Work Text:
Chisato cracked her knuckles as she entered her kitchen, kicking out her steps into wide arcs that wonderfully stretched her hips. Golden sunlight filtered in through the window. Her oversized t-shirt was still warm from being slept in. This was how all weekend mornings should start, she thought.
She set to work, cracking an egg and whisking it. A splash of milk on top, then came the cinnamon and vanilla. Just as she reached for her bread, she stopped short. A happy little smile flashed on her lips and she bounced on the tips of her toes.
Chisato started doubling her recipe.
"Do I really have to wait in here?" came a voice from further in her apartment.
"Yes! It can't be a surprise if you're peeking!"
"But I can tell you're cooking so-"
"Shush!"
"Chisato, please-"
"I said shush!"
She paused in her ministrations and listened. There was a resigned sigh, accompanied by a soft pomf as a body fell back into the bed.
Thick, soft slices of bread were dipped in the egg mixture and set to sizzle on a hot pan. Chisato leaned over and gave it a sniff. "Perfect!" she decided, clapping her hands together. She got their coffee ready as she waited for them to cook.
And how gorgeous they came out! Wonderfully golden-brown on each side, looking heavenly rich and tasty. This was a Chisato special after all, it wouldn't do to have some second-rate presentation. The only Chisato special, if she were being honest with herself, but special all the same!
She hummed to herself as she arranged the french toast on each plate, giving a generous drizzle of syrup to her own. Chisato paused. She shrugged and gave a more moderate amount to the other. Somebody was all snippy about calories this, sugars that, blah blah blah.
Placing the plates down on the table, she hurried off towards her bedroom. Grabbing onto the edges of the door frame, she clung to it and launched into view. "Takina! Darling! Your fantastic breakfast awaits!"
Takina, who had laid out like a starfish and was staring at the ceiling, merely propped her head up. She raised an eyebrow. "Darling? That's new."
"Wellllll," Chisato began, "this is the second weekend you've, ah… stayed over. A- a- anyway! I wanted to try it out and see how it feels!"
"And?" Takina lifted herself out of bed, stretching as she stood up. "Any better than when you blushed over saying 'baby' last week?"
Chisato grinned, a hint of color on her cheeks. "Hmm, I don't think so. Darling feels too proper. Like we're at a ball or something, and I'm asking you to dance." At that she bowed in front of Takina and made a whole show of offering her hand.
"If you say so," Takina muttered, walking past her and ignoring the proffered hand. Still, before she left the room, she leaned over and pecked Chisato on the cheek. "Dork."
Chisato giggled at that, following her out and down the hall. "Either way, I hope you're hungry! Because this is my absolute favorite breakfast, and I'm sure you'll love it." They came out into the main room, where their meals waited. "Ta-da! French toast a la Chisato!"
"Ooooh close. I thought you were making pancakes." Takina drew closer and smiled. "Smells great too. Thanks."
They took their seats, and it took all of Chisato's willpower to not start demolishing her own portion. She waited as Takina cut off a piece and tried it.
"Soooo?"
Takina's eyes lit up as she chewed. She gave a quick nod as she swallowed, and the way she instantly started cutting another piece said everything. "This is definitely worth the extra running tomorrow. I mean, yeah, super tasty."
Chisato pumped her arms in the air, rocking the chair she sat in. "Yes! I knew it! And you said that I couldn't cook." She didn't bother to wait for Takina's response and dug in with gusto.
Takina opened her mouth to retort, but ended up popping in another piece of french toast instead. She shook her head. "Last week's… wonderful fried rice aside, you do know how to surprise me, as always."
Chisato just smiled at that, too busy making joyful noises with each bite. As always with her favorite breakfast, it was made in a flash and devoured even quicker. She dabbed up the last streaks of syrup with her final piece. Holding it aloft, she gazed at it softly. "Oh wonderful french toast, until next time my love." And then she chomped it down and made a contented sigh.
Takina peered at her from over her cup of coffee. "Should I feel jealous about that? Or is that how you practice the lines you use on me?"
"Of course not!" Chisato sprawled across the table, grabbing Takina's free hand. "No amount of syrup could make it as sweet as you!"
"Yeah, that totally sounds like something you said to a donut."
"Huh? No, definitely not! These words only come to me when I see your pretty and charming self!"
Takina freed her hand and ran it through her hair, which was in an adorable state of bedhead. She looked down at herself, dressed in a oversized t-shirt that had "HAWAII" blazoned on it in papyrus font, and then shot Chisato an unimpressed glance. "I look like a troll."
"Nonsense! And even if you were, you know how the story goes! Just a kiss from a dashing royal will set you free," Chisato placed a hand over her heart, "and I am ever your princess."
There was a pause as Takina stared back at her. Something murky was going on behind her eyes, which only made Chisato squirm. "Really?" Takina asked eventually.
