A/N: I was inspired by a certain anime to make this one-shot.

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"Surprise! We rented you a girlfriend!"

"You rented me a what--?!"

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"Happy Birthday Mary!"

Before Yumeko could tackle her best friend into a hug, she was stopped by an abrupt hand to the face. A condescending and scolding look in Mary's eyes, as she pushed some distance between her and her friend. 

"Hands to yourself. Idiot." Mary scoffed. Pushing Yumeko off and causing her to stumble back into Suzui's arms. The boy panicking as he struggled to catch his friend before she hit the floor.

Unfazed however, Yumeko kept smiling and giggling like her usual self. Standing back up effortlessly, and looking more excited than ever for her best friend's birthday. "Are you doing anything to celebrate, Mary?" she asked softly.

"Tch, no. It's just another day of the year." She scoffed. "Not like it's gonna be an extraordinary day or anything..."

"B-But it's your birthday, Mary!" Suzui interjected. "We can go out if you want!"

"That sounds like a great idea! What do you say, Mary?"

Both Yumeko and Suzui looked at Mary with big, puppy dog-like eyes. As if begging for Mary to say yes, even though it was her own birthday to begin with.

"I...ugh..." Mary looked at the two morons with a mixture of annoyance and defeat, "You won't stop until I say yes, huh?"

"Nope!" they both exclaimed.

"I hate you both..."

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After school that day, Yumeko could not stop giggling to herself as they all walked around the city for Mary's birthday. Suzui growing more and more confused as to why the gambling-addicted girl was being so secretive and giddy behind Mary's back.

"Psst, Yumeko-San. Why're you being so secretive all of a sudden?" Suzui whispered under his breath. 

"Ehehe...I got Mary a little birthday present!"

"Eh? What did you buy her?"

"Well...I didn't exactly buy her gift..."

"H-Huh...?"

"Oi, what are you guys talking about behind my back? You know I can hear you, right?" Mary turned around abruptly to send her friends an irritated look of annoyance. The blonde-haired tsundere furrowing her eyes towards Yumeko. Who was giggling like a madwoman at her reaction. 

"Oh, we were just talking about your birthday present, Mary!"

"You got me a gift?!"

Mary scrunched up her nose in concern. Knowing Yumeko, it was probably something odd and out of the ordinary. Something that Mary was definitely not looking forward to. "Y-You didn't have to get me anything! Just going out is enough!"

"Nonsense, Mary! It's your special day today. So I got you something...or rather, someone special for the day."

Mary felt her heart grow heavy at the thought. Nervousness and uncertainty piling up in her chest, as she pondered over her weirdo friend's words. 'Someone? Yumeko bought someone? I knew it was a weird gift! This was a horrible idea!'

Mary winced at her statement and grew more and more frustrated the more Yumeko kept her in the dark. "You bought someone? What the hell, Yumeko!"

"It's not like that Mary! She willingly agreed!"

"She?!"

"G-Guys...people are starting to stare..." Suzui whimpered in embarrassment. Watching as onlookers silently judged his two friends for bickering and fighting out loud in a public space. 

"...Whatever." Mary silently huffed. Crossing her arms and pouting in annoyance.

"Please, Mary? She's already waiting for us at the station."

"I--...(sigh) FINE."

"Yayyyy!"

Suzui chuckled awkwardly as Yumeko lead the two of them towards the city station. With Mary grumbling like a child as Yumeko dragged her excitedly to go meet her esteemed present. 

"I am never letting you take me out again." 

"Oh don't worry Mary, I'm sure you'll love her."

The city station was of course, crowded with busy patrons coming home from school and work. The bustling movement of citizens walking, and the loud roar of the subway trains being more than enough to make Mary cringe. This was not how she wanted to spend her birthday, and yet here she was. At a subway station with two idiotic morons looking for some weird mystery girl.

"Yumeko, I doubt someone would wait here for us in this mes--"

"There she is! Y/N-Chan, over here!"

Yumeko began bouncing and waving ecstatically at someone hidden deep within the crowd. As Mary walked closer to get a better look however, her eyes widened at the sight of a cute girl dressed in adorable casual attire. 

She was leaned up against one of the station walls, and was on her phone before hearing Yumeko shout. The girl named 'Y/N' taking out one of her earbuds and smiling when she saw the three of them amongst the crowd. 

"Y-Yumeko..." Mary felt her face grow a bit warm, "Who is she?"

"Surprise! We rented you a girlfriend!"

