Work Text:
Inside Random Play, Wise was in his room, laying in bed and lazily scrolling through his phone.
It was Valentine’s Day, and the store was closed as most people were out on dates with their loved ones. Which included Belle, who was dating Ye Shunguang.
Wise sighed with envy as he saw all sorts of photos on Interknot. People were quite open to sharing their dating experiences. Their laughter, smiles, even kisses…
Hell, he eventually saw a picture of Belle and Shunguang, the former grinning as she pecked the blushing Thiren on the cheek. That was what finally made him set his phone down, and he stared at the ceiling in deep contemplation.
“Belle got a girlfriend before me…” He muttered.
It wasn’t for lack of trying, of course. He could remember every time he tried to get closer to those he liked in their massive circle of friends. Miyabi, Yanagi, Nicole, Yixuan…even Astra Yao herself.
But in the end, he either got cold feet, or they turned him down gently. He didn’t mind it at first, but now that Belle had a girlfriend...he couldn't help but be envious, even though he was happy for her.
He sighed as he sat up. “It’s not like I’m the only one alone on Valentine’s…I guess I’ll ask Billy to game with me today.”
He was torn from his laments by Fairy’s voice from his laptop.
“Second Assistant, your gift has arrived.”
Wise raised an eyebrow. “What gift? Who would possibly send me-”
He was cut off by the doorbell being rung, so he quickly jogged downstairs to greet the visitors.
When he opened the door, he blinked in surprise as he saw Sunna and Nangong Yu. The former was shuffling nervously, her lips trembling as if she wanted to spit something out. The other girl was smirking at Wise in a rather proud manner.
“Hellooooo Manager~!” Nangong sung. “We brought you a little something~!”
She and Sunna stepped aside to reveal a giant pink box, which was wrapped tight with a red bow.
“...What is that?” Wise said in confusion.
“Just open it, and you’ll see~!” Nangong said vaguely. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we have our own date to attend! Have a VERY Happy Valentine’s Day, Manager~!”
She took Sunna’s hand, and the blonde sputtered a sentence out as she was dragged off.
“Th-this wasn't my idea, I swear!”
For a moment, Wise just blinked as he processed what happened, then looked down at the box for a few more seconds before shrugging in acceptance and walking up to it.
“Guess I’ll bring it inside.” He said to himself.
He got a firm grip on its sides, and grunted as it took a bit of effort to lift. Thankfully, his body had been honed from all that training at Yunkui Summit.
“D-damn, what’s…in here?”
He felt something tumble inside and heard a muffled moan, which made him hurry into the store. Once the front door was locked, he unwrapped the odd gift and slowly lifted the lid to reveal…
“ARIA!?” He exclaimed in shock.
There, curled up and wrapped neatly in red ribbons, was the angelic pink-haired idol, who had a very deep blush on her cheeks.
She yelped, though it was muffled by the ribbon in her mouth. Upon seeing that, Wise shook off his stupor and started to free Aria from her bonds, starting with her mouth.
“What’s going on?” He questioned.
“W-well uh…” Aria murmured. “You see-oh my…My logic core is heating up…”
After all the ribbons were untied, she shakily got on her feet. Her form flickered between human and android, a clear sign of how distressed she was.
Wise gently put a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye, and spoke in a calm tone.
“Aria, breathe. Well, constructs can’t breathe, but you know what I mean.”
Aria nodded, and mimicked taking a deep breath. Her form stabilized into the idol projection, and her blush softened into a pink similar to her hair.
“Th-thank you, Manager.” She said with a small smile.
The grey-haired boy smiled back awkwardly. “No problem. Now uh, why did Sunna and Nangong deliver you in a box?”
She glanced aside awkwardly. “How should I put this…Ever since you and Belle began helping us, I felt something…odd in my system. At the time, I thought it was just because of Yokai causing trouble. But afterward, that feeling never went away…”
He tilted his head in curiosity. “So…is it bad, or…”
“I-I don’t know…all I know is…I feel it because of you. Mana-Wise I…I think what I feel is…love. I-I like you!”
