"Do you think this is big enough?"
"Must we do this?"
"Why not?"
"Eat out? Delivery?"
"No way! It's our FIRST Christmas in our NEW home. We're doing this properly," Ren insisted.
By properly, he meant cooking a full-course meal. For a day which neither of them celebrate religiously but was designated by the country as an informal couples' day. Shinobu couldn't even plead work because it conveniently fell on a weekend.
"Do you even know how to roast?"
"It can't be that difficult. I looked up a recipe online and we just have to follow the instructions," Ren claimed optimistically. "Besides, we've not used the oven."
Shinobu swallowed a resigned sigh as Ren placed a whole chicken into the cart. At least it wasn't the turkey they were attempting.
No point fighting a losing battle.
"What's next?" he asked.
"Hmm…herbs, lemon, I think we have butter at home so that's fine," Ren rattled on as he looked at the list on his phone. "Potatoes. What do you want for dessert?"
"Alcohol," Shinobu replied honestly.
Ren nudged him in the rib, "Shin!"
"Fine, fine," Shinobu pushed the cart down the aisle towards the vegetable section.
"Show some excitement, will you?" Ren pouted.
Shinobu ruffled his hair fondly and resisted the urge to do more.
xxxxxxxxxxxx
They thought that it was a brilliant idea to start drinking while preparing dinner. By the time they had finished prepping and put the chicken and potatoes into the oven, an empty bottle of champagne stood on the kitchen counter.
Since they had an hour and fifteen minutes to kill, according to Ren's online recipe, they decided to use the time appropriately.
Which led to more drinking.
Which then resulted in them making out on the couch enthusiastically.
Shinobu had to reassess his view of cooking obviously.
"Do you smell something?" Ren asked suddenly.
Shinobu raised his head and they stopped for a second.
"Shit! The chicken!"
Scrambling up like mad men, they raced to the kitchen and true enough, smoke was escaping the oven.
Shinobu quickly turned the oven off and opened the door.
"Oh, no," Ren said dejectedly as smoke parted ways to reveal a blackened, absolutely burnt chicken.
"The timer must have been spoiled," Shinobu speculated.
"But my watch should have.." Ren trailed off while looking at his watch.
"What?" Shinobu was puzzled.
Brown eyes widened and cheeks reddened.
"Ren?"
"I..uh..got the time wrong," Ren admitted sheepishly.
"What do you mean?" Shinobu was confused.
"I set it to 115 minutes," Ren looked as if he wanted to crawl into a hole.
It didn't register in Shinobu's brain. He gave Ren a blank look.
When it hit him, Shinobu was torn between hilarity and sympathy. Hilarity won. He erupted in laughter.
"It's not funny!" Ren sounded very indignant.
"I know! I know!" Shinobu had to lean against the kitchen counter to try to stop.
"Stop laughing at me!" Ren poked his stomach. "I don't know why I did that!"
"One hour? Fifteen minutes?" Shinobu emphasised.
Ren was mortified and he covered his face with his hands. "Arrgh! I'm so sorry!"
Then his shoulders slumped. "Now we have no dinner."
"It's alright. We can just go somewhere."
"It's going to be packed everywhere though," Ren sighed mournfully as he looked at the table.
Ren had meticulously set the table with Christmas themed napkins, plates and candles. He even got them party poppers.
Shinobu held back any further suggestions on eating out. There was still the delivery option even if it could take longer.
Suddenly, he was struck by a rare moment of inspiration.
"What do we have in the fridge?"
xxxxxxxxxxxx
"This is perfect," Ren sighed blissfully at the bowl in front of him.
"It's just instant noodles," Shinobu might sound nonchalant but inside, he felt so stupidly pleased when he saw how happy Ren was.
They had cobbled together a meal out of eggs, spam and instant noodles. They even found some leftover mushrooms in the fridge to add to the concoction.
"It's still yummy. And it feels so nice to be at home," Ren insisted.
"Yeah, it's nice," Shinobu agreed.
"Maybe we should just get pizzas when the guys come over next week," Ren said ruefully.
"Good idea," Shinobu nodded.
"More wine?"
"Yes, please."
"Let's toast to something," Ren suggested brightly.
"Sure."
"You go first!"
"No, you suggested it."
"Oh, alright. Let me think.."
They stared at one another. It was one of those inexplicable things, when the moment demanded that you looked, really looked at the other person. Noticed every curve of his face, the very shade of the colour of his eyes, a tiny mole at the right corner of his temple.
Over a cheap, tasty and artificial meal, Shinobu and Ren found themselves seized by a fleeting moment of real and intense happiness.
"To everything," Shinobu voiced the first coherent thought that came to his mind. "Everything with you in it."
Ren's eyes glistened as he whispered, "Us. With us."