#if you sit through 7k of pining for my ship in my modern au... thanks?? idk why you would but wheezes

[nuclearanomaly]

Sugar is Sweet

Is it a date if you both agree to go out and it just so happens to be Valentione’s Day and you both happen to really like each other but neither of you do anything to acknowledge that? [Modern | Bookshop AU. | wc 7046 ]

Estinien checked his coat pocket again, for the millionth time since leaving his apartment earlier that afternoon. He didn’t need to check. The box that was tucked into his coat was still there. As it had been the time before, and the time before that. His breath clouded his view momentarily as he exhaled, nervously. 

He stood just outside the entrance to Page 64, shifting slightly in the cold, eyeing the warm light that spilled out of the cluttered windows and poster plastered door. He checked his pocket again. Still there. 

Maybe he should text first, a casual message about being in the neighbourhood before stopping in. Or maybe—he jumped as the door abruptly opened and a rare customer started to exit the store. They gave Estinien a perplexed look as he shuffled out of the way before stepping aside and holding the door for him. 

Shit.

“Thanks.” He mumbled as he slipped past and into the store. 

The comforting smell of old paper greeted him, accompanied by the overfilled shelves and stacks of books and as he made his way further into the store, Ninira. She sat at her usual spot at the counter, busy at her computer after the departure of her customer. He smiled, she hadn’t noticed him yet. The light from the laptop screen reflected in her glasses, her brow furrowed slightly in concentration. As he drew closer she must have sensed his presence as she started to look up a greeting halfway formed before she realized who she was talking to.

“Hel–oh! Estinien! What are you doing here?” She blinked, shocked. “It’s Tuesday, don’t you have band practice?”

“Cancelled.” He fished the stool tucked under the side of the counter out and took a seat. His stool. Going through the motions of taking it out and sitting on it was second nature by this point. “Some of the others have plans tonight.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. I’m sorry.”

He shrugged, “it’s no big deal. Our next show isn’t until the end of the month. Besides, I was able to get some work shit done instead. Thought I’d stop in since I was dropping stuff off at the store.” A small lie. She didn’t need to know that all he had done in the back room of his own store was kill time, pacing nervously while watching the clock tick closer to Page 64’s closing time.

Ninira smiled in a way that made Estinien’s gut flutter stupidly. “You know that you’re always welcome to.” She lifted a couple books stacked beside her laptop before sliding off her stool. “Make yourself comfortable, I’m just going to put these back.”

It was a bold statement considering it felt like a majority of the store had little to no organization to begin with. Ninira did claim that some parts had more order than others, and perhaps these books were from one such section as it wasn’t too long before she returned empty handed. 

“You’re closing soon right?” 

“Yep.” Ninira hopped back up onto her seat, turning her head to glance at the time as she did so. “In about twenty minutes.”

Estinien nodded, but under the counter his leg trembled anxiously. “Want to grab something to eat when you’re done?”

Ninira’s expression fell. “I’m sorry. I can’t…”

It was as if his heart had plummeted. “Oh… you have plans?” He fought to keep his face neutral. 

“W–what? No!” She laughed in disbelief, “not at all. It’s just…”

Estinien watched, frowning, as her shoulders sagged. “Money’s tight this month. Foot traffic is already slow being winter, but with how cold it’s been recently it’s just been… hard.”

“How hard?” The fact that Ninira didn’t have it easy balancing the cost of her store wasn’t news to him, but the thought of her skimping on essential things to do so…

She blinked, as if surprised he cared. “I’m fine!” His furrowed brow obviously didn’t convince her as she tried to give him what was probably supposed to be a reassuring smile. “I promise! I just have to watch what I’m spending… so I can’t really splurge on dinner. I’m sorry. Maybe when things pick back up again?”

“Or, how about, I buy you dinner?”

“Estinien… I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not. I’m offering.” He was aware that his leg had begun to shake nervously under the counter once more. “Nothing fancy, we can get Hingan, or there’s that new Hannish place that opened that we talked about trying.”

Still Ninira squirmed, noncommittal. 

“Well, think about it, at least.” This wasn’t exactly going as planned. “Do you need help with anything before closing?”

