“…Morning already, huh.”
Sensing the sunlight streaming in, Yuzuru woke.
It wasn’t exactly a pleasant awakening.
Probably thanks to last night’s drinking, his head felt heavy and sluggish, and his throat was dry.
On top of that, his left arm—from the elbow down—was completely numb, tingling badly.
When he turned to his left, he found his fiancée fast asleep, using that very arm as her pillow.
Her expression was peaceful, utterly defenceless—completely at ease.
And just like that, the dull fatigue weighing down his body vanished.
(She’s so cute…)
Yuzuru gazed quietly at Arisa’s sleeping face.
To be honest, the numbness in his arm was painful—but her sleeping face was more than worth it.
“…Yuzuru-san.”
Suddenly, Arisa murmured his name.
For a moment, he thought he’d woken her—but her eyes remained closed.
She was talking in her sleep.
It seemed she was facing him in her dream.
“Not there… y-you can’t…”
She mumbled softly.
Apparently, dream-Yuzuru was doing something he shouldn’t.
Though in reality, her face didn’t look like she was having a nightmare at all.
If anything, her lips were curling into a faint smile.
She seemed to be having a pleasant dream.
“Honestly… you can’t be helped…”
Yuzuru let out a quiet chuckle.
At that, Arisa’s brows twitched slightly.
“Mm…?”
Her eyes slowly fluttered open.
After blinking a few times, she stared at Yuzuru, still dazed.
“Morning, Arisa.”
“…Wah!?”
She jolted upright in surprise.
The blanket flew off her body—
and the morning sunlight illuminated her bare upper half.
“G-good morning… Yuzuru-san. Ah!”
After greeting him, she realised she was exposed and hurriedly covered herself with both arms.
Yuzuru couldn’t help but laugh at her flustered reaction.
“Morning.”
He said it again, then gently pulled her into an embrace.
Brushing aside her bangs, he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Good morning…”
Still covering her chest, Arisa returned the gesture with a kiss on his cheek.
“Yuzuru-san… may I take a shower first?”
“Go ahead.”
“Thank you.”
“…”
“…”
“…Aren’t you going?”
She made no move towards the bathroom, prompting Yuzuru to ask.
Arisa puffed her cheeks slightly and pointed behind him with one hand.
“Turn around, please.”
“Ah—right, sorry.”
With a wry smile, Yuzuru turned his back.
Behind him, he could feel her slipping out from under the covers.
“…By the way, Yuzuru-san.”
“Mm? What is it?”
“…Did I say anything in my sleep?”
At her question, Yuzuru turned back slightly as he answered.
“You said you couldn’t eat another bite.”
“I-is that so…”
Sounding faintly relieved, Arisa disappeared into the bathroom.
Once she was gone, Yuzuru let out a quiet laugh.
After a while, Arisa emerged from the bathroom, freshly washed.
Yuzuru took her place and cleaned himself up.
When he came out, a pleasant aroma tickled his nose.
It seemed Arisa was already preparing breakfast.
Yuzuru quickly got dressed and headed to the kitchen to help.
As expected, Arisa stood there in an apron, cooking.
She was in the middle of making miso soup.
“Arisa, I’ll help.”
“Thank you. Could you prepare the pickles?”
“Got it.”
Yuzuru opened a jar in the kitchen.
From the nukadoko, he took out cucumbers and aubergines, brushed off the rice bran, and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Nukadoko — fermented rice bran bed used for pickling vegetables.
“Shall I defrost the rice?”
“Yes, please.”
With her approval, he took frozen white rice from the freezer and put it in the microwave.
“Could you also check the fish?”
“On it.”
Following her instructions, he opened the grill.
Inside, a slice of salmon sizzled, giving off a delicious sound.
It looked perfectly done.
“Looks good.”
“Then plate it, please. …I’m just about finished here too.”
Saying that, Arisa turned off the heat.
She took miso from the fridge and dissolved it into the pot with a ladle.
Yuzuru plated the pickles and grilled fish, and served the freshly reheated rice into bowls.
Finally, Arisa poured the finished miso soup into bowls, and together they carried everything to the table.
““Thank you for the food.””
They pressed their hands together and began to eat.
“It really hits the spot.”
Yuzuru muttered as he sipped the shijimi miso soup. Shijimi — freshwater clams commonly used in miso soup
It was always delicious—but the day after drinking, it tasted exceptional.
“You could say I drink just to enjoy this.”
“I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration…”
Arisa said with a wry smile, taking a sip herself—
then narrowing her eyes in satisfaction.
“…I take that back.”
“See?”
And so, chatting like that, the two of them finished their breakfast together.
