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Mitsuri was known to be the best Hashira when it came to cooking or baking. Everyone loved her cooking, and for good reason. It tasted delicious, like you could feel the love that was put into it. She was the Love Hashira after all, so you'd expect everything to be made with love.
Obanai always made time to bake with Mitsuri.
He wasn't good at it, but he always tried to help the Love Hashira whenever he could. If she needed more cooking materials, he would go get them for her.
If she asked him to hold something, he would.
And he did it without question, because he loved her more than anything. (He was pretty sure that she liked him back, but they hadn't actually ever confirmed their feelings directly. He was hoping that this Christmas, he would get lucky.)
So when she asked if he wanted to make Christmas cookies with her for the other Hashira, he immediately agreed.
The only thing that he was shocked about was that she asked him to actually make something this time.
"Hey Obi, can you help me make the icing?" she asked, pink braids bouncing as she flitted around the kitchen, mixing ingredients and adding them in with expert precision.
Obanai froze.
She wanted him to help?
He was notoriously a bad cook.
But he would try his best. And if Mitsuri had instructions, he could follow them relatively easily.
"Yes, of course." Obanai replied, immediately walking over to the bowl that Mitsuri had the ingredients for the icing in.
She'd already put the ingredients in? That was good. He probably would just have to add water and mix now.
"Can you just add the colour and water and then mix it together?" Mitsuri asked.
I was spot on, thought the Serpent Hashira.
He could do this.
It couldn't be that difficult to make icing, and it was safer to have him make the icing than make the actual cookies. So he grabbed the measuring cup that Mitsuri pointed him to, poured some water into it, then poured it into the bowl where the powdered sugar was sitting, waiting to be turned into the delectable sweetness that was the icing on Mitsuri's cookies.
What if Obanai made it wrong? Would Mitsuri get mad at him? He didn't want that. He had to get this right and prove to her that he wasn't completely useless in the kitchen.
He grabbed the red colouring and added it in, stirring the powder, water and colouring together. After a minute of stirring, Mitsuri popped over and grinned adorably, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"That looks so good Obi! Can you make a green one now? We have to stay in the Christmas Spirit, you know!" Mitsuri chirped, sticking the tip of her finger into the icing, then bringing it up to her mouth and licking it.
A smudge of icing was left on the left part of her lip, and Obanai had the sudden urge to reach up and wipe it off with his own finger.
He restrained himself, not wanting to make this weird.
"You're doing great! I'll be back to get them when you're done both!"
✷ ✷ ✷
Mitsuri stood next to Obanai, showing him how to properly ice the gingerbread cookies that they made together. She made sure not to overcomplicate her instructions, knowing he would be upset if he got it wrong.
As he iced the cookies, she couldn't keep a dreamy expression off of her face.
He was just so sweet!
Obanai wasn't the best at baking or cooking, she knew that, but he was trying for her! And that was just so sweet of him!
He was also so respectful of her, it was even more endearing. He didn't ask for feedback aloud, but he was constantly looking over to her to make sure he was doing it right.
She nodded every time before returning back to her own cookies.
When they were done, she pressed a kiss to his cheek, thanking him for his help.
She didn't understand why he froze up at that. She was just thanking him? Well, she did like him romantically, but she really was just trying to express her appreciation.
"Thank you Obi! You were such a big help." she said, smiling brightly.
He hugged her then, burying his face in her shoulder, which shocked her in turn.