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“Do wizards celebrate Valentine's Day?” Coco asked. It was a rainy February afternoon, the fireplace crackling, and the kitchen air was thick with the smell of soup. Qifrey was reading a book on the couch, occasionally glancing at the apprentices who were lying on the floor practicing. “What is Valentine's Day?” Tetia looked at her with bright eyes, always ready when someone said “party.”
“It's the lovers' holiday. In the village, it was always a special day. Boys brought flowers to their girlfriends and wrote love letters,” Coco explained with heart-shaped eyes. Tetia's eyes widened at her side: “Master Qifrey!”
Qifrey looked up at the girls with a smile.
“Can we celebrate Valentine's Day? Please, please, please,” Tetia begged. Qifrey scratched the back of his neck, considering the proposal. “What would you like to do?”
“Leave it to us, Master!” Tetia rose from her seat and patted her chest. Coco begged him with her eyes, and Qifrey felt guilty denying him something. “Okay, you can organize a party. But —he pointed at them both— you will cook dinner.”
Tetia jumped with joy and hugged Coco. Then together they chased Qifrey out of the living room because it had suddenly become a surprise party. Qifrey warned them to be careful and to come get him if they needed help, then was pushed into the hallway by two laughing teenagers. So, he decided to go and tell Olruggio that there was a party that evening. He hadn't shown up to eat with them for a couple of days, and Qifrey was starting to worry. Besides, he adored the girls, but eating alone at the adults' table was starting to get boring without him. He walked down the hallway and ignored the sign on the door threatening death to anyone who entered. He knocked twice, then opened the door.
“It says ‘No Knocking’ on the door.” Olruggio was hunched over his worktable. His sleeves were rolled up, his brows furrowed. Qifrey found himself thinking he was damn attractive right now. “Qifrey, have you gone so blind you can’t read anymore?”
Qifrey laughed and joined him. He leaned back against the table and shuffled through the sheets of notes scattered across the surface. “Did they commission you a difficult assignment?”
Olruggio scratched the back of his neck. “Nothing impossible, but it’s quite a long one.”
Qifrey nodded. “I wanted to let you know the girls are having a party tonight.”
Olruggio stared at him. “A party?”
“Today is Valentine’s Day, and I think Coco is homesick.”
Olruggio’s gaze softened.
“Can you take a break tonight?” Qifrey continued.
“Are you inviting me out to dinner in our kitchen?”
Qifrey felt his cheeks heat up even though he didn’t want to. “Not at all! I’m just saying you work too hard, and the girls would love it if you came. You haven’t been around in a while.”
“Well, if the girls care…”
Qifrey smiled. At that moment, the door flew open, and Tetia ran in, a whirlwind of pink hair. He stopped at the sight of the two teachers. “It says on the door not to come in! Why do you all keep ignoring it?” Olruggio ran a hand over his face. Tetia looked at him innocently. “I wanted to ask you something for the party.”
Qifrey laughed. “You’re involved now, too.”
Olruggio didn’t seem to have quite the same amused expression as his friend, but he waited for Tetia to ask him what she wanted. “Master Qifrey, can you come out?” asked the red-cheeked girl.
“What?”
“It's a surprise,” she explained.
“I see… in that case, I’ll go do the laundry.” Qifrey patted Olruggio on the shoulder and winked. “I’ll leave my apprentices in your care, Olly. Be careful to treat them well.”
Qifrey left the room and busied himself with the cleaning. He stripped the beds and carried the bucket to the laundry room. He never did laundry with soap and water; he usually just used a few magical seals and Olruggio’s rings. He patted his pockets and realized he’d left his magic tools upstairs. He climbed the stairs and passed Olruggio in his cloak, heading for the exit.
“Are you leaving?” Qifrey heard the disappointment in his own voice. Olruggio jumped, caught in the act. “The girls want… It’s a surprise,” he stammered. “I’m only gone for a few minutes.” He put his pointed hat on and walked out the door.
Qifrey realized then that he hated being left out at surprise parties.
