sweetdevil | 79th ♫ | the two of us aren't really considered a pair, but i think we could get there!

[ By the time Aki gets home, the apartment smells overwhelmingly of sweets and not-so-faintly of smoke.

It's really her own fault for rushing the whole thing, but in her defense, it wasn't as though she'd had a whole lot of time to try and get this done before he got home. Valentine's is an absolute gauntlet for a group like B-Komachi and she'd only managed to make it home on time because she'd refused to wait for the other girls to be ready to go before getting into her street clothes and tearing off home. If that makes it super obvious what she's doing tonight... well, Ai doesn't care at this point. They probably don't, either.

So she gets home, showers and changes as quick as she can, so close to the wire that when Ai pokes her head out of the kitchen, her hair's still wet and clinging to her neck. Her apron's dotted with smears of brown and pink and while she's got a smile on her face, she looks undeniably panicked. ]

Ah, Aki! Wow, you got home fast, I thought I had a little longer than that...

[ She isn't even trying not to look like she's been caught red handed. ]

[ Aki is used to the smell of smoke - cigarettes, the scent that hangs around on him constantly - but this is different.

When he slips through the door, he pauses in the motion of kicking his shoes off, hesitating. He doesn't want to interrupt if Ai is doing something like cooking, if she is going out of her way to do something nice, but he also really doesn't want the apartment to burn down. He knows what date it is, what it means, and when he hangs his suit jacket up...

She's already calling for him. Alas.

Moving through the house, he hovers in the doorway to watch her, his eyes warm and filled with fondness as he drinks her in. She's beautiful, even like this, a little messy - maybe even more beautiful for letting her guard down and being Ai, rather than her idol-self.

He loves her. ]

Do you want me to go out again?

[ For a second, she considers it, if only so she can try and make a big enough production of the whole thing to soothe her ego... but, well. That's a bit silly even for her. And really, this was supposed to be about doing something nice for Aki regardless of how much she ends up embarrassing herself in the process. ]

The cat's out of the bag at this point, I guess. And honestly, hyping it up any more than this is going to be a real let down...

[ Even more than it inevitably will be. Somehow. ]

Actually, you might've ended up getting here at the perfect time... I know it's kind of cheating when this is supposed to be a treat for you, but...

[ Ai's smile grows even more sheepish. ]

Could I get your help?

[ He would let her have the time if she wanted, more than happy to wander off to the convenience store and get more cigarettes or something to drink, but he's just as happy to help her out. It can't be as bad as some of his previous experiences with holiday chocolates at work.

Walking up to her, he leans down to kiss the top of her head gently before reaching to wrap his fingers around her wrist, raising an eyebrow. ]

I don't mind helping you, cheating or not.

[ He kisses her palm. ]

What do you need?

Mm...

[ Aki's kisses are always so nice. He's just gotten back from work, so she shouldn't be too clingy, but... since it's a special day, it's fine for her to be just a little more demanding than usual, right?

She takes a step forward into him, so she can loop her free arm around his neck and rise up onto her toes to press a kiss to his cheek. ]

You have to promise not to laugh, first. I did my best, but I still really messed up...

[ Aki leans into the kiss, letting himself dwell just a little bit with an arm wrapped around her. She's so handsome, he thinks, beautiful too, and he tugs her closer to align her body against his own. He adores her, even in moments like this, where the ideal of her being "perfect" unravels a little.

She doesn't have to be the perfect idol with him: she can be herself, silly disasters and all. ]

I won't laugh, you have my word.

[ It can't be any worse than the things he's seen Denji do. ]

Alright, then...

[ There's no point in dragging it out any longer... into the kitchen they go.

To give her some credit it's... not as bad as it could be. It's a bit chaotic but not too bad - she'd not had enough time to clean up after herself but she'd done her best to not make too much mess in the first place.

The source of the smoke becomes immediately obvious, though; a wilted looking square chocolate cake that, going by the lightly singed corners and the charred cake shavings on the counter, might have started life as a round one.

A double boil set-up is bubbling away on the stove but she doesn't seem to have had any more success with that, either - whatever was melting in there has clumped together into a lump of seized up pink chocolate.

Ai hovers in the doorway, looking torn between hopeful and sinking into the floor levels of embarrassed. She'd hoped she could rescue things before he got home, but... ]

I found this recipe online that's supposed to be pretty fool proof and it looked like things were going fine but... I guess they forgot to make it Ai proof, too! Hahaha...

[ Can she just disappear now, actually ]

[ Aki was expecting it to be far worse.

