#vicember

Theo clutches his bag of pins in excitement as they enter the Hibachi restaurant. Theo has always wanted to go, but the idea of sitting with strangers always made him feel gross. Nevertheless, he put on the happy pin and walked towards their table.

“Ah look, we are the first ones here.” Pale exclaims next to him, looking around at the empty 12 person table.

Theo races to a seat at the end, forcing Pale to be the one to sit next to a stranger. The anxiousness he felt a few seconds ago is slowly fading as he picks up the menu.

The sound of footsteps in the distance distracts Theo for a moment. He growls quietly to himself as he feels himself start to zone out, his body solely listening to the sound of people talking. “Strangers … shut the fuck up ….” he mumbles to himself, his fists clenched around the menu.

“Woah! Look who’s here bro!” A voice breaks through his cloud of anger. He looks up to see Vic and Ember standing in front of them, Ember widely shaking his arm as he talks. “You guys are here too? Nice! A great bro hangout!”

“Vic. Ember. What a surprise.” Pale gives them a nod of acknowledgement, a rare motion from the man.

“Didn’t think you guys were the type to go to Hibachi.” Vic comments, glancing between Pale’s “I’m way too sophisticated for this” posture and Theo’s “I hate strangers” expression. “Aren’t you supposed to be in some Cheesecake Factory?”

Theo rolls his eyes and waves the annoyed button in his face. “Shush! We can come here if we want to.”

Ember laughs loudly before slapping the two on the back and sitting next to them. Vic takes a seat next to Ember, the four of them sitting in a line. Their presence calms Theo as strangers fill in the other seats at the table. Soon enough, Theo is proudly wearing his happy pin as the four of them chat and eat. He chuckles as the chef makes a heart out of rice.

A tap on Willow’s shoulder breaks them out of their thoughts. They look over and see Mill standing next to them, canvas and supplies in hand. His eyes are as soft as his smile as he looks down at their notebook.

"Drowning in work like a ship lost at sea," he chuckles, settling down beside them and placing his stuff on the table. "Even the most relentless sailor needs to come up for air."

Willow lets out a scoff-like chuckle and puts their notebook and pen down in front of them. “Just had a good idea”

The sparkle in his eyes shines a little brighter as he places his head on their shoulder, his hair nuzzling against theirs.

“Why stay stranded on an island when you can share the city with me? There’s always a spot next to me for you,” he gestures at the notebook.

Willow explains the plot of a story for one of their college assignments. Mill listens intently; he loves it when Willow rambles about one of their stories. It’s unlike the reserved student to go on tangents about things, so Mill treasures each one.

He leans closer into them, his arms wrapping around their waist. “You know, your engine is bound to overheat if you keep pushing like this. You should rest.”

They sigh and lean back against the chair. “Too restless …”

Mill brushes a long strand of red hair out their face, revealing their eyes clearly to him. “The simplest stroke always helps scratch the itch of creation. Paint with me.”

Willow looks away, a tiny blush of embarrassment rising on their cheeks. “I … can’t … Don’t know how …”

“Let me be your compass.” He takes their hands and pulls them out of their chair, leading them to the center of the room. He sets up his easel and canvas, as well as his paints. He hands them a thinner one and takes a thicker one, dipping his into a cup of water and into a light green paint.

Using Mill’s brush as a guide, Willow’s own dances across the canvas. Shades of blue, tints of red, every color of the rainbow covers the canvas.

They don’t realize how much time they spent until their stomachs growl loudly. Darkness settles over the room as the bright day outside fades to night. 

Unable to paint in the dark, they decide to stop and order a pizza. While waiting for it to arrive, they hang up the canvas on an empty wall of their dorm, signing their names and smiling to each other.

Nariko wakes up to the sounds of pots clanging in the kitchen. She heads downstairs with a growl and a yawn, feeling herself about to snap. When she makes it to the kitchen, she sees Hoshiko standing there, an embarrassed look on her face.

“Hehe … Whoops! I guess I’m a worse cook than I thought …” She looks down at the mess of flour, sugar and pans on the floor. 

Nariko’s previous anger disappeared at the sight, bending down with a chuckle to clean up the mess. “Ya loser … I’ll help you cook.”

A smile fills Hoshiko’s face as she rushes to their side. “Thanks baby.”

Nariko’s face goes red at the pet name, and she turns around to hide it. “Yeah yeah, now hand me the recipe.” She smiles when she sees that Hoshiko was trying to cook pancakes. “Well, let’s get to work Pigtails.”