"Of- of course!" Chisato refused to falter. "But if I am the princess, then you'd be even better, like maybe the queen- ack, wait no, then you'd be my mom. Never mind, um, how about the prettier, smarter princess from another land?" She cringed as the analogy fell to pieces in her hands, and yet willed herself to finish strong. "Or, no, a goddess? Yes, that! Trapped by the evil demon Kusunoki, the goddess Takina was freed by yours truly, who was then forever charmed by her beauty and wisdom."
Chisato found she was a little winded at the end of that silly tirade, which only made her more embarrassed. "That's exactly how it happened, yes. And then they lived happily ever after!" she said.
There was a pause. The edges of Takina's lips were turned upwards, even if the rest of her expression was flat. Not the complete image Chisato was hoping for.
With a deep roll of her eyes, Takina put her coffee down and placed her palm over Chisato's. "Alright, what's up? You're trying too hard, even for your usual self."
"H- huh?! Me? Trying too hard? Never! Not such a thing when you're involved-"
"Chisato."
"What?" Chisato found she couldn't hold her gaze. The skin along her neck prickled, the taste of coffee in her mouth soured. She ducked away and slumped in her seat. "I just… you know, wanted to say something sweet and nice to you, because this is- well… I mean- ugh! Nevermind! Th- this is too embarrassing!"
"This is what's embarrassing?"
Her hand squirmed away from Takina's and she quickly began scooping up the plates and silverware. "Just enjoy your coffee, okay! I- I- I'll take care of the dishes and everything! Yup, they who cook must also clean! That's what they say of course, haha… haaa."
Gods above, why did her legs feel like jelly and her face too hot? She scurried off into the kitchen, yanking for the sink faucet and the distraction of a running tap before Takina could pierce further.
This was bad. And dumb. Dumb and bad and oh gosh why was she like this? Everything was going so well and then her mouth and heart just had to run ahead of her brain, and now Takina must think she's being super weird!
It wasn't even that ridiculous at the start. Just an easy 'yeah, sorry, just got a little too excited' and Takina would've smiled at her and shook her head and her gorgeous eyes would've warmed at her. That would've been wonderful. But no! Here she was, like a dweeb, openly cringing as she scrubbed at a plate and dare not peek over at the table.
Living for the moment got a lot harder when there were decades of moments instead of months. Especially now, with a relationship, with someone who… hopefully, she supposed, would be around for a very long time. This wasn't as easy as just making friends or amusing her customers, there was so much pressure and hope and fear and-
A pair of arms wrapped around her from behind, clasping together. A chin perched on her shoulder. "Hey. Are you okay?"
Chisato almost dropped the plate that, she realized, she had nearly polished into a mirror. "Me?"
"Yes, you." Takina poked Chisato's cheek with her nose. "I'm not letting go until you tell me why you're so fidgety. And no, a sugar-high isn't acceptable."
"Well… darn," Chisato said with a feeble, tiny laugh. She put the plate away and drew her hand to the faucet. But she found she liked the white noise, cutting everything away besides Takina's voice in her ear. "I just… you know, wanted to make it special."
"Hmm? A sleepy Sunday morning?"
"Ah… well, not exactly."
Chisato waited for a bit more verbal back and forth, hopefully to help compose herself. There was none. She could feel the swell of Takina's breathing against her back and her exhales on her cheek. Those arms squeezed a little tighter.
She bit at her lip, grumbling at the multitude of explanations that kept forming in her head. They all sounded so lame now that she had to slow down. And to make it worse, this hug-trap was seriously endearing from Takina and she would much rather be cherishing it than being stuck in a pity party.
"So…" she began.
Chisato felt Takina perk up, but that only made it worse and she faltered. Her face felt on fire right now, the words dry in her throat. The tap kept running, splashing against the sink and bubbling down the drain.
"Ugh… this is so, so dumb. Please, I'll do anything--can we just forget this and move on?"
"Nope."
"But, Takinaaa!" she whined. "I just- this is what I do sometimes. Classic Chisato behavior, right? A bit too energetic and silly and then we all forget about it and give me a free pass-"
"Wrong. This is not what you're usually like." Takina poked at her cheek again. "Well, not exactly. I want you to be able to relax and be your regular amount of Chisato."
Crap. Gone were the days of cold, socially-repressed Takina! She would be so proud if that growing emotional intelligence wasn't pinning her in a corner.
"And, well…" Takina continued after a moment, "if it's something wrong with me, I want to know. Especially since it's just the two of us, and now is when you're not being yourself."
Chisato clicked her tongue at that, almost on reflex. "Of course it's not your fault." She took in a slow breath and let it out. "Okay, so… just please don't laugh or anything, all right?"
"Mhmm."
