"You brought water guns?"

Chisato gave Takina several quick nods, picking up a pistol and tossing another to Takina which she caught.

"Yeah! I thought that this would be fun since we never got to go to the beach! And this is all distilled water, so there's no need to worry about ruining your outfit too bad."

Takina looked down at herself (as always, wearing the sundress that Chisato picked out for her), looking down uncertainly.

"I dunno… I mean, it's still not a swimsuit, so I probably shouldn't- mrplglthf!"

…Before being shot in the mouth with a stream of water.

"Huh."

Chisato looked down at her hand, grinning to herself as she did…

"I didn't expect to hit it that well. I mean, I'm not much of a sharpshooter, so- mrplglthf!"

…Before being responded to in kind.

"That does it! You're on, Takina!"

And so, the other 3 watched as Takina and Chisato dashed out onto the beach, laughing as they darted around one another, blasting and dodging faster than what seemed to be humanly possible.

"Whose idea was it to give the Lycoris water guns?"

Mika merely shrugged while Mizuki sighed, saying:

"The only thing I don't understand is why those 2 get to go to Germany while we're stuck running the shop."

"Well, Takina's saved the shop on numerous occasions, so it just seemed reasonable that she gets a favour every now and then. At least they're not dragging us into that water fight- mrplglthf!"

Right as she was going to look down at her (thankfully waterproof) laptop, Kurumi looks up to find a giggling Takina having a gun pointed at her along with Chisato who yelled:

"Oi, c'mon and join the fun!"

Mizuki looked at the indignant expression on Kurumi's face, laughing as she put her hand over her mouth…

"Pfft. Looks like they got you-"

…Before meeting her eventual watery demise.

"That does it! You stupid brats are gonna see why you need to respect your elders!"

And with that, Mika began to laugh as he watched the other 4 splashing each other silly.

###

After everyone came back soaked (except Chisato who managed to dodge every shot, much to the chagrin of the others), it was time for:

"Cake!"

Takina stared at the 2-layer Chiffon cake on the table with 2 rings of candles. It was rather large, a ring of 8 candles having been placed on each layer. Takina stared at it, not saying anything until Chisato leaned out in front of her with a smile.

"What do you think? I made it myself!"

"I made the recipe."

"And I did all the cleanup."

"Mizuki, Kurumi, I would love it if you'd shut up right now."

Takina giggled at this display before her attention was diverted to Mika handing her a lighter and another candle.

"So? Are you ready?"

Giving a nod, Takina lit a candle and used it to light the other 16 before placing it into the centre of the cake. By this point, the sky had darkened, the only light in the area being from the moon and the candles.

"Alright! Time for singing!"

Mizuki raised an eyebrow.

"Eh? But-"

"No buts! Now, everyone! Happy birthday to you~"

The year prior, Takina's birthday had come and gone, what with the sombre news of Chisato's condition. But now? With the entirety of LycoReco's crew singing (albeit off-key) for her was… something else.

"Happy birthday, dear Takina~"

Takina couldn't help but giggle at the exaggerated tone that Chisato used when singing that line in particular before blushing when she felt a kiss on her lips. But all too soon, the song came to an end.

"Takina, c'mon! Make a wish!"

"Ah, right."

After shaking out of the trance that Chisato had just put her in by swiping her into a side hug, Takina took a deep breath, mulling over the question.

I think… I know what I want.

And as Takina blew out the candles, the thought lingering in her mind was:

I want to be happy with these people forever.

###

"Are you satisfied with today?"

After everyone else had fallen asleep, Takina and Mika were the only two conscious individuals remaining. In response to his question, Takina merely nodded.

"Yeah. We played and we ate. It was fun. Mizuki and Kurumi's presents were also very thoughtful."

Takina had been quite touched by Mizuki's gift of a German-Japanese dictionary and she had nearly rejected Kurumi's gift of a brand-new laptop.

"That's good."

They sat in silence for a bit, watching the sun set before, after a little, Mika spoke up.

"I know that I've said this before, but again, thank you for saving my daughter."

"Wha- uh…"

Takina was slightly startled by this, and not exactly knowing how to respond, she said:

"I-it was really nothing. Plus, it's not like I wanted her dead."

"Ha! Fair point."

Takina looked down at the sleeping blonde in her lap, undoing the red ribbon and smiling as the freshly released locks of hair tickled her thighs. Seeing this, Mika sighed.

"Still, I've only just gotten my daughter back and the first thing you do is to steal her away."

Immediately, Takina stopped, taking a moment to process what she'd just heard.

"Um… I, uh…"

"I was joking."

"Oh."

Takina breathed a sigh of relief before going back to admiring Chisato's sleeping form. The moment was only slightly marred by the fact that Chisato had begun to shiver.

"I think that I should take her home now."

Mika nodded.

"That seems prudent. Ah, but before you go, I'd like for you to have this."

Right when Takina had finished laying Chisato down in the car, they turned around, seeing Mika standing in front of her, holding out some kind of box. Taking the box in her hand, Takina was slightly confused as she opened it.

"What is-"

And the moment that Takina saw the little slow in the middle of it was the moment that Takina knew the purpose of this box.

