Chapter 6

Fall had firmly set in. Back in Akita, fall wasn't really anything to write home about. A few trees here and there would turn color and shed their leaves, but one would normally miss it if they didn't go to the park to see the colors.

The countryside on the other hand, was vastly different, as everywhere Atsushi looked, the landscape was gold, red and brown. It was truly beautiful and with the added colors of the bright blue sky, the world outside the school window was more like a painting than reality.

Several weeks had passed since little Maiubo was born that night, now happily trotting around the pasture with his mother without a care in the world. He was still so small, but between Tatsuki and Atsushi, they weren't sure who spoiled the little calf more. It had almost turned into a competition to see whom could spoil the small cow more on the days Tatsuki came over to help out. It had been a pretty enjoyable few weeks that were even void of encounters with Shirō and with the school day having already gone by, Atsushi and Tatsuki sat in their club room to prepare for a very different kind of event.

The Autumn School Festival.

"Okay everyone! As I'm sure you're all aware, the Autumn School Festival is next week, and since we're the baking club, we have one of the most popular booths! With that in mind, I wanna hear some ideas on what all we should sell, so lets hear them!" The club leader squealed with her obvious excitement; A bouncing and bubbly redhead with a long ponytail and bright, nearly neon orange eyes.

"Cupcakes!" Offered another girl.

"Pie?"

"Cookies!"

"Pastries!"

Several ideas were getting tossed out, all of which were making Atsushi's stomach rumble with want. For the last few weeks, the baking club had actually been making things, most of which was baked morsels of deliciousness and perfection that were crafted by Tatsuki's slender hands. Of course, he was always the first to get to try her marvelous creations, but for the last week, or so, he had started to help.

"All are wonderful ideas! Lets do them all! We'll spend today getting some recipes together while Amaya and I start designing our booth! I look forward to the results!"

While the bubbly redhead and the other girl with short black hair retreated to their corner, the others broke off to search for the perfect recipe from a pile of cookbooks and web searches, but for Tatsuki and Atsushi, they sat at the counter with a piece of paper and a pen. Neither had any plan of finding an already existing recipe, but rather, they were going to craft their own.

"Hmm-... Well, I guess we should start with what kind of baking we wanna do." Tatsuki hummed out loud, tapping the end of her pen against her chin.

"What about cake? No one said cake." Atsushi said, leaning a heavy elbow onto the counter to rest his chin in his hand.

"I don't see why not, but we'll need to make several of them. Cake is harder to make in bulk than cupcakes." Tatsuki said as she looked over at him.

"Well, than cupcakes then. Those strawberry ones you make are really good." Atsushi said, puffing out a blow of air to move the thick lock hanging down his nose.

Tatsuki smiled, "Well, thank you, but I always make those. Lets come up with something else." She returned to tapping her chin with the end of her pen.

Atsushi shrugged, "Something chocolate."

"Ooo-... Good idea. Chocolate cupcakes?" Tatsuki said, softly chuckling at the dreamy look that began to bubble in his eyes.

"With cream cheese frosting." Atsushi added with their gazes locked on each other.

"But there needs to be something more... Something special." Tatsuki said quietly as she bit her bottom lip.

"Small chocolates on top?" Atsushi offered.

Tatsuki shook her head, "Too ordinary."

"Sprinkles?"

"Too boring." Tatsuki's brows furrowed.

Atsushi's throat grumbled behind his lips as his browline matched hers, both racking their brains for the perfect idea. The baking club was revered, adored even, for their treats and confections that made those that consumed them want more. As first years, it was a lot to bear on their shoulders, but as their eyes flicked over to another pair, carving into a melon that instantly spilled juice onto the counter, their eyes lit up with an idea.

"Chocolate cream cheese lava cake!" They both yelped with their eyes glued on each other from their joint realization.

Tatsuki immediately began to write down what they would need, but since their club room was in the school kitchen, both highly doubted that the ingredients she was looking for would be there. Sure, there were eggs, sugar, butter and flour, but chocolate, cream cheese and the special tops she wanted most certainly wouldn't be. Both very much wanted to try it out and without very much convincing of the head of the club, they were out the door and headed for the one place that would have everything.

