31 Dinner Party part 2 (1/2)

After a short walk through a familiar area, Axel knew exactly where they were going but didn't open his mouth, just in case he was wrong.

The closer they got to the store, the more certain Axel was about his guess. It wasn't until they were a couple blocks away did Axel walk next to Sae and whispered, ”Sae, are we going to LeBlanc?”

Sae stopped for a second before turning towards Axel with a cheeky grin on her face. She tilted her head in a cute manner and said, ”Guess the cats out of the bag.”

Axel, however, was stunned the moment he saw Sae's face. To see the usually serious Sae pull a cheeky grin was… an experience, to say the least.

Before Axel could think any further, Sae dragged Makoto next to Axel and smiled as she said, ”Makoto, the place that we'll be celebrating at is the place where I met Axel. It's a small cafe called, 'LeBlanc'. I can personally guarantee that the curry and coffee are the best of the best.”

Without bothering about her sister, Makoto dragged the half-dazed Axel while she repeatedly said, ”Let's go Axel. Come on! Come on! Come on!”

Axel absentmindedly nodded before slowly showing Makoto where the cafe was. By the time they arrived, Axel had finally recovered from his shock.

Walking inside, the trio were greeted by Sojiiro, who was actually in the middle of making some coffee. The smell alone made Makoto happy that they came here as she quietly muttered, ”What a nice smell...”

Sae dragged her dazed sister and Axel to a booth before she looked over at Sojiro and said, ”Three servings of curry and three coffees please.”

With a small chuckle, Sojiro smiled and said, ”Coming right up.” Before turning toward the kitchen to cook the food.

Suddenly, Sae's phone started ringing. With a bitter smile, Sae apologized as she excused herself while Makoto's mood quickly fell to rock bottom as a small look of sadness appeared on her face for a second before she tried to cover it up.

Axel obviously saw her small look of sadness but didn't know how to comfort her. Mustering up some courage, Axel silently moved next to Makoto and gave her a hug.

It wasn't overly-affectionate or constricting, but it gave Makoto a small feeling of warmth that slowly burned away the loneliness inside her as she closed her eyes and leaned into Axel's chest to enjoy the warmth.

After a couple minutes, Sae came back inside and sat across from Makoto and Axel. Sighing, Sae flopped onto the table and started complaining.

”What don't they get by the word, 'Vacation'!?! Why the hell did they have to call me about where the stupid stapler is!?! They should've just looked for it instead of call me!?!”

Sae started ruffling her hair in irritation while Makoto looked at her big sister with a sad smile.

Seeing that the celebration was falling apart, Axel took a deep breath and said, ”Sae, are you okay?”

When Axel stopped speaking, Sae's body twitched before collapsing onto the table. With her arms around her head, she released a tired sigh.

With no better option in his head, Axel reached over the booth and started gently rubbing her back.