Although it was already afternoon, it could barely pass as lunch.
The menu was simple: scrambled eggs with tomatoes, miso soup, and a small dish of pickles.
They were as home-cooked as home-cooked meals could get, served on white porcelain plates, wisps of steam rising from them.
The rice was served in two similar bowls, one with more and one with less; the larger portion was pushed in front of Reina.
"Eat," Rin said.
Reina put her hands together, whispered "Let's eat," and then picked up her chopsticks.
When she took the first bite of the scrambled eggs with tomatoes, she froze for a moment.
Delicious.
It wasn't the kind of exquisite deliciousness found in restaurants; it was just a very homey, very warm kind of delicious.
The eggs were tender with slightly browned edges, the sweet and sour taste of the tomatoes was just right, and the sauce seeped into the rice, mixing together in a way that made one want to shovel more into their mouth.
She picked up another piece.
Rin ate quietly, her chopsticks moving lightly and almost silently. Occasionally, she would look up at the person across from her, then lower her head to continue eating her own meal.
"Is it good?"
"Mmh-mmh!" Reina, her mouth full of rice, could only nod vigorously, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster hoarding food.
Rin just watched her quietly, her eyelashes fluttering slightly.
The expression was too subtle for Reina to notice; she was too busy shoveling rice into her mouth. Halfway through, she suddenly remembered something and looked up.
"Rin, why aren't you eating?"
"I am."
"You're eating too slowly!" Reina swallowed the rice in her mouth. "This is super delicious, hurry up and eat, or it'll get cold—mph."
Rin picked up a piece of tomato and stuffed it into her mouth.
"Don't talk while you're eating."
Reina chewed the tomato, blinking blankly. The tomato juice spread across her tongue, sweet and sour, with a hint of the wok's smoky aroma.
Then she lowered her head and continued eating.
Outside the window, the sky was no longer as glaring as it had been at noon.
The sunlight turned a soft, warm yellow, shining in at an angle and spreading a small patch across the low table.
In the distance, figures and vehicles moved about, forming a sea of twinkling lights in a corner of the city.
After the meal, Reina insisted on washing the dishes.
Rin didn't stop her, just leaned against the kitchen doorway, watching her clumsily scrub the plates with a sponge.
Reina's movements were not very skilled, and the water was turned on too high, splashing some onto her apron, but she scrubbed earnestly, washing every plate over and over again.
"You used too much dish soap."
"Huh?"
"The foam won't wash off cleanly."
"Ah, okay..."
Reina looked down at the sink full of bubbles, turned the faucet back on in a panic, and started rinsing a second time.
[Lmao, this feels like an old married couple.]
[They haven't been spending time together for that short a time.]
[The feelings between them aren't that shallow.]
[Is this the gap in life experience between someone who lives alone and someone who lives with family?]
[If this keeps up, they're going to spend New Year's Eve together.]
[What do you mean?]
[New Year's Eve... 666, oh, my pun.]
[I'm hungry, ordering a late-night snack first.]