A Very Special Valentine's Day WIP (Patreon)

They say that love comes when you least expect it. That it's a sneaky thing that pops up when you think you don't need it. Or sometimes you know the love is there but don't necessarily need to acknowledge it because you and your significant other know how you feel about each other. And as she watched her digital clock tick down to midnight, now officially marking today as February 14th, Kobayashi laid in bed wondering one final thought before she fell asleep...

“Which category do I fall in with Tohru?”

Come the morning, Kobayashi awoke feeling pretty relaxed despite the nagging thought she had the night before. Since today was a weekend day that meant no work, so already this was a perfect day. And of course because it was February 14th that also meant that it was Valentine's Day. The day of lovers, friends and family to show their affection for each other in the form of chocolate, flowers or other types of gifts. It was pretty standard. Nothing new exactly as if a new tradition was added to the holiday. Little did Kobayashi know though that this Valentine's was actually going to turn out very special...

After taking a shower Kobayashi went into the kitchen, somewhat blindly due to the steam on her glasses from the shower, to get a cup of coffee. When she did she was greeted by a familiar chipper voice.

“Good morning, Kobayashi-san!” Greeted Tohru.

Even with the steam on her glasses Kobayashi could imagine the bright smile on the dragon maid's face. Wait...was it odd that I can so easily envision her smile, Kobayashi asked herself. Deciding to ignore the question she shook her head and returned the greeting.

“Good morning, Tohru. Did you sleep well?” Kobayashi asked as she poured her coffee.

“Yes, very well even! In fact I had a dream that we were magical girls.” Tohru said as she added the chopped mitsuba to the eggs.

“Wha!? You mean me and you were Sailor Scouts?” Kobayashi asked in shock. She had a hard time seeing herself in a brightly colored short pleated skirt with ribbons all over her while fighting freaky monsters in heels. And imagining doing all that spinning just to transform made the programmer want to find her stomach medicine.

“Ha, ha, no! Not you and me. I meant me, Kanna, Fafnir, Lucoa and Elma.” Tohru explained with a smile.

“Oh, okay. And now that you explain it that makes a lot more sense. I can just see it; the Dragon Scouts. You would be the leader, most likely.” Kobayashi said to which the dragon maid puffed out her ample chest in pride.

“Naturally! I was the leader in my dream, too. I already called and told Lucoa about it and she asked me if she had a cute uniform but I can't recall exactly. I do know that Fafnir had a pleated skirt and leggings though.” Tohru explained which made Kobayashi snort a laugh.

“W-Wow! That's hilarious to imagine. Did you tell Fafnir that? I wanna call Takiya and tell him first. Think he'll get a real kick out of such a fearsome cursed dragon as a magical boy.” Kobayashi said, giggling as she pictured Fafnir wearing a black and red sailor uniform while posing with his hair done up in a bun and scowling angrily.

“I figured you would! And no, I didn't tell Fafnir yet. I may be aligned with chaos but I pick and choose my battles wisely.” Tohru said and the two shared a laugh.

“Morning.” Came a groggy, soft spoken greeting that could only come from Kanna.

“Ah! Good morning Kanna.” Kobayashi greeted her adopted daughter.

Looking at her Kobayashi still can't believe that Kanna is a teenager now, and a far cry from the small fry she used to be. So much had changed Now Kanna was as tall as Kobayashi(very likely taller but she ignored that to spare her pride) and the horns on her head didn't grow much but they had a more regal, aged look to them. Her baby face was long gone and was more mature looking, further proving her teen age. The clothes she wore also reflected this – and while they were pastel colors with feathered accents that referenced to Kanna's true feathered dragon form but her attire is more elegant and better suited to someone slightly older. As Kanna opened her eyes the programmer could see that the only thing that didn't change were her sparkling blue eyes.

“Good morning, Kanna! We're having tamagoyaki, bacon and melon pan for breakfast.” Tohru said to Kanna with a smile.

“Okay. I'll set the table.” Kanna said, her voice sounding like a finely tuned guitar instead of the bell-like tone she had as a kid. A pitch deeper and she would sound like a grown woman.

Kobayashi watched as Kanna took a few plates, the reusable chopsticks and went about setting the table. Then she let out a nostalgic sounding sigh.

