Sweet Patriotism

She hasn’t seen Kira at St. Gentlemen’s for awhile... Maggie can’t help but wonder if he’s doing alright. Well, he was just a customer after all! No - he was more than that. Yoshikage Kira is someone that Maggie considers to be a friend! Ok maybe not a friend, an acquaintance! He’s always very kind to her when they talk... it’s settled then. The next time she sees him she’ll give him a complementary dessert, that’s a nice gesture right? 

Anyone with even the tiniest fragment of emotional intelligence could tell that Maggie was nervous. Kira could definitely tell, but this didn’t seem to actually inspire him into halting the origin of it from progressing any further. If anything, it appeared that he was actually looking forward to pushing her just a… smidge… bit… more. She’s just too cute for her own good, after all.

Besides, who, in good faith, could blame Kira? He’s sure that anyone would have done the same in his place. Honestly, she was making it a little too easy– she’s playing into his hands almost concerningly fast, as if she was actively seeking (like a bitch in heat.) out the attention and validation from others. As long as they weren’t Funny Valentine, it seemed to him that she felt (in kira’s opinion, too, it wasn’t too far off from the truth.) inadequate, almost, when left unattended and under the perceiving gaze of others.

It makes him want to kick her… but just a soft, playful kick. Wouldn’t want to harm any precious vitals of hers, now would he?

“Oh, now you’re flattering me, I see,” he teased with a smile continuing to play at his lips. “Honestly, I just don’t know how he’s the “catch” when you’re standing right here– with such a modest opinion of yourself, too… I do hope that he’s cherishing you as much as I – or any man for that matter – would were our places swapped.”

He doesn’t regard Maggie the person (the physical, living, and breathing embodiment of a fully developed adult that stood before him. he could care less for all of that– teeth that can bite, eyes that can cry, noses that can dribble out snot… no, no. it’s all so messy and not worth the fuss.) with the current look he’s chosen to engage with as he speaks. Instead, he’s directing this fondness towards her hand.

Ceasing any further interaction betwixt his own hands (come now, don’t be so handsy, yoshikage kira… a woman like this would never open her legs up on the first date all on her own; she needs to be asked first.) and hers, he soon went back to a more… “innocent” treatment regarding the girl woman’s hand. Holding it in direct reference to a near courtship, he actually held it with just one hand. His unoccupied hand drifted away from both of their visions and moved to fold the arm behind his back, instead.

If Maggie wished, she could look at this as a sort of, mm, insurance. He wouldn’t dare move any further. … However, he’s sure that the two of them had very different ideas of the word “further”.

And, honestly, he wants to do nothing but to test that theory.

“Dicing, hm…~? Aw, poor thing,” he murmured in a near coo. “You know, Maggie… I’ve done my fair share of cooking,” explained Kira in a calm and soothing voice, using his thumb to begin rubbing slow circles into her skin once more in the meanwhile. “I’d be more than happy to share a few tips in case you’d like to avoid this–” there came one, particularly firm rub that ran right over a cut, “–in the future. It can happen even to the best of us, after all. We think we’re as prepared as can be but then, oops, we nick ourselves again. It’s always a pain… but that is, only if you’d like me to.”

He pauses then with a brief glimpse tossed her way to, pure and simple, inform her that he was still engaging with her and no one else. His gaze was quick, however. Because, already, he’s back to focusing on her hand.

“Perhaps, even… and this is entirely up to you, of course,” he began slowly and thoughtfully, like he was carefully planning out each and every word from thereon, “but I’d be honored to try some of your authentic cooking some day.”

Without warning, he’s lifted her hand. Only then did he decide to raise his gaze and grow bold enough to lock eyes with her. Soon, he’s bringing her hand up to his lips (they purse slightly. he bows a little, just enough to mimic the scenes from all those generic “chick flicks” he despised.) in order to press a chaste but obvious kiss to her knuckle (he’s precise, though. his lips connect directly with a cut.) that lasts only a second. Perhaps, it could even be just a fraction of a second.

“That is… if you’ll have me.”

He smiled as he brought her hand down, eventually allowing for her to take it back into her custody if she so desired. All that Kira would do, during this, would be to proceed like everything was normal– like nothing had happened in the first place.

“Maybe you could even have Valentine involved, too. It’d be a swell bonding activity for you two… you know, as a couple.”

Was she flattering him? Oh… Maggie just meant to be polite. His words made her tense up her thoughts now wondering if maybe she did something wrong by flattering him - it was just a polite gesture ; nothing more. Yet, this attention from someone who wasn’t Valentine was so unusual… Maybe she enjoyed this attention from someone else.

