Chapter Text
Nadeshiko's already scarfed down half of the chocolate bar that Rin surprised her with, when Rin mutters something ever so quietly beneath her breath, so quietly that Nadeshiko has to stop chewing just to hear her.
"Happy Valentines Day."
Nadeshiko freezes.
Oh no.
Oh noooooooooooooooooooooo!
The content smile on her face melts off faster than butter in a hot frying pan as she realizes something horrible. Because while there is such a thing as free chocolate if you've got nice friends (or a super-duper-awesome-saucesome nice girlfriend), there's also a thing called Valentine's Day, a very important day that, oh yes, just so happens to be today. TO-DAY.
A piece gets lodged in her throat, and she chokes. Rin has to rush over to her and pat her on the back. Once that crisis is averted, she plasters on her best reassuring smile, the one that says 'everything-is-alright-and-I-didn't-forget-today-is-a-day-that-can-make-or-break-relationships-no-siree!'
Nadeshiko can only imagine how that kind of smile looks. Maybe a little constipated.
"Ahem! Um, yeah! H-Happy Valentines Day to you too, Rin-chan!" Internally, she's panicking. How could she forget? How? It's only the fourth most important holiday after Christmas, Halloween, and Arbor Day!
Rin leans in, face pinched with worry. "Are you okay?" she puts a hand to Nadeshiko's brow and tries to gauge her temperature. "You turned all white. Was there something in the chocolate?" She eyes the half-eaten bar with suspicion. "It is store bought, after all."
Nadeshiko opens her mouth, about to say no, but stops as an idea suddenly occurs to her. A brilliant idea that'll save herself from being the worst girlfriend ever in the history of the world.
All she needs is some time.
"U-um, maybe? I mean," she doubles over, holding her stomach and leans away. "Ow, wow, ow. My tummy feels all wobbly and murghhh." She waves her arms to illustrate her point.
Rin tilts her head bemusedly. "Really?"
Right. Faking sick probably works better when your not waving your arms around like a crazy inflatable tube-man. Quick, back to moaning! She wraps her arms back around her stomach. "Ooooooh, my poor, poor tummy."
Rin raises an eyebrow, but she doesn't seem to question it. "O-oookay? Do you want me to walk you to the nurse's office?"
"No! I mean…" Nadeshiko lets out a nervous trill. "I can get there by myself. You enjoy your lunch break, okay Rin-chan? I'll be back soon. But not too soon because I am very sick," cue miming a gagging motion here, "but I'll be back when I'm feeling better which should be before school ends!"
"That's…" her girlfriend seems at a loss for words, her arm raised awkwardly in the air, "an oddly specific time frame for recovery?"
More like it's the exact amount of time Nadeshiko needs to whip up a batch of handmade chocolates before Rin finds out. Maybe? She's never made chocolates before!
"It's one of those hourly bugs, I'm sure!" Nadeshiko already has one foot out of the door. She waves reassuringly back to Rin. "I'll be better in no time, just you wait. Okay, byeeeeeeeee!"
Chocolate truffles seem easy enough to do, based on the recipe Nadeshiko looks up on her phone. The main ingredient is cacao, but according to the recipe, she can use any other commercial chocolate bar as a substitute. Which seems backward to her. What's the point of melting down a chocolate bar if it's still going to be chocolate in the end? But she neither has the time to be nitpicky nor the proper ingredients to actually make chocolate from scratch, so melted down repurposed chocolate it is.
Thankfully for her, Chiaki keeps a giant stash hidden in the club room, underneath a fake bottom to one of the cupboards. Technically, the chocolate is supposed to be taken only in case of one, an emergency, two, a rainy day, or three, the coming of the apocalypse. But also technically, forgetting to get your girlfriend chocolate for Valentine's Day constitutes as all three disaster scenarios in Nadeshiko's opinion, so with a quick apology to the absent club leader, she grabs the sides of the shoe cubby and rips out the entire shelf.
Once that's done, she makes a straight beeline to the Home Ec classrooms and locks the door behind her. The classrooms are in a relatively quiet part of the school, so there's little chance of her getting caught by a teacher for skipping class.
Now for the hard part...
"Let's see…" Nadeshiko scrolls down on her phone to see the recipe. She has the main ingredient, obviously, but the recipe also calls for a cup of cream and a teaspoon of... vanilla extract? What's that?
