Work Text:
it was a typical valentines day for highschool students.
there was many commotion about the notes and flowers they received, some thinking if they should buy one for their crush, some sulking they didn't get one this year, etc.
as usual, the twins, aether and lumine would get tons of letters and flowers in their locker. after all, they are quite popular.
“ugh, another year, another one of these." lumine says, annoyed, letting the flowers and letters spill out of her locker.
“cmon lumine, don't be like that! people put in a lot of effort into this." aether says, picking up the letters that dropped. “we can read it together! like we always do."
“lets just get to class." lumine says, closing the locker door.
aether quickly follows behind her.
class ended and aether goes to both lumines and his lockers.
he got a text earlier that her class ends later than his so he can go get the letters first, and she'll come to the lockers when she's done.
while collecting them, a familiar voice was heard.
“aether."
aether turned to the side and saw xiao, leaning beside the lockers with hands behind his back.
xiao was the same age as him, and was in most of his classes.
“oh, hey xiao! did u get any letters today?" aether excitedly greets him while collecting the letters people sent to him.
“yeah, but i didnt really bother to read them." xiao replies.
“why not? people put effort into that." aether says, pretending to sulk.
“no need to worry about me. what about you?" xiao says.
“me? so far, all of them had been anonymous... there's some with names, though." aether says, checking his letters to confirm.
“hm? who?" xiao hums.
“theres one letter by... xingfan? i think he's in my chemistry class." aether says, randomly picking out one letter to read the name.
“you're not really his type." xiao says.
“hey! if im not his type, why would he send this letter to me?" aether says, with a jokingly mad tone. “if your really so sure, then who's type am i?" aether says, joking once more.
“mine." xiao replies.
silence.
“funny joke! tighnari's boyfriend also says jokes, you know?" aether says, once the words finally sinks in.
“i was not joking." xiao says, in a serious tone.
“what do you mean, xiao?" aether says, genuinely confused.
“im trying to say that i like you, aether." xiao says, finally revealing the items behind his back, and gave it to aether. it was his favourite chocolates and a hand-written letter.
“consider reading it. i'll be on my way now." xiao says, before walking away.
by the time the words sink in, xiao was already gone.
“hey, aether. you finished collecting the letters? huh? why is your face so red?" lumine asks.
“nothing. and yeah, let's go home and read it." aether says, still blushing.
as usual, the twins would reach their house and read the letters they received.
lumine would just scan the letter, then toss it aside, while aether reads it carefully.
as they both reach their last letter, for lumine, it stated “anonymous", as for aether, he knew it was from xiao.
as he read it, he could feel himself blushing.
“im done with my letters. woah, aether! your face is really red. who's letter you reading?" lumine points out, tossing away her last letter.
“huh? it's just..." aether says, before the letter in his hand was snatched.
“the guy who's in most of your classes... that stupid xiao! he could have had a better name!" lumine complains. “writing is definitely not his strong suit."
“wait, you knew?" aether asks, confused.
“he came for me for help. after all, who knows your favourites like I do! gosh, he's been eyeing you for ages! it's finally time he does something." lumine explains.
“well, then... come with me to the mall? i like to buy him something." aether asks.
“say less."
when they reached the mall, they visited many ships, but couldn't seem to find the right gift for xiao.
“ugh, what will I do..." aether sighs. they almosted visited all the shops in the mall already.
“hey, cheer up! remember that flower shop near our house with that really nice granny? i think we should say hi before we leave. she's been waving and giving us things, after all." lumine suggests.
“oh well, i'll just write a letter. let's go." aether says.
as they reached the shop, lumine immediately hugged the granny and started small talk with her while aether looked around the flowers the granny sold.
suddenly, he came across a flower that instantly reminded him of xiao, qingxin.
so, he picked up the pot of qingxin and headed to the granny and lumine
“lumine! I found the gift!" aether exclaimed excitedly.
“oh? a gift? well, since your buying it, i'll lower the price. it will be 150 mora, please." the granny said, getting ready behind the counter.
“i cant ask you to do that!" lumine says, waving her hands.
“no, no. I insist. you both are such sweet kids, after all" the granny says.
“if you say so..." aether says, taking out 150 mora to give her.
after paying, they said their goodbyes and left.
when they reached home, aether also wrote a letter to give to xiao.
the next day, aether purposely went to school earlier as he knew xiao usually goes earlier.
when aether found xiao, he said,
“xiao! i just wanted to give you these." aether says, hands trembling a bit while handing over the things.
“qingxin?" xiao said, confused.
“oh, um, the qingxin reminded me of you as qingxins only grow up in high places, and never growing together, as if they preferred to watch over quietly from a distance.." aether explains.
“im not trying to say your like that! just, when i saw this flower... it made me think of you.." aether says, as he thought he accidentally offended him, which he does not want.
“your not wrong, but also not correct." xiao says.
“eh?" aether says, tilting his head, confused.
“i do prefer to watch from high above, afar, from a distance. watching over something so precious to me is nice, after all. your not wrong about that." xiao explained.
he slightly lifted his head to look eye to eye at aether, then said,
“but, recently it experienced a warmth of another." xiao says, before smiling at aether.
“well, then... could i get your number? wait! um.. sorry. i just wanted to say that I want to get to know you better." aether said, waving his hands around, embarrassed.
xiao laughed slightly, nodding his head.
“from now on, the ‘qingxin' is no longer lonely."
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aether always kept these 3 things in his wallet.
one, a picture of him and his beloved sister.
two, a picture of him and xiao.
three, the letter xiao wrote to him on valentines day in high school. xiao would have burnt the letter already, saying it was ‘not the best he wrote’ and it was cringe. but aether loves reading it from time to time, so he didn't.
if aether remembers correctly, it goes like this.
to my dearest, aether.
i hope this letter finds you well, and that you enjoyed the chocolates i bought for you.
i also hoped that you enjoyed my ‘joke'. I had asked cyno, the guy who's dating the fox, and also in my literature class, about it. he said this one would definitely win your heart. I hoped it worked.
anyways, I liked you for a very long time. hell, i could even give u the exact date right now.
i really hope you like me back. don't be pressured, though. it's okay if you don't.
if i had to be honest, i did struggle a bit writing this letter. writing is just not for me. but, if it makes you as happy as how you recieve the letters in your locker every year during valentines, i will gladly write a dozen more for you.
with love,
the guy who's in most of your classes.