"Co on, Dumb-senpai. Try one. We promised a surprise. This isn’t it yet. It’s in them." Ria said as she picked up one of the chocolates and held it out to .
I stared straight into her eyes and they were sparkling with a mix of mischief and anticipation.
Well, even if they put hot sauce in them as a kind of mischievous prank, I’ll still eat. But they said surprise so... it must be sothing wholeso, right?
I took the chocolate from her fingers. It was still slightly warm, like they’d rushed it straight from the molds to the table.
I popped it into my mouth, the outer shell cracking with a satisfying snap before the rich, velvety center lted across my tongue.
It was sweet but not overpowering, with a hint of sothing nutty. Almonds, perhaps. There was also a subtle bitterness from the dark chocolate that balanced it perfectly. But then, as I chewed, my teeth hit sothing small and crinkly inside.
I paused, glancing at Ria, who was watching like a hawk, her lips pressed together to hold back a grin. Carefully, I pulled out a tiny slip of rolled paper, no bigger than a fortune cookie ssage, sared with a bit of lted chocolate.
These girls... What if I gulped it down without searching through the lted chocolate?
"Unroll it, Dumb-senpai," Ria urged as she leaned forward on her elbows. How adorable...
Anyway, Akane was already snapping a quick photo with her phone, while Eimi put on a aningful smile as she waited for my reaction. Anzu-nee crossed her arms, smirking like she knew exactly what was coming, and Machida just watched with wide-eyed curiosity, clearly still trying to process how she’d ended up in the middle of this.
I unrolled the slip carefully, wiping off the chocolate smudges with my thumb. The handwriting was neat and precise. It was Ria’s, no doubt. In tiny letters it read:
"Dumb-senpai, thank you for always being my unsinkable ship. No matter how rocky it beca, you never threw out of the tower. And even when I act mature, you’ve never stopped treating with more adoration. Love, Ria. P.S. Don’t eat too much, or you’ll get fat. I can’t carry you."
I couldn’t help but chuckle as I finished reading it aloud for everyone.
Ria’s cheeks turned scarlet, but she didn’t look away. She bead at with a proud little smile like she’d nailed the perfect mix of sweet and sassy.
"That’s... adorable," Machida said softly, her sharp eyes softening as she glanced at Ria. "You put ssages in all of them?"
Eimi shook her head, “No. Every chocolate has a different surprise. The birthday girl wants to give him a ssage. As for mine...”
Her voice trailed there as she picked up another piece of chocolate and held it out to with a playful wink. "Mine’s a little different. Go on, Ruki. Take a bite."
I accepted it from her fingers, popping it into my mouth. The outer layer was smooth dark chocolate with a subtle hint of mint that cooled my tongue before the richness hit.
As I chewed, my teeth encountered sothing small and tallic this ti. I fished it out carefully and held it up for all to see.
Again, what if I chewed on it, ruining the surprise? These girls...
Anyways, once the sared chocolate residue cleared up, a tiny silver keychain shaped like a mini-spatula appeared. It’s not like Satsuki’s self-made lemonade can keychain because I had already seen this keychain before.
It was in her bag. It’s sothing she adored.
“You’re giving this to ? Don’t you have this in your bag?” I asked.
“Heh. Of course, I will. That’s an exact copy of it, silly. I still have mine. Why will I put sothing that was already hanging in my bag for more than a year in your chocolate? That’s unsanitary.” With a tone that was part-scolding and part-amused, Eimi crossed her arms under her chest, pushing up those modest curves.
"Besides, it’s symbolic. You know, like how you’ve whipped my life into shape. Now you have a mini- to remind you of that."
Mini-her? So, the spatula represents her now? Another chuckle escaped my lips as I turned the tiny spatula keychain between my fingers.
It was cute, thoughtful, and sohow perfectly encapsulated Eimi. Practical with a dash of sentint. "Symbolic, huh? I like it. Thanks, Eimi. I’ll hang it on my bag as well. So you’re always with ."