She jumped at the change of subject, “yes! If you don’t mind…” 

Estinein shook his head as he rose from his stool, shrugging out of his jacket as he did so. “I offered.” He draped his jacket over the stool, careful to make it seem nonchalant but while also taking care not to jostle it too much less he disturb the contents tucked away inside. “What do you need?”

Ninira sheepishly tapped a large cardboard box that he had failed to notice sitting on the counter. “Can you take that to the back office? I’ll need to go through it later.”

Walking around and peeking into the top, Estinien was unsurprised to find it full of books. “Are these new?” 

“Mmm… they were brought in this afternoon by a very nice old man.”

He sighed before rapping Ninira, lightly, on the top of her head with his knuckle. “You have to stop accepting this shit.” 

“I–I know!” She rubbed her head. “But he was so passionate about them and I couldn’t say no!”

“If he was passionate about them, he would have kept them.” Estinien grunted as he lifted the box into his arms, it was heavier than it looked. “The fuck is in here? Weighs a ton.”

“I think he said something about encyclopedias. I haven’t had a chance to really look.” 

Of course it was. Some old geezer’s dusty out of date encyclopedias that no one in their right mind would want. He hefted the box higher in his arms as he started through the shelves towards the back of the store. She better not have paid for them. On top of all her other expenses the last thing she needed was to be made to feel sympathetic towards buying some old trash books. Perhaps he should have come over sooner, at last he could have been an intimidating presence. 

Between helping to move items and cleaning around the store it wasn’t long before Ninira was switching over the open sign and locking the door. Estinien watched as she sighed, stretching her arms above her head as she made her way back towards where he was leaning against the counter. 

“Thanks again for helping.”

He shrugged. “It’s no problem.” 

She continued past him, as she worked through the motions of closing up for the night. 

“Don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” Out of the corner of his eye he watched as she froze in place while he continued. “I could go for a big plate of biryani, maybe some samosas, fresh naan.”

He was sure he heard Ninira whine faintly. 

“Papadums and tikka masala, or perhaps vindaloo.”

Ninira snorted. “You can’t handle vindaloo.”

Estinien turned, “that’s what you think.”

“Last time we went for ramen you got one labeled mild and almost died.”

Almost died was definitely an exaggeration. Yes, the broth had been much hotter than he had expected. Yes, the server had warned him. Yes, he’d destroyed napkin after napkin trying to mop up the endless tears and snot streaming down his face while Ninira had wheezed into her far spicier bowl of soup. It had been agony, but also—he thought fondly of Ninira sitting across the table from him, her own tears in her eyes from laughing—a very good night. “I’ve improved my tolerance since then.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it.”

He raised his eyebrows at her, “well…” and watched as her expression fell and she started to retreat back into the version of herself that worried about stupid things like, bothering him.

“Come on, Nini. At the very least it will be better than whatever the fuck you have waiting upstairs.”

That earned him a sheepish grin, “I don’t know… half a can of tinned soup is hard to beat.”

Estinien frowned. She was skimping on necessities. “Don’t make me physically carry you to the restaurant, because I will. You deserve a good meal.” As if on queue Ninira’s stomach let out a growl loud enough that even he could hear. “Sounds like your stomach agrees.”

She sighed, before raising her hands in defeat. “Fine, I’ll go.”

Estinien grinned. Success. 

“Just give me a minute and I’ll go get my stuff.”

Estinien snatched his jacket off his stool, pulling it back on as he followed her through the shelves to the back of the store. Here he waited at the base of the stairs that led up to Ninira’s apartment for her return, his fingers drumming against his leg as his nerves returned in full force. It wasn’t long until Ninira reappeared bundled in her winter gear. Cute. Estinien caught himself thinking at the sight of her; though, he pretty much always thought of her as cute in anything she wore. “Ready?” He asked, and Ninira nodded. 

The restaurant Estinien had in mind was further into the city. A short ride on the subway got them most of the way there and despite the cold and now falling snow, they opted to walk the rest of the way. Also despite the fact that they were now arriving past what Estinien would have considered dinner time there was a line of people, mostly couples, waiting on the sidewalk outside of the restaurant doors. 

“It’s busy,” Ninira observed. 

