[Cheerful!Boy x Depressed!Reader] Caretaker

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[ A/N: I'M SORRY!!! I'm sorry!!! I'm so so sorry!!! ;A; I didn't realize! I didn't realize it had been so long!! ;-; I know it's been three weeks! TAT I just couldn't come up with anything even if my life depended on it! Please, forgive me!! (இ⌓இ'｡) ]

"The Spring Festival is tomorrow...!" Yuki cheered as the two of you were walking home from grocery shopping. You had planned to go alone but he wanted to accompany you, oddly enough. He skipped along side you, carrying the heat pan you had borrowed from the school and a couple bags while you held the rest. It wasn't much, just a couple ingredients to make *Taiyaki for the school festival. Even so, Yuki had insisted on carrying some for you even when you had refused.

* Taiyaki is just a pastry filled with (most commonly) red bean paste and shaped like a fish. They're a general pastry as far as I know, something you could find at a street vendor or a night market for a couple hundred yen.

Yuki pouted, taking the bags from you as you tried to slip off your shoes at the front door. "Ah, th-thank you, Yuki, but-..." you tried taking back the bags once you organized yourself but he pulled it out of your reach. "Nn..." you stood on your tip toes to reach but he was much taller then you. Stumbling a bit, you accidentally leaned onto his chest for support. "Ah, s-sorry...!" You attempted to pull away but he laughed lightly, bringing a hand you your back. "Let me help you, ok?" He smiled warmly down at you. You nodded, averting your gaze in embarrassment and separating yourselves once he let go.

Yuki wouldn't say it out loud but it felt a bit odd when you left his arms, he felt a bit.. empty. He shrugged off the feeling for later, flashing a bright smile and lead you to the kitchen. "Now how do we do this?" Yuki asked after taking out all the ingredients and laying them on the kitchen counter. You brought out two large bowls and placed one in front of him while you had your own in front of you.

You and Yuki were working together to make some food for the Spring Festival your school was having. Yuki told you he had no idea how to make Taiyaki nor Dorayaki when you mentioned them as an idea. He begged you to teach him until you agreed. However, not without stressing that he didn't need to beg and that the process was rather simple.

Yuki seemed to have an excited grin as you instructed him on what to do. "Um.. I-I guess we'll start with the dry ingredients," you stuttered and brought over two sifters, placing one in his bowl and on in yours. "So first we put in 1 1/4 cup of cake four," you did your own and helped him with his. "A-and then one teaspoon of baking powder and baking soda... and then we sift it and add sugar." When you turned to see how he was doing, you quickly covered your mouth and held back a laugh, "Y-Yuki...!" You giggled lightly, quickly grabbing a damp cloth and helping clean off the flour he managed to get all over him.

"That tickles~" Yuki laughed lightly when you rubbed the cloth gently on his cheek. "Ah, i-it's in your hair," you whimpered, standing up straighter to try and clean it off. "I-if you want to, I could just-" your offer was cut short, "No, no! I want to do this with you," he smiled, taking your free hand in his. You blushed at the contact, nodding with embarrassment.

The two of you resumed making the sweets, though you made sure to help him more this time. "B-be careful not to burn yourself..." you said worriedly as he poured the batter into the fish-shaped pan mold. "I got it," he reassured with a sweet laugh, using a cloth to prevent the heat. He placed down a bit of bean paste, covered it in more batter, put on the lid and immediately flipped it over. All while you watched nervously. "I did it!" Yuki laughed, his hands shot up in triumph and you smiled with relief.

He suddenly pulled you into a surprise hug, spinning you around the kitchen. "Y-Yuki...!" You squeaked, hands gripping onto his shoulders for support as a heat suddenly rose to your cheeks. "Sorry~!" he chuckled sheepishly, putting you down back down. His nose accidentally booped yours when he did so.

He froze, a blush creeping onto his face as you both now noticed the close proximity. He seemed to debate something, eyes shifting from your eyes to your lips and back. However, he soon pulled away, scratching the back of his head and laughing nervously. "S-sorry..." he said again. You pulled away as well, head lowered and blushing madly. "It's o-okay..." you squeaked, "Um, y-you should check the Taiyaki." Yuki quickly rushed over to the pan, escaping the awkward atmosphere.

"R-right!" He laughed, opening the pan to find a perfectly golden-brown pastry inside. His eyes brightened at the sight, considering how the other ones had managed to burn. You clapped your hands lightly, smiling as you watched him marvel at his work on the plate beside the rest with sparkling eyes. It may look mediocre to any outsider but Yuki held a clear proud expression.

"You did good, Yuki," you smiled softly, stacking up bowls and placing them in the sink for washing. "Here," you held out some clear wrapping plastic for him to put over the Taiyaki. He neatly did so and placed them in the fridge. "That was fun!" He grinned, wiping his forehead only to get batter on it.

"Why don't you take a bath, Yuki?" You suggested with a light giggle, noticing how messy he was with bean paste and batter all over his apron. "Will you be ok cleaning this up?" He asked worriedly but you nodded reassuringly with a small smile. He returned your smile and removed his apron before heading out of the kitchen, "Thank you~!"

You waited until he was up the stairs before getting back to cleaning, picking up tools and cleaning the dishes and counter top. You couldn't help but actually feel excited for the Spring Festival, trying to ignore your irrational paranoia of it going wrong. You shook the thought from your head. Nothing could go wrong as long as Yuki was with you.

[ A/N: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!! I know it's short and I know it's bad! Please forgive me, I don't know how I could possibly make it up....! TAT I'm afraid I'll just break any promise I make ;~; ]