"Eggs are more economical than chicken."
It was the same thing Inaho said almost every Christmas Eve before she went to work. He'd stand in the entrance way, as she put on her shoes, and tell her the same thing. This time he was wearing that obnoxious orange sweater she'd given him years and years ago as a gag, and was looking at her in a way that was meant to be compelling. She slipped on her boots, zipped up her jacket, and reached for her purse on the little end table. She turned around to meet him with a warm smile. She hadn't noticed it before, but there was a purple scarf in his hand, and with precision, he looped it snuggly around her neck. She distinctly remembered seeing Yuki do the same thing to Inaho when he was young, the exact same shifting of fingers, the exact same twirl of the fabric, and the exact same double checking to make sure that it was snug. Sometimes, these things hit her, and sometimes they passed without her even noticing. Inko leaned up and pecked him on the lips. Nothing grand, or even romantic, just honest affection that didn't need to be restated. He leaned in for it expectantly none the less.
"Fried Chicken for Christmas is tradition." Inaho didn't frown at her comment, but she could see the displeasure in his eye. Somehow, it was easier to read now that there was only one to look at. She could focus on it, and notice all of the nuances. She wondered sometimes if it bothered him, or if he liked being understood just a little bit more. It probably helped that she didn't blush and feel like a school girl every time she looked at him, but that was a minor detail. She reached up and poked his cheek lightly. His eye twitched ever so slightly towards the offending finger, before focusing on her face again. "I'll be home early, and we'll go shopping together."
Inko twirled on her feet, and crossed the small entryway. She could hear the wind whistling outside, and knew that it would be cold all day. She hoped that the wind would die down before the evening though. Getting Inaho out of the house in the cold was hard enough. Getting him out in the cold when it was windy was almost impossible. She had her hand on the door, when he spoke once more. The sound surprised her, and she couldn't make out a word of it. Usually when he was sulking, he wouldn't say good-bye. Inko turned around, her eyebrows creasing together. "What?"
His eye seemed to be looking at her, but she knew Inaho well enough to know that it was focused squarely on the door behind her, so that she would think he was looking at her, when he really wasn't. He did that sometimes, when he was thinking of other things, but didn't want her to get mad because he wasn't paying attention to her. "I'll make the chicken." He stated, or rather, restated, since she hadn't caught it the first time. Now that it was properly out of his lips, she was positive that had been what he'd said before too.
She blinked over at him, wondering if he was going to actually look at her or not. It seemed like such a trivial thing, but sometimes, Inaho wanted his own way, and there was little that deterred him. For the two years they'd been dating, she'd tried to convince him to go out to eat on Christmas Eve. She hadn't sprung for the fancy hotel, because they'd only been dating, but she hadn't been able to convince him of the dinners, so she didn't have much hope for the hotels either. He always said they were too expensive, too crowded, that his food was better, that food at fancy restaurants wasn't worth it, especially on holidays. She'd tried numerous tactics to convince him otherwise, but time and time again, she'd failed. After those two years, she'd given up, banishing the idea of a romantic dinner at a picturesque location as a fantasy she would never have. She knew she wouldn't win that fight, but she'd settled for something else. She'd settled on Christmas chicken, and Christmas cake. Both via take out.
For the three years they'd lived together, he'd told her every Christmas that eggs were more economical than eating chicken. He'd told her that eggs were healthier than eating chicken. He'd also told her that fried chicken was one of the most unhealthy things they could be eating and was not part of their regular diet, and shouldn't be. He'd told her that ordering take out wasn't a good idea because it wasn't warm by the time they got home. He'd told her it was cold outside, and it made no sense to eat take out at a park in the cold. He'd told her that the Christmas lights she loved to go see were not good for the environment. He'd told her that the cute Santa displays were only a marketing ploy so that she would spend money at the stores. He'd told her that purchasing Christmas merchandise was a waste of money because Japanese didn't even really believe in Christmas, and it didn't make sense to buy decorations for one month out of the year. He also said they were mostly cheap junk that they didn't need. At one point, he'd also cited that mass produced cheap Christmas goods were from China, and were likely full of harmful chemicals because of their air pollution, and general lack of health standards in manufacturing plants.
Suffice to say, Inaho had come up with a variety of very valid points over those three years, but she hadn't budged on this. Chrismas meant friend chicken, Christmas cake, and romantic walks in brightly lit Christmas displays. Once a year, if she couldn't have her romantic rendezvous at an actual fancy restaurant, she wanted to pig out on unhealthy, delicious food. This new statement was a completely curve ball, in the predominantly structured and orderly life that Inaho tended to fall into.
