A wisp of tasty aroma stirred away carefully, eventually filling the kitchen up in sweetness.

Birds chirped melodically outside, signaling the rise of a great day ahead.

"Rise and shine, dear~."

The morning blinds pull away, as a soft voice called out a name.

"I've made quite the amazing breakfast for us today, Aki-kun. You should really~ get up~."

"Miko... what's... for breakfast, hm?" Aki yawned as he rubbed his tired eyes.

"Hold on, how about we make a little bet?" Miko giggled, "If you guess correctly... Perhaps I'll give you a bonus treat from the cook herself!"

Aki's eyes widened, gleaming with interest. But not due to the silly game Miko had put up, but because of how he realised how pretty her girlfriend is despite the bedhead and half-asleep, yet endearing eyes. He tends to forget but he's always admired Miko before and after they have started dating recently. The two have known each other for 3 years, starting their friendship in their first year of high school.

Throughout their friendship, Aki's continued to have a deep crush for Miko. Once their graduation arrived, Aki eventually grew the courage to confess his admiration and crush for her. Miko felt the same way and began their life together as a couple. Now they live snuggly together in a dorm attending the same university.

With his hand caressing his chin, Aki chose to humour his silly girlfriend. "Are we having pancakes?"

Miko's plan to tease him has been completely foiled. Unluckily for her, Aki already figured out the answer from the small crumb of pancake left on her cheeks.

The dumbfounded girlfriend asked in disbelief, "Huh!? How did you guess so fast? I've made more than just pancakes."

"Maybe I can actually read your mind, hmm?" Aki laughed out, eyeing the crumb on her face.

His girlfriend shrieked, "I don't want you taking a peek inside my inner thoughts! You might think I'm a weird girl or something..."

"Well, that'd be a bonus then." He reassured to her, "I'd still think you're pretty and cute."

The seemingly obvious pancake crumb washed away in significance as Miko's face blushed bright red. She flustered up and ran to the kitchen immediately. "A-anyway, just get over here at the table for breakfast!"

"Man, the way she went was all cute and- ah!" Aki whispered to himself. "I was so close to blushing in front of her, that would've been real embarrassing..."

He finally dragged himself up, tidying his bed in a lazy attempt and walked over to the other room. If it weren't for his girlfriend, he'd probably still be snoozing by now. However, if there was anything he appreciated more than more sleep time, it would certainly be having to spend time with his adorable girlfriend.

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There, beside the well lit room, Miko sat patiently by the table, looking like she was an actor for a romance movie. She looked stunning. Aki's mind and body loosened, relaxing in her presence. There was no doubt. He was properly in love with her girlfriend, and still having a crush on her like some delusional kid.

Aki made his way to the kitchen, "You seem a teensy bit lonely there, huh?" He said, trying to snap Miko back into reality.

"Was I spacing out...!? I totally didn't mean to, sorry."

"It's okay, I had a good look at your beauty while you looked so out of touched anyways."

"Stop it... You and your embarrassing comments, gosh... But I really do appreciate it."

"Well, you do deserve such compliments."

Miko laid out the rest of the cutlery on the table, "Now now, let's have breakfast, I'm sure your stomach's grumbling after all that admiring."

"That'd be true. Then, let's dig in."

Aki was the first to have a taste of the pancakes. A spark of sugar struck his tongue, zipping its way through his tastebuds. The maple syrup mixing with the smooth butter was beyond delicious. It was perfect! Before he knew, his plate was already empty before she had even finished her small share.

A light sigh escaped Aki's mouth, "That was great, thanks for the meal by the way."

Miko snickered, "I do only make the best food for you, dear." A relaxed smile sat on her face, "Tell me if you ever feel like eating something in particular, okay?"

"For sure! I'll tell you," he responded.

Aki felt a small jolt within his chest. 'Jeez, it feels like you're not even aware of what you're saying sometimes. Whenever that happens, I swear you always land critical hits on my poor heart!'

Aki fiddled his fingers, "Say, you don't have any classes today, do you?"

"Nope, tomorrow I do though. What's up?"

"Ah, well-"

Miko cut off Aki, "Wait, are you... trying to ask me out a date right now?"

"Perhaps."

A laugh followed after his response, "Okay then, where should we go? You thinking of something simple?"

"Yeah, I was wondering if you wanted to simply go to park."

Miko's face popped in excitement. Judging from that, she really wanted to go relax in the park for some time. Perhaps she was too shy to directly tell him that? It would be fair to think that way, after all, they have only been dating for a couple months. As for Aki, despite his embarrassment and constant crushing, he's eager to make a forward attempt towards anything. Especially if it's for his girlfriend. Love can make a whole world's difference.

"Well, before anything, we should clean up, don't you think?" Miko chuckled, as she collected all the empty plates.

"Okay, let's hurry up then. I don't want to waste precious time cleaning when I got a park date with a pretty girl."

As Miko grabbed a kitchen towel nearby, she mockingly whacked Aki with it, "Gosh! You're gonna make me all red again!"