"You rented me a what--?!"

Mary panicked as the girl named 'Y/N' started walking towards them at a moment's pace. The tsundere not knowing what to do, as everything inside her body turned to mush. 'What the hell Yumeko. This isn't-- why did-- AAAAAAAA---'

"Hello, hello!" Y/N smiled cheerfully once she arrived. The three of them practically melting at how cute she was from the greeting alone. 

"Hi Y/N-Chan! It's me, Yumeko! Remember?"

Y/N nodded and bowed. "You wanted me to go on a date with one of your friends?"

"Yes! This is Mary-San, it's her birthday today so we're treating her to a date with you."

"I see...well hello Mary-San! It's a pleasure to meet you."

Y/N tilted her head up at Mary and greeted her with an angelic smile. The blonde-haired girl feeling her heart race at just the sight of her. 'Goddammit Yumeko!' Mary cursed inwardly, 'This is so embarrassing...'

"Is there anything you'd like to do for our date, Mary-San?" Y/N asked innocently. The blonde snapping out of her thoughts and nearly stammering over her words at her voice. 

"O-Oh...uh...I'm not...entirely sure..."

Mary looked over at Yumeko and Suzui with a plead for help. She really did not know what to do on a date, let alone plan one. As everything was happening way too fast for her to register. "Did you guys plan for anything? Or..."

Yumeko shook her head. "This date is all up to you, Mary. It's your birthday after all." 

'Well fuck.' Mary grimaced at the awkward tension between her and the cute girl in front of her. Unsure of what to do, as she had nothing planned for this surprise date of hers. 'I can't believe I'm doing this...'

"Uh...Y/N...was it?" the girl in front of her nodded, "Where would you like to go?"

Y/N giggled into the palm of her hand and quirked a brow up in interest. "Did you not have a place in mind?" she teased. Mary felt her cheeks flush and murmured under her breath in response, "I-I just didn't expect to go on a surprise date today, okay?"

"Awe, well that's alright." Y/N chuckled, "I know a good cat café around here that's really nice. We can go there for our date if you want."

Every time someone mentioned the word 'date,' Mary couldn't help but wince in nervousness. The fact that she was going on a surprise date with a rental girlfriend still sinking in to her mind, as she couldn't believe that her friends had planned this.

"Th-That's fine with me..." Mary mumbled shyly, looking down at the floor to hide her bashful face. Y/N giggled at that however, and tilted her chin up to smile at her. Making the blonde haired tsundere blush even more than before. (If possible)

"Don't be so shy, Mary. I'll make this the best birthday date you ever had, m'kay?"

Y/N's innocent eyes and brilliant smile made Mary scream internally at how cute she was. Yelling at herself to not mess this up, as she wanted Y/N's first impression of her to be good. "O-Okay..."

"Great! By the way...are your friends tagging along? Or..." Y/N turned to look at Suzui and Yumeko. Who were both standing there awkwardly while listening in on their conversation.

"Oh, please don't mind us! We'll leave you and Mary to enjoy yourselves on your date."

'Y-Yumeko!'

Mary nearly lost it right then and there. These idiotic morons were leaving her with a stranger on a date? A cute stranger no less? They were absolutely insane! And Mary was about to tell them off for it, when she felt something small and warm slide into her hand.

"Then it's settled then. To the cat café we go!" Y/N beamed, dragging the blonde haired tsundere with her. 

'Ohmygod...' Mary could feel butterflies in her stomach as the cute girl she just met, pulled her along with interlaced hands. The warmth coming from those delicate fingers of hers, really making Mary question her feelings.

"Wow...I can't believe you rented a girlfriend for Mary-San, Yumeko." Suzui mumbled awkwardly. Watching as Mary got dragged out of the station and out of ear-shot. 

"I know! She looked so happy too! Now c'mon Suzui, we've got to go!"

"Go? Go where?!"

"To spy on Y/N and Mary's date, obviously!"

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"So cuteee!"

Y/N squealed adorably when the two of them had entered the cat café. With Mary looking a bit on edge with the amount of felines present in the dining room area. "I suppose so..." Mary murmured, flinching when she felt a cat purr up against her leg. Winding in between her ankles, and meowing at her to pet them.

"Aw, it likes you Mary," Y/N gushed, making Mary's heart swoon with praise. 

"I-I guess..." Mary felt her heart tug at the sight of the adorable little feline purring up against her. A comforting feeling of relaxation finally washing over her ever since her birthday started. 'This...isn't too bad actually. As long as Yumeko and Suzui aren't around, this could actually be a pretty decent date.'

