Sweet Holiday

EARLY RELEASE FOR MY $30+ PATRONS! HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Okay, first of all, let me just say I wrote this before I had any idea about the ReLIVE mobile game Valentine's Day episode... I ended up doing some things similarly to the canon content, but most of it is different. Especially considering the game didn't include Maya or Claudine at all in it...

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

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														Sweet Holiday

Ever since a few weeks after New Years, Claudine had been hearing little whispers and giggles throughout Seishou in regards to a certain upcoming holiday. And she'd ignored them for as long as humanly possible, until January had given way to February, and suddenly there was nothing else anyone could seem to talk about.

Valentine's Day. One of the largest and craziest times of year, especially for women.

And many would think that the girls at an all-girls' school wouldn't have much to celebrate, being most didn't have boyfriends. But a lot had girlfriends, and even more simply had female friends they wished to give treats to.

Claudine had avoided thinking about it for as long as she could until it was downright impossible, what with pink heart-filled ads now clogging every magazine page, commercial, and billboard. She'd avoided and ignored it for an entire month of the new year, but now - one week into February - there's no more hiding from it.

Of course, she had always planned to go out and buy some sweets for her group of friends to gift them with. That had never been an issue. It was simply what she was going to do about one particular person.

Tendo Maya.

Is she a friend? Or something more? And if she's not 'something more' does Claudine want her to be? She really still can't be sure.

But as the days leading up to Valentine's pass on by, Claudine comes to a decision.

Of course Tendo Maya is more than just a friend. After all, she is her one and only rival.

Therefore, one day after classes, Claudine receives permission from the school to head out into town to do some shopping.

She doesn't have to go far in order to find a plethora of shops filled with sweet-smelling pink and red heart-shaped boxes. But she doesn't just grab eight of the same things from the same store. Rather, she visits various vendors and tactfully scours her choices, considering what treats would suit her friends' individual tastes.

Eventually, after viewing her choices, she selects milk chocolate in various shapes for Karen (stars), Mahiru (cat faces), and Futaba (daruma dolls), white chocolate for Hikari (bear faces), dark chocolate for Kaoruko (fans) and Junna (swirls), and then selects a small package of frozen, chocolate-covered banana slices for Nana. She's only disappointed there aren't any chocolate in the shapes of motorcycles for Futaba, but she probably can't be too surprised about that.

But as Claudine laps the streets a third time, with all her friends' gifts in her bag, she can't seem to find anything worthy of becoming Tendo Maya's present. Being Claudine's partner and her rival, she knows Maya needs to receive something a bit more extravagant than the little boxes Claudine had chosen for the others. But it also can't be something as lavish as a box of gourmet chocolate-covered strawberries, as that might give off the wrong impression.

Claudine toils for nearly half an hour before simply taking what she has for her other seven friends for the time being. As she exits the shopping district with her bags, she huffs under her breath.

"I swear, that Tendo Maya, causing me trouble even when she isn't here. Mechante…"

Truth be told, she'd always had a sort of Plan B in mind for Maya's present, but she'd only wanted to have to resort to it if she wasn't able to find something in the shops.

After all, making handmade chocolate for all eight of them would've been a lot, and it would've taken so long someone would've been bound to catch her in the kitchen and spoil the surprise.

But to only need to make it for one, special person…

Claudine's heart does something odd and fluttery, and she snorts in an effort to ignore it.

"I'll only do it because the shops didn't have anything for her!" she tells herself.

So she makes one more stop at a bakery on the way back, purchasing a small bag of chocolate chips and a few candy bars, as well as a few little bags of icing flavors. She takes all of this back with her to the dorm and checks back in well before curfew.

She treads carefully in the hallways, unable to conceal her three bags' worth of goods, so she has to listen intently to ensure one of the recipients of the contents isn't around the corner. She feels almost like a crook evading police, but in a good way, if that's possible.

By some miracle, she manages to make it to her room unnoticed. She deposits everything onto the floor near her bed so she can sort and add tags later.

Her next order of business is to locate a certain someone.

