Chapter 11: Christmas (part 3)

The night before Christmas was easily Erina's favorite part of the holidays. With the annual Christmas celebration over and everything else taken care of, it was one of the few times the young woman was able to really relax. It definitely helped that, when he had still been traveling the world, Soma made it a point to always come back and spend the holidays with her. However, perhaps the biggest reason for this was because on Christmas eve, the entire Nakiri clan, plus the Yukihiras and the Ayuzawas would gather in the mansion, filling up what Erina had once felt to be an empty, lifeless house.

So, it was under these circumstances that Erina found herself in the large kitchen of the manor, attempting to bake Christmas themed cookies with Soma while a six-year-old Ayuzawa Hiroko clung to her back. "That's so pretty!" the girl chirps as she examines the design of Soma's latest cookie over Erina's shoulder.

Soma grins. "Right?" The cookie is in the shape of a snowflake and somehow appears to be translucent, just like the real thing.

Erina sneers. "Oh please, if you think that's impressive, just wait till you see what I'm working on."

Fifteen minutes later, the trio emerges from the kitchen into the living room with cookies in hand and Hiroko still on Erina's back. Unsurprisingly, Alice and Kurokiba are curled up by the fireplace, sharing a blanket and a cup of eggnog. In the middle of the room, Azami and Asahi listen intently as Joichiro waves his hands, seemingly in the middle of explaining something quite profound. Seated along one wall of the room, Ayazawa Riko and Nakiri Mana listen curiously as Erina's aunt Leonora show the two her latest breakthroughs in her gastronomy research. And tucked away in one corner of the room, laughter can be heard as the demon lord of food himself shares a rather amusing conversation with Erina's uncle Soe and Riko's husband Ayazawa Touta.

The whole rooms seems to glow warmly, and the scene brings a smile to Erina's face. However, all eyes turn to Soma as he very loudly clears his throat. "Cookies are done," he announces.

"Since when could you bake cookies?" Joichiro asks skeptically, but all the same he steps closer to examine the baked goods as Soma and Erina place them down on one of the coffee tables.

"Since I spent three weeks in Pennsylvania last year," Soma responds. "Fun fact, they claim to have invented sugar cookies over there… I don't know if I believe it though."

There are collective 'oos' and 'aas' as the cookies are admired by everyone. To his credit, aside from his snowflake cookie, Soma had come up with several impressive and highly detailed designs; personally, Erina's favorite was the cookie that resembled Erina and Soma cartoonified, holding hands and smiling together. However, it was collectively agreed that the centerpiece was Erina's three-dimensional Christmas tree that really pushed the limits on what could be considered a cookie.

In the span of ten minutes, all the cookies were gone, so Soma and Hiroko head back into the kitchen to begin preparing a second round of cookies. Erina goes to follow them, already beginning to brainstorm ideas for her next masterpiece. However, before she could join the two, Nakiri Mana steps in her way and Erina instantly stiffens. Desperately, Erina's gaze meets Soma's as he glances back, but seeing Mana standing in front of Erina, all he does is shoot her a devilish smirk before stepping through the doors of the kitchen.

Karma really is a bitch.

"So Erina," Mana says, eyeing her daughter with a dangerous glint in her eyes. "You seem to be getting along with dear Soma rather well. You must be happy now that he finally ceased his traveling."

Erina forces a smile on her face. Well, might as well get it over with. "Yes, it's really nice to have him back for good," she responds. "As infuriating as he can be at times, I must admit it's nice to have him consistently at my side."

Mana raises her round eyebrows, likely surprised at her daughter's honesty. "That's great to hear," she says, smiling. "How long have you two been together now?"

"A little over five years," Erina replies, very much dreading the direction the conversation is heading in.

"That's quite a while," her mother muses. "You know, by the time I was your age, your father and I were already married, and you were born," Mana pauses and eyes her for a moment. "Although, I heard you two working on that last night…"

Erina's pulse freezes, and her face instantly heats up. She had been sure that not only had they locked the door last night, but the rest of the manor's occupancies were on the other side of the house – especially Mana and Hiroko. She had even made a point to play music so loud that she could barely hear herself think, let alone moan. However, something seems to have gone terribly, horribly wrong. "You… heard that?" she breathes out.

Mana smirks. "Yes," she says, amused by her daughter's expression. "You're using protection I trust? As a Nakiri, you absolutely cannot have a child out of wedlock." Erina looks at the floor, suddenly taking a fascination at the carpet at her feet. "However, if you were to simply get married, it wouldn't be something to worry about."

