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If one had to ascribe a holiday to Adam it would without a doubt be Valentine's Day. It was a day out of the year that he could unabashedly go even more all out than usual on his love of love. Of course as Shindo Ainosuke he capitalized on it, running love themed ads aligning with his campaign slogan to advocate for his political positions, but there was a limit to how campy and over the top he could be. But not at S. At S he was the King of love and he never skimped out on the day's celebration, often planning it months in advance.
And this year was even more important for him. Love had become more than a performance after his funeral beef with Langa. Langa had shown him what he had been missing all the years since he was a child, that love wasn't pain, it was forgiveness and acceptance and opening yourself up to another person. Because of his Snow, he had begun to repair his friendship with Tadashi and even with Kaoru and Kojiro. He now had people he would consider friends and he was starting to take back some of what he had lost at the hands of his aunts.
The loss at the funeral beef had been humiliating, but instead of shunning Adam and gloating at his win, Langa continued time and time again to reach out his hand to him. They skated together fairly often, on and off the track at S, and it sometimes seemed like Langa enjoyed his company outside of what he could teach him about skating.
In short, Adam owed a lot to Langa, so this year he had to do his best for the valentine's preparations for S. Not that he would make any romantic overtures to Langa, at least not more than the performative gestures he always made towards him that had just become tradition between them, but to show his appreciation to the boy for smashing his earlier thoughts on love. Adam definitely wouldn't be upset if Langa held more than friendly feelings for him, but he would never force his feelings on the boy.
So it was with Langa in mind that he had come up with this year's celebration. After parachuting in surrounded by heart shaped fireworks, he had given a speech to the crowd about the wonders of all kinds of love and opened the festivities. The whole of S was awash in pink and red light, with flowers and candies everywhere. Romantic music came through the speakers and even the S app's theme had been changed for the occasion. The beefs were more light hearted than usual and Adam even accepted a beef from Shadow, making the other blush furiously under his makeup when Adam kissed his hand after beating him, thanking him for a good race. He had walked away to the sound of that redhead laughing at Shadow.
Adam observed the festivities, feeling very pleased with himself. But underneath he felt a hollow sadness. Yes, everyone was enjoying everything he had arranged, but no one had really sought him out. Sure Kaoru and Kojiro had greeted him (with varying levels of enthusiasm), but that had been it. His heart dropped even more when he looked over and saw Langa talking to his puppy.
He and Langa had seemed to be getting closer over the past month. Adam would catch Tadashi smiling down at his phone when he didn't think Adam was looking, and he had a couple times (most definitely by accident) seen Langas name come up when his phone would ring at night. He was happy for Tadashi, truly, his friend was kind, considerate and capable, and Langa had an incredible heart- they would be good together. But it didn't stop the ugly jealousy he felt that Langa had chosen Tadashi and not him, and it didn't stop the even bigger nervousness he felt that maybe they would eventually realize that they didn't need or want him anymore. He tried to squash those feelings down and just be content with how things were right now. After all, the Matador of Love couldn't be sad on Valentine's Day!
As the crowd began to thin at the end of the night Adam made his way to his black town car. He hadn't felt up to finding the others, he just wanted to go home and maybe drink some champagne by himself. But as he rounded the corner he stopped. Langa was leaning against his car, fiddling with a white box in his hands. Adam quickly composed himself and strode over to the boy. "My little Langa!" he called and Langa looked up, "what a pleasant surprise! Did you enjoy the festivities?"
A sweet smile spread over Snow's lips, "I did. I especially liked after you beat Shadow, I thought his head was going to explode."
Adam chuckled, "he is a worthy opponent." He got close enough that Langa had to look up slightly and he smirked down at him, "but nothing compared to you, my Snow," he purred. How could he not tease Langa when his compliments put a delightful blush across his pale cheeks?
"Was there a reason you came over here, little Langa? Or did you just so happen to find yourself in this remote area of S?" he teased.
Langa looked down again, his blush spreading all the way to his ears. It was really quite adorable. "Umm.. I.. uhh.. " he took a breath and then shoved the box at Adam's chest, not making eye contact, "I wanted to give you these."
Adam's eyes widened and a grin spread over his face as he took the box. "Oh my! My little Langa gave me a Valentine's Day present! Are you trying to make me fall for you?" He said, half jokingly.
Langa looked even harder at the ground and he shoved his hands in his pockets as he waited for Adam to open the box. When he removed the lid inside were twelve perfect dark chocolate covered strawberries with white chocolate drizzled on top.
"Tadashi said you liked strawberries and dark chocolate so I made these. I was worried they would melt before I could give them to you but he said he could take them and keep them in a cooler bag while S was going on," Langa rambled as he continued to stare a hole into the ground, his flush now having traveled all the way down his neck.
To be honest, Adam hadn't really processed much past 'I made these'. His previous smirk had fallen off his face and he stared in wonder at the boy, "Langa, you made these?" He nodded. "They are beautiful. Thank you, Langa" he said, genuinely moved at the present. "I'm surprised and honored that you would take the time to make something for me."
Langa finally looked up at him, and for some reason he seemed slightly annoyed. "Of course I would." They just stared at each other, not really sure what to do next, until Langa started to fidget again. He looked back down, "I.. um.. I was also wondering…" he took a deep breath and brought his face back up, gazing right into Adam's eyes, determination set in his features, "Tadashi said you were free Saturday and I was wondering if you wanted to come to my house for dinner." Adam's eyes widened in shock. So this was why Tadashi was so adamant about pushing back his trip to Tokyo by a few days. He was beaming on the inside, Tadashi really was a very good friend to him.
"Little Langa, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were asking me on a date." He said, half teasing and half because he really really wanted to make sure he wasn't misreading the situation. Langa continued to fix his gaze on him, "I am."
A wide elated smile spread over Adam's face. He carefully closed the box of strawberries and put it on the roof of the car. His smile turned into a smirk as he crowded Langa against the car. "Little Langa, I gladly accept." He put a finger under Langa's chin, tilting it up as he came forward another half step. He leaned down and purred hot into Langa's ear, "Little Langa, may I kiss you?"
Langa had barely gasped out a yes when Adam leaned down to kiss him. It was slow and sweet, but his large hands gripping Langa's waist, pulling him flush to himself and the small moans coming from the boy promised something a little less chaste. But that would be for a different time. Adam wanted to take his time with Langa, savor everything about this wonderful, brilliant, amazing boy.
After several long, sweet moments there was a pointed cough that broke them apart. They both looked over to see Tadashi, a small almost unnoticeable smile on his lips. "It seems I must go, my Snow." Adam pressed another quick kiss to his lips, "but I look forward to Saturday." And with that he got into the door Tadashi was holding open for him. His eyes met Tadashi's in the rear view mirror. "Thank you, puppy. You are truly a good friend."
A satisfied smile tugged at Tadashi's lips, "I'm glad it made you happy, Ainosuke-sama."
Adam settled back into his seat, an elated grin accompanied him all the way back to the manor at the thought of his best friend helping to set him up with his Eve. It really had been the best Valentine's Day.