"U-uh, I probably won't be using this too soon."

Mika nodded.

"That's fair. Oh, and you know how to drive, right?"

Takina nodded, stepping into the front seat as she shoved the box into a pocket.

"Yeah."

And as she started the car, Mika merely looked up at her, saying:

"Take care of her. Ok?"

"I will."

And with that, Takina drove back home.

###

"Chisato, we're home."

"Mmngh… 5 more minutes, Takina- Wait, your presents!"

Rather than asking to be carried inside like Takina was hoping expecting, Chisato sprung to her feet, patting herself down.

"Crap, crapcrapcrapcrap, where'd I-"

A curious smile began to form on Takina's face as she watched Chisato freak out.

"Chisato, it's fine. I can wait until we get inside-"

"There it is! Takina, close your eyes."

"Why-"

"Just do it!"

Takina obliged, her eyes fluttering shut as she felt something slipping onto her left wrist.

"All done! Take a look."

Takina opened her eyes, taking a long look at Chisato's face.

"Uh, you're beautiful as always, Chisato."

Immediately, a goofy grin spread across Chisato's face as she laughed, wrapping Takina into a tight embrace that was swiftly returned. Once they broke apart, she said:

"I meant at your wrist, silly!"

Bringing her wrist up to eye level, Takina's eyes went wide as she found that there was now a golden bracelet adorning it. The orange glow of the sun reflected beautifully off its surface, making the bracelet shimmer as Takina held her hand up to the light.

"It's… perfect."

Takina took a moment longer to admire it before nearly being bowled over by Chisato as she hugged her from behind.

"I know, right? I'm just that good of a girlfriend~"

Takina sighed, reaching back to pat Chisato's head.

"Yes, yes you are."

And then the 2 of them stood there, Chisato peering over Takina's shoulder as the 2 of them watched the sun set.

###

"So, how do you feel, Takina?"

The last bits of the sun were well and truly over the horizon, but despite the fact that the moon hung high in the air, illuminating the room, neither Takina nor Chisato had fallen asleep. Considering the question for a moment, Takina merely shrugged.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you just had your 17th! Don't you feel, y'know, older? Plus, today was basically 2 birthdays in one! Since you didn't have a 16th, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah."

Again, the room fell silent, Takina's back rubbing up against Chisato's front in the futon as she thought.

"I guess I feel different. In the past few years, a lot has changed."

"I know, right? You got kicked out of the DA, joined our cafe, got together with me-"

"And I learned how to enjoy myself. Or, more accurately, you taught me how to enjoy myself."

When Takina turned around to face her, Chisato was nearly transfixed. They hadn't bothered with makeup and Takina's hair was, frankly, a mess, but something about her was just… mesmerizing.

And then, Chisato remembered that she was supposed to say something.

"Ah, well, I help you get started, but really, you're the one who changed yourself! And you've also… you've shown me that my life's worth living, Takina. So thank you for that."

Takina gave a short laugh, planting a kiss on Chisato's forehead before saying:

"I guess we've really helped each other out, huh?"

"Yeah, totally! And I can't speak for you, but I'm definitely happier when you're around!"

"Same."

There were a few more moments where neither of them spoke, the silence hanging in the air growing thicker and thicker until Chisato noticed a look of worry on Takina's face.

"Something eating at you?"

Takina shook her head.

"Worried you'll lose me again?"

Takina sighed, wrapping her arms around Chisato's shoulders and pulling her close.

"Stop reading my mind."

"Nope, never~"

…

"Want to talk about it?"

…

"It's just… What if your heart stops working again? Or what if someone attacks us? Or what if we fall out of love? There's just so much I don't know about when it comes to… when it comes to us."

Chisato took a moment to take this in before planting a light kiss on the tip of Takina's nose.

"I get that. I'm scared about stuff like that too. But that's stuff that any couple has to worry about, right? At any moment, you could have a heart attack, or get cancer, or rabies, or get attacked, but… the least we can do is enjoy ourselves before any of that happens. Right?"

"I guess so…"

The worry in Takina hadn't left, however, so Chisato continued, rubbing her knuckles up and down Takina's back as she did.

"But I can tell you right now, that the one thing you won't have to worry about is that I'll never stop loving you, Takina."

Takina looked up at her, revealing the tears that had begun to form in her eyes.

"Really?"

"Really. Remember what I told you that day you found me?"

Takina was confused, but after a moment, a look of realization hit her as she whispered out:

"That you'd never stop loving me until the day you die…"

"See? So until one of us dies, you won't have to worry about anything!"

"Pfft… You are so corny…"

Despite the insult, Takina couldn't help but smile through the tears, pulling Chisato into an even tighter embrace as she said:

"I guess we're more of a normal couple than I thought."

"Right? Plus, with how amazing my new heart is, it might even outlive yours! So let's keep living together until we're too old to move, ok, Takina?"

"If you think that being too old to move is going to make me stop loving you, you're a bigger idiot than I thought."

They shared a laugh, then a kiss before saying:

"I can't wait for our next adventure, Takina!"

"I can't wait to see you in the morning, Chisato."