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With the last of the cookies cooling, Nao washed her hands and untied her apron. There was a lot to wash, with measuring cups and rubber spatulas alike dirtying up the sink. She eyed them for a minute, but couldn't bring herself to get started on them yet. They'd be fine just floating in the hot, soapy water for now. She could deal with them later.
Nao peeked into the living room, finding her partner gone. She'd been watching a show, but Nao stopped hearing it a while ago, so she wasn't too surprised. Still, she looked around, trying to guess where Reko might be. Well, she did have a couple songs to work on... So she was probably in her room. Nao grabbed one of the already cool cookies - double chocolate espresso, a shared favorite between the two of them - and made her way to her room.
They'd gotten a lot of questions about their living situation. Some people mistook them as nothing more than roommates, while others wondered why they hadn't gotten married yet. Truthfully, neither Reko or Nao was very interested in marriage. It only changed some legal things, and they were fine without. In place of rings, Reko had given Nao a heart-shaped locket, and Nao had gotten her a punk-style spiked bracelet with an inscription on the inside. That was more than enough for the two of them.
They also had separate rooms, though they often flip-flopped between them to sleep together. That had a more practical reason; Reko and Nao's senses of interior design didn't align all too well. While they were fine meeting in the middle for the rest of the house, both of them liked to have extremely customized bedrooms. So it was only natural, having scored a two-bedroom house, for them to pick out separate rooms as their personal spaces.
Reko's room was further down the hall than Nao's, door parted. She hardly ever fully closed it, something about airflow if Nao remembered correctly. She looked inside and smiled at the sight of Reko sitting at her desk. She had earphones in and an audio software pulled up - Nao could never remember the name. Color-coded lines of synth instruments were overlaid on top of one another, and Reko was playing with the length of one segment.
Approaching her from behind, Nao slid an arm around Reko's waist while she hid the other behind her back. Wouldn't want to squish the cookie, or cover her partner with it. Though Reko startled for a second, she recovered quickly and took out one of her earphones. Nao took the opportunity to rest her chin on Reko's shoulder, peering at the screen.
"What are you up to?" she asked. Reko groaned, leaning her head against Nao's. Oof, rough work then. There was only one gig she was working on that used software for composing. "Is it that game you're making music for?"
"Yeah," Reko replied, tired. "It wasn't porting into the game engine right or something, so now I have to see if I can cut down the size of the files, and... It's just gonna be a lot of work I thought I already had finished." Nao frowned, giving her partner's cheek an encouraging peck.
"Well, I have something that might motivate you." Slowly, she brought the cookie into Reko's line of sight, getting a gasp from the songwriter. It was snatched up right away, wolfing it down like it was the most delicious food to ever exist. Nao preened a bit. Her recipe was pretty good, if she said so herself. Though it was a tweak of an online recipe, Nao had to say hers was much better.
"Thanks so much, babe," Reko contentedly sighed. She leaned back in her chair, tension lifting from her shoulders by the second. Nao giggled at her. Maybe she could sell baked goods after all. She could even market her double chocolate espresso cookies as healing - endorsed by Reko Yabusame herself! "I really needed that."
"Of course! Anything for you," Nao said, booping Reko's nose lovingly. Reko smiled, but it fell quickly when she opened her eyes again and saw the half-finished project in front of her. She scratched at her hair roughly, psyching herself up to keep going. Seeing this, Nao cut in, "Maybe you should take a break. You look all worn out." Reko gazed at Nao, contemplating her words.
"I guess I could be convinced..." she dramatically said, "but only if you get me another cookie!" Nao laughed. So Reko was going to play it that way, huh? She considered teasing her, but the thought didn't sit right. Her partner was stressed - it'd be mean to tease her about it. Besides, Nao knew Reko would bring out the pouty face, and she could never say no to that.
"Alright, alright, I'll get you another one," she agreed. Pointing at the screen, she drew Reko's attention to the top interface. "But make sure to save your progress first. Wouldn't want to start over again." It was funny - at the beginning of their relationship, Reko would've thought Nao was patronizing her, but Nao knew well the pain of losing your progress. Since she started doing digital art with her tablet, it'd happened too often to count.
"Ugh, don't remind me," Reko grumbled. Giving her shoulder a squeeze, Nao left to get that cookie she promised. As she got to the kitchen, the dirty dishes in the sink floated, exactly as she'd left them. Should she clean them now? Nao shook her head. The dishes could wait. Using two napkins, she got herself and Reko both two cookies. The last batch out was still too warm to put away, but they were cool enough to eat without being too gooey or burning their mouths.
When she returned to Reko's room, her partner was sitting on her bed, looking at something on her phone. Nao took a seat beside her on the dark comforter, handing over the cookies. Reko of course snatched them up, but this time she ate them more slowly, actually savoring the flavor. Nao bit into one of her own. The creamy mix of milk and dark chocolate was sweet, but the kick of coffee kept them from getting to be too much. Not that Nao would complain - she had a massive sweet tooth.
At some point, Reko tapped her phone and a song started playing in the room. It wasn't one of hers; Reko's old songs tended to be too intense for everyday listening. She had a playlist of all this synthesized music that was actually really nice to listen to, and Nao soaked in the familiar buzz of the song playing.
"I'm so lucky to have you," she spoke without thinking. It startled a barked laugh out of Reko, who had to pick up the small chunks of half-chewed cookie she'd accidentally gotten on her bed in the process. Wiping the crumbs from her mouth, she leveled a crooked grin at Nao. A warm, fluttery feeling spread in her chest. Even though they'd been together for years, Reko still gave her butterflies in her stomach.
"Excuse me, but I think that's my line," Reko laughed, elbowing Nao gently. Nao joined in, their voices synchronizing with the song near the end. Reko abruptly stopped, completely still. Her eyes were wide, and Nao knew immediately what had just happened. Reko turned to her, silently asking permission. But, of course, there was no need to ask in the first place.
"Go on then," Nao prompted, pointing to the powered-off monitor. "Don't let me stop you." Reko leaned in to kiss the corner of her mouth, whispering a quiet thanks, and started the computer back up. Nao watched her, a fond smile on her face as she began eating her second cookie. She really was lucky to have someone as wonderful as Reko loving her. Music still quietly playing, Nao let herself relax into the plush pillows behind her. There really was no rush at all.