No - impossible. She loved Funny Valentine with her entire being; which is why she should pull away her hands, but she felt frozen despite the occasional shaking of her hands due to her nervousness. It was so much easier to avoid looking at Kira, although she wanted to keep her focus in his general direction waiting for the right moment to politely pull her hands away.

There’s an attempt at a giggle, but instead it sounds like a small, pathetic whimper holding back the words she’ll never say.

“W-well, I…” she’s trying to protest but would it be rude of her to? “A-ah, y-you’re very kind…”

That’s about all Maggie can say before feeling lightheaded… Was he really complimenting her? Did Kira really mean this? No… he was just being polite too. That’s it.

Her attention turns downwards again - oh no. Did her face feel warm? Was she blushing? She was just nervous - it wasn’t Kira’s flattery… or was it? Maggie felt a bit confused, as her heart was beginning to beat faster now. It was just because she was nervous! It had to be! The idea that Kira’s flattery could be actually working on her was such a sinful thought. She closed her eyes for a moment taking a deep breath hoping these intrusive thoughts would leave her.

She flinches a bit when Kira speaks again, opening her eyes once more to look at him - it would’ve been rude of her to do otherwise. She nods now recalling the times in the kitchen when she would try to dice vegetables only to end up with small cuts on her hands. How clumsy… but, she wasn’t this way now! Maggie considers herself to be quite good in the kitchen these days!

The mention of cooking makes Maggie relax just a little bit, now she’s looking in Kira’s direction with great interest. “O-oh!” she can ignore the fact that Kira is still holding her hands for just a moment… “W-would you really? I think that would be wonderful!” she then remembers he’s still holding her hands especially when she feels the firm rub over one of her cuts. “… U-um… Y-yes, I think sharing a few tips would be good…”

Now she’s looking behind Kira as if hoping that someone, anyone might come in to interrupt their conversation. At this point her palms are beginning to perspire from the contact.

“H-huh? Y-you’d want to try my cooking? Really?” Well, Maggie couldn’t resist. “I-if you’d really like to try it then, I’d love to make you something special.”

She doesn’t expect what happens next - the kiss to her knuckle causes Maggie to tense up once more. While the gesture is very kind and gentleman like, she feels a bit offended… What would Valentine think? But… She must continue to show her manners. Even if she’s thinking otherwise, she gives Kira a smile, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. This attention… She’s so unused to this from anyone else but Valentine. She shouldn’t be thinking these things… She wants to kick herself for blushing.

“A-ah, w-well… Of course…”

Maggie feels as though she can breathe again once Kira lowers her hand once more. She slowly pulls back her hand now resting both of them in the pockets of her apron just in case Kira tried to reach for her hands yet again.

At the mention of Valentine, Maggie is able to make eye contact with Kira once more.

“O-oh, yes! That does sound like a good idea, b-but…” she shakes her head. “I d-don’t know. I don’t think he would. We-we’re not like most couples…”

That’s the thing… her shyness, her lack of confidence… they made him feel a way he’d never felt about another person before. At least not that he could remember… 

He felt… Protective over her. He wanted to protect her smile.

It was a scary sensation, honestly… it was scary to allow himself to be this vulnerable. But he couldn’t fight his feelings. He couldn’t fight this need to be close to her anymore.

“Oh? Something you wanted to tell me? What is it?”, he was genuinely curious about what she had to say. 

Maggie made the mistake of making eye contact with president Valentine once more and she felt like every thought she ever had just left her brain. 

This was so silly, right? Sure, of course she would feel nervous in front of the president but to feel so... nervous and so flustered around him was just so... unprofessional. 

This crush... it was unprofessional! She’s still gripping the edges of her apron rather tightly hoping that somehow this would make her feel more grounded when talking to him ( but it didn’t seem to be working at all)

“A-ah, um..!” oh, Maggie forgot. She looks away feeling the heat in her cheeks once more ; her nervousness causing her to giggle to herself. She must look so ridiculous right now. Wait, wait... What was it? She clapped her hands together when the thought came back.

“O-oh! I remember! U-um, I was talking to Kjelle earlier and I was just thinking m-maybe you could try some dishes from Italy. Sh-she’s teaching me how to make them and I’d love for you to try some... I-if you want to!”

“Oh, I’m fine…”, she sniffled and wiped over her eyes - despite her fingers being covered in flour. Soon her face had white streaks all over. “Sometimes I just miss home”, her voice broke as she explained, and Kjelle cursed herself for it. She didn’t want to seem as weak as she felt right now… it was just really difficult to be so far away, with so little idea what the future would bring.

