The Boy and The Princess [1]—Learning Something New

Sunlight poured through the window, bathing Keith's room in a radiant, golden light. 

The warmth of the morning sun began to bead sweat on his forehead, but he remained in the deepest reaches of sleep. 

He was sprawled across the bed in an almost comical position, legs splayed, arms flung wide above his head. 

A thin line of drool traced a path from the corner of his mouth, and his hair was a wild mess. 

His rhythmic, soft snores filled the room, his bedsheets and covers a tangled mess on the floor. 

He was in a state of pure bliss, but some moments are not meant to last.

Rap! Rap! Rap!

The door was hammered with three deafening blows.

“KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KEI! WAKE UP!!” Sophia's voice boomed, rattling the walls. 

The relentless hammering continued, and Keith’s blissful unconsciousness finally gave way to irritation. 

He sat up, his glare fixed on the door as if he could bore a hole through it with his frustration.

“What do you want?!” he shouted back, his frown deep and his voice thick with sleep. He scrubbed at the small, lingering tears in his eyes from his yawn.

“I'M HUNGRY, KEI! I WANT FOOD, AND I WANT IT NOW!”

“Okay, okay, jeez, will you stop shouting? It's way too early for you to be so loud.”

“Did you even look at the time?!”

Keith's gaze shifted to the analog clock on the wall, its soft tick-tock filling the silence. The hands read 10:57 am. Eleven o'clock was just around the corner. 

A heavy sigh escaped him as he swung his legs off the bed. He never locked his bedroom door, believing it a useless measure when the front door was already secure.

When he opened the door, Sophia stood there in indigo pajamas, a subtle butterfly pattern fluttering across the fabric—her favorite animal.

He remembered the reason he'd first called her "butterfly princess": her childhood obsession with them and also because its what she demanded of him.

Sophia's eyes scanned his rumpled appearance. He was in a black-and-white shirt, split diagonally like a bolt of lightning. 

A fantasy warrior with a crimson sword and a cocky grin adorned the front. His baggy pants featured a chaotic pattern of black and white squares.

“So you still like anime and manga, huh?” she asked, a smirk playing on her lips.

“Yeah, why do you ask?”

“No reason, it was a rhetorical question. Now come on, I'm seriously hungry right now.” She turned and headed down the hall, leaving Keith standing in his doorway.

You're not the boss of me, you know. Another sigh. He followed, his door clicking shut softly behind him.

He trailed her to the kitchen, his voice laced with judgment. “Did you wash your face and brush your teeth?”

Sophia stopped and turned, a fiery tantrum building behind her eyes. “I'm a girl, you idiot, of course I did!”

A slight laugh rumbled in Keith's chest. “Okay, then go wait for me in the kitchen.”

A flush crept up her cheeks, and she turned her head away, her smile unable to be fully contained. 

She nodded and retreated into the kitchen as he made his way to the bathroom. 

He splashed cold water on his face, brushed his teeth, and caught his reflection. 

A small, genuine smile touched his lips before he headed to the kitchen to make… breakfast.

“What do you want to eat?” Keith asked, tying on an apron that boldly declared: 'World's greatest cook'.

“Anything is fine as long as it's good. You better not feed me something that will give me food poisoning.” She scrunched her nose in a face of exaggerated distaste.

“Do not worry, my princess, I'll cook a feast worthy of your precious royal palate.” His tone dripped with sarcasm as he opened the fridge.

“Are you mocking me?!” Sophia’s frown, while genuine, did little to mar her beauty.

“Whatever do you mean, my lady? I am just following orders like a good little peasant would.” Keith continued his theatrics while pulling ingredients from the shelves.

“Jerk!” she huffed, crossing her arms and pouting, her face turned away.

Keith pulled nearly every ingredient that was in the kitchen and placed them on the counter: rice, miso paste, wakame seaweed, green onions, and more.

“Hey, Sophia, could you help me out with something?”

“Sure,” she said, getting up and walking toward him. “What do you want?”

Keith untied the apron and handed it to her. “I want you to make breakfast for us.”

“Wait, what? But I don't know how to cook.”

“I know. That's why I'm going to teach you.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It's embarrassing to think that someone who's basically a year older than me can't cook. I don't know how you're not embarrassed, if I were you I'd be a steaming m—ouch!”

Sophia punched his arm, her cheeks turning a bright pink. “Shut up!”

“That hurt, you know.”

“You deserved it.”

“Why are you so violent? Anyway, today is the day you learn how to cook a traditional Japanese breakfast.”

“R-Right.”

Keith pointed at the ingredients. “Listen carefully. I've placed everything you need on the counter. I'm going to tell you all of the ingredients, so that you'll know what to grab when you're cooking for yourself, alright?”

“Question,”

“What's wrong?”

“Do you seriously think I'm capable of remembering all the ingredients on my first try? I'm glad you think so highly of me, but that's not exactly possible, at least not for me.”

“Then you'll have to write them down. Wait here a minute.” 

Keith hurried to his room, retrieved a pen and a spare notebook from his bookshelf, and rushed back to the kitchen. “Okay, get ready, cause I'm about to list the ingredients.”

Sophia nodded, a determined look on her face. 

“For the rice, you'll need one cup of Japanese short-grain rice—”

“Pfft—hahahaha, you just said rice twice, hahahaha…”

“Whatever, just shut up and listen. Next, you'll need one and three-quarter cups of water. And that's all for the rice.”

“Seriously, that's it?”