“That must mean the food is good, at least.” He glanced down at her. “If you’re cold and don’t want to wait we can try somewhere else though.”

“It’s okay,” they shuffled forward as the line moved. “The line is moving. Besides, it seems like everywhere has been busy tonight.” 

Estinien watched as Ninira eyed the waiting couples and passing crowds. Watched as she pieced together the thing he was hoping she wouldn’t have noticed. 

“Wait,” She looked up at him, “isn’t today Valentione’s Day?”

It was. There was a reason band practice had been cancelled, as the majority of the other’s plans had involved their desire to spend time with their significant others. Understandable, though he could have done without their bonus desire to bother him about doing something himself. Despite knowing this, Estinien shrugged before making a show of fishing his phone out of his pocket to check the date. “Huh, so it is…”

Ninira chuckled, “No wonder everywhere is packed. I guess we should consider ourselves lucky that the line isn’t longer.”

“Well isn’t it supposed to be all stuffy candle lit dinners? Going for Hannish probably isn’t considered very romantic.”

“People who think that are missing out then. This is way better, in my opinion.”

Estinien smiled, pleased. “You’re just biased because you like the food.”

“Maybe so.”

“What if the candle lit dinner was exclusively dessert?”

She gasped. “Well that would be completely different!”

With their conversation helping to pass the time they eventually made their way off the street and into the restaurant. Inside was a bustling din of noise. The bright array of colours and textures that covered both the walls and the furniture made for an authentic Hannish atmosphere. And then there was the mouth-watering smell. Estinien was glad that they were getting seated next as he was definitely starting to get hungry. It wasn’t long before a server led them to a small table tucked away near the back of the room, positioned under a large graphic mural on the wall and lit by a glass lamp hanging from the ceiling above them. Estinien shrugged out of his coat, draping it over the back of his chair and taking a seat as Ninira did the same. 

“Can I grab you drinks to start?” Their server asked, to which Estinien nodded, flipping over his menu to check out the selection of beers as Ninira replied.

“Just water, thank you.”

Estinien furrowed his brow.

“Of course! And for you.”

“I’ll have a Cedarwood,” Estinien replied. “And a cream soda.”

The server’s mouth twitched with the hint of an amused grin at this combination, but nodded before leaving their table. As they did, Estinien levelled his gaze on Ninira. “Thirsty?” She asked, though she was unable to keep the waiver out of her voice.

“I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to order inexpensive things because I’m covering the bill.” 

She slumped her shoulders. 

“Well too bad, because you’re having a soda. And,” he reached across the table and plucked her menu away from her. “I already know what we’re ordering.”

“But we’ve never been here before!”

It pleased him that she didn’t seem to consider the possibility of him having come without her. “They have a menu online. I’ve done my research.”

Ninira pulled a face but resigned to her defeat. “Fine, you win… again.”

Estinien smirked, “I’m sure you’ll find some way to enact revenge.”

This made her smile. “When you least expect it.”

Their server returned shortly with their drinks, placing the water down in front of Nini and the beer and soda in front of Estinien. Tucking the serving tray under their arm they then asked “are you both ready to order?”

Estinien nodded at this. “We’re going to share,” He explained before beginning to list off items. Papadums and chutney to start, then a chicken tikka, lamb vindaloo, and paneer. An order of rice—of course—as well as a side of naan and raita. With each item he added Ninira’s brows rose further. It was for her own good, not only was she going to have a good meal but hopefully also some leftovers to take home as well. If she got at least one additional meal from tonight’s order Estinien would be happy. 

As the server left their table Ninira stared at him wide eyed. “That’s a lot…”

“I’m starving.” Estinien replied, matter-of-fact, as he pushed the cream soda across the table towards her.

Carefully she took the drink in both her hands, the glass too big for her to hold it in just one. She studied the soda, an expression of sad longing on her face. “You really didn’t have to order this for me.”

He sighed, “well you weren’t going to, so someone had to.” He gave her chair a nudge under the table with his foot. “Enjoy it.”

She hesitated briefly before taking a sip, unable to keep the pure bliss off her face as the sweet drink hit her tongue. Estinien masked his own pleased smile by raising his glass to his lips. 

