Tighnari walked through the Akademiya halls, weaving through groups of students who had their heads far too high in the clouds, giggling and exchanging sweet nothings.

Valentine's Day.

A pointless distraction, in his opinion.

He had nothing against it in principle, but the way it turned otherwise functional people into lovesick fools was irritating. He had assignments to finish, and yet, even in the library, he hadn't been able to escape the couples fawning over each other between bookshelves.

Tighnari sighed, clutching his stack of books a little tighter. He couldn't imagine himself as one of those people, standing around blushing like an idiot over some poetry recitation. Love didn't exactly fit into his schedule.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he finally reached his locker. He adjusted his beret slightly and swung the door open, only to immediately step back as an avalanche of envelopes spilled onto the floor. His ears twitched as he blinked in mild shock.

Letters? For him?

Tighnari crouched down, carefully gathering them into a neat stack, his tail flicking behind him as he inspected them. All pinks and reds, with delicate little hearts drawn. They were... sickeningly sweet-looking. Someone had really gone all out, huh?

Curiosity getting the better of him, he plucked one of the envelopes from the pile, carefully breaking the seal and unfolding the letter inside. His eyes scanned over the words, and his expression, initially neutral, quickly turned into surprise as realization dawned upon him.

This handwriting... he knew it. He had seen it scrawled across rushed notes in class, angrily scribbled in margins, and occasionally thrown at him in the form of hastily written complaints.

This was your handwriting.

Tighnari blinked, slowly, as if his brain needed an extra moment to process the sheer absurdity of what he was seeing. Phrases of endearment. An invitation for a date. A signature at the bottom that confirmed, without a single doubt, that this was indeed written by you. The same person who seemed to hold an inexplicable grudge against him.

You didn't like him. That much had been obvious since the moment the two of you met.

It wasn't as if Tighnari went out of his way to antagonize you, but whenever he was around, you had an extra edge to your words, an exaggerated sigh, an eye-roll waiting to be deployed. And, given enough time, the feeling had become mutual.

So why in the name of Lesser Lord Kusanali were you writing him love letters?

Nowhere in them was his name actually written, but that didn't explain why they ended up here. In his locker.

With a soft sigh, he folded the letter neatly, before tucking it into his pocket. There was no way he was letting this go unanswered. You had made his day an inconvenience, so it was only fair that he returned the favor.

The benefit of having heightened senses meant that he could pick out certain scents. It didn't take long to locate you, and thankfully, you were alone, making this a far less embarrassing confrontation than it could have been. He approached from behind, his steps nearly silent, his tail swishing slightly as he readied himself for whatever absurdity this was going to turn into.

"How curious," he mused, his voice deceptively calm, but tinged with amusement. "I had the impression you hated my guts. And yet here you are, flooding me with love letters." He lifted the letter between his fingers before flicking it lightly in front of your face, watching for your reaction.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, though it didn't fully reach his eyes. No, his expression remained wary, thoughtful.

If this was a joke, he wanted to hear your excuse. If it wasn't... well, that would be an entirely different conversation.