Pancakes and Compliments - Aki

Aki buried her face into one of the surrounding plushies. She hadn’t planned to tell him about the connection last night. All she had wanted to do was to help him sleep. He was asleep when she came back with the things she had picked up for him. She had assumed that maybe he hadn’t slept well, but then his nightmares hit her as soon as she fell asleep.

The thought had hit her that the reason she had evaded his nightmares for over a month, was because he hadn’t slept while she did. And that wasn’t anything she would wish on anyone.

But she had been able to sleep with only milder dreams, after he had returned to his room. So hopefully lavender milk worked against them. But it might be a problem if they continued to sleep at the same time. And having to sneak around, not to disturb the other, seemed like an awful idea.

She really hoped him feeling more at home might help the nightmares too. That’s why she had planned to take him shopping for decorations.

“Good morning.” Aki was not prepared to see him in the kitchen. “I hope I didn’t make you sleep too badly.” He scratched the back of his head. He did that a lot and something about it was extremely charming.

“Good morning. I assume the lavender helped?” She couldn’t help but smile at him as he stood there, spatula in hand. And her kitchen—no, their kitchen—a mess around him. Normally, a mess like this would cause her skin to crawl, but she somehow let it slide. Besides, it wasn’t like he had left a mess, he was right in the middle of creating one.

A giggle escaped her mouth before she could stop herself.

He looked around him and smiled at her. “I’ll have you know, I did attempt to make pancakes for you too. But maybe I should stick to something easier.”

Ten years ago, she would have daydreams about this. About mundane couple things. Back then she still didn’t know what he looked like, but she had imagined herself as one of those people who married their person. Just like her parents.

At one point, she even wrote him letters. Asking about his day, his goals, and shared her thoughts on his dreams. It had been her own attempt at feeling normal.

But then she grew up.

“I appreciate the thought. But how about we clean this mess up and get pancakes somewhere else?” It didn’t do well to dwell on the past. She was here now and she would have to get used to having him around without feeling like a part of her was melting. “And I can teach you to make them another day.” She grabbed the spatula from his hand and put it in the dishwasher.

“I’ll have to ask Hiro first. Would you mind if I borrowed your phone for a moment?”

“How about you use your own phone?” She teased him. Of course she figured out that he didn’t have his own phone. You couldn’t get one unless you were registered.

“Are you teasing me, Aki?” He chuckled and took a step towards her.

She had not prepared for him to use her name that casually. Not at all. How could he use her name as simple as this? Was it bad that she wanted him to do it again?

No. She couldn’t let him see how it affected her. If she misread him things could get really awkward and that would make living together a whole lot harder.

“Maybe.” She hid her feelings behind a smile and went out into the hallway, to her bag. “I was planning to give them to you yesterday but you were asleep when I came back.” She pulled up the safety phone and the extra card, putting them on the counter in front of him.

“For me?” He looked up at her. “Why?”

“I have three rules if you’re staying here.” She held up her fingers and counted. “One: clean up after yourself. Two: Restock if you take anything from the fridge. And three: You need to tell me if that guy comes over. These are to help you follow those rules. The phone is a safety phone so it’s not the most advanced. But you’re free to use the computer in the living room and anything else that isn’t in my room.”

“You didn’t have to… But I got it. No messes, refill the fridge and warn you when Hiro’s coming over. I can do that.” He picked the phone up and studied it like it was a valuable gem. “Thank you.”

“You can thank me by getting ready. I’m starving.” She chuckled.

Not even an hour later, they had everything cleaned up and sat down at a nearby café.

“So, is there a partner I should be aware of?” Ryo took a bite out of his caramel and sprinkle covered pancakes. “You know, in case I need to worry about someone coming after me.” He took another bite.

“No.” She tried to focus on her food, to avoid over thinking the question. “No partner.”

“I’m a bit surprised, but I guess it makes sense. I mean, I don’t think anyone would be okay with some random guy living with their girlfriend. Especially not the amazing guitarist of The Rising Hero.” He smiled at her and ate the last bit of his pancakes.

“Former guitar player.” She shrugged. “Besides, why would a partner have to worry about you?” She teased, but the idea put a smile to her lips. As much as she wanted to ignore it, she enjoyed his company and she was already dreading the thought of him ever moving out.

“Oh, I have yet to meet a guy who isn’t possessive over their cute partners.” He laughed and stole the last piece of her pancakes.

“Hey!? I was going to eat that.” But she couldn’t help but laugh.

He smiled and swallowed the food. “Too slow.”

Would he be possessive over her? Wait? “Did you just call me cute?” Heat rose to her face.

“It’s the truth, isn’t it?” He cleaned his hands with the napkin. “So, where to next?”

He thought she was cute? Denying her feelings might be even harder than she had thought. Maybe even impossible.