He grabbed what he needed and went back to doing the laundry. He spent the rest of the afternoon sulking and wondering what the girls were doing in the kitchen. He could hear them pacing, lifting pot lids, and giggling. No, he didn't like surprise parties. He wondered why Olruggio had left, where he'd gone, and what he'd done. Why could Olruggio attend and he couldn't? Qifrey sighed and decided he didn't care; he wasn't twelve anymore. He decided to take a hot bath, more to pass the time than out of any real desire. It was a quick bath (why did everything require water?). He dried himself with Olruggio's rings, feeling his friend's warm magic on his skin. Those rings were Olruggio's favorite invention. He still remembered when he'd first sketched it out when they were young. His thoughts stopped when he heard a knock on the door. He quickly threw on some clothes and opened it. Olruggio was outside waiting.
“See? This is how it works: I knock, you open. Why don't you guys ever do that?”
Qifrey rolled his eyes and gestured for him to continue. His hair was still wet, and it bothered him. “Richeh wants us to dress in our best clothes,” he said. “My shirts are all stained with ink. Can you lend me one?” He saw Olruggio's cheeks flush with a faint blush. It wasn't the first time they'd exchanged clothes; they'd done it quite frequently, especially during their years of shared studies. He let him in and gestured for him to rummage through the closet while he went back to drying his hair. It was difficult to cast the spell on oneself, since keeping the magical seal facing oneself required awkward positions. “Leave it to me.” Olruggio took the rings from his hands and put them on himself. He held his palms out to face Qifrey, and the water droplets began to evaporate. When he was finished, he smiled. "Done, I'll never understand your aversion to water."
Qifrey stuck his tongue out at him. "Did you find a shirt in your size, dwarf?" he retorted.
"Okay, you're childish."
"Look who's talking."
"Coco said dinner will be served soon. Prepare yourself mentally for that."
"Why?"
---
He discovered the reason less than an hour later when he found himself sitting at the kitchen table alone with Olruggio. The room had been decorated with heart-shaped flags, each bearing magical sigils that would float around the room. The only light came from white candles placed on the floor and table, casting a soft, reddish glow. Colorful flowers had been arranged around the food trays and in glass vases. The apprentices had left the kitchen to the two adults and taken refuge in Coco's room for a girls' sleepover.
“You agreed to all this?” Qifrey asked. Olruggio smoothed the wrinkles in his shirt, or rather, Qifrey's shirt. Both had opted for shirts that evening, though Qifrey had kept his usual tight black T-shirt underneath. “Agreed is a strong word, more like forced under threat by your apprentices.” This made Qifrey laugh. “What should we do?”
“Tetia wanted to prepare a romantic dinner, but since she doesn't have a boyfriend, she rightly decided to make it for us… even though we're not together, as we're the only adults in the house.” Olruggio's cheeks flushed pink and he shrugged.
“And you didn't even bring me flowers, Olly?” Qifrey teased.
“Please God, don't make me do this.”
“Do you really have them?” Qifrey laughed heartily. “Where did you put them? I want to see them.”
Olruggio rose from his chair with a dramatic expression and walked toward a basket, where the girls had hidden three red roses tied with a pink ribbon. Qifrey's eyes widened at the sight. “I didn't think you were serious.”
“Coco was adamant about the flowers.” Olruggio handed him the bouquet, and Qifrey looked at it, then sniffed it. “They smell good, thank you.”
Olruggio ran a hand over his face to hide his blush. “Can we eat now?”
“That’s not very romantic of you, you know?”
Olruggio didn’t reply, but kicked him in the leg from under the table. Qifrey winced in pain. “Unromantic and violent, too. You know, I think I’ll leave you.”
“Oh no!” Olruggio put a hand over his mouth dramatically. “That’s really dramatic. You want to end our twenty-minute relationship? I could die for this.”
Qifrey found himself laughing like he hadn’t in years. He and Olruggio had been so focused on their work lately that they hadn’t spent much time together. He’d forgotten how fun and enjoyable it could be to be in the company of his best friend. A familiar pang gripped his stomach, but Qifrey chose to ignore it.
