(Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction. I do not own anything to do with the Servamp series.)

A/N: Follows the anime, probably after the first season events (ish), but there are no spoilers ahead if you haven't finished.

A Simple Valentine's Day

"Kuro, seriously, get off the counter," Mahiru Shirota muttered, his determined brown eyes half-scanning a smudged book propped up by a few jars and a fallen bag of powdered cocoa. His hands were covered in melted chocolate shavings and there was powdered sugar in his light brown hair. He had barely looked at the small black cat all morning.

Sleepy Ash, the Servamp of Sloth, was unsettled. Unsettled was a complicated feeling, and he didn't like it.

"I'm hungry," the small cat grumbled, plopping belly-first on the corner of the messy counter despite Mahiru's distracted swat.

"Get something to eat then, Kuro, I'm not stopping you," the young man replied easily, squinting down at the pages of the messy book as he worked to twist a plastic bag in front of him and fill it with some sort of colorful paste. There were two to three trays of half formed chocolates before him, a labor Kuro had watched him undertake for the last two hours.

"There's nothing in the fridge," the black cat said wistfully, which could have been the truth. He hadn't really checked. "What are you doing?"

"I told you, I'm making chocolate for everyone."

"But why? That's way too much trouble."

"Valentine's Day is tomorrow, Kuro. Don't even pretend you haven't heard of it. How long have you been alive?"

The cat sniffed, shifting his bored eyes away and completely ignoring Mahiru's second badly-aimed swat.

"I know what Valentine's Day is, but I don't understand what you're doing. In Japan, it's customary for girls to give chocolate to boys, isn't it? Why are you making some?"

"Because Valentine's Day is a stressful time for high school boys," Mahiru said in his matter-of-fact tone he always took on when preparing a rant. "You wouldn't understand, Kuro. Every day at school the girls grab you and shove food down your throat, but humans don't get the same treatment. To a lot of the guys, tomorrow is an anxiety-filled day of wondering whether or not someone is going to give you something. It's not about love like in the commercials, it's about saving face. Can you imagine being the only dude left empty-handed and chocolate-less? It's a ridiculous holiday that just leads to insecurity and crushed dreams."

"That sounds a little extreme," Kuro said, shifting his head slightly to sniff a nearby smudge of chocolate drippings on the counter-top. He licked at it. "Why are you doing this then?"

"Simply put," Mahiru said, voice brimming with confidence, "there is only one solution to save everyone from humiliation. Every year, I make courtesy chocolates for everyone in my class, even the girls. It's the easiest way to ensure a stress-free day, and everyone gets what they want."

"Plus you get all those gifts in return on White Day," Kuro guessed, licking the smudge on the counter with more zest as a sweet, rich thrill reached his taste buds. "What did you put in this stuff?"

"Sometimes, if they remember. That's not really the point though," Mahiru insisted, brushing his hands off on the black apron tied around his waist. It did nothing to get the chocolate off. "This is just the best way to make sure everything goes smoothly."

"Uh-huh," Kuro said, inching further into the messy counter space, nose down as he sniffed out more forgotten globules of chocolate, fringed tail snapping back and forth.

"This year is pretty exciting though," Mahiru admitted, a warm glow spreading through his expression as he worked, half-craning to read the book. "This year I have new friends like Misono and Tetsu and the others. Do you think Misono likes chocolate? I wonder if he's ever gotten anything on Valentine's Day. He seems so secluded all the time. I bet he'll get a kick out of this."

Mahiru was simply rambling to himself now in a distracted faction, and the still-slightly-unsettled Servamp of Sloth was now also distracted, hunting for more pieces of chocolate on the crowded counter. He padded through a small mound of powdered sugar and came upon Mahiru's chocolate-covered hand, resting for a moment while he scanned the next set of instructions.

Mahiru jumped as a small, pink tongue started attacking him. His surprise turned into a mixture of irritation and laughter.

"Kuro, I told you to get off the counter. Stop it, you're tickling me, and now I'm gonna have to wash my hands again… stop—"

He pulled his hand away while talking, and Kuro jumped off the counter to follow it, changing into his human form instantly. His mouth clamped down on Mahiru's hand again, vampire teeth lightly scraping skin as he tried to lick the last stubborn piece of delicious chocolate off.

