personavelvetroomdr | [MINGLE] chocolate and roses

"Sacrificed my life and soul to stop the apocalypse kind of way," she explained, gently placing the cookies into Kira's hands so she could readjust her bag and actually try to inhale.

It was cooler feeling than she expected, for how hot the other end was, but the smoke burned going down nonetheless. Despite her composure, she coughed into her sleeve, though it didn't take from the brightness in her demeanor.

"Wow. That does suck, it tastes terrible," she laughed, rubbing the corner of her eye. "The nicotine must do a lot of the heavy lifting in getting people addicted."

... Oh.

"... So dead people can show up here," he murmurs, mostly to himself. Then, in that case, if Goro-

God, no, please no. He doesn't think he can handle it. Having him here, only for him to still be dead back home? It would be... worse than not having him at all. He barely even hears Hamuko's comment, lost in his own thoughts, idly inhaling on his own cigarette.

Kira’s gaze lingered on Hamuko just a little too long before he plastered his usual grin back into place. He whistled lowly, the sound casual enough but sharp at the edges. “So, you’re the hardcore kind,” he said, even if his smile twitched a little. "I could get behind that honestly. We all have our fair share of dealing with gods."

Yeah. No way she was just this bright-eyed and cheery naturally—not with that story.

But he wasn’t about to push it. He’d seen enough people who masked their trauma with laughter to know when to step back.

Her comment about the cigarette earned a genuine laugh. "Shit, I told you-! Not an impeccable life lesson! Its so overrated."

Almost on cue, Corvus murmured something low and distant: "...So dead people can show up here."

Kira froze, his gaze drifting off for a moment.

Nope. He wasn’t going to touch that thought. It was a maze he didn’t want to wander into right now.

Shaking it off, Kira snapped back to his usual energy. "Sooo, happy Singles’ Awareness Day!" he announced with exaggerated cheer, holding out the basket of chocolates like it was a prize at a carnival. "Feel free to grab one. Yellow if you’re flying solo, red if there’s someone special in your life or something."

His grin widened, mischief sparking behind it. "Don’t worry—all the pick-up lines are terrible on purpose. It’s tradition."

"I bet it would sweeten the foul taste of smoke anyway," his gaze drifts back and forth.

Hamuko's gaze had floated to Kou and locked on.

She knew that look. That timbre in the voice, the sadness, the ache of a fresh wound. One that never healed quickly.

Still, she didn't comment on it. Tucked it away for later, a silent mutual understanding. She stuck her tongue out after giving another experimental pull and blowing away from them, downwind. Yeah, not for her, she decided - she dropped the cigarette to snuff it underfoot.

"Listen, if you aren't having fun trying to make a bad pickup line actually work, are you really in the spirit of things?" she giggled, humming a little before plucking a red heart out. And laughed, at the terrible pick-up line involved, giving Kou a light elbowing and reading it, "I don't have a library card, but would you mind if I check you out~?"

Hamuko elbows him, and Kou's snapped out of his thoughts, blinking. Ah, shit, he kind of lost track of things there, for a moment, lost in his grief. He swallows it down- Maruki may have raked open his wounds, but dammit, he was having a decent time earlier.

Then, Hamuko reads the pickup line, and he simple... stares, for a moment.

Then, he sighs, and takes another deep drag from his cigarette, before dropping it, and grinding it out under his heel.

"... Holy shit," he says with a (somewhat amused?) huff. There's still something slightly sad in his voice, but for the most part, he's pushed it down. "That's horrible. Please tell me you didn't come up with those yourself."

And just like that, the cigarette was extinguished.

“Heyyyy, you just wounded me!” Kira cried out, taking a dramatic step back, one hand flying to his forehead as though Kou's remark had delivered a fatal blow. His sunglasses slid slightly askew, only adding to the theatrics. “Like, I get I might not be the target audience for the season of love, but...” He brought his hand to his chest as if shielding his heart. “I poured my heart and soul into this.”

He tilted his head, his grin widening into something warm and mischievous all at once. “But hey, if my devastating verses haven’t enthralled you all yet…”

Kira dove into the basket, rifling through the red and yellow-wrapped chocolates until he found the one he wanted. He pulled it out with a little flourish, the crinkly yellow heart carefully held between his fingers. He wasn’t aiming this at Kou’s single status—it wasn’t about that. Hell, Kira didn’t have a date either. It was about finding the right words, and this one had a line he was secretly proud of.

