Life in Pink
Ever since he'd gotten back, each day spent with Sora was a new adventure.
"Can I take the blindfold off yet?" Kairi asked, tugging at at the bandana wrapped around her eyes. She had no idea where he'd taken her this time; all she knew was that they weren't on Destiny Islands anymore. Riding in the Gummi Ship without being able to see anything had been a trip.
Sora gave her hand a quick squeeze. "Not yet. We're almost there."
Her eyesight impeded, she had to go off her senses of smell and hearing instead. The ground beneath them was smooth, and the autumn air would be a little nippy if it weren't for the jacket she'd "borrowed" (more like stolen) from Sora. Every now and then she'd catch a conversation here or there – young kids, old couples, families. They must be in a town.
And oooh, what was that smell? Like rosemary and garlic and butter and—
"Okay, we're here. You can take the blindfold off."
She did, and the first thing she saw was Sora's smiling face and outstretched arms. Behind them was a fancy-looking sign that said "Le Grand Bistrot." The windows and doorway were lit up, full of warmth and light that spilled out onto the patio. Happy couples and families just about filled all the tables, taking advantage of the nice autumn weather.
"Oh, the bistro!" She knew where they were now. Twilight Town.
"You've been here before?"
She nodded. "Uh-huh. Hayner, Pence, and Olette brought me here. The food's great."
He grinned at that. "Yeah." Holding out his arm, he asked, "Shall we?"
She looped her arm through his as he led them inside, and a familiar face greeted them.
"Oh! Hey Sora, Kairi," Hayner said, looking very official in his slacks and white button-down shirt. "I take it you're here for your dinner reservation at seven?"
"Yup," Sora answered, fiddling with his tie.
"You are good to go," Hayner said as he crossed their name off the list. He nodded at Olette, and she smiled and grabbed two menus for them.
"Right this way, please," she said. They went through the main dining room past all the busy tables and into a small room she hadn't seen before. It was lit by candlelight, and there was a single table set for two. Kairi and Sora were written on fancy little cards in front of each of the chairs. A bouquet of daisies, asters, and forget-me-nots were in a vase in the center of the table, and the silverware was so elegant she almost hated to get it all messy by using it.
"Oh, Sora, this is beautiful," she said softly.
Pence was waiting for them, a big grin on his face. "Welcome! Kairi, if I may?" he asked as he motioned towards Kairi's jacket. She shrugged it off and handed it to him, and he took it and hung it up in the corner.
"Thanks, Pence, Olette, I'll take it from here," Sora said as he pulled Kairi's chair out for her and she sat down and smoothed the skirt of her dress.
Pence gave them a thumbs up, and Olette set the menus down and grinned before closing the door behind them. "Enjoy!" she called with a wink.
Kairi turned to look at Sora as he took his suit jacket off and hung it up. "S-Sora?"
"I'll be your chef and waiter tonight," he said, giving her a shy smile as he donned an apron.
"You can cook?"
She plastered her hand over her mouth, not meaning her words to come out quite like that, but there was a twinkle in his eye.
"Hard to believe, huh? But it's true, I can cook now. Learned from the very best."
Kairi wondered who he meant, but before she could ask, he moved to the far side of the room and pulled the curtains back. The windows were clear glass and opened up directly onto the pristine kitchen. She'd have a good view of him as he made their food.
He turned to her again. "All those times when we were kids, you cooked for me," he said as he rolled his sleeves up. "Let me return the favor for once."
She ducked her head, her cheeks flushing. "Okay."
He grinned and grabbed a remote from the little stand in the corner. A few moments later, and one of her favorite pieces of music started playing. The lyrics were simple enough, but they'd always resonated with her. Life in pink, life through rose-tinted glasses, was a lot better than life in blue. Than life without Sora.
He gestured to the menu. "What will you be having tonight, mademoiselle?"
She giggled as she opened it. "I didn't know you could speak French, either."
"Un peu," he said. "Picked it up from a friend. I know enough to translate any of the dishes you might not know." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a notepad. "Let me know when you're ready."
She flipped through the menu, and sure enough, everything had elegant French names. All the dishes looked delicious, too. She wasn't sure how she was going to decide on what to eat.
"You can really make everything on the menu?"
"Yup."
"What would you recommend, then, monsieur?"