“Ha. Can't believe it sometimes.” Kobayashi said.

“Hm? What do you mean?” Tohru asked.

“Nothing, nothing. It's just...Kanna has grown up so much. I could have sworn she was our munchkin snapdragon yesterday.” The programmer replied thoughtfully, to which Tohru giggled. “What's funny?”

“The idea of Kobayashi-san thinking back to when Kanna was younger when she'll be starting high school next week. It just makes you sound like an old man telling stories from his time.” Tohru explained in a chipper voice as she proceeded to make the first roll up omelet.

“Whoa, she starts next week? I thought it wasn't until later. I guess I am getting old.” Kobayashi said, taking a thoughtful sip of her coffee.

“That's okay! Kobayashi looks great older! Fine like a grey fox.” Tohru said happily.

“Heh, heh. It's fine like wine, and grey fox is more for men than women. But I appreciate the thought anyway.” Kobayashi said with a smile.

With a little prayer the small mixed species family ate their breakfast together. Then after they were done Kanna explained that she was leaving to meet with Riko and their friends to spend most of the day with them and would return for dinner. Kobayashi said it was fine and bid farewell to her teenage adoptive daughter, but just before she put on her shoes Kanna stopped.

“Oh. I almost forgot Miss Kobayashi.” Kanna said and went back to her room, then came back with two medium sized silver boxes wrapped in glittery colored ribbons. “I got these yesterday for you and Lady Tohru. Happy Valentine's Day.”

“Wow, thanks Kanna.” Kobayashi said and took the box Kanna held out to her while Tohru came from the kitchen space, drying her hands off from washing dishes, and took her box.

“Aww thank you Kanna-chan! I can't wait to see what it is.” Tohru said as she unwrapped her gift box while Kobayashi did the same.

Once both boxes were unwrapped and opened, Kobayashi and Tohru were left stunned by the contents. For Kobayashi she got a ceramic coffee mug that said Best Techno Mom with a design of a cutesy looking computer with “mom” on the screen and a smiley face after it. Meanwhile Tohru's gift was a pot holder with a chibi green dragon breathing fire embroidered on it that said Coolest Dragon Mom.

“I had them made at the custom crafts shop in town. You two...took me into your home, even when you didn't have to. I can't thank Kobayashi-san and Lady Tohru enough for being the parents I never had. So, Happy Valentine's Day.” Kanna said, and a worry etched it's way onto her usual stoic face while her voice was brimming with genuine gratitude and affection.

For a while Tohru and Kobayashi stood there, looking at their gifts. And the worry became more prominent on Kanna's face as she feared that the older women would hate the gifts. But those concerns were whisked away once she was enveloped into the warm embraces of both Kobayashi and Tohru.

“Kanna...it's perfect. This is definitely going to be my new favorite coffee mug. Happy Valentine's Day.” Kobayashi said with a smile.

“And I'll use this pot holder every day, Kanna-chan. Happy Valentine's Day.” Tohru said.

Kanna was stunned by the reactions at first, before a wide smile broke out across her face and she wrapped her arms around her adoptive parents in a tight embrace to return the affection. Well...maybe the embrace was too tight.

“Hurk, K-Kanna...too tight. T-Too tight...!” Kobayashi strained a squeak.

“Can't...breathe!” Tohru strained out herself.

“Oh! Sorry.” Kanna said with an awkward face and let go of both women. “Anyway, I should hurry to meet Riko. I'll be back later.”

“Have fun, Kanna-chan! And you have your present for Riko, right?” Tohru asked.

“Uh huh. I'll let you know how she likes it. Bye for now.” And with that Kanna put on her shoes and left the apartment.

“What did Kanna mean by that? How is this gift different from any other gift she got for Kanna?” Kobayashi asked curiously, to which the dragon maid wagged her finger in her face.

“Na uh! I'm not telling ~ You have to wait and see if you didn't know, Ko-ba-yashi.” Tohru said in a singsong voice with a mischievous grin on her face. It just screamed 'I know something you don't know'.

“That so? If I treat you to crepes and we do some window shopping would you give me a clue?” Kobayashi asked with a grin of her own.

“Maybe. You'll have to try it and see.” Tohru said cheekily.

“Challenge accepted. Grab your jacket though, it's still pretty cold.” Kobayashi said.