Peaceful Moments

(Akane's PoV)

Little Author's note: "Polpette" is the Italian name for meatballs, while "Calamari" is "squid". I thought it would've been nice to use the Italian names :) Thank you for reading until now.

—

And then, the food had finally arrived.

The polpette were bubbling in their rich red sauce, bruschette were piled with garlic-soaked tomatoes, the fried calamari looked golden and crisp, and the platter of ham and buffalo mozzarella sat like a painting under the amber lamps.

It was heaven.

"Enjoy, kids! Buon Appetito!" Mario said proudly, setting the tray down in the middle of our checkered cloth before winking and disappearing back to his stoves.

The smell of fresh basil and hot oil hit us like a wave, and for the next few minutes, the only sound in our alcove was the quiet clicking of forks against ceramic.

"Itadakimasu!" We all said in unison before starting to eat.

Then Sora was the first to speak, tilting her head slightly as she chewed a piece of bruschetta with the focused expression of someone conducting an internal taste analysis.

"Wait," she mumbled, swallowing. "This is genuinely one of the best things I've ever put in my mouth. What kind of oil does he use?"

"Don't ask questions," I said, dragging another slice onto my plate. "Just eat. Italian chefs don't share their culinary secrets. I once tried to ask one of them for the ragù recipe. He laughed for ten minutes and then gave me a free tiramisu. Tch—" I sighed. 

Shin snorted into his glass of water. "That's a very Italian way of saying no."

"*munch* That's the only way of saying no," I replied, while eating.

Then, the evening turned into a disaster.

Shin reached out and grabbed one of the mozzarella rounds, holding it between his thumbs to break it open. But that round little bastard was clearly not on his side tonight.

The second his thumbs pressed down, a jet of white milk shot straight through the air and hit the center of his brand-new black sweater with a wet, perfect splash.

"Oh, come on—" he gasped, his eyes going wide with horror as he stared down at the bright stain spreading across his chest. "You can't be serious—" He sighed.

In that moment, Sora lost it. She burst into laughter, covering her mouth with both hands, with her shoulders shaking so hard she almost slid off her chair.

"Ah, come on! There's nothing fun in this!" Shin said, trying to clean the stain with a napkin.

I, on the other hand, wasted no time. While his attention was frozen on the laundry situation, I reached across with my fork, stabbed the biggest meatball straight off his plate, and dragged it onto mine.

"Hey! That one was mine!" he protested, snapping his glare back to my face.

"It's mine now," I said calmly, popping the whole thing into my mouth and chewing with a grin.

"You're a thief, Akane!"

"I'm your girlfriend," I muttered through the food. "It's different."

After my words, Shin narrowed his eyes at me with the wounded expression of a man plotting revenge, and I could practically see him do it behind them. I chewed slowly, holding his gaze, daring him.

'Just try it, Ishikawa, and I'll never have sex with you ever again—' I thought.

"Fine," he said, his voice suspiciously calm. "Two can play this game."

Before I could react, his fork darted across the table, spearing the crispiest, most golden piece of calamari from my plate — the one I had specifically been saving for last.

"SHIN—" I gasped, in complete terror. He had stolen my greatest treasure!

"Consequences, Takanashi," he said, popping it into his mouth with an infuriatingly pleased grin. "Call it... Karma." 

"That was mine, you traitor—" I said, my fists gently slamming the table.

"You literally just stole from me thirty seconds ago." He replied, his voice casual.

"That was different!" I exclaimed.

"How was it different, Takanashi?!" Shin said, smiling mischievously at me. 

"Because I did it first! And you're my boyfriend! A boyfriend is supposed to make sacrifices for his girlfriend!" I said, still mad.

"Ah? Are you saying that I can't steal your food because I'm a boy?!" Shin protested.

"EXACTLY! Be a man and feed your woman!" I said, menacingly pointing a fork against him.

"It appears that I believe in equal rights, Takanashi. You steal something from me? I steal something from you the same way. Easy." Shin replied, his voice challenging.

"You—!" I said, ready to jump on him.

Meanwhile, Sora was literally wheezing, her forehead pressed against her hand as she tried to catch her breath. "Hahaha! Oh my God, you two are like a married couple already; this is unreal—"

"Don't encourage him, Sora," I warned, pointing my fork at her. "This guy is dumb."

But then Sora, apparently emboldened by the chaos of the moment, quietly extended her chopsticks across the table and stole one of the smallest polpette from the center platter with the smooth precision of a professional pickpocket.

I snapped my head toward her, my mouth dropping open.

"You too?!" I exclaimed.

"Sorry! I got caught up in the moment," she said innocently, chewing with a small, dignified smile. "I couldn't resist. Peer pressure."

"There is no peer pressure at this table! I am the peer! I am the only peer here!"

Shin lost it. He actually had to set his fork down and lean back in his chair, laughing so hard that his shoulders shook against the wooden slats.

Even Sora was laughing so hard now that her blue eyes were bright and wet with tears — nothing left of the terrified girl we had found on the street.

Watching her laugh like a normal teenage girl for once made something warm settle behind my ribs.

After a few moments, Sora picked up a piece of fried calamari with her chopsticks and popped it into her mouth. Bad idea. The thing was still lava.

"Hot, hot, hot—" she gasped, waving her hand in front of her open mouth.

"Don't blow on it like a toddler," I said, leaning across the table with a smirk. "You're the student council president. Have some dignity."