“Napoli was wonderful… I’m sure you would have loved it too.”

But for now, Kjelle should focus on the food…

“I heard that the president has a sensitive stomach…”, she almost added an ‘even though he doesn’t look like it’, but that would have been rude, right?

“Oh, he’s not allergic to tomatoes, is he…?”

Maggie was still frowning a bit, although she smiled a little as she gently reached over with her handkerchief to wipe away the white streaks on Kjelle’s face. 

“Th-that’s understandable!” Maggie nodded. Poor Kjelle... she was so far away from home! She hoped that Kjelle could go visit sometime soon, but it was such a far trip too to just spontaneously up and leave. 

When Kjelle mentioned that Maggie would like Napoli, she wondered if maybe she could go see it someday with Kjelle but, it seemed unlikely as she needed to be here to tend to President Valentine. Well, maybe after his presidency is over.

She nearly dropped the knife she had in her hand at Kjelle’s words, ah, that shouldn’t have flustered her so much. 

“O-oh y-yes, it’s true. B-but...” Maggie looked around in case Valentine had been around. “He’ll still eat foods he’s not supposed to sometimes because he can be kind of st-stubborn.”

But... that was also part of his charm Maggie supposed.

“Tomatoes? N-no I don’t think so.”

There was something incredibly endearing about her behavior - Funny Valentine couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but it made him want to smile. A rare occasion…

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t put yourself down so much… see, I wouldn’t say these things to you if I didn’t sincerely mean them.”

He kind of wished this girl would see her own value. Perhaps he could make her feel the worth she didn’t seem to realize, if he wanted to, tried to… But it would be a bit challenging to get himself to openly express so many feelings… especially when he was still in denial about them himself. He didn’t want to believe just how enamored he was by her yet…

Maggie was still having a difficult time believing that President Valentine actually wanted to get to know her better of all people. She felt her hands trembling once more, she hoped he wasn’t really able to see that from behind his desk.

“H-huh? O-oh... I-I’m sorry, sir Th-thank you so much... That’s very kind of you.” 

She always thought that maybe the most interesting thing about her was her cooking but other than that? Maggie was just a painfully shy woman really. Despite being nearly thirty, her life experience hadn’t been very much... Still there was this attempt to sit upright now trying to at least appear to be more confident.

“A-actually! There was something I wanted to tell you, President Valentine.” 

“I’ll show you how it’s done!”, Kjelle sounded determined! She honestly had no interest in working for President Valentine - in her opinion, he simply lacked the appreciation for her country, and her country’s food, which meant he lacked the appreciation for her as a person, too. But if it made Maggie happy… and admittedly, she was sure it would look good on her curriculum to have been part of the staff in the White House. As long as he wouldn’t ask her to ‘americanize’ the traditional italian dishes she’d learned to make… that would make her heart bleed.

“I just remembered - doesn’t the President have a gluten allergy? I just thought… maybe he would enjoy a traditional margherita from Naples… the flours and grains in Italy are a lot less processed, so apparently they don’t cause allergic reactions.”

While Kjelle began to collect the ingredients she needed, she felt herself tearing up just a little bit. As much as she loved being with Maggie, she got really homesick sometimes. That’s why she felt like she needed to try and put a part of Italy into her food at least… but that’s something other people wouldn’t understand.

“Y-yes, please do!” Maggie was quite excited about this! Honestly Maggie had started reading on foreign cookbooks more often but she never had the chance to try any of the recipes because she already knew that President Valentine wouldn’t even bother trying them... What a shame really.  Well, she could try to convince him but at the same time she wondered if he would listen to her...Maybe. If only Maggie could be just a tad more outgoing then she’d probably have a better chance at this. She watched Kjelle carefully as she gathered the ingredients taking mental notes... Maggie considered herself to be a quick learner for the most part! 

“Uh-huh! That’s right.” Maggie nodded, “Oh really? I didn’t know that! M-maybe if President Valentine knew this he’d be a bit more open about giving it a try.  I know a lot of foods tend to disagree with him so this would be a good option!” she nodded. 

Maggie went back to watching Kjelle carefully, again taking mental note of the ingredients but she noticed a change in Kjelle’s expression... Was it just Maggie or did Kjelle look a little sad all of a sudden?  “H-hey, are you ok, Kjelle?”