“You mentioned practice being cancelled because the others had plans.” Ninira commented, having recovered from the ecstasy that was her drink. “I suppose that’s because it’s Valentione’s Day, huh?”

Estinien shrugged. The thought of their conversation returning to the holiday was less than ideal. After all the more they talked about it the more there was a chance that Ninira might begin to worry that he was implying that this was more than just friends just so happening to hang out on Valentione’s Day. Because, regardless of how he felt, that was all they were. Friends. “I guess that would make sense.” He tried to sound as non committal to the idea as possible. “Hilda’s been out of town since Friday. She and Lucia went to some ski resort in Coerthas, extended weekend.”

“Oh, that sounds really nice!” Estinien had never put Ninira down as a skier before but with the way she lit up at the mention of it… “The perfect opportunity for cozy evenings curled up by the fire with hot cocoa.” She sighed.

Ah, that made much more sense. Of course she would focus on the possibility of hot chocolate over anything else. Though perhaps she had the right idea. The thought of a rustic cabin in the mountains, surrounded by snow, lit and warmed by a roaring fire didn’t sound too bad at all. His stomach fluttered stupidly, helplessly, as the scene he was now forming in his mind came with the very vivid addition of Ninira in his arms. If he kissed her he would taste the cocoa.

“Estinien?”

He came crashing back to reality, the restaurant with its ambient din and smells of Hannish food, and Ninira across the table.

Shit. “Sorry, what was that?” He tried, as smoothly as possible, to take a sip of his drink. Hoping beyond hope that he was not visibly blushing.

“I asked if you knew if the others were busy as well.”

He shrugged, “no idea.” It was true enough. He was sure Ysayle had plans of some kind but also knew she was more likely to run him over with her car than share the details. As for Fray he genuinely did not know, and honestly wasn’t about to ask. His business was his own, and Estinien appreciated the fact that the respect for privacy was mutual. Hilda and Ysayle could do with learning a thing or two in that regard.

“I know you said your next show wasn’t until the end of the month, but that’s not that far away really.” Ninira continued. If she’d been bothered at all by his sudden lapse in attention she didn’t show it. “Will you need to do another make-up practice before then, since you’re missing today?”

She was at the very least doing better than him at keeping up the small talk. 

“Maybe, we still have practice next week. If we feel like we need another one before the show I’m sure we can squeeze one in.” Estinien wasn’t worried about it. The band knew what they were doing, were comfortable with the planned setlist, and it was a venue they’d played at before. If he was worried about anything it was… “Speaking of, you’re coming to the show, right?”

She fidgeted with her glass, “I’m… not sure. I mean, I would like to, just…”

Right. Money was tight, and concert tickets sure didn’t fall into essential items. 

“I’ll see how things look closer to the date.”

“You know, if you do want to go. Me, or anyone else in the band, can get you in no problem.” She opened her mouth to protest but he continued. “We know you support us. Hell, you sell some of our merch at your place now.” At what could only be the slowest turnover rate ever. He couldn’t imagine that old men that came in to drop off dusty encyclopedias cared much for the local punk scene “We can cover you for a show or two sometimes, you don’t always have to buy a ticket.” 

“But I want too.”

“I know, we all know. That’s why it’s no big deal.”

Any further objections from Ninira were put on hold, and ultimately forgotten, by the arrival of their Papadums. Thank the gods. While he’d mostly said it to save face earlier, he really was starving. Still, he nudged the basket towards Ninira allowing her to take the top most Papadum before helping himself.

“So,” he watched amused as Ninira snapped off a piece of the fried lentil chip and ladened it with mango chutney. “What’s the book club reading these days?”

The book club in question was less of an actual organized club and more just whatever novel she and Aymeric had decided to read at any given time. Though recently Lucia had also joined their ranks and, from what Estinien could gather, they had started to all read the same book simultaneously.

Ninira looked at him, shocked, as she worked around her mouthful of food before responding. “You don’t really want to hear about that… Do you?”

He shrugged. “I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t interested.” He popped his own bite of Papadum and chutney into his mouth. Unlike Ninira he had not drowned his in the mango sauce, not that he was opposed to the flavour; it was sweet and contrasted well with the salt of the papadum. He simply knew how much Ninira liked it and wanted her to have as much of it as possible. Swallowing, he continued, “besides, you can spoil things you might not be able to with the others yet. It’s not like I’m going to mind.”

