Chapter Text
The applause didn’t end all at once.
It unraveled.
First the loudest cheers faded, then the whistles, then the scattered clapping that lingered stubbornly like it had something left to prove. The gym softened into noise instead of spectacle—groups forming, voices overlapping, sneakers squeaking across polished floors.
And at the center of it—inevitably—was Miu.
Still in uniform, still glowing faintly from performance and attention, she was surrounded almost immediately. Students pressed in with bright faces and eager hands, offering things one after another.
“Captain, you were amazing!”
“This is for you—!”
“I made these—please try them!”
Boxes. Bags. Carefully wrapped parcels tied with ribbons that looked like they’d been chosen with too much thought to be casual. Some held out shyly, others thrust forward with bold enthusiasm. The pile grew faster than it should have been possible.
Miu laughed softly, a little breathless, accepting each one with both hands.
“Thank you—really, you didn’t have to—”
But they had.
And they kept doing it.
Not far from the edge of the crowd, Lena leaned against the wall, arms loosely crossed.
She wasn’t trying to hide.
She just… hadn’t moved closer.
Her gaze flicked over the scene—over the way people leaned toward Miu, the way she smiled back at each of them like they were individually important. The way the pile kept growing.
“…That’s a lot,” Lena muttered under her breath.
Her foot nudged lightly against the floor.
She watched someone else squeeze in, handing over a neatly wrapped box. Miu’s expression lit up again—bright, warm, easy.
Lena looked away for a second.
Then back.
Still there. Still happening.
“…Yeah,” she added quietly, almost to herself, “figures.”
By the time the crowd finally began to thin, the bench near the side of the gym had been claimed—and covered.
Miu slipped away with a soft exhale, settling down like someone finally allowed to exist in her own space again. The noise dulled behind her, replaced with something quieter, more personal.
She looked down.
And her entire expression changed.
“Oh wow…”
It came out soft, full of genuine delight.
Her fingers hovered over the collection, brushing lightly across the tops of boxes and crinkled wrappers. Each item felt intentional. Someone had picked this because of her. Because they thought she’d like it.
That mattered.
She adjusted one box so it sat neatly beside another, straightened a ribbon without thinking. A small smile curved at her lips, slower now, softer than the ones she’d given the crowd.
“Okay…” she murmured. “Where to start…”
Her eyes landed on a small pastry—golden, delicate, dusted lightly with sugar. It looked airy. Crisp at the edges. The kind of thing that would flake perfectly with the first bite.
“Perfect,” she whispered, almost reverent.
She picked it up carefully.
Admired it for a second longer than necessary.
Then lifted it toward her mouth—
—and it vanished.
Miu blinked.
Her hand was still there.
The pastry was not.
“…No.”
She turned.
Behind her—
Lena.
Already chewing.
“Mm.”
Miu stared at her like her brain had refused to process what it was seeing.
“…You didn’t.”
Lena shrugged slightly, taking another bite—from something else entirely now—like she’d simply helped herself to a buffet.
“It didn’t even look that good,” she said casually.
Miu’s jaw dropped.
“EXCUSE ME—?!”
She twisted on the bench, grabbing at the nearest box instinctively like she needed to protect what was left. “That was mine! Someone gave me that!”
“Yeah, I saw,” Lena replied, already reaching for another item. “That’s kind of why I tried it.”
“You—tried—?!” Miu slapped her arm sharply. “Spit it out!”
Lena paused mid-chew.
Considered.
Then swallowed.
“No.”
Miu looked ready to combust.
“Lena, I swear—those are gifts!”
“They shouldn’t have picked such bad ones, then,” Lena said, popping another piece into her mouth. “This one’s dry.”
Miu made a noise that didn’t sound human.
“DRY?!”
She grabbed at the wrapper Lena had just opened, staring at it like it had personally betrayed her. “That’s from the bakery near the station! That place is amazing!”
“Mm,” Lena said, unimpressed, already chewing again. “Overrated.”
Miu hit her again.
