Virgil wasn't expecting much to happen on Valentine's Day. It was never his favorite holiday, even as a young boy. He recalled during his yeas in elementary school where Valentine's Day was a big celebration. All the kids gave each other candy and cards so everyone was included; however, there were those that were given more from their crushes. Virgil never received more than the standard amount. It didn't really bother him per say, but he remembered the tugging he felt in his chest at the sight of his peers exchanging more personal gifts while he stayed seated, alone.

He wasn't against romance. It just bothered him because of his anxiety. He felt nervous at the very thought of someone addressing him with the intention of a romantic relationship or worse, a sexual one.

Sex was not on his "priorities" list. If he even considered putting it there, it was likely to be at the bottom, no pun intended. Virgil was a homoromantic demisexual. He liked boys but wasn't in a rush to get to third base.

As for romance, he felt undecided. He'd never been in a relationship before and he'd only been asked a couple times (all of which by emo girls who he politely turned down because... well, gay). He had experienced crushes, but never got the nerve to act on them, and he'd never been asked out by a boy.

It was the week of Valentine's Day that this would change.

He was sitting on a bench in the courtyard before school, sketching to keep himself busy. He was caught up in his drawing and music when a boy approached him and cleared his throat.

Virgil looked up to see a very handsome boy who appeared to be in his grade. When he focused on him, he realized he'd seen him around before.

"Hey, Virgil, right?" he asked as he took off his headphones.

The emo boy nodded and at arched an eyebrow at him. "Can I help you with something? Why are you talking to me?"

"I'm Roman, Roman Prince, I'm in theatre so you've probably seen me around," he explained. "I was wondering if you would be my date on Valentine's Day."

Virgil froze. He hadn't expected that question. "Date for what?" he managed to ask.

The other boy shrugged and smiled hopefully. "My friend's really chill Valentine's Day Party," Roman said. "I'd like to get to know you and maybe be your boyfriend if things go well."

"Why? Why are you asking me?" he questioned uncertainly.

"Well, if I'm honest, I lost a bet-" Virgil's face dropped in disappointment but Roman continued, "-in which my friends flipped a coin. Heads: I ask you out after having a crush on you for six months. Tails: I chicken out, again."

At this, the emo boy looked up in surprise. Roman beamed at him charismatically, winking.

"That was pretty smooth, did you practice in the mirror first?" Virgil asked, fighting back a smile.

"Shh! Don't reveal my secrets!" the theatre boy exclaimed dramatically. They both chuckled a little and Roman spoke again. "So... is that a yes to the date?"

He nodded and held out his hand. Looking a little confused, the other boy took it. Virgil pulled his wrist toward him and pulled out a sharpie. "Here's my number, text me the details."

Roman grinned as he pulled his hand back with the digits. "Thank you! I promise you'll have fun even if we're just friends by the end of it."

He then hurried off, supposedly back to his friends who'd dared him to go ask him out. Virgil smiled to himself as he went back to drawing. He finally had a reason to look forward to Valentine's Day.

~

Patton was grinning to himself as he set out snacks for Valentine's Day. He was hosting a party this year, and he was determined to make it fun for everyone, whether they had a date or not.

"Patton, where do you want these... paper heart decorations?" a voice said behind him.

He turned from setting up the sweets and snacks he had prepared to see Logan looking puzzled by the bowl of decorations in his hands. They were small, three-dimensional paper hearts; Roman had helped him make them.

"Those aren't decorations," Patton said, walking over to them. He picked one of them up and showed it to his friend. "Roman helped me make these. They're for what I'm calling Heart to Heart!"

"What is it?" his friend asked.

He beamed excitedly as he took the bowl from Logan. He brought it to the table and picked out one of each of the different colors there were.

"Valentine's Day is a day of love in all forms! So each of these colors means something and you give whichever one fits to your friends or partners!" He pointed to the yellow heart. "The yellow ones are for friendship, so you give them to your platonic friends to tell them you love them!"

Logan nodded in understanding. "I see, that makes sense. What do the other colors stand for?"

"Well, this light pink one is for crushes," Patton explained, smiling. "I'm sure there's plenty of people who don't know how to tell someone they're crushing on them, so this way, they just give them this light pink heart!"

He then picked up a brighter pink heart. "The hot pink ones are primarily for couples who have already been together. They stand for romantic love and by giving it to someone, you're basically saying 'I love you' without saying it," he said. He placed it back on the table and reached for the white heart. "The white hearts are for self love! You can take one for yourself, or give it to someone you think needs to see how amazing they are for themselves!"

"The next color is orange," Patton continued, pointing to the orange one. "Orange is familial love, so you'd give it to your siblings or your parents or other family members to tell them you love them."

"What about red?" Logan questioned curiously.

The other boy blushed and giggled a little bit, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, that's sexual love, which I only included cause I know some people care about it a lot," he explained. "You'd give that someone you want to... you know..."

"I got it," he said, looking embarrassed as he cleared his throat.

Patton laughed a bit. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Some people value sexual love more than others. That's why there's other options for hearts to give."

With that, he turned and walked back over to where he was setting up the snack bar. It was quiet for a bit before Logan spoke up again.

"Well, I know which one I'd give you," he said.

"Oh? The yellow one right?" Patton called, not turning around immediately.

Logan cleared his throat, sounding much closer than he had before. He turned and then froze in surprise. He held a light pink one as he awkwardly rubbed his neck and stared at the ground.

"Wait, that's the crush one," the other boy said, stating the obvious as his heart raced.

"Yes, that would be correct," Logan said, looking up hopefully.

Patton blushed furiously as he looked at him in shock. "Wait... really? Like this isn't a joke or something?" he asked. His friend shook his head and coughed awkwardly. A flustered grin crossed his face as he took the light pink heart from him. "I... I'm so flattered, and surprised! Wait hold on, let me get a heart to give to you, and no peaking!"

He hurried over to the bowl of hearts and plucked one out. He then returned to Logan and took it out from behind his back.

"That's also a light pink heart," the taller boy said, a dark blush rising into his cheeks as he took it.

Patton nodded. "Yep!" he laughed.

They both smiled at each other as they held their respective hearts. "Well, now we know your idea works," Logan said, voice cracking with the awkwardness of the situation. Neither of them knew what to do now.

"Yeah, it works," he replied, chuckling. "Well, we should probably finish setting up the party if we want to actually attend it, you know?"

"Yes, that would be important," he agreed. He cleared his throat and started to walk away to continue decorating. Patton stopped him with a hand on his arm. He turned back in surprise. "Yes?"

He grinned and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. Logan's face went pink as he gasped, looking at his friend.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Lo," Patton said sweetly as he turned to back to work.