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"You think they meant to put that on a different one?"
Yosuke was too wrapped up in staring at the meticulously assembled bento in front of him to be annoyed by Chie's remark, eyes sparkling with delight at the spread in front of him.
Strawberries dipped in milk, white and dark chocolate, topped by a generous drizzle of light pink and red icing to match. Another section had strawberry mochi and daifuku neatly lined up next to each other. The third one, the smallest, had something much straighter to the point: lozenges.
Strawberry flavored ones, he'd assumed from everything else in the box.
He hummed in thought as he picked up the thing that was slipped underneath it, a card.
A card that… was not signed.
"Who's it from? This looks really good…" Yukiko asked, somewhat shocked that he'd received something too. He couldn't exactly blame them considering his track record, but still.
"No idea, there isn't a name anywhere." He replied, blinking rapidly in surprise as he read what was written. "'You mean too much to me, I was thinking that now is the perfect time to tell you'…" Yosuke leaned in, trying to read the last bit of what was written, but the smudged off remnants of an erasers trail made it nearly illegible.
"And hey, what's with the cough drops?" Chie squinted at the third section of the bento, not knowing just how personal those were to him, what with a card like that among delicious strawberry flavored treats…
Yeah… thinking about it now, the cough drops almost felt too personal to Yosuke specifically. This was not an accident. This wasn't meant for someone else.
This was an honest, sincere gift for him.
And Yosuke did not have a single idea as to who it might've been from.
"Whoever they are, they must really care about me a lot… that I'm pretty sure of."
~•~
How had this happened?
Yu nearly slammed his head into the kitchen table, almost turning the newly picked bag of strawberries into jam from his reaction that he was actually about to do this.
"Thanks for planting strawberries, big bro! They look yummy and I bet my class will love them!"
"They're not done yet, though. Could you grab me the chocolates I got? They should be somewhere next to the fridge."
Nanako nodded and rummaged through a cupboard, pulling out three bags of chocolate and a candy bar that had a panda on the front. "These?"
Yu chuckled as he took the bagged ones and smiled. "Aw, darn. You found my surprise for you… whoops!"
Her eyes sparkled and she enthusiastically thanked him for the gift, then he got to work melting the chocolate. One milk, one white, and one dark. In the white batch, he planned to add just a few drops of red food coloring so it turned a soft shade of pink.
"Hey, big bro?" Nanako asked, her attention almost laser focused on getting the white chocolate panda free from the rest of the bar without breaking it. "Valentine's Day is about all kinds of love, right?"
"Yes," he replied, pouring the freshly melted batch of white chocolate into a separate bowl. "Why do you ask?"
"Do you have someone you like…? I remember my teacher said that when you reeeally like someone, you make a gift for them."
Yu froze mid stir of the pink chocolate, refusing to turn around as his face soon nearly matched the strawberries they'd picked barely half an hour ago. He'd taken half the day off school for this project, and his cousin wouldn't know the insane accuracy of her comment until much later.
He knew how picky his partner could be with food, but if one thing stood out about him, it was that Yosuke had a pretty big sweet tooth. "Um… well, uh, I guess I do?…" he answered, keeping it vague so he wouldn't get too sidetracked.
"Is it Yosuke-nii?"
How the heck was Nanako so pinpoint accurate despite being only seven?! "U-uh…!!" Yu sputtered, his brain blue screening the second she said his name. "W-Why do you say that…?"
"You call him partner a lot… is that different from a best friend?"
If only he had an answer to that too. This entire time part of Yu was hoping that line between what a 'friend' was and what 'partner' truly meant would gradually get blurrier. But, almost understandably so, what with everything going on this past year, it was either Yu not being proactive or Yosuke willfully ignoring it that left the line untouched…
"I'm not sure if there's a difference myself…"
On one hand, he would probably melt if Yosuke accepted it… but on the other? If, hypothetically, Yosuke didn't like these, well… it was a good thing that Nanako liked strawberries too so the food wouldn't go to waste, at least…
If Yosuke didn't like this, then it would be Yu's heart that spoiled when discarded, and it'd be nobody's fault but his own.
