The second Haruka stepped into Yuki's apartment, Momo trotting happily at her heels, she was ambushed.
"I SMELL MEN!" Yuki shouted dramatically from the kitchen, poking her head out with wild eyes and a spoon in her mouth. "You met someone, didn't you? I felt it in my bones. My left eyebrow twitched!"
Haruka blinked, still halfway through removing her shoes. "H-Huh?!"
Momo barked once, helpfully, as if confirming Yuki's psychic reading.
Yuki sprinted over in mismatched socks and an apron that said 'Caffeine First, Questions Later', grabbing Haruka by the shoulders like a detective in a drama. "Tell me everything. Did he touch your hand? Did your eyes meet in slow motion? Did you trip? Wait—you definitely tripped."
"I didn't—okay I did, but it wasn't like—" Haruka flailed her arms, cheeks flaring up like she had a fever. "It wasn't romantic! I just—Momo got tangled and—he was nice, but it wasn't a thing!"
Yuki gasped, scandalized. "It was absolutely a thing. If a guy helps you after you trip, it's basically an engagement in girl world. Did he have nice hands? Wait—what did he smell like?!"
"Yuki!!" Haruka squeaked, clutching Momo like a teddy bear shield. "I wasn't sniffing him!"
"Well, you should've!" Yuki collapsed onto the couch dramatically. "Ugh, wasted opportunity. Was he wearing a hoodie?"
"No, that's the other guy," Haruka said before her brain caught up with her mouth.
Yuki sat up so fast she gave herself whiplash. "There's another guy?!"
"Wait, no, I meant—Momo! I meant Momo met another guy! At the vet! For dogs!" Haruka babbled, hugging Momo tighter. "Big paws. Real... big paws...?"
Yuki squinted. "...Are you okay?"
"No."
"I can't believe you're holding out on me," Yuki groaned. " At this rate, you'll be dating twins by the end of the week and telling me it's a coincidence."
"I've never even had a boyfriend!" Haruka cried, so flustered her voice cracked like a squeaky toy. "I don't know how flirting works! I say thank you and run away! Sometimes I trip over my own legs! That's not romance, and it's not even cute!"
Yuki blinked. "...You know, that's actually kinda cute."
"It's mortifying!"
"No, it's your brand." Yuki grabbed her camera off the table. "Innocent girl with a dog meets mysterious café guy and gets flustered over absolutely nothing? I'd watch that romcom."
"I'd be the blooper reel," Haruka muttered, petting Momo's fluffy head like she was comforting herself.
"Oh, totally," Yuki nodded. "But the adorable blooper reel. Like, the audience would root for you while also cringing so hard they get abs."
"I'm going to melt into the floor now," Haruka said, slipping off the couch slowly.
Yuki grabbed her ankle mid-slide. "No you don't. You're gonna tell me exactly how he looked, how he sounded, and whether your heart did a little doki-doki thing."
"It did not doki-doki!"
"Haruka." Yuki looked her dead in the eye. "You tripped and panicked and probably said something stupid, didn't you?"
Haruka whimpered. "I asked him if the chair was edible."
There was a beat of silence.
Then Yuki exploded into laughter so hard she fell off the couch.
"I panicked!!" Haruka cried, burying her face in Momo's fur. "He looked at me like I was a creature from another dimension!"
"You are!" Yuki wheezed. "A cute, chaotic, adorable little gremlin who somehow gets the attention of every hot guy within a 10-meter radius!"
"I just wanted coffee," Haruka mumbled into the Samoyed. "And now I'm in a romcom I didn't sign up for."
Yuki rolled over, clutching her stomach. "You're a menace. A soft, fluffy, harmless-looking menace. And that's why you're gonna end up with the most emotionally constipated man on Earth."
"I don't even like anyone!"
"Yet."
"YUKI!"
Momo barked again, as if he, too, was exasperated.
Yuki wiped a fake tear from the corner of her eye. "I'm so proud. My baby's growing up. Soon she'll be able to identify cardigans and V-necks too."
"I do know what a cardigan is!" Haruka protested with a pout, flailing her arms so wildly that she nearly knocked over the cup of tea Yuki had placed beside her. "That's the one with the buttons in front, right?"
"That's a shocking amount of confidence for someone who once called a blazer 'a shirt with a jacket complex.'"
"Don't bring that up! That was years ago!" Haruka squeaked, burying her face in Momo's fur as if the fluffy dog could absorb her shame. He let out a soft, sympathetic woof, though he seemed far more interested in the cookie Yuki had hidden behind her back.
Yuki raised a brow. "You're lucky you're cute. And that Momo's cuter. You basically ride his reputation."
Haruka gasped. "I have a reputation, thank you very much."
"Yeah. A reputation for mistaking strangers for waiters."
"That happened one time!"
"Twice," Yuki corrected smugly. "And one of them was a mannequin."
Haruka turned red so fast she nearly matched the strawberry keychain dangling from her bag. "In my defense," she mumbled, "it was wearing an apron."
Yuki tossed a cushion at her. "So does Momo when you try to dress him up for Christmas."
Momo, sensing attention, stood proudly and barked once, as if to say, And I wore it better than the mannequin.
Haruka sighed dramatically. "Maybe I should just stay home forever. I embarrass myself every time I go outside."
"True. But then who will keep the outside world interesting?" Yuki leaned back on her palms and looked at her best friend fondly. "You make people smile without even trying, Haru. Even Mr. Hoodie Guy couldn't stay grumpy with you around."
Haruka sat up at that. "Wait—what do you mean? He looked super annoyed!"
Yuki smirked. "Exactly. Looked."
Haruka blinked. Then blinked again. "Are you... suggesting...?"
"I'm just saying," Yuki said nonchalantly, "he might've left that café with one fewer grudge than he walked in with."
Haruka puffed her cheeks. "Don't say weird things!"
"Don't act like a shoujo heroine and I won't!"
Just then, Momo leapt up and landed directly onto Yuki's lap, wagging his tail with the precision of a helicopter rotor. Yuki yelped, half-laughing and half-screaming as his fluffy bulk knocked over her cup of tea.
"Traitor!" she cried at the dog. "You're supposed to be on my side!"
Momo licked her cheek unapologetically.
Haruka giggled into her sleeve. "He only pledges loyalty to snacks."
"Honestly, same," Yuki muttered, surrendering to the dog's affection.
As the chaos settled into soft laughter, Haruka glanced toward the window, her fingers absently threading through Momo's fur. The sky was painted in hues of gold and lavender, the day slowly winding down.
"I really did meet someone interesting today," she said quietly.
Yuki looked at her sideways, tone suddenly gentler. "Yeah?"
Haruka nodded, eyes wide with wonder instead of romantic awe. "He gave off a weirdly warm vibe. Like... like he'd be really good with animals or plants or something. And he said Momo was handsome!"
"Well," Yuki said, voice teasing but soft, "he's not wrong."
Haruka giggled, then gasped. "What if he's a secret vet?!"
"Or a plant whisperer."
"Yuki!"
"I'm just saying, Haru. If you ever write a romance novel with a dog doctor who grows roses on the side, I'm taking credit."