There was something about heading home after a late night of studying that made Kaito's heart feel satisfied with things around him. Usually, whenever he had to go on-campus for classes, he would make sure that he'd be there until they were locking the doors to the buildings for the night, using the silent library and the attached study nook to his advantage. He'd been working on star charts that covered entire tabletops, and it was much easier to get those out and added to if he was the only person using the room, and the windows up in the annex were able to be pushed open so that telescopes could make their way out, so really it was a perfect place for him to do his studying. He was going to ace his last round of classes before getting his degree, and then he'd be off to working with spaceships and charting expeditions, not just where the stars were.
He was most of the way back to his apartment when he heard his phone buzz in the seat next to him, and he cringed, knowing that anyone who would be trying to message him at that late hour really needed something from him. Even with how empty the streets were, it was still illegal to be on his phone while driving, so he pulled off into an abandoned parking lot and grabbed his phone to check it. All that was there was a single unread message, but given that it was from Maki he knew that replying to it quickly was best.
stop by the store & get me something sweet, the message said, no further explanations or clarifications attached. He nodded after reading, even though no one was around to see him do so, and shot her a reply saying that he'd do that for her, before realizing that it was so late that just about everywhere would be closed. She was setting him up for failure, trying to make him look like a horrible boyfriend even though he wanted to do what she asked of him, and so he had to get creative.
It might have nearly been eleven o'clock that night, but Kaito was going to go out of his way to please his girlfriend and fill her one simple request, even if it meant stopping by some seedy convenience store he wouldn't step inside even in broad daylight. There were other cars parked outside of the building when he drove up, a few blocks in the wrong direction from his apartment, and he knew if trouble befell him he could always call for Maki to come bail him out. After getting out of his car, Kaito immediately got distracted by a bright star up in the sky above, and after mentally figuring out what it was, where it was located, and recalling that he'd already put it in place on his chart, he looked around to see that, aside from the lights of the store, the area he was in was rather dark.
"Well, time to make this quick," he told himself, making sure his car was locked before walking inside the store. There were a few people milling around inside, all of which seemed to be minding their own business, and he went straight to the candy aisle, which was thankfully empty of other bodies. The selection was vast, and he considered sending a text asking Maki what she wanted in specific, but waiting for her to reply would've meant spending more time in the store than he wanted to. To be on the safe side, he grabbed one of anything that looked even remotely appealing, realizing too quickly that he wasn't going to have enough arm space to hold everything.
He was a grad student and he didn't have the common sense to limit his selections to what he already knew his girlfriend liked, because his mind was so flooded with the desire to make her happy at any cost. So, instead of putting anything back, he just piled it tightly in his arm and hoped for the best. With every step towards the counter he could feel many of the treats shifting, but there wasn't much he could do about it, especially when he got up to the front and saw that there were bags of galaxy-themed gummy sweets there. "I'm getting all of this," he told the cashier as he dropped the massive pile out of his grasp, only to grab several bags of the gummies and pile them on top. "It's mostly for my girlfriend, but some of it's for me."
"One of you must be a big eater," the cashier replied in a deadpan voice, beginning the arduous process of ringing everything up. Kaito awkwardly laughed, knowing that neither him or Maki really did eat much outside of their normal meals, but if she was asking for sweets then something had to be up. The exchange went smoothly, even if it was silent for the most part, and after paying and having everything bagged up, he was ready to head out and get home to the love of his life.
Someone else in the store had other ideas, though, based on the yelling that broke out near the alcohol cooler in the back corner. He thought he'd be able to get out without any issue, but as he made his way towards the door something came flying through the store and shattered one of the glass windows, spooking him and making him nearly jump through another window just to get away from it. The situation was escalating and had nothing to do with him, but when he got back to his car and was safely inside of it, he couldn't leave the parking lot due to the police that had been called at the first yell, their cars blocking everyone in their spots.
I'll be late, big problem the store, he sent to Maki, looking at the time on his phone. Just after eleven, he hadn't been in there too long and she would still be awake for a while when he got home. She sent him a thumbs-up emoticon as a reply and he could feel the judgmental tone it carried with it, and he wanted to explain that the problem had nothing to do with him but felt that it could be explained later.
Kaito ended up sitting there in his car for a long while, as the situation inside the store was handled by the authorities. His lights were on and he was listening to an audiobook about the exploration of the planets as he waited to know he could leave, and every time he saw a cop leave the building he wondered if they were going to come talk to him, or better, if they were going to move their car. He was still there when the clock struck midnight, then twelve thirty, and even one o'clock, and he knew that Maki was definitely growing impatient with him but there was nothing he could do to get out of where he was.
Finally, as his eyelids started to grow heavy and the interesting content of his book was beginning to lose him, the parking lot cleared of police cars and he was able to be on his way. It took just a few minutes to get to his spot outside of his building, the light in his and Maki's room on and visible from where he was, and after grabbing the bags of candy he was on his way up the outdoor flights of stairs to their front door. "It's about damn time you get back," she said, opening the door for him after seeing him coming up the stairs. "What took you so long? Some girl offer you a good time in exchange for watching the stars with you?"
"Nah, Maki Roll, you wouldn't believe what actually happened to me," he replied, setting the bags down on their small kitchen table after he'd entered and she'd closed the door. "But before we get into that, what's the occasion? You're never one to ask for candy."'
"Oh, I, uh…" Her face was heating up as he looked at her, curious for what her answer was. She was clearly dressed for bed, wearing one of his shirts that was oversized on her, and he could see her shorts peeking out underneath it, but when he noticed that she had a microwavable heating pad in her hand he knew what the reason was and felt bad for asking about it. "It's nothing. Ask me about it again, and I'll kill you. How about that?"
He grabbed all of the candy he'd specifically bought for himself and nodded, not wanting to step on her toes when she was in such a state. "Sounds good. You can have whatever you want out of all of this, I got it all for you. Guy at the store said one of us is a big eater, but he's never met us so he wouldn't know this isn't usual, y'know?"
"It happens every month, Kaito. You just usually aren't the one I ask to buy me the candy, since normally I can do it myself." Grabbing a single candy bar out of the pile and opening it, Maki took a single bite out of it before her face scrunched and she gagged. "Ew, this is absolutely disgusting. Why'd you buy this?"
"I didn't know what you wanted, so I went a…bit overboard. I'm sorry you don't like it, do you want me to eat it so it doesn't go to waste?"
He thought he was being a valiant and caring boyfriend by making that offer, but seeing the look of determination in Maki's tired eyes as she shook her head and took another bite of the candy bar made him remember why he loved her so much. Sweets were sweets, and for someone who just needed the chocolate pick-me-up, even the nastiest of candy bars could be a godsend.
A/N: the prompt was sweets! I wanted to make Kaito a loving boyfriend who just tries his best, damn it