Mahiru froze, cheeks turning instantly hot. His eyebrows dove down into a scowl.

"—STOP IT RIGHT NOW, YOU STUPID CAT!"

The tattoo on his right wrist snapped and crackled, blooming outwards, and that black broom appeared in his hand. Kuro dodged and rolled away, disengaging from Mahiru's hand just before the broom came sweeping down, aimed at his head.

Kuro looked back over his shoulder, bored red eyes blinking, as Mahiru stepped slowly towards him, brandishing the broom with an almighty fury, his voice booming.

"I told you to get off the counter. And what the hell was that? Seriously, what is wrong with your head?" His expression fell back down into regular irritation and the broom disappeared from his hands as he turned to wash them in the sink, his simple-minded nature already taking back over. His cheeks remained a shade darker than normal. "Why don't you just go play video games or whatever you usually do?"

"I would, but I'm hungry," Kuro muttered gloomily to himself as he slunk away towards the TV, eyes rolled upward in lazy defiance. He wasn't even sure if he was hungry, but it was usually a safe bet. All he knew was that he had the taste of succulent, bitter dark chocolate in his mouth along with a tinge of salt, and that seemed to fit his mood perfectly.

Valentine's Day started like any other school day for the two, except this time when Kuro got scooped into Mahiru's bag in cat form, he was sharing the space with a ton of neatly-wrapped translucent red bags, tied with small black ribbons. He held back an irrational desire to attack them all, and maybe devour a few. That would be too much trouble and energy… but why did he feel like they were enemies?

Soon enough the candy started disappearing one at a time, and Kuro peeked his head out to study the faces of the young men and women receiving the little red bags. All the usual classmates were suddenly transformed, smiling, sometimes open, sometimes closed off and shy, but each had a faint redness to their cheeks and a gleam in their eyes. Mahiru's easy laughter and friendly greetings drifted over Kuro's head, as if mocking him. He couldn't find the will to sleep, or even beg for food. They were all glowing today, hanging on his Eve, gravitating to the boy like he was a sun they were caught in orbit of.

It was beyond troublesome. Kuro didn't know why, but it certainly was.

Things got worse after school, as Mahiru waited at a park bench to meet up with Sakuya, the green-haired Sub-Class with the nasty habit of trying to kill them whenever his Servamp master deemed it appropriate. Kuro had nothing against Sub-Classes or even Mahiru's penchant for befriending them, but Sakuya's obsession with Mahiru had been straining to the forefront of Kuro's mind lately, and now the soft glow of warmth underneath those glittering red eyes somehow bothered him as the two greeted one another.

"Sakuya, thanks for coming," Mahiru said almost sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I know things have been weird lately, man, but I didn't want you to miss out on a school tradition. You can't just get out of Valentine's chocolates, you know?"

"Oh yeah?" Sakuya asked, and such a pleased expression came across his face when the chocolates entered his hands that Kuro almost forgave the lonely Sub-Class, almost let it not bother him… until the tall green-haired kid threw an arm around Mahiru's neck, making Kuro tumble from his favorite lounging spot on his shoulder, and held the small bag up to the sky.

"Let me guess, you slaved away at these all by yourself for hours, didn't you, you little housewife? Just marry me already, Mahiru, for real."

"Cut it out, jerk," Mahiru said as he shoved off his arm, but he was laughing, and Kuro somehow didn't feel like this was a laughing matter. He bounced back up onto the top of Mahiru's backpack, aura bubbling, and he had to control himself as he felt Mahiru react and look back at him. Of course the astute Eve would notice, he seemed to be hyper-aware of Kuro at all times, even when he wasn't actually paying attention at ALL—

Sleepy Ash stopped himself. This wasn't becoming of the Servamp of Sloth, not in the least. Why did he care about this stuff anyway? What did any of it matter? All of it, this whole Valentine's Day thing, was extremely, deliberately, and unconscionably bothersome.

