There was nothing indicating the café except for a discreet sign near the stairs, not even any decoration. Tsukiko chatted happily as they climbed down the steps, making sure Taiyou-kun was distracted enough to miss reading the shop’s name.

The grey and hard from the alley changed to white, pink, frilly and delicate the moment Tsukiko opened the door. “Welcome master and lady,” three maids said at the same time.

Almost in no time a maid with cat ears, a tail wiggling behind her and a frilly black and white uniform came to greet them. They followed her as the woman led them to a table for two. Tsukiko noticed Taiyou-kun suddenly was stiff and had trouble containing her laugh.

“Master, lady, please call Otsuu-chan when you decide your order nyaa,” she said, handing them two menus and then walked away laughing.

By that time, Taiyou-kun was speechless, his face an alarming shade of red and his eyes wide. The boy moved his head, turning his neck as little as he could, his sight scanning the café.

Is he trying to check the maids without looking so obvious? Tsukiko could barely contain her laugh now. Before she realized it, she had taken her phone and snapped a photo of him. The sound made him turned to her right away, his cheeks somehow reddened even more. She couldn’t keep any longer, and laughed.

“Stop that…” he whispered and used the menu to hide his face.

It took awhile for her to stop, her face red, though nowhere near Taiyou-kun’. “It’s not my fault you’re too shy,” she said with a smile on her lips. “But that’s one of your good points.”

Taiyou-kun finally lowered the menu. “You never said we’d have lunch in… here,” he mumbled the last word, his eyes looking around. Even though his face was rigid, Tsukiko could see he wasn’t mad at all.

“I said this morning, didn’t I?” she said, grinning. “Besides, I wanted your first time to be with me.” Her smile widened.

Taiyou-kun blushed again and lowered his eyes. Tsukiko could almost see the steam coming from his ears. He’s too fun to tease, she thought, reaching her hand and messing his hair. He didn’t try to stop her.

The maid brought two glasses of water. “Did the master and lady decided their order nyaa?”

“I’ll have the moe moe curry.” They both said at the same time. While Tsukiko looked at Otsuu-chan when he said, Taiyou-kun couldn’t do the same, staring the menu all the time. That managed to get one more chuckle from the girl.

“Understood nyaa,” the maid said, laughing and tilting her head. Did she realize he’s too embarrassed to even look at her?

In little time, the woman brought their meal. Taiyou-kun still didn’t look directly at the maid, but after resting the plates on the table, she joined her hands, making a heart with her fingers, and said, “Get delicious, moe, moe kyun!”

It was too much for the boy and he turned to his plate as if the food was the most interesting in the world. He joined his hands and mumbled thanks for the food. Tsukiko did the same after she stopped giggling.

“Delicious,” Tsukiko said, putting down her spoon after she finished.

“Yeah,” Taiyou-kun mumble, his cheeks back to its normal color. After the meal, he became somewhat used to the maids. He still couldn’t look them directly, but he managed to glance at them without his face reddening.

The girl stared the boy and a mischievous smile popped on her lips. “Your omurice is just as delicious, but I don’t think it was a fair fight.” The boy still looked the women walking around the room and only mumbled something to the Tsukiko, not listening to her at all. She leaning closer to his ear and whispered, “How about you using the moe moe kyun spell next time?”

Taiyou-kun turned to her the next second, putting a hand over his ear and his face flushing. His eyes were half-closed, but they widened when he understood what she had said. He shook his head. “There’s no way I can do something that embarrassing,” he whispered, looking around to check if any maid heard him.

Her smile grew. “Come one. Just once,” she said, leaning closer to his face. “For me.”

Taiyou-kun looked down at his plate and started playing with his hand. “Just for you,” he mumbled, not looking her in the eyes.

Tsukiko leaned back to her seat right away, her face flushing and her heart beating a bit faster. She covered her mouth with a hand and looked away. Damn… I always forget he can be this cute, she complained, glancing him through the corner of her eyes. The boy was still red, but there was a smile on his lips. Was that his payback for all my teasing today?

To hide her embarrassment, she reached for the bill, but Taiyou-kun was faster. Tsukiko tilted her head and stare at him.

“I’ll pay,” he said in a strong and firm voice she had rarely seen him using. His eyes shone so brightly the girl pulled her hand back and stared as he stood up. He’s not just a kid, he’s a boy too, she reminded herself, watching his back as he walked to the register, a gentle smile across her lips.