Tatsuki's house.

With the countryside being so widespread, and students coming in from nearly twenty miles away, the school employed several shuttles to run after school students home since many families were busy tending to their farms. They climbed on one such shuttle, a small bus, and found seats in the back before it started off. All Tatsuki had to do was give the driver her address and they were off, where both just sat, shoulder to shoulder, in the seat and looked over their recipe.

Her knowledge was extensive, even more vast than his list of snacks he's tried, and that was a damn impressive list. They tweaked the cream cheese to a cream cheese whip to make it fluffy, added those chocolate sprinkles to add color and decided on the perfect top to crown their delectable little treats in the form of small lengths of pirouettes. His mouth was watering the more they worked, and after only a short bit, the bus slowed and delivered them to their destination.

The Himuro dairy farm was a large farm in comparison to his uncle's, as it boasted a small herd of dairy cows of around a hundred. Everything was ultra clean, shining gold in the fading light of the evening and that telltale aroma of cow wafted up from the large barn shelters in the back. The home itself was noticeably larger than his uncle's, with a wrap around porch so huge that it reached the second story for a two tiered covered space where someone could find a place to just sit and relax. The front door was wide, being a duel set the were even mostly tall enough for Atsushi to step through.

He followed Tatsuki into the house where he toed off his shoes and dropped his bag off before padding into the kitchen with her, all while his tongue fiddled and dragged over his teeth since he had fallen into the habit again without readily available snacks to get his hands on. Their ceilings were higher and despite still having to duck under the doors, albeit less, he wasn't feeling claustrophobic like he sometimes got at home. The kitchen was larger as well, having three walls worth of cabinets and a fridge and freezer set up that was as wide as the double wide doors he had entered the house through. Everything was neat and tidy and despite the odor outside, inside smelt of cinnamon and spices.

"Mmm-... It smells good in here." Atsushi mumbled out, rolling up his cardigan's sleeves to his elbows while Tatsuki slipped on her apron.

"My mom likes burning candles. It's the cinnamon spice one over there." She smiled, motioning with her head as she tied the apron around herself.

"I like it." Atsushi smiled with another long drag of his tongue that made a tiny clack against the backs of his teeth.

The house empty, they began to gather the ingredients Tatsuki had written down. She gathered the cold things from the fridge, while he stepped into the walk-in pantry, easily finding the dry items. It didn't take them long before a portion of the counter was taken up with the things they needed, and as Tatsuki tapped in the desired temperature on the oven, they set to work.

While Tatsuki worked the more complicated segment of the recipe, Atsushi measured out the dry ingredients and put them together into a bowl. He cracked in an egg and a little oil before whisking it all together into a smooth batter, scraping the sides with a flat scraper to make sure nothing was left behind. He kept whisking it all before setting the paper cups into the muffin pan and just as Tatsuki finished with the cream cheese whipped filling, he held the frosting bag open so she could spoon it all inside.

"Alright!... Fill the cups three-quarters of the way, and I'll come in behind you and put the filling in." Tatsuki said, smiling as Atsushi held another frosting bag open to put the chocolate cake mix inside.

With just his nod, Atsushi spun the bag to clamp it closed before squeezing the target amount into the cups. His large hands worked perfectly to squeeze the batter out and by the time each cup was filled, there was so little left in the bag that he got to toss it into the trash.

"Well done, Atsushi... Oh!... You have some on your finger." Tatsuki said as she set her freshly emptied bag down on the counter to slip the cupcakes into the oven.

"Eh?... Freebies?" Atsushi smiled.

He looked down at his hands and sure enough, there were several spots of chocolate batter splattered and smeared all over his hands and without a second thought, he lapped up a smear to relish in the smooth chocolate taste against his constantly busy tongue.

"Atsushi!... There's egg in there!" Tatsuki yelped before snatching his hand away from his mouth to begin wiping away the mess with her apron.

"But it tastes good." Atsushi pouted, his soul breaking with every splotch of chocolate that was lost to the fabric of her apron.