“I will never forget you, my love.” Olruggio continued his mock monologue with a smile. Qifrey locked eyes with Olruggio’s sea-blue ones. He felt a shiver run down his spine. Olruggio didn’t seem to notice and began scooping out some soup. He stopped midway and looked at Qifrey. “Sorry, I forgot to serve the ladies first.”
“Okay, you’re the worst boyfriend I’ve ever had.”
“I’m the only boyfriend you’ve ever had.”
“Are you sure?”
Olruggio looked at him, spoon in midair, eyes scanning the figure before him. “You had an affair and never told me?”
Qifrey gestured in the air as if it didn’t matter.
“Who?”
“Jealous?”
“No, just curious… you never showed any signs of being interested in anyone.”
Qifrey sighed. “When we were studying at the atelier. Do you remember the older boy? The tall one with brown hair and green eyes.” They had never really talked about their personal tastes in that area, but it was as if they just knew. Olruggio had always known that Qifrey was attracted to boys and had never had a problem with it. Olruggio frowned and looked up, a sign that he was trying to remember the boy’s face. Qifrey could see the moment his eyes focused on that memory. “Him?” Olruggio snapped with a grimace. “But he was so ugly!” Qifrey laughed and kicked him lightly under the table. “How long were you together?” Olruggio asked again.
“About two months.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“I don't know, it didn't mean much to me. It was something I did without thinking. You?”
Olruggio's eyebrows raised again. “I don't remember the first time I slept with someone, actually. I think I was drunk… you know, those parties in the village we used to go to, it must have happened there.” He scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. “But I remember a girl. The daughter of the man who worked in the library. She helped her father with the work every now and then, and… well, once or twice, maybe more… we met to… yeah, do what had to be done.”
Qifrey smiled. “It seems like you liked her.”
“I don't know, she was cute. But I think you just wanted to gain experience.”
“You never told me either.”
“Yeah, I wasn't particularly proud of it. I just wanted to see, you know… how it worked.”
Qifrey laughed softly, a wistful note on his face. “It's a shame we didn't say these things at the right time. Maybe things would have been different.”
“Well, that's how it is now. I wouldn't change things anyway. I like it here… having my lab, the girls, you…” Olruggio blushed slightly, his eyes lowered to his plate. “Honestly, we've been stuck together for so many years, I wouldn't know what to do if you weren't here.”
Qifrey remained silent, letting the other man dredge up old memories.
“Do you remember when you started sleeping in my room? You pretended to fall asleep on the floor for a week because you didn't want to ask me to sleep with you.” Orluggio laughed at the memory, and Qifrey felt his cheeks heat up. “And when we glued the pages of the Master's book together because he gave you detention? That was fun.”
“He extended my detention by two weeks,” Qifrey retorted.
“Yes, but he gave it to me too.”
They stared at each other because it was true, they had spent their entire lives orbiting each other. It was normal; if one was there, the other was there too. They wouldn't even dream of doing anything individually. Olruggio leaned out of his chair and approached Qifrey. The white-haired wizard kept his gaze on his figure and didn't make a sound to stop him. In fact, he leaned closer. Their lips met as if they had always done so. Olruggio put a hand behind his neck to hold him closer, and Qifrey tightened his grip on his shirt. "Shall we go to the bedroom?"
Olruggio nodded, and together they quickly put out all the candles Tetia had lit around the room. They held hands the entire way from the kitchen to Olruggio's bedroom. Once inside, Qifrey pulled him against the door. "Are you sure?"
Olruggio nodded and bit his lower lip. "I like you, I've liked you for a long time."
Qifrey smiled and felt a warmth spread across his chest. Olruggio began unbuttoning the first few buttons and said, "Shit, why do you always wear this shirt under your clothes?"
Qifrey laughed. "There's something I have to tell you..."
"What?" Olruggio continued unbuttoning his shirt while leaving kisses on his neck.
“You said you don't remember your first time with someone because you were drunk.”
Olruggio nodded and kissed him on the cheek before letting him continue.
“It was me. We were both really drunk, and I didn't tell you because I thought you wouldn't want to remember it.”
“You little shit.”