Tsukiko pushed herself from the chair, stretched her arms and headed to the bathroom to wash her hands. When she was back to the main room, Taiyou-kun had already paid and was waiting for her at the entrance. She stood where she was and stared him. The boy played with his hands and glanced around.

Maybe I went a little overboard with the teasing, she thought as guilt filled her. After all, he’s spending the day with me as a birthday present. He could be tired of my teasing and wanna go home… All the happiness she felt got a little smaller. She shook her head, sighed and forced a smile as she walked towards him. “Do you wanna call the day?”

“I’m here today for you. I’ll accompany wherever you want,” he said, his face back to the calm expression as usual.

Her forced smile became real. “Then let’s go. The day’s far from over,” she said, pulling him by the hand.

It was almost dinnertime when they got back. They would have gotten back a bit earlier if Taiyou-kun were faster. But I can’t blame him, Tsukiko thought, glancing the boy with a smile. He was carrying all their shopping—most of it was hers— and all the weight had taken its toll on his speed, each step taking some effort. He kinda looked cool… Her cheeks went a shade of pink and she twirled her hair with a finger and looked away, remembering the scene.

When they finally decided to finish their day, they headed to the rental locker to pick up the rest of the stuff. Whaa… it’s way more than I remember. She looked between the purchases inside the locker and the ones she had on her hands. Just the idea of carrying it all to home tired her. Maybe I should mail this to home…

While the idea became more and more inviting, Taiyou-kun turned to her. “I’ll carry it for you,” he said. Despite showing the same calm expression, his eyes shone full of determination. It was impossible for her to refuse. He has his pride too, she thought, as the boy picked up everything. The pile was so tall Taiyou-kun could barely see where he was going. Tsukiko walked next to him while matching his speed. Though it took much longer than it should have, she didn’t mind at all.

The girl opened the door and stepped aside as fast as she could. Taiyou-kun entered the apartment, took his shoes off with his feet and walked towards the dinner table, his arms shaking so much the purchases threatened to fall from his hands any second now. When he reached the table, he put everything down, his breathing irregular and short.

Tsukiko took her shoes as well, walked to the kitchen and came back with a glass of water. The boy drank it all in one swallow, choking a bit. She patted him on the back until he stopped.

“Thanks, Taiyou-kun,” Tsukiko said, standing next to him with her arms behind her. “You’re the best.” Before she realized it, she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Despite already red, his face flushed. He placed a hand where she had kissed and looked her, his eyes wide. When he looked down, rubbing his cheek, Tsukiko leaned backwards, blinked a couple times and then chuckled. “What do you want for dinner? Do you wanna go out or order something? I’m in the mood for pizza.”

Taiyou-kun took his hand from the cheek and looked at her. He opened his mouth for a second, pressed his lips on the next and then pulled his phone from the pocket, looking between the screen and Tsukiko.

Ah, maybe he made plans to eat dinner with his family, she realized. Yeah… Even if we are on school break, he spent the entire day with me… His mom wants to spend time with him…

“Er… I’d like to take a shower first though,” he said, putting his phone away and cleaning the sweat from his forehead.

Despite talking with his usual voice, the boy didn’t look her in the eyes. Her smile grew smaller. “Okay…” He’s forcing himself… She believed that and watched as he headed to the entrance of her apartment, the guilt growing in her heart. I don’t wanna be alone today, she thought, and kept her mouth shut as the boy opened and closed the door.

With a heavy sigh to ignore what her feelings, Tsukiko grabbed the manga, anime DVD, light novels and any other otaku thing she bought and carried it all to her second bedroom. After she stored everything in the right place, she went back to the living room and picked up the rest of the purchases.

He looked too funny when I showed him this, she thought, staring the clothes. During the afternoon, they went to a cosplay shop. Taiyou-kun didn’t expect that and much less expect when she bought and wore the pleated black and red skirt and black jacket, the My Guardian Persona character’s uniform.

She rested the cosplay and picked up the other clothes she bought, turning the white frilly one-piece dress around to see every side. Though I bought this at the cosplay shop, this is just a cute dress… I can wear it with no problem. The cosplay belong to a character whose sense of fashion was so good Tsukiko could wear the cosplay, say it was a regular clothes and no one would say a thing. Suddenly a mischievous smile popped on her lips. For some reason Taiyou-kun blushed more when I show him this, she remembered. What will he do if I wear this now?