Both of his hands enclosed further around Maggie’s own, singular one. It’s almost as if he had intended on keeping her there (for as long as he’d like. if this throws her entire schedule out of whack then she has no one to blame but herself; she did ask him, after all.) for the entire duration of their interaction with zero adjustments needed. And, maybe… just maybe he was. Surely, no one would have seen a problem with that.

And, even so… would he have been so wrong if that was his intention? He’d think not. Anyone would have probably done the same were they in his place.

Maggie’s just so… innocent. It’s no wonder that Funny Valentine had as strong of a stranglehold as he did over her. He almost found himself green with envy (he doesn’t dare chase after an intimate relationship like theirs, oh no… but what he wouldn’t mind was to be in possession of a girl as easy to mold as maggie.) in regards to the very concept.

“Oh, and I’m not saying any of these things to flatter you, Maggie… just to assure you, I mean every - little - thing that I’m saying,” he spoke in a gentle voice, just enough that she’d have to put forth minor effort in order to keep track. “He’s a lucky man– a very lucky one, indeed.”

He removes his topmost hand to, instead, move it in order to carefully rub the pad of his thumb along smooth, feminine skin. It’s done in small, soothing circles (and he takes in every detail he can find. a cut here, a cut there… oh, she’s rather clumsy with her hands, wasn’t she?) that came to a gradual stop the moment he’s noticed her features shift into a bright red.

Without missing a beat, Kira returned her bow with one of her own. She’s so obedient and well-mannered… He wondered if anyone had her trained beforehand.

“… You’ve nicked yourself a few times, I see,” he commented after a moment of silence with his eyes falling down towards her hand, directing his empty hand to point (and give a few taps.) at the first scar that catches his attention. “Do you cook?”

Even if Maggie had considered pulling away, her body language seemed to indicate otherwise. She remained mostly still besides the occasional trembling of her hands and smiled politely in Kira’s direction. This was a little uncomfortable, but she figured he was just being nice. She tried to focus on looking at his hands rather than making any eye contact with him.

If Maggie made eye contact with Kira it might make her feel nervous again - she just felt awkward. She wasn’t really used to this sort of attention if it hadn’t been from Valentine.

She had no choice but to smile and nod at Kira’s words, it would’ve been rude for her to do otherwise after all. She wished he’d let go of her hands, but she’s just going to keep politely standing there even if she keeps looking away occasionally in the hope of making herself feel less awkward somehow.

“Th-thank you... You’re really kind.” she smiled in Kira’s direction, now of course blushing at the mention of Valentine. “Y-you really think so? I always think I’m the lucky one b-but that’s nice of you to say.” 

She’s almost relieved when she feels Kira move his hands, although much to Maggie’s surprise now Kira is rubbing his thumb against her skin. It’s... strange. She’s never really had this sort of attention before seeing as when Valentine holds her hands he usually keeps his gloves on. The warmth from Kira’s skin was a bit nice but she still felt a bit uneasy. Her entire body felt so stiff... 

Maggie is a bit surprised at Kira’s observations - he must really like hands to notice a detail such as her faded scars. 

They were so different when it came to their emotions… Funny Valentine found it rather fascinating how visibly she felt. That was something he couldn’t really get himself to do, and as useful as it was to keep a straight face in many situations, it was also uncomfortable on a more personal level for most people. 

“No, please don’t misunderstand me. I don’t want to get too friendly with my staff.”

That may have come out harsher than he intended… But how was he supposed to explain what was on his mind right now?

“I think I’ve been meaning to say… Most of my staff has been around for quite some time. You seem… like a refreshing change to what I’m usually surrounded with.”

It was so hard for Maggie to not cover her face at his statement - so, was he implying that she might be special? Oh no - she couldn’t be. This simply had to be her imagination... She was clearly reading too much into this. She needed to stop herself before she ends up passing out. She was gripping the fabric of her apron quite tightly now trying to focus on something else before replying to him.

“O-oh...” 

Well, she meant to say more, but that’s all that seemed to come out at the moment. 

“R-refreshing? O-oh haha... B-because I’m a new face, r-right? I c-can assure you though I’m n-not very interesting...” 

Don’t think too much about it Maggie - just calm down. 

Truthfully, Kjelle thought that Maggie had to ‘expand her horizons’ a bit herself. She was so dedicated when it came to President Valentine… as nice as it was that she had found her calling, Kjelle wished her friend thought of herself a bit more sometimes. 

Perhaps she just wasn’t used to someone finding their calling in another person… or maybe she was a little envious, because Maggie knew what she wanted to do with her life. Honestly, Kjelle had no idea what she wanted to be, or what she could be. Right now, she was just an italian girl in America, with a very beautiful and talented friend who she loved dearly. 

