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“Happy Valentine’s Day. From your secret admirer.”
Velvet flipped the card closed again to look at the cover. Hearts. Flowers.
Weird. It had to be some kind of joke right? How else could the card have mysteriously found its way into her locker? Maybe she should just throw it in the trash…
Something, however compelled her to hold on to it. Maybe there was a teeny, tiny part of her, a part she didn’t quite want to admit to that hoped it was real.
XxX
“Yatsu, are you playing a prank on me?” Velvet whispered.
They were in the same History of Grimm Combat class and had both given up on listening to Professor Port about seventeen minutes ago when he’d decided a long and winding narrative about his former mother-in-law’s Grimm infested vegetable patch was a necessary part of today’s lesson.
“What, right now?” he replied.
Wordlessly she slid the Valentine’s card out of her bag and over to him so he could take a look at it. He chuckled and shook his head.
“Not me,” he said, giving it back to her with a smirk.
“Miss Scarlatina! Mr. Daichi! What’s that you’re whispering about? Care to share what’s so funny with the class?” Professor Port had ceased his monologuing and now everyone was looking their way, expectant.
“Velvet’s pulled, sir!” said Yatsuhashi. “She’s got a secret admirer.”
Velvet could feel herself going a very unattractive shade of red. She put her hands to her face. If she couldn’t see everyone else, maybe she could pretend they couldn’t see her.
“Is that all?” Professor Port seemed disappointed. “I’m sure a lovely lady such as herself has a great many secret admirers.”
Then he went back to the grim Grimm vegetable patch as though nothing had happened. Velvet, though, could feel everyone’s eyes on her. Her embarrassment stayed with her for the rest of the class- she couldn’t concentrate for a single second.
XxX
It felt like the whole of Beacon Academy knew about Velvet’s secret admirer. Gossip spread quickly and the class she'd been in with Yatsu had been a big one. She was sure she was getting funny looks wherever she went, though Yatsu insisted it was just her imagination.
“We should try and find out who it is,” said Yatsu. “Let’s make a list of every guy you have a class with.”
“Let’s not,” said Velvet. “And anyway, it could have been a girl…”
“Oh? Got your eye on any girl in particular?”
“No!” she protested. Although...strictly, she supposed that wasn’t quite true. Unbidden, an image of Coco curled up in their dorm, head stuck in a fashion magazine popped into her head. Just a silly crush, Velvet had thought. But, unlike others she’d had in the past, this one wasn’t fading away. In fact, it seemed to be getting stronger with every smile Coco threw her way. Granted, Coco flirted with nine out of ten people she met but- Velvet couldn't help it. It still made her feel special.
“This is so stupid,” Velvet huffed. The comment was meant more for herself than Yatsu. She wondered if she should apologise. He didn't seem particularly offended though.
“You’re not going to get any peace until you find out who it is,” said Yatsu.
“If this person was serious, they’d have talked to me face to face,” said Velvet. “Let’s just forget it.”
XxX
Velvet returned to Team CFVY’s dorm to pick up some books for her next class. As she went in, she clocked Coco lounged casually over her bedspread, magazine in hand. It was almost the very same picture Velvet had imagined earlier but it was much better in real life.
“What are you reading?” asked Velvet, trying not to stare.
“Top 10 peacock blue dresses for under 1000 credits,” said Coco. She glanced up from the glossy pages and gave Velvet a once over, her eyes bright without her usual shades. “You could probably pull it off better than me. Peacock blue would go great with your colouring.”
“Ah-w-well. Don't be silly,” said Velvet but she felt herself smiling and blushing anyway.
Forcing herself back on task, she checked her desk for her textbook. She couldn’t find it. Frowning, she checked the drawers. Had she accidentally left the book behind in the library? Or the canteen? There was five minutes to her next class- she had no time to check.
“Coco, can I borrow your Huntsman Essentials textbook?”
XxX
Only one more snoozeworthy lecture to go until class was over for the day. Velvet tried not to longingly watch the clock and went back to her notes.
