It all started on Valentine's Day

The beginning

Valentine's Day. The only day where Sanemi Shinazugawa was grumpier then usual. He hated that day. For him, it was torture to see all the happy couples holding hands while his girlfriend was buried 6 feet under ground. It was painful and he hated the feeling so he usually spent that day alone or with Obanai but that year, Obanai ditched him for Mitsuri. Even if he was cussing at his best friend, Sanemi wasn't really mad. He knew just how much the snake pillar was falling for the pink haired girl...

Tomiaka Giyuu had spent the night preparing some chocolates for all the hashiras. This was something Kanae Kocho had the habit of doing. Since she died, he missed seeing the smiles on his fellow hashira's face so he decided to do the same. He had asked Aoi's help as she was the most skilled cook he knew. Both of them had spent the night in the Butterfly mansion's kitchen to work on the cute chocolates. Aoi had did most of the job but Giyuu didn't mind. He made sure to remember the recipes and the steps to be able to make them himself next year. He had made small boxes the day before that, just like Kanae used to do. He had prepared a box for every hashira and one for Aoi and her sisters. He then went to deliver them personally, going to each estate.

He finished by Sanemi, unsure about how the white haired man would react since he will surely remind him of Kanae. He knocked lightly on the door, his usual emotionless face on. An annoyed Sanemi opened the door, his hair a mess.

-"What?!" He said angrily but looked a bit surprised as he saw the water hashira in front of him.
-"Happy Valentine's Day Shinazugawa-san." Simply answered Giyuu as he handed him the small box.

Sanemi was taken aback. His face softened ever so slightly as he took the box gently. Giyuu was surprised by the soft expression on Sanemi's face but the scarred man quickly turned his back to him as he felt himself tear up at the memories of his girlfriend.

-"Uhm... They probably won't be as good as Kanae-san's... feel free to throw them away."
-"Yea yea. Get lost loner."

Sanemi then slammed the door shut, leaving a confused Giyuu out his door. Sanemi opened the small box and ate a chocolate, a single tear rolling down his cheek. "Why is he the one who had that idea? God damn it..." He thought. Sanemi had already noticed how his heart would speed up whenever he'd look at the blue eyed man or how he was always on his mind. He already knew he had developed feelings for Giyuu but he refused to fall in love again.

Giyuu turned around slowly and started heading back to his own estate, a small frown on his face. He was afraid he might have hurt Sanemi on accident by doing this. All he wanted was to see everyone smile again. He was never good at expressing how he felt and he knew that he often got on the other's nerves so he chose to stay on the side, quietly watching them. This had made him able to notice a few things about each of them. He had noticed how everyone missed Kanae and wanted to make them remember something positive about her while making them smile. He thought this would be the perfect way but Sanemi's reaction made him doubt. He reached his estate and got in. He changed out of his uniform for some comfier clothes. He didn't have any missions that day so he simply cleaned around.

Sanemi had finished eating the chocolates. He still wanted to thank Giyuu for reminding him of Kanae. He didn't know how to make chocolates so he made some ohagis, remembering how Giyuu once mentioned he loved it just as much as he did. He then headed to the water estate where he put the box down before knocking and running away to hide. From where he was, he saw Giyuu open the door and look around. Sanemi snorted at the confused look on the smaller boy's face. The blue eyes finally landed on the small red box. He carefully picked it up and opened it, a gentle smile spreading on his lips as he saw what was inside. The sight made Sanemi blush. "He can smile? Why doesn't he show it off more? He looks so pretty..." He thought as he stared until the other boy disappeared back inside his house. Content, Sanemi headed back to his own house but changed plans midway. He went to look for his best friend. Once he couldn't find him anywhere, he guessed he was on a mission or on a date with Mitsuri. He sighed, bored, and then decided to head back to the water estate.