"You okay Kuro?" Mahiru asked in a low tone, sending Sakuya a friendly punch even as his eyes shifted around for anything his Servamp could be reacting to.

"It's nothing," the black cat said with feigned boredom, burrowing back into the slightly-open bag. "I'll give the newlyweds some privacy."

Mahiru elbowed the backpack. "Not you too! Maybe I shouldn't have bothered."

Sakuya's voice changed, softened. "No, really. Thank you, Mahiru. You don't know how much this means to me."

Kuro's black ears twitched as he sunk to the bottom of the bag, submerged in the heady scents of chocolate and musk, trying to tune out the tiresome noise.

Just one more blush, one more stuttered "thank you," or one more exaggerated display of chocolatey enjoyment and Kuro was going to claw something in that bag to bits. Every Eve and Servamp alike had succumbed to Mahiru's simple gift, looking way too pleased with his thoughtfulness. It was courtesy chocolate. What did they have to be so happy about? Especially that Misono… he had spent the rest of the night following Mahiru with his eyes, cheeks red, a forced frown on his face that anyone could see through.

The memory irritated Kuro again and as Mahiru opened the door to the apartment, arriving home well past sunset, the black cat broke out of the bookbag with hyper desperation, immediately turning human and slouching in his spot in front of the TV, hands around his knees and hood pulled up. He didn't even turn the TV on, just stared at the blank screen with a dead look in his eyes. Mahiru, worming out of his orange school jacket, gave his Servamp a half-amused glance.

"What is it now? You lost the remote again?"

Kuro didn't respond at first, dour eyes fastened to the bright gleam of the living room light reflected in the black screen of the TV. Finally his lackluster voice emerged.

"I'm hungry."

"Maybe sitting there listlessly isn't your best choice then," Mahiru said from behind him, putting his shoes and bag away in the entrance area. Sleepy Ash didn't turn back to look at him, eyes half-lidded.

"Today was such a pain, I could die," he said in the same flat tone, almost to himself. Mahiru paused moving behind him.

"Oh… ah, I see." The brown-eyed young man's tone held a tinge of nervousness suddenly. "Kuro, I guess I probably should have asked in the first place… do you dislike Valentine's Day? I know I was complaining about it yesterday and all, and I kind of assumed you were indifferent, being a vampire… but I've been getting the impression all day that you actually can't stand it."

Kuro's brow furrowed. He didn't hate it, it was just some silly human tradition that involved food, and he loved food. Chocolate was definitely high on the list. An eyebrow rose as he thought about it. Was that what was bothering him? That Mahiru hadn't given any to him too? That was pointless. He didn't want some stupid, meaningless courtesy chocolate anyway. Even if they had looked amazing. Even if those dark chocolate drops were rolled in powdered sugar, filled with sweet creams and fruit paste.

Hunger rising, Kuro snapped his head around to accuse Mahiru, anger bubbling up in his chest… but it flat-lined immediately when he came face-to-face with a red, see-through bag of chocolate, tied neatly. His eyes widened. It wasn't just a tiny bag like the others had gotten. It was at least double in size, and inside there weren't just simple chocolate balls… they were all shaped like cat faces.

Mahiru had his eyes averted, rubbing his nose as his voice came out kind of low and nervous. "Sorry, Kuro, I made you some anyway. I ended up making a lot too, so don't let it go to waste, okay?"

A hot warmth shot through Kuro's face as he took the bag from Mahiru, opening it and staring in awe down at the little cat faces that were his… made just for him. Special from everyone else's.

"When did you make these?" he asked, feigning indifference in his tone even as his heartrate rose.

"When I finally got you off the damn counter," Mahiru said with a laugh, still not looking at his Servamp. "I found this special mold on sale the other day, and I thought you might get a kick out of it… ah, I mean… it was simple in the end, so don't worry about it."

"Courtesy chocolates?" Kuro found himself asking through his rising panic. His body was turning traitor, chest tightening and eyes glassy. Mahiru had somehow taken on a gentle, warm glow through his vision. Was this how everyone else today had felt too? But they hadn't gotten Mahiru's special chocolates. Mahiru had also looked each one of them in the eyes with an easy smile, but he wasn't doing that now. He was avoiding Kuro's gaze with a stubborn aloofness.