She walked to her main bedroom with the picture of Taiyou-kun in her head, but when she opened the door, a package on top of her bed made she forgot the boy for a second. What’s this? The package was small, almost like a DVD case. She grabbed it and turned it around. There was a note attached to it.

Happy birthday, Tsukiko. I’m sorry I can’t give this to you in person, she read her father’s words. My secretary told me I shouldn’t give you this, saying something like this isn’t for girls and all, but I know you’ll like it.

Dad… thank you, Tsukiko thought, reading the note again and again with a tiny smile on her lips. My birthday’s just as painful to him as it is to me… The girl felt the tears coming, and did nothing to stop. When they finally stopped, she cleaned her face and then ripped the wrapping paper. A sudden urge to laugh overtook them. You’re awesome, dad.

It was a game. The same one her friends were standing in line right now to buy it at midnight. They’ll get so jealous. She took a picture with her phone and sent it to them. Their messages came almost at the same instant, everyone asking how she got it. Guess I won’t be giving you a head start, she wrote, her smile growing.

When the conversation ended, she rested her phone down, but it vibrated before she stepped too far from it. Tsukiko answered right away when she saw who was calling her. “Hey, Taiyou-kun,” she said before he could say anything. “If it’s a trouble to you, you don’t have to eat with me. I know your family likes to eat together…” Even if it’s my birthday, I can’t be this selfish… especially with him.

The other side was in silence for a while. “Actually I wanted to invite you to eat with us,” he said in his low voice.

Those words made her face beamed. But she had to control herself. “I don’t wanna impose… You already did so much for me today…”

“My mom insisted,” he said, his voice stronger than before. “And… I want it too…”

“Okay!” She said before she could stop herself, standing up from the bed. “I’ll be right there.”

Tsukiko changed to her new clothes and stood before the mirror on her closet, brushing her hair. She wondered for a moment if she should change tie her hair in a different way, but ended up deciding on the same ponytail on the side. Besides, Taiyou-kun did look more at the maids with tied hair.

In less than five minutes, she was standing before Taiyou-kun’ door, suddenly hesitating to ring the bell. Why am I nervous? She thought, but still checked herself with her phone camera. Taking deep breaths and barely containing her smile, Tsukiko ringed the doorbell.

The boy opened the door almost right away. He looked at her and then stepped aside, letting her in. Was he waiting on the other side? She wondered for a moment. Wait, did he see me? She blushed a little. “Excuse me,” she said, taking off her shoes.

When Taiyou-kun closed the door, Tsukiko realized the lights were off. Why is it so dark?

“Happy birthday!” The lights turned on at the same time she heard.

“Wha…” she managed to mumble, her mouth slightly opened. She too overwhelmed to say something.

Taiyou-kun’ mother was there. Rin-nee too. Even Sawa-chan-sensei and her daughter, Aika-chan, were there. The kid even had a party popper and pulled right away, the confetti raining over Tsukiko.

The girl stood there, watching speechless. The table was full of food, and there was even a strawberry cake, her favorite, with the number fourteen on top of it. Taiyou-kun had to push the girl slightly to make her walk.

“I know it’s not much, but we had to celebrate your birthday, even if it’s a day earlier,” Rin-nee said with a smile, messing the girl’s hair. “Come on, don’t be shy.”

“I wanna give her, I wanna give her,” Aika-chan was saying. Sawa-chan-sensei picked up a present from the table and handed to her daughter. Aika-chan walked to Tsukiko and offered the present to her with a huge smile. “Here, onee-chan. I helped choosing!”

“Thanks,” the girl managed to say, hugging the child with the free hand.

It was the best birthday party she had in years. Almost two hours later, Taiyou-kun was walking her to her apartment. I’m guessing Rin-nee told him to do that, she thought, almost skipping. “It was great,” she said. “I really need to thank your mother and aunt. I can’t believe they did this for me.”

“I know it must be awkward… having a birthday party with another family and all,” he started saying, avoiding her eyes.

She gave a big step forward and turned around to face him. She lowered her head and their faces were close. “It was one of the best parties I had,” she said, beaming.

The boy opened his mouth, and then closed it, his lips curling into a smile.