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Hey, Haru. Are you busy?
Not at all, why?
I was wondering if you wanted to come to the café.
Boss went home early, so it would be just us.
Astarte started prodding at her to check with him. If he meant what Astarte thought he meant…
Us as in us or just us?
As in us. The Coffee and Curry Club.
She felt Astarte recede back into her mind. Perhaps not.
There's not going to be any surprises, is there?
Not at all.
Then I shall set off now! :)
Great. I'll see you at LeBlanc.
Haru looked at the last message Akira had sent her before she had set off for the café. Her leader had been very quiet the last few days (well, more so than usual anyway. Akira had a knack for getting to the point with as few words as possible), and she had her suspicions as to why.
She dismissed the messaging app on her phone and looked at the date.
December 5th, 20XX.
…she really needed to have a word with Futaba about fixing the date on her phone.
"Now arriving at Yongen-Jaya."
The train doors opened and Haru forced her way out with the crowd. She wasn't used to the crowds on the subway, but she preferred it to the cars her father had always used. Having all the people on the train felt nice, as opposed to the empty cars they always rode in to go anywhere.
She supposed that was why she was heading to the café she and the others usually went to for her eighteenth birthday. It was supposed to be a big event, according to her classmates, but with everything that had happened, she didn't really feel like having anything big happen for her birthday. Just some curry, some coffee, and some company, regardless of how quiet they are, would be nice.
And it looked like it that wasn't going to happen. The lights were off in LeBlanc, which was odd, since it didn't normally close for another two hours. Did something happen?
…The sign was still flipped to open. Had they had a power cut? Haru gently pulled open the door, the bell above it jingling as she stepped into the building. "Hello?" She called out hesitantly.
No response.
Then suddenly she heard a clicking noise, several things popped, and Haru jumped as several people shouted.
"Happy birthday!"
Haru squinted to try to see through the faint light in the café. It looked like the other Phantom Thieves were hear, but she couldn't quite see-
"Akira, hurry up and turn the lights on!"
There was the sound of a light switch being flicked on and off, and then a sigh.
-that must be why.
"Did we break the lights?" Haru heard Futaba's voice call out. "Sojiro's gonna kill us if we did!"
"Hang on." The sound of something being pulled clunked somewhere at the back of the café, and the lights flickered on. "We tripped the breaker."
"I did say this was a bad idea…" Now that the lights were on, Haru could see that Makoto was looking a little pale, no doubt from having to hide in the dark.
"It was fine! Haru liked it, anyway,"
"She jumped, Ryuji!" Ann chided her fellow blonde in annoyance. "She didn't like it."
"…maybe she was jumping for joy?" Ryuji scratched his head.
Amidst the bickering duo, Yusuke had pulled out his sketchpad and was drawing again. Maybe he had been inspired by the lights breaking? Haru never really understood how the artist's mind worked.
"Happy birthday, Haru." Morgana hopped onto a table next to her. "Sorry about them scaring you, we tried to tell them it was a bad idea."
"It's alright," Haru said, petting the not-a-cat on the head and making him purr. "It was quite a surprise!"
"I knew it! You could totally see the exclamation mark above your head when we shouted!" Futaba waved her over to the counter she was currently sat at or, well, crouching at. "How did you not expect it?"
"I don't really know." Haru went to sit down on a stool next to Futaba but stopped when she noticed Akira staring at her. Meeting his eyes, he drew her attention towards the booth Ryuji, Ann and Makoto had all squished into. She nodded in understanding and moved to sit opposite them, Futaba beating her over to the seats to sit next to Yusuke and look over his shoulder at his drawing.
"What'cha drawing, Inari?"
Yusuke turned the sketchpad towards her and Futaba. It looked like the beginning of a sketch of Haru. "The positioning of the lighting and shadows on her, and her confused expression are particularly inspiring…"
"Thank you…?" Haru didn't quite know how to answer that. Fortunately, she was saved by Akira bringing over a cake, decorated with candles, and placing it on the table in front of her, before leading the Thieves, her friends, in singing together.
"Happy birthday to you!"
"Happy birthday to you!"
"Happy birthday dear Haru!"
"Happy birthday to you!"
