Even as she scanned the menu, she could feel the intent glare sent her way.

Ayame-han’s sigh was deep, sounding frustrated.

“Why are we here?”

Ayame looked up at her, eyes darting toward a table a few seats down.

“Takayuki-han is going on a date!” She whispered, leaning forward in her seat. 

After following her line of sight, Ayame-han let her head fall forward with another sigh, pressing her fingertips between her eyebrows. “Again, why are we here? It’s not like she’ll eat him.”

Ayame pouted. “I know she won’t. But I want to see how it goes!”

“I don’t.” Still, she picked up the menu, eyes scanning the items. “I’ll stay if you pay.”

Ayame grinned, managing to stop herself just in time to not clap her hands together in excitement. It would’ve defeated the purpose of trying to go unnoticed. “Of course!”

The date seemed to be going well.

Takayuki had clearly been nervous at first, but relaxed throughout the hour she’d been watching. Ayame-han had told her she needed to stop snooping in everybody’s business, but she was so curious!

Ayame was pulled away from her snooping when their desserts arrived, and her eyes brightened at the sight of them. “Ooh, it looks delicious!”

Her eyes slid shut and her free hand cupped her cheek as she let out a quiet squeal of delight at the taste of the panna cotta.

That’s why she didn’t notice what was happening until it was too late. Nor did Ayame-han see fit to warn her of her impending doom.

“Matsuyuki-san? Koizumi-san? What are you both doing here?”

Ayame almost choked on her food, coughing for a few seconds. As she turned her head, Takayuki suddenly stood right next to their table.

“Oh, ummm, hi! We’re on aaa… date!”

Her cheeks flushed pink at her own words. She could have just said they were hanging out as friends, but since she’d been thinking so much about Takayuki’s date, it was the first word out of her mouth.

She glanced at Ayame-han, eyes pleading. Ayame-han, for her part, looked like she was holding back either a scoff or a snort. She wasn’t sure which was worse, but she certainly seemed amused by the mess Ayame had created for herself.

Meanwhile, Takayuki’s eyes moved between the two of them, his mouth hung open wide enough for a small bird to fly in and make a nest.

“I uh…” He was clearly at a loss for words. “I didn’t know that you two… that you were… in that kind of a relationship?”

Ayame didn’t know which God was on her side as she heard Ayame-han’s response.

“You got a problem with that?”

The glare she sent his way made him cringe in fright, and he hastily shook his head. “N-not at all! I was just, surprised! I had no idea either of you even liked w- um, I mean…”

“That’s because it’s none of your business. Now go away, you’re ruining the mood.”

Takayuki’s eyes darted back and forth between them for another moment until he looked past Ayame toward the bathroom. “Ah, oh, of course, I’ve got my- I mean. I’m sorry for interrupting. See you guys later!”

He hurried past them, toward his date who had just left the bathroom and was now waiting for him by the exit, smile on her face. They watched as he gave her a shy smile, one that she happily returned. Then, they saw the woman reach out to take his hand in hers, pulling him with her through the door.

Something she said as she leaned close to him underneath their shared umbrella made his face turn bright red.

Ayame-han let out a quiet whistle. “Forget what I said earlier. She might actually eat him alive.”

It took her a moment to figure out what she was suggesting, but when she did, Ayame’s face went pink. “Oh my god, Ayame-han!”

Her reaction made Ayame-han grin.

As they left the restaurant a while later, Ayame unfurled her umbrella, letting Ayame-han step in underneath it. They walked side by side in silence, the sun setting in the cool summer evening.

“That was a terrible first date.”

Ayame gasped, turning her head toward her. “No it wasn’t! She took his hand and everything!”

“Not the date I was referring to.”

Oh.

Heat rose to Ayame’s cheeks as she remembered what had happened barely half an hour earlier. “Sorry, I don’t know how that happened.”

For a moment, Ayame-han let her words hang in the air, and then, “You owe me a much better first date than this.”

Ayame’s eyes grew wide, and she would have dropped her umbrella had Ayame-han not had the foresight to grip the shaft. As she felt her hand graze hers, Ayame felt herself grow even more red.

“You want to… go on an actual date with me?”

Ayame-han shrugged, peering out from underneath the canopy of the umbrella as the rain finally stopped falling.

“Sure.” She stopped, turning to look at her. The small grin on her face was amused. “As long as most of it’s not spent playing stalker.”

“I wasn’t-” She cut herself off. Well. Maybe she wasn’t entirely wrong. A wide smile spread on her face as she thought about the idea of going on a real, proper date together. “Of course!”

As they parted ways, she couldn’t help but skip as she moved down the street toward Gion.

For all of the evening’s hiccups, it couldn’t have ended on a better note.

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