The cleanup won't take them too long in this case, and he can see from looking across the room what her attempts had been. A cake, some chocolate, the kinds of things that couples do for each other on Valentine's Day. His efforts would be focused on White Day in a month, of course, but that doesn't mean his attention isn't on all the lovey-dovey things on display in all the stores.

It would've been easy for Ai to just go and buy something for him, to produce something with her face on it, even, but she had tried to make him something. She cared about to go for homemade, and that makes his heart feel warm.

It's also not the worst kitchen disaster he's seen. Thanks Denji.

Leaning down, he presses a kiss to the top of her head gently. ]

Thanks for trying. Shall we clean up and try again?

[ It's embarrassing that she can't even handle this much, right? She's gone out of her way to find a recipe even newbies could manage and she botched that, too. That's bad enough as it is, but it must be especially bad to see as someone as good at cooking as Aki is.

Well, no, that's not fair and she knows it. Even if she'd all but blown up the kitchen, Aki wouldn't get mad. It's just her bruised pride doing the talking here and accordingly, she looks a little mollified at his words. ]

Mmhmm. I really wanted it to be a proper surprise for you...

[ But, well. At least this way, Aki still gets something good to eat. ]

Is there any way to save the cake, do you think...? I cut off all the worst parts but I don't know if the bits left are any good.

[ It's not as if Aki minds, given his background, and he appreciates the sentiment more than the action. He can't remember the last time that someone cared enough about him to try like this, and it makes him feel things that he's not quite ready to dwell on or confess, not without feeling as if he was under scrutiny, somehow. He can be more open with Ai in future, but right now the words feel as if they carry too much meaning.

Shaking his head, he draws her close, letting himself sink into her embrace for a brief moment. He's tall enough that he can rest his chin on her head, and he sighs. ]

It's fine. You surprised me by caring enough to make it, so that's okay.

[ Turning back, he tilts his head, considering. ]

We could turn it into cake pops.

[ That seems to finally perk her up just a bit. Her pride's definitely still a bit bruised but at least this way, her efforts haven't gone entirely to waste. She managed to surprise Aki and that was the important part.

... her clothes are probably going to smell like burned sugar for a while, though. ]

Oh, you're right... I was trying to go for a two-tier cake, so there should be plenty for cake pops. [ you have to admire her, uh. ambition, if nothing else. ] And the chocolate...

[ She gives the seized chocolate in her double boiler a tentative poke with the spatula she'd been using to stir. ]

There's probably no saving this. But there's plenty spare in the fridge.

[ Aki can recognise hurt pride from a mile away, so he doesn't say anything more - she doesn't need to be treated like she's stupid, or a child, after all. He appreciates it. She is trying, with all that she has.

He loves her so much. ]

We can make some of those, then, and mould the others into cupcake shapes and put icing on them. No one will know the difference.

[ Easy fixing with Aki Hayakawa. Leaning down, he kisses her quickly. ]

You mould the pops, I'll remake the chocolate.

[ At last, Ai's smile looks a little more genuine. Seems like some of her sparkle's properly come back. ]

Mm, that sounds easy enough. [ Before he can properly pull away, Ai rises up onto her toes and presses a quick kiss to his cheek in return. She hadn't been able to pull this off as flawlessly as she would've liked, but this bustling around the kitchen with Aki is fun. ] Aki really is a kitchen genius.

[ In comparison to her, anyway. ]

Let's see, what can I use...

[ She pokes around the utensil drawer for a second before she emerges with a cookie scoop and sets to recovering what she can from the cake. ]

I just know how to cook, Ai, it's not that impressive.

[ Not to him, at least, because he'd been forced to learn at quite a young age. He had been alone, with no one to cook for him, so he was backed into a corner, so to speak. It must have been different for her.

Stepping around her, he makes his way to the chocolate and gathers the ingredients, putting the dirty dishes aside.

... He might have to throw some of them out. ]

Let me know if you need me.

It's impressive to me. Or did you forget who you're talking to?

[ She's making progress, at least - even in its slightly miserable current state, the fact that the cake is at all edible is a testament to how much she's improved. Oddly, baking seems to be where she does best, which probably comes down to her thriving when she has a list of Very Exact Instructions to follow.

She manages to get one cake pop reasonably shaped and it's quickly joined by a second slightly less wonky one. She's picking it up quick, at least. ]

Ooh, and before I forget - I gotta know. [ She gives him a little grin. ] Did anybody at work surprise you with anything?

No, I didn't forget.