“Well…” 

He sat back, listening while Ninira started to describe the novel they were reading. Hesitantly at first, but with more vigour after it became apparent that he was still listening. He did his best to follow the plot she was describing. After all, he wanted to be able to contribute back, to prompt her to describe something further, or explain how something was connected. The more she talked the more he got to listen and watch; because when she did talk about her passions and the things that made her happy she was captivating… radiant. Since walking into her store that evening very few people had existed outside of his bubble of attention that was Ninira, now it was as if the restaurant had ceased to exist around him. His focus belonged to her, and her alone. 

Even the arrival of their order did little to distract either of them. The array of food was presented on a large platter, the dishes of curries framing the larger bowl of rice and the basket of naan. Between all the food, their drinks, and their individual plates their little table had become quite cramped. 

“So, Aymeric is convinced that the main character is going to end up with the childhood friend, but Lucia is sure she’s ending up with the glamorous famous guy that’s taken notice of her.” Ninira explained as she dished herself out a portion of rice.

“And who do you think she will end up with?” Estinien asked as he tore off a piece of naan, the still warm bread practically flaking apart.

“As much as I’d like to say I support Aymeric’s choice, Lucia has the whole story nailed down. She’s one hundred percent ending up with the famous guy. They’re both about as compelling as wet cardboard, though.” 

“Do the others agree with that statement at least?”

“Oh yeah! I don’t think Aymeric’s trying to advocate that the childhood friend guy is actually attractive but he’s at least a little nicer than the other option.” Ninira scooped curry and rice up onto her fork. “The thing is, the main character is also terribly dull and way too drawn to the glamorous lifestyle the other guy offers.” She paused. “I’m sorry. I’ve been talking about this for way too long, you've got to be bored out of your mind.”

He wasn’t. He’d listen to her talk about the stupid love triangle romance novel for hours if she wanted to tell him about it. “It’s fine.” He smiled. “But if you’re not careful, I will eat your naan.”

She gasped and quickly snatched her own piece of bread out of the basket, tearing off a piece and adding it to her mouthful of food with a defiant look. 

Estinien chuckled and lifted his own forkful of food about to take a bite–

“Wait, Estinien!”

He paused.

“Is that the vindaloo?”

He glanced at his fork, “yeah.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Ninira hurried to stab her own piece of lamb and pop it into her mouth. Her eyebrows shot up and she looked at him in earnest, lifting a hand to cover her mouth so she could speak around her food. “Estinien it’s hot. Like really hot. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I told you, my tolerance is way better.” Her eyes widened as he continued to lift his fork to his mouth. “I’ll be fine.”

He was not fine. 

He had expected to feel the heat slowly build as he took the mouthful of vindaloo. Instead the spice of sauce seemed to erupt as soon as it hit his tongue. It was so potent that it was as if his throat and nose were full of it. He erupted into a fit of coughing, while desperately trying to keep his mouth shut. He could barely breathe, barely see, his eyes were already watering. He should have listened, this shit was hot. 

Vaguely he was aware of Ninira loading up some naan with raita and holding it out across the table towards him. He forced his way through the rest of the vindaloo, his mouth screaming in protest, before taking the offered naan and shoving it into his mouth. The relief from the cool yogurt sauce was unparalleled, gods, he even moaned. 

“I warned you.” Ninira chided him. 

Despite the fact that he was clearly still suffering he tried to counter that he was fine but the spice still had a hold of his throat resulting in a second fit of coughing.

“Here,” Ninira pushed her untouched water towards him. “Drink.”

He chugged the entire glass which made her chuckle. Slowly he started to feel like he was no longer in the grips of hell, though he still had to wipe undignified tears from his eyes with the back of his sleeve. “Fuck,” he wheezed, finally able to speak again. 

“What was all that about built up tolerance?” Ninira wasn’t even trying to hide her smirk now that it was clear he was no longer dying. 

Estinien scowled in return. “I’m suffering, and you’re laughing.” She raised an eyebrow at this and he continued. “I obviously just got the sauce stuck in my throat, it had nothing to do with how spicy it was.”