He shrugged in response to the Servamp's question.

"Not exactly… think of them more like gratitude chocolates, maybe. You're my partner, and you've always kept me safe. You have always stood by me, even when you didn't want to get involved. I know I'm the one who got myself into all of this, but it's all thanks to you that I can do anything at all. Thank you, Kuro, for helping me become the kind of person who can protect my friends. You're one of those people now too, you know. Someone I want to protect."

The Servamp of Sloth stared down into his bag of chocolates, fighting back a strange tingling sensation in his stomach. Without answering he flopped down onto his side, head hitting the small pile of pillows he kept near the TV. He started shoveling the chocolate into his mouth, face hidden.

Mahiru blinked down at him, one eyebrow raised incredulously. "That's it? Really? Thanks Kuro, I'll think twice before pouring my heart out next time. Just don't get chocolate on the carpet, okay?" Despite his chastising tone, he smiled a little and headed towards the kitchen. "I'm making dinner, I'll make you some too."

A minute later, as Mahiru was rustling through one of the cupboards, he felt a suspicious rush of air behind him. Twisting around, he came face-to-face with Kuro, the vampire's dark-rimmed red eyes so close that Mahiru jolted backwards, his lower back slamming into the countertop.

"Ow!" he groaned, but Kuro pushed in way too close to move away, red eyes glittering, black-furred hood falling back to reveal the rest of his light blue hair as he bent forward, a single hand reaching up towards Mahiru's face.

A dark chocolate cat face was between his fingers and he pressed it up to Mahiru's agape mouth, his face only inches away, a feline grin spreading across his lips.

"This one is for you, Mahiru. It looks the most like me."

The chocolate was in Mahiru's mouth before he could even respond, bitter and semi-sweet, rich and already melting against his tongue. His face flamed up.

"You… you want me to eat you?" he asked around the sweet in his mouth, flustered, not really sure what he was saying in this nerve-wracking spot between the counter and his Servamp's lithe body.

"I…." Kuro started, brow furrowing, mouth hanging open. This was bad. He had only meant to offer Mahiru a piece out of consideration. His ridiculously diligent Eve probably hadn't made any for himself after all… but now look at the troublesome position they were in. And there was Mahiru's stalwart, determined face, twisted in confusion and mild panic, hot from cheek to neck, and he could feel the young man's pulse racing, and it was making him feel strange… mischievous. Covetous.

Kuro frowned, pushing it all down. He leaned closer, bumping foreheads with his Eve, heavy eyes boring into Mahiru's dark ones.

"You're way too much trouble, idiot. Why should I bother?"

Contrary to his words, however, his forehead lingered, pressed up against Mahiru's hot skin. His mouth parted for a moment and froze, half caught in something unsaid, and then he finally pulled away, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he strolled back towards his haven of pillows and chip bags near the TV.

"Don't wear yourself out so much next time making chocolate for everyone like a moron," he said over his hunched shoulder, tone light and indifferent. "Just make some for your super cute cat instead and everything will be okay."

"Seriously?" Mahiru finally managed to squeak, legs giving out as he collapsed against the counter, eyebrows narrowed. His voice came out low and overwhelmed. "You're a stupid, selfish cat, that's what you are."

He finally found the strength to pull himself back up and peek into the living room where Kuro was now lying belly-down on his pile of pillows on the floor without a care in the world, hood back up and facing away. Mahiru's face was still hot, hands trembling.

"Just for that, you can make your own dinner," he called weakly.

Sleepy Ash didn't answer, his averted eyes staring straight ahead of him with a distant intensity. One hand, hidden beneath his body, clutched at his own chest with a steel grip.

Troublesome.

(A/N: Thank you so much for reading my little ficlet! =) This was originally just supposed to be a quick one-shot, but now I'm thinking of adding an extra bonus chapter for White Day… it's a time-honored fanfiction tradition after all. X3 Haha. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to find some chocolate.)