Use shadow
Find natural barriers
...The class was about using the environment around them to aid in combat but Velvet only knew that because of the learning objectives written on the blackboard. Her notes were pathetic and she was still distracted by her stupid Valentine's card. She just couldn't think of anyone she’d made a big enough impression on or regularly spoke to outside her own team. There was Ruby Rose- they'd exchanged a few words. But there was no way it would have been her, they hadn't spoken in weeks.
Idly, she flipped through Coco’s textbook, thinking maybe she could use it to at least catch up on what she'd missed. A page of notes slid out from between the pages and Velvet quickly snatched the sheet of paper up before it drifted to the floor.
Ah. Velvet smiled. She was looking at a series of gatling gun diagrams. Coco must have been working on them in class. Each diagram was lovingly labelled in dainty block print, quite different to Coco’s usual italic scrawl.
A jab of recognition hit Velvet and she froze. The rest of the world blurred out. If this was Coco’s…Coco's writing...
Velvet fished the Valentine’s card out of her bag and opened it. She hoped. She placed the card beside the gun diagrams.
The handwriting was a perfect match.
Keeping one eye on the teacher, she noiselessly slid out her scroll and typed a message.
To: Coco
Meet me for coffee after class?
She sent it before she had time to think about it properly.
XxX
“What's up?” said Coco.
She was leaning on the wall outside Velvet’s classroom, looking as always like she should be in a movie where the heroines husked their words and the heroes said things like, “She's one fiiiine dame.”
Velvet accepted the coffee she was offering, steaming hot and in a cardboard cup with ‘Coco' scrawled on it in marker.
“Thanks, Coco. Shall we go and sit in the gardens, where it's quiet?”
Coco laid a hand on her shoulder, protective. Velvet looked up at her, utterly dazzled for a moment.
“Velvet. You're trembling. Is everything OK? You're not getting bullied again, are you? Because I can-”
“It's nothing like that. It’s s-silly really. Just- just walk with me.”
XxX
It was a little chilly in the gardens and beginning to darken. Winter lingered, not quite ready to become spring. As Velvet hoped, there were no other students to be found. She led Coco to a brick wall where they could sit and overlook the snowdrops.
“Where is everyone?” asked Coco. “Isn't it Valentine’s Day?”
“That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about,” began Velvet.
To her surprise, Coco held up a hand for her to stop. “I need to talk to you too,” she said. “You see, I- well. Hmm.”
Velvet had never seen Coco lost for words before. Hope ignited in her heart. Surely that meant she was right- Coco had sent the card. Then did that mean…?
“I sent you a Valentine’s card!” Coco suddenly burst out. "I-I'm sorry!"
“Huh?” said Velvet. “You mean it was a prank?”
Her heart sank. Stupid her for thinking that maybe, just maybe-
“No! I mean it's kind of cliché. ‘Your secret admirer.’ But I've never done Valentine’s Day before so I just searched online and did what it said! And now I just feel like I could have done something better because it's really soppy and lame and-”
Coco stopped talking. She had stopped talking because Velvet had found within her a sudden burst of courage and kissed her. Maybe it was because Velvet had seen in one of Coco’s magazines an article called “10 Situations Which Call For A Shut Up Kiss”. In her book, this was exactly that kind of situation. Coco’s skin was very soft, her lips full and warm.
As she drew back, Velvet could feel herself blushing. She’d never kissed anyone before. Daringly, she reached up and removed Coco’s dark glasses and noted with some satisfaction that she was gazing at Velvet with wide, astonished eyes.
“Thank you for the card,” said Velvet.
Coco looked utterly perplexed. There was a brief pause. Velvet stiffened. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all, maybe she'd been wrong.
But then Coco leaned down and kissed her back. Slowly.
“You’re welcome,” said Coco, softly. And then,“So does this mean we’re a thing now?”
Velvet reached for her hands and as they twined their fingers together she smiled. “Of course we are.”
And as Remnant’s shattered moon rose high over Beacon, they planned their first date.