[ Aki is happy enough to share this with her, even if she is a little in awe of him when he does. Her improvements are obvious, though, and he's sure that one day she won't even need his help - she'll be making her own cute bento boxes to take to work with her.

He's lost in his own baking when the question comes, and his brow furrows. ]

Why would someone at work surprise me with anything?

[ That makes her pause, mid cake scoop, and gawk at him, looking somewhere between taken aback and entirely bemused. ]

Why would- you're kidding, right? [ The words come laughing out of her. ] You're really telling me a guy like you doesn't get anything for Valentine's at work?

[ In Ai's totally objective and not at all biased opinion, who else would you even WANT to give chocolates to? ]

No? I suppose Himeno sometimes got me chocolate, but I never ate it so she stopped bothering and just shares her cigarettes with me instead.

[ Aki shrugs. The rest of his colleges are either men or people who don't seem to be into him, so... ]

And I'd only accept chocolates from you, Ai, either way.

Hm... [ folding her arms across her chest. ] I'm not sure I'm glad nobody got it into their head to try poaching you or if I'm mad that nobody thinks you're enough of a catch to give chocolate to.

In her, once again, totally objective and not remotely biased opinion, would you not be tripping over yourself to give chocolate to a coworker or a senpai like Aki?!

... Well, whatever. [ She goes back to scooping edible hunks of cake out of the ruins of that first attempt. ] If that's really the case then it makes me extra glad I tried to pull out all the stops like this. Even if it didn't turn out exactly as planned. Heehee.

[ Leaning over, he kisses her cheek as he speaks directly into her ear, absent and unconcerned. ]

People at work think I'm a little crazy, so most of them avoid me. I work with fiends and do the insane missions, so...

[ So of course no one would want to try and win him over. He's not exactly prime husband material to a lot of people, even if he's calmed down in the time that he and Ai had been together. Aki wanted to go home to her, after all, so that meant relaxing.

Leaning in, he steals another kiss before he heads back to his own work. ]

I appreciate the sentiment, so remember that.

[ His breath puffs into her ear, ticklish enough that her instinct is to squirm at the feel of it but pleasant enough that she manages to restrain herself and keep still regardless. ]

Sounds to me like everybody you work with just has bad taste. [ said with a little 'hmph!' on his behalf. ] But that's their loss!

[ And... selfishly, she's a little relieved. She knows that if it ever came to a competition, somehow, that Aki would choose her every time but that doesn't mean she likes the idea of competing in the first place.

But she doesn't have to worry about that now. Aki's home, Aki's cooking with her and she's... just about salvaged everything she can from this cake, so that's her job done. She doesn't quite trust herself to be an objective judge, though, so she plucks one up from her tray and reaches over to give his sleeve a tug. ]

Here - they're all done, so give it a try and tell me what you think.

[ Let her think that way: Aki knows he has paid the price for his insanity for long enough already. He can't take it back, but he can have this. ]

Or I was saving myself for you. Perhaps it's like that instead.

[ Turning his attention back to her, he tilts his head for a moment. The tender tug on his sleeve, the gentle way she looks at him and treats him... His heart aches a little. He doesn't think that he has ever been loved like this before, and it makes his chest thrum with something warm and sad.

Leaning down, he kisses her softly, gently. ]

I think they're perfect.

[ He hasn't even eaten one yet. ]

Pff- hold on, wait a second! [ The protest that comes giggling out of her is half-hearted at best - even if she didn't chase after him with a quick kiss of her own. Her smile's brightened, in either case. ] You can't go and say that before you've even tried one.

[ Of course, knowing Aki, he'll say it's delicious either way. But since it's Valentine's Day... she wants to have at least a little self indulgent fun with him today. So before he can step back, she holds up the cake pop on the fork. ]

Come on, open up and say 'aah'.

[ Her eyes are practically twinkling with mischief. Play with her!! ]

They were made for me by you, so of course they'll be perfect. [ It's not as if she could give him anything worse than what Power and Denji have made for him in the past, all things considered.

Shaking his head, not necessarily wanting to indulge her this much but being unable to resist, and he leans down to take a bite of the cake pop.

Just for her. He's... So totally whipped. ]

It's good. I knew it would be.

[ At that, her face lights up with a grin - half bashful, half the cheeky satisfaction of having gotten her way. Not that she has to push particularly hard when it comes to Aki. ]

See? Aren't you glad you tried one, then?

[ He really is so cute it's unfair. Before he can pull back, she rises up on her toes and presses another quick kiss to his cheek. Sneak attack! ]

Alright! What else can I finish off while you're doing the chocolate?

➵ lifeprice

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