She opens up a Google search window. "What...is...vanilla...extract?" and frowns at the results. "Vanilla extract is a solution made by smooshing vanilla beans and blah, blah, blah." She scrolls down. Apparently, it's just vanilla beans soaked in water until it becomes vanilla water. Which sounds just like melted ice cream soup to her. Gross. Why would you mix lukewarm ice cream soup with chocolate? Nadeshiko wrinkles her nose. Foreign recipes, ughhh.
Well, she doesn't have vanilla extract or melted ice cream for that matter, but syrup should work as a substitute. It's basically like melted ice cream, just stickier. And more maple-y. And nothing like vanilla extract if she's being totally honest, but beggars can't be choosers!
Still looking at her phone, she reaches over to the rack and pulls off the nearest pan. "Heat cream...pour over chocolate…" she flips the stove on, "wait until chocolate melts, but, hang on, why can't I just heat them together?" She closes the window with a huff. At the rate she's going, school will be over before she's even made a single truffle. Aghh, this would be so much easier if she could eyeball the ingredients instead of taking exact measurements. It's how she makes hotpot after all. And everyone loves her hotpot!
Aww heck, let's just wing it!
She selects the biggest, thickest chocolate bar from Chiaki's stash and minces it into small pieces with a knife before dumping it into the heated pan. Once it starts to melt, she adds in a healthy dollop of cream.
And because the scoop looks so lonely, she adds another one to be its friend.
And another one.
And another.
And another.
The recipe only calls for one cup, but like, there's not a huge amount of difference between one cup and six, right? It's that low-carb stuff anyways. Better sweet than sorry!
She begins stirring the mix, and a few minutes later, she's rewarded with the most heavenly aroma. She closes her eyes and inhales deeply. Ohhhhhhh, that smells soooooo goooooood. So. Good!
Nadeshiko swallows hard and eyes the pan with more than a little longing. She shouldn't, she really, really shouldn't! But it smells sooooooooooo good!
"Just a small taste," she mutters, dipping a pinky into the gooey mix. "Just a teensy test. Gotta make sure it all tastes gooBLEAGHHH!"
Oh god, that tastes awful! She quickly spits it out and furiously rubs her tongue on a napkin to try and get that horrible, nasty, greasy taste out of her mouth. Greasy chocolate. Why? Why does the chocolate taste greasy, of all flavors? Nadeshiko shudders in disgust before turning a betrayed glare on to the pan…
...That isn't actually a pan, now that she takes a closer look at it.
Hang on. Nadeshiko peers closer. There's a dark tint to the metal, almost like soot and for some reason, it looks really, really familiar to her.
Waaaaaaait. Isn't this... the cast iron skillet Chiaki was seasoning for future camping trips?
The same skillet she just dumped six full cups of cream into?
The same skillet she just melted a chocolate bar in?
"Oh noooooooooooooo!" Already, she can smell the chocolate burning, the delicious aroma from earlier morphing into a thick, oily stench that makes her gag. Coughing, she grabs the handle of the skillet- and immediately lets it go with a yelp as it scalds her hand.
"YEOUCH! Okay, that's just unfair!"
Using the end of her school blazer, she lifts the skillet and rushes over to the sink and wrenches open the faucet. As soon as the water hits the skillet, there's a loud hiss! Steam immediately fills her vision, and she has to back away, spluttering and hacking at the greasy assault on her sense of smell.
Once the smoke clears and she can breathe again, Nadeshiko cautiously peers over the lip of the sink.
Welp. Judging by the volcanic looking crust circling the rim of the skillet, the chocolate is probably ruined. And the skillet doesn't look much better. Guilt weighs down heavily on her, and she claps her hands together and bows her head.
"Rest in peace, skillet-san."
Skillet-san lets out one last pathetic belch.
And with that last act of defiance, sets off the fire alarm.
"YEEEK!" Nadeshiko jumps as icy, cold water begins spraying out of the ceiling sprinklers. Oh, no, no, nooooooo! Why? She tries futilely to shield herself from the freezing spray, but it's hopeless. She just wanted to make some chocolates for her girlfriend for Valentine's Day! Why were things (literally) going up in smoke?
