Ludwig sighed as he pushed his paperwork aside. He was exasperated with himself. He had tried so hard that afternoon to finish all of his (and Gilbert’s and Feliciano’s and Kiku’s and Lovino’s) paperwork, but he just couldn’t seem to get _____ out of his mind. They had been dating for two months now, but they had only been together for about three weeks of that. They had gone almost six weeks without seeing each other, and today made it even worse.

Why would today be any different, you ask? Simple: It was Valentine’s Day.

Every couple on the planet was together on this day––all except one. Ludwig looked at his calendar, then at the picture of him and _____ on his desk. He felt a small pain in his chest as he gently touched the picture with his fingertips. He missed _____. He wanted to see her again. Not some silly photo, but her. He wanted to see her smile at him. He wanted to hold her in his arms again. He wanted to feel her lips again. He just wanted to be with her again.

He almost jumped when there was a loud knock at the door of his study. He groaned quietly. “Whatever it is, I’m not interested, Feliciano.”

The door swung open to reveal a jet-lagged Alfred standing in the doorway. His collared shirt was slightly disheveled from all the shifting he had done in his seat on the plane, and dark half-circles were visible under his eyes.

Ludwig blinked. “Alfred,” he said in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

Alfred rubbed his back. “I just got back from the airport from being at _____’s place.”

“I knew that. I just meant that I thought you would be in your bed after a flight like that.”

“Yeah.” Alfred stepped into the room toward Ludwig’s desk. “But I thought you’d want this before I crashed.” He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a white envelope.

Ludwig raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

Alfred smirked tiredly. “A letter from _____. She told me to give it to you.” He tossed the envelope onto the desk. “Oh, yeah,” he remarked, “she also wanted me to give you this.” He quickly moved to the other side of the desk and gave Ludwig a peck on the cheek, causing the blond German to look at him, dumbfounded.

“What the hell was that?!” he shouted.

Alfred laughed. “_____ wanted to give you a kiss in person, but since she couldn’t, she asked me to give you one in her place.”

Ludwig rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help but smile at his girlfriend’s very odd way of thinking.

“Well,” said Alfred, turning to go, “I’ll leave you to it, then. I’m gonna go get some sleep now. Later.” He walked out of the office, closing the door behind him.

Ludwig looked down at the envelope on his desk and slowly picked it up. He held it gently in his hands, as if it would break into a million pieces if he didn’t. Written neatly on the front of the envelope was his first name. Ludwig sighed softly and opened it carefully, extracting the contents. He blinked when his fingers found a small, red heart. It was three-dimensional with a silk-like texture, and it felt as if it had a very small portion of stuffing inside to make it “pop”. He examined it, furrowing his brows, then decided to open the letter in hopes of an explanation.

Dear Ludwig,

I’m not sure when you’ll get this letter, but as you might have figured out by now, it is meant to be a Valentine’s Day gift to you. Inside this envelope is also a small heart. Metaphorically, it is my heart. I know it seems a bit cliché, but it does sort of resemble my feelings for you––giving you my heart, and all. I love you, and I know that you love me, so why not?

Anyway, I know that we’re apart, and we can’t see each other for Lord knows how long. But I want you to hold onto that heart. I want you to remember me every time you look at it. I want you to remember everything we’ve done together when you touch it. And I want you to remember the love we shared when you kiss it. I’m so sorry we can’t be together, but I just want you to know that I still love you. Hopefully, this proves it to you.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Luddy.

Forever yours,

_____

As Ludwig read the letter, he felt an ache in his heart again, but it was soon replaced with a feeling of warmth. He studied every word on that paper again and again, the warmth inside him growing. After going over the letter several times, he carefully put it back in the envelope and picked up the heart. He held the small object gently in his fingers, examining it. His expression softened as the warmth inside him reached his exterior, and he lifted the little heart to his lips. He closed his eyes as he felt the silky cloth skim across his lips, thinking of how _____’s lips would feel just as soft. He took a breath and realized the heart smelled just like her. He pulled the heart back and stroked it gingerly with his thumb. His eyes looked back up to the closed door of his office.

“Danke, Alfred, for giving this to me now,” he said. “I needed this.” He held the heart to his lips once again, whispering into it, “Glücklicher Valentinstag, schatz. Ich liebe dich.”