As she leaves her room, her routine would tell her she needs to head to the rehearsal room to practice her skills as she does every evening. But she forces herself to head elsewhere; even though it feels so strange to be breaking her usual routine, it also sort of feels a bit fun.

She heads for the kitchen instead, presuming she'll be there as she so often is.

When Claudine arrives, she can already hear Nana laughing with someone else, who she soon realizes to be Mahiru. Claudine steps in and peeks around the corner, suddenly feeling horribly nervous, as if she's about to go onstage for some grand performance.

Nana and Mahiru are at the stove side by side, wearing aprons around their uniforms and giggling together. Claudine can smell something sugary on the air. Cautiously, she tiptoes forward, hands fiddling together behind her back. Drawing in a deep breath, she musters up her courage.

"G-Good evening, Banana, Mahiru."

The two girls turn around together and smile.

"Kuro-chan!" Nana beams. "You just missed your better half."

"Eh?" But before Claudine can inquire what she meant, Mahiru jumps in.

"Ah! Do you need the kitchen?" she wonders. "I'll be finished in a little while!"

"That's all right." Claudine can't understand why she's feeling so nervous about this suddenly. She swallows and tries to keep her voice level. She looks to Nana now. "Actually, I was wondering if… you might be able to help me with something…"

"Something?" Nana puts a finger to her chin and tilts her head curiously. Then it clicks. "Ah! Sure, sure! I'd love to help you, Kuro-chan! But I'm a bit busy tonight… Would you be able to come tomorrow evening around 6?"

Claudine stiffens. Valentine's Day is the day after tomorrow, and she hadn't wanted to wait until the night before in order to prepare things in case something went awry. But with Nana helping her, everything was bound to go smoothly. So she lets out a breath and dips her head.

"That should be fine. Thank you."

"Great! I'll see you then, Kuro-chan!"

Claudine turns and leaves, now letting her feet carry her to her usual place this time of evening - back outside and toward the school building to do a bit of practice before supper.

She isn't sure how she's supposed to face Tendo Maya right now with the embarrassing things she has planned for her present. Maybe she'll get lucky. Maybe Maya won't be there tonight.

But as Claudine makes it to the school building and the dance studio's locker room, she can already hear music playing and perfectly-timed steps pattering across the wooden floors.

As she changes into her leotard, her heart keeps doing those weird things. Since she'd gotten used to being with Maya, it wouldn't flutter quite so often as it had used to. But this is a special occasion coming up, and she's doing something in secret, so her heart is kind of a mess. Just a little bit.

But she can't let Maya know that, or else she'll get suspicious, and possibly even more annoying than usual.

So Claudine uses her finest acting skills as she steps into the studio, just as Maya's dance comes to an end. As always, Maya has barely broken a sweat, even after such an intense number. She tosses her hair over her shoulder extravagantly and smiles as Claudine appears.

"My, there you are, Saijou-san. I was beginning to wonder what was taking you so long."

"I had some things to take care of. It's none of your business."

Maya approaches her like a tigress ready to pounce. She reaches out and grabs Claudine in one fluid motion, leaning her back into a dip.

"Oh, but being that you are my most treasured partner and rival, I believe it may indeed be some of my business."

Claudine's heart rate spikes at the unexpected attacks - both the physical and the verbal. The blush comes all too easily when she'd already been flustered about her secret today.

"Mechante!" She paws Maya off of her and crosses her arms, hoping they will keep her heart inside her chest. Maya chuckles.

"My, you seem a bit jumpier than usual this evening, Saijou-san."

"Enough. I want to go over a certain dance piece."

"Anything your heart desires, Ma Claudine."

Claudine hisses. Maya is really being unfair with this. Evidently Claudine needs to work on her acting skills more, because Maya has seen right through her.

As they go through their stretches and dances together, Claudine can't help but feel more bashful than usual around her tonight. And of course, Maya is as cool and collected as always, which makes Claudine all the more frustrated.

She cuts their session short tonight, simply because she feels as though she'll blurt out her secret if Maya gives her that compelling look one more time.

As Claudine catches her breath from their final dance and drinks from her water bottle, she doesn't even hear Maya approaching from behind her thanks to the blood rushing in her ears. All it takes is a simple, inquisitive tap on her shoulder to have Claudine sputtering.

