Omake Week 2022, Day 1: Since this year my anniversary falls on a Sunday, and as the anniversary fic I wrote for my wife is an omake, we get Omake Week off and running with a bit of Shizuru and Natsuki fluff! Also, we typically order Chinese delivery for anniversary dinner, so it's doubly apropos for today.
Duran-kun and Kiyo-chan's Omake Theater
(featuring one of the Kuga-Fujino family pets)
Natsuki Kuga had a problem.
Ordinarily, when she had a problem that she couldn't immediately resolve for herself, she would turn to her girlfriend of nearly three years. Shizuru Fujino was a clever woman who could come up with smart or sneaky ways to help Natsuki out of her troubles. Either that or she was the cause of Natsuki's problems and the proper response was to throw a pillow at her.
But she couldn't turn to Shizuru this time, whether in supplication or in wrath, because Shizuru wasn't there. Shizuru was currently off on day five out of seven of her seminar project, where the team was working diligently on completing work that would land all five of them internship positions with the local government.
"Mrowf?"
She turned her head towards the kitchen, noting that the reason Duran's woof had been muffled was that the steel wolf was holding his dog dish in his mouth. He regarded her with plaintive eyes, clearly feeling that no canine had ever been so mistreated.
"No, Duran, just because Shizuru didn't put any extra bits of people food on your kibble doesn't entitle you to a second dish."
"Growrn?"
"It's still two hours until suppertime, and you know it. It's not forever to wait; it only seems like it. Believe it, I understand the principle, and I've been telling myself that I need to just suck it up and deal for the better part of the week."
Duran walked over and put a comforting paw on her knee.
"Thanks, boy; I appreciate it. Unfortunately, without Shizuru here, we're both..."
Her voice trailed off as she looked down at the still-empty dish in his mouth.
"You know, boy, that gives me an idea...and I think that I've got just enough time to pull it off."
"Wmmfh?"
"No, you don't get to have dinner early tonight just because you had a good idea!"
~X X X~
The sun had set by the time Shizuru Fujino came through the front door and slipped her shoes off feet that hurt not so much from walking or standing but just from general tiredness. Her "I'm home!" was less cheerful and more with open relief, something that would have been unthinkable for her to reveal as little as a couple of years ago.
Perhaps Natsuki is rubbing off on me, she thought (and was tired enough to not notice the double-entendre, surprising as that may be). Either that or she was developing a deeper trust in Natsuki's feelings so that she was willing to show a genuine vulnerability without even thinking about it. Regardless, she found it a pleasant feeling.
Nearly as pleasant were the aromas coming from the living room.
"That smells good."
"I'm almost done," Natsuki called. "Come on in."
Shizuru followed her voice and the smell and found, much to her surprise, dinner for two set out on plates on the low table. Natsuki hadn't just dished up a couple of things, either, but had set out a number of serving plates between their settings on which she'd placed a variety of dishes in a respectable imitation of dim sum. There was even a teapot, steam gently rising from the spout in a wispy curl. Natsuki was, indeed, just finishing up, as she was setting out dumplings from a take-out container onto the last serving plate.
In a way, Shizuru found the paper carton reassuring. It was this touch of reality that convinced her that this was actually happening, not just a dream she was having after falling asleep on the bus ride home.
The fact that Natsuki was wearing a pale blue yukata, of all things, with a deep navy obi tied around her waist, was fantastical enough.
"Natsuki did all of this for me?"
"Well, it had to be take-out; I don't think that coming home to my cooking would really be much of a break."
Shizuru didn't agree with her, but she didn't deny it, either; there was a reason she'd been preparing simple dinners for them even after coming home tired. Natsuki's cooking skills basically maxed out at "boil on stove" and "microwave until hot." Instant ramen was hardly the kind of thing to comfort the soul (or even the stomach) after a long day! But as for this...well, Natsuki could dial a phone just as well as the next person, and she was quite deft on her motorcycle—especially given that she'd been wise enough to avoid easily spillable soups in her order.
Indeed, the fact that she'd served everything on plates not only made a bigger production out of it all, but also helped to counter any slopping around inside the containers the food had gone through during the ride home if she was banking through any turns. It positively gave Shizuru a warm feeling to see her Natsuki being cunning in her plans.
"Thank you very much," she said.
"Hey, it's the least I could do. You've been really busy this week, and it wasn't fair to make you come home and have to prepare dinner on top of that. No wonder you've been so exhausted."
"I realize that I haven't been very attentive or had time to spend with you."
"Like I'm a prize during exam week. Now. Sit. Eat. I did not make tea (sorry in advance for the taste)—"
"Natsuki knows that I love her tea, regardless of the taste."
"—just for you to let stuff get cold."
Shizuru was a woman who knew a good idea when she heard it. She sat. And she ate. Conversation was relatively light, as Shizuru was focused on spending most of her energy on the food, while Natsuki was apparently getting entirely into the spirit of the thing and, rather than devouring her meal with her usual gusto, was focusing on maintaining careful manners, even down to serving Shizuru choice pieces of the meal and pouring tea for her.
Given her semi-traditional (it was doubtful if Natsuki even owned a more formal kimono) attire, it was almost like Shizuru had her own personal geisha serving her exotic foreign delicacies. The occasional slip-ups in etiquette brought matching occasional smiles of amusement to Shizuru's lips, but she was entirely too invested in enjoying the experience to do something as mean-spirited as chuckle. Indeed, the only genuine complaint she has was that it reached its inevitable end, when Natsuki set her fortune cookie in front of her.
Shizuru broke the cookie with a snap and extracted the slip of paper.
"'A thing of great beauty will bring you great joy,'" she read, and let out a deep sigh. "Natsuki, this was so kind of you. Especially when I've been so neglectful over the past—"
Natsuki leaned forward and pressed her fingertip to Shizuru's lips, silencing her.
"We already went over this. And it's not like you haven't gone out of your way to take care of me any number of times. Besides, it was mostly Duran's idea."
Shizuru blinked in surprise.
"Duran's idea?"
"I mean...mostly? He reminded me that looking after a loved one's stomach is a good way to get into their good graces, and to get them into a better mood."
"I shall have to thank him for his good advice, then, as I feel better than I have since last weekend."
"I'm glad to hear it, because you're still forgetting something important."
"Oh?"
Natsuki stood up.
"Fortune cookies don't tell you what's already happened. They predict the future."
With slightly clumsy movements, she undid her obi, then shrugged her shoulders back and let her yukata slither down her body. The extent of crimson satin and lace revealed told Shizuru two things: that the restaurant had not been Natsuki's only stop on her shopping trip, and why it was that this was only mostly Duran's idea.
"Why, Natsuki," she said, ogling the display with the ravenous appreciation that manners (and other things) demanded, "I have been neglecting important things this week, haven't I? I should have guessed from the meal you selected, given historical precedent."
Natsuki grinned back.
"Well, it's like my cookie said: 'You are primed to come up with a creative solution.'"
For his part, while Duran's problem was of a considerably different appetite than his owner's, since she'd also had time in between the lingerie shop and the restaurant to pick up his favorite treats to add to his supper, he had to consider himself well content with his own creativity.
~X X X~
A/N: Happy 23rd anniversary to my very own Natsuki, Tarma Hartley, who brings me creative happiness of so many different kinds!