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"Bye, Nii-san!" Hiiro waved goodbye to him when Rinne drove off to head towards Cafe Cinnamon to harass-well to see his beloved Niki. The trip felt lonely without Hiiro by his side, even if it wasn’t a long way to the cafe.
He glanced over at the empty passenger seat where Hiiro had sat just moments ago, with a sigh. Hiiro really did grow up to be someone successful, just as he expected. He had to admit that he was super proud of how much Hiiro had grown since he left the village to the present. "Hiiro," Rinne muttered under his breath, "You have truly become someone I’m so proud of. Mom and dad would be so proud of you too."
Rinne, even with his chaotic ways, was a sentimental human at heart. Stuff like reminiscing of the past would get him feeling soft. He felt his mood saddened by the sudden influx of past memories flooding his brain. One of these memories was when he and Hiiro would go out into the forest and collect the bugs that were native and place them together to form a kingdom.
He gripped his wheel while driving while feeling emotional. He would never show it, but he held major guilt inside for abandoning the one person he was super close to, Hiiro. The one person who he taught everything to and who looked up to him as a brother, mother, and father.
"Damn it," Rinne cursed to himself, "Stop bein’ weak. Ya need to be strong," he muttered to himself. It wouldn’t be ideal to get into a crash on White Day over the fact that he got emotional over some old memory.
He wiped a tear that threatened to escape his eyes before approaching Cafe Cinnamon. He parked in an open space and took a breath to reform himself back into the Rinne he had shown to the world.
Rinne got out of his car, closing the door and clicking the lock button on his keys. He approached the door and pulled it open. The cafe wasn’t really busy, which was odd for a special day like today. Couples would most likely prefer to spend their time in a romantic setting rather than a casual cafe, he thought.
"Welcome to Cafe Cinnamon! Please take a se-" Niki greeted the new customer. "Oh, Rinne-kun, hi"
"Hey, Niki-kyun! My beloved bastard! " Rinne immediately took Niki into a headlock. "Ow! H-hey! Let go! " Niki struggled, trying to get free. "I’m suffocating! Please! We’re in public! "
Rinne let go of Niki after a few seconds passed. "Geez, Rinne-kun, you need to not act like this in public," Niki scolded him. "I’m on shift, so please don’t bother me further. Take a seat or something. "
"OK!"Rinne said, taking a booth. Rinne watched as Niki attended to the other customers with a beautiful smile. From behind, Niki looked exactly like a wife that Rinne could easily get hooked on.
Rinne was bored now. Watching Niki was good and all, but he needed more excitement. He would start a food fight, but the last time that happened; Crazy: B took the fall for his antics, and it was a special day for others, so he couldn't ruin their day.
He took out his phone from his pocket to scroll through social media, which made him happy to see his friends all doing well on this fine day. He was then greeted by something placed in front of him; a red-colored milkshake with whipped cream and a honeycomb on top instead of a cherry.
Rinne looked over to see who did that, but no one was at his table. There was a note attached, which Rinne took and read.
"This is on the house. I hope you enjoy your gift. Happy White Day" it read, and signed with Niki's signature. The note made Rinne smile so much with love. Despite Niki being harsh on him, he knew that Niki had the same feelings back. It was a very sweet gesture, even though on White Day, it was the males who would give gifts back to the females who gave them gifts.
Christ, it made him feel more guilty about not getting something for Niki. But he’ll think of something, right? He’s Rinne Amagi, and he can do anything he wants. He freed his straw from the constraints of the paper and put it in his shake to take a sip. Once the flavor hit his tongue, it tasted amazing.
He wasn’t the one for sweets, but Niki’s sweets were a whole lot better than store-bought treats. Rinne was in heaven with every sip. He could feel the love Niki put into it. It was definitely not the type of milkshake that Cafe Cinnamon offers.
Hours passed, and now it was evening. Rinne had lost track of the time by scrolling through his phone. "Rinne-kun, let’s go," a voice said. "Hm? Oh, ya done? " Rinne asked Niki.
"Yup! The shift is over. Finally, I can’t wait to get home and make dinner. I’m starving. "
Rinne made a joke about how Niki's stomach was a bottomless pit as the two exited the cafe, Rinne being a gentleman and holding the door open for Niki. "Oh, nice car," Niki commented when he got into the passenger seat with Rinne in the driver’s seat.
"Thanks! I got this beauty for a fun gamble "
Niki scoffed and sighed, as always. Rinne was still a gambler. "It better not have been extortion!"
"Eh? No, it wasn't, I swear! " Rinne said, while pulling out of the parking lot. "I won this baby fair and square. No dirty tricks, honest. "
Niki grumbled under his breath. "I’ll believe you this time. Don’t make me regret it. "
The ride was pleasant between the two. Most of the time, it was small talk about food and how many cooking ideas Niki had stored in his brain. Rinne pulled up to Niki’s apartment complex, and the two got out. "What do you think we can make for dinner? I was thinking of my deluxe version of ramen, "Niki said, walking ahead of Rinne.
"That sounds delicious," Rinne said. Niki kept blabbering about food during their walk to his apartment. His apartment was on the second floor of the complex, which wasn’t bad. "Here we are." Niki unlocked his apartment and turned on the lights, going inside with Rinne behind him to close the door.
The two took off their shoes and placed them in the doorway. "Alrighty! Time to get down to cooking!" Niki said while clasping his hands together in anticipation. "Niki" Rinne said.
"Hm? What’s up? " Niki gave a concerned look.
"Look, I know ya probably know, but I gotta address the elephant in the room. I didn’t get you a White Day present. I was goin’ to but I forgot and I feel like a real ass for not returnin’ the gift you gave me earlier, and the one you gave me a month ago. "
Niki could see that Rinne was upset by his body language. "Rinne-kun," Niki said with a smile, taking the other’s hand in his. "I don’t need any gifts to show that you care. Being here every day with you has been my gift. You were the best thing to happen to me. I mean that. All I need is your love, Rinne-kun. "
'Niki-'Rinne was speechless. After everything they’ve been through, Niki was pouring his heart out to him. "I love you so much." Niki closed his eyes and leaned in closer until he felt a finger on his lips. "Hm?" Niki was confused when he opened his eyes.
"No kissin’ before marriage," Rinne said with a smirk. "H-hey! I was trying to be romantic, "Niki pouted.
"Heh... you were very romantic."Rinne then brought his hand up to Niki’s hair to ruffle it. "Don’t mess up my hair! I'll get fly aways!" Niki complained. "Suck it, Niki-kyun!"
Niki was tired of Rinne, but he wouldn’t have him any other way.