Shuichi's laugh filled the cafe, making Kaede's heart flutter as he played her heart like a piano. It's moments like these that Kaede cherishes; morning coffee and long chats about whatever comes to mind. The two of them have been doing these kinds of things since grade school.

Kaede loved everything about Shuichi, she knew him better than any song she has played. So, it was inevitable for her to catch feelings for him. Not that Kaede would tell him, she doesn't think she ever could, especially not now.

"It's nice to finally have coffee together again," Shuichi smiled, Kaede could stare at his smile for hours. "That Phantom Thief has been really active as of recently." Shuichi said with a sigh.

Kaede frowned at the mention of the infamous Phantom Thief. Shuichi works at his uncle's old detective agency, and he was probably the best detective there. Maybe that's why he got the Phantom Thief case, Kaede personally thinks it's unfair to him. Shuichi has pulled so many all-nighters just to find the next heist location, only for the thief to get away every time.

"It's alright, I understand how busy you get. But you can't work too hard you know!" Kaede said with a pout. He always had the tendency to overwork himself when it comes to detective work. Even now Shuichi was still working on that stupid case, evident by all the papers thrown about on the table they were occupying.

"I know I know, but we're getting really close! I can feel it!" He said with that gleam in his eyes that made Kaede melt. He looked so confident and proud of himself, who was Kaede to ruin that?

"I'm sure you are, but you can't catch a thief if you're exhausted all the time. I'll start making care packages again if I need to." Kaede smiled at him.

"Oh no, you don't have to do anything like that." With an embarrassed chuckle, Shuichi rubbed the back of his neck.

Kaede was sure he felt embarrassed because he thinks he doesn't deserve all of the extra support, but that just wasn't true! Kaede loved making him care packages and would start doing it again in a heartbeat. It was a way for her to express how much she loves and cares about him, even if it's only viewed platonically.

"Alright, you better take good care of yourself then!" Kaede pouted for a few seconds before chuckling to show Shuichi that she wasn't upset with him.

"Ah, ShuShu pulled another all-nighter eh?" An all too familiar voice spoke up. There was a hand placed in Shuichi's hair as it began to ruffle it. The way his hair moved made Kaede think of a nighttime stroll on the beach, watching as the waves meet the sand. But a storm arose inside of her as she fully realized who was disturbing their outing.

Rantaro Amami: Shuichi's detective partner, and the bane of Kaede's existence. Kaede knew it was wrong to hate the guy, she had her jealousy to blame for that, but seeing the two be so close just made Kaede's blood boil. They had met when Shuichi graduated from his apprenticeship, becoming a full-fledged detective. While only two years ago, it felt like eons for Kaede.

Rantaro whispered something into Shuichi's ear, making his face flush with a red hue that Kaede only wished she could cause. Oh how Kaede's heart shattered, she would be an idiot to think Shuichi only reacted this way because of his shy demeanor. Yet there Kaede was, playing the role of the fool, as she held onto this desperate hope of any chance her love is requited.

They began to speak amongst themselves as if Kaede wasn't even there. They were both so lost in their world of nothing but each other. Kaede wanted to scream at Rantaro for showing up, scream at him for stealing Shuichi's heart, scream for countless other things she held against him.

'It isn't fair! I finally get to spend time with Shuichi after two whole weeks of canceled plans! But no! Rantaro had to come and... no, that's not fair to Rantaro.' Kaede frowned at her own thoughts.

It sickened Kaede how bad her jealousy has gotten, and she despises herself for it. Shouldn't she just be happy Shuichi found someone he likes and is happy with, even if it's not her? Maybe Rantaro will take all of her favorite things to do with Shuichi, but that's not her place to decide! Maybe Rantaro would slowly take all of Shuichi's time so he completely forgets about her! Maybe Rantaro will be so amazing that Shuichi won't need Kaede anymore. No that wouldn't happen, Shuichi isn't like that, so why does she get so upset?

Even though she was trying to convince herself not to worry, after a few minutes she couldn't stand the sight in front of her. Rantaro was mere inches away from Shuichi with his stupid flirty smirk that turned Shuichi into a blushing mess. It was too much for her and she spoke without a second thought.

"Shouldn't you two be heading out to the office?" Oh how Kaede could laugh at how casual her voice sounded, she kept her jealousy so well locked up that nobody would know of her dislike.

"Huh? Wait, what's the time?" Shuichi finally drew his attention away from Rantaro to skim the table for his phone. After a bit of searching, he found it under a paper. "Oh shit yeah, we gotta go!" Rantaro backed off from Shuichi, thank god, as he began to quickly gather up his papers. Kaede mentally scolded herself for getting happy about that.

