Ember of the Starry Sky

Yukari raised an eyebrow. "What, the part where I'm acting like a noble prince?"

Mirajane giggled. "Exactly."

Before Yukari could come up with a clever comeback, a waiter approached their table, a polite smile on his face.

"Good evening," he greeted, holding up a small notepad. "Are you both ready to order?"

Yukari nodded, glancing at Mirajane. "Do you want to go first?"

Mirajane smiled. "I'll have the salmon with lemon butter sauce, please."

The waiter scribbled it down before turning to Yukari. "And for you, ma'am?"

"I'll take the steak, medium rare, with roasted vegetables."

"Excellent choices." The waiter jotted it down, then paused, glancing between the two of them. His smile widened slightly, eyes twinkling with amusement.

"You know," he said, "you make a lovely couple. Just like the rumors in Sorcerer Magazine said."

Silence.

Then Mirajane turned pink.

Yukari nearly choked on air.

"We're not—" they both started at the same time, before stopping and glancing at each other in embarrassment.

The waiter chuckled. "Oh? My mistake. But you must admit, the chemistry is there."

Before either of them could respond, he gave a small bow and walked away, leaving them sitting there in an awkward, lingering silence.

The air between them felt strange now, charged with something neither of them could quite name.

Yukari shifted in her seat, rubbing the back of her neck.

"…Well," she said, trying to defuse the tension, "at least we're famous?"

Mirajane, who had been staring down at her hands, snorted, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Great," she muttered. "Now everyone thinks we're secretly dating."

Yukari grinned. "Could be worse. They could've said we were already married."

Mirajane giggled, the tension finally breaking.

Then, without thinking, she reached out and gently placed her hand over Yukari's.

Yukari froze.

Mirajane did too.

For a moment, neither of them moved, both acutely aware of the warmth of the other's skin.

It wasn't a big gesture, wasn't anything dramatic just a simple, quiet touch. But it sent a shiver up Yukari's spine nonetheless.

Mirajane looked down at their hands, then up at Yukari, cheeks dusted pink.

"…Sorry," she murmured, pulling back slightly.

Yukari immediately shook her head. "No, it's -it's fine."

They fell into another silence, but this time, it wasn't awkward.

It was just… soft.

Then, mercifully, their food arrived.

As the waiter set down their plates, Mirajane sighed in relief, clearly grateful for the distraction.

The food looked delicious steam rising from freshly cooked meat, the aroma filling the air around them.

Yukari picked up her fork, about to dig in when Mirajane suddenly leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand.

"Yukari," she said, her voice sweet and playful.

Yukari paused, suspicious. "…Yes?"

Mirajane tilted her head, eyeing Yukari's plate. "Your food looks good. Can I try some?"

Yukari blinked. "Uh, yeah. Go ahead."

She reached for her fork, intending to cut her a small bite , but Mirajane just smiled mischievously and opened her mouth.

Expectantly.

Yukari stared.

Mirajane waited.

"…You want me to feed you?" Yukari asked, a little too stunned to process the situation properly.

Mirajane nodded, grinning. "Mmhmm."

Yukari hesitated.

On one hand, this was completely unfair. Mirajane was clearly enjoying this watching Yukari squirm, amused by her hesitation.

On the other hand… Yukari was weak.

With a quiet sigh of defeat, she picked up a piece of steak with her fork and held it up to Mirajane.

"…Here."

Mirajane leaned forward, taking the bite delicately, her lips brushing the fork as she pulled away.

Yukari swallowed hard.

"Mm~" Mirajane hummed, eyes twinkling. "That's really good."

Yukari, whose brain had officially stopped functioning, barely managed a nod.

"I-It better be," she muttered, returning to her own meal as quickly as possible.

Mirajane, pleased with herself, simply giggled and continued eating.

As they ate, Yukari found herself watching Mirajane more than she intended.

She didn't mean to , but there was just something about her.

The way she smiled so easily. The way her eyes sparkled when she was amused. The way she looked completely at peace sitting across from Yukari, like this moment was something precious.

And for the first time in a while, Yukari found herself thinking…

I want to make her happy.

Mirajane must have felt her gaze, because she suddenly looked up, meeting Yukari's eyes.

She blinked. "Something wrong?"

Yukari, caught off guard, blurted out the first thing in her head.

"You're… really amazing."

Silence.

Mirajane's lips parted slightly, her cheeks darkening.

Yukari, realizing what she just said, felt her own face heat up.

Before either of them could react further dessert arrived.

Their plates were cleared, and in their place was a small slice of chocolate cake, dusted with powdered sugar.

Mirajane perked up immediately. "Oh, this looks good."

Yukari smiled. "You really love sweets, huh?"

"I do." Mirajane took a bite, savoring it happily.

But as she set her fork down Yukari noticed a tiny smudge of chocolate on the corner of her lips.

"…You've got something there," Yukari murmured before she even thought about it.

Mirajane blinked. "Oh?"

Yukari, acting on pure instinct, reached forward , and gently wiped it away with her thumb.

Time seemed to stop.

Mirajane froze, eyes widening just slightly.

Yukari, still leaning forward, realized too late that they were way too close now her hand still lightly touching Mirajane's face.

Neither of them moved.

The space between them was almost nothing now, warm breaths mingling in the soft candlelight.

Mirajane's eyes flickered down to Yukari's lips just for a split second.

And Yukari , Yukari thought she might just lose her mind.

Then the moment shattered when the waiter suddenly appeared beside them, clearing his throat.

"Would you ladies like anything else?"

Yukari and Mirajane immediately jerked back, startled both of them turning so red they might as well have been on fire.

"N-No!" Yukari coughed. "We're good! Totally good! Check, please!"

The waiter, clearly amused, simply smiled.

"As you wish."

As he walked away, Yukari and Mirajane slowly turned to look at each other.

For a moment , neither of them spoke.

Mirajane suddenly giggled.

Yukari, still trying to recover, groaned and covered her face with her hands.

"…I almost died just now."

Mirajane just laughed harder.