From across the oceans, we will soon meet

For now, Mikolaj puts away his present. Perhaps he’ll… share with her later come break time. There’s a subtle intent of conserving even the present’s wrapping in the manner he so carefully places it back to his shelf and tucks it neatly amongst another couple of his own mystery boxes in there.

"It's actually related to Valentines, in a way. On March 14th, guys who received chocolates during Valentines day are expected to return the favor by giving some sort of gift to the girls who've given them a present. There's also a generally recited rule that the return gift should be two to three times the worth of the Valentine's gift.... White Day is basically the 'Reply day' of men to the girls. Err... You don't have to do it if you don't want to though. It's understandable since we follow different traditions, after all."

Hoping that her explanation would suffice, she glances up at him and wonders what sort of expression could he be wearing at that moment.

Right in the middle of him checking fridge contents, she decides to ask him something deep, and runs off not three seconds after. Nichiko is something absolutely annoying to him, Mikolaj muses as his eyes follow her retreat. Can’t help but note how fast she moves too. Blink.

As he himself doesn’t have much time constraints for today, he follows suit out that door with a can of juice in his hand.

"Yes." That’s the answer—plain and simple, while he gets some of his juice. When someone like her actually goes out of their way to actually ask that sort of question, then she is going to get her answers.

"You’re definitely a lot of trouble." He has to pass by her on his way back to… well, whatever he was doing before this whole scuffle, and he does more than just brush a little past her by the door. There’s his hand on her head again, for a moment.

"Oh."

The look of dejection on her face was probably as clear as day by now as she hung her head low. For some reason, she regrets asking him that. She probably knew the answer, knowing that it was Mikolaj whom she had asked, but it didn't occur to her that actually hearing it from him would make her feel this bad.

There was a pang of sadness in her chest that she tried to ignore, willing herself to just shrug it off like usual. She felt his hand on top of her head, though she doesn't look up at him and just continues to stare at the kit in her hands.

"It matters to me, at least." She mumbles, hoping she didn't sound as upset as her face looked. Well, so much for getting along.

That she’s even smiling that smile at him is shooting him some off his radar. It frustrates him, but it’s nothing he can do much about. Curse the way his cheeks flush too easily.

"…I didn’t expect you’d give me anything." Not in a million or more years and it’s that notion that gave him trouble swallowing the treats, and the same thing that made it taste so weirdly good and weird all at once. Such a bothersome feeling–

"Well..." She wasn't supposed to give him anything, actually. It just happened. She wakes up in a hurry, and the next thing she knows, she had made those chocolates. She probably shouldn't tell him that. "...Yes, I figured you wouldn't be expecting anything from me." Given how we've always acted towards each other.

She chuckles a little nervously, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"It's okay, you don't have to--" Actually--

"Stop saying sorry so much. It’s annoying." But there’s a lightness in his voice and in the way he pokes at her forehead. ”I get it. If you have so much trouble walking straight then don’t you think that’s something you let your co-worker know?” Jokes are such a strange way to let her know of his concern, and they can get as callous as he himself is. They make him sound so insincere and perhaps that’s exactly what he’s trying to be.

It’s something he thinks about on occasion—does she hate working here? More often than not it just seems like he’s constantly shooting her down, willingly or otherwise. Now, if that was the case, she could just leave him alone there while he picked at his reserved food on the fridge.

At the back of her head, she decides that she should just go back to the front and tend to the animals. She had to leave for school in a little while and she hasn't really been much help around the shop since she arrived this morning.

With that on mind, she starts to turn to leave but, for some reason she couldn't quite explain herself, something just felt like it was tugging her to stay there and ask,

"Do you... think I'm troublesome?" There was a hint of dejection in her voice and as soon as she realizes what she had just said, Chi clamped both her hands over her lips. "I-I didn't mean to-- I, well... I should go clean up the mess outside!"

Conveniently, there’s something about the way she’s looking at him that he can’t help but glare his lasers back. Not that he’s blaming her for wanting to hear anything out of him, though.

”..It’s good,” Not the best he’s had. But good, nonetheless, so he’s convinced it’s not a lie and he’s not hurting her puppy face.

"There’s a weird bitterness to it, though." Another piece goes into his mouth before he thinks twice about it. This one, however, is decidedly at least twice as bitter as the last and he just flinches right in front of her. Still, down it goes to his throat.