Seeing as Shuichi panicked over his papers Kaede decided to step in. She lightly swatted his hands making him freeze and look up at her. Without meeting his eyes she gave a soft smile and began putting away his papers. She knew exactly where to put everything, how to organize it in a way that Shuichi would like. She did this at a quick pace to make Shuichi not worry any more about being late. Once she finished, she zipped up the bag and handed it to him with a smile, locking eyes finally.

"Your keys are in your left pocket, not your right. Don't forget to take your coffee, and most importantly, have a nice day." She grabbed Shuichi's coffee and made her way to be standing next to him. She gave him the coffee and then fixed his tie, looking back up when she finished. Her face flushed slightly, she wouldn't have to move much to give him a loving kiss on the cheek, realizing this made her heart burst. Luckily she had more self-control, 'Shuichi wouldn't want that.' she told herself as she settled for ruffling his hair with a smile.

Shuichi reached into his left pocket and pulled out his keys. He then looked back at Kaede with a smile. "Thank you Kaede! We'll hang out again soon, I promise!" His smile was so bright that it blinded any doubts Kaede had. She smiled and made her way back to her seat as Shuichi left the door. Rantaro stayed behind.

"You know him so well, don't you?" Rantaro gave Kaede a smile. Kaede felt like he had some other intention with that question. She picked her cup back up and took a sip with a nod.

"We've been friends for a while now, it kinda comes naturally." Kaede tried her best to keep her sweet tone but she knew she was brushing Rantaro off.

"Well, I hope I can be as helpful as you are one day." He chuckled lightly and Kaede had to try everything to keep a scowl off her face. All she could manage to respond with was a short chuckle, resorting back to her drink.

Rantaro stood there in silence for a couple of seconds. 'Why won't he just leave? Is he trying to get a reaction out of me? Or maybe he's just trying to be nice?'

"I should probably go catch up with him." Rantaro finally spoke up. "So, see you later Kaede." He gave his signature smile before waving to Kaede and making his way outside to the car.

Kaede sighed once the two were out of sight. Her grip tightened on her cup as the interaction repeated in her mind. It was stupid of her to be in love with her best friend, but how could she not be? Shuichi was everything she could wish for in a partner, he was always there to support her when she needed it, and he would never hurt her.

'God Kaede, why do you keep doing this? Rantaro hasn't done anything to you, you have no reason to be so cold to him. You and Shuichi are friends. You just have to accept that and let him be happy. Why are you so selfish?'

Before tears can escape from her eyes her hand jolts, bringing her attention to where it used to lay. Coffee was overflowing the cup as it fell down the side. She had been gripping her cup hard enough to cause a spill, burning her hand in the process. 'Ah shit.' She took a deep breath and got up to grab some napkins. In her hurry she ended up harshly bumping into someone.

"Aw damn, this isn't how I expected my morning to go." The first thing Kaede noticed about them was their eyes. A charming purple called out to her, like a lavender field during the late night. Even in the dark, the stars were there to shine their light on each and every flower, creating a beautiful hue. Then, the sun rose. The golden warmth captured within their adjacent iris reminded Kaede of bright summer days and endless childhood fun.

Their wide doe eyes were framed by their messy hair. It made a small galaxy right before Kaede's eyes with all the purple and pink hues mixed with each strand. It didn't seem unkempt, just wild, matching the rest of their face just how it was.

"Aw, have I taken your breath away?" Their voice snapped Kaede out of her thoughts, they seemed to notice. "I'm so flattered! But, you'll have to get in line, I've got looooooads of people waiting to be graced with my presence." Kaede flushed with embarrassment as they spoke. Looking down, she remembered what had caused them to interact in the first place.

"Ah, your clothes!" She exclaimed as she saw the coffee dripping off of their jacket. Looking down at the floor, she saw two separate cups in the puddle of caffeine. Looking at her own clothes, she realized she was soaked as well. "Oh my! Here, I can buy you another cup!"

Without warning, Kaede picked up the two cups with one hand, and with her free hand, she grabbed the other person's wrist. She disposed of the cups and began to grab napkins to clean up the stranger's clothes. They began to chuckle.

"I can clean it up myself you know?" They said, lightly moving Kaede's wrist away from them.

"Ah, you're right, sorry." Kaede threw away the dirty napkins. "So what coffee did you get?" Kaede asked, the other person stopped cleaning to give her a confused glance. "So... I can buy you a new one?" She didn't understand what they could be confused about, it was only reasonable she buys them one. They looked Kaede up and down a few times before breaking out in laughter again.

