@clandestinare asked: What are birthdays for when you’re older, if not an excuse to have good cake? Well. Maybe it’s not his birthday, but even so!
It took a bit of convincing, but Satoru got Ruki to take the celebrant out for an impromptu outing. Meanwhile, Satoru spent the whole afternoon baking. A nice chocolate cherry cake, lovingly shaped like a cartoony bunny!
And as soon as the two arrived home, Satoru greeted Alice with a birthday hat (which he seemingly pulled out of nowhere?) and an excessively dramatic opera rendition of Happy Birthday. Amazing.
Throughout her life, her birthdays often landed on very responsibility heavy days: final tests, entrance exams, work meetings, you name it. When it didn’t and she had the day off for once, it came as a most pleasant surprise, as if the universe was also congratulating her. Takahashi-san’s invitation for lunch was also lovely when she didn’t have any set plans for the earlier hours of the day. It was a bit odd, perhaps suspicious even, that she had yet to hear from their resident memer, but she was having fun.
By the time they’d returned, she understood why, chuckling at the adorableness of the hat and clapping enthusiastically at the performance. “Thank you!” Voice still airy with laughter, she moved to give Satoru a tight hug, Japanese propriety norms be damned! And because he was also involved in the little ruse, Alice gave Ruki a briefer, gentler squeeze as well.