Drabble Twenty-Six: Gratitude
"Natsu-chin, what are you making?" A curtain of purple hair stretched lazily in view from the kitchen door, and the girl in question looked up in surprise. A bright smile, however, soon adorned her lips, as per usual, and the duo ignored Ming'e's exasperated 'Murasakibara-kun, you're not allowed past the counter!' and Himuro's placating, soothing tone from outside.
"Cookies, Mura-kun," she replied cheerfully. "Do you want to try some?" She pulled out a tray of cookies from the oven, the colourful assorted shapes decorating the surface of the tray. The basketball player's face brightened visibly at that as he hungrily eyed the cute little shapes with cheerily coloured chocolate sprinkled on it.
Murasakibara nodded quickly. At this time, a tug caught his attention, and he grudgingly turned away from the sight of Natsuki emptying the tray into a bowl to face his friend.
"Yes, Muro-chin?" he questioned grouchily.
Himuro chuckled. "Come come, Atsushi, we're not supposed to be in here. Ming-san will have our heads if we stay a second longer. Let's go."
The taller male shook his head obstinately. "I want to eat Natsu-chin's cookies!"
The brown-haired girl let out a tinkling laugh filled with mirth as she approached the duo, a bowl of cookies perched in her hands.
"Try some too, Himuro-kun." She prompted cheerfully, thrusting the bowl towards them. Almost immediately, the tall purple-haired giant dug into the bowl of sweets with lazy ferocity. The black-haired male snitched a heart-shaped cookie after offering his consent. The pair of basketball junkies let out matching praises for the cookies, bringing a bright smile from the blue-eyed girl.
"So, who are you making these for?" Himuro questioned slyly after elbowing his partner out of the counter area. Ming'e huffed good-naturedly as Murasakibara offered her a lazy wave (that was not at all apologetic for stepping into 'authorised personnel only' space) and purchased another slice of rainbow cake. "Surely it couldn't be for Atsushi? He did just devour your first batch..." he added thoughtfully.
Natsuki blinked, then unexpectedly, a light pink dusted her cheeks. "W-What makes you think I am making these cookies for someone in particular, Himuro-kun?" She hugged the bowl of crumbs to herself self-consciously, a hand tucking a brown strand behind her bandana-clad head.
Himuro chuckled. "These cookies aren't on the menu, darling," he teased, "and you're turning quite a delicate shade of red there."
She flushed a darker colour now, and pushed him out of the counter area, earning a "good job" from Ming'e.
"I-It's no one you know..." With that, Natsuki turned tails and ran back into the kitchen.
Ming'e chose this time to stop her fussing with the display cabinet and looked up questioningly at the only high-school student left standing in the area.
"What's wrong with Xiaxi?" She questioned.
Himurosmiled secretly, then chuckled. "I think our little Natsuki-chan has a crush."