The door slides open with a bang. "Nadeshiko, are you alright?! I heard a scream from out- oh."
Rin stops, foot halfway into the classroom. Her eyes boggle out of their sockets as she takes in the scene before her, darting from the soaked Nadeshiko, to the still smoking skillet, to the sprinklers. There's a flash of understanding in her eyes.
"Ah."
Ah. That's a pretty good summary of the situation.
Before Nadeshiko can say anything, she hears another pair of footsteps. A second later, Toba-sensei dashes into view, huffing and puffing and looking winded.
"What's all this commo- WHAT THE CRAP!" she screeches, breaking from her usual dignified character. Her jaw drops at the carnage before her. "Kagamihara, you get out here this instant!"
Usually, Toba-sensei is a super laid-back teacher, but when she uses the Miss Chug voice, Nadeshiko knows better than to question it.
Especially when she uses the Miss Chug voice sober.
With a squeak, she dashes out into the hallway, her sneakers making a squelching noise as she skids to a stop. "Yes ma'am, Toba-sensei, ma'am yes!"
The flattery goes over Toba-sensei's head. She looks furious. "Before you say anything else, know that your response will determine whether if I let use a mop or a toothbrush to clean this mess up," she says ominously, crossing her arms, "so start talking, squirt. And fast."
Nadeshiko glances behind her to the classroom. At this point, the Home Ec room looks like it could belong on the set of the Titanic. Cleaning the room with a toothbrush? Very bad. Not as bad as forgetting to get your girlfriend something for Valentine's Day, of course.
But it's a clooooose second. Very close.
She opens her mouth, but before she can say anything, Rin suddenly speaks up.
"It's my fault, Toba-sensei."
For the second time in seconds, Toba-sensei's jaw drops. "What."
"Wait, what?" Nadeshiko parrots her. "Rin-chan, what are you- yeep!" she cuts off, feeling Rin pinch her in the back.
Rin continues. "I was trying to make some Valentine's chocolate for Nadeshiko before school let out, but the chocolate ended up catching fire and setting off the sprinkler system. Nadeshiko just saw me skipping class and tried to stop me. She didn't have anything to do with the mess," she gestures at the room.
Toba-sensei follows the movement with a dazed gaze. "I- that's…How can chocolate catch..." Her eyes suddenly narrow as she notices something. "If that's the case, then why is Kagamihara-san sopping wet and why are you completely dry?"
Rin replies without missing a beat. "I got out as soon as possible, but Nadeshiko went back in to try to put it out and salvage what was left of my chocolate."
"How very… noble." Toba-sensei's eyes are basically distrusting slits at this point.
"It's one of her best qualities." Rin agrees with a completely straight face
The two stare at each other for a few seconds, as Nadeshiko glances between the two and drips nervously on the floor. Toba-sensei is the one to break away first, with a sigh.
"Right. Well, if that's the story your sticking with-"
"It is."
Toba-sensei frowns but doesn't pursue it. "Then it's detention for you, Shima-san. After we sort this out," she admits with a groan that's accompanied by a pinch to her brow. "Come on; you two can stay in the teacher's lounge until we can find somebody to do something about… all of this." She eyes the room with a look of utter despair. "And here I thought substitute teaching would be easy…"
"I'm so, so, so, so, so sorry!"
The teacher's lounge is actually much too small for any sort of grand movements or gestures, especially when she's only half-dry from her earlier unexpected shower, yet Nadeshiko still somehow manages to contort herself into her best kowtow with the limited space available. There's a cramp starting in her back, but she figures it's a small price to pay considering how badly she's screwed up the fourth most important holiday, right after Christmas, Halloween and Arbor Day.
Rin, who's sitting on the only available sofa in front of her, looks a cross between amused and slightly worried for her back. "Nadeshiko, sweetie, I told you, it's okay. Really, I'm just glad you're not hurt. I'm not that upset that you forgot to get me chocolate. "
"But I am!" Nadeshiko wails despondently. She splays her right hand out on the ground in front of her and takes out a straight edge ruler from her pockets. "Lemme make it up to you, boss! I'll do whatever it takes for forgiveness! What do you want? A pinky? An index? Both? I can do both!"
