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Finally, some time alone, Mizuki thinks as she digs her hidden stash of groceries out of the cupboards. She's been planning this for a few weeks now, trying to slowly pull everything together without making Ena suspicious. It all started when she and Ena were spending an evening on the couch watching baking shows. They loved seeing new treats and trying to find nearby shops to get to try them, sometimes bringing treats to Sekai for everyone to taste if they were especially good. So, naturally, when they came across a recipe for cheesecake and lemon curd, they were intrigued.
Mizuki is quite well acquianted with Ena's love of cheesecake by now, having tagged along to many a bakery and cafe to try new varieties. Naturally, she'd perked up at the mention of cheesecake and watched the program with rapt attention. She made a few comments about how good it looked, but hasn't brought up trying to bake it. So, since then Mizuki has been sneaking ingredients for the cheesecake into their shopping trips. She's been buying everything herself and quickly hiding anything for the cheesecake before Ena could come help put everything away.
She sets up all the bowls and pans she'll need across the counters and props her printed recipe up on a countertop music stand she'd… borrowed… from Kanade. Kanade has plenty, she hasn't noticed its gone and she won't notice when it gets put back, either. Mizuki rifles around for stirring utensils and hums Kanade's latest demo.
She's distracted enough by it that she doesn't notice the door opening, nor the sound of footsteps approaching. When she finally finds the hand mixer, she stands up with a little cheer. The sound of quiet applause makes her jump and whirl around to see Ena leaning in the kitchen doorway watching her.
"Ah! Enanan, fancy seeing you here, haha…" Mizuki chuckles, shuffling to block the counter. "You're uh, home early."
"I live here, Mizuki." Ena says, deadpan with her arms crossed. Her lips twitch into a smile as she walks into the kitchen. "What schemes are you up to today?"
Mizuki stammers a bit then steps to the side and rubs the back of her neck. "Remember that cheesecake recipe we saw on TV? I wanted to make it for you to try when you got home."
"Wait, really? How's you even get all the ingredients so fast, I wasn't gone long!"
"I may have been sneaking them into my shopping trips for a while. I wanted to have everything so I'd have enough time to make everything while you were out."
"That's so—" Ena marches up to Mizuki and gives her a quick kiss. "Why don't we make it together instead?"
"Hehehe, yeah, that does sound nice."
As they work in tandem, Mizuki finds she much prefers this over any surprise she could make for Ena. Though its meant to be her gift, Ena ends up taking charge. Their hands brush each time Mizuki hands her an ingredient. Ena stands behind her and keeps her hand steady on the mixer. It's all done with far more contact than is strictly necessary, but Mizuki thinks it's the best time she's ever had baking. And they only make a tiny mess in the end!
Well, Ena would argue that Mizuki made a mess while she did the hard work. Ena looks adorable with a dollop of cream cheese on the tip of her nose, though, so Mizuki will gladly take her punishment of cleaning the kitchen and washing all the dishes.
Ena takes no less than twenty pictures of the finished cheesecake, and even more of their slices - both carefully plated on one of their floral plates with the lemon curd artfully dripping down the sides. Mizuki complains good-naturedly as Ena fusses over making the perfect post about their cheesecake before they're allowed to taste it.
Mizuki thinks it's the best dessert she's ever tasted, and by the sweet look on Ena's face, she agrees.