"Okay, it's just turned midnight!"
Thoma chirped.
Me, Ayato and Thoma were having a sleepover after a long week of work. We were all sat in sleeping bags. Ayato said before that he wanted to do something at midnight, and that time had already come.
"Hm, already? Alright then, may I ask for you two to close your eyes?" Ayato asked, before reaching into his bag.
We did as he asked and closed our eyes.
"Oh no, I have a bad feeling about this..." Thoma whispered.
"Ahem," Ayato captured our attention. "I have four ingredients in my hands. You both will pick one with your eyes shut."
"This will not end well..." Thoma sighed to himself and waited for his turn.
"Y/N, you're first."
I lifted my head up as Ayato took my hand, guiding it to his own.
"Pick one."
The four ingredients didn't seem like normal ingredients, such as sugar or flour. In fact, they felt like the exact opposite.
One of them felt like a fruit, one like some sort of leaf...?
"That one, I guess...?"
He laughed quietly.
"Okay. Thoma, you're next."
Thoma tapped an ingredient anxiously.
"Let's just get this over with. That one, my lord."
One sea ganoderma, a lavender melon, a single dendrobium and a piece of naku weed.
"I won't tell you what you picked. Please, excuse me for a moment."
Ayato stood up and left the room, holding the ingredients close.
"What is he up to?" I looked at Thoma in confusion.
He shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm not sure, but it can't be great. He'll probably whip up some sort of exotic food for us."
"Who makes food out of a sea ganoderma? Or any of those, really?" I
tilted my head and thought about it.
"I wouldn't be surprised if Sir Kamisato made something edible out of a hilichurl's mask. He's quite unpredictable in some areas."
Before we could continue talking, Ayato walked back in. He was holding a tray with three bottles on it.
"Oh. Seems I was correct. Good luck." Thoma nervously looked at me.
"Ahaha, it isn't the taste that matters, Thoma." He added, handing a bottle to him. Thoma sighed.
"Can someone fill me in here? I don't understand."
Ayato handed me a bottle. Looking at it closely, it looked kind of like some sort of fruit juice.
"Well, you both picked an ingredient. I mixed it into a drink for both of you to try."
"And you're not going to tell us what we picked?"
He shook his head.
Accepting my fate, I took off the bottle cap and took a deep breath.
As soon as I tasted some of the 'juice', I felt like throwing up.
I tried to get as much down as I could to make it seem like I was enjoying it, but in reality it was disgusting.
I finished about half of it, before putting it aside and covering my mouth.
"That wasn't so bad! Wait...- Y/N, are you okay?"
I felt both of their stares on me.
"I'm gonna... sorry, I'll be right back..." I ran out of the room and went straight into a bathroom.
---
"My lord... I don't think she liked it." Thoma turned to look at Ayato, before laughing nervously.
"Ah, my bad. I did not intend for her to feel sick. I will apologize once she is back." He replied, putting all of the bottles back on to the tray.
"What ingredients did we choose?"
"Y/N chose a sea ganoderma, and you chose a lavender melon."
"Oh, that'd explain why she isn't feeling well, then. Will she be okay?"
"Yes, of course. I would never give either of you two anything that would make you ill - this time was an accident, I'll admit."
Thoma smiled.
"I believe you, my lord."
---
I took a moment in the bathroom just in case I felt like I was going to be sick - but I was fine. 5 minutes afterwards I went back into the room and lay in my sleeping bag.
"My apologies, Y/N. I did not think the drink would make you feel sick. I hope you can forgive my mistake." Ayato reached over and moved a piece of hair out of my face.
I smiled.
"It's okay, don't worry about it. It was my fault anyway."
"No, no, it wasn't. Come here..."
Ayato moved next to me and lay me in his arms.
I felt my cheeks heat up - but I didn't say anything, I enjoyed being in his embrace.
"You too, Thoma. Don't let yourself be left out."
I turned my head and noticed Thoma's face had gone bright red.
"B-But, my lord..-"
"You don't have to, but it'd be nice..." Ayato added, in a slightly persuasive voice.
"All right then, just this once..."
