Work Text:
the morning of manaka's 21st birthday was much like any other. chisaki woke up at nine in the morning, and tsumugu was up earlier, frying two eggs. it was summertime, so as usual, the two had bunched up their light duvet cover, which they'd used as a blanket, all the way to the foot of the bed, leaving chisaki bare and exposed to the warm morning air.
she sat up, and stretched as usual, before getting out of bed and kicking on her house slippers. as usual, tsumugu had already plated their breakfast, two plates of eggs and sausages, and was quietly eating on his own. chisaki hummed as she entered the room, immediately moving to the fridge to grab the carton of orange juice from inside. like every morning, chisaki stood on her tiptoes to retrieve two glasses from atop the fridge, and placed them on the table next to each plate. like every morning, she poured juice into each glass, before quietly sitting down in front of tsumugu, a quiet smile on her face.
chisaki couldn't remember when they'd become so close and open. for starters, they both routinely sat shirtless and ate breakfast together, without much of a word. tsumugu said nothing of chisaki's pink cat panties, and chisaki said nothing of tsumugu's batman briefs. somehow, it didn't bother her, which was strange, since at the start of their time living together it seemed as though there was nothing that didn't bother her about tsumugu.
maybe it was because tsumugu was so blunt about everything, and he hadn't really ever said anything to disaffirm his feelings for her. maybe it was because she liked him so much, but she still figured it a little peculiar that they were both so barebones when it came to their relationship, in the metaphorical and physical sense. especially the latter, really, as they were sitting almost naked together eating breakfast. which was strange enough for chisaki, who had always been less than proud of her "curvaceous" figure, as manaka had put it.
and yet, the two had fallen into such a familiar routine of doing these things, that neither had ever really acknowledged it. that was the beauty of their relationship. there wasn't much room for miscommunication, because they had so much silent understanding of one another that it became close to impossible.
once both of their plates were polished off and their glasses were sucked dry of orange juice, they finally looked up to meet each other's eyes. chisaki spoke first, like usual. "did you remember to send your well-wishes to manaka's place on friday?" tsumugu hummed an affirmative, leaning forward to swirl his index finger around the rim of his empty glass.
the silence hung in the air for a few seconds before chisaki leaned in to grab tsumugu's plate, and then her own, before pushing back on her chair and standing upright. "let's take a bath, okay? you wash these." tsumugu nodded, also standing up to stand next to chisaki, who had placed the plates on the counter next to the sink. leaning down to her height, he lightly pressed a kiss onto her cheek, eliciting a small whine from her. "i'll go run the hot water." tsumugu nodded again, turning to the sink.
as every morning, chisaki would sit in the bathtub first, and wait for tsumugu. although she called it a bath, it was really just a shower, and tsumugu had never corrected her, so she hardly noticed her own mistake. as every morning, chisaki would scrub herself clean as she waited, and as always, she'd be almost done washing off all the suds when tsumugu finally entered the bathroom, because, as always, he'd get distracted by the hum of the radio, or by a chirping bird outside the window.
this morning, although not something that happened every morning, tsumugu sat on the edge of the tub and washed chisaki's hair, which took a little longer because her dark blue coils were so much finer than his straight, albeit very thick, hair. once he was done, chisaki exited the tub first, leaving tsumugu to his own devices and busying herself with drying and moisturising her hair, and getting dressed.
like most mornings, when they had somewhere to go, chisaki ironed tsumugu's clothes first. she never bothered to properly get dressed, so like most mornings, she set up the ironing board in just her socks and dark blue panties, and began ironing. like most mornings, she hummed a tune to herself absentmindedly, although by the end of it she could never figure out what she had originally been humming.
like most mornings bordering on afternoons, tsumugu had emerged from the bathroom once chisaki had finished ironing his white shirt and dark blue blazer with matching trousers. the theme of the day portion of manaka's birthday was formalwear, since they were going out to a fancy restaurant for lunch. later on, they would dress up in their most party appropriate clothes and hang out at a bar with a more intimate group of friends.
pulling on his briefs, tsumugu opened their wardrobe and pulled out chisaki's dress, a dark blue satin dress with a dip that showed off the small of her back. chisaki stepped forward first, silently gesturing for tsumugu to slot his arms into his white dress shirt, before buttoning it up for him. at the same time, he did the clasp of her necklace like he always did, so used to the routine that he could do it without looking.
gently, he placed the dress on the floor, allowing her to step into it before pulling it up and adjusting it so it fit comfortably on her. she smiled in thanks, wordlessly kissing his cheek as he leaned over her shoulder to reach for his trousers, which were lying on the ironing board. once he'd pulled them on, she busied herself with tying his tie, while he watched the way her hands carefully moved over one another. "thanks," he whispered; one of his first words of the day, as always.
as most mornings, chisaki didn't bother with makeup. this morning, it counted even more that she didn't since the pair had taken enough time that if they left for the restaurant now, they'd make it perfectly on time. as most mornings, she simply took her handbag, already full of the things she would need, and left it at that. quietly, the two made their way to the front door, chisaki leading while tsumugu trailed behind her. she passed tsumugu his shoes first, before sitting down and reaching for her heels: a brand new pair that akari had let her borrow for this occasion. she slipped on one heel and tsumugu the other, prioritising being a gentleman over his own shoes which chisaki ended up tying the laces of, as always.
tsumugu stood up first, as always, and extended a hand for chisaki to take. as always, she took it and stood up, receiving an immediate kiss on the forehead. tsumugu unlocked the door and gestured for chisaki to leave first. "ladies first," he said, smiling. as always, chisaki laughed, giving a silly curtsy before leaving the house, her lover in tow. "we'd best be on our way, then."