Chapter Text
"Sakura! Go on a date with me!" A familiar baritone announces their arrival in the first year classroom.
"Ha? This again?" Sakura says making his way over to the the doorway where none other than Tsubakino Tasuku stood in all their splendor. Mascara coated lashes framing warm eyes, lipstick encasing a bright smile, blush warming their cheeks. Their excitement was palpable to everyone in their vicinity.
If Sakura found this a little endearing, nobody needed to know.
"I have the perfect place this time!" Tsubakino hooked their arm around the shorter boy's, dragging him once again to who knows where. "It's a very popular date spot that recently opened. You're gonna love it!"
These 'dates' had become almost a weekly occurrence, ever since Sakura had mistaken their first hangout to help an old man find closure, as one. At first he assumed Taubakino felt bad for the initial misunderstanding, but after 4 of these 'dates', it seemed as if they had just become a part of their weekly routine.
"Is there gonna be loud music and flashing light again?" Sakura grumbled, "I got a horrible headache last time."
"No no!" They said, pulling him out the school gates, "it's an adorable themed cafe! It'll be super fun! Trust me."
Themed? Sakura couldn't question any further with the taller changing topics and rambling about their day.
They walk up to a small building painted teal with windows decorated with hand drawn flowers and potted plants lining the entrance. A chalkboard stood on the side displaying their discount offers and new coffee flavours. The sign above read in a pretty looking font, 'Emi's Espresso'.
The doors push open, a bell rings softly and the scent of warm coffee welcomes them. The pink walls were decorated with framed pictures of small animals and fake vines.There are only 2 other couples hanging out here besides them, which isn't a surprise considering it's 11am on Wednesday.
They slide into one of the pink booths and Tsubakino waves their arm excitedly, 'Emi-chan! We're here!'
Sakura looks up and starts choking on his own saliva.
Walking towards them was a petite woman with pink hair and a pink apron. That wasn't what surprised him though. It was the pair of fluffy bunny ears sticking out of her head (headband?), bouncing with every step.
"This is what you meant by a themed cafe?!" Sakura exclaimed, face on fire, glaring at Tsubakino.
"Isn't it adorable?" They gushed, "Emi-chan wanted to open this place for a while. Look how lovely everything looks! Even the menu is fantastic!"
Emi, the bunny lady, now stood at their table with a proud smile and a light blush. "Thank you Tsubaki-chan! Tell me what you want off the menu. The coffee will be on the house."
"I'll take you up on that!" Tsubakino held up the green menu card bordered with a floral print and started rattling off dishes for both of them and cappuccinos for two.
Emi jotted it down on her notepad and turned to walk away giving Sakura a full view of her fluffy, bouncy, bunny tail.
He quickly looked away flustered only to see a waiter with cat ears and a tail taking the order of another couple. He felt his face heat up once again.
"Sakura." Tsubakino said gently, bringing him out of his confused and panicked state.
"You couldn't have warned me?!" He whisper-yelled staring straight at Tsubakino, afraid to look elsewhere.
"Well I wanted it to be a surprise. You haven't been to a themed cafe before have you?" Their warm eyes suddenly looking a little worried, "Is this too strange for you? Am I making you uncomfortable?"
"No." Sakura answered quickly, wanting to put a stop to unnecessary concerns. "It's just something different. Nothing strange about it."
Red lips curved into a soft smile.
Yeah. Nothing strange about it. Ever since he came to this town, he was experiencing something new almost every day. His world was growing little by little. Sometimes, he felt like he was losing his footing. Some new experiences made me feel out of place, awkward, unaware how to take them all in. But the people of Furin were always here, holding his hand through it all, helping him find his footing again.
Emi walked over and placed plates of bear-shaped omurice and cat-shaped pancakes infront of them along with two Cappuccinos with bunnies shaped out of cream peeking from the cups. "Enjoy your meal!" She grinned.
It was all pleasantly cute.
"I'm glad I got to show you a new place again, Sakura." Tsubakino smiled, "We should do this again next week."
Sakura felt something warm fill his chest, "you could just text me next time instead of dragging me out of the class infront of everybody."
Warm laughter and a seemingly one-sided conversation filled their booth as Tsubakino shared stories of their week. Two misfits finding comfort in eachother surrounded by pink and the scent of freshly brewed coffee.