She smiled at him, but it was thin, and she didn't feel her eyebrows soften from their befuddlement. "Uh, it's okay. I ordered it and the cake early. We'll just go pick it up this evening. We can go eat in the park, like we did last year." Because Inaho was a sucker for routines. "You don't have to worry about it, Inaho."
He shook his head once, and it was a distinctly self-assured gesture. He still pretending to look at her. "I canceled both orders. I'll make the chicken and the cake. You don't need to come home early."
She was torn between being touched at him personally wanting participate in their Christmas, and annoyed that he'd gone ahead and done whatever he wanted without even asking her. He knew this was her holiday, and she knew he didn't like it. Besides, she had been looking forward to that cake.
The two of them stood in silence for a few moments, she looking at his one eye, not sure how she was looking at him, and he definitely not looking at her. "I don't want chicken katsu." Was what she finally said, after a long silence between them. His eye twitched. "And I don't want cabbage, or miso soup."
"Rice and vegetables the-"
"Inaho." She cut him off, and tried to make her face as smooth and calm as possible. "I don't want chicken katsu. I want fattening, deep fried chicken legs, thighs, wings, and breasts. And potatoes. I want potatoes too." He still wasn't looking at her. "The rice is good. We can keep that," she conceded. He probably knew he wouldn't outright win this one, so he'd caught her as she was leaving. The slight downturn of his mouth was enough proof that he had hoped she'd just concede without getting the details.
"Rice, potatoes and-" he let out a small breathy sound. It probably sounded like nothing to other people, but to her, it was a definite huff. "deep fried, unhealthy, chicken."
She slowly nodded twice. "I ordered an ice cream cake." From Baskin Robins. It had a cute little Snoopy cake topper. He was in a Santa outfit. She had two others in her bed room. One of Snoopy pretending to be a Christmas tree holding a little star above his head, and another with him dressed like a snow man, ready to throw a snowball at Woodstock. She was looking forward to adding the new one to the other two.
His eye twitched again. "Strawberry short cake," Inaho stated firmly.
Now that was an interesting answer, because Inko could tell a concession when she heard one. Strawberries were out of season, they were expensive. It would be more like him to offer a cake using oranges, because they were more in season. It wasn't a Baskin Robins ice cream cake with Snoopy on top, but it wasn't the cheap option either. She'd wanted that Snoopy, but maybe she'd get one for her birthday instead. It wouldn't match the Christmas theme, but if this was new, she'd need to start getting them some other way. She nodded again, this time more firmly. She would enjoy a strawberry shortcake.
It was only then that she realized she'd kept her hand firmly planted on the door the whole conversation. She was also probably late, but she'd worry about that once she was out in the cold, rushing to and fro. She let go of the door knob, and walked back toward him. Now, he was looking at her. She poked his cheek again, and his eye twitched towards it. While he was looking away, she swooped in, and kissed him. Once she'd pulled back, he blinked at her.
"Deep fried, fattening, unhealthy, chicken." She stated firmly, making a point of pausing after every word for emphasis. He needed to know she meant business. He nodded once. "Legs, wings, breasts, and thighs. Not butterflied." He leaned in and kissed her in confirmation. It wasn't a straight answer, but it would do. She smiled at him as he reached down to adjust her scarf.
She turned to leave, and offered him a quick "I'm leaving" over her shoulder.
He gave her a soft "Have a safe trip" in response.
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The house usually smelled amazing when she got home, but this time it smelled downright heavenly. It was already wonderful to be out of the cold, but she could hear the chicken sizzling from the kitchen, and her mouth was starting to water. All Inko really wanted to do, was rush into the house and peer into the kitchen to see if there was any chicken already out of the oil, ready to be consumed. The thought was highly appetizing, but instead, she quickly took off her boots, and left them in the entry way. As she did, she noticed a familiar pair of shoes next to her own. It was only then that she recognized the soft sound of chatter coming from the kitchen. "I'm home!" She called, as she busied herself with unzipping her coat, and placing it on the hook where it was meant to go. She then placed her scarf on the end table next to her purse, and wandered inside.
A quiet "Welcome home," answered her as she entered the kitchen to two Kaizuka's hovering over the stove. Yuki's hair was pulled back into a high pony tail, and she looked at the sizzling meat as if it was of great interest. Inaho, on the other hand, looked at the meat as if it has personally offended him. It likely had.
