Cupcakes and Cherry Blossoms

12: Crap...

"Come on, Zane, Aphmau's maid cafe opens today!" Garroth yelled at his brother, who was still asleep, curled up hugging a pillow.

"It's still dark outside..." Zane groaned, pulling the blanket up over his head. Garroth, in one swift motion, pulled the blanket off of him and ripped open his blackout curtains, letting in the light of the sunrise from outside. Then, he grabbed a pillow and hit Zane with it.

"AAH!" Zane screamed as he fell off of his bed.

"Can you guys hurry up?!" Laurance called from downstairs. "We're gonna be late!"

"Tell that to Zane!" Garroth replied. "He's being super slow! I'm just trying to get him moving!"

"Alright, alright, I'm getting up!" Zane yelled, groaning. He shoved Garroth out of his room and got himself dressed. He then went into his dresser drawer, grabbing a small box and sliding it in his pocket. He looked up at the Pinkie Cake on his shelf and smiled, heading out.

The trio decided to skip breakfast, (they were going to a cafe, after all) and when they arrived they were glad they did. The scent of freshly baked pastries could be discovered even all the way down the street, even beyond the line that had formed in front of the building. To avoid chaos, though, they made their way inside through the back entrance.
"Guys! Thank Irene you're here!" Aphmau called to them from the other end of the cafe. She ran over to them, shoving bags in each of their arms, with their names respectively written on each of them. "Go put these on, and hurry! We have to open!" The boys ran into the bathrooms and did as they were told, rushing to get themselves into uniform, their butler's outfits. It was stuffy, but Zane dealt with it. By the time they were done, Aphmau was done with her speech, and customers started pouring in. The guys went straight to work.

"Kawaii~Chan, we need a Strawberry cheesecake for table five, a blueberry cobbler for table seven, and some pancakes and chamomile tea for table nine," Zane said, his eyes glued to his notepad. When he finally looked up, though, he was face to face with Kawaii~Chan... In a maid outfit. He blushed, starting to hide his eyes when he noticed something... Her eyes were red and her cheeks looked damp.

"On it, Zane~Kun!" She said, smiling and turning to continue cooking. He stopped her.

"Kawaii~Chan... Were you crying?" She turned and reached her hand to her cheek, wiping away leftover tears. She smiled.

"Oh-um, yeah..." She replied, chuckling and smiling again.

"Are you okay?" Zane promptly responded. "Do you want to talk about anything? Who do I need to hurt?!" He said, suddenly angry. Kawaii~Chan laughed, which took Zane by surprise.

"Zane~Kun, you don't need to hurt anyone! I was crying tears of joy, Kawaii~Chan isn't sad!" Zane smiled dumbly, watching her smile light up the room.

"Oh... That's, That's great! What made you so happy?" Kawaii~Chan smiled.

"Have you seen the logo, Zane~Kun?" She asked, smiling. Zane laughed in realization.

"Yeah," he smiled, then under his breath, he said "It's adorable."

"Kawaii~Chan blushed lightly at his words, and Zane stuck his hands in his pockets awkwardly. Then, he froze, his hand brushing the small box in his pocket.

"Alright, Zane~Kun, you have to go wait some more tables!" Kawaii~Chan said, preparing to push him out the door. Then, Zane turned and stood his ground.

"Wait a second-" He said, looking her in the eye. "This will be quick" he said as he pulled the box out of his pocket. "I, umm, I wanted to give you this,"

"Huh?"

Zane opened the box to reveal Kawaii~Chan's necklace, completely fixed- though now instead of one blossom, there were three, and in the center of each rested a small diamond. Kawaii~Chan was speechless.

"Zane~Kun... I don't understand..."

"I- I felt so," he paused, fumbling over his words as he tried to speak. He had practiced what he was going to say a hundred times over, his social anxiety getting the better of him, though even after rehearsing for hours on end he couldn't think of what he wanted to say.

"Zane~Kun?"

"I- It was the one thing you had left... Of your mom... I- I couldn't let it stay broken, I- I had to, I"

"Zane~Kun!" Kawaii~Chan smiled, crying happy tears once again. Well, one could call them happy. They were more bittersweet. "No one has ever done something so... Special.. For me..." She smiled and wiped her tears as Zane took the necklace out of it's small box. He smiled, gesturing for Kawaii~Chan to turn around, which she did. She pulled her hair out of the way as Zane put the necklace on, fumbling with the clasp. Kawaii~Chan smiled, letting him take his time as she knew how difficult necklaces could be. When he was done, she turned around, letting her hair fall as she beamed.

"It suits you," Zane said as he gawked at the girl in front of him. The way the blossoms of the necklace rested right below her collarbones, the way her hair fell when she let go of it, slightly messy but still gorgeous, and most of all, the way her smile seemed to light up his life. He didn't admit to himself any of these thoughts, though.
"Zane!" Aphmau called, poking her head in the kitchen. "Come on, stop staring at the chef and get the food out to those tables! People are hungry!" She left as quick as she came. Zane and Kawaii~Chan laughed. Then, out of nowhere, Kawaii~Chan stood on her tiptoes and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. Zane stared at her a moment, smiling and blushing Madly

"Zane, come on! You've got table four!" Aphmau called from the other room. Kawaii~Chan smiled and nodded for him to go, handing him the orders. He smiled back, exiting the kitchen. He gave out the orders, apologizing for the wait, but the customers didn't seem to mind. Then, he walked up to table four and pulled out his notepad.

"Hello, and welcome to the Kawaii Treat Maid Sweet Cafe," he said, handing him a menu mindlessly. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Kawaii~Chan..." The man said through gritted teeth.

"Huh?" Zane said, finally looking up at the man sat in front of him. He was a Meif'wa, with black ears and a scruffy brown beard.

"Does a girl by the name of Kawaii~Chan work here?" He asked, looking Zane dead in the eye. His eyes bore into him, and Zane had to admit this man scared him. Slightly. Zane didn't say anything, but his silence gave the man the answer he wanted.

"May I speak with her?" He asked. Zane glared at him.

"If I may ask," he started, hesitantly, "Who are you?"

The man glared, clearly annoyed.

"Her father."

...