Now, when one thought of Flash Sentry, they often pictured him doing a variety of different things, from practising with his guitar, to hanging out with his friends or perhaps simply spending time with his beloved girlfriend, Sunset. What they usually didn’t expect to see him doing was to have his face buried in a large and almost unwieldy textbook as he walked down the main hall of the school. But, that was exactly what the young musician was doing right now, and in fact, so preoccupied was he with that book that, as he approached, many of his fellow students all silently stepped aside, lest he accidentally bump into them. This went on for some time, with the boy utterly focused on his reading, and it was only when memory kicked in and he arrived at the location of his locker that he actually stopped. Letting out a long sigh, he reached up for the knob of the thing, but stopped just short of doing so. Because it was here when he heard the sound of somebody clearing their throat. Turning, a smile came to his face.
"Hey, Sunset."
His ex-unicorn girlfriend smirked a little to him, folding her arms and looking down to the large book he was still carrying.
"Good read?"
Flash chuckled nervously, looking once more to the book himself.
"Not exactly. It's for my chemistry classes. We've got this pretty big test coming up and, well, I wanted to make sure I was ready."
Sunset nodded, understanding, and she soon leaned up against the lockers as she regarded him.
"I'd have thought you were already pretty prepared with chemistry stuff. I mean, aren't you on the chemistry club with Twilight?"
Flash nodded.
"Sure, and that's helped a lot, but trust me, this test is gonna be a biggie!"
Again, Sunset gave him a look of understanding, and instead watched silently as her boyfriend finally got down to opening up his locker. However, as he did so, a strange thing happened. The moment that small door was opened, an object fell down to the ground from it. Both sets of eyes drifted down to see that it was, to their surprise, a letter. Though taken aback, Flash nevertheless finished off what he was doing, and got his large book into his locker, before kneeling down and picking said letter off the ground again. Sunset walked over to him, just in time to watch him turn it over in his hands, and as soon as he'd done that, they both saw that the letter had been sealed with a heart-shaped sticker. As one would expect, this led to a degree of confusion for the young couple.
"Is...is that...a Valentine’s card?" Sunset asked.
Flash, squinting his eyes slightly, Nodded. He looked around briefly, trying to see if there was anybody else in the hallway right now. Anyone who might have been the one to put this in there. And when he saw that there was nobody there, he regarded the thing again, finally answering his lover.
"It...certainly looks like one."
Sunset raised an eyebrow.
"Isn't it a bit late for those?"
The boy turned to look at her.
"More to the point, don't they know I'm already dating you?"
But, rather than be upset at the prospect that somebody might be crushing on her boyfriend, Sunset instead just chuckled.
"Relax, Flash. It's not the first time somebody's had a liking for you while we were together."
Flash sighed, looking to the letter.
"Sure...but most never sent me letters about it."
A silence passed over the two for a time, with them simply staring at the letter in Flash's hand. After a time, however, Sunset figured it was time to ask the obvious question.
"So...should we read it maybe?"
Though understandably hesitant, Flash let out a long exhale, nodding in agreement. So, very carefully, he unsealed the envelope, slipped the letter out from within, unfolded it and began to read aloud.
“Dear Flash...I know this is going to come as a surprise to you, and yes, I know this is more than a little late for a Valentine...but I needed to say this to you. I should have said it on the day perhaps...but I couldn’t decide if this was a good idea...writing to you. But now? Now...I know I need to.”
The boy held onto the latter carefully as he continued.
“For as long as we’ve known one another...you’ve always been good to me. Whenever I had moments when I thought nobody cared...you were always there. Few treated me as well as you have, and I feel truly blessed to have had a friend like you in my life.”
Softness came to Flash’s expression.
“I know your heart belongs to another...and I truly hope you and her are happy together for a very long time. But the truth is that...I don’t have that kind of love in my life. There was a time I thought I would...but it didn’t work out. And in truth, I don’t think it ever could have worked out. Because...”
Here, Flash hesitated. His eyes drifted over those words in front of him time and again, yet he couldn't bring himself to say it. Sunset, seeing her lover like this, took it upon herself to look at the words herself, and chose also to speak aloud as she did so.
“...Because I think...you’re the only one I’ve ever really felt that way about...even though I know we’ll probably always stay as friends.”
Sunset paused briefly before finishing.
“Flash...you mean so much to me. More than I maybe should be saying. But...I have said it. And while we may never be closer than we are...I still want to say thank you...for always being there for me, through good times and bad. I just...felt you ought to know.”
The former unicorn stared hard at the final words.
“Still...it would be nice to know what it was like, having someone like you with me that way...if only for a day.”
Silence fell over the couple, and Sunset stared at the letter for a long time before saying anything else, and when she did, it was with a rather hushed tone.
“Well...that was...not what I expected.”
Flash shook his head.
“No...nor me.”
Slowly, the Equestrian looked to him.
“Whoever wrote this...they seem to think the world of you.”
The boy nodded.
“Yeah...I guess so.”
Here, Sunset hesitated, for she could see that her lover was struggling with how to properly react to all of this. Then, at the end of it, she asked perhaps the only question she could ask in such circumstances.
“So...who do you think wrote this?”
To that, Flash took the letter back from her, reading and re-reading it until, finally, he looked up from it. Slowly, and to Sunset’s surprise, he started to smile. He let out a sigh, nodding to nobody in particular, before turning to look to his girlfriend with warmth in his face.
“Sunset...Ma’am...permission to spend the rest of the afternoon...as someone else’s boyfriend?”
Naturally, Sunset was a little taken aback at such a request, but, as she looked down to the letter, she started to think. And then, understanding came to her. She too smiled, and looked back up to the boy she loved so much, seeming almost touched at his words, before giving a single nod.
“Mr Sentry...permission granted.”
It had taken him a good long while to search the school grounds, and in truth, part of him wondered if she’d even be here. But, as the sun began to finally start setting beyond the horizon, the blue-haired teen stopped after turning one corner in particular. She was there, right in front of him, sitting quietly and by herself on a lone bench just beside a particular wall of the school. He took a deep breath for himself, before promptly putting on a smile, after which he began to make his way over. Even as he approached, he knew she’d noticed him, even if she wouldn't turn to look at him. Maybe it was embarrassment or nerves, or maybe both, but regardless, she never looked at him as he got closer. It wasn’t long before he reached her, and took a seat beside her. For a time, neither said anything, and simply stared out at the beautiful sunset before them. But, Flash eventually turned to her, and with that same smile, placed his hand upon hers, holding it gently. It took a while, but eventually, those two yellow, mis-matched eyes looked to him, almost welling up, and were joined by a smile to match.
“Hap...Happy Valentine’s Day, Flash,” she said softly.
The boy chuckled.
“Happy Valentine’s Day...Derpy.”