When she stepped into the kitchen, Yuki looked up and smiled at her, waving a hand in greeting, and smiling. "Don't mind me! Nao said he made too much, and asked if I wanted any. Once he's finished I'll just take some and be on my way." Inko had a feeling the actual story was that Yuki wanted visual proof that Inaho was committing such an unhealthy culinary sin for future black mail. Maybe. The Kaizuka's were odd, and since she didn't have siblings, she couldn't really tell if they were normal for siblings or not. Nina said they were odd, but certainly she wasn't an expert either. Regardless of the actual motive, Yuki's eyes were now squarely back on the chicken, as it sizzled in the grease. Inaho had not looked up from it, his gaze was more intense than she had anticipated. In his day to day life, he didn't seem to have much to be contemptuous about. Perhaps the fried chicken was playing some antagonistic role to his otherwise carefully laid plans.
Regardless, it smelled delicious. She wandered over to take a better look, and noticed a glistening plate of fried chicken off to the side of the stove. She started to make a b-line toward it, when Inaho gracefully extended his foot, and almost tripped her. "Patience is a virtue." He stated plainly. She glared at him behind his back, and visibly pouted. Yuki offered her a sympathetic, but amused smile. "The table needs to be set." Inaho said, without taking his eyes off the chicken still cooking.
Inko wasn't done pouting, but the sooner the table was set, the sooner Inaho would let her eat, so she busied herself with the task. While she was doing that, she heard Inaho telling Yuki to get the rice out of the rice cooker. Inko looked over to see that Yuki took the command in stride, doing just what he asked. Inko rolled her eyes.
As she was setting out the silverware, Inaho retrieved the last few pieces of chicken from the grease, and placed them on the tray with the rest. He then deposited them on the table, while Yuki produced a small bento box. She grabbed a few pieces of chicken for herself, and stuffed them into the bento as Inaho wandered back into the kitchen.
"Any plans for tonight Yuki?" Inko asked, more to be polite than to actually know. She wanted to eat that chicken, but she couldn't be a pig in front of Yuki. Neither could she be impolite.
Yuki smiled, and scratched her cheek for a second. "Maybe," Yuki stated, looking at the little bento box of fried chicken.
Inko looked over at Inaho, as he busied himself with something in the kitchen, before looking back at Yuki. "Take some more," Inko offered. She found she meant it. "We can't eat all of that." Yuki sort of laughed and helped herself to a few more pieces.
Then Inaho swooped in, and grabbed the bento from her, before disappearing back into the kitchen again. Both of them just let him go, watching him for a few seconds, before turning back to each other. "You're in for a treat!" Yuki said, the smile on her face reaching her eyes this time. "I snuck a few tastes while I was on his bad side." She whispered, then feigned a dramatic sort of swoon.
Inko smiled back. "If it's half as good as it smells, I hope he really did make too much!" They both chuckled at that, as Inaho emerged from the kitchen, the bento box in one hand and another box in the other. The bento was now wrapped in the little fabric bag that went with it, and Inaho handed it to his older sister, along with the other box. Yuki took both, her eyes almost glowing.
"Thanks Nao!" She said, holding the box to her chest, and letting the bento dangle from her fingers. Inaho nodded once, and the two siblings started walking towards the door. Over her shoulder, Yuki waved a good bye to Inko, wishing her a Merry Christmas. They disappeared into the entry way, where she could no longer see them.
Then it was just her, with glistening, mouth watering chicken in front of her. Despite her base instincts, Inko waited, trying to listen in on the soft chatter from the entrance way, but she couldn't make it out. She wondered if Inaho was adjusting Yuki's scarf. She did hear the soft opening and closing of the door, and then a few moments later, Inaho padded back over towards her. He a detour into the kitchen to bring out the potatoes, before taking his seat.
For the first time since she got home that day, he turned and looked at her. She smiled, and offered him a heartfelt, "Thank you for the meal!" before she started serving herself.
His, "Merry Christmas," was nice, but the chicken was nicer.
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After they'd eaten their fill, Inaho busied himself with putting things away. He really had made far too much chicken, but she eyed him none the less as he put it into a plastic container, and placed it in the fridge. She wanted leftovers later. She'd gotten into the habit of getting the really big size at KFC, so that they'd have leftovers for days, but every year, she'd been thwarted. Somehow, Inaho found a way to get rid of it before she could stuff herself a second time. This prompted her to get the larger servings, but it never seemed to help. It was meant as a hint that she wanted chicken for a few days after Christmas Eve, but he never took it, or he simply ignored it. She hoped there wouldn't be a repeat this year, since he'd made the chicken himself, but she couldn't be sure. She'd have to keep a close eye on him.