"Well, yeah, but it needs to bake first you big dork." Tatsuki chuckled with a brief glance up at him.

Atsushi's brows lightly furrowed at the oddly cute way she had called him a dork, but it was then that he saw a smear of the whipped cream cheese filling on her finger. His eyes twinkled at it and despite his attempts to taste it before she put it into the chocolate batter, she always smacked his hand away. He was near desperate to try it, would do anything to feel its sweet taste against his tongue and before he knew what he was doing, he had grasped her hand and raised that very finger to wrap his lips around it.

The moment the light, airy flavor hit his tongue, his eyes rolled into the back of his head as his tongue swirled around her finger to claim the filling for himself, completely forgetting the usual toy that he had found himself playing with more and more frequently in his oral habit. It was pure sweetness that danced on his tongue like a ballet dancer, fluid and precise, but it wasn't so strong that it instantly sapped all his energy. It was just enough to make him want more, make him salivate for it, but when he realized what his tongue and lips were doing, all 6'10 of him went rigid, his breath caught in his throat and his eyes snapped wide.

Feeling his jaw start to clatter with nerves, he pulled her finger from his mouth as his eyes focused on the red hot and burning blush covering all of Tatsuki's face. Her visible eye was as wide as it could go and her lips were agape with an airless gasp, completely glued on her finger pulling out from between his lips. She was frozen solid, in complete shock and when it finally came free without even a pop and with its tip pressing against his slightly puckered lips, it didn't make it any better.

"U-Uh... D-Did it... taste g-good?" Tatsuki stuttered out, finally sucking in a breath when her lungs screamed for it, but she couldn't get herself to take her hand away from his grasp.

Atsushi's tongue, on its own accord, slicked over his lips as he nodded.

Tatsuki gulped, "G-Good... I-I'm glad." She said almost too lowly for even her to hear.

Atsushi's heart was far too close to jumping out of his chest, beating far too fast for it to be comfortable, but no matter how much his mind was screaming at him to let go of her hand, he couldn't loosen his hold. All he could do was bring it closer to his chest until her palm pressed down over his heart so she could feel it, or see it. He was certain it was legitimately visible.

Suddenly, the beeping of the oven snapped both from their trance of falling into the others eyes, jolting both back to the task at hand as Tatsuki hesitated that last second before turning to get the test cupcakes out of the oven. He hadn't realized that the kitchen had taken on the smell of warmed chocolate, light and warm, and it smelt so good that his mouth started to salivate, but instead of that subtle sweetness, there was a tinge of salt left over from her finger on the hardness of metal.

He gulped to help clear his head, closed his eyes to rid his brain of one of his senses to help mitigate the damage, but he couldn't ignore that he had acted without thinking. He felt stupid, like a complete idiot and his hands wouldn't stop shaking. He clenched them to try and regain control, but even that wasn't working like he had hoped. All he could manage with any degree of skill was stare at the back of her head and for some reason, it made him angry.

"Muro-Chin-" Atsushi breathed out, but she didn't acknowledge him at all as she set the fresh cupcakes down on the stove top.

Atsushi was suddenly fuming, heated with rage that she wouldn't turn around and in a single giant step, he was standing behind her and had trapped her between his long arms with his hands firmly pressed down onto the counter.

"Please look at me." Atsushi said quietly, his voice disconnected from the anger boiling in his chest.

Tatsuki didn't turn around as she slipped off the oven mitts and set them down on the counter, hiding her hands from him as she held them close to her chest so he couldn't see, but with an added ten inches on her, he saw anyways.

They were shaking.

"I'm sorry." He said, taking in steady breaths that were working to ebb his unwarranted anger.

With a slowly released breath, Tatsuki finally turned around and looked up at him with slightly shaky eyes and her hands still clutched and guarded against her chest. Every muscle attached to her 6' foot framework was twitching, quivering, but it was too light for her to be certain it wasn't just her imagination. His violet eyes were drawn down, almost shameful and the way he was taking in ultra slow breaths told her that he was struggling to stay calm.

For two months, they had spent so much time together, whether it be at school, or at his uncle's farm, that being apart felt odd. Being in each others company was easy, calming even, and in those two months, she was finding that her best times were had when they were together.

