[x] "Shall we help Marisa return Patchouli's books?"

"So Patchy," said Flandre. "Where do want these? Ehehehe~"

The magician in pink and purple just stared at us without saying anything. But I could tell that she was surprised. Her eyes widened slightly when we arrived, and she had her mouth agape for a couple of seconds. Add the fact that she kept walking forward and was now about to -

"Mukyu!"

I chuckled a bit. Yep. Patchouli had just walked right into the bookshelf. She fell on her behind, dropping the book she was carrying. This clumsy side of her was rarely seen, and I found it quite cute. Very cute, actually. After taking a mental snapshot of her confused state, I walked closer to help her up.

"Sorry about that," I said. "Didn't mean to shock you."

"It's fine," she replied, taking my hand. "I'm.. alright."

Patchouli glanced back at Flandre. The little sister smiled brightly as she put down her oversized loot sack. She slowly opened it to show its contents. The magician's eyes widened even more, and I could feel her tighten her grip on my hand.

"Is that," she started. "Where did you? Are those... really?"

"I thought that we'd help Marisa return these," I explained.

A long silence passed. Even longer than was usual for Patchouli. She lowered her head, so I couldn't see the expression on her face. For a couple of minutes, she seemed unable to react or say anything. And when she finally spoke, it was but a whisper.

"Thank you," she managed.

Without hesitation, Flandre flew up and gave her a big hug. To my surprise, the magician returned in kind almost immediately. I knew that these two were close, but I never expected her to do this. Perhaps they did not need words to understand each other. It was a touching sight, to say the least. She turned to me after they parted.

"To you as well," she said. "Thank you."

"No problem. But I should mention that most of the credit should go to Flan here. Why don't you give her a treat? Besides, it is thanks enough for me that I'm still holding your soft hand right now."

"E-eh? Ah, forgive me!"

Patchouli quickly let go of my hand. She turned away from me. I couldn't really guess what she had in mind, but she seemed a bit agitated. Her cheeks were a bit flush, too. Was she annoyed? I laughed uneasily to hide my disappointment.

"Tea.."

"Huh?"

The magician cleared her throat and regained her composure. When she spoke, she was back to her normal self again.

"Would you two like to join me for tea this afternoon?"

Flandre was all smiles again. Her wings jingled excitedly.

"I'm coming! Will we have cake? I want some cake, ehehe~"

Patchouli nodded at the little sister before turning to me. She didn't say anything, waiting patiently for my response. I paused for a moment to think. Her offer was tempting, but I really felt like I forgot to do something. But what was it?
[ ] "Sure, I'll join you two for tea."
[ ] "I think I'll go visit the others first."
[ ] "I'm sorry, but I'm feeling a bit tired."