it's valentine's day
Feb. 25th, 2018 09:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
igiko posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
logIt’s the fourteenth of February, and stacks of unread papers, parked next to an innocuous box wrapped in red and black with a full golden bow on its head, sit on the table in the student council meeting room. The documents go untouched and unnoticed as the bodies surrounding them chatter away in hushed voices (though one, not so much), only to go silent when Sekreuz enters to witness Nil’s veneer of irritation and Sai’s wild gestures while Bathory smirks wryly in amusement.
Nil and Bathory sit next to each other on the couch, their backs to the door. Across the table between them, Sai is standing hunched and stops in the middle of a word once he notices Sekreuz's presence.
Sai straightens his shoulders and exclaims, “There you are! We’ve been waiting for you.”
“Was there a meeting I didn’t know about?” replies Sekreuz.
“Oh, no. It doesn’t have anything to do with the council.”
“Then what is it?”
“I’ll bite my own tongue off if this idiot can figure it out,” declares Nil, draping an arm over the back of the couch and nodding his head in Sekreuz’s direction.
“Don’t do that. Then Bathory will have to clean the mess up,” chides Sai.
Bathory squints. “Huh?”
“So what is it . . . ,” says Sekreuz, looking between them at the unfinished work.
Sai rounds the table to clasp Sekreuz by the shoulders and says, “It’s Valentine’s Day! You’re going to take Carne out, right?”
Sekreuz’s blank stare seems to be answer enough for the council members, whose reactions cover a wide breadth of emotions. Nil snorts, presumably on the edge of manic laughter; Bathory frowns, a dollish expression that he has difficulty parsing; and Sai just looks like someone has murdered Sia.
“You’re taking her out!” cries Sai, whipping around on his heels to scoop the elegant box from the table, then whirling back to thrust it at Sekreuz’s chest.
Sekreuz scowls, the expression so flat and faint that his brow hardly twitches as he brings his hands up to keep the box from dropping onto the floor. “What is this?”
“Bathory’s chocolates,” says Sai, who glances at his intended recipient with a look of utter sorrow. (Sekreuz swears there are tears welling in his eyes.) “Sorry, I’ll buy another one.”
Sekreuz turns the box around in his hands, his fingers ghosting over the impressive bow. Had he gone looking for chocolates on his own, he can imagine purchasing something like this. Sai has never been one to shortchange expressions of affection. But in the end, he offers the box back.
“I can’t take this. Besides, it’s not impor—”
The door creaks open behind him. Sai’s eyes widen before he all but shoves the box back, folding Sekreuz’s arm against the chest at an uncomfortable angle; then he fetches Bathory from the couch and waves. Sekreuz looks over his shoulder to appraise the bright but inquisitive gleam in Carne’s eyes, her hands folded in front of her as is her usual.
“Morning, President! We were just about to leave, but we’ll be back later for the actual meeting. I think Setz has something for you,” says Sai, escorting Bathory to the door and then shooting Nil a scandalized glance when he doesn’t follow.
Rolling his eyes, Nil climbs onto his feet and brushes past Carne with a perfunctory hum that barely qualifies as a greeting. In spite of the apparent lack of effort, Carne answers back with a noticeable leap in her energy, watching the backs of their retreating council mates before her gaze settles on Sekreuz with an almost nervous edge.
For some reason, the weight of the box of chocolates suddenly grows heavier in Sekreuz’s hands.
“Is everything . . . okay?” asks Carne.
Sekreuz nods. Carne’s head dips and he follows her line of sight to the box, which he holds out to her. There’s at least a couple of feet between them, even with his arm outstretched—and instead of coming closer, Carne’s initial response is to take a step back in surprise.
“It’s Sai’s,” he supplies, honestly. Then: “But if you like it, I’ll get you more.”
Opposite of where he grips the box, a delicate hand inches forward to touch the wrapping. Wonder floods Carne’s face as she takes in the detail work before she accepts the package.
The sincerity with which she handles a regifted item stirs something within Sekreuz, and he blurts, “Sorry.”
“No.” Carne shakes her head. “It, it’s me who should be sorry. You’ve given me this, but I haven’t gotten anything for you.” She looks up, hugging the box to her chest, and smiles, although her eyebrows are drawn together. “I’m really sorry, Setz. I . . . I shouldn’t have assumed.”
“It’s fine. I wasn’t prepared, either.”
Humming diplomatically, Carne swallows before she sits down on the couch and begins to unwrap the box on her lap, starting with the bow. “Let’s share it, then. I don’t think I can eat so many sweets at once, and . . . and it wouldn’t be fair if you didn’t get any. Is that okay?”
She looks up at him—and after a pregnant pause and a moment of thought for the sensible solution, Sekreuz nods. He slides onto the couch next to her, and this must encourage Carne, whose hands work more deftly to open the box with a tender smile on her soft face. The next thing he knows, she holds a piece of dark chocolate out to him as some sort of a peace offering.
