Chapter Text
Haru Okumura struggles against the weight of the cart. It is no heavier than usual, but her mind continues to drift back to yesterday's events and stops any progress. To her meeting with them. With... him. She completely ruined her confrontation with the famous Phantom Thieves. Even after Mona-chan spent so much of his time helping and explaining everything, too! The worst of it was their leader, Joker - Akira. He was exactly what Mona-chan described, so calm and cool and collected, and he had the nerve to tease when she asked what being a phantom thief meant!
"...And he was cute." She thinks, turning her attention again to the cart. It doesn't give an inch.
It doesn't matter though, they'll never meet again. They ran away when things got dangerous. She's going to save her father all on her own just like she's going to move this cart from the spot it's been stuck in for the past five minutes!
"That," a voice comes from behind and startles her back to reality. It sounds deep and strangely familiar, "looks heavy."
She turns to meet the man attached to the voice and nearly falls back onto the grass at the sight of him. "Um!" She might not have remembered the voice, but one look is enough for everything to fall into place. He is nearly a head taller than her, lean and... and cute. His hair is a wild mess of curls, and she thinks the dark hue a pleasant contrast with her own chestnut locks. She thinks she'd like to bury her hands in that hair. But she catches herself before that line of thinking leads somewhere more dangerous, "Would you happen to be interested in gardening?"
Akira stares deep into her eyes, and he smiles.