Chapter 24 – Alone Together

The two Hosegawa siblings went home shortly after ice skating. Eiji said that Rikka needed some rest since she was exhausted from skating, so he promptly dragged her home. Rikka was severely protesting his decisions, but yielded in the end due to Takei also insisting she get some rest.

This left Takei and Akari alone to do whatever they wanted. Akari decided that she wanted a nice home cooked meal, so she politely requested it from Takei in which he obliged. As a result, they both went back to Takei's house and were preparing the ingredients for the dishes.

A simple omelette over rice dish is what Takei decided to make for Akari. She wanted to help cook, but this was supposed to be his way of repaying her, so he curtly declined. This resulted in a beautiful girl laying down on the sofa in the living room while reading shoujo manga.

This sight could be considered poison to Takei's teenage male mind, but he quickly purged all the evil thoughts inside of his head and got to work on making dinner.

He was not an especially good cook, nor was he a terrible one. Takei picked up a couple skills here and there from watching his mother and sister cook. It eventually reached the point where his cooking skills greatly outmatched similar boys of his age. Even with his clear talent in cooking, he still doubted that he could beat the goddess in a cooking competition. She was truly too far above him in terms of experience for him to win.

Still, Akari really wanted to try Takei's cooking so he wanted to give it his all.

Fifteen minutes is all it took for the dish to be finished.

"Hey, the food is finished. Go wash your hands," Takei instructed.

"Okayyy," Akari replied.

She walked up to the sink to wash her hands while Takei went to grab the plates and utensils from the cabinets. Then, he began setting the table. The plates were set directly in front of each other which meant that they would be eating face to face.

Akari helped with moving the food from the countertop to the table while Takei was setting everything up. If Airi was here, something along the lines of "as expected of the newlyweds" would most likely be said.

They both promptly sat down after the dinner preparations were finished.

Akari's eyes widened at the sight of such a feast in front of her.

"This looks... amazing."

The main entree, omelette over rice, was the clear star of the show. Even though the dish was simple, the details weren't. The eggs were cooked to the point where the outside was a fluffy yellow while the inside was a gooey texture. Cheese was used as an adhesive to prevent the whole omelette from falling apart. There were also chives scattered on top of the omelette as well. As the finishing touch, there was a smiley face made out of ketchup on the omelette itself.

A slight smile crept onto Takei's face. "Haha, thanks. I put in a lot of effort into making this."

Along with the main entree, there were several small side dishes that complimented the main dish. Miso soup, pickled vegetables, kimchi, and several other side dishes were at the forefront of the battle.

Takei bought these side dishes from the supermarket rather than make them, since he wasn't skilled enough to make them himself.

The goddess was clearly impressed with his cooking. "I can tell you put your heart into this omelette. Thank you so much," Akari smiled.

"Then, shall we begin eating?" Takei inquired.

"Let's dig in!" Akari cheerfully exclaimed.

The two gave their thanks for the food and began to dig in.

Akari cut into the omelette and brought it slowly to her mouth. The tiny bite coupled with the cute munching noises were some things that Takei admired about her.

After finishing her chewing, Akari looked at Takei with surprise evident in her eyes.

"Y-you... are you the god of cooking?!" Akari yelled.

Takei was surprised by her sudden outburst. "Huh?"

"The texture... the flavor... What are my taste buds feeling?! Is this heaven?"

Takei wanted to tell her that the omelette was nothing special, but he was sure she wouldn't accept an answer like that.

Reluctantly, Takei began his very long explanation on how he cooked the omelette.

Hopefully the food won't be cold by the time I finish.

***

After a long explanation, food consumption, and cleaning up, they were both finally able to relax and unwind on the couch.

"Uuu... I'm so sorry about getting carried away. My inner chef came out at an unreasonable time and burdened you with my curiosity," Akari sorrowfully said.

"Haaah... it's fine. My mom and sister did the same thing when I cooked for them," Takei sighed.