"Wha- khggk-!"

"Oh my." Maya holds her up and rubs her back for her, offering her the towel from around her own shoulders to dry Claudine off. She hadn't been trying to startle her this time, really.

Once Claudine has finished coughing and regained her breath, she glares a pouty glare at her, and Maya has to do her best not to smile in return at how cute it is.

"My apologies," she says. "You really do seem a bit jumpier than usual tonight, Saijou-san. Is everything all right?"

Claudine sniffles, then dips her face into the towel for a second before handing it back to her.

"I told you, I'm just fine."

"When you speak like that, I'm afraid you make me worry."

"You don't have too," Claudine snaps. "Let's just go back to the dorm and shower. I feel gross."

"And yet you still look so divine."

"W-Why you insufferable…"

They make the walk back to the dorm building together, discussing their dances all the while, then retreat to the showers.

After a quick supper together with the rest of their friends, Claudine retires to bed early that night, not because she's particularly tired, but because she just doesn't think she'll be able to face Maya until her gift is ready to be presented.

She spends some time writing out the tags on the boxes of chocolates she'd bought today, but doesn't write out Maya's yet. She tries to think of what she can write on it as she lies down for bed, but she can't decide. She squirms around in her bed for a while that night before finally falling into an excitedly-nervous sleep.

That night after dinner, Nana walks back to her room together with Junna as always. She picks up her phone and goes to her schedule to look things over.

"All right," she murmurs once Junna is asleep. "Today, we checked off Karen-chan, Futaba-chan, and Maya-chan. Then tomorrow it'll be Hikari-chan, Kaoruko-chan, and Kuro-chan. Perfect."

Without a doubt, this was going to be a wonderful Valentine's Day.

The next day flies by for Claudine, and somehow she actually manages to dance and sing well as usual in all her classes, even with Maya there. She just tries not to think about Valentine's Day or what she'll be doing tonight instead of practicing with Maya like always.

In retrospect, it really isn't that big of a deal, and Claudine knows it. But for whatever reason, her heart and her mind keep racing whenever she thinks about it.

By the time classes are over, Claudine feels as though she'd lived through two days' within the time frame of one.

The girls all head back to the dorms together to get started on their homework assignments. But once Claudine has finished with those, she doesn't go back to school to practice like she knows Maya is probably doing right about now.

Instead, Claudine waits for 6pm to roll around, at which time she heads for the dorm's kitchen. She spots Kaoruko leaving just before she arrives, and it looks like she's got something in her hands she's trying to hide. Claudine doesn't call out to ask her, though. Considering it's Kaoruko, it isn't all that surprising to see her sneaking around.

Claudine enters the kitchen with her bag of supplies and finds Nana already at the stove in her apron. She twirls around with a smile.

"Kuro-chan! Right on time!"

"Thanks for having me," she says, dipping her head.

"It's my pleasure! Now, lemme see what you've got there!"

It only occurs to Claudine right then that she had never explicitly told Nana what she wanted to see her for tonight. But Nana is the wisest of them all, and of course she already knew.

"Oh, these are perfect!" she smiles. "And it'll be for Maya-chan's Valentine's present, I presume?"

Claudine nearly chokes on nothing but air.

"Th-That's-! ...That's right…"

"Oh, Kuro-chan, you're so sweet, you know that?" Nana slings an arm around her shoulders and gives her a little side hug. Claudine blushes harder and says nothing. "Don't worry!" Nana says, handing her an apron. "I made sure no one else will be coming in here for a while, so your secret is safe! Did you have anything specific in mind you wanted to make for her?"

Claudine slowly ties the apron around her waist and sighs.

"I'd given it a lot of thought, but I can't think of a good shape to craft them into… I thought about baumkuchen, but it would be too much trouble to cut out the middle circle, and then they'd just look like doughnuts or plain circles anyway…"

"Hmm, that's true," Nana hums. "Did you have any other ideas?"

Claudine shakes her head.

"Not really…"

Nana can't help but smile at how cute she's being. She gives Claudine a warm pat on the back.