He stepped forward, holding it out with a gentle smile. The little tag was still attached, fluttering in the breeze. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he held the chocolate out, knowing full well what the tag attached to it would say:

"You know I was going to let this chocolate do all the talking...but it could never be as tempting as you.”

Come on. Corvus. Have fun. Eat the chocolate. This one isn't even the spicy kind!

Kou give Kira a look, but accepts the chocolate anyway. He almost wants to throw out the tag just to be a dick, but decides to read it anyway.

"... I'm going to puke. You are going to make me puke, Kira." He deadpans. "I don't even like chocolate all that much."

Even so, if you look closely, there's a bit of amusement behind that frown.

It was nice!! Hamuko laughed at their banter. It was charming - Akechis and Akiras, huh. It's kind of funny imagining that maybe in some way, they were always soul mates. Or maybe their inherent chemistry was just that good.

"It's been nice being around so many people that also like boys. Heheh," she teased, unwrapping her chocolate. Ooh, it looked very glossy and nicely done!!

Kira shot Kou a playful look, his grin widening with unbothered enthusiasm. "Puke away, my dude. I’ll consider it a compliment to my poetic talents. And hey, if you don’t like chocolate… more for me!” He waggled his eyebrows as he simply held the basket to himself like a proud grandma.

When Hamuko’s laugh rang out, Kira’s attention shifted to her. She had that way of lighting up a space just by being in it, and it was infectious.

Kira felt a sudden, inexplicable warmth rise to his face. He blushed faintly, scratching the back of his neck as he shrugged. “Heh. Yeah. It’s... nice. I, uh… can appreciate liking everyone,” he said with a small, slightly self-conscious grin.

For just a split second, his usual bravado dimmed. Not because he wasn’t proud of who he was—but because… well, he hadn’t exactly done much about it. He was always on the move. Always one foot out the door. The people who mattered most to him were tangled up in heartbreak, bloodshed, and farewells that felt more like goodbyes.

He stopped himself before that train of thought could get any further.

Kira kept his grin up as he shifted gears, turning the conversation toward Hamuko instead. “Man, it’s funny, though. I’ve been here longer than you, and I would grab myself a yellow one. You? Straight for the red.” His eyes sparkled with teasing curiosity. Who caught your eye? he almost asked.

"Well!!! Yeah... I had a couple boyfriends and a girlfriend before coming here. And yesterday I went on a date with a cute girl, so," she laughed, sheepishly but unashamedly.

Kou hums, already fishing out another cigarette. "You're one busy girl, huh."

The chocolate... well, it's his chocolate. No way is he giving it back to Kira.

... Hell just eat it later. At home.

"And you're still passing out cookies?"

"Well, these are friendship offerings! Everyone is vulnerable to getting a food bribe, especially with homemade cookies."

Finally, the chocolate sitting in her hands got popped into her mouth - and after a few bites, she perked up.

"Mmm!!! Spicy?? That's so good!? What the hell!"

"Spicy?"

Oh, for the love of... he shoots Kira a look.

Boyfriends and girlfriends.

Wow, that must be nice. The most he ever managed to score was dating Goro and Sumire in one timeline and of course as always, things never went according to plan.

Still this meant she was the perfect bait for his carefully crafted chocolate.

And hence he silently watched, up until Hamuko actually ate the chocolate and his grin widened. A devil's advocate through and through-

Only for her to-

What the hell did she just?? Eat that??

He finds Corvus staring at him.

"Well I DIDN'T say I was wishing you guys a happy belated Valentine's Day."

He shot Corvus a quick smirk, fingers angling against his chin. "Only the red chocolates may have a surprise. Yours is normal. Call it...revenge for Singles’ Awareness Day. Nothing lethal, of course, but let’s just say curry might be involved." He gave a theatrical shrug, all innocence. "I’m doing my civic duty, really. Keeping things interesting."

"But damn that was...not the reaction I was expecting." He sounds very disappointed.

It definitely was spicy - one could tell by the way she fanned her own face, and was trying not to salivate too hard.

But the combination of curry and chocolate flavors itself...!!!

"Did you put curry powder in here? Oh! Or any other spices? Chili flakes? I wanna make some... maybe with a more fruity hot pepper...!"

Kou cannot believe this shit.

"You actually like this?" he asks, dubiously. "Seriously?"

