I tried cooking some salmon but, I kind of burnt it. I was questioning whether or not to serve it but decided I'd probably get away with it since Akiyoshi thinks I'm some dumb kid.

"Man...at least I know how to put rice in a rice cooker..." I mumble to myself as I start getting the dishes out from the cabinet to start serving stuff.

As I'm reaching up for the bowls to pour in the leftover miso soup from this morning,I hear my phone ringing.

'Better answer, what if it's mom again?'

"Hello?" I pick up the phone and put it on speaker while setting it down on the kitchen counter.

"Happy late birthday baby girl! Sorry I barely remembered. It's just that you don't have facebook...so I don't get reminders for your birthday." Yori chuckles nervously. "Plus you know how shit's been going down lately...anyways, I want to take you out to get some food or something. I'm free tonight?"

"Hey Yori! It's okay. I didn't even remember myself so don't worry about it." I laugh. "And sorry, today is no good."

"What do you mean today's no good?" She asks confused.

"I'm busy!"

Yori stays quiet before bursting out in laughter. "Bitch you lying. What are you busy doing? Watching anime?"

I pout before making a whiny noise. "Stop calling me out! Anyways, I'm actually busy. Akiyoshi is bringing a cake home for me today and we gonna eat some burnt salmon for dinner together."

"Oh boo." Yori sighs. "Oh well. At least you guys are getting along right?"

"Yori are you drunk?" I ask suddenly noticing her slightly slurred speech.

"Yes! Just a little, I'm kind of at home, overthinking stuff. Let me update you on my drama sometime soon. I'm kind of panicked."

"Oh god. Okay. How about tomorrow?" I suggest the closest date possible to meet since now I was starting to get genuinely worried for her. She never gets purposely drunk unless she's out with coworkers or facing a crisis.

"Sounds good! I'll meet you and Kae at our usual cafe."

The call ends and I continue finishing up dinner. This time anxiously, as I worried about Yori.

Her boss had a one night stand with her? Now what? What if he threatens to fire her if she doesn't continue doing shit with him? What if she already got fired?

Countless possibilities circled through my mind as I finished setting the table and waited for Akiyoshi's return.

I sat on the couch, with my sketch pad drawing random doodles of a new original character I had created. I knew that Akiyoshi would be home at any given moment, but I didn't want to look like I was waiting for him. I needed to make it seem like I was doing something...

Wait... am I waiting for him?

My pencil stops moving as I tilted my head deep in thought. I never waited for my mom...she just did her own thing a lot of the time... Am I excited to see Akiyoshi?

I gasp at the awful realization.

Hmm...it can't be...

Cake...

Akiyoshi is bringing cake!

"Aha!" I jump up from my seat. "I'm excited about the cake!"

As I came to that conclusion, I sat back down and excitedly drew pictures of sweets to take my mind off of itself because, my thoughts were getting a tad bit under control.

I love cake...I really love cake and sweets...

"I'm home" he answers flatly. I peek over the brown couch and watch him as he takes off his shoes at the entrance. He neatly sets his shoes facing the door, before stepping up onto the foyer. My eyes are drawn to the white box, which came in a see-through bag.

I turn, to sit back down onto the couch excitedly, cake.

"Sorry my dinner is trash. I really wanted to make something to thank you." I get up from my seat and follow him into kitchen.

Akiyoshi keeps his back turned towards me as he sets down his briefcase and cake.

I watch him suspiciously, wondering what was wrong.

Akiyoshi was acting really, kind of- cold? Normally he would bust in and immediately ask me about my day. If anything, he seemed... lost in a way. There was this wrinkle on his forehead that could be mistaken for a sign of anger.

But the look on his eyes screamed confusion.

"Are you okay?" I ask after I take a good look at his face.

He smiles kind of sadly before taking a seat in front of a burnt salmon serving. "Lets eat before we talk about it."

I nod, taking a seat across from him.

"Thanks for the food, Makoto."

He takes a bite from the burnt fish, and shows no visible sign of displeasure. I watch him carefully, and still, nothing.

"Sorry if it's bad." Damn he was probably in a bad mood already. My sad, charred meal probably didn't make things any better either.

"Uh hey you feeling alright?" I ask. I don't know whether he was sick or just in a bad mood.

His chopstick movements were a little clumsy and his expression hardened.

"Y-yes. I'm fine." He shuttered.

"Okay." If you say so." I continue eating my burnt salmon, cringing a little each time a bitter, burnt piece grazed my tongue.

It was strange, I was sure he looked angry before, but now he was fumbling his words and began getting fazed by  the gross fish. I felt bad, but at least I tried right?

"Thanks for the meal." we both announce as we finish up. I stand to gather our dishes before he does. I couldn't have him wash the dishes after the terrible meal i had made for him.

"I'll wash the dishes Aki." I offer taking them to the sink.

"Before that... w-we still have to cut your cake."

I immediately feel a surge of joy among my conflicted emotions.

"Oh! That's right!"

Akiyoshi reaches for the cake in the fridge while I take out a set of plates and forks.

"Thanks for the cake bro, I really appreciate it. Usually my mom gets me a cake, so thanks for keeping that little tradition going for me." I sincerely thank him as I set down the ceramic brown plates down onto the table.

Akiyoshi sits down on his and sighs loudly, as if letting something go. Whatever was eating at him before was gone, and he was expressive and happy again. He seemed a lot less tense after sighing it out.

His face finally loosens up, and for the first time that night, he smiles. "You're welcome kiddo, and hey, do me a favor, and show me your art again sometime. You're really talented!"

His smile was contagious and I quickly found myself smiling back. His big hand extended and placed itself on top of my messy head of black hair.

It was at this moment, that I truly felt happy to have company on this day, that never felt special to me before.