"But it's so good!" she managed, her eyes watering as she finally swallowed.

Then, I leaned forward, picking up a piece of the prosciutto with my fingers and holding it out toward Shin's face.

"Open," I said flatly.

"Eh? What?" Shin looked at me with a confused look.

"Open your mouth, ghost boy. I want to feed you something and see if you make a stupid face."

Then, he gave me a long, suspicious look, but eventually leaned forward and let me place the thin slice on his tongue.

'Still obedient... good.'

After that, He chewed. His eyes closed, and then, his entire face went into what I could only describe as a moment of small, private ecstasy.

"Oh." He said.

"Told you," I replied, with a mischievous smirk.

"Oh, that's — that's illegal, that shouldn't taste like that—"

"Right?"

Sora watched the whole exchange with a soft, amused smile pulling at the corners of her lips, resting her chin on her palm. "You two are so cute it's actually a little painful to look at directly."

"We know," Shin and I said at the exact same time.

We paused. Looked at each other. And Sora fell into another round of giggles.

Then Shin, apparently deciding it was his turn, reached for a small piece of mozzarella, approaching it this time with the extreme caution of a man who had already been humbled by dairy tonight, and held it up toward my lips.

"Your turn, thief. Open." He said. 

I raised an eyebrow. "You're going to hand-feed me in a public restaurant?"

"You started it. And I want to see your stupid expression, too." He teased.

"Tch—" I sighed, but my body automatically followed his orders.

I opened my mouth with a look of theatrical suffering, letting him place the mozzarella between my teeth. It was, obviously, ridiculous. And it was, obviously, one of the best things I had ever eaten.

"Damn it," I muttered, chewing. "That's really good."

"I know," Shin replied.

"Shut up, Ishibaka," I said. 

Sora, meanwhile, was picking through the platter with a small, focused hum, apparently doing her own personal ranking of the entire meal. "Okay, so, for the record — the ragù is a nine, the mozzarella is a ten, the calamari is a solid nine-point-five, and the bruschetta is—"

"Sora, are you writing a review?" Shin asked, amused.

"I might," she said, her expression completely straight. "My father owns a restaurant chain. I have opinions about food. This is important to me."

"She has opinions about food," I echoed to Shin, deadpan.

"Very serious opinions," Sora confirmed.

That was the shape of the whole evening. Every time Mario cleared a plate away and brought another one, our alcove filled with the same warm sound of shared laughter.

The food was perfect, and the light wine Sora had insisted on ordering was crisp and sweet.

Even the main dishes that we ordered were amazing.

The hours slipped past us without any of us noticing, and that was such a beautiful thing.

By the time the last bowl was empty and our glasses were dry, Mario came back with a proud grin.

"Everything was good, kids?" he asked.

"Everything was perfect, Mario," Shin said, pulling his wallet out from his pocket. "Bill, please."

I snapped my face toward him, my eyebrows knitting together. "Wait a second, ghost boy. Let me pay for—"

"No," Shin cut in, his eyes meeting mine with that firm, quiet warmth that left no room for arguing. "Tonight, it's on me."

I opened my mouth to launch a full protest, but Sora reached over from my left and tapped my wrist.

"Just let him, Akane," she murmured with a small smile. "Sometimes it's easier to let boys feel useful."

I shot her a raised-eyebrow glare, but the warmth of the moment made me sigh. "Fine. But next time, it's on my card. No arguments."

"Deal," Shin said.

Then Mario walked toward the cash register and came back a few minutes later with the bill.

After that, Shin handed him the cash, and the three of us stood up from our chairs, adjusting our jackets as we said goodbye to Mario before pushing through the heavy glass door and stepping back out onto the pavement.

The evening air hit our faces like a cool slap, and the city lights blinked against the dark sky above us. 

Before Sora could step away toward the corner, her boots came to a stop.

She turned back to face us under the amber glow of the streetlamp, her blue eyes shining with a quiet gratitude that had nothing to do with the school armor she usually wore.

Then she reached out both hands, catching my right hand in a firm, warm grip before extending her left to take Shin's palm in the same motion.

"Thank you," she said, her voice trembling a little. "Thank you both, for making me feel normal, even if it was just for one day. I can't wait to do this again with you."

I looked at her bright face, and a real, soft smile broke through my usual dry expression.

"The pleasure was ours, sweet idol," I murmured. "You owe us so a lot of favors after today."

"I guess so." She said,

Then, Sora let out a small, happy laugh, her fingers slipping away from ours as she turned on her heel to head toward the residential district alone.

But before her loafers could make it a full step, my left arm shot out through the darkness like a whip.

My fingers caught the sleeve of her blazer, halting her mid-motion.

"And where do you think you're going all alone, Sora?" I asked, my voice dropping into that low, lone-wolf purr of mine.

Sora froze on the pavement, her body turning back toward me with a look of pure confusion.

"What...?" she whispered, confused.

The wind swept through the empty avenue, the low hum of distant traffic threading through the silence, and the three of us stood locked under the golden light of the streetlamp, on the edge of something that wasn't quite finished yet.

—

Another Author's Note: After I finish this story, I'm planning to write a few spin-offs, side stories, and "what if" scenarios. I was thinking about writing an alternate universe where Akane doesn't exist. If that happened, who would you like to see Shin end up with first? Let me know in the comments, even though I already know that many want to see Hoshiko.