Erina wishes she could just melt into the floor - her face is practically glowing red at this point. "We… um. W-well I…" she stutters, trying to string together a coherent sentence.

Mana just regards her daughter with an expectant look. She opens her mouth to say more, but before the words can come out, Ayazawa Riko steps between the two women. "Erina, why aren't you in the kitchen?" the Totsuki graduate asks in an unusually innocent voice. "Your aunt and I would really like to have more cookies, and I'm sure Soma and Hiroko are missing you by now."

Mana regards Riko with a sour look. "She's not in the kitchen because she's having an important conversation with her mother," Mana says in a dangerous voice, however, Riko just shrugs it off.

"I'm sure the talk can wait," she says, her voice still innocent. "Go on dear," Riko says, turning Erina by the shoulders and pushing her towards the kitchen. "I'll keep your mother entertained."

Finally tearing her gaze from the ground, Erina gives Riko a look that says 'thank you' in at least five different languages. But the older woman just nods once in understanding, giving Erina a sympathetic smile.

When Erina comes storming into the kitchen, she's about ready to commit murder. If little Hiroko wasn't in the room with them, the young chef would've unleashed a string of profanity upon Soma so impressive that it could've earned her the nickname of 'the god's tongue' at least four times over. But since Hiroko is there, the best she can do is storm in, grab the nearest thing she can find – which ironically turns out to be a bag of flour – and hurl it at him.

Soma just bursts out laughing as he leans to the side, and the bag goes sailing past his face. "That bad huh?"

"I hate you!" Erina seethes. She reaches for the next closest thing, this time being a carton of milk. However, before she can toss it, Hiroko suddenly jumps in front of Soma, putting her arms out in an attempt to protect him.

"No fighting in the kitchen!" the girl shrieks. "Mommy says you should never fight in the kitchen!"

Soma's laugh intensifies, and he bends over, holding his sides. "Yeah Erina, no fighting in the kitchen," he wheezes out. Oh, it's a good thing the knives are on the other side of the room. "I am going to kill you!" Erina growls, but with Hiroko in the way, the threat is even emptier than usual.

"No fighting!" the girl says again. Erina's jaw clenches in frustration, and she gives Soma a look that could send most people to tears. But she lowers the milk, placing it back on the counter.

"Hey, think of it as making up for leaving me at the party," Soma says, an insufferable smirk on his face. "Now we're even."

"No!" Erina says, her tone low. "We are not even. My mom heard us last night!"

As Soma cracks up all over again - this time having to lean on the counter for support – Hiroko gives Erina a confused expression. "Erina, what did your mom hear that was so bad?"

At this point, Soma's barely able to stand. "Yeah… Erina…" he gasps out. "What exactly… did your mom hear?"

Erina's vision goes red. The next couple minutes are a bit of a blur for her and she's vaguely aware of chucking various objects at the diner chef. But when she finally returns to her senses, the kitchen is a warzone. Flour, sugar, and tomato sauce – what the actual hell? – cover the walls, floor, and Soma. The red head chef in question lies pinned to the floor beneath Erina, still laughing his ass off, while Hiroko clings to Erina's back, trying her best to keep the blond from murdering her boyfriend. Erina glares down at him, debating the most painful way she can end his existence. But suddenly, he leans up and plants a quick kiss on her forehead.

"I'm sorry," he says, his laughter subsiding. "Seriously, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you."

Erina glares down at him. "Oh, will you now?" she asks, her tone menacing. "And how the fu… heck, do you plan to do that?"

Soma smiles up at her, but this time, it isn't the infuriating smirk he'd been using only moments earlier; this time, it's the smile he reserves only for her. "You'll see," he says. "But I promise you'll like it."

Erina scowls. As satisfying as it'd be the wring the red-head's neck, in the long run, it probably wouldn't be the smartest idea to so blatantly commit murder in front of a witness. "I'd better," she warns him, releasing his hands, but this only serves to intensify the red-head's smile.

"You will."

Author's note: As promised, here is my cringe-tastic masterpiece. My god I have never been so uncomfortable writing anything in my life, but I have never laughed so hard when writing something either. Sorry the interrogation is so short, but honestly I feel like Erina wouldn't have been able to last long in a situation like that. Anyway, I hope everyone had a good time reading this. Hope you are all staying safe and I will see you all next time.