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“You want to what...!?” Rika blurted out in surprise.
She was spending the night at Tsubaki’s, something she had started to do frequently since the two had started dating, and they were just settling down for dinner. Rika had cooked, as she always would for them, and had just sat at Tsubaki’s table; placing a plate in front of herself, and another in front of Tsubaki, who had been waiting patiently for Rika to join her.
Rika noted she did seem quieter than usual, Tsubaki would normally be pretty talkative when it was just the two of them at her place, meaning something was probably bothering her. After Rika had sat down, she intended to ask about it, though it seemed Tsubaki was eager to get to the point herself; suddenly speaking to in a rushed tone, showing she had wanted to say something for a while, and Rika was quite surprised by what she had said.
“I said I want to cook for you!” Tsubaki crossed her arms over her chest, “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, is there?”
Rika worried her initial reaction my have been too strong; it wasn’t that she had any issue with it, but it was strange for Tsubaki to suddenly talk about it, “Well, no! But uh...” She tried to find her words, “Nothing wrong with my cooking, right?”
“Of course not! You know I love your cooking! More than anyone else’s! Though don’t tell Hiiro I said that...” They shared a light chuckle, “It’s just that...” Tsubaki moved her hand to cover Rika’s, “You always do the cooking...”
“Hey! I’m happy to!” Rika grinned, “I love cooking! And I love taking care of you too!”
“But that’s the point! You’re always taking care of me! Let me take care of you...” Tsubaki leaned in; she looked up at Rika with big puppy-dog eyes, a technique she had stolen from Rika herself, who always loved to use that look on Tsubaki, “Please~ Rika~”
“Alright! Alright! Geez~!” Rika wrapped her arms around Tsubaki and pulled her close, “’Course you can cook if you want to, babe~ I just don’t want you to feel like you have to do it or something!”
“Thank you, Rika, I know,” Tsubaki kissed Rika’s cheek.
“Oh! Hey! Can you make some of those delicious cookies you made me before!?” Rika eyes sparkled excitedly.
Tsubaki flicked her forehead, “I’m making you a meal, not a snack!”
“Aww man!” Rika rubbed the sore spot on her face, “But... you know~ I heard from Dalia that Hiiro taught you how to bake cookies ‘cause you wanted to make some for people you love! So~?”
“And why do you think you were the only one who got any?” Tsubaki smirked, “We weren’t even dating at the time! I thought I was pretty obvious!”
“Guess some people can miss little clues like that!” Rika shrugged, “So maybe... you should bake me some more? Just to really drive the message home!”
“Fine!” Tsubaki rolled her eyes, though she kept her affectionate smile, “I will bake some another time! Tomorrow though, I make you a proper dinner!”
“Alright!” Rika pumped her fist, “Well, since you’re cooking for me tomorrow, let me feed you tonight~!”
“Huh? Rika-!” Tsubaki tried to object but Rika quickly hit her with her own dose of the puppy-dog eyes, “You’re such a dummy!” Despite her words, Tsubaki quickly moved to sit in Rika’s lap; smile never leaving her face.
The next day Rika found herself in a position foreign to her; sitting at the table, waiting for someone else to finish making the food and bring it to her. She bounced in her chair, kicked her feet, drummed her fingers; her body doing everything to show her impatience. “Ah... hey, Tsubaki!” Rika called, “You... uh... need any help in there?”
“Nope!” Tsubaki yelled back; she smirked, knowing what having to sit still and be waited on was probably doing to her girlfriend. She also knew the short, dismissive answer would make Rika even more antsy, and laughed at the thought. Tsubaki found it quite endearing that Rika was this way; it wasn’t just a matter of being impatient, which Rika could be at times, that wouldn’t be appealing. What Tsubaki loved was how Rika was so desperate to be the one doing something for those she cared about, she could never just sit still while others took care of her, though Tsubaki swore tonight would be different; even if she had to force Rika to accept it.
“Are you sure? It’s no bother to me!” Rika insisted, “I could get you stuff? Maybe pour some wine?” She stood from her chair; it creaked as she pushed it back, “Anything you need at all really! I cou-”
Tsubaki popped her head through the door, glaring sharply, “You sit back down! Now!”
“Ok! Ok!” Rika made sure to quickly grab the bottle of wine they were planning to have before she sat down again; she intended to at least do this much and poured them each a drink.
“It’s ready!” Tsubaki yelled after a few more minutes, “Hope you’re hungry~!”
Rika patted her belly, “Hungry for all the Tsu-chan love you put into it~”
When Tsubaki stepped inside the room, large bowl in hand, she shook her head endearingly at Rika, “Honestly... you dummy~” She laughed. Tsubaki brought the bowl to the table, “I hope you like it! I’m still a little unsure of my cooking skills, but I think this came out well!”
“Ooh! I’m excited!” Rika clapped her hands rapidly, “Let’s go!”
“Fufu~ Alright, here you are!” She placed the bowl down and scooped something out of it; it splatted on Rika’s plate with a wet sounding squish, “No need to wait! Go ahead and dig in!”