No, no! Focus, Narukami! You're making a spread of sweets for your partner! You can't get stuck in a loop like this.
The rest of his project went smoother the less he thought about Yosuke's reaction… and maybe rejection.
Yeah, rejection… he definitely didn't like Yu back. Summer alone taught him that much. What with that camping trip and the first outing to Okina on their scooters…
It wasn't reciprocal, he knew so all this time, and yet Yu knew just as well that he'd regret it and beat himself up mentally in a month when he had to leave if he didn't say it now.
He had to do it. He had to confess.
He'd make sure he'd write it on the card that would go with it too. Even if it wasn't returned.
~•~
"Hey, partner! Glad I caught up to you!"
Yu's heart leapt into his throat as he heard Yosuke's voice when he was about to leave for the day. "Hey aibou. Sorry I wasn't here for the second half of classes, something… important came up. N-nothing serious, don't worry."
"That's a relief… but, um, you got a second? I know this might sound crazy, but I got something super nice today!…" He smiled and dug out from his bag the bento.
His bento.
"Look at all of this! I was wondering if maybe you knew who gave it to me… So I can thank them properly today, y'know?"
Yu blinked, then looked down, an idea striking him as he grinned. "Umm… I might? I think they said they'd wait for you over by the floodplain."
"Sweet!! Thanks, partner! I owe you one!"
Phew…
Now Yu just had to get to the floodplain before he did.
Something told him he did not think this through.
~•~
"Yu…? You alright, dude?"
Yep. He did not think this through…!
Yu stood, out of breath and hair a mess, in front of his partner, who did nothing but look at him with the most adorable confused expression.
He didn't actually make it to the floodplain before Yosuke did, but in trying to do so ran himself so ragged that he could barely wheeze out a coherent word.
"Dude, partner, you look really out of breath… something up?" Yosuke asked again, guiding him over to the gazebo so he could sit, then pulling out the same bento he'd spent hours on before.
"Do…" Yu heaved, almost resisting the urge to cough from how dry his throat was from exhaustion. "Do you… like those…?"
"What? I mean, yeah…?" He blinked, then took out a few of the cough drops, handing two to his partner. "Take it easy and… sorry if this sounds weird but why were you in such a rush?"
Yu couldn't do anything but snicker as he looked Yosuke in the eye. "The person who gave you those wanted to meet you here."
"I know that…? Wish I could find 'em though…" He still looked entirely confused as he bit into a pink chocolate coated strawberry. "Damn, these are good! Hey, you should totally try one of these!"
He broke eye contact as he took a piece of strawberry mochi, covering his mouth as he swallowed one of the cough drops — and almost certainly his gut reaction to burst out laughing, whole.
How dense was he?
"Aibou, you—" Yu stopped, choking back another bout of laughter as Yosuke took out the card. "Do you any clues on… pfft.. on who gave it to you?"
Yosuke leaned forward and practically draped himself over the table with an irritated sigh. "Man, I wish I did! The card's not even signed and I think there were some bits erased too…"
"And what did it say?"
"'You mean too much to me, I was thinking that now is the perfect time to tell you'—"
"—I love you."
The words slipped out with not a single thought on Yu's part, but the timing was just accurate enough to strike a bullseye right into Yosuke's heart, whose face now matched the strawberries he'd picked earlier.
"Y-you… y-you, uh…" Yosuke stared at him, not in disgust but in surprise, as if he couldn't perceive why. "You… love me."
"I love you." He repeated, relaxing into a smile as he took a chocolate covered strawberry of his own.
"…Why?" The question sounded genuine, and his expression matched it.
"How could I not?" Yu replied, not bothering to keep the smile out of his voice any longer.
"I fell into a trash can and my ass was sticking out of it when we met, partner. I don't believe anyone would think that's a good first impression."
