Gregminster was slowly waking up when the young McDohl sneaked out. He'd spent the night at his friend's place near the mansion. There was no need to be sneaky like this, since his father wasn't in town, but he was used to being careful.

He'd left last night without telling his protector that he was going somewhere, and wanted to get home before Gremio went to wake him up. He made his way across the street quickly, intending to slip back into the mansion and to his bedroom before the blond manservant noticed. This early, Gremio was probably out buying things for breakfast.

He almost got to the McDohl Mansion when he saw a familiar figure nearby. He decided it might be best to avoid being seen, but was too late.

"Young Master? What are you doing up so early?"

The boy grinned. "Um, morning to you too, Gren. I... was at Ted's place..."

The green-glad knight nodded, dropping the subject and not asking more. He knew about the relationship of the two boys; he was the one whom his liege's son had blackmailed to tell everything about two men doing certain things.

"Well, you should get home before Gremio returns..."

The black-haired boy stared at the knight curiously, noticing that Grenseal was carrying some items.

"Why are you dragging a box of chocolates and those roses with you?"

"What? I..." The swordsman was able to keep his calm appearance, but still blushed a bit. "They're for... Gremio. I know he's out, so my plan was to sneak into the mansion and leave these on his bed... With a note..."

The young McDohl grinned. "Note? Going out tonight? Got something special planned?"

"Of course, Master Garrett. It's Valentine's day, after all..."

"...It is?" The boy fell silent, staring at the knight. "Oh... yeah... It is..."

"Don't you and Ted have any plans?"

"Er, not yet. I... I'll have to think of something... Well, I have to get in now. Need to be in my bed when Gremio comes to wake me."

The knight nodded. "And I'd better do what I came here for. This is supposed to be a surprise, so..."

The boy smiled, opened the door and ran upstairs.

Ten minutes later, he was in his bed, looking innocent as usual. He pretended to be sleeping, waiting for Gremio to show up, but his mind was far from asleep.

Valentine's day. I knew that... But before this, the day has never meant anything... Garrett smiled to himself, thinking of his brown-eyed friend. Last year and before, I didn't have a reason to do anything special on this day. But now...

He turned to his side, sighing. I bet Ted doesn't remember, either. I need to do something special. Maybe I should've asked Gren...

He actually fell asleep for a moment before the blond manservant came to wake him up.

Early afternoon, he came up with some kind of plan, after successfully sneaking into Gremio's room and reading the note Grenseal had left for the blonde. It was an invitation to a dinner. He also noticed that Cleo and Pahn were planning on going out tonight.

That means we're gonna get the whole mansion for ourselves. Now I only need to get Gremio to help me... and that's not going to be easy. I can't tell him why I want this...

The young McDohl found his guardian easily; Gremio was in the kitchen, washing dishes.

"Gremio?"

The manservant smiled. "Young Master. Want to help me with dishes?"

"Sure..." The boy studied the blonde for a while. The green-eyed man was smiling to him as always, but apparently, he was troubled by something.

And I can guess what that is. You want to go with Grenseal, but leaving me alone here is out of the question...

"Listen, Gremio... Got any plans tonight?"

"Young Master? What kind of question is that?"

" I saw Grenseal earlier. He'd like to spend the night with you, eh? It's Valentine's day, you know..."

The blonde blushed. "Yes, but..."

"You don't want to leave me alone? Well, you know, I could just..." Spend the night with Ted.

Gremio shook his head. "No, Young Master... I can't... Or... do you have plans?" The manservant's voice sounded strangely hopeful.

The young McDohl tried to sound casual. "Well, I could ask Ted to come over, and we could... Well..."

"Oh, Young Master..."

"So, er... Could you help me... Make some food and stuff? I want us to..." He sighed, unable to figure out a way to continue without telling his guardian too much.

The green-caped man just smiled. "Why didn't you say so, Young Master? I'd be happy to help. And I'll gladly go with Grenseal and leave the house for you two... And I guess Gren won't mind if I stay overnight, either..."

The boy blinked. "You... er..."

Gremio touched the boy's face gently. "You think you could keep it a secret from your protector? Of course I know. And you and Ted aren't too good at hiding things like that. The way you look at each other sometimes... So romantic and innocent. Although I guess you are past the being totally innocent part..."

Now it was time for young McDohl to blush. "You knew? And you... well... We..."

"It's perfectly all right, Young Master. And I'll help you. Planning on a romantic dinner alone with Ted? I'll make something special... And then get out of here and leave you two alone."

Garrett didn't know what to say. He had thought that Gremio didn't know, and surely wasn't expecting the blonde to accept it so easily.

But why not? He's with Grenseal...

The dark-haired boy gave his guardian a shy smile. Then he just hugged the blonde. "Thank you, Gremio..."

"It's perfectly all right, Young Master. Well. Let's get the dishes done now; then I'll help you fix a great dinner."

At 8 PM, someone knocked at the door of the McDohl Mansion. The young master of the house walked to the door, feeling a bit nervous. He opened the door, smiling.

"Hi, Ted."

His lover returned the smile, looking a bit curious. "Garrett... I got the message. What's this about? Your note sounded kinda mysterious..."

The black-haired boy answered by drawing his friend inside and kissing him.

Ted blushed, breaking the kiss quickly. "Garrett! Someone might see us! Gremio, or..."

"No one's home... And Gremio knows. He told me today. He..." The other boy smiled. "He said that we're not very good at keeping it a secret."

The brown-haired boy blushed a bit more. "I... Er, I didn't know he'd notice that easily..."

"Never mind that. Gremio won't tell anyone. Anyway. The mansion is ours for tonight..."

He took his lover's hand, leading him into the dining room. Gremio had helped him to prepare everything; there was a comfortable fire in the fireplace, and two plates were waiting on the table, with a bottle of mild wine. He'd wanted champagne, but Gremio had refused to give them anything stronger.

Ted blinked, then just stared at the room.

"Garrett..."

"Happy Valentine's day, Ted. I love you."

The other boy smiled. "I... Garrett... No one's ever..." He wrapped his arms around his lover, hugging him tightly.

"...I love you too, Garrett McDohl..."

Author's notes:

Valentine's day fic thingy, 'cause Maiko bugged me to write one. Pairing thanks to Shinju, his suggestion.

For the sake of the fic we shall pretend they have something similar to Valentine's Day in the Suikoden world, and simply keep the holiday's name to make it easier to understand.

- Lady Harken (February, 2002)