Before they start, they hear footsteps coming down the stairs.

“Ribbit? What’s going on here?” Amane’s voice calls out as Amane reaches the door to the kitchen. The two girls smile at Amane as Amane stands there, a confused look on Amane’s face. 

“Morning Amane!” Hoshiko smiles, their hands and clothes covered in flour. “We’re just making some pancakes.”

“Wanna join, Frog?” Nariko gestures for Amane to join the two. Amane smiles before joining them, Amane’s long hair bouncing behind Amane.

The three of them work to finish the pancake batter. 

“Alright, time for these bad boys to cook.” Hoshiko is practically bouncing on her feet as she watches Amane hold the bowl above the pan, about to pour the batter.

“Wait,” Nariko stops Amane, a faint blush on her face as she holds out four red stencils, each one in the shape of a heart. “Let’s use these.”

The other two grin at them and nod, taking the stencils and pouring the batter into them. They all lean into each other as the sound of pancakes sizzling on the pan drifts over them. Amane presses a kiss into the other two’s hair. The rest of the day is filled with love.

Mizi’s sweaty palm in its hand is all Sua can think about as they walk through the gorgeous field. The grass tickles its feet as it uses everything in its body to move, to follow her. It refuses to look at her, because if it does it knows it won’t stop blushing.

Sua hears her giggle at its side. “You’re so silly Sua!! You can relax, this isn’t our first date or anything!” Her wide smile almost blinds it, a blush filling its face.

It feels its feathers wrapping around it, hiding it from view. Mizi can tell what it feels and giggles, hugging it from behind.

‘Cute…’ it thinks as Mizi continues to giggle in its ears. It reaches behind it and threads its claws through her hair, its long nails lightly scratching her scalp in a soothing way.

Mizi sighs and leans into its touch. They stay like this for a few minutes before continuing walking, not wanting to spend less time at their destination.

Eventually, the two arrive at the top of a cliff. They set up a cute, small picnic and start getting out the food: watermelons and Everything Bagels for Sua and chicken for Mizi. They smile at each other before digging in.

Sua glances at Mizi as she eats, her eyes drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

‘How did I get so lucky?’ It thinks to itself as it wipes a bit of chicken juice off of her lips.

The two eat and watch the clouds drift by, their fluffy shapes adding to the soft atmosphere. The two lie on the grass once they are full, their fingers intertwined.

“This is perfect,” Mizi whispers, looking into Sua’s eyes. “Best Valentine’s Day ever.”

Sua nods as it leans in, capturing her lips in a gentle kiss.

The first thing Cindy notices when she wakes up is the warm body next to her, cradled in her arms like a childhood stuffed animal. After rubbing her eyes, she remembers that Yuuki stayed the night, and a smile forms on her lips. She snuggles closer to her, wrapping a leg around her waist and pressing her cheek against her soft, white hair. The smell of her coconut shampoo from their shower last night fills her nose, and the fabric of her soft, oversized t-shirt on Yuuki’s small frame feels like holding a cloud. 

They lay like that for a few minutes before she feels her stirring in her arms. She looks down to see her waking up, her ruby-red eyes slowly opening. “Mm … Good morning,” Yuuki mumbles, brushing a strand of green hair away from Cindy’s face.

Cindy smiles at the gesture, a blush forming on her cheeks. She moves a hand under Yuuki’s shirt, her cold hands craving the warmth of her back. “Good morning,” she replies as she presses a kiss to her head. “We really slept in huh?” They look out at one of the open windows of the apartment. The bright sunlight is almost blinding as it shines in through the window. Birds and cars are easily heard, but don’t destroy the calming atmosphere inside.

“What time is it?” Yuuki reaches over to grab her phone on the dresser, her body slipping a tiny bit out of Cindy’s grasp. “2PM. Wow, we really did.” She also notices the date, February 14th. She smiles to herself as she feels Cindy snuggle closer to her, burying her face into her shoulder and pressing a kiss there. 

“Lazy day?” She tightens her grip around her small form.

Yuuki nods and opens a delivery app. “I’ll order some takeout.”

Cindy hums and watches over her shoulder.

“Oh, by the way.” Yuuki mumbles, turning her head to Cindy.

“Hm?” She blushes more as Yuuki gently kisses her. She moves a hand to her cheek.

“Happy Valentine's Day, love.”