Work Text:
Saku stared at his phone screen, then back at the bag, his mind thinking so hard he forgot how to breathe. His entire body felt like it could give in at any moment. He didn't know whether to faint or to throw up.
His pulse felt like it was trying to kill him.
It was Subaru's invitation that had brought the group over to the Hoshina residence on the 12th. She would have planned for the 13th, but alas, that was a Monday. The 12th was the best she could think up.
The group had gotten over most of their college admissions, and those who wanted to enter the workforce have already secured a sort of plan for once they've graduated. While it wasn't perfect peace as T University's entrance exam rush still hasn't fully concluded, it did give them some time to hang out as a group before they graduated from high school. Conveniently enough, this period of respite happened to include Valentine's Day, which Subaru took as an opportunity to invite her friends over to her house.
The plan? Make chocolates. It was a fun idea she's had in her head for a while, to get everyone to bring chocolate molds and have everyone make chocolates, which could be shared among them on the actual date of Valentine's Day. It spared a bit of stress on the girls to look for chocolate for the boys, and it gave everyone an avenue to meet up and have fun. Subaru was certainly excited for it, any opportunity to destress and have fun with friends was important during a time like this.
She double checked everything—confectioner’s sugar, chocolate of both milk and dark variety, cream for ganaches—everything seemed to be in order. It was only a matter of time until someone would arrive, bringing their own chocolate molds to complement the one Subaru found in a cupboard at her home. She hoped some people would bring some interesting molds, but there did have to be a balance. Because of that, she herself supplied a default mold, one that made chocolates in the shape of a dome.
The doorbell rang through her ears, and she immediately rushed out to the gate. Her first guests of the day, Kaoruko and Ayato, were waiting by the doorstep. It seems they both happened to arrive at the same time.
“Hello, you two. Thanks for coming so early.”
“I wouldn't miss this for the world,” Kaoruko said, her smile somehow brighter than the sunlight.
“This is my first time making Valentine's Day chocolate,” Ayato mentioned. “I've been looking forward to it.”
A previously-unheard voice manifested behind them. “If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought you were a schoolgirl experiencing her first blossoming romance.”
“So, who is it?” Madoka teased.
Ayato smiled in recognition. “It's good to see you, Yuzuhara-san.”
“Greetings, everyone!” she said, nearly bursting from enthusiasm.
Subaru unlatched the gate lock, opening it slowly for her friends. “Hello, Madoka. You're quite early this time.”
She beckoned towards the front door. “Please, come in.”
Three friends over, six to go.
“So… what did you guys go with?” Madoka placed her mold on the table, one that made bee shapes. “I thought this would be super cute.”
“Ooh, good choice, Madoka!” Kaoruko placed her mold. It was in the shape of several cute bear heads.
“Mine is pretty basic.” Ayato's was a simple rose shape. Beautiful, if not a little cliché.
Subaru grinned as she watched her guests make themselves at home. It was surprisingly nice to have friends over. If only she could find it in her to host like this in the past, perhaps this could have happened more often.
The doorbell rang, and Subaru bolted out immediately.
“Sorry, one sec,” she said to her guests.
“You… ever been here before?” Saku asked.
“Once during a group project. Why?”
“It's a bit… overwhelming, is all.”
Ayumi chuckled at the comment. “It is, isn't it?”
The two of them had ended up arriving at around the same time, too. It was nice for the both of them, the Hoshina residence could be a bit daunting at times, so they were grateful to be able to approach it with a friend. Truth be told, they still hardly knew one another, so this small moment of bonding felt productive to the both of them. Perhaps, in the future, they could talk like this more, without it being under the pretense of past trauma like their first encounter. Even still, a fun conversation wasn't enough to snap Saku out of the awe and terror that a house this massive could instill.
Subaru rushed to the gate, greeting the newcomers. “Welcome, you two.”
“It's… good to see you, Hoshina-san…” Saku was trying his best to seem normal, even with his slight terror towards the experience he was facing.
“Your house is too big, Subaru,” Ayumi said, gesturing to the befuddled man. “Look what you've done to the boy.”
Subaru glanced at Saku, holding in a giggle as he came to his senses.
“Sorry—can’t help it,” she said, unlatching the gate once more.
“Please, come in.”