“Oh? So you’re going to have more, then?” 

“No.”

“That’s too bad!” She made a show of popping more vindaloo into her own mouth. “It’s delicious!”

Vindaloo aside—in Estinien’s case—the rest of the food was delicious. And, despite the fact that between them they had made quite the dent in all the food he had ordered, Estinien was relieved to see that there were still some left over for Ninira to take home. 

With the end of their meal came the arrival of their bill and the return of Ninira’s guilt. The price of the dinner didn’t phase him. Estinien had decided—long before his arrival at Ninira’s store—that he didn’t care how much the events of this evening cost. Unfortunately there was no way to translate this to her without making it evident that he’d been planning the possibility of this entire night for a while. Instead he simply went through the process of paying and leaving the restaurant as quick but nonchalant as possible, giving Ninira very few opportunities to fuss. 

Now, standing outside on the still snowy sidewalk Estinien exhaled, his breath hanging in the air momentarily before him. Aware that they were now barreling towards the end of their outing he found himself grasping at ideas to extend their time together. He did have a few, it was just a case of executing them…

“The snow’s almost stopped.” He noted. Ninira was preoccupied beside him, adjusting her scarf so it came up near her ears. “Want to take the long way back? We can cut through the park and catch the train from there instead of going back the way we came.”

“Oh!” She looked up at him. “That’s a good idea! I heard they put up a light display there this week. It’s supposed to be really well done.”

So she had heard about that, at least it would give them a reason to take their time. 

“Well we can check it out on our way through, then.” He started down the sidewalk, Ninira hurrying to fall into step beside him. 

They were a block or so from the park, waiting at a crosswalk, when the coffee shop across the road caught Estinien’s eye. He nudged Ninira lightly, getting her attention before nodding with his head across the road. “Want a drink?”

She followed his gaze, her mouth twisting with uncertainty. “Ummm.”

“To have while we walk through the park.” He added, in case she found the idea of another sit down situation unappealing.

“I shouldn’t… so it’s okay, I don’t need one.” The light changed and they started across the road. “But if you would like one, then by all means.”

Of course, he should have known better. Asking her was pointless. In that case… “Yeah, I think I’m going to grab one.”

“Alright!” She eyed the line visible through the coffee shop window. “I think I’ll wait outside.” 

“Okay. I won’t be long.” That suited him fine, after all she couldn’t stop him from buying her a drink if she wasn't there. 

Entering the shop any frets he’d had over what exactly to order Ninira left him as soon as he looked at the menu board. Right in the middle was a large display advertising their Sweetheart drink. A special Valentione’s Day exclusive; white hot chocolate, coloured pink for gods only knew what reason, topped with whipped cream, as well as an obscene amount of marshmallows and sprinkles. It had Ninira’s name written all over it (the implication of her being his sweetheart aside). 

He tried not to feel foolish while he ordered it—having to ask for one Sweetheart made him extra grateful Ninira had not followed him into the store after all—and tried not to fidget too much while waiting for it to be brought to him. The impact of the drink was lost a little by the fact that it needed to be in a take-out cup, but the barista did put a domed lid on it so that the cream, sprinkles and marshmallows were on display. 

His coffee in one hand, hot chocolate in the other, he made his way back out onto the street. Ninira was waiting where he had left her, near the door, pressed up close to the wall so that she was out of the way of the passers by. As he approached her she looked up at him, the faintest hint of uneasy surprise on her face as she quickly took in the two drinks in his hands. 

“Thirsty?” She asked, again, the waiver in her voice, again. 

He answered by simply holding the hot chocolate out towards her, while taking a sip from his own drink at the same time. When she didn’t take it he added, “that one is yours.” 

She started to reach for it but stopped herself. “I can’t pay you back…”

“You don’t have to.” He pushed the drink into her hands. “It’s part of the dinner… dessert.” He added. “It probably has enough sugar in it to kill a man so that basically makes it a dessert.” 

Ninira didn’t laugh. She did take the cup but rather than take a sip just gazed forlornly down at it. “I appreciate it but… I would have been okay not having one. You’ve already spent so much on me tonight, I can’t imagine why you would want to spend more.”