“Yes. Now it's time for the miso ingredients. You'll need two cups of water, two tablespoons of miso paste, one teaspoon of dried wakame seaweed, a half-teaspoon of instant dashi powder… Are you still following?”

“Uh, yeah, you can continue.”

“Right. Next is a quarter-cup of sliced green onions for garnish, and a quarter-cup of cubed tofu. The tofu is optional, since I prefer my soup without it. Okay, and that's all the ingredients. Did you write them all down?”

“Uh-huh, but what was the third one? Was it wakam-i seaweed?”

“It's wakame seaweed.”

“Right. So these are all the ingredients?”

“Pretty much, yeah. Now then, it's time for you to start cooking. I'll be your step-by-step guide.”

“Okay.”

They both washed their hands. Keith took a pot from the shelf and handed it to her, then pointed to the container of rice. “Put one cup of that rice in that pot.”

"Yes, sir.”

She opened the container, scooped out a cup, and added it to the pot, awaiting the next command.

“Then add one and three-quarter cups of water. Then place it on the stove to boil.”

She followed the instructions, turning on the expensive-looking stove.

"While waiting for the rice to boil, start the miso soup by rehydrating the wakame seaweed in hot water, then chop them.”

Keith showed her the seaweed and gave her a bowl. After a few minutes in the hot water, the seaweed was rehydrated. 

He handed her a chopping board and a knife. It was time to chop.

Sophia handled the knife with an unexpected precision that surprised Keith.

“You can actually use a knife, hehehehe. Well, that's unexpected.”

“Watch it, you, or else.”

“Whoa, chill, I was just joking.”

She finished chopping in short order.

“Check the rice. If it's boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover it, and let it simmer for about fifteen to twenty minutes.”

“Should I simmer for fifteen or twenty minutes?”

“Just pick one.”

“Rude!”

“Okay, okay, I'm sorry, alright? Simmer for fifteen minutes. Happy?”

“Yes.” A flicker of satisfaction crossed her face. She set the timer and waited for the next step.

“After that, you'll make the dashi broth, I think.”

“You think?!”

“Hahahaha… relax, I'm kidding.”

“Not funny!”

“Tough crowd. Boil two cups of water, add dashi powder, and then stir.”

Sophia followed his instructions, finding the process surprisingly easy with everything conveniently laid out and her personal "talking cookbook" guiding her. 

She felt a quiet warmth spreading through her chest. In her mind, the scene played out like something from a romantic movie, a husband teaching his wife to cook. 

The thought made her smile, her expression morphing into one of amused contentment.

“What's next, hubby?” Sophia's voice was a playful purr.

“Hubby?”

“Mhmm. Because for the next two days, you—are—my—hubby.” A blush betrayed her teasing tone.

Keith responded with a gentle tap to her forehead. “Stop messing around, will you.”

“That hurt, Kei! You big meanie!” she said, though the complaint lacked its usual force.

“Yeah, I'm mean. Now, let's focus, shall we?”

“Next step, add the wakame to the dashi broth.”

She added the wakame to the broth. “Okay, now reduce the heat to low and simmer for five to seven minutes.”

“Got it.” She adjusted the heat.

“Take that small bowl on your left and mix two tablespoons of miso paste with some hot broth from the pot until it's smooth.”

“Done.”

“Now combine the miso paste and broth by adding the mixture back into the pot. Then stir gently.”

She began to stir, but her hand was a little too vigorous. Keith instinctively moved behind her, covering her hands with his own.

“Don't stir like that, you'll ruin it. Stir like this.”

He guided her hands in a slow, rhythmic motion. The warmth of their bodies radiated between them. 

Keith was completely focused on the task, oblivious to their proximity. Sophia, however, was keenly aware. Her face flushed, her mouth slightly agape in shock.

T-T-Too close! Why is he so close? I mean, I get why, but still. He's so warm, and he's so… masculine. I still can't believe how much he's changed. To think I used to be taller than him. I wish… this moment could last forever.

Her heart began to pound a frantic rhythm. Panicked, she struggled to form words.

“K-Kei.”

“Mhm?”

“Y-You're… You're too close.”

Keith snapped back to reality, a matching blush spreading across his face. He released her. “S-Sorry about that. I didn't notice I was so close.”

“I-It's fine. No worries.”

He cleared his throat, his normal expression returning. “You should check the rice.”

They waited for the rice and miso soup to finish, occupying themselves by clearing the counter and washing the dishes.

“Thanks for teaching me how to cook, Kei. It means a lot,” Sophia said, handing him a dish.

He rinsed it and placed it on the drying rack. “Don't mention it. I'm glad I could help.” A soft smile played on his lips. “Doesn't this remind you of the time we were washing dishes and I opened the tap too much, getting us drenched?”

Sophia chuckled. “And then you panicked when you saw that I got wet too, and you tripped and landed flat on your back, hehehe. Yeah, I remember.”

“Please forget that last part.”

“No, sir.”

They laughed, the sound mingling with the clatter of dishes as they reminisced about shared childhood memories. When they finished, they turned off the stove and dished up.

They sat across from each other at the kitchen table.

“Itadakimasu,” they said in unison, picking up their chopsticks. Keith watched Sophia, his expression gentle, as she hesitated to try her food.

“Try it,” he said softly.

She took a bite, and her face instantly lit up. She looked at him with grateful, shining eyes.

“Well, how is it?”

Sophia smiled, her eyes welling with tears, her cheeks a soft pink. “It's actually… good."

Keith returned her smile and began eating. As they ate, they talked about their interests and engaged in their familiar, silly quarrels. The simple joy of the moment was pure hand lovely.