“Thank you, Subaru,” Ayumi grinned. “I'm sure it'll be a pleasure.”
Soon enough, Suzuka and Chisa came along, then Rintaro with Shohei in tow. Everyone had their molds in hand, and Rintaro even brought with him his work hat. Perhaps this was his own way of adding to the mood. They had migrated from the guest room to the kitchen now, ready for whenever Subaru said they would begin.
“Woah, we got Supreme Chocolatier Rintaro here!” Shohei exclaimed as Rintaro put on his work hat.
“You look professional,” Saku told him.
Kaoruko dusted him off slightly, neatening his shirt. “There. Now it's like you're a proper chocolatier.”
Rintaro smiled. “Today, I’ll do my best to be.”
Chisa was sorting all the molds from ‘most normal’ to ‘silliest’ as this happened. Suzuka noticed, at first wondering why she'd do such a thing, but eventually chipping in. It was nice to have something random to do while hearing friendly banter.
“Do you think the metal ingots are weirder or less weird than the Christmas trees?”
“Definitely less weird. A lot of candy bars already look like ingots.”
“Hmmm… good point… what about the goldfish? I'd say it's in the middle.”
“Well, it fits the theme of Valentine's better than Christmas trees, though the bar's so low it's basically a tripping hazard. I can agree with a mid-tier placement.”
Subaru took several large bars of chocolate, some milk, some dark. She slid them on the countertop with conviction, immediately catching everyone's attention.
“Alright, everyone, since we're all here, let's get started.”
It was to be expected, but Rintaro was an absolute machine. The man was whipping up a simple filling for the chocolates using only stuff that was already present in Subaru's home. It was truly a privilege to be able to cook using a rich person's pantry. He was careful to heat sugar on the stove, the caramelization process taking over. It was the kind of caramel that was still quite sticky when it dried, and would coat all over your mouth. He even salted it to add to its depth of flavor, making a harmonious match with the chocolate that it was going to accentuate.
The others could only watch in awe as Rintaro did his work. Perhaps they could have helped, but no one wanted to disturb him. Caramelizing sugars was a difficult and meticulous process, so instead of interfering, they had begun preparing the molds for everything, pouring a small shell of now-tempered chocolate around several of them to be filled. It wasn't just salted caramel that was being prepared, there was a chocolate ganache on the way as well. Subaru also happened to have picked up several roasted hazelnuts, which would also make their way into the chocolates.
The group had split into multiple ‘teams’ at this point. Kaoruko, Ayumi, and Ayato were on team milk chocolate, which meant they were filling a few of the molds with milk chocolate. Team dark chocolate, consisting of Saku, Chisa, and Madoka, were doing the same with their own. Neither Shohei nor Suzuka could figure out which team they'd like to support, so they met in the middle.
“You ever mix all of the shampoo bottles in the bathroom as a kid, Usami-kun?” Suzuka asked.
“Ahaha, yeah, I did that once! My mom really hated it, though.”
Suzuka chuckled. “Well… wanna do the same with chocolate?”
Shohei had to process what she meant. Mixing… the chocolate? It sounded quite intriguing.
“That sounds amazing!” he exclaimed, enthusiastically grabbing a mold with several unfilled plots.
Subaru was smiling widely as she saw her friends get along like this. She wanted to step in too, but she had her own little task to work towards. Perhaps even a photo to take as well.
She snapped a photo, her camera's shutter noise drowned out by cheerful banter.
She'd have to look back at the photograph and smile like an idiot later. The chocolate mold in front of her was important. Rintaro’s fun little experiments with the stuff in her pantry had given them fillings that Subaru could only imagine being a good thing to add to chocolate. It would make her plan perfect.
The mold was a relatively large one, consisting of only four plots. Each one was the shape of a large heart shape, with the letters ‘LOVE’ engraved onto the heart in question. She had filled two of them with dark chocolate already, and now it was time to create a milk chocolate shell.
In her focus to get the shell absolutely perfect, Subaru didn't even realize her ever-observant friends approaching her from behind.
"Hey, Subaru!" Kaoruko greeted.
“Looking good,” Saku said. It was about the chocolate shells, obviously, but Subaru couldn't help but be caught off-guard by the sudden comment.
“Of course it looks good,” Subaru replied, keeping up her normalcy. “It has to.”
Saku, interested, tilted his head. “What are these for?”
