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“You’re sure we have everything?”
You glance away from your kitchen’s island, looking at the pensive face of your boyfriend. Nagi’s eyes were firmly locked on the printed out instructions in his hands, body leaning against the counter as he stood beside you. You tug your lower lip between your teeth, eyes going back to the counter counting each ingredient before you shifted your gaze back to his.
“Yeah!” You confirmed with a nod of your head, “Now all we have to do is get started on the baking part.”
Hesitantly, your eyes flicker from the ingredients to your boyfriend’s face. Neither of you move, waiting for the other to be the first to pick up a utensil, the only sound in your apartment’s kitchen is the soft ticking of the small clock beside the oven.
It wasn’t the first time the two of you cooked together, as it was an activity that you learned to do more as a couple than individuals. Yet, it was the first time you’d attempted to bake together. You were nervous despite the worst that could happen from a failed baking experiment was a horrible tasting treat. But for some reason, you wanted this to turn out nice, and you were sure Nagi was feeling your same emotions, even if he didn’t show them on his face like you did.
“Why aren’t you starting?” Nagi asks you, taking you out of your thoughts. He still has not moved from his position against the counter, and your eyes narrow slightly.
“Why aren’t you?” You shoot back, head tilting as he meets your gaze, bright eyes becoming more luminous under the fluorescent lights of your kitchen.
“ I’m reading the instructions.”
A snort leaves you as you shake your head, poking his bicep as you leaned in closer to him.
“Nun-uh,” You replied, “You’re not sticking me with the hard stuff, Sei.”
“But-”
“We’re doing this together, Sei,” A small pout forms on your lips, as you blink up at your boyfriend. Your hands leave their position from the counter, going to cup his rounded cheeks. Smushing them together, you let out a slight giggle at his slightly blank stare.
If you didn’t know Nagi, you’d think you were annoying him, yet the slight blush on his cheeks told you otherwise. Placing a soft peck against the tip of his nose, you stepped away from him, eyes roaming over the instructions as you grabbed the large boal you set out for the dry ingredients.
“Besides,” You began, a teasing smirk spreading onto your lips, “You’re better at cooking than I am.”
Nagi rolled his eyes, but he began to move around your kitchen, grabbing the freshly washed strawberries before picking up the much smaller empty bowl. A soft hum escapes him as he begins to mix the sugar and strawberries together, and you can feel your shoulders relax as his low yet ariose tone fills your ears.
“Flattery will get you nowhere,” He comments dryly as he turns to place the mixture in the fridge.
A giggle leaves your lips as you begin sifting the dry ingredients together, eyes flickering from your boyfriend to the mixture as you attempt to focus on the task at hand. You feel Nagi’s eyes on you watching you as you sift the dry ingredients, and a small smile plays onto your lips before the words can even leave his lips.
“You really are cute, you know that right?” He tells you, taking a few steps so he’s right beside you once more. You shrug your shoulders, placing the sifter on the counter before you pour the premeasured heavy cream into the bowl, eyes glancing over the instructions once more before you begin to mix.
“I’ve been told that once or twice,” You respond, turning to hand him the bowl. Your fingers brush against his as he accepts the bowl from your grasp, yet before you can step back from him, he’s placing a small kiss on your lips.
Your body freezes, a smile only he can draw out from you appears on your face as you blink up at him. Yet instead of responding to you, he just turns to begin to pour the mixture into the baking pan that’s already on the kitchen counter. The smile doesn’t leave your face as you reach over to hold the pan steady as he pours, and a comfortable quietness settles between the two of you.
Yet, you don’t mind the silence. Spending time with Nagi, you never felt the need to fill the air with idle chatter just to soothe yourself. His mere presence was enough to make you feel at ease, and even when he’s as quiet as ever, doing a mundane task like pouring batter into a pan, you feel at peace.
Once the pan was filled, you let him put it into the oven. As he closes the oven’s door, you grab the last empty mixing bowl, waiting for him to turn around before you hand it to him. His brows shoot up in surprise and you give him a bright grin.
“Make the whip cream for me?” You ask him, giving him your best puppy dog eyes, which just results in him shaking his head, a snort leaving his lips. Yet, he begins to collect the mixture for the cream, before he mixes it together with the electric hand mixer.
As Nagi mixes the cream together, you set the timer for the cake, before your arms wrap around your boyfriend's waist, resting your head against his back as you felt the slight vibrations from the mixer tremble through his body. Your eyes flutter closed, relishing in the warmth that came from being close to Nagi’s heated form.
Once Nagi mixed the cream to the right consistency, you feel him pull away from you slightly, and you step away from him. You go to check the cake as he takes out the strawberries, the two of you moving around the kitchen in a practiced, yet natural pattern. At the sight of the now golden cake, you place your designated oven mittens on, before taking out the baking pan and placing the cake onto the cooling rack.
Nagi steps beside you once again, licking at his fingers as he observes the cooling golden cake. A small grin appears on his lips, as he scoops another drop of whipped cream on to his fingertip, holding it out for you to taste. Without hesitation, you accept his offer, licking the whip cream off the tip of his finger before pulling away. A soft groan of approval leaves your lips as you nod your head.
“Not bad for our first try, hm?” He grins at you, before he moves past you to grab a dessert plate from your cabinets.
You nod, grin mirroring his as you begin to cut the cake into slightly imperfect squares, plating one after he placed the plate beside you. You let Nagi place the strawberry mixture and whip cream on top of the cake, as his hands were much more steady than yours. As the two of you stared at your finished product, you let out a light giggle.
“I guess we do make a great team,” You turn to face him, words as sweet as the strawberry shortcake you’d just made. Picking up the small fork that was on the plate, you sliced the cake before scooping up a small potion and holding the fork out to Nagi. He leans into you, accepting your offer, and eating the first taste of the cake the two of you made. You watched as he ate the food, waiting on his review as you leaned against the now dirty and cluttered counter.
“Good?” You question, head tilting as you placed the fork back onto the plate.
Nagi nods, lips twitching into a soft smile as he placed a soft kiss against your lips. The kiss doesn’t last long and only a mere second passes before he’s pulling away from you. Yet, you don’t feel disappointed, no disappointment was far away from your heart.
“Of course it’s good,” He eventually declared, fingers trailing the curve of your jawline as you gazed at him, “We made it.” A snort left you, before the kitchen is filled with your light giggles.
“Fuck, Sei, You’re
so
cheesy.”