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"That'll be $83.67."
Leon grumbled to himself as he pulled out his wallet and handed the girl his credit card. The things he did to get a straight answer out of D.
"Wow. Whoever she is, she sure is lucky to have a guy like you to spoil her with such fine chocolate. Are you sure you don't want some flowers with that? We have a special on roses-"
"No thanks," Leon said, effectively cutting off the cashier as he turned to leave the store. He had long since given up trying to correct everyone when they assumed the sweets were for a girl. Whenever he had tried to explain, he would end up getting odd looks that would turn into looks of surprise as they assumed something else. It drove Leon nuts.
Although, why the cashier had offered him roses was beyond him. He had never been offered flowers at any of the other places he went to before. Oh well, maybe it was just this one shop.
Shrugging it off as he got into his car, Leon turned up the air conditioning to make sure the chocolates wouldn't melt as he headed towards Chinatown.
---
"Thank you so much, Count! These doves will be the perfect way to show her how much I love her! You're a lifesaver!" the man gushed as he took the covered cage from D.
Count D simply smiled as he watched the love-struck man exit his shop. He certainly did hope the relationship was as strong as the man proclaimed, mainly for the sake of the birds. With a sigh, he started to turn, only to hear the door open again.
"Welc- oh, it's only you." D's friendly countenance dropped as Leon entered. "Chris is in the lounge, coloring pictures I believe."
The Count noticed Leon frowning at his offhanded tone, but ignored it. For the past couple weeks Leon had only been showing up to check on Chris before turning right back around to leave. No tea, no sitting on the couch to blab on about his day, not even the random accusation that the detective was so infamous for was heard. For some odd reason, this irked D to no end.
"Hang on, you shouldn't go assuming what I'm here for!" Leon said angrily as D turned to walk off.
"And why not? Humans are creatures of predictable habits and for the past couple weeks you've only showed up to see how Chris is. I see no reason for this visit to be any different. Now if you'll excuse me I -"
D found his speech cut off, as a box was thrusted forward from behind Leon's back. The Count instantly recognized the aroma as Bott's finest chocolates – Tastes of Desire and Lips of Heaven – only available this one day throughout the entire year and sold on a first come first serve basis.
"Yes, yes, please do stay my dear detective. I was just about to make some of my best tea," D said as he happily floated to the back to get things ready.
Ignoring the erratic behavior that always appeared when sweets were handed to him, Leon entered the lounge, carefully stepping over all the animals that had ventured out.
"Hey big bro! I made a card for you, too!"
"Oh yeah? Then let's see it," Leon said as he sat down on a chair and watched as Chris began to shuffle through his mess of papers on the floor and table.
The pictures all seemed to sport rather large splashes of red and pink blobs, causing Leon to raise a brow. He looked over to see the freaky looking goat clutching such a paper in its mouth while growling at Leon. To be honest, Leon wondered why it wasn't eating the paper.
"Come now, Chris. We need to clear the table," D said as he entered the room carrying a tray of tea, cakes, and other such food.
"Is it tea time already?" Chris asked as he quickly removed his drawings from the table by dumping them on the floor so D could set everything out.
"Of course. Your brother brought over some of the world's finest chocolate and it would be rude not to try them right away," D said as Q-chan chirped from his shoulder.
"Wow. That was really nice of you, bro," Chris said in slight amazement.
Leon frowned. "So what? I bring him shit all the time. It's the only way to stay on his good side."
"There are other ways to keep me happy, Detective. Being a bit more polite and less pigheaded is one of them," D said stiffly as he poured the tea.
"Are you saying I don't have to spend all this money on your sweet tooth? That I could just show up with some good manners and get answers out of you all the same?" Leon asked angrily. Damn, if he knew all this before…
"You misunderstand me. I was merely giving an example, not asking you to change your ways. After all, you wouldn't be you if you suddenly decided to learn proper etiquette."
Leon opened his mouth to ask what the hell that was supposed to mean, only to snap it shut at the Count's next words.
"But I am especially glad that today of all days you decided to bring me chocolates, Detective. It's awfully sweet of you," D said as he gave Leon a rare, true smile.
Leon paused, his cup hovering at his mouth as goose bumps covered his skin despite the heat that seemed to be rushing through his body.
"Here it is!" Chris said triumphantly as he held a drawing above his head.
"Er…here is what?" Leon asked as he snapped out of his frozen state.
"The card I made you," Chris said happily as he handed the picture to Leon.
Leon looked at the folded piece of paper. The front was covered with small hearts and what appeared to be birds, although, if you looked at it from the side it could have been dragons. Inside the card was a large red heart with a crude picture of Leon, D, and Chris standing together and holding hands. Written underneath was "Ha P Val N Tin s Da E" with all the letters somewhat spread out and jumbled.
Frowning at the message, Leon tried to pronounce it out loud. "Ha-pee Val-en-tin-s Dah-ee?"
"Yeah! Happy Valentine's Day!" Chris smiled. "Wow, you got that a lot faster than Tet-chan and Pon-chan! It took them fifteen minutes to figure out what theirs said. I was starting to worry that you wouldn't be able to read yours."
"Happy…wait a second! What day is it!" Leon asked, suddenly alert.
"It's February 14th. Don't tell me you forgot! You even got the Count chocolates!" Chris said as he watched his brother turn bright red.
Suddenly it all made sense to Leon. Jill's smugger-than-usual smirk when he told her he was stepping out. The ridiculously long line at the candy store. The roses that were offered to him with the chocolates. Hell, even D's attitude towards the chocolate fell into place for once.
"You!" Leon shouted at D. "You knew! You bastard! And you went along with it and didn't even plan on telling me! Why I oughta – AARGH!"
Leon's advancing threat was cut off as Tet-chan took the opportunity to bite into the detective's knee.
---
Feeling humiliated and sore, Leon refused to talk to anyone during the remainder of his visit. He didn't even acknowledge Chris's apology on Tet-chan's behalf while D was bandaging his leg.
His break now over, Leon decided it was time to head back to the station. He ruffled his younger brother's hair in farewell, grabbed the card that had been made for him, and headed towards the entrance.
He had barely reached the door when Count D's voice stopped him.
"Detective Orcot, please wait."
Leon growled, but turned around to face the man nonetheless. "What?"
"I haven't had the chance to properly thank you for the delectable gift you brought me," D said.
"Don't bother. It would only make this situation worse for me anyways," Leon said, scowling.
"But I insist. Besides, I feel bad for not even thinking to get you anything."
A vein popped out on Leon's forehead. "Look, I said don't-"
Leon's anger quickly turned to shock as Count D's lips, which were now firmly pressed against his own, cut him off.
On instinct alone, Leon tilted his head to the side to allow the Count better access. Much to his horror, this small action caused Leon to realize how soft D's lips truly felt, as they seemed to fit so perfectly against his own.
Not giving the detective a chance to freak out, D pulled back and gently traced Leon's lips with his finger.
"Thank you, Detective, for the Taste of Desire and Lips of Heaven," he said in a sultry voice that once again left Leon speechless.
Smirking slightly, D gently turned the stupefied Leon around and ushered his body out the door, not giving the detective a chance to recover as the man's feet walked him back up the steps to his car.
Still smiling, Count D walked back to the lounge, knowing it would be quite a while before it all finally sunk in. And when that time came, D couldn't help but wonder what the detective's reaction would be.