“Well, I guess the technical term would be love chocolate.”
Saku looked at Subaru as if he'd just seen a ghost. His skin turned pale as he tried to hide his facial expressions.
Kaoruko, meanwhile, had a curious yet optimistic expression written on her face.
"You're making them yourself this time?" Kaoruko asked, with an optimistic lilt.
"Well, with Tsumugi-kun helping out, these are bound to turn out delicious."
Kaoruko turned starry-eyed, glancing at Rintaro for a split second, then back to Subaru. "Wow… I don't know if I could accept something like that."
Subaru smiled at her best friend. "Please, do. I can't say I made it myself, but it definitely takes more effort, so please appreciate it."
"Do you prepare love chocolate every year…?" Saku asked, his voice wavering slightly.
Subaru smiled. "I do, but I usually just buy it. They're for my family."
Subaru looked towards Kaoruko. She seemed thankful for her presence here.
"And… for Kaoruko. To show my gratitude."
The color in Saku's complexion had begun to come back. Gratitude? That's an… interesting reason to give out 'love chocolate'.
“I see. That's very thoughtful of you, Hoshina-san. I'm sure the recipients love receiving this sort of thing.”
"I do," Kaoruko replied. "I truly do, but I've told her she doesn't need to do it. I guess she just loves me too much to stop."
Subaru looked at her, embarrassed. "H-hey, Kaoruko-"
"Kidding," Kaoruko giggled. "I love you too, you know."
She caught a glimpse of the other members of team milk chocolate, a slight guilt building up from not contributing to their shared cause. "Sorry, I have to get back to work. You two have fun!"
Saku looked at Subaru, who had somehow already gotten back to her state of focus.
"Got any more tempered chocolate?" Saku asked, breaking through her focused state. "The dark kind."
Subaru shifted gears, passing him a bowl of molten tempered dark chocolate. "Ah, yeah, was tempering a batch between pouring these shells. Hope this is enough."
Saku accepted the bowl. "It'll be perfect, thank you."
Hesitant to leave, he muttered one final message towards the focused Subaru. “Good luck on the love chocolates.”
“And good luck on the normal chocolates,” Subaru replied. Saku could have sworn he saw her lips curl into a smile.
Saku slipped away from Subaru as she maintained her focus. He had some shells to fill, and even a few to close up. Helping create all these chocolates has made him, as well as the rest of his friends, very excited to receive them. Rintaro may have been the primary contributor in all this, but everyone put in their own fair share of work. Each piece was like a fruit of their shared labor all on its own. The chocolates felt almost like precious gems to them, albeit ones that they couldn't wait to eat.
“Sorry for asking to meet here. I hope it wasn't too bad.”
On the 14th of February, Valentine's Day, Subaru found herself sitting on a bench in an old park, relatively far from their schools. It was always better to play it safe. Everyone had agreed to meet her there, which thankfully didn't get held up by sudden emergencies or reservations. As such, the bench now had ten teenagers lounging around near it, listening intently to Subaru's words. It was a good thing that none of them seemed to mind going out of their way like this.
Okay, this is admittedly a bit nerve-wracking, but I'll manage.
Subaru took her bag, opened it and plopped out a small plastic bag of chocolates over a small paper box base. It was tied with a ribbon, a tag on it saying “Suzuka Asakura”.
“This one's for you, Suzuka.”
It was actually quite common for Suzuka to receive Valentine's chocolate. The nature of Kikyo being an all girls school meant that Valentine's was often celebrated between them. This also extended to White Day, where they return the favor even harder to their fellow schoolmates. Regardless of the actual frequency of receiving chocolates like this, Suzuka was still over the moon. She had a hand in making these with her friends, after all.
“This one's for… Tsumugi-kun. Thank you for all your hard work.”
The next ones went to Kaoruko, then Shohei, Madoka, Saku, Ayumi, Chisa, and finally Ayato.
There was a surge of enthusiasm coming from the lot of them.
“Seems like the chocolate tempered perfectly,” Rintaro commented. “You did well for your first time.”
Subaru inspected her own bag of chocolates that she had brought. “Didn't you help temper a lot of it?”
“Giving you credit is important, you know.”
Subaru chuckled slightly at the praise. “Of course. I'll keep your words in mind.”