"Don't look so dejected, Kuro-chan! There's a simple solution to your problem then!"

"There is?"

Nana nods.

"Hearts!"

"…Eh?"

"That's right! Just make them into heart shapes!"

Claudine feels her own heart backflip.

"I-Isn't that too suggestive?"

"Eh? You do love Maya-chan, don't you?"

Claudine nearly passes out on the spot.

"N-Not like that!"

"Right, right. Not like that. Unless…?"

"Definitely not!"

"Right, of course," Nana giggles. "But you do love her as a friend, don't you? Or at least... as a rival?"

Claudine falls into a contemplative silence for a moment, her heart still racing a mile a minute. After she's calmed down enough, she sees the sense in Nana's suggestion.

"That's true… But aren't the heart shapes too generic? They're everywhere…"

Nana shakes her head, still smiling.

"Kuro-chan, you're too sweet, you know that? You really won't settle for anything commonplace when it comes to Maya-chan, will you? You only want the best for her. But don't worry! They won't be just the generic heart-shaped chocolates, because they'll be coming from you, Kuro-chan!"

It's such an obvious solution and such a simple way of wording it, but somehow it makes Claudine smile a bit.

"I suppose…"

"Right! Then hearts it is! Now let's open up these chocolate chips and get melting!"

So Claudine pours in the chocolate chips, and Nana helps her stir and melt them, ensuring the resulting chocolate sauce doesn't burn. Nana produces a tray with a dozen heart-shaped molds in it; Claudine chalks it up to the fact that lots of students had been making similar Valentine's chocolates this week.

Nana mostly just supervises and reminds Claudine about the stove's temperature and things like that, but she lets Claudine do all of the baking herself. After all, Nana loves watching her friends putting their hearts and souls into the presents they make, especially if it's food.

After Claudine has carefully poured the melted chocolate into the heart-shaped fillings, Nana helps her clear a spot in the fridge so they can let the chocolates take shape. As they wait, Claudine gets out the icing baggies and sprinkles she'd bought to decorate with.

Nana can't help but observe how happy she seems; even though Claudine does a pretty good job of concealing her giddiness, Nana can discern her joy in the little bounce in her step and the way she keeps humming to herself.

Nana checks the clock and informs her the chocolates should be done in another minute or so. Claudine washes her hands in the meantime and checks over her shoulder to ensure no one else has entered the kitchen area. When ready, they pull out the tray and admire the results.

"Wow!" Nana claps. "These look wonderful, Kuro-chan!"

Claudine sighs in relief.

"It's all thanks to your help."

"Not at all! I'm sure Maya-chan will love them!"

Those words make Claudine smile to herself, and her heart soars again.

She begins decorating the little heart chocolates, drizzling them with strawberry, caramel, and mint icing, as well as some colorful sprinkles. Nana hovers nearby and claps delightedly.

"Kuro-chan, those look wonderful!"

"You think so?"

"Yes!"

Claudine's crooked little smile expands a bit more.

When the chocolates are all ready, Nana helps her line a little red box with pink paper, and together they arrange the treats neatly before putting the lid onto the box. Claudine ties it with a red ribbon, but fumbles a little bit with making the bow due to her fingers trembling slightly. Nana chuckles and holds it steady for her to tie.

"Kuro-chan, are you nervous?"

"Wh-?! Why would I be?"

"It's okay to feel nervous! After all, this is your first time giving handmade chocolates to someone, isn't it? Last year, you didn't really know any of us super well, so you just bought us all obligatory treats. But this year you actually made something handmade for Maya-chan! So of course you'd be a little nervous about it, right?"

Claudine doesn't say anything for a moment. She looks down at the little box in front of her, feeling her heart flutter again.

"Do you… really think she'll like them…?"

Nana can't help herself. Claudine is just being too precious. She opens her arms and pulls her friend into a soft hug - a hug she feels Claudine could really use right now to help boost her confidence.

"Kuro-chan, she's going to love them. I promise."

Her support finally allows Claudine to feel a bit better about her work. She sighs and hugs Nana in return.

"Merci, Banana."

"You're very welcome."