Rika stared down at the strange goop before her, and was suddenly making with something she had been forgetting, Tsubaki was a terrible cook; though she had gotten better with certain foods since they were young, namely bake goods thanks to Hiiro’s help, she apparently still needed work with her general culinary skills. “O-Oh boy! It looks... good!”
“Seriously? I was worried it came out a bit messy looking...” Tsubaki fretted, “But, thanks, Rika! Either way, the taste is what counts, right?” She stared at Rika expectedly; waiting for her to eat.
Rika scooped a small amount out; it made another wet squishy sound, and Rika could swear it had a faint glow about it. She was sure it at least wasn’t meant to be purple. However bad it looks though, Rika could never refuse to eat something Tsubaki had made just for her, and she reluctantly put the spoon into her mouth. First came the urge to barf, though Rika managed to fight it off, and swallow the lump; feeling it slide down her throat. “Mmm! That’s... that’s so good!”
“Really!?” Tsubaki beamed, her eyes sparkling; Rika loved to see her that way and any amount of pain would be worth seeing it. “Thank goodness!” She slumped back in her chair, “I was so worried!”
“Nothing to be worried about here!” Rika forced down another scoop, “Sooo tasty!”
“That’s great to hear!” Tsubaki gave Rika another smile, before looking at her own plate, “Time to have a bit myself!”
“A-Ah! Wait, Tsubaki!” Rika reached out her hand in panic, “I-I want it all to myself! You can’t have any!”
Tsubaki ignored her and took a mouthful; the regret was apparent immediately. She grimaced hard at the taste, having to fight to swallow it to avoid throwing up, much like Rika. “That... That was... horrible!” She glared at girlfriend, “...Rika!”
“Well what was I supposed to say!?” Rika moaned, “I love you and I love that you wanted to put in the effort to make this for me! So... I’m still gonna eat it!”
“You will not!” Tsubaki slapped the spoon out of Rika’s hand, “This’ll probably make you sick!”
“But, Tsu-ba-kiiii!” Rika whined, “You made it for meeee!”
“I know! And... it’s terrible...” She sank in her chair, “I can’t even cook something for you right...” Tsubaki started to tear up; hiding herself in her hands.
“Hey! Hey! Tsubaki!” Rika moved to be by her side, wrapping an arm around her back, “It’s not a big deal or anything! Just a bit of bad food!”
“It is a big deal!” Tsubaki cried, “You do so much for me! I just... I want to do something for you!”
“You do plenty for me, Tsubaki! Really!” Rika reassured, “You help me plan stuff, practice singing, and you always show me how much you love me! Even when it embarrasses you~” She giggled, “From those little kisses you sneak me, to big stuff... like this! Trying to do your best for me~ I love it!”
“Heh... thank you, Rika, you always know what to say...” Tsubaki’s tears had stopped, but her smile stilled looked weary, “But... I want to be able to take care of you! What if you were... injured, or sick, or something! Could I really step in to make sure you’re taken care of? You could do anything for me, and you would!”
“Yeah! And I’m sure if something like that happened, you would totally step up!” Rika spoke confidently.
“But what about the future? I mean... some day we’re going to be properly living together and... other things, what then?” Tsubaki looked to her desperately, “I don’t want you to go about taking care of everything! Even if you’re happy to!” She gripped Rika’s dress, holding her close, “We’re equals in this relationship, right, Rika? That means... I want to do as much for you as I can! Like you always have for me!” She looked to her dish, “Yet, all I can make is... this! Geez, why did I ever think that would be edible?”
Rika thought over Tsubaki’s words for a moment; instinctively, she wanted to dismiss Tsubaki’s worries and say that there was nothing wrong with Rika taking care of Tsubaki more, or anything Tsubaki had to make up for, but Rika knew that wouldn’t help. Instead of blurting out her first thought, like usual, she ruminated quietly. That’s when an idea struck her, “I got it! I know what we can do!”
“W-What?” Tsubaki asked hesitantly.
“Tomorrow... we’ll cook together!” Rika offered, “You can see how a pro does it~ Plus, it sounds kinda romantic, don’t ya think?”
“That... That sounds perfect actually!” She smiled up to Rika, “I won’t just be in your way?”
“Hell nah!” Rika responded coolly, “I’d love to do it together! It sounds fun! And we can keep doing it ‘til you’re ready to cook on your own~!”
Tsubaki giggled, “Exactly how many nights are you planning on spending at my place? Honestly, you might as well-” She froze.
“Might as well what?” Rika asked.
Tsubaki wasn’t sure if she was teasing or genuinely clueless, either way, Tsubaki intended to move on, “I-It’s nothing! We’ll talk about it another time! For now, since it’s a bit late for us to try cooking together, maybe we should get delivery?”
“Yeah sure! But tomorrow we’ll make something great!” Rika grinned cheekily, “It’ll be killer having you in the kitchen! I can kiss you at any time I like then!”
“You do that anyway, dummy~”