Kaoruko had somehow already undone her bag’s ribbon, digging for a chocolate piece already. The excitement at which she put it in her mouth almost felt like an ad for the chocolate itself. She didn't quite stuff her cheeks with it—obviously, she did have some restraint—but she did make it look really good. No doubt a large part of her enjoyment came from the combined efforts of all her friends that went into it, especially her boyfriend.
“How about doing this again for White Day?” Kaoruko suggested. “This was so fun.”
“Well, it's some nice chocolate and a hangout,” Ayumi weighed in. “I think it's a good idea.”
“I think so too,” added Saku. “Let's make it a White Day we won't forget."
The group stared at Rintaro and Subaru, waiting for their call.
Rintaro sighed playfully. “Alright, I'm down.”
Subaru smiled. “Let's hope everyone's free again.”
Kaoruko must've looked like she was going to burst. Subaru was simply happy that her silly idea worked. Perhaps, with time, they could even turn this into a tradition.
A loud exhale.
Saku had released a breath he hardly even knew he was holding.
It's getting worse, he thought, placing his tote bag on the ground and taking everything out.
I need to take a breather.
His water bottle felt heavier than it usually did. The bag itself seemed to catch his hands, and wrangling them back into control wasn't as easy as it should've been, either. When he finally got to his bag of chocolates, he sighed in resignation.
How pathetic of him.
She loves me not, Saku reminded himself. Everyone got chocolate. Don't get worked up over nothing.
His mind wandered to the words he said at the group meetup earlier today.
Let's make it a White Day we won't forget.
Boy, was he familiar with that concept.
Saku wasn't in the mood for chocolate. He took out a small plastic container from the kitchen, placing each and every chocolate into it, packing it as neatly as he could. This would go into the fridge, where Mio would probably take a few pieces of it, or something. It was fine, though.
That was when Saku noticed something at the base of the paper box that lined the bag.
Why is this here?
Subaru had made a mistake.
This ‘love chocolate’, so she had called it, was supposed to go to Kaoruko or one of her family members. She must have accidentally misplaced it.
This was not good for him. He had to tell her.
But he couldn't, no matter what his mind told him. Not like this.
Saku stared at his phone screen, then back at the bag, his mind thinking so hard he forgot how to breathe. His entire body felt like it could give in at any moment. He didn't know whether to faint or to throw up.
His pulse felt like it was trying to kill him.
Saku stepped out of the shower, his body slightly less self-destructive than it was before. He could breathe. He could think. Even his nausea was beginning to clear up.
In this state… he could at least muster up the courage to text Subaru about her mistake.
He was nervous, an emotion he usually tries so desperately to hide. Even still, he did what he could to steel himself.
Don't misinterpret anything. Don't imagine things that aren't there.
Be a good friend.
Saku: Evening, Hoshina-san. Thanks again for the chocolates.
Saku: I hope your family liked your gift to them.
Subaru: They loved it. Tsumugi-kun's skills are something else.
Subaru: Kaoruko also seemed to like it. I'm always happy to give her gifts like this on Valentine's.
Saku: You didn't happen to be missing any chocolate, right?
Subaru: Not at all. I made the perfect amount.
Saku wiped his eyes hard enough that he began seeing double. He then pinched himself. Weirdly enough, he didn't wake up.
Saku: I respect your commitment to showing them your gratitude. It's not something I've ever thought about.
Subaru: It's not just gratitude. It's a lot of things. For instance, it could symbolize good fortune, or high praise.
Saku: Either way, I'm sure they're grateful for receiving such a thoughtful gift.
He tried slapping himself. Checking the clock. Closing his eyes for five seconds and opening them again. He couldn't wake up.
Subaru: Did I give you the right bag? You almost sound like you didn't receive it.
Subaru: The one with the large heart chocolate.
Saku: I did find something like that, but why would you give such a gift to me? I don’t believe I’ve done much worth your gratitude.
This dream was beginning to feel nightmarishly real.
Saku braced himself. He was prepared to hear something terribly misinterpretable. Something akin to or even worse than their second beach trip’s words. He was going to be reminded, once again, how much unrequited love hurts, and why he should learn to get over it. If only he could hope for the opposite.
Subaru: You're usually very observant, Natsusawa-kun. It's surprising to see you like this.
Subaru: I hope you'll accept the love chocolate.