"Table for two?" the hostess spoke aloud. Causing Mary to look up from her fellow feline companion. 

"Yes please!" Y/N responded, taking Mary's hand into hers once again. 

'Why does she keep doing that?' Mary blushed, 'I get that she's a rental girlfriend and all but...this is all like second nature to her at this point!'

"Alright ladies, follow me to the back then. Your table will be number twelve."

"Awesome! Thank you once again," Y/N grinned, tugging Mary with her as the tsundere struggled to keep up with the pace. "You are really excited for this, huh?" Mary mumbled, taking a seat in front of her once they reached their designated table. 

"Mhm! I really, really like cats. So I bring my dates here all the time whenever they let me choose. Excluding those who are allergic to cat hair of course..."

The word 'dates' struck something hard in Mary, as she remembered that Y/N was a rental girlfriend that dated other people for money. And that was all this was to her. A date for money. As sad it was, Mary knew that she shouldn't get too attached to Y/N, as any romantic feelings she may have developed for the girl, will not be reciprocated. 

"I see..." Mary hummed, deciding to prod more onto the subject of Y/N's various dates, "Since you've been on numerous dates before, what's it like being a rental girlfriend?"

"Oh! You...actually want to know?"

"Is that something I shouldn't ask?"

"No, no! It's fine! It's just that...a lot of my dates don't want to remember the fact that I'm a rental girlfriend..." Y/N chuckled, "They like to believe that I'm actually their girlfriend. So they try not to bring up my job in order to keep the illusion alive."

"Interesting..." Mary felt herself grow even more curious at the topic, "How many dates do you actually go on on a daily basis?"

Y/N felt the corners of her mouth twitch into a thin smile. A bashful, apologetic look on her face as she chuckled for an answer. "Sorry Mary, I'm not supposed to tell my dates that. It's somewhat of a private question for rental girlfriends to answer."

"O-Oh..." Mary felt her stomach drop in disappointment. How many dates did Y/N have on a daily basis? It was a simple question and yet, Mary felt herself grow sad at the vague answer she was given. "I apologize..."

"No, it's alright!" Y/N piped up, giggling into the palm of her hand, "Though, you've been awfully curious about me and my job, Mary. I think it should be my turn to ask about you."

Y/N propped her elbows up against the table and leaned her head over to rest on the bridge of her hands. A coy smile growing on her lips, as she watched Mary grow flustered at her sudden personality switch. "Tell me a little about yourself."

"Myself? Uh..." Mary felt her brain blank out at the question. What the heck was she supposed to say?! "Well...I graduated from Hyakkaou private academy about a year ago. So I'm currently a freshmen in university."

"Is that so...we're the same age then! I graduated about a year ago as well..."

"Really? But you look so..."

"Young? Yeah, I didn't really grow much from sixteen," Y/N giggled bashfully, "A lot of my patrons say that about me. I have that little baby face you know?"

To indicate her point, Y/N adorably squished her cheeks together and pouted. Making Mary's heart spiral out of control at how cute she is. 'She's so damn good at her job! It's nearly impossible to not grow feelings for her...'

"You're...You're really good at this..." Mary mumbled, looking off to the side to hide her tomato face. "Good at what?" Y/N asked nonchalantly, tilting her head and striking an arrow of cuteness through Mary's heart.

"Dating..." Mary responded lowly, "You really...make it feel like you're my girlfriend..."

She bit her lip in hesitance as silence filled the table up once again. The distant noise of other customers and meowing cats being the only things they could hear through the tension. "Well..." Y/N trailed off reluctantly, "I date professionally so...yeah. Of course I'd be good."

A light bubble of giggles escaped her throat as she peered over at Mary's hiding face. An apologetic look in Y/N's eyes as she knew what Mary was feeling. 

'She's falling for me...' Y/N thought sadly, 'How unfortunate for our circumstances...'

"Hey, Mary..." Y/N spoke up, reaching over to grab her hands, "If you want, we could do this again sometime!"

Mary looked up at her in surprise, "Again?"

"Yeah, you can always rent me again for another date, and we can do whatever you want!"

"Oh..."

Mary looked a bit disappointed at the word "rent." It just didn't sit right with her knowing that her involvement with this girl was just through a job. Nothing more, nothing less. 

"Y/N..." Mary spoke dimly, "If I may ask..."

