A/N: Hello everyone, this was a tribute to Mayura's birthday and Valentine's Day and is the second spin-off One-Shot of "The Purity Of White Seems To Be Red". Have fun reading!

Her grip on the box tightened. Mayura was nervous. With a glance on the clock at her wrist she confirmed that only two minutes had rolled by since she sat down and waited. He was supposed to be here any minute. They had said three past midday, hadn't they?

She glanced at the box in her hands. She hoped he would like it. She had worked for hours split on two days at its content, experimenting on the perfect blend between dark and milk chocolate, weighing the portions, making notes, melting the various mixtures slowly and carefully and testing the results after they cooled off. Finally she had been satisfied with one blend, the chocolate still being creamy but not too sweet nor too bitter, the aroma of cocoa melting on her tongue. She'd copied the mixture again being more careful about melting it this time before pouring it smoothly into a heart-shaped form. Then she had waited for hours until she was save to turn the form and took a large chocolate heart out of it. Luckily there were no air holes or any other kind of defects on the heart. It was nicely formed and shone due to the large share of cocoa butter.

Very tidily she had wrapped up the rectangular box she put the chocolate heart into and worked on a flawless bow. When she was finished she smiled at the result and left to change into warm clothes. It was still winter outside.

Smiling and humming she had imitated the neatness in which she'd handled the chocolate earlier while putting on her clothes. She knew he wouldn't mind her not looking dressed to the nines, he wouldn't mind if there was an air bubble in the chocolate or if the box she wrapped it in had a bend. She knew he would eat chocolate in every form and shape. But she wanted this special date on this special day to be perfect.

Now she sat on a bench in the park they usually met at, not far from the place where they had shared their first laughter sitting on his spread out jacket. Her heart fluttered at the memory as she looked at the spot on the grass and she forgot to feel nervous about handing him the box.

The sound of his dark voice laughing in honesty ringing to her ear for the first time was one of her favorite memories. The last few months they had created a lot of them but that one would always be burned to her heart. She hadn't known then but this park had been very special to him when he was younger, a boy who just lost his father. Little by little they built a whole set of new memories, good memories and happy ones in this park where he once had cried bitter tears. She loved the idea of helping him coating his grief with cheerful memories.

Suddenly her sight was blocked by a dark, zipped up jacket and brown trousers with a hand stuffed into one of its pockets. She rose her head and was welcomed by the sight of Shimon holding a large, wrapped-up box in one hand and a backpack dangling from one strap on his shoulder, presenting the image of a cool, laid-back guy. Warmth spread through her body and she felt her heart making a jump. He was handsome indeed.

She smiled at his image. Sometimes she would still wonder at the funny sight of them together. With her wearing a cute light blue jacket with cords hanging in one straight line from it and a royal blue scarf wrapped around her neck and with him preferring muted and dark colors, while being dressed more like a punk.

A girl at school once told her, that everybody thought them to look cute and that they were considered to be the perfect couple with everyone being envious of their relationship. Mayura wasn't able to believe this, at least not with their public display. He seldom showed his affectionate side in public. But Mayura knew it was there. Since they started dating, she had discovered a sweet side of him that was reserved for her only. She preferred it this way. She loved the idea of having an exclusively insight of his private thoughts.

Shimon rose a delicate eyebrow as she had kept staring at him. "Are you alright?"

She smiled and nodded while he sat down next to her. "I just thought about the first time we were in this park and I thought about us."

A soft blush appeared on his cheeks. A blush that made her wonder now, how he could look cute sometimes and at other times stirred emotions within her that made her insides flutter and burn her with heat.

He turned his gaze onto the box, he had placed on his lap. "Ah."

She had an easier time talking about her emotions since they got together. After a few months she felt easy approaching him and talking about her thoughts. It was not only because he made her feel save and comfortable but also because there was nothing standing between, no title, no position. Not anymore. "It was the first time I heard you laugh."

"You- you remember?" His blush disappeared and was replaced by a look of surprise.

She nodded and smiled and put the box on the bench. "Hn."

He returned her smile. His gaze drifted to the spot she earlier stared at. "Back then I believed this was one sided, that you didn't return my feelings."

She felt bad. They had circled around each other for months and it had only been thanks to a catastrophe, that Mayura admitted to herself that she had fallen for him. "I didn't know."

"It doesn't matter anymore." He smiled softly at her.

His smile always fought away her inner doubts and caressed her heart. "You're right."

He grabbed the box on his lap again. "I wanted to give you something." He held the box towards her looking hesitant. "Happy Birthday, Mayura."

She smiled brightly, feeling the stretch of the corner's of her lips. "Thank you, Shimon." She took the present and put it onto her lap wondering what it could be. On Christmas day he gave her Twin Star action figures as a present. A present that made her nearly fall over with laughter. She figured it would be something different now. Well, as long as the Heavenly Commanders hadn't become action figures. Having a small action figure of Shimon would be... interesting, to say the least.

Shaking of that embarrassing idea that made heat rise to her cheeks, she focused on the the box on her lap again.

Before she opened it, she wanted to hand him the chocolate she worked hard on to produce. She took the box and pushed it into his direction smiling as brightly as before. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

The tint of red was brushed over his cheeks again and he stared at her for a moment before he took the box with a smile that reached his eyes. "Thank you."

His gaze was stuck to the box for a while making her wonder, if he inspected its wrapping or if he was surprised to receive a present on Valentine's Day. Surely the girls at school must have left him with a wheelbarrow full of chocolate every year. "Aren't you going to open it?"

