more specific with your search…”
“...fine.”
And that's what Nene did. Sitting down on the cold bench with Rui who was holding the box for her, she typed in ‘tulip symbolism', tapped on the first result she saw and looked for the pink part...
‘The pink tulip is another that’s incredibly versatile. It’s symbolic of happiness, love, joy, good luck, and well wishes. ‘
‘This makes it a well-rounded flower perfect for giving to a new love interest or on a first or second date as a sign of affection. It’s not reflective of passion like a red flower, but it still communicates a powerful message of love.’
Nene’s face grew warmer and warmer, and she nearly screamed “Huh?!”
Was this what Mizuki felt about her? But they aren't even that close… she could've seen that by the soft looks, right? She didn't know what to do about someone liking her, she couldn't ask Rui, he definitely has no clue either—
“...oh, it says they can be given to friends too.”
“Mm…”
“Stop eating the chocolates.”
“Awww, I just wanted to try,” he stopped to chew on his she-didn't-know-how-many piece. Nene happened to notice how his hand seemed to find something, and a small glimpse of him opening it, but he then quickly put it back and closed the box.
“Shall we head to practice now? Tsukasa and Emu must be waiting for us.”
She decided not to ask about the small smile that formed on his face for a second, “Okay.”
She began walking away, still not sure if Mizuki’s gift meant something or what she was trying to say when she ran away.
She’ll find out eventually.