113. Living Together: The Little Things (4)

Evening.

Having finished my sixth-period lecture, I returned home and busied myself with chores while waiting for Aki. Though, to call them chores… Aki was such a neat freak, there was hardly anything to do.

At best, it was vacuuming the storage room, watering the plants my mother had gifted me, and prepping the unsorted trash for tomorrow morning’s collection. Aki took care of everything else, the smaller tasks, before heading to school each morning.

“Hmm… That’s that.”

I tied off the trash bag securely, signaling the end of my domestic duties.

I moved the bag to a less conspicuous spot, ready for my trip out tomorrow, and washed my hands. Soon after, a commotion erupted outside the front door, followed by the familiar beeping of the electronic lock.

*Beep beep*, click-!

“Darling, *atashi* is home~”

Aki was back. Perfect timing, really. I dried my hands and headed toward the entrance. Aki, who had mentioned dinner plans with friends, was taking off her shoes.

“Aki, you’re back?”

“Mhm, mhm, darling, could you take this…!”

Aki handed me a plastic bag held in both hands. The name of the supermarket in front of our building was printed on it. She must have done the shopping alone on the way back. I would have gone with her if she had just called.

“You should have let me come with you. Why did you go by yourself?”

“Ehh, it’s okay. It’s not like it’s far, and I didn’t want to bother you, you know? Mmm….”

Aki finished taking off her shoes and headed straight for the kitchen. I followed behind her, bag in hand.

“Darling, you haven’t eaten dinner yet, have you?”

“No. I was just about to start making something.”

“Oh, really? Okay. *Atashi* will make it for you. Let’s see… How about we make your favorite, meat? Would spicy pork be good?”

“Oh, you bought pork?”

“Yup. I bought enough to last us until tomorrow. Just wait a minute, I’m going to wash my hands and get started right away…!”

“No, no, take your time. Go change and wash up. I’ll get the ingredients prepped.”

Believe it or not, I’ve been living on my own for *n* years. While I’m not as skilled as Aki, I can handle simple cooking and chores.

As I confidently stated this, standing in front of the kitchen counter, Aki chuckled and nudged my shoulder. She didn’t say anything, but it was as if she were saying, ‘Oh, you can even do *that* now~?’

“Heheh. Okay. I’ll go change quickly and be right out!”

“Okay. Take your time~”

Aki nodded and went into the bedroom. I watched her disappear, then turned away when I heard the rustling of clothes being changed. Time to start preparing dinner.

Well. Aki is much better at cooking than I am, so I just need to do the bare minimum prep work. Everything tastes better when she makes it.

The marinade, Aki had prepared it already, so pass on that. Scallions and peppers were given a quick wash and sliced on the bias, the onion peeled and cut into rounds about a centimeter thick. And the pork, cut into hefty, bite-sized chunks. Now to let the meat soak in Aki’s sauce, a short wait was all that was needed.

“Looks good…”

Seeing the pork coated evenly in the crimson paste made my mouth water for no reason.

Truthfully, it would still taste fine unmarinated, just stir-fried as is… I stood before the meat, lost in genuine thought. Should I just fry it up before Aki comes out?

*Click-*

“Husband, all ready~?”

“Ah, yeah.”

Just as I was deep in contemplation, Aki emerged from the bedroom.

Gone was the jeans and sweater of her outing, replaced with dolphin shorts that bared most of her thighs and a tank top with thin straps. As to be expected, it was a short garment that showed not just her shoulders, but her armpits, shoulder blades, and even a peek of her navel. This was Aki’s standard house attire.

“Ooh~ What’s this? You did a great job! Our husband, you could live on your own now, hm? Hm?”

Aki stood beside me and bumped my ribs playfully with her elbow. I laughed and wrapped my arm around Aki’s waist.

“If I lived on my own, you’d have to stay here all alone, would you be okay with that? You’d be lonely, no?”

“Hmph. *I’d* be the one lonely? Husband would be even lonelier without me~?”

Aki poked my abs, not wanting to lose. We played like that for a little while, touching each other’s bodies.

“How long has this been marinating? Five minutes?”

I glanced at the clock. Roughly five minutes had passed. I nodded to signify yes.

“Oh. I see. Then we have to wait another 25 minutes, huh…?”

Aki smacked her lips and stole a glance at me.

I had a good idea of what she wanted, and gave Aki a look that said, ‘You’re something else, aren’t you…?’

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of doing it in the kitchen?”

“Why, don’t you want to do it in the kitchen?”

“No, well. It’s not that I don’t want to…”

“Then that settles it. Well…”

Aki lightly tugged on my sleeve.

There weren’t any particular words being exchanged, but after this happening more than a few times in the past three months, I understood Aki’s intention. A good while was needed for the meat to marinate properly, so to spend that time together.

Aki grabbed my wrist and dragged me somewhere, then tapped the dining room chair, *tap tap*.

“Husband. Take your pants off and sit here…!”

“Why my pants?”

Aki made an okay sign with her forefinger and thumb. And opening her lips slightly, she raised the okay sign to her mouth and shook it gently.

“You don’t want to…?”

“……No, it’s… good.”

* * *

“……Huu.”

Slowly, I sat up.

The price for such pleasant ministrations; after hoisting Aki up in my arms and doting on her, I’m utterly spent.

