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Eloise was at her wits’ end.
Valentine’s Day was coming up in a few days, and she wanted to surprise Desmond by making him sushi, as he loved seafood.
There was just one problem: she didn’t know how to.
She knew how to cook some other things, but sushi? Different story.
Currently, Eloise was sulking in the courtyard, contemplating her past failures.
Her attempts to make maki rolls in the dining hall kitchen ended with a messy counter and even messier rolls.
As she groaned, she failed to notice a certain matchmaker approach her.
“Eloise?”
“Ah…”
Eloise flinched, only relaxing when she realized who it was.
“Oh… Hi, Toshiko…”
The fencer’s voice was laced with mild exhaustion, which failed to go unnoticed by the matchmaker.
“You sound rather stressed. Is something wrong?” Toshiko asked with a tilt of her head.
Eloise let out a tired sigh. She supposed that telling Toshiko wouldn’t hurt.
“I wanna make sushi for Desmond for Valentine’s Day, but every time I try, it goes horribly wrong, and I’m worried that I won’t be able to learn in time.”
“Have you tried watching tutorial videos or asking someone for help?” Toshiko asked.
“I tried the videos, but they weren’t really working for me, and I don’t know anyone who knows how to make sushi,” Eloise replied.
Toshiko went silent, a thoughtful look in her eyes.
“Well… I do believe there is one person who can help you.”
Eloise perked up. “Really? Who?”
“You know him rather well, but…” Toshiko trailed off.
Eloise raised an eyebrow. “But?”
“…I’m not sure if you quite like him.”
Not like him?
“Please just tell me, Toshiko. At this point, I’m pretty desperate.”
Toshiko still seemed hesitant, but she eventually spoke.
“…Mochi.”
…
It was one word, but Eloise knew very well who Toshiko was referring to.
“…What.”
“Believe it or not,” Toshiko continued, “He grew up in Japan, the very birth place of sushi. If there’s anyone that knows sushi well, it’s him.”
“And the reason I hesitated to tell you was… well…”
It was known amongst their class that Damon’s personality wasn’t the most liked by other Ultimates, though this especially applied to Eloise, who still bore a grudge against him after his not-so stellar first impression on their first day at the academy.
On one hand, Eloise would very much rather not ask him for help.
But on the other hand…
…
Eloise let out a long sigh.
“Where is he?”
Toshiko seemed to be taken aback somewhat, but she quickly regained her composure as she formed a reply.
“To my knowledge, he’s typically at his dorm around this hour, so you should find him there,” the matchmaker replied.
Eloise nodded. “Got it.”
Without skipping a beat, Eloise got up and made her way to the dormitory area.
“Good luck, Eloise!” Toshiko said to her.
Yeah, she’d need it.
It didn’t take long for Eloise to reach Damon’s dorm. As soon as she made it, she knocked on the door.
A few seconds passed, and the door opened to reveal Diana.
“Oh! Hi, Eloise!” Diana greeted with her usual bright smile.
“Hi, Diana. Is Damon here? I wanna talk to him.” Eloise asked, keeping her voice low.
“Damon? Yeah, he is. Come on in,” Diana replied before stepping away to give Eloise room to walk in.
The fencer walked through the door, and lo and behold, Damon was sitting on the couch with a book in his hands and his blazer off.
“Damon?” Diana called out to him.
Damon lifted his head. “Hm?”
“Eloise wanted to talk to you.”
Damon turned his head to face Eloise, who became nervous.
“What is it?” he asked simply, his face neutral.
Eloise glanced between Damon and Diana. “Well… Um… I-I… kinda wanted to ask you privately.”
Diana blinked. “Oh, do you want me to step out for a moment?”
“I-If it isn’t too much for you…”
“Well, I kinda needed to run a few errands, so I was gonna leave anyway.”
Diana quickly made her way over to Damon a gave a quick peck on his forehead before making g her way to the door.
“I’ll be back in an hour! I love you, Damon!”
The faintest of smiles formed on the debater’s lips. “Yeah, love you too.”
And with that, Diana left, closing the door behind her.
He then brought his attention to Eloise. “You said you wanted to talk to me, right?”
Eloise fidgeted with her hands as she looked away from and bring her gaze to the floor.
