Chapter Text
The snow was finally melting (yay!), leaving puddles on the sidewalk that were perfect for jumping in. At least they were, according to his best friend.
Nicholas was standing outside, wearing his slightly too big coat that made him look even smaller than he was, hands clutching something behind his back. He shook his head to get some strands of black hair away from his eyes, trying to stay quiet like always, watching Michael.
Michael was the louder one of the two, perhaps the only one who was loud, even. He was jumping in puddles to splash the water around and crack the thin layers of ice that hadn’t melted yet with his shoes, laughing and running around with his curly brown hair flying everywhere. Even when he was no longer afraid to get his clothes dirty (he knew there would be warm clothes to change into now, not like in the old home, but he thought An and Su would get worried about him getting cold water on him), Nicholas still liked watching Michael play instead and would only join him occasionally.
Michael was always so brave, and Nicholas wasn’t brave like that. Always too quiet and nervous to do the cool things that Michael did. Nicholas always tried his best to show just how grateful he was that Michael decided he was “cool enough” to hang around with, but he wasn’t really good at all in the voicing
But today, Nicholas was doing something different, instead of simply hoping that Michael could somehow hear the appreciation through his thoughts.
His hands were shaking a little, not from the cold, but from excitement. Behind his back was a tiny, lumpy heart-shaped plushie that he’d made all by himself. It was stitched up with Su’s leftover fabric from her many projects. Even though it wasn’t perfect, with some parts bigger than others and the stitches messy, it was his, and he worked really hard on it for so long. He couldn’t wait to show Michael!
“Miki! Miki! I made you something!” Nicholas called out, trying his best to raise his voice for the other to hear. But his voice still came out soft, as if he was whispering. He didn’t mind though, since he knew Michael was always listening.
Michael stopped in the middle of stomping and turned to look at him, blue eyes full of curiosity.
“What’s that?” he asked, tilting his head to one side.
Nicholas stepped forward, his heart thumping. He held out the little plushie, his hands shaking but steady. The thing was so small he could fit it in one hand, but he couldn’t be more proud of himself.
“It’s a Valentine gift!” Nicholas said quickly in one breath, “Su showed me how to sew when she was sewing stuff, and, and I made this! It’s, um, for you, for today Valentine!”
Michael’s eyes blinked rapidly as he stared at the plushie for a second, then at Nicholas’ face, then back at it again, until his face lit up (Nicholas would admit that he did get nervous, just a little).
“You made this? For me??” he asked, almost like he didn’t believe it.
Nicholas nodded with all the seriousness a seven year old could have. “Yup, it’s! For you! I want you to have it. . .” The last words were almost inaudible to anyone but the person in front of him.
Michael grinned so big that his whole face seemed to smile, and he looked just like a sunflower in Nicholas’ coloring book, “Thanks, Coco! I’ll keep it forever, promise!”
It was Nicholas’ turn to beam this time, “Really?"
“Duh! This is, like, the bestest best Valentine’s gift ever! I’ll put it in my treasure box with all my important stuff!” Michael said, nodding so hard Nicholas was almost worried his head might fall off. And Nicholas couldn’t help it, he smiled so big, his face felt like it might split. He felt warm spread all over his body, like the sun had just come out.
In a way, Michael’s presence was even warmer than the sun.
The next time Nicholas came over to the mother's house, Michael would pull out the little heart plushie and show it to anyone who would look. “This is my best Valentine’s gift,” he said, flipping the tiny thing to show off every piece of fabric, every stitch. It wasn’t much, but to Nicholas, it was everything. It was something he had made, and Michael liked it very much! That was all that mattered.
And, as promised, the little plush was always there in Michael's special box, proudly shown off whenever Nicholas came over to play.