"It's okay, Atsushi. I um-" she swallowed, "I was just caught off guard is all." She said softly, beginning to breathe more steadily as she reached out to place her shaky hand over his heart once more.

"I... wasn't thinking." Atsushi said, lightly gulping as his grip on the counter's edges tightened to make the tips of his fingers white.

"It's fine... Really." She said, never once looking away from his gaze as she leaned a bit closer to him.

Atsushi sucked in a quiet breath as the feel of her pressed into him returned, willing an arm to wrap itself around her waist to keep her there. She looked up at him with soft eyes, alluring even, and at the feel of her modest chest squishing into his only served to make his heart hum even more like the buzz of a hummingbird. It was starting to give him a headache from the rushing of his blood through his veins, and when her other hand, soft and gentle, reached up to cup his jaw, it suddenly didn't matter anymore.

His eyes closing halfway, Atsushi's head began to drop down, coming closer and closer to hers that was reaching up to greet him. He didn't need to see both her eyes to know, as one was enough for him to see that they were soft and inviting. Her lips were slightly parted, airless from holding her breath and when his eyes fully closed, the heat from her lips pulsed over his like warm waves.

"Tatsuya!... Are you home!"

The sudden voice jolted them both, snapping their eyes open as Atsushi stood up straight and stepped away from her the moment her father stepped around the corner and into the kitchen.

"Ah... There you are... Hello, Atsushi." Her father said; A tall, gruff looking man with tiny wrinkles next to his eyes and business like graying hair that was slicked back.

Atsushi just nodded and gulped.

"Hey, Dad... Everything alright?" Tatsuki asked, drawing in a deep breath as she turned back around to face the counter to examine the tray of cooling cupcakes.

"Mostly... I have a favor to ask." Her father said as he loosened his tie and undid the top button of his shirt to give him some breathing room.

"Sure. What's up?" Tatsuki asked, releasing her breath to return to normal as she carefully removed the puffy cupcakes from the pan so they would cool faster.

"I have to head to the office tonight for a litigation, so can you handle dinner for your mother?" He asked with a brief glance at Atsushi whom was refusing to look at the man.

"Sure. Where's mom?" She asked, setting a cupcake down on some tin foil she had laid out on the counter.

"Stuck at auction with the new calves for sale." Her father said simply.

"Okay. I'll handle it. It'll be in the fridge when you guys get home." She said as she removed the last cupcake and set it down gently.

Her father just nodded as his dark, familiar eyes shifted over to the insanely tall, purple haired teenager that was just standing in the middle of his kitchen like a statue. His shoulders were tensed, but his eyes weren't looking at him, opting to stare up at the ceiling as if he was waiting for it to do a trick. His hands were stuffed into his pockets, but with his keen dad eyes, he could tell in his wrists that he was doing it to hide their shaking.

"You can stay if you wish, Atsushi." He said dully and with a flat expression on his face.

Atsushi swallowed, "Okay, Sir." He near mumbled.

With a huff through his nostrils, Tatsuki's father stood and eyeballed them both for a few moments before leaving the kitchen, where they instantly relaxed with loud exhales of air as if the dinosaur just left without attempting to eat them. If Atsushi had learned anything over the course of his two months, he had learned that Tatsuki's father was a terrifying man and despite being shorter than him, most like everybody else was, he was very much not willing to gamble with his life by pissing the man off.

"Your father is scary." Atsushi shuttered before gripping the meat of his shoulders as he stared up at the ceiling some more and pinned the bar between his teeth to help him relax.

Tatsuki nodded, "He's an intense man... Part of why he's such a good agricultural lawyer." She said as she cleaned her hands on her apron and turned around to face him once more, completely missing his tongue disappearing into his mouth.

Atsushi sighed, "I'm sorry about earlier. I can leave if you want."

"You don't have to, Atsushi. It wasn't solely you." She said, her blush returning a bit as she smiled at him.

Atsushi's cheeks suddenly felt warm, "Um... I'd say lets try again, but the mood kinda got ruined."

