Chương 120: Dinner For You
"Remember to cut them into equal pieces so that they evenly cook on the inside."
"Alright."
–CHOP CHOP CHOP
The echoes of vegetables being cut rang throughout the kitchen while a single pair can be seen moving around.
Aoi stood right beside Haruto who had his entire attention focused on the knife in his hand. Guiding the blade with his knuckles, he continued to cut through the ingredients in front of him.
Prepping the pieces that he will use for the dish he had in his head.
"The pan is hot enough so you can start to cook the chicken if you want."
"Is this enough oil?" Haruto moved aside to allow Aoi to look over his shoulder. "I think I put enough like last time but I just want to make sure."
"The amount is good. Just be sure to place the chicken skin side down first so it crisps up and can have a nice brown on it."
"Yes ma'am!"
Aoi covered her mouth to laugh seeing his over exaggerated actions and moved to the side watching as he continued to cook.
Haruto's eyes focused as he followed through with Aoi's previous words and carefully cooked the chicken he had.
"He's really putting in the effort."
"Well tomorrow is the day so he's been trying to have some last minute practice before the real thing happens."
Off to the side watching the two cook in the kitchen, Jiro and another man were seen sitting by a counter each having a glass in their hands.
The man that sat beside Jiro was his secretary that has helped him throughout his time managing his company and was also a childhood friend of his.
The two were close as their families had been neighbors so growing up together was something that was inevitable.
If Haruto would describe him, the words 'kind uncle' would be the first ones to pop up.
"They grow up so fast… I remember always hearing Yui scold him for his messy room but now he's actively cleaning up himself as he cooks…"
"I know how you feel. I really need to thank Mahiru even further for finally shaping him up."
"I must also meet this lady and thank her myself."
The two let out a nostalgic sigh before downing the contents of their glasses.
"You two! I can hear you!!"
Haruto felt his face harden when he overheard the conversation between the two and felt his embarrassment rise when he also heard Aoi quietly agreeing behind him.
"That was intentional my boy."
"You old man…"
Jiro bursted out in laughter seeing the face Haruto was making and continued to sip down his drink that he poured once again.
"I wonder how mom would react seeing you drink so early in the afternoon…"
"PFFTTT."
Jiro almost choked on his drink when he heard his son's subtle but audible words and felt a chill down his spine.
"Ahem, are you almost done cooking?"
"Hmm, I may be. Who knows?"
Jiro's face twitch seeing the smirk Haruto had and felt like his son had turned pretty sly ever since he had moved to highschool.
"Like father, like son."
""Did you say something?""
"Oh nope, I was just thinking out loud."
The man beside Jiro seemingly ignored the voices of the two and continued to drink thinking about the similarities the two had.
The interaction turned the atmosphere into a ligheated one where certain jabs were thrown at people until Haruto was finally finished cooking his food.
"Tell me if I'm missing anything."
Haruto placed down the dishes he made in front of his father and his friend while Aoi helped him set up.
He took the plate from Aoi and also told her to sit down to try and eat what he made.
"Let's dig in."
Jiro took a fork and ate the food in front of him while the other two followed along.
Haruto nervously stood off to the side trying to read their expressions and waited for them to say their thoughts.
"It's good."
"I agree. It's surprising considering your previous failed attempts."
The two guys nodded in satisfaction as they scarfed down the food and a relieved breath came out of Haruto.
He glanced at Aoi who was quiet and watched as she used a napkin to wipe her mouth.
"I can feel the amount of thoughts you placed inside. Mahiru will surely feel happy eating your food."
"I see…"
Watching Aoi show him a gentle smile, Haruto replied in a hushed tone but the three were able to see a relieved and satisfied look on his face.
"I'll be back, I'll get the dessert from the fridge." Haruto rushed away as the three people continued to watch his departing back.
"That lady must be really special."
"I guess she really is."
***
"I feel like Haruto is up to something."
"PFFFTT."
In the corner of a cafe, two ladies can be seen eating some food and their appearances have caused their surroundings to ever so slightly turn their heads in their direction.