To Estinien the answer was simple, obvious. Because I like you. Because I really like you. Because I would buy you anything. Because you deserve it. Because I want to see the way your face lights up when you taste something you enjoy. Because I want you to be happy. Because I want to give you things, anything. Because I like you.

He, of course, said none of those things. “We’re friends, Nini. Do I need a reason besides that?”

She exhaled, her breath shaking as she did so. “No… you’re right. I’m sorry. I promise I am thankful, really! I just… feel like I’ve been a burden, making you pay for all this.”

“You’re not a burden.” He reassured her quietly. 

She nodded, “right.” He didn’t miss the way her voice cracked, or how she turned to try and discreetly wipe at her eyes under her glasses. Shit. He was pretty sure making your crush cry on Valentione’s Day was the last thing you were supposed to do. 

He started to reach for her but stopped himself. What comfort could he truly offer her?

She let out another long breath, “sorry. I didn’t mean to bring down the mood. Like I said back at my place, it’s been a hard month.” 

“I know. I’m also sorry, I didn’t mean to overwhelm you.” He stepped up beside her and she looked up at him. Blessedly her eyes were free of further tears. 

“No. No, you haven't.” She sighed, “ I just need to remind myself I am allowed to, you know, get given things by my friends. Like this.” She held up her drink a little and Estinien smiled. “What is it?”

“Ah,” he couldn’t bring him to tell her the name of the drink. “Some kind of hot chocolate. It was their special today, apparently.”

“Oh! Well that explains all the toppings.” 

“I have no idea how you can drink that. Just looking at it is enough to make me feel like I’m going to go into a coma.” Estinien admitted as they started down the sidewalk once more. 

This did make her laugh, “but it’s so good!” she insisted after taking a sip.

Warmth flooded through his chest, the origin of which had nothing to do with his own drink.

The city park was not far from the coffee shop. It was decent sized, and functioned as a popular gathering place and often hosted events year round. As Ninira has said the trees along the main thoroughfare had been done up with lights. Whether this had been done intentionally for Valentione’s Day or not Estinien didn’t know. It didn’t matter either as it was clearly a popular destination for those celebrating the holiday regardless.

They fell in with the crowd, following the stream of people as they made their way along the path of lights. Ninira was content to look up at them with wonder, Estinien however found his attention drawn by other things. The way the couple in front of them walked with their hands entwined. People with arms around waists, arms linked. He even went as far as to turn his head to watch as another lalafell rode past on their partner’s shoulders. Would Ninira like that? He glanced down at her, she was still looking at the lights, absently sipping her drink as she did so. It would have at least offered her a better view. 

Lost in his thoughts the walk through the park ended far quicker than Estinien would have liked. At least Ninira seemed pleased, her mood having lightened considerably as they walked. 

“That was really pretty!” She commented as they walked back out onto the city street. “I’m glad we did that. I didn’t think I’d have a chance to come see it before they took it down.”

“Oh?” From his knowledge, and text message history, Ninira spent most of her uneventful evenings in her apartment.

“It’s been too cold!” She made a face. 

Perhaps it had been, though he personally didn’t think it was that bad. And as much as he longed to find some way to drag their last remaining moments together even further, Ninira did look cold. Her ears and nose were visibly red and she shook, ever so subtly. “Let's get you home then,” he offered. “Less you freeze here and now, on the night you decided to actually brave the weather.”

A subway ride, a short walk, and Estinein found himself standing in the small alley that led to Ninira’s back door while she flipped through her keys; their evening officially over. At least the light above her door worked now. 

Her key clicked in the lock but she turned to look at him before opening the door. “Thank you, Estinien, for everything. I know I was a bit of a downer at times, but I really appreciate everything that you did for me tonight.”

He shrugged, “it’s no problem. If you need anything, ever, just let me know.” 

She gave him a weak smile. “I’ll try.”

It was all he could ask for. “Here.” He held out the bag containing the leftover Hannish food that he had been carrying since leaving the restaurant. “You should have this.” He added.

Ninira blinked, “but you bought that, it’s yours. Are you sure you don’t want it?”

“Well, most of it is the Vindaloo. And anything that isn’t has probably been contaminated by it so…”

She laughed. “Okay, maybe it is best I take it then.” 

