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"Can I please look now, Ritsu-chan?"
"Just be patient, we're alllllmost there."
"Geez…"
Arashi sighed as Ritsu continued clumsily guiding her forward, his hands covering her eyes. He'd told her that he had a surprise for her, but wouldn't let her see where they were going until they arrived. She hoped they would go inside to shield themselves from the cold April wind, but judging from how soft the ground felt under her shoes and the noise of people talking all around them, they were in some sort of park. She huffed, trusting that Ritsu wasn't about to waste her time.
Soon, Ritsu slowed to a stop. "Okay, you can look now." He moved his hands, and Arashi let out a small gasp as she finally absorbed the sight in front of her.
They stood in front of a picnic blanket and basket set up beneath a massive cherry blossom tree. Arashi looked at Ritsu as if to confirm that she wasn't just seeing things, and his self-satisfied grin made it apparent that he was the one who prepared it. The strong wind blew cherry blossom petals all around, and the deep red-orange sunset gave the park an ethereal atmosphere like something out of a fairy tale.
"Ritsu-chan, what's all this for? Is there an occasion I'm forgetting about?"
Ritsu shook his head. "No occasion. I know you've been working really hard lately, and you were really excited to see the cherry blossoms, so I wanted to make it special for you."
"My, you went to all that trouble just for me?"
"It's not troublesome. If it's for you, I can find the motivation to do anything."
Arashi felt her heart skip a beat. "Gosh, you're going to make me swoon! This is all so thoughtful of you."
Ritsu held out his hand, the pink blush on his cheeks framing his affectionate smile. “Let’s get started, shall we?” Arashi took his hand and let him lead her to the picnic blanket.
As they sat down, Ritsu opened the basket and pulled out a small plate, placing two little sandwiches on it. He handed it to Arashi before preparing his own plate. She took a bite of one of the sandwiches, almost immediately humming in delight. It was a simple egg sandwich, but the seasonings used brought out intriguing subtle flavors.
"Mm, this is delicious, Ritsu-chan!"
"Hehe, well, I'm not quite a master chef yet, but I-" Ritsu was interrupted by an especially strong gust of wind blowing petals into his face. He spluttered and scrambled to brush himself off. Laughing, Arashi scooted closer to him and gently swept a few stray petals out of his hair. "Not very ideal weather, huh?"
"The flowers must be jealous of how suave I looked in front of my beautiful girlfriend, so they had to knock me down a peg," Ritsu joked.
Arashi giggled. She took another bite of her sandwich, raising an eyebrow as she noticed an odd texture within it. "I think a petal or two may have landed in the food."
"I'm not really surprised, I'm pretty sure at least five of them flew directly into my mouth when the wind hit me."
"Goodness gracious. I wasn't expecting this cherry blossom viewing to become a cherry blossom tasting."
Ritsu chuckled, reaching for the picnic basket. "I did make sakura mochi, which hopefully won't get blown away."
"Wow, you really thought of everything, didn't you? Well, everything except the weather, I suppose," Arashi teased.
"Ehhhh, maybe I'll just let the mochi blow away if you keep poking fun at me," Ritsu bluffed, pretending to pout.
"Oh no, I would hate to be deprived of my beloved Ritsu-chan's delectable sweets! Whatever shall I do?"
"Hmm…you could beg for it…"
"Ritsu-chan!" Arashi elbowed him as he laughed mischievously.
"Okay, okay, I'll give in this time. Now say ahh," he crooned, holding a piece of mochi in front of her.
Blushing slightly, Arashi opened her mouth for him to feed her. The dessert looked a bit questionable (she's pretty sure that sakura mochi isn't supposed to be blue) but knowing Ritsu, it was the inside that would really count. She bit into the mochi, which was delicious just as expected.
They settled into a comfortable silence as they finished off the food. Arashi felt more relaxed than she had in a while, fully relishing in the joy of sharing a special moment with someone you love. At some point her gaze locked onto Ritsu, who was quietly munching his food while people-watching. Bathed in the golden glow of the sunset, he looked too alluring and beautiful for words. Arashi was sure that this would only ring true even more as the sky grew darker, for Ritsu always seemed to look the most radiant at night. In the middle of her trance, Arashi suddenly realized that Ritsu was staring right back at her.
"Is there something on my face, Ritsu-chan? Or am I just that captivating?"
"Hehe, I could ask the same thing. You were staring at me too, Nacchan."
"The two of us combined might be even more beautiful than the flowers," Arashi boasted.
"You just might be right there." Ritsu smiled at her serenely, as if there was nowhere on Earth he'd rather be at that moment.
"I really want to thank you for planning this date, Ritsu-chan. It was so sweet of you to do something special for me out of the blue."
He took her hand and squeezed it. "You're welcome. Say the word, and I'll do it again a thousand times over. Just don't forget to spoil me in return, too."
Arashi laughed softly. "Of course."
Feeling an almost magnetic pull between them, Arashi leaned in towards Ritsu. The wind pushed at the back of her head as if encouraging her forward, and Ritsu met her in the middle for a kiss. Their lips slotted together comfortably, a familiar dance of passion between lovers. As the sweet perfume of the flowers filled their senses, Arashi's heart soared.