As he woke up in the morning, Yuta could hear the doorbell to his house repeatedly go off. His mother had left for work in the morning already, so there was no one but him that could get it.
"Man, it's barely seven in the morning. Who could be wanting something this early in the day?" Yuta sighed as he left his room to answer the door.
Before opening the door, Yuta played it safe and checked the peephole since there was a chance it could be someone malicious. Rather than malicious, however, the person at the door was someone he knew to be very kind-hearted. Since she was someone familiar, Yuta finally opened the door.
"Hey, Marie. You're up early," Yuta greeted her while he tried his best to stifle a yawn.
"I woke up earlier than normal because I was excited for today," Marie smiled. "Did you sleep well last night?"
"Yeah, not too ba- Wait! How do you know where I live?!" Yuta finally realized the weird feeling that had been in his head. He had never told Marie where he lived, so how could she be here at his house first thing in the morning?
Marie instantly averted her eyes the second Yuta brought up the topic about his house. "A-Ah... I asked your friend and he told me where it was... I'm sorry."
Hideo, you have sent an angel to my house. Thank you so much, Yuta thought.
"It's fine, I don't really mind," Yuta shrugged. "So, what's up? Did you want to come up and wait for me to get ready?"
"Y-Yes! If you don't mind!" Marie excitedly agreed.
My original plan was just to walk to school with him, but this works too. Looks like my plan to get closer to Yuta is working so far! We'll be best buds in no time, Marie thought.
Yuta stepped aside and let Marie enter the house. After taking off her shoes at the door, Marie followed Yuta into the living room. She noticed by his drowsy behavior that Yuta had just recently woken up, so there was a good chance that he hadn't made breakfast yet.
"Are you about to eat breakfast? I can make you some if you want," Marie offered.
Yuta shook his head. "No, no. I couldn't have you come over to my house and make food for me. It just wouldn't sit right with me."
"I don't really mind. Rather, I want you to taste test my cooking. Is that okay?" Marie stared at Yuta with puppy eyes that destroyed his will to refuse.
Yuta sighed and gave up the moment he realized that there was no winning for him. "If you're up to the task, I would love some breakfast."
"Mhm! It'll be ready after you come out of the shower!"
Yuta noticed that Marie was acting slightly pushy today, but he didn't know why. He wondered if it was something that he did that caused this to happen.
"This is a lot to think about this early in the morning... Yeah, let's just go take a shower first and clear up my head."
While Yuta was in the shower, Marie was hard at work in the kitchen. There was quite a selection of ingredients to choose from since Yuta's mom had just gone grocery shopping, but Marie didn't want to use anything expensive so she went with a simple dish.
"No one has ever disliked scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. It's a classic~" Marie hummed as she got into the flow of things.
Growing up, Marie learnt many things from watching Akari cook. She was a quick learner who picked up things instantly, so Akari showed her the ropes of cooking. Not too long after, Marie was able to cook most things with ease and was able to take care of dinner for the Tanaka family on some nights.
"And... that's perfect!"
About 20 minutes later, Marie finished plating the food and the sound of descending footsteps on the staircase could be heard.
"Oh, you finished already? The food looks great," Yuta excitedly said when he saw the stacked plate of food on the table.
Marie anxiously nodded. "I put extra since I know boys eat more than girls do. Is that enough?"
"Yeah, it's plenty. Are you going to have any?" Yuta asked.
Marie shook her head. "I had breakfast before I left my house earlier."
Yuta couldn't imagine waking up at an earlier time than seven in the morning, so his evaluation of Marie in his mind had gone up as a result. Since he could feel his stomach growling, Yuta decided to stop joking around and sat down to eat the food Marie had made for him.
He grabbed a spoonful of eggs and bacon and shoved it into his mouth with an excited grin. Taking a bite of toast alongside the eggs and bacon, Yuta was ensuring he got the most balanced and optimal bite.
"Delicious! This is the stuff of the gods!" Yuta roared as a result of the gourmet food stimulating his taste buds. "You're a goddess, I tell you! The goddess of cooking... is a great title. I should get that copyrighted."
"Ahaha, you're embarrassing me," Marie blushed. "Is my cooking really that good? I just cook for my family so I wouldn't really know what other people think."
"It's amazing, truly. I think you're really talented," Yuta smiled. "Thanks for cooking for me. Hope it wasn't a hassle."
"Don't worry, it wasn't a hassle at all. I'm just really glad that you liked my food," Marie's expression seemed to be getting gentler and gentler as time passed. "Yuta, you really know how to make a girl happy, don't you?"
In response to such a question, Yuta kept it short and brief since he felt his face heating up. "Not just any girl, I only know how to make you happy."
"I-Is that so?"
Yuta couldn't see Marie's face since he was averting his face from her to hide his obviously embarrassed expression, but he really wanted to see what she was feeling right now.
"Thanks," Marie timidly whispered.
Hearing her weak voice, Yuta turned around and saw Marie looking in the opposite direction as well. There was no further conversation coming from her, but Yuta could see the reason why.
The tips of her ears were dyed a bright shade of vermillion red that seemed to suggest that Marie was feeling the same way Yuta did.
—
Takei would be so proud if he saw this!
Serious-san: Author-san needs to do more Takei and Akari chapters!
Author-san: Yes, yes. After I finish the arc.
Sugar-san: By the end of this arc, please make sure you make Marie the best heroine of them all~
Author-san: Will do!
