Fruits Basket One-shots

Making Cookies

Machi stared blankly at Manabe. "Cookies?" She asked curiously and slowly. This would be her and Yuki's first Valentine's Day together and she wanted to do something special. Manabe nodded and gave his half-sister a thumbs up. "Yun-Yun talked about it. Apparently, he loves warm, soft chocolate-chip cookies." Machi shook her head. "I can't even make chocolate. This was my third attempt. How am I going to make cookies?" she asked and Manabe smiled. "Don't worry, Machi! I've made them before. We can do this!" Machi just stared at him blankly. "If you say so." she murmured. She had been half serious and half sarcastic.

Baking was definitely not Machi's strong suit. Cooking wasn't either, she'd been living off of things like ramen with microwaved veggies. Just simple things. She ate somewhat healthy by grabbing microwavable dinners, but she felt bad. She wanted to be a better cook one day. "Aww, don't feel bad, Machi. Remember, Yun-Yun has Tohru make his meals for him." he smirked. Machi smacked her brother's hand. "Idiot, would you focus? I have to rely on you here!" she complained, and he laughed. "Right, on it." Machi mixed the chocolate chips into the batter, softly smiling to herself. This was easy enough. She'd been able to make the dough with Manabe's help. "Alright, I'm placing this baking sheet down. Now, you use this and scoop the dough out and onto this sheet. Then after that, you put it into that tiny oven you have. It's ready." Machi nodded, grabbing the scoop and carefully, placed the cookie dough onto the sheet. The scoops looked perfect. Even after dating Yuki for a while, who was a perfect person nearly, she still hated perfection. Her eyebrows began to twitch if something was bothering her. Yuki and Manabe helped with that often, and he did so accordingly after seeing her expression. He pressed down on the dough, causing it to flatten and Machi stared at it. She wasn't smiling, but Manabe could tell she was relieved. "Okay, good. Now, let's bake these and get them to Romeo- I mean, Yun-Yun."

Machi nervously held the container, her hands shaking a little bit. She was standing at the door of Yuki's apartment. He was temporarily back from college. His college celebrated Valentines Day by giving them a few days off, so Yuki was able to come back. "Machi?" he asked as soon as he saw her. "Hey, Yuki. I-I just wanted to give you these. They're cookies. For Valentines Day." Yuki blushed and smiled a little Manabe gave another goofy thumbs up and Machi walked in, closing the door on her half-brother. She watched, heart racing as she tried one. "Machi, these are really good." he smiled as he chewed. "Really?" she asked, beaming. "Yeah!" She tucked some hair behind her ear and let herself smile a bit wider. "He helped make them. I was worried about how they'd turn out." Yuki hummed in understanding. "I can't cook to save my life, so I get it." He shrugged. Yuki hugged her and then kissed her cheek. "Thank you, Machi. For thinking of me." Their lips connected for a moment and when they pulled apart, she smiled. "And thank you for finding me." she grinned. "Oh my God, you guys just kissed!" Manabe shouts and Machi glares at the window, embarrassment taking over. "Manabe!" She shouts, rushing out the door. "Ow! OW! Okay, I get it! I'm sorry!" he groaned, and Yuki laughed. "You truly are an idiot." he grinned as Machi walked away. "I'm going home." she huffed. "Okay, see you later." Yuki waved. "I'll call you tonight." she smiled happily and walked away, smiling like an idiot with Manabe walking beside her, his arm was bruised up, but he was happy. Happy that Machi found someone who loved her as much as she loved him.