Claudine and Nana hang up their aprons and clean the kitchen before Claudine takes her leave with her chocolates. Nana suggests she puts them into a plastic bag to conceal them in case she runs into anyone in the hallways.

Claudine thanks her again before heading to her room, and finds she's very glad for Nana's plastic bag idea. She spots Maya already in her nightgown heading toward her own room, but it's too late for Claudine to try and hide behind the corner. Maya finds her too, and waves a greeting.

"There you are, Saijou-san. I missed you terribly at practice this evening. I must admit I was a little worried."

Claudine puts the bag behind her back as nonchalantly as possible.

"I couldn't make it tonight. I had plans with someone."

Maya raises an eyebrow, clearly intrigued.

"Plans? With someone?"

"Yes. Believe it or not, I can make plans with someone other than you."

"But of course…" Maya frowns, clearly unsatisfied with the response. Claudine smiles just a bit.

"Oh? Are you perhaps jealous, Tendo Maya? That's quite an interesting color to see on you."

Maya tilts her head. "But of course I would be curious," she admits cooly. "After all, I cannot have anyone else stealing away the only person who can accompany me on the stage, now can I?"

Claudine's heart races, and she's annoyed by how happy Maya's comment makes her. She quickly turns away to her door to hide her blush.

"Rest assured. I'm not cheating on you."

"That is a relief. Goodnight then, Saijou-san."

"Bonne nuit."

Claudine hurries into her bedroom and closes the door, letting out a long exhale. She brings Maya's chocolates to where she's keeping the others under her bed and arranges everything accordingly.

The only thing left to do is write out Maya's tag.

Claudine sits there on her bedroom floor and deliberates for at least ten minutes before she finally decides on a message for her. When she's done, she quickly pushes the gift under her bed before she can change her mind.

She changes and crawls into bed, clutching her chest and the giddy pulse beneath it. She isn't sure if she's more excited or nervous about tomorrow, but either way, she can't stop imagining what the look on Maya's face might be upon receiving Claudine's gift. When she does finally fall asleep, it's with a smile on her lips.

On Valentine's morning, Claudine wakes early, most likely because she was subconsciously aware of and anticipating the special day. Thankfully it's a Saturday, so there's no need to fret about classes or schedules.

She stacks all of her friends' chocolate boxes up into two trusty plastic bags, rechecking one last time that everything is spelled correctly and none of the tags have fallen off. When she's satisfied, she steps into her slippers and heads out the door toward the common room to wait for the others.

To her surprise, she finds she isn't the first one here this morning. Futaba and Kaoruko are lounging on the couch, with the latter all but strewn across the former's lap. There are several small pink baggies and boxes next to them.

"Geez," Futaba is saying. "I told you we should've just stayed in our room. Don't sleep on me."

"Unyuu…" Kaoruko moans. "But I wanted to be the first one up so I don't miss anyone's chocolates…"

"My, my," Claudine chimes in. "I suppose that's one kind of motivation."

"Kuroko! Morning," Futaba grins.

"What is that?" Kaoruko grunts, giving a distasteful look to the bag in Claudine's hand. "Did you bring us groceries for Valentine's Day?"

"Exactly," Claudine grins. "Kaoruko, you're getting green onions."

"Geh- h-how dare you…"

"Hah! That's what we should've done," Futaba grins. Kaoruko swipes at the underside of her chin.

Claudine joins them on the couch to wait for the others.

Maya arrives next, also with a bag full of things. They all exchange greetings before she takes a seat next to Claudine.

"I must say, you are looking as lovely as ever this morning, Saijou-san."

"I suppose you don't look half bad yourself, Tendo Maya."

Claudine suddenly begins to feel self-conscious, so she's relieved when Mahiru comes in with Hikari on one shoulder and Karen on the other.

"Geez! Come on, you two! It's Valentine's Day!"

"Ahh?" Karen opens her eyes and perks up. "Oh! That's right! It's chocolate day! Hikari-chan, wake up! We've gotta show our app… our appe… appetite!"

"I think you mean 'appreciation', Karen-chan," Mahiru corrects her.

"Yeah! That's it!"