"Aren't you going to clean yourself up first?" They asked, motioning to the coffee dripping from her shirt. It had completely slipped her mind, she grabbed napkins and started to clean it up. The stranger chuckled as they continued cleaning. "So what's your name and pronouns?"

"Kaede, and I don't mind any pronouns but I mainly use she/her." She smiled at the person, waiting for them to introduce themself.

"Ouma, the future ruler of this world, at your service." Ouma gave a dramatic bow "Oh and I use he/xe." He said as he straightened out and threw away the napkins.

"Future ruler of the world?" She asked with a chuckle. She threw away her last napkin, patting her shirt to make sure she got most of the coffee out. "So how does his majesty take his coffee?" She asked, turning her attention back to Ouma. He cleared his throat, his expression neutralizing.

"I'll have a Neapolitan Cappuccino, more cappa than chino. Make sure it's got no more than 4oz of milk, the beans won't have the right texture otherwise. If you can't handle that, I'll have a venti Traditional Misto. Please use soy milk with two blonde shots, Affogato and Ristretto. I'd also love three vanilla pumps at the very bottom. Then add the coffee after." Ouma's grin returned to his face as he stared at Kaede expectantly.

'A nea.. with two-no three vanilla, wait was that the second or first one? Okay yeah, I'm not remembering that. Did he even breathe saying that???'  Kaede thought as she stood there dumbfounded.

"I think- I think you should just come with me." Kaede gave up completely on trying to figure out what his order was.

"Aw man, I guess you won't be a good servant then. Oh well, if you can't manage that, I guess I'll come with you." Ouma said with a snicker. Kaede couldn't tell if he was joking or just an asshole, she settled on giving him the benefit of the doubt and assuming the former.

"So what coffee do you get?" Ouma asked as they were standing in line.

"Oh, nothing as spectacular as your order. Just a Caramel Frappuccino." Kaede admitted with a soft chuckle.

"Hm, yeah that's not surprising." Ouma said, looking around the room a bit. "Where were you heading off to in such a rush?" Kaede was starting to think she ran into the wrong kind of person. After a bit of figuring out why Ouma thought she was rushing, she managed to respond.

"Oh, I was just trying to get napkins 'cause I spilled some coffee on my table." She pointed back to the table, that she still didn't clean up. Man she really should go back to that. Ouma burst out laughing.

"Well, isn't that just ironic?" Xe said through his laughter. Despite Kaede's conflicting opinions of Ouma, she has to admit xe has a nice laugh. It isn't a nice laugh like how Shuichi has a nice laugh, but it's fun and has this energy to it that Kaede wants to understand.

The line moved forward with some small talk until they got to the front of the line. Kaede ordered another drink for herself before moving aside to let Ouma repeat xyr order. Ouma took a deep breath and Kaede sent a sympathetic look to the poor worker who would have to make this order.

"Can I get a venti Chocolate Cookie Crumble?" Kaede stared at Ouma for a few seconds, before realizing she had to actually pay. The two of them walked over to the side and waited for their drinks to be made.

"So.. what happened to that really long order?" Kaede asked, locking eyes with Ouma. Xe smirked slightly making xyr golden eye get this kind of sparkle.

"Ah, changed my mind." Xe shrugged and turned, facing forward. Kaede wasn't buying it though.

"You were just trying to embarrass me by trying to order that, weren't you?" Kaede crossed her arms as Ouma chuckled.

"Maybe a little bit, but I would've stopped it before it got too far, honest!" Kaede was skeptical, sure, but the way Ouma was smiling convinced her it was all in harmless fun.

The two of them got their drinks and Kaede turned to Ouma. "Well there you go, sorry about your other drink. Hope this makes up for that." She smiled, expecting Ouma to smile back and for them to part ways, but xe looked to be in thought.

"Well, both of our outfits are kinda ruined. Technically, they just need a wash, but I don't wanna go allll the way home and waste away my day with laundry! So, since my other friends bailed on our mall plans, you should go with me instead!" Ouma grinned up at her. Kaede was surprised, to say the least.

Could she really trust Ouma? They did just meet after all. Why would xe even invite her out to the mall? Then again, it's not like she has much else to do. She hasn't gotten a job offer in quite a while,  so there are no songs she needs to practice. Plus, it's not like she can hang out with anyone else, everyone is probably busy with one thing or another. She could just go home and spend time with herself, but she didn't exactly want to do that either.

"I think you're thinking a little too hard about this. If you don't want to go that's fine, I just thought I'd offer." Xe said, looking up at her with xyr patchwork gaze. She realized she was taking too long and just decided to blurt out whatever answer her brain decided on.

"Oh yeah sure! It's been a while since I've gone shopping." Kaede smiled.

'Well, I guess we're doing this then.'

[2908]