"Yeah... Sorry." Tatsuki's blush deepened.

With the tension settling down on their shoulders, it quickly began to shift into awkwardness, but with neither willing to let it sour their evening, which was apparently theirs, they muscled passed it and returned their attention to the cupcakes on the counter.

He hadn't even had the time to see how they looked, but now he was able to see just how fluffy and perfect they had turned out. The tops were puffed up and plateaued perfectly, waiting to be decorated once they cooled and their color was an even shade of milk chocolate. There was no sign at all that there was a creamy whipped topping inside and with that simple knowledge, his taste buds were suddenly screaming for a taste.

"Can I try one?" He asked with a long finger pointing at the array of bait calling his name on the counter.

"They aren't decorated yet." She said a bit shyly.

"That's okay. I wanna try one and see how the filling turned out." He said, clacking his secret against the inside of his teeth.

"Oh... Well, I suppose you can." She said as she plucked up a cupcake and held it out for him.

His smile returning, Atsushi went to standing in front of her as he took the cupcake, spending a moment to admire its perfect shape before peeling back the paper cup and sinking his teeth into its warm and soft pillow of sweetness. His whole mouth erupted with the aroma of chocolate and nearly immediately after, hit in the face with the subtly sweet flavor of the whipped cream cheese filling as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. It was all still warm and perfectly melted in his mouth and when he opened his eyes to finally see and come down from his high, he noticed Tatsuki softly chuckling at him.

"Your reactions are so adorable." She giggled.

The corner of Atsushi's lips twitched up into a smile as he dunked the tip of his finger into the creamy filling before smearing it on her cheek, instantly making her squeak with more giggles whose lofty sound was as alluring as the cupcake was. He quickly found himself chuckling at the smear and when she smiled up at him with that big, bright smile that reached her eyes, that mood was back.

Lightly licking his lips, he continued to softly smile as he bowed his head and pressed his lips into her cheek to suckle the smear off her skin. Her giggles softened into airy exhales as she nuzzled into his actions, but with his lips so close to the corner of her mouth, the pull to taste them was far too strong to ignore.

His arm wrapping around her waist to bring her closer, he tilted her face up with a single finger against her chin and followed the smear closer and closer to her mouth. He could feel her exhales drifting over his cheek the closer he got to her mouth, and when their lips finally touched with the delightful mix of sugar and salt, he couldn't stop the low, guttural, almost primal thunder that began to vibrate his vocal cords.

He couldn't breathe, actually, didn't want to. All he wanted was to solely focus on the flavors flooding his mouth. The feel of her lips pressed against his that were lightly brushed with the flavor of the cream cheese filling was tantalizing, drawing him closer into just not caring anymore how their night went, so long as he could keep doing what he was doing. They were as warm as the fresh cupcakes and just as sweet, plump and full, and when her hand climbed up his chest and up over his neck beneath his hair, that vibrating moan returned to separate their lips.

With her hand tenderly sliding around to rest against the line of his jaw, Tatsuki drew in a filling breath to satisfy her lungs as she gazed up into his half lidded and violet eyes. His lips were slightly pinker than usual, just enough to highlight his actions and when the pad of her fingers drifted down over them, she couldn't ignore that he pressed a kiss just before they passed.

"It's better that way." Atsushi said lowly, using the pad of his thumb to dry the corner of his mouth.

Tatsuki blushed, "I um... wouldn't know. I didn't get to taste it." She said in a mumble with her hand settling down on his chest.

The corner of Atsushi's lips twitched up with a spark of confidence as he dropped his head again, holding her close once more as their lips pressed together for another kiss, except this time, his chocolate and cream cheese coated tongue entered the equation and divulged his secret.

The moment his hot and surprisingly long tongue entered her mouth, her sense of taste erupted with sugar laced with salt and having tasted her cream cheese filling countless of times before, she found herself wholeheartedly agreeing that this was better. The underlying saltiness from his saliva was perfection, but everyone else was just going to have to make do with the normal sweetness, as there wasn't a chance in hell she was going to share this.