Harder this time.
“Stop eating them if you hate them!”
“I’m making sure,” Lena said, reaching for another. “Quality control.”
“YOU ARE NOT—!”
But Lena had already taken two more.
At once.
And then—because she apparently had no sense of self-preservation—she stuffed both into her mouth.
Miu went very still.
Very, very still.
Because Lena looked ridiculous.
Her cheeks puffed out unevenly, crumbs already clinging to her lips, eyes half-lidded in concentration like this was a serious task.
“…You look like a squirrel,” Miu said flatly.
Lena made a muffled sound that might’ve been agreement.
Miu’s eye twitched.
“You know what?” she snapped suddenly, standing up. “If they’re so bad—throw them away.”
Lena blinked at her.
Then, slowly, grinned—food still visibly crammed in her mouth.
“Or,” she said thickly, “I’ll just eat them for you.”
“Oh, you’re dead.”
Lena didn’t wait for the follow-up.
She grabbed another snack—
and bolted.
“LENA—!”
Miu lunged after her instantly, fury snapping into motion. “GET BACK HERE!”
Lena laughed—actually laughed—running just fast enough to stay out of reach, still chewing like this wasn’t the worst possible timing.
“They’re terrible!” she called over her shoulder. “I’m saving you!”
“GIVE THEM BACK—!”
Miu kicked off one of her shoes mid-run, not even slowing down.
“IF YOU DON’T STOP—!”
Lena glanced back just in time to see it.
“Oh—”
Too late.
The shoe flew.
Straight.
Accurate.
Thwack.
“OW—!”
Lena stumbled to a stop, hand flying up to her head, finally halting after everything. The stolen food nearly dropped in the process.
Miu didn’t hesitate.
She closed the distance in seconds.
“You—!”
She launched forward—
—and tackled her.
Both of them hit the ground in a messy tangle, momentum carrying them just slightly before stopping. Miu landed on top, pinning Lena down with surprising efficiency.
“Give them back!” she snapped, breath sharp, hair falling slightly out of place.
Lena blinked up at her.
Quiet, for once.
Mostly because her mouth was still full.
Miu slapped her arm again.
“I mean it! Spit it out!”
Another slap.
“Spit!”
Lena tried to respond—failed—then just made a muffled noise instead, cheeks still full, expression somewhere between amused and mildly pained.
A faint flush crept into her cheek where Miu had hit her.
Miu froze for half a second.
Then scowled harder.
“Serves you right,” she muttered, though her grip didn’t loosen.
Lena huffed out something that might’ve been a laugh.
Which only made Miu glare more.
“You are unbelievable,” she said, breath uneven now, still hovering over her, still very much ready to continue the fight.
Lena just looked up at her—
ridiculous, full-cheeked, completely unrepentant—
and somehow still found a way to grin.
Miu stared down at her like she was witnessing a personal betrayal of the highest order.
“You’re smiling?” she said, breath still uneven from the chase, strands of hair slipping loose around her face. “You’re actually smiling right now?”
Her hand came down again—another sharp slap to Lena’s arm, not quite hard enough to hurt, but full of indignation.
“You took my food,” Miu went on, each word more incredulous than the last. “My food. Do you understand that? That was—” she gestured vaguely back toward the abandoned bench, toward the carefully arranged pile now left unattended, “—that was everything!”
Everything.
She said it like it mattered. Like it really, genuinely did.
And maybe it did.
Because Miu loved food in a way that was almost sacred. Not just eating it—but the choosing, the saving, the enjoying. The idea of sitting down, taking her time, tasting each thing properly…
Ruined.
By her.
By Lena.
“You didn’t even taste them properly!” Miu accused, leaning closer without realizing it, her voice rising. “You just stuffed them in your mouth like some kind of—of—gremlin!”
Another slap.
“Gremlin!”
Lena’s grin lingered—
—but only for a second longer.
Because something else was starting to settle in.
Slowly.
Unavoidably.
The weight.
Not heavy—but present. Real.