However seeing how one of them suddenly flinched when she drank her juice made them wonder what happened.
"A-Are you okay?"
"Yeah don't worry… the juice just went down the wrong hole.."
Akane wiped her mouth as she watched Mahiru worrily pass some of the tissues on her side.
"W-What did you say about Haruto again? I missed it."
"Well, I think he's up to something."
Akane on the surface had her usual expression but inside she was sweating bullets thinking that Haruto had somehow blown his cover.
"I might be over thinking but I felt like he was nervous about something."
"Really?"
"But.. I might be wrong since I know he would at least say something if he was feeling worried about anything.."
Mahiru cut a piece of egg she had on her plate and took a bite of it while mumbling.
"Just curious, why do you think he's nervous about something?"
"Well, from his eyes I guess. Sometimes it shook when I said bye to him at lunch which was different from usual but it might just be a gut feeling."
'You seriously got something like that just from seeing his eyes…'
Akane felt a bit speechless seeing Mahiru's detection skills having almost found out about Haruto's change of emotion during the afternoon.
"Don't worry about it, knowing him he'll tell you about it first considering his personality."
"I guess so."
Mahiru agreed to Akane's reasoning and decided to not think too much about it. Akane on the other hand pumped her fist underneath the table and continued to act normal.
"Where are we going after this?"
"There's a bookstore that just opened up a few days ago so we'll go there next."
"Ah! Is it the one near the coffee shop? I saw it online and it looked like a place where people can go and relax."
"Yup that's the one! There's some light novels I wanted to get and I figured that bringing you would be a good idea since you also like reading."
Akane showed Mahiru an image and they began to talk about the things they would do once they arrived at the store.
'I also pre ordered something just for you at the store but I guess that can wait until we actually go there~'
Thinking about the hidden present she had gotten for her, Akane hummed to herself and decided to continue with her plan of distracting Mahiru with this spontaneous hang out she decided on.
A few hours continued to go by and Akane dragged Mahiru to a bunch of different places until the sun finally began to set.
Standing by the entrance of the bus station, the two said a few goodbyes before they separated.
"Mahiru, take this and make sure to give it to my brother."
"This is the package from the bookstore you got right?"
Mahiru curiously stared at the box for a bit before she placed it into her bag.
Akane eyed the box and looked at Mahiru with a faint smile.
"I'll see you soon!"
"Yeah, until next time!"
Mahiru waved her arms before she took her transit card and walked by the railings where she entered the station.
"I hope it goes well. Happy Birthday Mahiru..."
Akane said this under her breath and turned around, feeling a bit happy seeing that the day went by pretty well.
Mahiru took a while before walking out of the bus, finding herself back at a familiar looking road. Her surroundings slowly turned faint as the sun finally began to settle and the sounds of her boots crushing thin layers of snow was the only thing she heard.
Looking at her apartment, she carefully walked up the stairs as the snow had begun to melt under her boots and wanted to prevent herself from accidentally slipping.
"I wonder what he did today..?"
She took out a key chain that had a copy of Haruto's home keys and slipped it into the hole where she opened the door.
"I'm back."
"Ah you're finally here! Welcome back!"
Mahiru smiled when she heard Haruto's voice but she stopped in her place when she noticed something different about him.
"..Why are you wearing an apron..?"
"It's nothing. Here, let me take your jacket and just follow me."
Haruto approached Mahiru who was still a bit confused with what she saw and allowed him to take the jacket off of her.
He also took the bag she had and was led by the arm towards the living room where her eyes widened even further.
"Sit here."
Mahiru obediently sat down at the table and just watched him place down some dishes that still had steam coming off them.
"Here's some butter garlic shrimp pasta and some potato salad. Ah there's also some regular salad if you want. The teriyaki chicken is still resting but I'll bring that out pretty soon."
A display of colorful dishes began to appear in front of Mahiru who was still a bit stunned at what she saw.
"..Did you make all this..?"
"Of course! It was a bit hard since I wanted to make it hot when you came home but I was glad I had at least a few things done."