Relief, Estinien hadn’t really wanted to work around another instance of her trying to refuse his generosity. She took the bag from his outstretched hand peeking in as she did so. 

“I don’t remember it looking like there was this much left back at the restaurant. This will last me a while… thank you.”

“Again, it’s no problem”

“Well,” she turned a little back towards her door. “Goodnight, then.”

“Night,” He smiled, and tucked his now free hands into his pockets. Or at least, attempted to. One pocket was full, as it had been all night, and before his arrival so many hours ago. 

Fucking shit! God damnit!!

He’d forgotten all about the stupid thing! His plan initially had been to leave the box on Ninira’s front counter when she wasn’t looking, after she was finished wrapping up for the night. That way she would have found it the next day and, despite the fact that it would have been painfully obvious he’d been the one to leave it there, he could act none the wiser. So wrapped up in trying to get Ninira to agree to dinner, and then the euphoria of his success he’d neglected to ever take the box out of his pocket. 

Now he was faced with a dilemma, he could hold onto it, try and sneak it into her shop on another day. Attempt to do what he had planned to initially, or he could just… give it to her now. A terrifying idea, but he was running out of time to debate the possibilities, Ninira was already opening her door, already starting to step inside.

Just do it you idiot!!

“Hey, Nini, hang on.” 

She froze.

“I forgot something.”

Slowly she turned, her eyes wide behind her glasses. “O–oh?”

He stepped closer, Ninira’s eyes widening even further as he did so. He didn’t know why she looked so startled, he was the one who felt like his heart was about to beat out of his chest with how nervous he was. Producing the box from his pocket he thrust it out in her direction. “Here.”

She stared at him and at the box before slowly piecing together that he wanted her to take it. “O–oh! Um…”

“I was at the store earlier and, I don’t know, they gave it to me for free. I guess I spent enough to get it or something. I don’t want it though, so you can have it.” Considering he hadn’t planned on any of this he was pleased with his story. It must have sounded convincing enough because she took the box with no extra prompting. “I uh, meant to give it to you earlier, but like I said… I forgot.”

“T–thank you.”

“Yeah, well,” He tucked his hands properly into his pockets now that he was able. “Goodnight.”

“G–Goodnight!” For some reason, Ninira still looked stunned. 

“Talk to you later?”

She nodded, “y–yeah.” 

Estinien watched as she turned, fumbling her way inside with her now full hands. She gave him one last glance over her shoulder before the door shut and he was left alone. He scuffed his boot in the snow, watching her door for a moment longer before tuning away to start making his own way home.

—

Ninira leaned back against her door, heart pounding in her chest, trying to catch her breath and still her nerves. The Hannish leftovers settled lightly on the ground beside her as she slowly released the death like grip she had on the bag’s handle. She was such an idiot. She couldn’t believe she’d actually thought he was going to kiss her. 

Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!!

Of course he hadn’t! Why would he?

So caught off guard by the entire moment she hadn’t even looked at what it was he’d given her. She did so now, turning the box in her hand so she could read its lid. Chocolates. Not only was it a decently sized box but they looked like they would be good quality too. Estinien had clearly gotten a really good deal to get them for free. Intrigued, she turned the box over, hoping for a list of the types of chocolates on the rear. There was none. There was, however, a patch in the corner, the remnants of a torn off sticker, one that would have contained the barcode… and price. She ran a thumb over the spot. Give-away items were not normally priced… 

She straightened, still staring down at the box in her hands. The implications of being gifted chocolates on Valentione’s Day of all days… But she would have sworn that Estinien, of all people, would not have cared or given a damn about the holiday to begin with. Even if he for some reason did like her, surely he would be opposed to doing something so… stereotypically cheesy.

Perhaps it was all just a fluke. The store was just getting rid of old stock and had dumped it in Estinien’s lap as he had said.

Her head swam. This was all too much and she was definitely overthinking it. 

Picking up the leftovers she started up the stairs to her apartment. Despite the hot chocolate she had had earlier that evening she longed for a cup of tea. It would help clear her head and warm her up. She supposed she could also indulge in one, or maybe two, of the stupidly confusing chcolates. Regardless of the implication she wasn’t about to let the gift go to waste.