Together they manage to somewhat rouse Hikari, and the three of them sit together on one of the other couches. Everyone exchanges greetings and pleasantries until the final pair arrive.

"Sorry we're late, everyone," Junna says as she walks in, one arm around her roommate. "Nana was pretty tired this morning."

"Join the club," Futaba says, poking Kaoruko's cheek.

"Sorry about that," Nana yawns. "I've had a busy couple of nights!"

"Oh dear," Maya says. "I do hope it wasn't because I requested your assistance with making chocolates?"

"Ehhh?" Karen shrieks. "You asked for her help too, Tendo-san?"

"Wait," Hikari says. "You did, too Karen?"

"Oh my," Kaoruko says, finally sitting up. "I did as well."

"And me," Futaba adds.

"So did I," Claudine admits.

Everyone falls silent for a moment and shares stunned glances at one another as it all clicks in their minds.

"I see…" Claudine says. "So that was why I couldn't see her until 6 last night. She was already booked."

"That's crazy!" Karen exclaims. "Banana, you're like a celebrity! We all had to make appreciations with you!"

"Appointments, Karen-chan," Mahiru says. "Banana-chan and I worked together on our chocolates, but I had no idea she was helping all of you individually as well…"

"I just worked with Tsuyuzaki-san," Junna says. "Geez, Nana! You should've told me that's what you were doing!"

"Eeheehee~ But I didn't want to spoil the surprise for anyone!"

"Well then," Maya says. "Let us not have Daiba-san's efforts go to waste. Shall we begin exchanging our gifts, then?"

"Yeah!" A unanimous cry spreads through the room.

Everyone takes turns passing out all of the chocolates and gifts they'd gotten or made for one another. It seems that they'd all bought things for everyone except their respective roommates or partners - those gifts had been handmade.

Karen's group passes things out first, followed by Kaoruko and Futaba, and then Junna and Nana. Of course, the things Nana hands out look more or less gourmet, as she is the only one who had handmade everyone's chocolates, though of course Junna's gift was a bit more extravagant.

The girls squeal and laugh and hug all the while, gleeful about their many gifts.

Maya has received a bundle of things, and Claudine has also gotten a little something from everyone who has shared so far. When it's down to only Maya and herself to hand things out, they do so in unison.

"Wow!" Karen squeals. "Kuro-chan, how did you find crown-shaped ones? That's so cool!"

"Bears," Hikari mumbles. "And they're white chocolate, so they look like Mr. White."


"Mine too!" Mahiru giggles. "The white chocolate really looks like Suzudaru Cat! That's amazing, Kuro-chan!"

"Oh my!" Kaoruko says upon opening hers. "Mine are fans. How quaint."

"Oh!" Futaba cries. "Daruma dolls! That's so cool!"

"Ahhh, I think I understand mine," Junna says. "These little swirly shapes are like the kinds you'll see in an anime when a character with glasses gets confused. That's clever, Saijou-san!"


"Wow!" Nana cheers. "I got chocolate-covered bananas! Bana-nice! Thank you, Kuro-chan!"

"You're all very welcome."

"Now then," Futaba grunts, clearing her throat. "That just leaves you and Tendo to give each other your gifts, right?"

Claudine jolts slightly as she and Maya make eye contact.

"Oh my, Futaba-han," Kaoruko smirks. "Don't call them out like that. Perhaps they'd prefer to make the exchange in private~?"


"Hush, you," Claudine chides her. "We can do it here. Can't we, Tendo Maya?"

"But of course, Saijou Claudine."

Maya reaches into the bag she'd brought along and pulls out a pink box, decorated with heart patterns. The boxes she'd handed out to the others had definitely been smaller.

At the same time, Claudine pulls out the last box from her bag, the one labeled for Maya. Maya regards it with an interested smile.

"My, it seems to be a bit larger than the ones you prepared for everyone else."

"Of course," Claudine counters. "After all, we all know you're the one with the biggest appetite. So I had to accommodate."

"My, how lucky I am."

Claudine pouts, and suddenly her heart begins to backflip. She feels heat in her face, and her chest is seized by a throbbing jumble of emotions. As she holds out the gift to Maya, Claudine looks away.