Haruto smiled a bit seeing the expression that Mahiru was making and held down his laugh from coming out.
He got closer to her and held onto her hands which were still a bit cold from the time she was outside.
"Happy Birthday Mahiru."
Haruto showed her a gentle smile which caused her to look in his direction.
"I heard that it was your birthday today and I wanted to do something special so I attempted to make dinner for you. I was worried about how it was going to turn out but I think I did pretty okay."
"So that's why earlier…"
"Earlier?"
Mahiru told him about her feelings and Haruto just looked at her in shock.
"So my cover was also blown… luckily Akane did a fast one to help switch your thoughts."
"I guess Akane was in on it too."
"Ding ding ding!"
Mahiru looked at Haruto for a bit before she stared at the food in front of her in silent.
"I never really celebrated my birthday so I don't really know how to react…"
"Well.. how about for starters we eat dinner. I tried my hardest so you better eat every last piece of it!"
"I will be sure to do that."
Feeling the presence of a kiss touch her cheek, Mahiru watched Haruto walk towards the kitchen and brought out the last remaining dishes he had.
"Try the pasta first."
Following his urges, Mahiru twirled her fork and gathered the pasta so that she could neatly eat it.
She noticed that Haruto was filling up his own plate but subtle glances were being sent to her, watching for her reaction.
'I guess this is how it felt on the other side.'
Seeing that he was in the same position as she was before, she quickly took a bite and savored the food that Haruto had made especially for her.
"How was it?"
Haruto asked Mahiru who's silence made him restless but a quiet voice made all this go away.
"..It's delicious and tastes very…comforting.."
Her eyes softened as she stared at the plate of pasta and wondered just how much work he had put into this to make it taste so… warm.
A heavy sigh escaped Haruto as his nerves eased after seeing Mahiru's expression.
"Here! Try the teriyaki chicken that I made next."
Eating the piece of chicken alongside some of the other dishes that he made, Mahiru didn't once take her eyes off of Haruto who was excited to tell her about the ways he had cooked the dinner.
Seeing the bright display of food in front of her and the presence of her loved one sitting happily across.
This scene was vastly different from her days of sitting by herself not minding the absence that was around her.
Indescribable feelings flooded her chest as she was unsure as to how to express them but one thing was for sure on her mind.
That she loved the man in front of her with all her heart.
"You should sit down. I will take care of this."
"No, my role as the cook was taken by you today so I should be the one who should be cleaning."
"Excuse me but may I remind you that it's your birthday today."
"Still…"
"Just wait at the table since there's still one more thing I have to do."
Haruto pushed the reluctant Mahiru towards the table once again and had her sit down. The lights turned dim which caught her off guard and a flicker of light began to appear from the corner of her eyes.
"Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~"
A small slice of cheesecake was seen on a plate with a singular candle flickering its light. The plate was gradually placed on the table in front of her and she looked closely at the slice.
"Taa da! The final part of the dinner. Make a wish!"
Haruto kneeled down to reach eye level with her and slowly watched as she closed her eyes. A moment of silence began before it was broken by the sound of blowing hitting the candle.
Haruto took the candle and went towards the light switch to turn it back on but was suddenly stopped in place by a pair of hands holding onto him.
"Thank you for this. I don't know how to properly express it but I will cherish this moment forever..."
A pair of soft words appeared behind him and Haruto placed the candle stick onto the counter.
"Don't worry, we'll do something like this again next year and the year after that so if you can't express it now then you have all the time next year to do so."
Haruto turned around and saw the glassy eyes Mahiru showed under the dim light and a faint silence took over them.
Slowly as if it was natural, their faces got gradually closer before the sounds of lips pressing against each other entered their ears.
Holding onto her slim waist, Haruto accepted Mahiru's aggressive attacks and slowly enjoyed the moment where they focused solely on each other.
Her arms tightly holding onto him and the gradual movement of her tongue, expressed her appreciation for what he had done for her.
Ending off the dinner that was made solely for one person in mind..
***
Needed some bonks when writing those last few pieces. I hope you enjoyed it. Peacu
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