At approximately six in the morning, Akari snapped wide awake and entered a working state of mind instantly.

Today was her boyfriend Takei's birthday, and she wanted to make it a day that he would never forget.

Firstly, she arose quite early in the morning and started to bake a cake for him.

Yuriko had bought her the ingredients needed, since she knew that Akari would be busy with other things.

Adorning her original apron rather than the one at Takei's house, Akari quickly got to work on baking the cake.

She knew that Takei enjoyed a fluffy yet not too sweet type of cake.

Knowing that, Akari reduced the amount of sugar added to the cake and increased the amount of flour and eggs that were added.

Since Akari had researched intensively beforehand, she already knew how to bake a perfect cake.

After a few hours of hard work, Akari had finally finished baking the cake and brought it out of the oven.

It looked just about as perfect as she thought it was going to be.

Akari then drizzled some chocolate syrup over the top as the finishing touches.

Once everything was all fine and dandy, she put the cake into the refrigerator in order for it to solidify and gain a better shape.

Looking at the clock on the wall, Akari noticed that it was now steadily approaching noon.

As a result of her waking up quite early and putting hard work into baking the cake, she was extremely exhausted and drowsy after the fact.

"I guess I'll take a small nap..."

Akari began to stumble over to the couch in a clumsy manner due to the increasingly difficult task of keeping her eyes open.

There was a hazy fog encompassing her vision as she laid down flat onto the couch.

"I hope Takei likes the cake..."

Before she fell asleep, Akari whispered a small wish that reached no one's ears.

Only time could tell if her wish would be granted or not.

***

Realizing that it was now the afternoon and that there was no sight of Akari at all, Takei began to grow increasingly worried.

She had repeatedly told him that she would make his birthday a day to remember, but there was no evidence of the fact yet.

After putting on some clothes and his outdoor shoes, Takei embarked on a journey to find Akari's whereabouts.

It ended up taking almost no time at all, since Yuriko had answered his worried concerns after he had gone over to Akari's house to search for her.

He had luckily caught Yuriko heading out to meet up with her husband for a lunch date, and desperately asked for answers.

Yuriko had told him that Akari wore herself out after baking him a cake and was now sleeping comfortably on the couch with a blanket draped over her.

Takei's face had relaxed once he realized that Akari was safe, but went back to a grim expression once he realized that he was the cause of her exhaustion.

Seeing the self-deprecating expression that was forming on Takei's face, Yuriko sighed and patted his head.

"If Akari saw you right now, she would be angry with you."

Taking a different viewpoint on the situation, Takei understood what Yuriko was trying to say.

Akari had sacrificed her beauty sleep in order to bake him a cake for his birthday, so he should be grateful for her good intentions.

If he began to blame himself, then her efforts would've been in vain.

"I understand. Please let me take care of her."

Seeing Takei's resolve made Yuriko chuckle lightly at him.

"Go ahead, prince charming."

With that, Yuriko bid him farewell and left her daughter in his hands.

After Yuriko left, Takei entered the house and took off his shoes.

Remembering what Yuriko said about Akari's location and condition, Takei firstly checked the couch and found a peacefully sleeping goddess.

There was a quiet rhythmic pattern to her breathing that indicated to Takei that she was asleep without a doubt.

He sat down next to her and began stroking her hair just like he usually did.

After a few repeated motions of him stroking her hair, Akari slowly began to regain consciousness.

"Takei...?"

"Yeah, it's me. You sure slept in, didn't you sleepyhead?"

Takei could tell that she wasn't fully awake yet due to her clouded eyes, so he decided to tease her since he got the chance.

"Mm, warm..."

Akari happily nuzzled her face into Takei's chest as the warmth of the situation was getting to her.

Takei thought it was really cute how his girlfriend was being so unusually needy and touchy with him.

He enjoyed it so much that he never wanted the situation to end.

Takei pulled Akari even closer to his chest and began to embrace her back.

"You can keep on sleeping, it's not time to wake up yet."

Takei believed that Akari deserved a break for all that she had done for him, so he wanted her to sleep in just a little bit more as a thank you.

Listening to his instructions, Akari closed her eyes after she had positioned her body in a way where it made Takei the one giving a lap pillow.

He pulled the blanket even closer and wrapped it over the both of them.

Seeing Akari's adorable expression as she slept peacefully put Takei in such a good mood that he wanted to partake in the action as well.

Takei checked the weather outside and confirmed that it was perfect weather to take a nap.

Closing his eyes slowly, the last thing that entered his vision was the color of golden that would bring tranquility to his heart no matter where he saw it.

Smiling brilliantly, Takei uttered one last thing before his consciousness entered the abyss.

"I want to be with you forever."

---

Idiot Couple Meter: 37 -> 42%

Sleeping in your lover's embrace is the ideal birthday!

Serious-san: So, how about that date?

Sugar-san: Sure, I guess... (What should I even wear?)