Fate was cruel, this was a lesson that was engraved into Sunny the entire time he's spent on this world, two worlds even. But just now, he's found something much crueler, that being Valentine's Day. It's not like he didn't look good enough to get one—he's heard how good he looks every time he goes to give lectures at the academy… not that he's actively trying to hear those things, but that's besides the point. The real problem lies here in front of him with four boxes of chocolate, each from a different person.
Picking up the first box, he read the cute sticker it had on it, which surprised him even more when he read the text written on it, that being "To Doofus, From Effie." With it came a letter. Scared to open up the chocolate before reading the letter, he decided to open it up as carefully as possible. Knowing her, she may have put a miniature nightmare creature she found in it. Taking out the luckily normal letter, he begins to read:
"This would be my first time ever writing a letter, so you should consider yourself lucky."
He suddenly had the urge to throw it in the trash right then and there, but he decided to continue reading, taken aback by what came next:
"Seeing as how you're too shy to make a move on our princess, I'm assuming you will be lonely on this day of love and companionship."
For a moment, he wondered how much it would cost to have a fireplace installed in his house—after all, this letter would be perfect to be used as a starter for a cozy time by a fire. Still, he read on:
"That being said, knowing your history, it's obvious that you're not familiar with the delicacy we call chocolate… well, not that I do much either. I've decided to prepare only the best for you as thanks for letting me stay at your place before."
He smiled. It was quite surprising to see she could be so thoughtful—a disturbing change of pace, but a nice one nonetheless. Seeing a folded-up piece of the letter, he flipped it over.
"P.S. I got a bit hungry on the way to your house."
Opening up the box of chocolate, he was met with a singular piece of expensive chocolate in the large box. Smiling, he ripped up the letter. As he shoved the singular piece of chocolate in his mouth, no matter how bitter he was, he couldn't help but be taken aback by its sweetness.
His mood improved from its previous state, he grabbed the next box, not needing to even read who it was from since the box was branded after him. It was from Kai—apparently, he had a Valentine's sponsorship even though he retired from the music world. The perks of being famous, he supposed. This one also came with a letter, this time not needing to be scared of anything inside… well, that was before he picked it up, feeling a much heavier weight than the previous one.
Kai would never though… right?
Carefully, he opened this one before jumping back as a disc fell out. As it hit the floor, a projection of Kai came out. Before he could react, it spoke:
"Hey Sunny! Happy Valentine's!"
Though Sunny didn't have Kai's flaw of being able to see through lies, he could tell Kai was being completely sincere, changing his slightly confused face to a smile.
"With everything going on, the last time we saw each other was at the nightclub… but even then, I remembered you eyeing a certain something, which is why I got you specially made chocolates!"
Kai gave a bright smile before suddenly being called off by someone, who he could only assume to be the person in charge of recording—after all, this high level of technology, while much more common in today's age, still requires expertise. Completely forgetting the previous incident from Effie, he opened up the chocolate, only to be met with a familiar scent.
Instantly, he threw the box using the strength of a master, which ended up putting a hole in the wall. But with it, the chocolate splattered everywhere, showing what it was filled with—that being honey.
With a sigh, he, carefully keeping as much distance as possible, tried to clean up the mess he made. He would have to repair the hole later. Regretfully, he put the somehow still intact box to the side after making sure it was empty before taking the next box. This time, it had no sender and only had the receiver listed as him.
Taking the note that came with it, he instantly knew who it was from just by how short it was, reading simply:
"Happy Valentine's"
With a small design of what looked to be some sort of creature with round eyes, two pointy ears, and a cylinder-like tail that seemed not bound by the laws of gravity somehow.
Taking note to ask Professor Julius about such a possibly extinct animal, he opened up the box of chocolates, being met with something that surprised him. Instead of regular chocolate, which he probably shouldn't have expected in the first place, he found chocolate swords—detailed down to the design in the hilt.
Trying one, he wasn't met with a rush of sweetness but rather a slightly bitter tone in the chocolate. But then, as he bit into it more, a burst of what seemed to be a sweet jam exploded from it, breaking out of its chocolate mold—cutting out the bitterness of the chocolate but not being overly sweet due to its high sugar content. Unexpectedly, it fit her quite well as a person. With a smile, he set it aside, remembering to finish them later, next to it setting down the letter, even though it was the only letter intact.
Taking the last box, he could already assume who it would be from, following the current trend of things. His guesses ending up being correct as he sees the sender being from Cassie, but this time it has no receiver, unlike the previous letter from Nephis.
Opening it, knowing it could only be for him, his heart sank, seeing the contents of it as his face flushed—the simple words adorning it:
"Happy Valentine's Sunny, and goodnight."
The question of how she was able to write it not even crossing his mind, he quickly put the letter back, putting it on top of Nephis's letter. Deciding to get his mind off the embarrassment he was feeling, he took the box of chocolates, opening it to be met with chocolate-shaped hearts—fitting for Valentine's and surprisingly the only heart-shaped ones he has gotten so far.
In the middle of reaching for one, he notices something—that being the subtle imperfections that would hint to homemade chocolate. With a smile, he put it in his mouth, laughing all the while, imagining a blind girl trying to bake chocolate.
It was disgusting and completely bitter, but for some reason, out of every chocolate he had that day, it tasted the sweetest.