"Now, ya gotta make a wish and blow out the candles!" Ryuji grinned at her as she turned to face the candles. What to wish for though…?
Oh!
Haru blew out the candles, and everyone cheered in response. "So what did you wish for? Come on, tell us!"
"Futaba, if you tell someone your wish, it doesn't come true!"
"The wish might be personal to Haru." Ann and Makoto looked at each other in agreement before looking at Futaba, who grumbled and turned back to look over at what Yusuke was drawing. Haru turned to look to at Akira, who was walking over to the booth with several plates and a knife balanced in his hands. Setting down the plates, he plucked the candles from the cake and started to cut up slices of it to serve out to the group.
Sponge cake. He'd baked it on his own, apparently. It was very bouncy and fluffy. And delicious.
Then came the classics. LeBlanc curry and coffee made to perfection. The combination really was amazing, like Boss had always claimed.
Once everyone had finished their feast (and Akira had placed the leftover curry into containers for Yusuke), out came the presents everyone had brought her, despite her insistence not to. Ann had found a cute outfit for her, a long aqua blue summer dress with polka dots, just like her swimming costume. Ryuji gave her an action figure of Pink Argus (Futaba had squealed in surprise at his gift. And then promptly demanded to know where he'd gotten it from.). Yusuke's was a portrait of Astarte in action for her. Futaba gave her a copy of Spaceview Valley. From Makoto, she got a massive book on gardening.
Akira's was last, and was tucked into a box with a simple ribbon around it. Untying the ribbon, she opened the box, and reached inside to pull out…
…a grey, bipedal mouse, with Noir's mask and hat attached to it. Had he heard her comment about how their mice forms were adorable? "I made the mask and hat. I asked a friend to make the mouse," he said, cutting down any talk of how dangerous it would be to commission something like that.
The mouse was fluffy and smooth. Was that velvet she could feel? "I hope you didn't spend too much on me."
"It was worth it."
It was, she thought as she hugged the mouse.
"If you friend was willing to take criticism, my adMICE to him would be to use more vibrant colours. That mouse simply does not capture Noir's essence."
Futaba groaned. "Go to hell, Inari. Seriously."
From then on, the group descended into their usual chatter, bickering, laughing. Akira sat and watched on quietly, chirping up with a comment here for there. Never more than a few words. He simply enjoyed the company, the same as she did.
Eventually, time ticked on, and the others had to depart to return home. Haru was the last to go, for she had to finish packing all her presents together into a bag, helpfully provided by Makoto.
"Did you have a good birthday?"
Haru looked up from her phone, where she had just finished sending a thank you to the other to look at Akira, who was stacking the stools on the counter. "I did. Thank you for the cake and the coffee, and the curry too!"
The side of Akira's mouth quirked up into a smile, and he turned to face her. "It was nothing. Just thought you might like it."
Haru smiled too. Then remembered something. "Takakura-san spoke to me earlier. My engagement to Sugimura-san has been officially ended."
"Really?" Haru nodded. "Good. He won't bother you anymore."
"I know. Takakura-san was adamant on that."
Akira nodded. "A shame. I wanted to steal his heart."
"Like you always do?"
"Like we always do."
Now. Do it now. Before you lose your nerve. Astarte's voice echoed in her head, and she quickly channelled Noir to steel her resolve. "Thank you for the present. I know this may sound rude, but I thought it was going to be something different."
The smile vanished a bit and was replaced by a puzzled look. "Like what?"
Inexperience be damned. Haru strode quickly across to him, and, just like in the video Futaba had sent her, she seized his chin in her hand and captured his lips with hers before just as quickly stepping back, nerves and butterflies washing over her. "Like that," she managed to force out.
Akira stood there for a few moments in a daze, slack jawed, staring at her.
And then a few more moments after that.
Had she broken him?
Still no response.
Then finally… "…wow."
"I-I'm sorry, I just-" Akira cut off her attempted apologies with a kiss back. "-mmpf?!"
The Joker smirk flashed onto his face as he stepped back. "Like that?"
Haru blinked. Then nodded, a happy smile spreading across her face. "Like that."
"Good." The smirk vanished, and a warm smile took its place as he held out the mouse to her. "Happy birthday, Haru."
Haru took the mouse from him and held it close. "Thank you, Akira.