“Pfft. You say that because your phone already had another key chain given to you by another girl,” Despite saying it like that, Eimi’s lips curved up playfully. She knew about it all along, after all.
“Not exactly. It’s to match you. But if you want to tie it on my phone–”
“No! The bag is fine. I’m just kidding.” She hurriedly cut off before leaning forward, wiping a trace of chocolate from my lips, “Now, read the note I left behind.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” I smilingly shook my head as I unfurled the note that was tucked in the chain.
“For the guy who captures my heart every ti. Use this to rember our monts. Love, Eimi. P.S. Don’t lose it, or I’ll have to find another one. That’s the last stock from the supermarket."
There’s a P.S. too, huh? I see. So it’s among the things they secretly bought earlier. Still, she got it from the supermarket? And here I thought it was from so hidden collector’s shop. Not that I’m complaining. She gave it a lot of thought, after all.
After her, Akane and Anzu-nee also had their own special chocolate for with a surprise inside.
I carefully bit on the chocolates to ensure I wouldn’t be breaking anything if it was sothing fragile. As for the notes... well... they’re naturally included.
Akane’s surprise was a... caral candy. Right. Only after I inspected it and separated the note did she pull out a silver locket shaped like a tiny book.
She told it was the gift that I refused to take from her two years ago. Yet she kept tucked in her room. She was waiting for my next birthday to give it but with Ria creating this opportunity, she imdiately went and brought it with her.
“Don’t look at like that, husband. You don’t have to apologize either. It’s all in the past. Here, in our present, you’re mine now.”
That’s all she said when she saw about to stand up and apologize again because of how I ignored her all those tis.
After that, she jumped into my embrace, which prompted both Ria and Eimi to do the sa.
Machida went speechless from that scene but well, I didn’t have the ti to mind her reaction anymore.
Because right after that, Anzu-nee pried away from the other three so that she could get her turn.
At the sa ti, she pushed the special chocolate into my mouth, saying her surprise, apart from the note, wasn’t in the chocolate.
Then, the box that she had reach for earlier appeared in her hand as if she had already prepared it for this mont.
She handed it over to , her cheeks tinged with a faint blush that she tried to hide behind a smirk.
"Open it, shaless brat," Anzu-nee said, sounding both nervous and playful. It’s like she was handing over a piece of her heart wrapped in cardboard. "But read the note first."
I pinched her cheek first before unfurling the note carefully.
’Shaless brat, you’ve turned my world upside down in the best way. Thanks for seeing as more than just ’tiny Anzu-nee.’ You’ve got my heart now. Never, ever drop it. Next year, let’s celebrate your birthday together. I don’t care if you co to in the middle of the night after eting the others.’
See this? She’s so sweet. If those guys she previously dated simply treated her right, I would probably have no chance to wriggle my way into her heart.
But they didn’t, and now here I was, holding a box that felt heavier than it looked. Her eyes locked on mine with a mix of vulnerability, anticipation and more importantly, affection.
I set the note aside carefully, then lifted the lid. Inside, nestled a tiny plush bear, stitched together with obvious care but a few uneven seams that scread ’beginner project’. The bear wore a little boxing glove on one paw, and in the other, it held a heart-shaped tag that read ’For my shaless brat’ in her neat handwriting.
And here I thought, inside were so treasures she hid from her childhood. Looks like I got fooled.
Not counting what we did in her room, she must’ve planned this the mont Ria or Eimi told her about the ‘surprise’ for .
Anzu-nee’s cheeks burned brighter as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other."It’s... stupid, I know. I made it during one of my craft classes. Thought it’d be funny. You know, since you’re always ’fighting’ for everyone’s attention or sothing. And the heart... well, you get it.”
How should I respond to this? Can I just pick her up and kiss her? Of course I can. Akane, Ria, and Eimi, too.
And upon further thinking, I’m certain that Ria’s plan to also celebrate my birthday today will extend to the other girls we are going to et later.
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