Ryuji decided he'd better get up and make breakfast, being the only one with any culinary experience, so he left the room and headed to the kitchen to fry some eggs and rice.

As he made his way, he noticed Yasuko sitting at the table, and she looked at him when he passed. On her face was a typical Yasu-chan expression, a huge, cute smile that was surely the reason she was so popular with the bar's patrons (at least beyond her other assets, which Ryuji had long ago learned to ignore for the sake of his sleep at night), though somehow he felt as if she was goading him. Nevermind. There would be time to explain things--to everyone--later on. Tonight was a Family-Christmas-Dinner! afterall, so he'd only have to endure her subliminal smugness until they were all gathered together at the table.

While Ryuji started breakfast, Taiga came and sat at the table across from his mother. He glanced behind himself and notice she was avoiding looking back at Yasuko as well, and Yasu herself seemed to be gazing back and forth between her son and Taiga as if basking in some unseen sunlight which only she could feel.

"Tsk..."

When he had finished cooking he made three plates and set out their meals at the table, sitting cross-legged at one of the available sides of the square. The trio didn't come out of their awkwardness for a long moment.

Taiga suddenly stood, picking up her plate and her eating utensils. She slowly marched over to Ryuji, her chin pointed pompously upwards as if she were commanding a military battalion. She stopped next to him, suddenly glaring down at his face with a scowl, her face pink with slight blush.

Feeling her piercing gaze to his left, Ryuji carefully looked back up at her, confused and shocked. Maybe a little scared, too.

"Move over," the tiny colonel commanded.

He did as she asked, now further embarrassed and growing flushed himself, his eyes pointing down at his meal to avoid the gaze of his mother.

"It's time to get things straight. Since this one," Taiga nodded toward Ryuji, "doesn't seem interested in doing it, I suppose it's up to me as always!"

She could be such a pain when she was like this. He didn't protest and let her go on with her speech.

"Ryuji Takasu and I are Boyfriend and Girlfriend. We're dating." she stated authoritatively.

"Oh, Taiga-chan~! You don't have to make any kind of announcement about that to me! I've known about you and Ryu-chan for ages~!"

This one left both students in some form of shock. Ages...?

"I really ought to be offended! You must think I'm pretty stupid to not see what was going on from the start~! It was only a matter of time before I caught the two of you~!" she giggled at their embarrassed faces.

"Yasu, it's not like that, this all started j-"

"Now, now Ryu-chan! You don't need to lie to me anymore~! I'm relieved that we can finally be so open and truthful! Still, I wonder just how many 'sleepovers' you've had without me noticing~"

"This is the only time!" though as soon as he said it, Ryuji remembered before when Taiga had fallen asleep on him around the student council elections, "Although, um... I guess there was one other... But that was an accident! It was only because of Kitamura!"

"You both are still so young.. I only hope you've thought to stay safe!" she giggled again.

"J-just what the hell are you implying!? It's not like that at all!"

"Oh Ryu-chaaan~! There's no need to be embarrassed! Without stuff like that, I wouldn't have had my wonderful little boy! Ah, that gives me an idea! I need to go to the store to get some things for Taiga!"

With that she hurriedly wolfed down the rest of her food and glided out the door into the streets, leaving Taiga and Ryuji absolutely floored.

The other two plates on the table had hardly been touched.

Her embarrassment suddenly turning to anger, Taiga growled, "As if I'd let a dog like you touch me that way..."

"You too now!? What the hell are you saying, anyway? I wasn't calling for you in the street last night!"

Taiga's face transformed again, from anger to a reserved and remorseful sadness Ryuji couldn't recall seeing come over her before.

"I...I'm sorry, Ryuji..."

"Hm? What for?"

Taiga's voice was growing quieter.

"If it weren't for me calling out to you like that, you'd have gone to meet Minorin. I'm sorry for pulling you into this so quickly. I know it isn't what you wanted..."

Ryuji was taken aback by this. Everyone was full of words that threatened to send him flying across the room lately.

"I didn't know I wanted it. I didn't know I wanted... this. You near me. I meant everything I said. If I hadn't, I could have just taken you to your apartment for as long as it took you to feel better and left things to go back to the way they were," he explained as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Looking down, he added, "I love you, Taiga."

Her sad expression crumpled into a new one he absolutely knew he'd never seen before.

"Idiot..."

"If you're still that sorry, you could always make it up to me, since we have the apartment to ours-"

He was interrupted by a sharp jab to the side, followed by another, and another...

"Pervert! Idiot! Lolicon!!""Hey, what the hell!? I was only joking! And how can I help it that I wasn't there to make sure you had enough vitamins to grow up bigger?"

"Idiot."

Some time had passed and Ryuji found himself cradling this small girl on his lap. She'd complained that she was cold again, and without thinking he'd brought her into his arms like before. He thought it was only a matter of time before she had him brainwashed to do anything she commanded...

"How long do you think it'll be before I have you brainwashed?" she suddenly asked.

This girl...! She'd already opened a window into his mind! Soon she'd...

"Bzzzz...bzzzz..." he replied.

Taiga giggled, and hearing it made him feel warm inside.

They sat there a few minutes longer, enjoying each other's company more openly than they had as long as they'd known one another.

"I can't believe you ate all the leftovers from breakfast... I was hoping we could just finish them later for lunch, but I guess you're trying to make up for all the nourishment you missed as a kid..."

"I can't help it if my boyfriend is an amazing chef who makes delicious food for me all the time~!"

The first time she'd called him her boyfriend had almost been an accident, but it came out so naturally that she figured it was correct. It didn't hurt that reminding herself of it gave her a good feeling.

"Yeah, well, I guess I'd better be good at cooking if I'm going to be dating a girl with a black hole for a stomach... And don't call me chef. That's a title you have to earn and go to school for."

Taiga thought about it. The way he explained things to her like this was kind of cute in a way...

"Maybe you should go to school for it. My husband the chef!"

Oops... they hadn't even been dating for 24 hours and she'd dropped the H-word...

"My wife the bottomless pit," he replied with no hesitation.

Taiga felt that warm, fuzzy feeling come over her again. She felt far from the pain and anguish of the previous night, and it was all thanks to her scary-looking but kind-hearted knight in shining armor, Ryuji. She would put the H-word on hold for the time being, but she wouldn't deny herself that it felt right.

After another spell of lazily enjoying one another's presence, Ryuji realized that if he was going to cook Christmas dinner that night, he'd need to actually go and buy the beef and such he had promised, so he announced that they were going to the store and dressed himself.

Again he picked Taiga up in a bridal carry and brought her through his apartment door.

"Why are you carrying me again?"

"Hm? I didn't want you walking barefoot on the ground."

It was so like him to worry about something like that. Taiga didn't really care why he was holding her this way, so she just relished in the contact and he brought her to her own apartment next-door.

Taiga dressed herself, and as she went to walk out she carefully picked up Ryuji's red scarf from the floor and handed it to him. He took it from her, seemed to study it for a moment, and then wrapped it around her neck.

"You can buy your own some other time. If you got sick on Christmas day I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"What if you get sick then? I need you to be warm, too..."

"You make me feel as warm as I need to be. I'll be fine."

Taiga blushed and looked at her feet.