"How about we don't do that?" Rin interjects gently as she reaches over and gingerly removes the ruler from her grasp. "And no more yakuza flicks the next time we go camping. Next time, we'll stick to anime." She lets out a sigh as Nadeshiko continues to wail, even louder. "Okay, how about this? Until they let us out of here, I'll give you a chance to make it up to me. Does that sound good?"
Instantly, Nadeshiko stops crying. "Rin-chan…" she says breathlessly, eyes shining. Her girlfriend is an angel, an angel come from the top of Mount Fuji. "Of course! Anything you want!" She sits up and eagerly leans forward. "What do you want me to do?"
"Stand up." Rin's lips twitch as she watches Nadeshiko scramble upright to attention. "Sit here," she indicates, patting the space next to her on the sofa.
"Right here?"
"Mhm. Keep your knees locked."
A little bewildered, Nadeshiko does as she's told. Once she's settled in, Rin lets her hair out of its customary bun.
And then promptly lays her head down on Nadeshiko's lap.
"Eh?!" The sudden movement catches her off guard. She feels the early signs of a blush forming on her face as her arms move this way and that, unsure what to do with them. "Uh, Rin-chan, what do you want me to...?"
"Play with my hair."
"Eh?"
"Play with my hair." Rin looks up at her. She's aiming for a casual tone, but the pink around her earlobes says otherwise. Which is honestly way too cute. "You know, pet it."
Still unsure, Nadeshiko begins hesitantly weaving her hands through her girlfriend's hair. Despite being in the bun earlier, the locks flow smoothly in her hand, and she makes special care not to get them caught in any hidden tangles. Soon after, she feels Rin relaxing, a small, pleased smile peeking out from behind her lips.
"I-is… is that all you wanted?"
"Hm? For my girlfriend to hold me close and run her fingers through my hair as I enjoy the feeling?" Rin pretends to think it over for a second. "Yep. Pretty much."
"I… okay." Well, if that's all she wants, then Nadeshiko won't question it. Still, though, she can't help but feel that she got the better side of the deal. Especially now that she gets to see Rin's trying-to-fend-off-sleepiness-but-failing-terribly-face up close.
A quiet moment passes between the two as Nadeshiko continues her ministrations. It's a comfortable silence, but there's still a burning question on her mind that she has to ask.
"Ne, Rin-chan?"
"Hm?" Rin cracks an eye open. "What is it?"
Nadeshiko hesitates. "Why… did you take the blame for me earlier? I mean, it was totally my fault that today was ruined so why-owie!"
Rin lowers the hand she used to flick her in the forehead. "Stop saying that you ruined today. Sure, things didn't go the way I thought they would, but when have they ever? And besides," she turns her head to face away from Nadeshiko. "Even if I have to do detention, it's worth it if I get to spend the rest of Valentine's Day with my girlfriend."
...Oh.
Nadeshiko leans back into the sofa. So that's why she did it. That's...
Huh.
くぁ w せ drftgy ふじこ lp!
"Riiiiiiiin-channnnnnn!" Without warning, Nadeshiko leans down and begins smothering the red part of her girlfriend's ear with kisses, which elicits an adorable, surprised squeak from her.
Too cute. Her girlfriend is just too. Darn. Cute!
She switches to peppering Rin's face with her onslaught of kisses, ignoring her girlfriend's laughed protests to stop.
"You're the-" *chu!* "bestest-" *chu!* "cutest-" *chu!* "girlfriend-" *chu, chu!* "in the whole-" *chu, chu, chu, chu!* "world!"
"H-haha, s-stop, Nadeshiko! T-tha-haha, t-tickles!" Finally, Rin reaches out and clamps her hand over Nadeshiko's mouth. "Down girl," she says with a breathless laugh.
Nadeshiko grabs her arm instead and places a kiss on the inside of her palm and beams back at her. "Happy Valentines Day, Rin-chan."
"Hmm." Rin hums in agreement. Still smiling, she lifts her head up and kisses her softly on the lips. When she pulls back, her face is an adorable red that makes the inside of Nadeshiko's chest feel like rays of sunshine, flickering and bouncing all over the place.
"Love you," Rin murmurs. The soft look in her eyes says it all.
Nadeshiko's smile is threatening to split her face in two, she just knows it. She leans in for one more kiss, feels Rin's smile on her lips as her own heart flies straight into the sky.
"Love you too," she whispers back. "Love you lots."