Shimon turned his gaze on her. "Shouldn't you open your present first? It's your birthday after all."

She wasn't sure, she would be able to stand watching him opening her gift after she discovered what was inside his present. An idea crossed her mind. "Let's open them together."

A small, handsome smirk grazed his lips. "On three?"

She nodded.

Together they began to count down.

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

She unwrapped the large square on her lap by pulling the ribbon upon first. Carefully she removed the tape and unwrapped the paper around a cardboard box. Pulling the lid open she came to face an huge chocolate cake that she could feed on a week. The words Happy Birthday, Mayura were written with white chocolate in a very neat handwriting on its top.

She felt so happy about this considerate present, tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. She knew it was the chocolate cake from the café they had gone to all these months ago, before they started dating. She loved that cake not because it was a revelation in taste, which it definitely was, but because of the circumstances she linked to it. They hadn't been on a date back then – at least that's what she had told herself – but it was the day the idea that she might fall for him came to her for the first time.

Once she had told him, that she had loved the cake and that they should go there again, when they were free. But because they were often busy with work, especially since the reunion of Rokuro and Adashino-san, they hadn't been able to go.

When she looked over to him to thank him for the present, she saw him staring at the chocolate heart with a scowl on his face. Immediately thoughts of doubt filled her head. She wouldn't have believed Shimon would not like chocolate but his expression seemed to prove her wrong. Perhaps, he thought it to be too dull, a chocolate heart on Valentine's Day. Maybe he did not like it because he had always been given chocolate by those many girls swirling around him. With uncertainty eating at her she tried to raise her voice mumbling, "Don't you like it?"

His eyes met hers and yet he still scowled. "That's not it."

Confused Mayura looked at him, trying to read his thoughts through his azure eyes. It didn't work. Unfortunately, she was not as good at reading him as he was at reading her. Yet, she had to know what was bothering him. "What is it then?"

He sighed and blinked his eyes shut before looking at her with a slightly sad expression. "It's self-made, isn't it?"

She nodded slowly. What was wrong about it being self-made? Was he scared it might not taste as good as bought chocolate?

His gaze traveled to the cake on her lap. "You went through all the trouble of making me chocolate for Valentine's Day and I only bought you a big cake for your birthday at a local restaurant."

Oh. That was what was bothering him. Her heart fluttered and she lay a hand onto his that was grabbing at the rim of the box in front of him. The need to comfort him filled her thoughts.

Their gazes met again. "Shimon, I love this. Thank you for this wonderful present. You have no idea what this means to me." She shifted closer to him, turning her body into the direction of his to make the meaning of the cake to her much more clearer to him. "The day we ate this cake was very special to me. It was the first time I recognized the depth of my feelings for you."

His eyes got that one glint that made her insides clench so sweetly and heat pool below her stomach. The need to kiss him was rushing through her veins. His voice was low and silky. "Thank you, Mayura."

She barely recognized the words before he pressed his lips onto her's, making her gasp. He was still able to that after a few months. To make her gasp, sweep her away in the flow of feelings that let goosebumps rise on her skin.

He shifted closer and deepened the kiss. A hand caressed over the hairs on the backside of her neck, making her shudder with desire. Feelings she felt not mature enough to act on, were pulling on her nerves. Yet, she almost unconsciously raised a hand to bury it in his soft fuchsia colored hair and responded to his lip's movement with equal passion. With a racing heart she shifted closer to leave no space between them.

The sound of paper tearing apart dragged her out of the train of emotions she rode.

Shimon pulled away. With exaggerated breathing he looked down between them.

While trying to regulate her own breathing, she followed his gaze and detected that the wrapping paper between them was torn in half because of their shifting.

Her face felt hot. It was a different kind of heat, that was still flooding her blood. Embarrassed she smiled awkwardly at him and he returned that smile with a matching tint of red on his cheeks.

Moving a little bit to the side, Shimon regained space between them. He cleared his throat. "Actually, I had prepared something."

She watched him turn around and grab his backpack. He opened it and pulled out a vacuum flask and two cups. "So we can drink to your birthday. With tea of course. And I've brought this." He pulled out two plates, two forks and cake knife.

Tears clouded her sight anew. Her boyfriend could be amazingly sweet. "That's a wonderful idea."

"I'm just glad you did not thought me being lame because I bought you a cake." He looked at her unblinking, handing her a plate, a fork and a cup.

"No, I wouldn't. You know I love this cake." She blinked an eye at him in humor. "Besides I know about your cooking skills." She knew that he couldn't cook. And that was an exaggeration. She had learned about his one particular incapacity once in a disastrous way, but this was a story she did not want to think about too much now. However, she did not believe baking would be any different.

"You remember that, too huh?"

He looked at her with a small scowl that made her giggle. "Of course. I couldn't forget it."

He clicked his tongue. Perhaps he was unnerved about her making fun of him, perhaps about himself for being poor at something so badly. He sighed and looked at her with an hint of amusement shining in his eyes. "Shall we eat?"

She nodded at him and took the cake knife he held towards her.

They sat for two hours on the bench. Eating, talking and enjoying each other's company.

On the way to her birthday party held at the Enmadou house Mayura thought, that this was the best birthday she'd ever had. Before they entered the house crowded with people she would steal a kiss from his lips again. Heat rose to her cheeks at the idea. Almost certainly, she would do it. She felt brave enough to initiate another kiss as she was filled with warm tea, delicious cake and the love she held for him.

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A/N: Did you like it? Was there something that you found odd or you stumbled over? Please, give me your opinions on this.^^