The Third Sunday In June

"Mmmmm…." A voice groaned out as Hikigaya Hachiman rolled over.

Pomf!

The man had expected his arm to drape over the body of the woman who usually slept beside him, but instead was met with nothing but empty space. Slowly, he opened his groggy eyes. Enough light drifted into the room through a gap in the blinds for Hachiman to see that his partner was nowhere to be seen. He shot a glance over at her alarm clock.

7:15 AM

"She's up early…"

As if on cue the sound of sizzling and humming came from the kitchen. Raising an eyebrow, Hachiman pulled himself out of bed and made his way to the kitchen. His feet slid across the wood floor, cool to the touch of his feet. He quickly stopped into the bathroom to brush his teeth and was thankful for the bath mats they'd gotten at the department store that sheltered his feet from the cold tile.

"Guess the evenings are still chilly enough to cool the house…" The man thought to himself as he rounded the corner into the room to find quite the sight before him.

Iroha stood in front of the stove in light lounge wear and a white apron. She seemed to be dancing back and forth shaking her hips to her own rhythm as she cooked. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail that swayed back and forth to the beat of her dancing. The smell of bacon wafted through the room as a small smile spread across Hachiman's face. He leaned against the entryway and watched for a moment. There were still boxes laying around the room from the recent move, but rather than looking messy the room just felt more homely… or perhaps he just thought that so that he didn't have to bother unpacking them yet.

"You're up early." Hachiman said after soaking in the moment.

Iroha jumped a little and turned her head quickly in surprise.

"Geez, don't scare me like that! If I die of a heart attack you'll be left all alone, ya know~."

"Ah, maybe I could get some peace and quiet."

"You're such a meanie! Is that any way to treat your lover, I'll divorce you."

Or so she said, but she couldn't hide her smile as the two bantered back and forth. The distance between them closed as Hachiman came up from behind.

"Don't get in the way of my cooking." Iroha warned as she felt her husband's lips brush her neck.

"Wouldn't dream of it. Want some coffee?" The man replied, giving her ample space to cook.

"Nope! Er, well yes, but I wanna fix it! You go sit down."

Confused, Hachiman tilted his head, but eventually gave a small salute and went to take his seat at their kitchen table.

"The bacon is done!" Iroha said cheerily after a few more moments before she went and turned on the coffee pot and put some toast in the toaster.

Hachiman watched from a distance as his wife flitted about their kitchen as busy as a bee preparing breakfast.

"What's the occasion?" the man inquired, finally breaking the silence as Iroha brought him a cup of coffee and a container of sugar.

"Don't you know what today is?" She replied coyly before cracking an egg into the pan and adjusting the heat of the burner.

"... sunday?"

"Well, yes but it's also a super special day!"

Hachiman stirred some sugar into his coffee and thought about the date trying to shake his drowsiness.

"Is it… the first day of summer?"

"Nope… wait, is it the first day of summer?"

"Mm, the summer solstice."

"Why do you know that off the top of your head?"

The expression on the woman's face gave the impression that she was amused but also slightly exasperated and embarrassed by the fact that her husband knew that it was the summer solstice. Shifting uncomfortably, Hachiman turned his head to look away as his cheeks flushed a little red.

"Aww, are you pouting now? Come on~ keep guessing!" The woman chimed as she flipped the eggs over.

"I don't like guessing games. If someone wants you to know something they should just tell you."

"No can do, you're gonna have to guess this one. It's more fun this way."

"Fun for you, maybe."

"Isn't that what matters most?"

Hachiman turned to look at the woman preparing breakfast and was met with her beaming smile radiating confidence in her words. His mouth dropped open in surprise for a second before he smiled in kind.

"I guess you're right, but can't you at least give me a hint?"

"Maybe, lemme think of a good one."

With that she went back to cooking and finished up the eggs as Hachiman sat ruminating in the early morning puzzle. Once the eggs were finished frying, Iroha plated their meals and brought everything over to the table. As she arrived she sat the plate in front of Hachiman and leaned down expectantly.

"Breakfast is served." Iroha grinned before leaning in for a kiss. The two locked lips gently for only a brief moment before they broke apart and she took up the seat opposite Hachiman.

"About that hint…" The man pressed, his curiosity having reached a point that he now felt inconvenienced by his ignorance.

"Hm… well I've gotten pretty good with eggs?" Iroha said as she began to eat her breakfast.

"Ah yes, your eggs are really good, but I'd really like to get that hint."

The girl looked exasperated but more so with herself than him, so he sat back in his chair and looked at her directly, prompting her to give him a hint.

With an exasperated sigh, the girl spoke again, "let's just say I've got something in the oven."

"The oven? But you're an awful baker." Hachiman said flatly.

"That's not true!" Iroha shouted, sounding particularly offended.

"I mean… you haven't baked anything since high school. Still I'm not sure what that has to do with what's so special about today."

A deadpan stare fell across Iroha's face as she look on at the dense object seated in front of her.

"So no hint?"

"I've given you enough hints, figure it out already you big dummy."

"Enough hints?" Hachiman began to think about all the things they had talked about. It was a sunday and June that marked the start of summer. They'd also discussed eggs and things in an oven…

Hachiman thought for a while until the realization hit him and his eyes went wide.

"It's the third Sunday in June."

Iroha smiled and sat back in her chair putting a hand on her stomach. Her smile was brighter than the sun and more elegant than the moon as she giggled.

"That's right! Happy Father's Day. Make sure you take responsibility."

Hachiman smiled in reply and spoke after a brief pause to process the rush of emotions…

"Of course"

END

Yahallo Homeslices,

I hope you enjoyed it! I just got a new laptop and really wanted to write something on it, but didn't have time to crank out a whole chapter. I know this was short but I hope it can tide you over until I have time and motivation to work on MPCL. I'm writing some more serious stuff for competitions and to submit to pubs and stuff (not the bars). I thought it was a fun story. Let me know how you feel and congrats to all the weab dads out there.

-Bread