The Lieutenant of Scepter 4, Awashima Seri, would visit bar HOMRA on an irregular basis.
Her visits usually took place on clear days. They were often the conclusion of a peaceful weekday with no big incidents occurring.
She would wear civilian clothes then, and her expression would be just a tad gentler than usual. She would also let down her hair, normally held up in a tight bun, allowing it to give off a lovely shine.
And Kusanagi would greet her with a light ‘Oh, Seri-chan’ or 'Welcome’ and, even before hearing her order, would reach for a certain foodstuff stored in the fringe under the counter.
Awashima would acknowledge him with a curt nod, not really speaking. She would sit down on a stool elegantly, posture relaxed in a way she would never allow herself to normally, and peer at what Kusanagi was doing.
Kusanagi would skilfully scoop anko from a Tupperware and put it as a topping on top of the special make cocktail with an exaggerated gesture. “Thanks for the waiting, here you go. Seri-chan special.” He would slide the cocktail glass to her over the counter.
The trick to it was to not only decorate the cocktail with some fresh anko, but to also find a way to apply liquid anko in the cocktail itself.
At that point, Awashima would already be smiling. “Thanks.”
First, she would eat the anko deftly with a long thin spoon, next, putting her lustrous lips to the edge of the glass, she would sip the black liquid inside.
“What a wonderful taste, as always,” she would compliment the drink sincerely with a content smile.
In order to come up with a decently drinkable anko cocktail, Kusanagi had to go through repeated trial and error. That’s why he would be truly delighted at the praise.
The anko cocktail would put Awashima in a good mood, and the two would chat about silly stuff, like how they both were doing lately and what was going on in their respective clans. Since they both were relatively intelligent, sometimes they would talk about a variety of broad subjects like history, literature or music.
During that rather smart exchange, Awashima would usually order a second cocktail. And then, finally, Kusanagi would suggest, 'How about going somewhere together sometime?’
Sometimes he would say it jokingly, other times with an affected air. He simply jested assuming that he would always be refused without fail.
Except on that day, he suddenly hadn’t.
“Let’s see.” Awashima replied with a tilt of her head, her cheeks dusted pink ever so slightly due to her being a little tipsy. “I don’t exactly mind, per se.”
Needless to say, Kusanagi, who was rightfully expecting yet another refusal, went momentarily stiff. Hand polishing a glass frozen midmotion and eyes wide, he couldn’t help voicing, “Eh?”
*
The next day, bringing a nice cloudless weather, saw Awashima, in civilian clothes again, happily walking through the shopping district. Behind her, Kusanagi tottered, precariously balancing a stack of boxes in his hands.
Turning her head to him, Awashima gave him an impish smile, “Come on, you’ve got to hang on there for a little while longer, because there is a toy store over there and I’m planning to drop by it.”
“…”
Naturally, a long silence fell. Kusanagi shook it off first: he forced himself to relax, then smiled a little, and that was enough for him to go back to his usual self.
“Say, Seri-chan, are you free after this? I know a lovely restaurant that serves great pasta.”
Even if things were a little awkward, one suave and soft-spoken utterance from Kusanagi was enough to easily clear the air of awkwardness, and it was something only Kusanagi, who had plenty of experience with women, could achieve.
“…” Awashima narrowed her eyes and showed a tiny smile. “Well, yes. I have already sent what I bought to the HQ, so I don’t mind. Today is my day-off, anyway.”
They didn’t make plans to meet again, but both Kusanagi and Awashima knew without a shadow of doubt that they would see each other again late at night in the bar.