She fumbled with one of the cat-themed napkins as she struggled to say what she wanted to say. Biting her lip and swallowing her pride before speaking. 'Here goes nothing...'

"Can I go on a real date with you sometime? I'd love to get to know you better..."

'There it is...' Y/N thought sadly. 'The pitiful denial...'

"Mary..." Y/N trailed off slowly, "You're a nice girl. Extremely pretty, cute, and you're really fun to talk to..."

Mary sighed at that response. "But...?"

"But..." Y/N continued, "I can't date you outside of work. It's against my company policy."

She watched as Mary's posture slouched a bit in disappointment. Her chest hurting in empathy as she had to deny Mary's offer despite how much she wanted to accept. Had she met Mary in different circumstance, she would've said yes in a heartbeat. 

"I'm sorry..." Mary murmured nervously, feeling like her heart was shattering into pieces, "I should've known and respected your company policies. I...I didn't know what I was thinking. Sorry."

Y/N shook her head and smiled, "Don't apologize. Believe me, if I weren't a rental girlfriend when we met, I would've accepted your date in a heartbeat."

'What?'

Mary flinched, looking up at her with wide eyes, "Really?"

"Mhm!" Y/N grinned and leaned over to whisper something into Mary's ear. The close proximity between Y/N's lips to Mary's face making her skin heat up with red. "When I quit my job, I'll personally ask you out. The moment I step out of my establishment."

Mary felt her breath hitch as Y/N giggled and leaned back in her seat with a satisfied smile. "You interest me, Mary. I'd love to get to know you more in the future if we can..."

"Y-Yeah, we definitely can...!" Mary finally responded, still shocked out of her mind that Y/N was interested in meeting up with her again, "Uhm...are you planning on quitting anytime soon? Wait-- that sounded rude! Agh, forget I said that!"

Y/N began laughing angelically as Mary stumbled over her words to hide her excitement. The girl blushing redder than her old school uniform as she buried her face in shame to hide the embarrassment. 

"Oh, Mary..." Y/N smiled, pulling her hands off of her face, "I'd practically quit already for you."

That flirtatious compliment only made Mary's blush worse as Y/N kept flustering her to no end. Yup, it was without a doubt that Mary was falling extremely hard for a girl she just met on a rental date. A normally not-so-good thing to do, yet for this case, was extremely cute as Y/N reciprocated her feelings despite her job.

"I...look forward to our next date..." Mary mumbled shyly. A bit excited that she was going to see Y/N again.

"As do I, Mary-San," Y/N giggled. "Now, why don't we go play with some of the cats while we're here? There's a cat here named Nuggets who really loves to play with me sometimes..."

"I'd like that, Y/N."

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Mary waved goodbye to Y/N at the train station after she had offered to walk her there after their date. The cute girl waving goodbye to Mary as the subway moved to drive Y/N back to her home station. 

"Goodbye Mary! And Happy Birthday!" Y/N seemed to mouth from the subway window, blowing her a quick kiss before driving out of Mary's sights. The tsundere feeling herself chuckle at the act, as she smiled and folded her arms in satisfaction for her birthday date.

'Ah...I should probably call them out now...'

"Oi, you two can come out of hiding now."

As if on cue, Suzui and Yumeko tumbled out from behind a potted plant and whined. Wondering how on earth Mary noticed their hiding place. "Maryyy! How did you know we were there?" Yumeko whined childishly.

"I noticed you guys following us even before we walked into the café. You guys are really bad at hiding, you know that?"

Suzui chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck in bashfulness, "Erm...sorry about that, Mary. Honest. B-But how was the date? Was it fun?"

"Oh, yes! We couldn't exactly hear what you two were saying but it seemed like you two had a great time! Well...from where we were hiding..." 

"A great time huh?" Mary smiled thinly, pulling out a small piece of paper from her pocket and looking at it with pleasure. "I guess you can say that..."

Staring at the paper, Mary felt her stomach fill with butterflies of 'first love.' Grinning at the cute yet slightly messy handwriting that Y/N had, as she scribbled the pen against the paper in a rush to give her her number.

"I look forward to being rented out by you again, Mary ❤️"

xxx-xxx-xxxx

'I look forward to our next date, Y/N-Chan...'

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A/N: I don't know why, but despite how much effort and work I put into this one-shot, I just don't feel satisfied and proud with it. I feel like my writing has gone downhill or hasn't improved much since I began writing more recently on my account.

I'll try to write better guys. Don't worry.