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It was a quiet Sunday afternoon, and Sako finally had the chance to visit the coffee shop he had been planning to go to since last week. Sometimes, spending time alone in a cozy café, sipping on a sweet drink, and enjoying a dessert felt like the perfect way to unwind.
As he arrived, he stopped in front of a large poster showcasing the shop’s newest dessert—mille crêpes. The thin layers of crepe stacked together looked delicious, and they even came in chocolate, strawberry, and matcha flavors. His mouth watered at the thought.
Before stepping inside, he glanced through the café’s glass windows, observing the warm, inviting atmosphere. But just as he was about to move forward—
Thud!
Sako bumped into someone. He hadn’t noticed the person standing in front of him.
"I'm sorry! I didn't see you there," the other person quickly apologized, though, in reality, it was Sako who hadn’t been paying attention.
"I should be the one apologizing. I’m sor—" Sako’s words trailed off when he caught sight of the person's distinctive black-and-white hair. His eyes widened slightly.
"Sakura? Sakura, is that you?" he asked, surprised to run into him here of all places.
Sakura tilted his head, thinking for a moment before his lips formed a small "O" of realization.
"Oh, you’re the one who’s always with Hiragi and Kaji."
"It’s Sako," he reminded him.
"Ah, right. Sako," Sakura nodded, finally remembering.
Sako noticed Sakura’s gaze flicker toward the café entrance. He hesitated for a second before casually asking, "Do you like sweet drinks too?"
At the question, Sakura's face turned bright red.
"I-It... is that bad?" he asked uncertainly.
Sako chuckled. "No, I like them too. Want to go in together?"
Sakura blinked in surprise at the offer before giving a small nod. Without another word, they walked into the café side by side.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inside, the café smelled of coffee and fresh pastries. The warm lighting gave it a cozy ambiance, making it the perfect place to relax.
"What do you want to order, Sakura?" Sako asked as they approached the counter.
Sakura frowned slightly, trying to remember the name of the drink he wanted.
"I'm craving that one drink... uh, frappe... frappi...?"
"Frappuccino?"
"Yes! That one!" Sakura exclaimed, relieved that Sako understood.
Sako pulled out his phone and scrolled through pictures. "I’ve tried this one before, and this one’s really good too."
Sakura leaned in to look, his eyes shining as he took in the images.
"You want a Frappuccino, right? They have caramel Frappuccino. Look."
"Wow... That looks really good," Sakura murmured, already imagining the taste.
Sako smirked. "It tastes even better when you pair it with cake or another dessert."
Sakura blinked in confusion. "Huh? You can eat cake even when it’s not Christmas or your birthday? Is that allowed?"
Sako paused, momentarily stunned by the innocent question. He turned to look at Sakura, who was staring at him with genuine curiosity. A strange ache settled in his chest.
Such a simple question—yet it hinted at something deeper.
Pushing down the sudden wave of emotion, Sako smiled and answered gently, "You can eat cake whenever you want. It doesn’t have to be a special occasion."
Sakura looked relieved. "I see..."
Sako tapped on his phone and showed him another picture. "Do you want to try this? It’s a strawberry shortcake."
"Can I?" Sakura asked hesitantly.
"Of course." Without waiting for a response, Sako turned to the cashier and placed their order.
Just as he was about to pay, he felt a small tug on his jacket.
"Sako, here. Use this card for mine," Sakura said, holding out a membership card.
Sako raised an eyebrow. "Yours?"
"Kiryu gave it to me. He said I could exchange the points for coffee. Suo told me I could use it four times before returning it to them," Sakura explained.
Sako took the card and examined it. It was indeed the café’s membership card. But points? How many points did they have that could be exchanged for four coffees?
‘Do his friends drink coffee every single day or what?’
Still, he used the card as instructed. But to his surprise, the cashier simply said, "Thank you for your purchase."
Sako quickly turned to Sakura. "Go grab a seat. I’ll bring your order."
Sakura nodded and hurried off, leaving Sako with a nagging suspicion.
Leaning slightly toward the cashier, he asked in a low voice, "Excuse me, did the payment deduct from the points or the balance?"
"It deducted from the balance," the cashier replied. "If it were using points, we would’ve asked first."
Sako glanced down at the card in his hand.
‘So they loaded money onto the card and told Sakura it was points?’
He let out a small chuckle, shaking his head. Sakura’s friends sure were something.
Sakura sat near the window, fidgeting slightly. This was his first time coming to a café alone, and he had been feeling nervous. But meeting Sako here had made things easier.
Soon, Sako arrived with their drinks and cakes. He placed a caramel Frappuccino and a slice of strawberry shortcake in front of Sakura.
"Sorry for the wait," he said.
Sakura's eyes lit up, though he tried to contain his excitement. It was... cute.
"Sako, what’s the name of your cake?" he asked curiously.
"It’s matcha mille crêpes. Want to try it?"
Sakura hesitated before shaking his head. "No, that’s yours. I got mine."
Without a word, Sako took his fork and neatly split his cake in half, placing a portion onto Sakura’s plate. Then, he did the same with Sakura’s cake and took half for himself.
"We can taste both if we split them like this," he said casually.
Sakura’s face flushed pink—but he looked genuinely happy.
"Thank you..." he mumbled before eagerly digging in.
As Sako watched Sakura take small, careful bites, savoring every bit of the cake, he found himself smiling. This isn’t bad.
He suddenly remembered the membership card and slid it across the table.
"Sakura, here. Your card."
Sakura took it back, glancing at Sako before hesitating. "The cake... should I pay you back?"
Sako waved him off. "No need. The points covered it."
"You can use points for cake too?"
"Yeah. You can exchange it for anything on the menu."
Sako took a sip of his drink before glancing at Sakura. "We should come here again sometime."
Sakura looked surprised at first but then nodded. "Okay."
"Why don’t you go with the others from Shishitoren? Or with Kaji and Hiragi?"
Sako tapped his fingers on the table, thinking.
"Togame-san isn’t fond of overly sweet things. Tomiyama-san and Inugami are too loud. The others don’t really like sweets either. Hiragi-san isn’t into them, and Kaji’s usually too lazy to come."
Then, Sako looked at Sakura and smiled fondly.
"But you, on the other hand, like sweets and aren’t loud. I’d rather be here with you like this."
Sakura quickly ducked his head, pretending to focus on his cake. He wasn’t sure how to react to something like that.
Sako turned to look out the window before glancing back at him.
Yeah. Today really was a nice day.