Miu was still on top of her.
Close.
Far too close.
Lena’s grin faltered at the edges.
Her eyes flicked—quick, uncertain—taking in details she hadn’t fully processed in the chaos. The way Miu’s hands pressed against her shoulders to keep her pinned. The way her hair had come loose, framing her face unevenly. The faint flush across her cheeks, not just from anger—but from running, from this.
From being here.
Right here.
Lena swallowed.
Carefully.
The motion slow, deliberate—partly because of the food still crammed in her mouth, partly because suddenly everything else felt… louder.
Miu kept talking.
“…and then you say they don’t even taste good?!” she continued, completely unaware, her brows drawn tight. “Who says that while eating them?! That doesn’t even make sense!”
Lena swallowed again.
This time harder.
Her throat felt dry.
Her face—warm.
No—hot.
Miu leaned in just a little more, emphasizing her point with another small shove to Lena’s shoulder.
“You don’t get to insult them and eat them at the same time! Pick a side!”
Lena opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Nothing came out.
Not a single word.
Which was… unusual.
Very unusual.
Miu blinked at her.
“…Why are you so quiet?” she demanded, suspicion creeping in.
Lena looked at her.
Directly.
And immediately regretted it.
Because that did not help.
Not even a little.
Miu’s face was right there—close enough that Lena could see the slight crease between her brows, the way her lips moved when she spoke, the faint shine still lingering on her skin from earlier under the lights.
Angry.
Yes.
But—
Lena swallowed again, slower this time, the last of the food finally going down.
Her cheeks were red.
Noticeably so now.
Miu narrowed her eyes.
“…Did you hit your head harder than I thought?” she asked flatly.
Lena shook her head.
Once.
Quickly.
Still no words.
Miu frowned deeper.
“Then why are you looking at me like that?”
Like what?
Lena didn’t even know.
She just knew she couldn’t seem to look away—and also couldn’t seem to function properly while doing it.
Her hands twitched slightly at her sides, like she wasn’t sure where to put them. Her usual ease—gone. Replaced with something awkward, unfamiliar, and very, very inconvenient.
Miu shifted slightly, adjusting her position without thinking.
It did not help.
At all.
Lena sucked in a small breath.
Miu caught it.
Her expression sharpened.
“…Are you serious right now?” she said slowly. “You’re the one who started all this, and now you’re just—what—glitching?”
Lena tried again to speak.
“Y—”
Nothing.
She pressed her lips together.
Miu stared at her for another long second.
Then huffed.
“Unbelievable,” she muttered, but her voice had lost a fraction of its bite—confusion threading through the irritation now.
She lifted a hand like she was about to smack Lena’s arm again—
paused—
and instead just poked her forehead.
“Say something!”
Lena flinched slightly at the touch.
Which was… also new.
Miu blinked.
“…Okay, now you’re being weird.”
A beat.
Then, quieter—
“…Did I break you?”
Lena made a small, strangled sound that might’ve been a laugh.
Or a protest.
Or both.
Her face somehow turned even redder.
Miu leaned back just enough to get a better look at her, still straddling her, still completely in control of the situation—and yet somehow starting to feel like she wasn’t.
“…You’re impossible,” she said, though now it sounded less like anger and more like she was trying to regain footing.
Lena finally managed something.
“…You threw a shoe at me,” she mumbled.
Miu blinked.
Then narrowed her eyes again.
“You deserved it.”
A pause.
“…You ate everything.”
Lena shifted slightly under her, gaze flicking away for half a second before returning.
“…They weren’t that good,” she said, weaker now, like the argument didn’t quite land the same.
Miu’s jaw dropped again.
“Oh my—!”
Her hand came down once more in a final, exasperated smack to Lena’s arm.
“You’re unbelievable!”
But she didn’t move off her.
Didn’t get up.
Didn’t let go.
And Lena—
still red, still a little breathless, still very much stuck—
just looked up at her, caught somewhere between wanting to laugh again…
…and not daring to.