The Christmas Date (Japan and Taiwan)

Kiku watched as Mei balanced herself on the counter, reaching to the high shelf to retrieve the timer, ready to catch her should she fall. But she handed him the timer without a problem.

The Japanese man placed the item down, his concern on Mei for now. He reached out his hands and helped her down from the counter, actually lifting her and one point, and placing her back on her feet.

He gave her a small smile before turning back toward the timer he had placed down to set it. Once that was done, he turned his attention back to the Taiwanese, securing his hand in hers once more.

"So now we don't have to worry about watching the time," he stated. He gave her a small smile, one that was like a meek version of mischievous. We can concentrate on other things.

He used his other hand to brush the side of her face gently. His cheeks turned slightly pink again.

Each other.

He still wasn't used to thinking so much of one person. It made him feel slightly outside himself, different. But his feelings were strong, and outweighed his internal habits.

He closed his eyes most of the way, just a little bit open at the bottom edge, but unfocused. Then he leaned toward her, their bodies touching, but not yet pressed.

"Mei..." he breathed.

---

orz

Mei had shut the cabinet doors and was beginning to climb down when she found Kiku had offered assistance. She smiled and purposely hung onto him for an extra second before standing on her own feet again. He was so nice and warm and everything, it was tempting to just hang on. But still, he had to set the timer. So she waited and watched while he did that, squeezing his hand when he was done.

"Well, you are right..." she began, a 'but we still had to find and get the timer' on the tip of her tongue. However, she stopped herself from saying any more when he smiled at her. She loved it when he smiled, no matter how slight. When she was younger, she remembered he didn't smile at all so much. But now... hee.

She used her free hand to reach up and grip his hand, holding it there against her cheek and smiling back at him. Mei watched as Kiku closed his eyes, taking a moment just to stare at him. He looked so... peaceful? At ease? Whatever it was, she knew she liked seeing him like so.

After that moment of just looking at him, she slowly pulled his arms around her and behind her back, securing his hands together somewhat before easing her own arms onto his shoulders, trying to pull him close.

"Mmm~?" There was a happy buzz in her head. She leaned against him, her smile bigger.

---

< A > my imagination decided to ditch me aaaaaa

Kiku felt Mei move his arms so they were around her, and he gave her a slight squeeze when she had finished. Her arms were soon around him as well, and he felt happy. Happy and warm and at ease with her. Surely, nothing could go wrong on a day that they could share such a pleasant, loving embrace.

Kiku heard a questioning noise come from Mei's lips, and wondered for a moment what she was getting at, until he remembered he had just said her name a moment ago. Had he had something to say? His mind right now was filled with more emotion than thought, and that was hard to put into words.

So he said the first truth on his mind. He'd said it before, but surely one could never say it too much. "I love you."

He breathed in her hair, and he noticed she still smelt faintly of sleep - like a kitten did after a nap.

Such private time was...well, nice wasn't a good enough word. It was...beyond Kiku's usual way of thinking about things.

He was perfectly content to stay like this until something happened to stop him.

...Like the timer going off.

Mei pressed her face against his shirt, closing her eyes and inhaling quietly. The way Kiku smelled was just... comforting. Sort of like the way her house and bed did after she'd been away for a while. Like it said, 'welcome home'. Something along those lines.

The buzz in her head had was in more than just her head now. There were happy flutters from her heart, warm feelings in her stomach.

"I love you too." Her voice sounded soft and sleepy again, not that she noticed in particular. She was just very happy.

She felt like she could stay there eternally in that happy state, standing there with the one she loved. And she would have, but the shrill sound of the timer decided to cut in, causing her to flinch and open her eyes again. Mei squinted her eyes at the ringing device like it was the most evil thing in the world (well, for a moment she believed it was), and pulled away from Kiku with a quiet groan to go turn it off.

She pulled away from him to shut the timer off, but Kiku made his touch linger as long as possible. As she pulled away, he trailed his fingers down her arm, and then grasped her hand once more, still not letting them part completely.

The timer was close enough on the counter to the stove that he was able to hang on and shut the water off at the same time. Now they would have to cool the water and the eggs some before peeling them. ...It would be difficult to hold the pot full of water with one hand in order to carry it to the sink, so it would force him to let go.