“Hng, hng…♡”

Aki, sprawled against the dining table, breathes heavily, her face flushed. I brush away the sweat on her brow, a small smile playing on my lips.

“Was it good?”

“Mm, goood…♡”

“……Then that’s all that matters.”

Good. I’m glad she liked it. I give Aki a light k*ss and pull away. I’d love to carry her straight to bed, but I mustn’t. If I did, we’d miss dinner and end up spending the entire night, which has happened more than once. I have to pace myself; I’m hardly going to leave her alone later anyway.

I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and gulped it down. As I did, Aki, still lying on the table, mumbled softly, “Darling, I want wa-ter too…!” I quickly walked over and offered her the bottle. But Aki didn’t move to sit up, only looked up at me with wide eyes.

She wanted me to feed it to her. With my mouth.

“Come here, Aki.”

“Mmh. Yes…”

Aki answered obediently, and I scooped her up in my arms. I wrapped one arm firmly around her waist for support, and with the other, I held the water bottle, took a mouthful, and met Aki’s gaze.

And then, I lowered my head and k*ssed her, pressing my lips tightly against hers, and passed the water into her mouth. Aki drank, swallowing with little gurgling noises like a baby bird.

“Ung, pff…”

“……Huu. All done?”

“Just a little more… Ah, *tsuk*…”

A little more, she says. So, one more time.

I k*ssed her again, transferring the water, and then looked at her, letting my gaze ask if she was finally satisfied.

Aki beamed and leaned against my chest, wrapping her arms tightly around me. Seems she was pleased with my service.

“Heh. So tired…”

“Will you be able to make dinner?”

“Hmm… Well, maybe if darling hugs me from behind…?”

“Oh? In that case, I’ll have to hug you, won’t I.”

I scooped Aki up into my arms and stood her back on her feet. Then, I headed for the counter to start cooking.

And that’s when it happened.

Thump thump-!

─ …… Excuse me, is anyone home?

A restless sound arose from the direction of the front door. Aki and I exchanged glances, almost in unison.

“Who is it?”

“Um… I don’t know, maybe delivery…?”

“Stay here. I’ll go see.”

Wearing only my underwear, I left Aki in the kitchen and went to the entryway. I peered through the peephole. A woman stood before our door. She looked to be in her twenties. Dressed casually, as if she’d come straight from home.

“Who is it?”

─ I live in the apartment below. Could you open the door for a moment?

“What for?”

─ It’s about the cat you have.

‘Cat…?’

We don’t have a cat. What cat is she talking about?

Ah. Could the apartment with the note on the door be downstairs? Without much thought, I opened the door.

*Kkiiieek-*

“Hello.”

“Ah, yes. Hello. Um, uh…”

The woman, mid-sentence, stopped herself. Her face flushed slightly, and she recoiled in surprise. Wondering why, I stared at her, and saw her gaze was focused not on my face, but on my body.

“……Oh.”

I came out in just my underwear.

Realizing belatedly, I shielded myself slightly.

The woman cleared her throat with a few “ahem”s, and then began to speak, glancing at my body little by little.

“Um, it’s not that, but… you keep a cat, don’t you?”

“A cat?”

“Yes. A cat. A cat.”

“No, we don’t…”

“You don’t keep a cat…?”

The woman’s eyes narrowed slightly. She seemed to think I was lying.

“That can’t be right. You must have one…”

“Um… no. I really don’t have a cat. Would you like to come in and see?”

It wasn’t a lie; I really didn’t have a cat, so I was confident. I shifted aside slightly, indicating for her to come in and look.

My confident demeanor seemed to make her waver, tilting her head just so.

“You really don’t keep one? Really?”

“No. I really don’t. Truly.”

“Ah…. Is that so? ….Blast. What is it then? I understand. Sorry for suddenly coming by this evening.”

“No, it’s fine. But what’s this about?”

At my question, she pulled her cell phone from her pocket.

Wondering what she was about to do, I glanced over, just as she activated a voice recording app and held it out slightly toward me.

“This is the sound of the cat I recorded. I don’t know which house it lives at, but it cries at all hours, interfering with my work.”

“Ah. I see.”

“If it were just a little noise, I’d simply bear it…but truly, it’s not like it keeps to a schedule, it just cries on and on, which is so frustrating. I tried to find the source and it seemed to be here? That’s why I left the note, you know. But you’re saying it’s not your cat….”

“Ah.”

Her explanation was a little rambling, but I roughly understood the situation. A cat someone was keeping was crying non-stop, and she’d assumed it was a cat we kept, so she’d left a note, and now even come all the way up here.

“I understand. Honestly, I don’t know exactly what’s going on…. But I’ll look into it, for now.”

“Ah. Really? Thank you….”

“Yes. Be well.”

“Ah, yes! Sorry for bothering you this evening…!”

Repeating herself, she bowed slightly. I stopped her with a word before she could leave.

“Just a moment. Could you perhaps let me hear that recording you made of the cat?”

“Ah, just a moment. This is….”

*Beep.*

─…….

─…….

─……Hah, hah, hah…!

─Ahn, hah-oot, hah, hnn…!

─Hah, aht, aht, aht, aht…!

“That was what I recorded just now. There’s a lot more left. Would you like to hear it?”

“…….”

Wait.

Just a second.

This, could it be……?

##