Megumi Tadokoro stood back and sighed as she surveyed her work: a small box of homemade chocolates for each of the members of the Polar Star dormitory, and a larger one for him. Megumi had been trying to come up with a way to thank Sōma Yukihira for everything he'd done for her over the past months. It was only now, not even half an hour before everyone would wake on Valentine's Day morning, that she had a reason to give him something in return.

Hiding the larger box at the back of the dormitory kitchen's refrigerator, Megumi placed the rest of the homemade chocolates into a fabric bag, making her way back to her own room to get ready for her classes.

Megumi spent the day giving out the smaller boxes of chocolate to her dorm-mates, each with a personalised flavour to fit with their own styles of cooking: wild raspberry for Yūki, green tea for Fumio, and many more fillings for the remaining seven members.

By the time she'd finished class and returned to the Polar Star dorm's kitchen, Megumi's heart was pounding in her chest. She could physically feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins as she approached the refrigerator, going over what she should say in her head.

Should she play it off as the same kind of chocolates she'd given everyone else? No. This box was obviously different. She didn't want Sōma to get the wrong idea, and perhaps the chocolates she'd made for him were a little too extravagant for a simple 'thank you' gift.

It was too late to make any changes now, though. Megumi wrung her hands nervously before opening the refrigerator and reaching for the large heart-shaped box.

It was gone.

Megumi felt her heart sink as her eyes widened. Gone? Where would it go? An empty space the same size as the box of chocolates was still there, so it hadn't been taken too long ago. But who would take it? It had Sōma's name on it!

The small girl stepped back, her hands covering her mouth as she tried not to let the tears that were welling up spill down her cheeks. She'd been up all night working on her gifts, and now she'd be unable to give the one she'd spent the most time, the most effort, on.

She wiped her eyes on the back of her uniform's sleeve and shook her head, forcing herself to smile and maintain a happy expression in case anyone should see her before she managed to make her way back to her room.

"I told you, I don't know who they were from," Sōma's voice sounded from just outside the kitchen, and Megumi quickly ducked behind one of the shelves to hide.

"Are you sure they were meant for you?" Satoshi Isshiki, the dormitory's oldest member, asked as he followed after the redhead.

"I mean, they had my name on them, so yeah." As Sōma headed towards the cupboards on the other side of the room, Megumi debated whether or not to run while he wasn't looking; but as her eyes scanned the room, she realised Satoshi had been staring at her, looking almost as surprised as she was sure she did.

The confused look on the older member's face turned into a questioning one as he pointed nonchalantly at Sōma, then at her.

Megumi lowered her head as she nodded, the blood draining from her face as a broad cunning smile stretched her senior's lips. He was planning something.

"Were they at least good?" Satoshi asked, making the redhead turn to stare at him intensely. Miraculous as it was that Sōma didn't notice her obvious hiding place, Megumi was glad for how slow he was when he didn't need to concentrate.

"Best chocolates I've ever had," he said seriously, turning back to his work chopping up vegetables. "I kind of want to know who made them just so I can get the recipe."

"You're not excited that some girl was planning on giving you a big heart-shaped box of chocolates for Valentine's Day?" Satoshi turned to Megumi with a smirk and winked, making her face grow hot. She was glad, of course, that Sōma had enjoyed her homemade sweets, but what her senior was insinuating was making her heart race uncomfortably.

The redhead turned again to stare at Satoshi, his eyes narrowing scrutinously. "Friendship chocolates," he decided, turning back to his work.

The senior student folded his arms as his smirk grew wider. "Are you sure? Tadokoro was giving out friendly chocolates to everyone earlier, and they didn't look like that."

Megumi pursed her lips and shook her head. No! She thought. Those were supposed to be friendship chocolates too! She just went a little overboard!

"Tadokoro was?" Sōma asked, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Why didn't I get any?"

Both Satoshi and Megumi sighed at his denseness. "I'm saying," the older said slowly. "The big romantic box of chocolates might be from her to you."

Sōma stopped cutting his vegetables and slowly put down the knife, laughing to himself. "Why would she give me something like that?"

Satoshi shrugged. "Ask her yourself," he said, pointing to the small girl's hiding spot. "She's right over there."

Megumi's mouth dropped open in shock as Sōma finally looked at her, clearly wondering why she was hiding. He quickly made his way towards her taking her by the wrists and pulling her close - to close for her comfort - their faces mere inches apart.

"Is he right?" he asked. "Did you really make those?"

She closed her eyes tightly as his hot breath touched her face and nodded, feeling Sōma's grip on her loosen ever so slightly.

"Really?" he said happily. "You gotta give me the recipe for those white chocolate and peach ones, okay?" With that, he let her go, returning to his preparations for dinner.

Megumi let out a shaky breath and smiled genuinely as she made her way up to her room to retrieve her notes. Although things didn't go exactly as she'd originally planned, she was glad he'd enjoyed the chocolates. After all, she had made them especially for him.