"Hmmm, let's see," he said as he leaned over her shoulder. "The Ratatouille's really good. It's got a bunch of veggies with bay leaf and thyme. So's the Pumpkin Velouté. It's a soup with pumpkin and truffles. The Beef Bourguignon is probably my favorite meat dish, and if you want fish, the Eel Matelote and Sea Bass en Papillote are both really good. And for dessert I'd have to recommend the Chocolate Mousse or the Berries au Fromage."
Her stomach growled. "It all sounds delicious. How about you surprise me?"
"Okay," he said as he scribbled a few things down. "What will you have to drink?"
"Just water, please. Maybe coffee with dessert."
"Alright, I'll get started on your meal for you," he said.
She watched as he went into the kitchen and prepared their meals. Every now and then he'd glance at her with a grin on his face, especially after he'd pulled off a particularly impressive trick with the ingredients, but mostly he was focused intently on the cooking.
She rested her chin on her hands and sighed. For some reason he was even cuter than normal. Maybe it was the way he bit his lower lip, or how the tip of his tongue stuck out when he was really focused on something. Or maybe it was the fact that he was cooking her gourmet French food. Either way, she felt all warm and fuzzy inside.
When he emerged from the kitchen again, it was with their drinks and appetizers: two hot dishes of Ratatouille. Kairi's eyes fluttered shut as she savored the tasty vegetables. It was like all the flavors were blending together in perfect harmony.
He wasn't done though. Afterwards came the Beef Bourguignon, which was to die for. The red wine gave it just the right flavor, and everything down to the garnish was impeccable. It was a good thing all this food took so long to prepare, because it meant she'd actually have enough room in her stomach for it.
After that came the dessert, coffee and the Chocolate Mousse. He brought that out to her and set it before her, but the fruit garnish was missing. He knelt at her feet, his head about level with the table.
"Kairi? I want you to meet the chef who taught me how to cook. He's the one who came up with all these recipes, and he helped me make our food tonight, too."
Kairi peered into the kitchen. How—
"Not in there. Here."
Her eyes snapped back to Sora, or more specifically, Sora's head. Because perched on his head, peeking out from between his spikes, was a— was a—
She put one hand over her mouth and clutched her napkin with another. "Sora, there's a— there's a—"
"A rat on my head?" Sora said with a grin. "Yeah, I know." He reached his hand up, and the little rat hopped on. It wore a small bowtie, and in its paws it held a ripe red strawberry. "This is Little Chef, and he wanted to put the finishing touches on your dessert for you tonight."
He presented Little Chef to Kairi, and she looked into the little rat's eyes. He was so cute. Holding that strawberry for her because he wanted to put the finishing touches on the mousse himself. How sweet. Sure, he was a rat, but his little paws looked clean, and so did his fur. Who was she to say he couldn't be a chef? And if Sora said he was one, then she believed him. As far as she was concerned, Little Chef was the world's tiniest chef, and a talented one to boot.
He gestured towards the mousse with the strawberry, and she smiled and nodded.
"Please. Thank you, Little Chef."
She could have sworn the little rat smiled back as he carefully placed the strawberry on top of her mousse. He grabbed another strawberry from Sora's hand and put it on Sora's mousse, then Sora offered him a little plate with a rat-sized portion of dessert on it.
"Mind if he joins us?"
"Not at all."
Little Chef was adorable as he ate, too, clutching his food in his paws as he nibbled at it. And the mousse tasted incredible, the perfect cap to a wonderful meal. Kairi leaned back and sighed as she sipped on her coffee. What a lovely date.
Sora wasn't finished, however. After they'd had time to digest their food, he hung his apron up and offered his hand. The music was still floating through the air, and it was back to her favorite song.
"May I have this dance?" he said.
She smiled and took his hand. "I thought you'd never ask."
As they swayed back and forth in each other's arms, Kairi sighed. What a lovely end to a lovely evening. Then it got even better as Sora softly sang the words of the song to her. Where he'd learned how to do that, she decided not to ask.
With him, life was always in pink. The wonderful date and delicious food were lovely, but they weren't necessary.
As long as they were together, that was all she needed.
A/N: This was written for SoKai Week Day 2 - Training Together OR The Perfect Date.
Back when I was doing the KH3 Countdown Challenge, I wrote a piece called Anyone Can Cook about Sora learning how to cook with Rémy. In it he mentioned wanting to cook for Kairi to surprise her, and I've been planning this followup for awhile now. Hope you enjoyed! The suggestion for Rémy to wear a bowtie is courtesy of Alja and this story is dedicated to her.
The title is a reference to a famous French song - feel free to take a guess at what it is!