"It's nothing that special," she mutters.

"Kuro-chan, don't say that!" Nana cuts in. "Maya-chan, don't listen to her! She put her heart into that present."


"B-Banana!" Claudine's whole face flushes red, and her friends chuckle, Maya included.

"Worry not," she says calmly. She looks to Claudine as she accepts the box, her fingers gently brushing Claudine's in the process. "I would love and cherish anything you would give me, Saijou-san."

Once she's taken Claudine's gift, she exchanges it for her own present. Claudine can't force the blush away no matter how hard she tries. But she can't find the courage to open Maya's gift just yet. She watches with nervous eagerness as Maya observes the box with curious eyes. When she finds the tag, she reads it to herself and smiles.

To: Tendo Maya, my one and only rival

From: Saijou Claudine

Claudine considers herself lucky that Maya hadn't decided to read the tag aloud. If she had, Claudine surely would have fainted from overheating.

She watches intently now as Maya slowly opens the box, and all the other girls lean in too, save for Nana who already knows what's inside. When Maya opens the box to reveal the chocolates inside, her eyes begin to sparkle. Everyone else marvels at them, too.

"Whoa! Those look amazing!"


"With all those drizzled toppings? Nice!"


"Kuro-chan, you really went all-out for Tendo-san, didn't you?"

"N-Not particularly," Claudine mutters.

"Yes, she did!" Nana interjects.

Claudine pouts some more and waits anxiously for the recipient's verdict. Maya is still marveling at the heart-shaped chocolates, clearly baffled by the selection. She looks over each and every piece of the dozen chocolates Claudine had made and packaged for her, picking each one up and looking it over in turn. She eventually pops one into her mouth and tilts her head as she eats. Her silence is killing Claudine, and she can't keep quiet any longer.

"Well?" she demands. "How are they…?"

Maya swallows, and a smile so beautiful it's nearly criminal comes across her lips.

"My goodness, Saijou-san, they are absolutely exquisite. Perhaps the best sweets I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying." Her eyes are shining with the utmost honesty, and she is clearly so genuinely happy that it makes Claudine's heart ache in the best way.

"D-Don't be so dramatic…"

Maya shakes her head and reaches out to hold both of her hands.


"No. I really do mean it."

Claudine's blush only deepens even more. All of their friends coo and clap.

"Aw! Isn't that great, Kuro-chan?"

"Tendo-san loves your chocolates! And they're cute little hearts!"

"That's nice."


"How sweet. I think I may be ill."

"Quit it, Kaoruko. Good for you, Kuroko."

"That's great! I'm so happy for you two!"

"Nana, they aren't getting married…"

Claudine soaks in all their praises, fighting a losing battle in trying to keep the smile from forming on her lips. Maya is still holding earnestly onto her hands, eyes still glowing. Claudine's heart continues beating like a bird freed from a cage.

"I'm… glad you like them…"


"More than that," Maya insists. "I love them."

"W-Well then, are you going to let me open yours or not?"

"Oh yes, please do."

Claudine timidly draws her hands away from Maya's and gets to opening the gift. The tag addressed to her reads simply: Ma Claudine.

Claudine nearly sputters upon seeing it and quickly covers it so no one else can see it.

Inside the box is not multiple sweets, but rather one large heart-shaped chocolate, about the size of a small cake. A simple doodle of the Eiffel Tower is drawn on in a white chocolate drizzle. Claudine's erratic pulse actually slows down for half a second as she admires the edible work of art. She can tell Maya had made this with her own two hands and had put in as much effort and love into it as Claudine had put into the ones she had made for her. She can hear all the others ooh-ing and aah-ing, but now it's Maya's turn to wait in anticipation.

"What do you think? It may not be the most accurate in terms of the drawings, however-"


"It's beautiful." Claudine looks back up at her and smiles. "The craftsmanship is equisite. Thank you, Tendo Maya."

"Is that so?" Maya sighs, clearly relieved. "Then if you would, could you let me know of the taste?"