He let out a soft sigh, and slipped his fingers reluctantly from hers. Then he grabbed the pot handle with both hands, and put it in the sink. Then he turned on the water to cold, and let it run over the boiled water and eggs, gradually bringing down the temperature.

Kiku reached out his hand again, seeking hers once more.

---

Bleh, but it's a start after so long~

Mei unknowingly clenched her fists during those few seconds his fingers ran down her arm, her focus was already going from the timer to him again. There was what she had to do, versus what she wanted to do. Her grip loosened again, quickly, once his hand had hers. She turned the ringing device off eventually, not before fumbling at first. The stove was the same story. Her mind was not... entirely there. It was mostly elsewhere.

It went completely elsewhere when she found her hand lonely yet again. But like she was going to force Kiku to carry a hot pot with one hand. So she stood out of his way quietly, watching him. She felt sort of... all lonely, and not just her hand anymore. And he was only a foot or so away. But it was lonely, not being close to him like she had been minutes ago. She sighed. This was... amusingly odd.

When he reached out again, she eagerly took his hand, letting out a quiet but ecstatic 'yay'. Mei didn't care how childish it sounded, she was happy and that was that. She held on with no intention of letting go, looking up at him with a smile.

"And now we wait again?"

Kiku nodded and worked his thumb, rubbing her hand in what was becoming his usual way. "Yes," he responded, "we wait for a bit. This shouldn't take long, though. How is the rice doing? We should be able to eat soon."

He smiled at her. It seemed so nice. Everything. Waking up next to Mei, making breakfast with her, being in her arms, holding her hand, and soon eating with her.

Everyday like this would be a dream of a life.

How did he get so lucky to have such a wonderful fiancee? He leaned in for another kiss, just because.

He never would have predicted that he would do something like that with anyone. To be in this wonderful, fulfilling relationship that made him so happy. That he would be giving out kisses on a whim.

When he pulled away again he asked, "Where do you keep the soy sauce?"

Mei didn't bother looking at the rice, or really thinking about it either. Kiku was doing that thing with his thumb and smiling at her. There was no room in her head to think about rice, none at all.

"The rice will ding when it's done~" Her voice sounded lazy again. She stared at him. His face, eyes, cheeks, nose, mouth... Ah. His mouth. There was the want to kiss him. If she asked out of the blue, would he be okay with it? She was a... touchy person, compared to him-

She almost gasped when he leaned over. Could Kiku read her mind? Was the look on her face obvious? ...And why was she thinking about all this now? Mei closed her eyes and kissed him, smiling again and pushing the worries out of her thoughts. If he made her happy, that's all she wanted to focus on.

"The soy sauce is..." She hurried over to a smaller side cabinet, opening it and holding it out. "Here!"

She slid it onto the counter and looked over at the eggs impatiently. When did she get so hungry?

Kiku nodded and thought about what else they would need while they waited for the rice. "Bowls? Chopsticks?"

Of course, such things wouldn't take long to retrieve, but they might as well be out and ready, since they were waiting anyway. He went back over to the eggs and shut off the water. He reached in his hand and gently swished them around. The eggs themselves were still warm to the touch, but the water was cold. The perfect disparity between outside and inside temperatures so that they should be easy to peel. He found a surface to peel them on, took one out and started to roll in gently, then peel the shell off of it.

He turned to look over his shoulder after he finished one. "Also, can I have something to put the eggs in while we are still waiting for the rice?"

His stomach made a noise he hoped only he could hear. Maybe they should have made more food. But for now, he just wanted to eat the food they had made.

"Bowls and chopsticks, bowls and chopsticks~" She sang as she went to go get them from their various cabinets, grabbing an extra larger bowl as she did. Mei set the chopsticks and smaller bowls beside the rice cooker, peeking inside it after she did. It looked pretty much done... Well, since there were still eggs to peel, she decided to might as well let it ding anyways. Normally if it seemed done, she would just shut it off herself and start eating. She pushed the larger bowl towards Kiku, watching him. He was careful and neat, of course...

"I think this one is big enough...?"

She moved around him to go and get an egg to peel as well. It was hard not to hurry, since she wanted to eat already, but she didn't want to dent the eggs. Kiku could peel them nicely and neatly, she was perfectly capable of doing the same! If she went slow. But slow was... slow. Mei sighed.