Maybe that’s all she needed to be right now.

“You’ve never eaten a traditional margherita before…?”, Kjelle could hardly believe it! Of course it was only logical, considering Maggie was raised in a completely different land.

“Mio papá always says that the magherita, though ordinary, is the queen of pizzas, and if you’ve ever tasted one, you will regret the time you wasted not having tasted it! Oh, we have to make one!”

Maggie had been the type of person who didn’t really know much about things beyond the places she lived. She grew up in Georgia although she lost her parents at a young age and ended up being raised by another family although they were just simple farmers. The only real reason she had the opportunity to work for President Valentine was because he had been acquainted with her father as they both served in the military together.

The fact that she was friends with Kjelle was probably the most “international” experience she’s had. She hoped to change that eventually, but it was difficult since she dedicated so much time to President Valentine. Well, maybe she could convince President Valentine to have Kjelle work for him too...

That would probably take a lot of convincing actually.

Maggie shook her head, “Nope. Never.” now she was curious about it though! She’s sure it would probably taste delicious!

“Y-yes! I really want to try it! P-please show me how to make it, Kjelle!”

He couldn’t help but notice the anxiety in her eyes. It was most certainly understandable, he was often described as quite intimidating by his staff, yes, even frightening. But as much as he normally liked the additional respect his facade earned him, it was strangely uncomfortable to know that Maggie felt the same way about him… Funny Valentine knew that he shouldn’t allow himself to be so vulnerable, but he also wasn’t sure how to stop.

“Please, calm down. I didn’t call you here because of any bad news. No, nothing like that.”

The president leaned back in his chair a little, trying to somehow remove some of the tension in the atmosphere. Get some distance between them. Even though he wanted the opposite.

“I called you because… I would like to get to know you better.”

That sounded strange.

“It’s - It’s because I want to do what’s best for my staff, you see. I want you to feel comfortable.”

That sounded even stranger.

She was still focused on smoothing down her dress until Valentine had spoken up again. Oh... Was it noticeable that this whole situation was making her anxious? Probably... She always seemed to look like she was on edge about something. Maggie really needed to work on that, she definitely was the type of person whose emotions tended to be quite visible on her features. It was a terrible flaw. There was an attempt at a smile, but she still looked a bit worried actually.

“O-oh! W-well... I’m grateful for that...”

Then what did he call her in for? She couldn’t imagine whatever it was he had to say being anything ‘good’ at all, but she’d like to hope so.

She looked down at her hands in her lap, it felt like forever before Valentine spoke up again. His words caused Maggie to look up at him suddenly.

“H-huh? You want to get to know me better?”

But why her? Maggie didn’t feel as though there was anything particularly interesting about her at all...

“A-ah, s-so you mean... This is j-just something you do with all of your staff?”

Somehow that made her pout a little - wait why was she pouting?! Could it be that she thought that maybe she was special to him? No! Come on Maggie, don’t think that! You’re just part of the staff calm down!

In all honesty, Maggie had a very positive effect on Kjelle’s attitude as well. Even though she still had the tendency to ramble, it had become much rarer that she actually babbled like a waterfall. Sometimes she found it was very nice to sit in silence with her beloved bosom friend and simply enjoy the peace. Still - she had an awful temper, and that would probably never change, no matter how kind and shy Maggie was…

“I don’t mind teaching you at all! A traditional margarita tastes completely different from an american pizza! Prometto!”

Sometimes Kjelle couldn’t help but wonder if even the herbs here missed the italian sun… she sure did. It was also warm here, but a different kind of warm. An… american warm. Who knew if she would ever get used to it? But as long as she had her fathers and her best friend, she knew she would be okay.

Maggie was elated to hear Kjelle say she didn’t mind teaching her about Italian cuisine! Well, truthfully she probably wouldn’t be cooking it very much seeing as President Valentine wasn’t really a fan of non-American foods. She still hoped that maybe she could convince him to ‘expand his horizons’ when it came to different cuisines since he was missing out on a lot really! 

“Oh, th-thank you! I’d love for you to teach me! I imagine that traditional margherita must taste absolutely amazing! I’ve seen some pictures of Italian pizza in cook books before but that’s about it...” 

She was definitely curious about learning more about Italian cuisine, even if Valentine seemed to disagree. She understood Valentine being prideful of America, but, she didn’t see enjoying food from other countries as being a bad thing! Oh, well! Maggie could still learn for herself!