While Aria covered her literally steaming face, Wise’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped.
“Did I…hear that right?” He thought incredulously. “Aria likes me? She…has those feelings for me?”
“Aria I…I’m flattered.” He said with a slight blush. “But why come to confess to me like…this?”
The idol giggled bashfully. “I actually wasn’t going to. It’s not just because I’m a construct, but also an idol. I know fans would support us, but others may take issue and even try to attack you.”
The Proxy smiled wryly. “Yep, I could see that. Although, I can defend myself these days.”
“Oh, I know! With those muscles of yours…”
Aria shook her head as she prevented herself from daydreaming, then hastily continued.
“A-anyway, Nangong got fed up with my hesitance, so she and Sunna ambushed me when I came to practice! And that’s how I became your gift…”
She shut her eyes and opened her arms, shivering with anticipation as she disabled her projection to show her true self, and finally made her declaration.
“So Wise…will you accept me, all of me, and be my Valentine!?”
Though he expected it at this point, Wise’s brain still short-circuited. With his face reddening, he opened his mouth, but struggled to form words.
“W-what do I say!?” He thought in a panic. “She’s pouring her heart out, but do I like her that way?”
At that moment, he thought about it. He had always found Aria cute. Not just the idol, but also the true construct underneath. She was sweet and kind, and always did her best for the other Angels. And her confession was making his heart race…
“...I don’t know if I’ll ever get a chance like this again.” He thought with a cooler head. “And Aria…it’s probably the same for her. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try…”
After taking a deep breath, he smiled with a nervous softness and held a hand out to her.
“Aria…I’m not experienced with this kind of thing.” He admitted. “Well, I’m a bit of a failure. But, if you still want me…I’ll be your Valentine, and accept you as mine.”
Aria froze like a deer in front of headlights, and her digital eyes blinked rapidly several times before turning blank.
After staring at her in uncomfortable silence for a few seconds, Wise tapped the pink android’s head gingerly.
“Aria, are you okay?” He asked.
She gasped and flinched as her eyes flashed back to life, and she shifted her hips in a bashful manner.
“S-sorry, I was so pleasantly surprised, I needed to reboot!” She said hastily. “Well then…I’ll be in your care.”
She slowly brought her hand onto his, and he gripped it gently to help her out of the box. Then they stood there for a moment, staring into each other’s eyes while savoring their first handhold as a couple.
“Surprisingly warm…” Wise thought with a slight blush.
“S-so,” he coughed aside. “shall we go out for a date? It is Valentine’s Day, after all.”
Aria blushed and shook her head. “We can’t! I-I mean, I’d like too, but…our Delulus are everywhere! If they see you with me, they’ll become sharks in a frenzy!”
Wise laughed nervously. “Right…Then I guess we can stay here, and watch movies together? I’ll order some pizza, and even request a bottle of strawberry-flavored motor oil for you.”
“Y-yes, I’d like that!”
After the pizza and oil were delivered, the budding couple watched Constructed Hearts, a romcom featuring an Intelligent Construct growing feelings for a human woman he met by chance.
Throughout the film, Aria would lean forward in the romantically tense moments, or giggle at the more amusing ones. Wise remained seated straight, sometimes glancing at Aria and smirking at her enjoyment.
The film itself was fine, but seeing her like this made him think accepting her confession was the right thing to do.
Eventually, the robotic girl turned her head as she noticed her new boyfriend’s gaze, and blushed a little. Caught red-handed, his own cheeks burned, and he looked awkwardly.
Then after a moment of silence…she took initiative and scooted close enough for her synthetic body to touch his human flesh, and leaned her head onto him. He tensed for a second, then relaxed and slowly brought his arm around her.
Once they became settled in this more intimate position, they smiled and focused on the movie again.
Unbeknownst to the lovebirds, a certain A.I Assistant was watching them and had recorded this very moment.
She sent one copy of the photo to Belle, while a second copy went to Nangong with a text attached.
[Aria and Second Assistant have successfully courted, as I planned.]