Once the chicken and other food was put away, Inaho emerged from the kitchen with a beautiful, strawberry short cake in hand. It looked professional, which was not surprising, since Inaho had made it. He enjoyed bringing an air of precision to most aspects of his life, which often made whatever he did of very good quality. Food was no exception. The cake was white, as a Christmas cake should be, with little strawberries lined up all around it. He'd even cut them up a bit, so that they looked like little red Christmas trees, and he's sprinkled powdered sugar on top, to imitate snow. She hadn't noticed the cake before, because she'd only had eyes for the chicken, but now that it was within her sights, she had a hard time looking away from it. Inaho placed it in front of her with little fanfare, and she saw that in red icing, he'd spelled out 'Merry Christmas' on the top, the powdered sugar lightly sprinkled over the message. She'd never really baked cakes before, and she wondered if it had been hard to do. Inaho made most thing seem deceptively simple, when they really weren't.
Inaho took his seat, and she could see his hand go to the large knife on the table. At lightning speed, she reached for her phone, nestled in her pocket, and whipped it out. "Picture first!" She said quickly, because it was sort of a tradition, and it would be a shame not to get a picture of the beautiful cake before Inaho cut into it. He paused, and did that little puff of air, which meant he was really sighing at her dramatically. Inko didn't care. She carefully angled the cake, so that she could take a picture of Inaho with the confection. In the true spirit of the season, Inaho raised the large knife for the picture to be taken. She giggled at it, thinking that probably, Nina would giggle and say he looked like a serial killer with a huge knife like that and no smile in sight. That didn't matter though, Inko thought it was a good image and she took her picture as fast as she could.
Inaho then wasted no time in dividing up the cake into perfectly symmetrical pieces, and giving her one. His eye twitched when she took a picture of that too.
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The wind from that morning had died down, which meant that even though it was cold, they were going to go on their yearly Christmas walk. It wasn't much, just a nice walk down the lane to the local department stores to see the light displays, but it was tradition, and she loved it. In the cold, Inaho always snuggled up to her, since she was always so warm. Winter was the one time of the year, that he regularly clung to her, and she wouldn't deny loving it. They held hands regularly, but it was only in winter that he practically hung off of her. For warmth, of course.
On the way, she talked about work, and he pretended to listen to her. Inaho oddly didn't have a huge tolerance for the monotony that was her work life, and he had little concern about the relationships she had with her coworkers. Despite that, he sometimes surprised her with random questions and insights, that proved he really had been paying attention. She wasn't sure what he did listen to and what he didn't, but it felt nice to talk to him none the less.
Inko asked him about his day, and he blandly answered that he had a conference call with some UFE representatives that was exceptionally droll, and that Yuki had spent most of the afternoon with him in the kitchen. She told him it sounded like a nice day, which for Inaho, it probably was. She secretly found it highly amusing that he thought her work choices were droll, and she quietly felt the same about his. She decided not to ask anything about Yuki. She had a feeling Inaho wouldn't tell her, even if she asked.
When they arrived at the local department stores, Inko forced a faster pace. Inaho didn't usually move very fast. He was a deliberate, methodical kind of person, and that was doubly true in the cold, unless he was going somewhere warm. If she let him, he would trudge all the way to the display, and then dash back home as soon as he could. It was Christmas Eve, and he could handle all this once a year.
They found themselves surrounded by glittering lights, and the meshed bodies of other couples, as they held hands and looked at the ornate displays. She felt normal, like they were just two young adults enjoying Christmas together, like any of the other couples there, and it was true. They, with their scars, and their past hurts, and their dead friends. They were normal. It went without saying that all of the couples were at the right age to have lost loved ones in the war, that some of them were probably also veterans. There might even be some as disfigured or scarred as Inaho. The war hadn't been easy on anyone. Even years and years later, none of them would escape those realities. It was strange to think that was normal now, but that's what happened when worlds went to war. Normal was a relative definition.
Looking at the glistening, twinkling lights, it made her feel young again. It felt like the war hadn't happened. It was as if it had been some strange dream she'd thought up one night, and that this was reality, this was the waking up, and it was good to be away from that nightmare. But that was only wishful thinking. The reality was this single moment of glittering lights, and couples who had come together despite all of their blemishes, despite all of their losses; this was the world they'd fought for. This was their hard won peace, warts and all.
Her life wasn't perfect, but she'd grown to learn the importance of being thankful for one more year, even if she just worked in the same office, and did the same things over and over again. Christmas was a ritual. It was going out to see lights with her parents, and now, with Inaho. She'd only missed a few in her lifetime. She felt the chill on her cheek, and the warmth at her side. They weren't in Russia, and she had a lot to be thankful for.