Claudine nods and breaks off a piece of the heart. The others wait cheerfully as she swallows. It's dark chocolate, Claudine's preferred kind of sweet, and the flavors fill her mouth with a sweet, pleasant taste. She hums and puts a hand to her cheek.

"Tres bien! It's positively delectable."

Maya lets out a notably large breath.

"Thank goodness…"

Everyone breaks out into a happy chatter now that all the gifts have been given and received. They all sit back and begin enjoying their sugary breakfasts, though both Junna and Mahiru make sure to remind everyone they'll have to brush their teeth and eat a real breakfast or brunch later on.

As the room fills with laughter and voices, the focus comes off of Claudine and Maya specifically, and the air of slight awkwardness dissipates. Maya slides in close to her until she bumps into Claudine's side, chewing on another one of the chocolates she had made for her.

"So… you went to seek Daiba-san's assistance to make these for me?"

Claudine nods as she breaks off another piece of her Eiffel Tower heart.

"And you only went to her to make this for me as well?"


"But of course. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I'd only given you obligatory sweets. You mean so much more to me than that, you know, Ma Claudine." She murmurs quietly enough so no one else hears, and subtly takes Claudine's hand in her lap. Claudine does her best not to cough and choke on her chocolate.

"You're too much, you know that?" she sighs. "But… it's the same for me. "I wanted to give you something a bit more… special… I wanted to show my gratitude."


"Oh?" Maya inquires, threading their fingers together. "For what, if I may ask?"

Claudine takes a deep breath and finally meets her eyes.


"For always pushing me to keep reaching new heights. For never going easy on me. It's because of you that I'm where I am today. I would never be an actress, singer, or dancer half the calibre of what I am today if not for you to keep me motivated and on my toes." Somehow, she doesn't feel quite so nervous anymore. She smiles, putting all the warmth she can muster into it. "I truly do appreciate having you as my partner, Tendo Maya."

A blush forms on Maya's face now.

"My… I'm honored you feel so strongly, Saijou-san. Believe me when I say I can't properly express how dear you are to me. I am overjoyed to have met you here, and I am wholeheartedly convinced I also would not be half the woman I am today if not for you being here at my side, to accompany me and keep pushing me to strive for greatness. If only these sweets could properly convey my feelings…"

"All right," Claudine stops her gently. "Don't hurt yourself. And don't worry. I think I get the gist of it." Claudine picks up both their gifts and puts them aside onto the coffee table for the moment. She opens her arms invitingly, and Maya doesn't need any more hints than that.

They pull each other into a soft, warm hug. They'd both clearly been so nervous about presenting one another with their gifts today, so the relief that floods through them now is strong enough to make them weak. Claudine nestles in closer to her, folding both arms across her shoulders.


"My, what's this? Are you trembling, Tendo Maya? Were you really that nervous?"

Maya hums as she leans more fully against Claudine's chest, looping her arms around her back.

"Oh, I do believe you were the more nervous of us both," she counters gently. "Your heart is beating awfully hard, Saijou-san."

"No it isn't."


"It most certainly is."


"You're insufferable, Tendo Maya."


"The one and only." She tightens her hold on Claudine. "And gladly yours."

Claudine huffs.


"That's right. And I'm not inclined to share."

"My, and you call me the greedy one?"

"Aren't you, though? You got awfully jealous when you thought I was cheating on you."


"But of course. You are the one thing I will not negotiate sharing. You, and the position of Top Star."


"Don't get too comfortable. I'll claim that for myself before you know it."


"I do so eagerly await the day, Saijou Claudine."

They eventually ease apart from their embrace, though their arms stay loosely at each other's arms, and their foreheads rest together, noses brushing. Maya leans forward just a bit to brush her cheek with Claudine's.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Ma Claudine."

Claudine huffs very softly, but it doesn't sound half as annoyed as content.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Ma Maya."

And surely - with all the smiles and chocolates and cheer being given and shared - that Saturday would go down as the sweetest in Seishou Academy's history.

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A/N: This got a bit sloppy with having to address all the girls making chocolates and whatnot but I wanted to keep the main focus on Claudine and Maya cuz I'm biased so akjsdhfsd