Indeed the same reaction was had by the mother and sister duo when Takei fed them his world class omelette. Although, it took much longer to explain to them than it did with Akari.

"Besides that, I have a present for you."

Akari tilted her head. "For me?"

Wow, that was cute.

Takei put aside the obvious fact first. "Yeah, it's to thank you for everything."

"Uh, well... this is a bit awkward..." Akari bashfully said, as she pulled out a bag she hid nearby. "I have a present for you as well."

It turned out that both parties had brought presents for each other.

Takei scratched his head. "Um, is it fine if I go first then?"

"Please do." Akari instantly agreed.

Takei grabbed the box that he had hidden nearby as well. He handed the gift wrapped box to Akari and told her to open it.

Akari slowly unwrapped the box to reveal a pretty necklace that had a blue crystallized heart at the center.

She widened her eyes in astonishment. "This..."

Takei scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "You've been helping me out a lot, so I wanted to give you something nice as a gift. I thought it matched your eye color, so I went with this in the end."

A few moments passed by until Akari took her eyes off of the necklace.

"...It's beautiful. Thank you so much!" Akari beamed.

The genuine smile of the goddess was enough of a reward for him. He didn't care that the necklace cost most of his savings. That one smile that was only directed at him would forever be engraved into his heart.

I need to brainstorm some more scenarios to keep her smiling like this more.

A silent resolve was made while Akari was admiring the gorgeous necklace.

"Can you do the honors of putting this on me?" Akari asked.

"Sure, my princess," Takei teased.

He stood up and went around to her back. Takei gently wrapped the necklace around her neck and pushed the locking mechanism in place.

Then, he grabbed a handheld mirror and handed it to Akari.

"What do you think?" He asked.

"I'll cherish it forever," Akari happily said.

"That's a bit heavy..." Takei chuckled.

The necklace looked great on Akari, rather it looked almost as if it was created for her. It was truly a sight for sore eyes when a cute girl dresses nicely.

While on Takei's side, he still hasn't recovered from the sheer joy of Akari's comment.

"Now it's my turn..." Akari said, as she grabbed the bag and dropped it lightly in Takei's lap.

"Is it safe to assume that I can open it?" Takei asked.

Akari nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

Takei opened the bag and lifted the cover of the box to reveal a black minimalistic watch. It had a very sleek design with minimal details in order to fit the modern aesthetic. For some reason, Takei felt a certain kinship with this watch. Maybe it was due to the fact that the watch was overshadowed by many of the more complex watches just like he was overshadowed by the more handsome and smart guys.

"This looks great, thank you for the present... I can feel your thoughtfulness from it." Takei smiled.

Akari gave him a gentle smile back. "When I saw the watch, I knew it would be perfect for you."

"You know me so well, don't you?" Takei teased.

"Yeah yeah, hurry up and put the watch on already," Akari laughed.

As instructed by the goddess, Takei put the watch on his left hand. It was a perfect fit.

This fits really perfectly on me, huh? Maybe I should start collecting watches.

"..."

Takei realized there was an unnatural silence after he put on the watch. He glanced at Akari only to realize that she was staring at him intently.

"Uh, Akari. Are you okay?" Takei asked, concerned.

Akari snapped out of her stupor. "Huh? Oh I'm sorry, you looked really handsome..."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Akari's face turned a deep crimson red.

"Wait!!! Why did that come out of my mouth?!" Akari screamed.

"..."

Now it was Takei's turn to be stunned. The most beautiful girl he had seen in his life had just called him handsome.

I can die happy now.

After that, it took an hour for both of them to recover. Akari wanted Takei to forget what she said, but there was no possible way he could.

Beside the chaotic situations this Christmas brought, Takei still believed this to be the best Christmas he has ever had so far.

---

Akari's Affection Meter: 65 -> 70%

What a heartwarming chapter, they're so cute together.