"I want to eat alreeeady!"

... Aiyah, had she just said that out loud?

Kiku nodded, indicating the bowl was acceptable, and put his current finished egg in it. Then he started peeling another, Mei helping at his side.

Her sudden exclamation made him chuckle a bit. "I'm hungry too," he told her, "but we will be done soon enough, and by then the rice should be done too. Just have a bit of patience."

He deposited yet another egg in the bowl and picked up another to repeat the process once more.

After the third egg was placed in the bowl, he paused before grabbing another one, instead he leaned over and gave her a quick peck. "It won't be long now."

He went right back to the monotonous activity with the eggs. So casual, kissing her and going back. Slightly pink in the cheeks, he put his focus on the egg he was working on.

He could make himself blush over something so simple.

So he had heard her. She just nodded and turned her face away, trying to concentrate more on her egg peeling. How embarrassing. That certain outburst was meant to stay in her head.

Mei sighed and continued pulling the shell away from the boiled egg. Just peel and peel, and eventually you will eat, she told herself. Carefully and neatly, just like Kiku is doing. It wasn't too hard once you got the hang of it-

She almost dropped the egg when Kiku kissed her quickly, wondering what had just happened a few moments later. When she looked over at him, he was back to peeling another egg, like nothing had happened. This was... different? Nice? Maybe both.

She smiled to herself and put her finished egg into the bowl, then started on another, singing quietly to herself when she realized it was easier and faster this time.

Just as Kiku picked the second-to-last egg out of the bowl to be peeled, he heard the rice cooker finished. Well, that timed out pretty well.

"Mei, would you like to put the rice into our bowls while I finish with these?" he asked casually, while he started on the egg he had just pulled out.

This morning was nice. Really, really nice. It was like a small preview of what casual married life would be like, and Kiku found that he enjoyed it immensely. With Mei by his side, mixing making breakfast and kissing like it was the most natural thing in the word. It was like some sort of dream.

...Perhaps he had yet to wake up this morning and this was a dream.

...Well, if it was, he better make the most of this wonderful dream, and then try to remember how to make his morning just as wonderful when he woke up.

But no, the smell of the kitchen was too real, he thought. As was Mei's touch from earlier. He remembered it too sharply.

This was reality.

And it was wonderful.

The rice cooker rang and Mei briefly glanced over at it, then at Kiku.

"Okay!"

She gathered the bowls and opened the rice cooker slowly, inhaling the smell. Only a little bit longer until eating, she told herself. She tried her best to scoop the rice in carefully, so she wouldn't spill any. Normally, she wouldn't care, but again, this situation was not normal. But... this situation would eventually become the normal. So maybe she should act like normally. But...

No, no. Too many buts going around in her head. No more. Just be happy. Mei shook her head and finished her task without spilling any on the counter, only getting a few bits on her fingers, which she instinctively licked off. Er. Hopefully that didn't get seen.

She was back beside Kiku again in moment, leaning her cheek against his arm and watching him peel. After some silence, she spoke up again.

"If there aren't many left, should I go bring the other things to the table?"

"I actually just finished," Kiku announced as she leaned on him and he got rid of the last bit of peel. "So we can put this all together, and bring it to the table now."

He brought the bowl of eggs over to the bowls of rice and placed a few on top of each. Then brought the soy sauce over to the table quickly, then went back for his own bowl. He decided they could each put the amount they liked for themselves.

"Would you like me to bring yours over too?" he asked her politely, figuring that she would refuse and bring it herself, but you never knew. It's not like he would mind at all.

He was quite hungry himself by now, and it would be nice to know that the both of them were sitting at the table, ready to eat. He paused and looked at her to hear her response.

"No no, I can get my own!" Mei waved her hand dismissively and hurried to grab her own bowl, almost dropping an egg out of it. She slowed down and brought it to the table carefully instead, though she was tempted to rush to hurry and eat. But no. It would be a waste if she got some on the floor.

She made sure they had their chopsticks and other various needed tablethings (napkins, salt, etc.), then sat down, inhaling the smell of the food while she waited for Kiku to sit down.

Mei sat and hummed quietly, ready to eat.

"We finally get to eat, we finally get to eat~" She sang, clapping her hands.