He sighs, and takes a good, deep drag of his cigarette. God, something about her really did have that Ren- Amamiya vibe, and this only confirmed it further.

"De gusta non disputandum est..." he exhales, shaking his head, frowning at Kira. "You're lucky she actually liked that, dumbass."

Kira’s eyebrow twitched—barely visible beneath the frame of his sunglasses, but enough to betray how utterly baffled he was. She liked the prank chocolates? No—loved them? And now she was asking for his ingredient list?!

Kira blinked once, then twice. “...Well, I do make my own curry powder,” he muttered, still processing. He rubbed the back of his neck, considering her suggestion. He’d tried to turn curry-flavored chocolates into a surprise disaster. But now… fruity hot pepper? That sounded oddly gourmet.

Grumbling under his breath, he reached into the basket and grabbed one of the red hearts, unwrapping it with a frown. Was she just a really good actor? Only one way to find out. He popped a small piece into his mouth and nibbled, slowly.

His brows lifted. The combination of the dark chocolate’s bitterness and the warm, lingering heat of the curry?

…It wasn’t bad. It was actually good.

“Huh. What the hell. I kind of like it,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone. He’d reverse-engineered these chocolates specifically to ruin people’s day, but now he was thinking about keeping a stash for himself.

When Kou would turn to him he would see a rather interesting or insane image of Akira liking his own trap chocolates.

Kira looked up at Kou, now casually munching on the spicy chocolate. “No, you’re right. I was a dumbass,” he deadpanned. “These chocolates are...whew.” He smirked a little. “I mean, the whole plan was to make it unbearable, but I might’ve just discovered my new favorite snack.”

Then, Kou’s reaction clicked something in Kira’s brain. He remembered his Goro—the way he’d always hated anything remotely spicy. Maybe… this Akechi did too?

That thought stayed with him as he leveled a careful look at Kou. His grin crept back into place as he said, “Whatever sentence you just spewed early, I’m just going to assume it meant you’d LOVE to try this chocolate. I’m curious now.”

He shot Hamuko a quick glance, snickering. “...Unless Corvus can’t stomach spicy food.” His grin widened into something teasing and mischievous. “Can't... handle a little heat?”

"Don't get be wrong, this IS something with a lot of heat! But I don't know... are you the kind of person to appreciate mapo tofu, Corvus? This might be too much for you otherwise..."

Hamuko grinned, matching Kira's challenging energy completely.

He looks between Hamuko and Kira, his feathers clearly ruffled. For a moment, it looks like he might face their challenge head-on...

... but then, he deflates, rolling his eyes while he takes another drag of his cigarette. He gives them a tired glare.

"Unlike you morons, I haven't completely destroyed my tastebuds," he says, "and I'm the smoker here, so that's saying something."

And as if to emphasize his point further, while he talks, he lets the inhaled smoke leak from his mouth.

"So no, sue me for not wanting to burn my mouth and digestive tracts."

Kira couldn’t help it—he snickered. “I don’t know… maybe you’re just very chicken, Corvus-kun.” His grin was all teeth, teasing but not entirely unkind. “And hey, for the record, smoking is like spicy food, but way more tragic.”

Still, he reached back into the basket and pulled out a yellow-wrapped chocolate for Hamuko, holding it out like a peace offering. “Here. No traps this time. Consider it compensation."

Kira sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with a slight low hum. "Maybe I should have added more pickles," he mused aloud.

Then he quickly raised both hands. "I’m kidding! No pickles. I’m not a monster."

"Hahah! Now pickles and chocolate would've been SUPER gross. Or you could've picked out unsweetened cocoa, and see people's eyes water from how strongly bitter it was," she giggled, gratefully taking another chocolate.

"The backfire is fine, though, because I'm getting all kinds of ideas I wanna try out! Maybe something just a little spicy in some hot chocolate? The milk would make it bearable even for Corvus' fragile palette..."

"Coffee will do, thanks," he deadpans. "Don't use me as your guinea pig for you weird food ideas."

Nevermind that his diet consists mostly of instant meals, or the occasional curry from Frog, Trickster or Wild. Mostly Frog. No offense to Trickster or Wild, but they're too much like... well, Amamiya. And considering his last encounter with the guy...

Nevermind.

"You two can continue destroying your tastebuds," he snorts, "I'll be over here not doing that."

He says, smoking his cigarette, and destroying his tastebuds.

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