It’s a welcome offering, and they try one of every flavor, up until the time of the meeting, at which point the closed box rests on the table once more, ready to sate their sweet teeth another time.
Nil and Bathory sit next to each other on the couch, their backs to the door. Across the table between them, Sai is standing hunched and stops in the middle of a word once he notices Sekreuz's presence.
Sai straightens his shoulders and exclaims, “There you are! We’ve been waiting for you.”
“Was there a meeting I didn’t know about?” replies Sekreuz.
“Oh, no. It doesn’t have anything to do with the council.”
“Then what is it?”
“I’ll bite my own tongue off if this idiot can figure it out,” declares Nil, draping an arm over the back of the couch and nodding his head in Sekreuz’s direction.
“Don’t do that. Then Bathory will have to clean the mess up,” chides Sai.
Bathory squints. “Huh?”
“So what is it . . . ,” says Sekreuz, looking between them at the unfinished work.
Sai rounds the table to clasp Sekreuz by the shoulders and says, “It’s Valentine’s Day! You’re going to take Carne out, right?”
Sekreuz’s blank stare seems to be answer enough for the council members, whose reactions cover a wide breadth of emotions. Nil snorts, presumably on the edge of manic laughter; Bathory frowns, a dollish expression that he has difficulty parsing; and Sai just looks like someone has murdered Sia.
“You’re taking her out!” cries Sai, whipping around on his heels to scoop the elegant box from the table, then whirling back to thrust it at Sekreuz’s chest.
Sekreuz scowls, the expression so flat and faint that his brow hardly twitches as he brings his hands up to keep the box from dropping onto the floor. “What is this?”
“Bathory’s chocolates,” says Sai, who glances at his intended recipient with a look of utter sorrow. (Sekreuz swears there are tears welling in his eyes.) “Sorry, I’ll buy another one.”
Sekreuz turns the box around in his hands, his fingers ghosting over the impressive bow. Had he gone looking for chocolates on his own, he can imagine purchasing something like this. Sai has never been one to shortchange expressions of affection. But in the end, he offers the box back.
“I can’t take this. Besides, it’s not impor—”
The door creaks open behind him. Sai’s eyes widen before he all but shoves the box back, folding Sekreuz’s arm against the chest at an uncomfortable angle; then he fetches Bathory from the couch and waves. Sekreuz looks over his shoulder to appraise the bright but inquisitive gleam in Carne’s eyes, her hands folded in front of her as is her usual.
“Morning, President! We were just about to leave, but we’ll be back later for the actual meeting. I think Setz has something for you,” says Sai, escorting Bathory to the door and then shooting Nil a scandalized glance when he doesn’t follow.
Rolling his eyes, Nil climbs onto his feet and brushes past Carne with a perfunctory hum that barely qualifies as a greeting. In spite of the apparent lack of effort, Carne answers back with a noticeable leap in her energy, watching the backs of their retreating council mates before her gaze settles on Sekreuz with an almost nervous edge.
For some reason, the weight of the box of chocolates suddenly grows heavier in Sekreuz’s hands.
“Is everything . . . okay?” asks Carne.
Sekreuz nods. Carne’s head dips and he follows her line of sight to the box, which he holds out to her. There’s at least a couple of feet between them, even with his arm outstretched—and instead of coming closer, Carne’s initial response is to take a step back in surprise.
“It’s Sai’s,” he supplies, honestly. Then: “But if you like it, I’ll get you more.”
Opposite of where he grips the box, a delicate hand inches forward to touch the wrapping. Wonder floods Carne’s face as she takes in the detail work before she accepts the package.
The sincerity with which she handles a regifted item stirs something within Sekreuz, and he blurts, “Sorry.”
“No.” Carne shakes her head. “It, it’s me who should be sorry. You’ve given me this, but I haven’t gotten anything for you.” She looks up, hugging the box to her chest, and smiles, although her eyebrows are drawn together. “I’m really sorry, Setz. I . . . I shouldn’t have assumed.”
“It’s fine. I wasn’t prepared, either.”
Humming diplomatically, Carne swallows before she sits down on the couch and begins to unwrap the box on her lap, starting with the bow. “Let’s share it, then. I don’t think I can eat so many sweets at once, and . . . and it wouldn’t be fair if you didn’t get any. Is that okay?”
She looks up at him—and after a pregnant pause and a moment of thought for the sensible solution, Sekreuz nods. He slides onto the couch next to her, and this must encourage Carne, whose hands work more deftly to open the box with a tender smile on her soft face. The next thing he knows, she holds a piece of dark chocolate out to him as some sort of a peace offering.
It’s a welcome offering, and they try one of every flavor, up until the time of the meeting, at which point the closed box rests on the table once more, ready to sate their sweet teeth another time.