SUN

It was a beautiful Sunday, the cold of winter had left behind and the spring weather was felt. Honoka enjoyed that particular day because it was her birthday, which allowed her a full day with her parents, from sunrise to sunset. They were leaving Monday morning, so she might even sleep with them that night.

"You seem very happy, Honoka," Aya said, who despite the distance and knowing that she wasn't the mother of the year, was still able to tell if her daughter was okay or not just by looking at her face.

"I am, mom," Honoka replied with a smile. She was walking hand in hand with her parents to a nice place to have breakfast in the park, they would have a picnic.

Taro, Honoka's father, was carrying the basket of food with his free hand. It was a beautiful sunny day. "Stuff in the lab have stopped exploding? Last time you told us about an engine that almost blew up," the man said between laughs.

"I'd like to say that it is, but no," Honoka replied with a cute laugh.

"Oh! Does my little Honoka have a girlfriend?" They were both already more than aware that her daughter was gay.

"Mom, to have a girlfriend I first need a friend."

"Oh, so you have a new friend!" Taro exclaimed happily. The two also knew that their Honoka wasn't exactly a social person. Polite and kind yes, but not full of friends.

"She's in the same classroom as me, she's a player on the lacrosse team, and she's very lively and full of energy," Honoka told them as they set up everything for their picnic. "And she's also very popular, although her grades aren't the most outstanding."

Aya and Taro looked at each other. The person Honoka was describing wasn't someone she would normally hang out with. They knew that their daughter got along with the girls from the science club and she had a senpai that she admired, that she was with someone who was also not very good at studies was surprising.

"She likes samurai movies like the ones in Grandma's collection, so we shared that."

That their daughter was delighted with a person who wasn't like her was cute. They had never seen such an animated and happy face on their daughter when talking about a person; it meant that said person was special to her. Their cute daughter Honoka deserved to be with more people, but it seemed she only allowed one or two to get close to her.

After talking while they ate, Honoka excused herself to go to the bathroom; there was one near where they were. Honoka had only moved a bit away when her phone vibrated indicating a new message. She quickly checked her phone and the message was from Nagisa.

[I'm near the ice cream stand, I won't take up much of your time, just come here for a minute please.]

Honoka hurried to the bathroom (because she really needed to go) and then went to the ice cream stand. Yes, there was her friend eating ice cream. Honoka hadn't expected to see her that day, but it was like seeing her for the first time. Warm, bright like a sunflower but... That day, without expecting it, Honoka realized that Misumi Nagisa wasn't a sunflower; she was like the sun itself.

Seeing her was like feeling the warm caress of a ray of sunshine, her ice cream-smeared smile glowing as well. Honoka smiled with genuine joy and the first thing she did was wipe her friend's mouth with her handkerchief before saying anything.

"Hi Honoka! I won't take up too much of your time, I just wanted to give you something," Nagisa said without giving her friend time to even say hello. She took something out of her backpack and held it out to her. "Here, happy birthday!"

Honoka made a surprised face and immediately smiled happily. "You called me by my first name," she said as she took the gift, it was the size of a book. Was it a book?

"I did," a smiling Nagisa replied,

"Thank you very much for the gift, Nagisa."

Nagisa laughed with joy, she was happy. Meanwhile, Honoka opened the gift right there and it was a cute notebook with precisely the design of a sun on the covers. Honoka couldn't help but a bigger and happier smile. She looked at Nagisa and didn't resist her next action.

"Thank you very much, Nagisa," Honoka said and kissed Nagisa's cheek.

Nagisa jumped in surprise, blushing and scratching her head as she giggled.

By the time Honoka returned to her parents to continue her picnic, she had an ice cream in her hands. She was happy.