"It was a… strong one, that's for sure."
"I can hear your smirk, Yu. Come on, be serious."
"And what if I am being serious, hm? What then?"
Yosuke laughed and took out more of the sweets. "Then I guess we're both a couple of clowns, aren't we?"
"I am a Fool, after all."
"So… I'll be honest," he bit into a piece of mochi. "I kinda liked you too…?"
"Oh?" Here it comes. 'Liked'. As in past tense.
"Yeah… Rise's dungeon gave me a lot to think about, but I guess I was using the case to… avoid thinking about it. Typical Yosuke move, y'know." He sighed, then leaned back slightly as he shifted his gaze to the sky.
"Aibou…"
"I thought maybe I was just moving on too soon. Hell, immediately after you saved me from getting killed by my own Shadow, I started calling you my partner…" He laughed, somewhat wryly. "I'm like a damn lost puppy, aren't I? Latching onto the nearest person who appreciates me and never letting go until…"
The way he trailed off broke Yu's heart because he knew what he meant without having to say it aloud.
"I may be leaving in a month but… that doesn't have to be the end. I'll come visit, I'll make sure I do."
"Yeah, but I'm afraid I might…" Yosuke's voice got lower, low enough to be next to mumbling into the sleeve of his jacket.
"Hm?"
"I'm scared that I might.. miss you… too much…"
Oh, now was the wrong time to tease, but how could he not…? "I did read somewhere that dogs do get separation anxiety…"
Yosuke choked on his own words, then shoved a daifuku to Yu's lips. "C-cut that out! I'm trying to be sincere, damn it!"
"I thought you said we were both clowns, huh?"
"Okayyy, stop. Stop, stop, stop!! That's enough! No more!" His partner could not have blushed any darker, and Yu knew just the line to shoot for the kill.
"And, huh, on the topic of things you said once… what was it? I'm more of a 'man's man' than you thought—"
"Aaaaghh!" Yosuke slugged him on the shoulder, screaming into his hands a moment later, but his smile was still crystal clear in his tone. "I give! I give! You're killing me, partner!!"
"Oh, and what did you mean by how good I am with my hands—"
Then, without warning, Yu tasted remnants of strawberry and chocolate that had nothing to do with the snacks he'd made.
Did—
Did Yosuke just kiss him to shut him up?
Well… it's not like Yu could complain, he'd wanted to do this for… longer than he'd admit, at least in that moment.
When they broke apart, the feeling lingered. Warm, sweet, and the epitome of a lonely winter melting away into a springtime with no more regrets buzzing in his head.
Yosuke slowly began beaming as he packed up the bento, which by that point, had already been half eaten. "Thanks, Yu. I love these."
He returned the gesture, standing up soon after. "I'm glad."
"Just curious… why strawberries?"
"I know you have quite the sweet tooth and…" Yu half covered his mouth, barely hiding the nervous grin. "Is now a bad time to mention the culture festival…?"
He stopped, shocked by the admittance. "No, don't tell me…"
"Chie might've done that to get back at you, but that strawberry hair clip she used… it was cute to me and I love making food for people so the idea started there, I guess…?"
"You— wait." He could hear Yosuke connecting the dots. "Wait, so… are you saying that I looked cute in that? Partner, I was so embarrassed it wasn't even funny!"
"Well, I mean…" Nope, Yu wasn't done poking at him for the day. "If were both being honest here, you looked cute to me way before that."
"If you tease me again, I think you're gonna owe me snacks and a movie night as compensation for nearly making my heart explode, partner."
"Call it a date and I wouldn't mind having that debt."
He scoffed, then held out his hand, which Yu didn't waste any time as he held it. "You're impossible, you know that?"
So… the confession hadn't panned out how Yu thought, but it ended just as well as he'd hoped it would. It was messy, full of banter and a sweet snack shared between partners.
All things considered, it was a perfectly chaotic Valentine's Day for him and his partner.
Sounds about right.