---

orz so short I am sorry

Kiku almost flinched watching her, thinking she would drop something in her rush, but it turned out alright, so he relaxed and sat down.

"Indeed," he nodded at her and smiled. He picked up the soy sauce and added his desired about, then, chopsticks in hand, he announced, "Itadakimasu," before beginning his meal.

It tasted like the best eggs he'd ever had, even though it was so simple. Was it because he was so hungry? Or perhaps the idea of Mei being with him and having made them with her made them taste better?

Well, that was a sappy thought.

Did it matter? The morning continued to be bliss. He smiled across the table while he ate, not feeling the need to speak - they were both hungry so they should eat - but he could communicate with his eyes too. And right now they were full of love and content.

---

It was fine.

Mei waited for Kiku to start eating before starting on her own food, smiling and chewing at the same time. While the food tasted so nice in her mouth, she couldn't stop herself from swallowing hurriedly in order to take another bite. But she soon slowed down rather quickly, realizing that again, she was not alone. Where were her manners?

She avoided his eyes for a bit, embarrassed. Only later looking up to find he was looking at her like...

That...?

Well, whatever it was, it made her embarrassment fade away, and Mei ended up smiling back at him. The way Kiku was looking at her just made her heart happy. She swallowed and held up some food, leaning towards him and holding her chopsticks out.

"Say 'aah'."

When Mei smiled back at him, Kiku felt a kind of glow well up from inside him. His level of happiness somehow increased.

In his haze, he vaguely registered her picking up more food and holding it out to him. Then he registered more what she said.

He blushed and looked at the food she was holding out. 'Say aah'? Really? It felt childish, but yet...somehow cute, coming from her. So he shouldered any remaining manliness he had, opened his mouth, and complied, "Aah."

He felt sort of silly saying it, but somehow it didn't matter. He was with Mei. A beautiful woman. More than that, a woman that he loved very much, and that loved him back. Any amount of silly he might feel meant nothing if it was for her. Embarrassing himself in front of her was one thing, but if it was something she requested, there wasn't much to it.

He waited for the piece of food to be delivered to his mouth.

He should perhaps do the same for her next. Feeding each other was sort of romantic, wasn't it?

Mei gasped with delight when Kiku complied and opened his mouth. She thought he might have put up some sort of embarrassed "no thank you" or something. But he didn't.

She grinned when she fed him the bit of food carefully, withdrawing her chopsticks afterwards, happy with herself. It felt a little silly, asking such of him, but she might have regretted it later if she hadn't asked. The face he had made was too cute.

Was this what married life would be like? Hopefully. The idea of her days always starting off so peaceful and happy sounded like something from a dream. Or at least something Mei never expected she would be able to have.

Her stomach felt all fluttery again, but it was kind of a nice feeling in a way, she noted now. It was a nice feeling to have someone to feel all fluttery about.

Kiku chewed and swallowed the food after it was received in his mouth. It was sort of embarrassing, but also sort of...nice.

He picked some of his own food up with his chopsticks and held it up. "Your turn," he said, while smiling at her. "Say 'aah'."

This was so cheesy, and yet it felt good. It was romantic in a childish sort of way, perhaps. But he was happy. A sort of bubbly feeling of happiness that he wasn't used to having. But it was pleasant.

So he held the food out to her and waited for her to comply.

Her eyes lit up when Kiku held some food out towards her.

"Really? Yay!"

She hadn't been expecting this either. She should have, maybe, considering how nice he was anyways. Mei took a moment to stop herself from giggling, then opened her mouth and leaned towards him.

"Aah~"

It was hard to keep still and not start laughing again.

Kiku just about laughed at her excitement. A tiny chuckle slipped out before she leaned forward.

He directed the food to her mouth as she opened it and made the sound, watching her as she received it.

After she finished the bite he said to her, "You can be so adorable, how do you expect me to stand it?" He smiled at her with his and reached out to touch her hand.

"I won't be able to watch any moe anime, because if I have that and you, I might die from all the cute. Overdose."

His cheeks turned pink again. Why did she always inspire such cheesiness in him? She was really too cute.

Being with her like this made him feel young, almost like a teenager. But, he supposed, he'd never really had a young love like that. All these newer emotions at this age must be confusing his body and giving him a hormonal imbalance or something.

He rubbed his cheeks, as if it would get the red out.