However, as her tongue cleaned every trace of the sweet confection from his with long, smooth strokes that made his throat hum, her tongue brushed over the hardened round bead that rest against his tongue. It was perfectly smooth and tasted of nothing, but with a gentle probe of her own tongue, she began to realize what was punctured through the long appendage. She had seen him fidget with his tongue on countless occasions, had seen him run it over his teeth to make a sound she just brushed off as her imagination, but now that was she feeling it, it suddenly all made sense.

In order to satisfy his tendency to orally fidget no matter if he had sweets, or not, he had thrust a titanium bar through his tongue; Atsushi Murasakibara had his tongue pierced.

Gagging on her own breath, Tatsuki withdrew her tongue and parted their lips, leaving him bowing his head and softly panting for more as he tried to keep contact. That's when she saw it, the small fleck of silver punctured through his tongue and it sent a warmed flush all the way from the top of her head down to her toes.

"Your tongue's pierced?" She softly gasped, not moving from leaning against him as she stared at it in awe.

Atsushi held his breath, but nodded, "Y-Yeah. It actually helps me to focus when I can't get sweets. I've had it about a year now." His cheeks colored pink.

Tatsuki softly bit her bottom lip, "It's kinda hot."

Atsushi smiled and let his tongue loll out of his mouth so she could see it. It was a large bar, and the small bead at the top was even a small basketball. It had been his dirty little secret and he would only wear it whenever he wasn't home with the knowledge that his father would lose his mind if he ever found out. His mother had allowed it because it did, genuinely help him to focus when his mouth was engaged and it even cut back on cavities from giving his mouth something to do that didn't involve sucking down junk food and sweets.

Seeing her bite her bottom lip harder as she looked at it, his hands grasp both sides of her jaw while her arms snaked around his neck and he dropped his head back down to press their mouths together. She instantly swallowed his long tongue, deeply moaning as the hard ball of his tongue bar clacked against her teeth and pressed into the roof of her mouth. It was just as much fun to play with it with her own tongue, but as she rose up onto her tiptoes to deepen their kiss, his phone went off with an incoming call.

Atsushi groaned and rolled his eyes before withdrawing his tongue and parting their lips. He still tasted her, still wanted to, but his phone was making it impossible. It was frustrating that it had been thrice now that they had gotten interrupted and with a grumble, furrowed brows and a glare, he fished his phone out of his pocket and tapped the green spot on the screen to accept the call.

"Eh?... Hello?" Atsushi sighed, keeping a hand against her cheek to drift his thumb over her reddened lips.

Tatsuki couldn't make out what the other person was saying, but there were two words that her ears caught that were unmistakable and they caused her eyes to go wide. It was the third shock of the day.

"Hi, Mom... Uh huh... Thanks. Dad doesn't know you called does he?... Good... I'm fine... He's fine too... School's good... No. Just gonna stay in... Not really... I'm over at Tatsuki's now... Okay... Thanks for calling, Mom... Love you too. Talk to you later... Bye."

With another sigh, Atsushi ended the call and stuffed his phone back into his pocket, but when he looked back at Tatsuki, whose eyes were wide and her hands were cupped over her mouth, he cringed and took his hand away from her cheek. She just found out.

"It's your birthday?" She reeled.

Atsushi grumbled and gripped the back of his neck, "Yes."

"Why didn't you say anything?" She yelped, finally dropping her hands away from her face as she continued to reel up at him.

"Because it's no big deal." He shrugged as he dropped his arm down to his side.

"No big deal?... I don't think so, Atsushi! It's your birthday! Oh my god! I have to bake you a cake!" Tatsuki was squealing as she started to scramble around the kitchen.

"Muro-Chin... Stop it. It's really nothing to worry about." Atsushi said as he just watched her rush through the kitchen to gather ingredients.

"Are you kidding! I won't let that slide!" She rattled off without even slowing down.

Atsushi growled and frowned at her with his throat vibrating with irritation. He had been enjoying the recent turn of events, how they seemed to be taking a step further into their friendship. Kissing her had been delightful, more than the cupcake he had so wonderfully enjoyed, but the constant interruptions were beginning to grate against his nerves. First the oven, then her father to be followed by his mother and it was getting to the point where he was believing the world was just against him. It was rude and he had had enough of it.