She was really gonna ask Damon Maitsu, of all people, for help.
Well, what did she have to lose at this point?
“Well, I wanted to make sushi for Valentine’s Day for Desmond, but I don’t know how. I was told that you knew how to because of your Japanese origin and… I was wondering if you could help me.”
The words escaped her mouth so quickly that she wasn’t sure if Damon even caught it all.
“Okay.”
“Alright, I’ll leave, then. Enjoy the— Wait, what?”
Eloise had been expecting for Damon to say no, so she was ready to leave and was about to walk to the door until she properly processed the response she got from him.
He said… “okay”. “Okay”… as in yes.
…
“R-Really?” she asked hesitantly.
Damon got up from the couch as he placed the book he was reading earlier in the coffee table. “I have nothing else better to do and I have no reason to decline.”
“O-Okay…”
An awkward silence fell between them.
“So, when do you wanna start?” Damon asked.
Eloise blinked. “Oh, how about a hour from now, your dorm?”
Damon nodded. “Sounds fair. I’ll have the ingredients prepared. All you need to do is bring your own apron.”
“Got it. I’ll be going, then. Be seeing you.”
And without another word, Eloise made her way to the door and left.
As she was walking g back to her dorm, she felt a mix of emotion slowly bubbling from within her.
Joy at Damon saying yes, excitement at finally being able to learn how to make sushi for Desmond…
And dread for the potential hell she would go through as she would be instructed by Damon.
She could only hope that she would be able to learn quickly.
Once the time came for Eloise to meet up with Damon, she went to his dorm and the lessons began shortly after.
Surprisingly, Damon was actually a good teacher, and her sushi was coming out well.
However, there was a jarring lack of conversation between the two, much to Eloise’s anxiety. She wasn’t quite fond of awkward silences. So, she decided to strike up a conversation.
“So… What are you planning to do for Valentine’s Day?” she asked.
Damon was silent for a moment before replying. “Kai booked us reservations at a fancy restaurant that opened up some months ago.”
“What’s it called?”
“The Scarlet Citadel, I believe. Kind of a tacky name, but Kai says the food makes up for it.”
Silence fell between them once again.
Eloise wanted to talk again, seeing that Damon was willing to, but she didn’t know what to say.
However, she didn’t have to deliberate any longer, as Damon’s voice unexpectedly cut through the silence.
“Eloise.”
Eloise snapped her head over to Damon, startled.
“H-Huh?”
“I can tell you wanna say something to me.”
Eloise felt her nervousness getting worse as Damon hit the nail on the coffin.
She took a moment to choose her words to hopefully not piss him off before speaking.
“I just… I never thought you’d help me with this. I thought you would say no.”
Damon’s gaze seemed to shift at that. “I’m in a relationship, too. I know what it feels like to have the need to strive for the best for your significant other.”
“Y-You do?”
“Yeah. But knowing Desmond, he’ll appreciate anything you give to him because it’s from you.”
Eloise was somewhat taken aback.
She hadn’t expected such heartfelt words from Damon.
Though… perhaps that was her own misjudgment.
“T-Thank you…” Eloise said, a small smile appearing on her lips.
“No problem.”
The two continued making sushi, far until the evening, when Eloise thanked Damon for his help and took the sushi she made back to her dorm to eat, as she had gotten very hungry.
“…And that’s how I made this sushi.”
Eloise had finished recounting the story to Desmond, who was sitting on the other end of the table in their shared dorm room.
They were on the Valentine’s date that Eloise had been planning. She gave Desmond the sushi she prepared, and he loved it.
Desmond’s eyes were wide as he ate. “Wow. That’s quite the story.”
“Yeah… But it was worth it.”
Desmond let out a chuckle. “So you say.”
The marksman then placed his hand over the fencer’s. “I know I already said this, but I’m really glad to have you as a girlfriend.”
Eloise felt her face get hot. “Des…”
She smiled sweetly, intertwining her fingers with his. “I’m… glad to have you as a boyfriend.”
The two shared a brief kiss, touching foreheads and giggling as their lips separated.
“I love you, Des.”
“I love you too, Ellie.”
The two continued their date, talking and laughing until sunset.