In her mind, all she thought of was how glad she was that he seemed to like her gift. All other thoughts that she should probably notice right now-- like why was she even so happy about it and why she even gave him a gift in the first place-- were suddenly pushed at the back of her mind.

"I'm glad you like it." She voices out her thoughts, the wide smile on her face turning into a rather small and shy one this time.

But what prompts him to move anyways is the growing sound of unsettled animals, the reality that he’s still at work tailing right behind it. Imagine what kind of pay cut he’s going to get should his boss see him like that. Who the fuck even lies on the floor of a pet shop anyway.

"There’s no need for that," Before Nichiko is done filling that ice bag, he’s there, his hands stopping hers from any further movement. "I’m fine." Even if there’s a hint of displeasure in his features—isn’t that how he always looks in the first place? He really is fine. As far as his head goes, in any case.

As he lets go of her hand, she carefully places the ice back in the fridge before they melt away. She takes a glance up at him, standing beside her with that usual sour look on his face. "...Thank you, by the way." She wasn't sure if she should have said that; she may be just assuming that he was trying to help her, after all. "And sorry, again." The apology was, however, something she really felt like saying-- even if she had already apologized countless of times a few minutes ago.

Now they were just both standing there in front of the fridge; Chi wondering if she should leave him by himself or not. She has already caused him some trouble, and only a few hours since they've seen each other again had passed.

"…" 

In place of that silence, there was supposed to be a question. He had chosen to leave it unsaid for now. No reason. By now it’s pretty clear that this is something she made herself, and to say that he’s stunned is just a little less than an understatement.

Though he could gamble on the fact that Nichiko probably secretly hated him and hid laxative or rat poison in these,  he doesn’t seem to mind or care as he picks a particular piece up. It’s the sloppiest of the bunch he could find, with a few misaligned cuts and subtle dents that really shouldn’t be noticed by anyone grateful to receive a gift. Mikolaj doesn’t even spare a single word and simply pops the piece of chocolate into his mouth, curious more than anything.

All she did was stand there and watch-- waiting for his verdict over her chocolates. Maybe the sweetness was too much for him? She did remember to taste the chocolates earlier and made sure it still had that hint of bitterness in it though. Compared to her usual preference in chocolates, she would have liked it to be sweeter. However, since it was Mikolaj who would be receiving those chocolates, she figured that his palate would probably be a lot different than hers.

Unable to contain her own nervousness, she gently tugs on his sleeve, requesting for his attention-- though it would be weird to say she was asking for Mikolaj's attention, of all people, she really couldn't find any other term for it at the moment.

His only hint is the lack of actual commercialized packaging to greet him after unwrapping. Which is unreliable considering any idiot can just rip off a candy wrapper and use something else. Since that’s exactly what he has done on a few occasions before.

But she can’t have made him something out of her own hands. That’s next to impossible—say, never happening.

It wasn't really something she planned; she had been wanting to make something sweet for a while now and what better excuse to do so than Valentines? Considering her relationship with her co-worker, she only bought chocolates for the owner initially, but decided to give Mikolaj some of the ones she made at the very last minute. Waking up at an ungodly hour, thinking she should give him something-- yes, that was what she'd call last minute.

Hovering to his side, she asks curiously,

He’s still thinking clearly despite the hit, and his hearing is doing just as fine.

It also bothered her that she heard something hit the floor when they fell, and the most probable guess she could come up with was his head. "You should probably stay down for a bit. I'll go get some ice." She remembers the little fridge in the office and hurriedly digs through the first aid kit that she dropped, taking out an unused ice bag that seemed like it has been buried inside the kit since the day it was put there.

Hums in thought— “Charming, but I didn’t ask for your defense.”

Mikolaj can say that with such a straight face, but he can’t deny his interest. He doesn’t think twice to open the gift with the expectation of getting store-bought obligatories. 

"I see... But you've been here for quite a while, right? Haven't you celebrated Valentines since coming here?" Would that mean he's not interested?

There is something about this that compels him to stare. Something, because for now there is no word for it— is it just him, or is she walking stiff today? Like a penguin—-

Shrugs, then just strides over to his shelf.

"Um... well, yes..." She trailed off, carefully picking the words in her mind.