"I guess I'm just… nervous. I've never seriously considered, you know, a relationship before. Long-term, I mean, because…" She paused, even if they both knew the answer. Takina nuzzled into her neck, the perfect jolt of comfort and understanding she needed.
"And so, yeah," she continued. "M- maybe this is getting too far ahead of ourselves but, I feel like we might be in one? Is that weird? Am I just getting too excited or greedy, because if I am-"
"I've always thought we were," Takina murmured into her shirt. "Long-term."
"Oh? Oh ah, well then! Right. Good." Chisato felt a smile bubble up on her lips, a sensation that made the impending embarrassment easier to brace for. She reached down and grasped Takina's arms, tracing her fingers along them. "I don't know exactly how it should go, or even how I want it to go. B-but! I do know one thing! And that's… well, I know I want you to be happy. And feeling cherished and wonderful and that every moment right now will be sparkly and amazing when you think back on it years and years from now."
It was faint, but Chisato could feel Takina's lips twitch into a smile along her shoulder.
"So!" she continued, spurred on by the lightest of touches, "Maybe that's the problem. I know it's becoming dumb and so lame, but… I'm trying, Takina. Just not in the right way, apparently."
Okay! That was it, she said it, now please let her jump out the window.
To her despair, Takina grabbed her by the hips and twisted her around. There was hardly a chance to escape before a pair of lips were on her own. It was quick but forceful, pushing her briefly over the sink. Takina didn't back off afterwards and held her close.
"I want you just the way you are," Takina said. She was smiling, sheepish but certain. "That's what I… fell in love with. That's what will always make me happy. I don't need anything more--especially not if it's making you anxious."
"I mean, anxious is a bit-"
Takina put a finger over her lips. "I think I know you pretty well by now," she said. "You get extra-blabbery when you are."
Chisato puffed up at that, but couldn't find a proper rebuttal. On some level, maybe it was nice to have Takina pick up on things she didn't realize. She sighed.
A hand traced along her neck and pulled her in closer. Takina held her, a precious moment of taking the lead, and stroked her hair. "So…" she began, softly in her ear. "I know you're stressed. I think we need to do some Chisato-y things and let you reset, okay?"
"Chisato things?" the woman in question echoed. "B- but we did what I wanted last weekend. This was all supposed to be about you and that bookstore you wanted to go to and-"
"That can wait. Lets get you back in bed, okay?" Takina unfurled from her and turned off the sink. She grabbed at her hand, leading the blonde away from the kitchen and down the hallway.
Chisato would hardly say no to returning to her cocoon of blankets, but in her limited experience with Morning Takina, once you were out of bed there would be no return until evening. Still, she let herself be ushered into the bedroom.
"Are you sure?"
"It's not even eight yet. You clearly got up early to make me breakfast when I usually eat." Takina got into the bed. "But on your own, you'd never get up this early on the weekend, would you?"
"No… but honestly it wasn't a big problem for me either! I can definitely get used to it-"
"Chisato. I never asked for that, did I?" Takina shimmied under the blankets and turned towards her. She held her arms out. "Come here. All I want is to relax with you, okay?"
Chisato wrung her hands as she approached. This all felt so alien, so un-Takina--at least in their own relationship. This amount of initiation was saved for LycoReco's finances, not her girlfriend.
Oh gosh. Was Takina reading her like a spreadsheet, noticing that her emotional books needed to be balanced with a deposit of naps and cuddles? She nipped that thought in the bud and filed it away for later.
"There we go," Takina murmured as Chisato laid down next to her. She propped her head up on an elbow and studied her. "A bit better, I hope?"
"Well, yeah…" Chisato shifted until she got comfortable, lying on her side and looking up at her. "Still, this is a surprise. Who knew Miss Inoue of all people would want to sleep in?"
"Mmm, well, every once in a while it's not so bad. Only with you next to me, though," Takina said, averting her eyes.
Gods above, the dust of color on her cheeks was precious. Chisato inched closer, placing a hand along Takina's side and enjoying the simple sensation of touching her. Takina jolted a little before she regained her composure and flashed a smile. Finally the cracks were beginning to show, revealing the effort in appearing effortless.
That made her feel better. If they were both trying a little too hard, it all canceled out, right? Whether it was through romantic gestures or cool dependability didn't matter.
"This is nice," Chisato said. "Letting you whisk me away and spoil me, even if its only for a nap. I'm warning you, I could easily get used to this."
Takina smiled again. She was doing that so much these days it made Chisato's heart hurt. "Just for today, you hear me?" She laid down and pulled Chisato in closer, letting the blonde's head rest on her shoulder.
"Sure sure. I'll win you over eventually."
Takina laughed. Finally. It wasn't long or particularly loud, but enamored down to the core. She pressed another kiss on the top of Chisato's head and pulled the covers over the two of them.
"If you say so."