Ren opened the door slowly and was met with darkness. Not one single light had been switched on in their home. The only source of light was the sensor lamp above him. He quietly changed his shoes to the home slippers, walking to the living room.
The moon was illuminating the dark living room through the windows. In the dimness, his eyes caught sight of his wife sleeping on the long couch. He reflexively smiled as he walked over to her. His movement was so quiet, only the sound of his breathing could be heard.
Ren leaned over to get a better view of his wife. Tsubaki was sleeping facing the coffee table, her arms hugging a throw pillow. She was still wearing her outfit from this morning. Ren noticed there was a half-full pot of tea on the table alongside a teacup.
He wondered since when did she fall asleep.
Ren stretched out his hands, wanting to carry her upstairs. He didn't want to wake her up when she was sleeping so soundly like this. He gently pulled her towards him, one arm supporting her back while the other supporting her legs. He walked to the stairs.
"En..."
Ren looked down once he heard her humming in her sleep. He chuckled softly.
"This is..." Tsubaki mumbled in her sleep while sniffing around her, "... my dear's smell..." She unconsciously raised her arms and put them around his neck before she snuggled closer to him.
Ren was so tempted to laugh when he saw her cute reaction but he didn't dare to do so. He just let her sleep-talking as he carried her upstairs.
He gently placed her on her side of the bed. As he wanted to walk away from the bed, her soft hands loosely grabbing one of his hands. Ren didn't pull his hand away, instead, he took a seat next to her. Hovering over her, he smiled while playing with her nose.
"En..."
Tsubaki knitted her brows. She wanted to slap whoever dared to disturb her sleep but she felt something warmth around her wrist. Even though her eyelashes fluttered, she hadn't shown any sign to wake up.
"You're still sleeping, sweetheart?" Ren said softly next to her ear. When he didn't receive any reply, he chuckled again. His thin lips brushed against her palm.
After his last message to her, he continued immersing himself in his work. He wanted to come back home as soon as possible but in order to not make Matsuzaki cried, he diligently finished all his work before he knocked off. It was still a surprise for him to be able to come home at 8 PM.
Seeing that his dear wife had stopped sleeptalking, Ren gently removed his hand from her grip. He covered her body with a comforter before he went inside the wardrobe. Taking out a set of home clothes, he changed out of his suit. After making sure she was still sleeping, Ren went downstairs, heading to the kitchen.
Looking at the cleaned bowls on the rack, he knew she had finished everything Grandma had sent to her. Lunch might be her last meal so her stomach could be quite hungry once she woke up. Ren opened the fridge, eyeing the ingredients that were still available.
He thought he could still prepare a simple meal, right? After all, he had been helping her in the kitchen countless times. He had grasped the basic skills in cooking. Thinking of her lunch consisted of herbs, he planned to make something delicious for her.
Ren fished out his phone from his pockets, quickly searching for easy recipes on the Internet.
It was close to one hour later when Tsubaki finally woke up from her sweet dreams. She stared at her surroundings in a confused state. Lifting the comforter covering her body, she found that she was lying on their bed. She looked at her left and right. Indeed, this was their room.
He had returned home?
Tsubaki covered her mouth as she yawned. She got off the bed. After stretching her slightly numb body, she went to wash her face first and changed her clothes before heading out of the room.
Looking at the clock, Tsubaki gasped as she had just realized how long she had slept. It was close to 9 PM!
She wanted to look for him inside his study, but a delicious aroma coming from downstairs turned her feet away from the room. The lights had already been switched on.
Once she stepped into the kitchen, she saw her man was busying himself with something on the kitchen island. Tsubaki sniffed the aroma, there was the sourness of tomatoes and cheese as well as the smell of freshly cooked beef.
He cooks? Tsubaki smiled sweetly as she thought.
Tsubaki made way to him in silent steps. She eyed him for a while, looking if he was doing something dangerous using sharp tools. After she was sure he was not, she wrapped her hands around his waist while leaning her head against his back.
Ren chuckled when he saw the slender arms coming from behind. He had actually noticed her sneaking behind him but to avoid ruining the fun, he just let her be.
"Do you remember your sleep talk earlier?" asked Ren suddenly, didn't bother to hide his amusement in his voice.
"Did I?" Tsubaki gasped. She looked up, seeing the back of his head. "What did I say?"
Ren laughed. He held one of her hands as he turned around to face her. Smiling widely, he answered while lowering down his head to meet the corner of her lips.
"You recognized my scent and hugged my neck, sweetheart," Ren replied against her lips.
Tsubaki laughed in glee. She threw herself into his arms. "I missed you so much. I thought you'd be back late."
"Likewise, sweetheart." Ren stroked her hair with an affectionate smile on his face. "Why don't you pick any movie that you like? I'll bring our dinner outside in the meantime."
"Oh, right! You're cooking!" Tsubaki landed her eyes on the skillet placed on the kitchen island. She recognized the meal. "You made beef pasta skillet?"
Ren nodded. The pasta was still hot, fresh from the oven. "I think it's quite easy to make so I tried making it."
"It smells heavenly, hubby. I'm sure it tastes good," said Tsubaki giddyly. She was so eager to try the pasta dish. After all, he rarely cooked.
Just by looking and smelling the dish she could tell it was delicious. She had noticed how Ren's skills in cooking had improved gradually.
"Well," Ren's eyes gleamed in mischief. "Nothing could compare to you. I haven't claimed what should be claimed today."
Hearing that, Tsubaki's face instantly flushed red. She remembered his last text to her during the day.
Danger alert!
Now, where did she should hide herself?