With a strong huff out through his nose, Atsushi took a single giant stride forward and wrapped his huge hands around her waist, easily hoisting her up off her feet where he spun her around and plopped her down on the counter to put her eye level with him. Her eyes were wide with shock, but she made no effort to move as he stepped in close to put her legs on either side of his hips and with his gaze sinking into her right eye, he suddenly found himself without words.

"I-Is it that bad?" She asked, resting her hands down on his chest to fiddle with his loosened tie.

Atsushi lightly sighed, "It's not that it's bad, it's just that my dad always told us that a birthday was just another day. He's an emotionless man and as a result, all of us are pretty dull emotionally."

"Oh, Atsushi... Wait... All of you?" She asked with a light furrowing in her brows as she brushed a lock of his hair back away from his face.

Atsushi nodded, "I'm the youngest of five. I have three older brothers and an older sister." He said, standing up perfectly straight, but never looking away from her gaze as he leaned into her a bit.

"Big family." She said quietly, letting her fingers trail down his long neck.

"My dad's a chauvinistic pig. My mom hasn't had a job in over twenty years and has spent most of that time pregnant, raising kids and in the kitchen while he rules our lives. He very much believes in old fashioned gender roles, but my mom taught us differently behind his back. Where my dad always said birthdays were just another day, my mom always got us small presents. That's where this came from." Atsushi said quietly, sticking his tongue out once more to expose the piercing while his hand raised to cup her cheek.

"What if I want to bake you a cake?" She asked, drifting her fingers down his cheek.

That was never a question he had ever been asked before, never even a variation of it. It was never what he wanted, or what any of his siblings wanted. It was always they had no choice and had to do it whether they wanted to, or not. In the Murasakibara household, the children were expected to follow orders, or reap the consequences, so hearing someone say they wanted to, and meaning it, was more new than the budding feelings in his chest whenever he and Tatsuki were close.

He held his breath as he softly brushed his thumb along her jaw, but with a gentle exhale, his lips started to tug up into a smile as he nodded.

"Okay... As long as I can help." He said softly with another duck of his head to press a quick peck to her lips.

She just nodded against the kiss, smiling and enjoying the feel of him being so close, but when her hands climbed up and laced her fingers into his hair, fully on the crown of his head, Atsushi immediately shuttered and broke their kiss with a drawn out groan.

"T-That's probably not a good idea." He breathed out, exhaling shaky breaths that traveled all the way down his arms to his hands resting on her sides.

"What?... Why?" She asked with confusion on her face.

"Because I love that and it's um... a bit of a... trigger." He stuttered as his cheeks started to turn pink.

Tatsuki's brows lightly furrowed, "A trigger-" her brain clicked, "Oh!... Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" She yelped, reeling back a bit at the thought of inadvertently starting his engine.

Atsushi's blush deepened, "I just... really like it when someone runs their fingers through my hair." He shied into his own shoulders as he looked away from her with his rising embarrassment.

"I'll make sure to remember that," she bit her bottom lip, "So um... Shall we get started on baking your birthday cake?" She asked, eager to shift their conversation to give Atsushi that much needed reprieve.

Atsushi nodded, "Yeah... Um... I-If it's for my birthday, can I make a request?" He asked, coming out of hiding as he stood up straight, but kept his hands on her sides.

"Of course." She smiled big and bright as she settled her arms down over his shoulders and interlocked her fingers.

"Can the cake be that strawberry cake you make?" He asked, smiling down at her as he used a finger to softly sweep her bangs so they evenly covered her left eye.

"If that's what the birthday boy wants, that's what the birthday boy gets." She said lowly, still with her bright smile in place as she gazed up at him with alluring eyes.

Atsushi couldn't stop himself from returning the smile even if he wanted to as his arms tightened around her to pin her against him and still with her legs on either side of his hips. It warmed him to the bone standing there like that, and with another drop of his head to claim her lips, his mind finally accepted what had happened.

He had developed feelings for Tatsuya 'Tatsuki' Himuro and that birthdays really weren't all that bad.