"Here we are", said Soma, opening up the car door and exiting his vehicle. "What exactly are we doing here?", asked Soma's girlfriend, Erina.
"My dad made this meatloaf once. One of the ingredients was a herb that grows here. Also, it only grows in snow." Erina couldn't help but become curious. As many know, she idolizes Soma's father, so any meal he makes deserves to be eaten. And now her boyfriend was trying to recreate one of his dishes. "How far are these herbs?" "You see that tree over there? They mostly grow around there."
The couple took out there jackets and climbed out of their car, walking through the snow.
The blonde rubbed her hands together, hoping to warm them up. Soma looked at her and took them, blowing his warm breath on them. "There. Now they're warm." "Th-thank you." The redhead smiled and planted a kiss on his lover's nose.
Erina, being the tsundere that she was, hid her smile. Soma saw it, though, but he didn't say anything. "You have arrived at your destination", he joked once he and Erina reached the tree. They crouched down and picked the herbs. "So these only grow in the snow?" "Yep. Also, they can go both ways." "What do you mean?" "The stem is for the meatloaf. The leaves can be used to make a drink."
Erina was surprised with all the information these plants contained.
As they reached the end of their plant picking, Soma couldn't help but be mesmerized by his girlfriend's face, which seemed to be glistening with the snow. "What are you staring at?" "You just look really beautiful from this angle."
Erina blushed. "Idiot! Don't say things like that!"
"But why not? It's true." The wielder of the god tongue looks at her lover. "Fine, then you look handsome in the snow too." Soma smiled, and leaned closer, placing a kiss on Erina's lips. "I think we've picked enough. Let's get going now."
. . .
"And voila! I present to you the Yukihira Winter Cuisine!" Erina stared down at the meal in front of her. "And let us not forget the drink." Soma placed down a teal colored beverage made from the leaves of the herbs they have collected.
Erina scooped up a piece of meatloaf with her fork, inserting the piece in her mouth. Her mouth then tasted an explosion of flavors in her mouth, a taste combined of meat and mint.
She looked curiously at the glass of juice, drinking the teal liquid, meeting another mint taste.
Soma gave Erina his usual smug grin, very excited to hear what she has to say this time about his cooking. "Remember, babe. My dad made this, I only followed his recipe. So by saying it's bad, you're saying my dad's food is disgusting."
A tick formed on Erina's head, but she knew that her boyfriend was right. She looked up to Jouichiro, so insulting his cooking would be a taboo in her book. But then again, the food that was in front was made by Soma, not Jouichiro, and she has the longest running record of calling the redhead chef's cooking disgusting.
"So? How does it taste?" Erina crossed her arms. "It's minty." Soma sighed. He knew he shouldn't press further. This was Erina Nakiri he was talking to. She didn't call his cooking delicious, but she didn't say it was disgusting either.
"Hey, Erina, I was thinking..." "Yes?" "Since I made this food using plants, what other plants could there be for me to use." Erina sighed. "Are you going to go exploring again?" "Yeah. And I want you to come with me. Will you?" Soma offered out his hand, which Erina gladly took. "I would love that."
The couple shared kiss, until Erina stood up.
"I'm going to go take a nice, warm bath", said Erina. She looked over to Soma with a sly grin. "Care to join me?" Soma smiled, and followed his blonde beauty of a girlfriend to the bathroom.
