AMATEURS [Tenya Iida x OC]

Chapter 21 - The One When it's Christmas

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The night before Christmas Eve, Peri stayed up late.

It was weird being in such a fancy kitchen, but she wanted to do something special for the Iida family for taking her in for a whole month. She pulled all of the ingredients out of the cupboards (Tenya had pointed them all out earlier in the day) and got to work with a simple gray apron tied on over her pale blue pajama set.

She hummed along with her phone, careful not to be too loud as she mixed and poured, and tidied as she went. By four a.m., she had fixed up the perfect surprise bȗche de Noël. With tempered chocolate bark and a swirl of dark chocolate ganache and peanut butter frosting inside, it looked fairly realistic. Probably her best one yet.

Peri found a crystal cake-stand and carefully transferred the cake over before sliding the matching dome over the top. She wiped the glisten of sweat away from her forehead with the back of her hand and got busy on the last few dishes before leaving them to dry on the rack.

Quietly, she flipped off the lights in the room and tiptoed out into the hall. Her mind was getting fuzzy as she wandered back to her room. Maybe she could sneak into Tenya's room, nap there for a bit, and then head back to her room later? Proud of her genius idea, Peri bee-lined for Tenya's room instead, slipping in without a sound.

He snored softly, his e-reader glowing on the bed beside him. Peri stifled a chuckle and padded over, turning off the screen on his tablet and putting it on the bedside table before crawling in beside him. Tenya stirred, just barely, and grunted once, twice, three times as he tossed before throwing his arm around Peri's body, pulling her in close and sighing.

She smiled and snuggled in, falling asleep almost immediately.

-

Christmas was never Peri's favorite holiday, but at the Iida house it was a celebration. A reason for joy and love and family.

Peri awoke late on Christmas Eve to a kiss on her forehead and the smell of hot chocolate. She groaned, stretching, and opened her eyes to find Tenya still in his pajamas, grinning at her. "Morning," he said, holding out a mug to her, "I brought a cafe mocha to wake you up. Hot chocolate is the tradition, but I figured you'd need some caffeine after your mischievousness last night."

He sat on the edge of the bed while Peri pushed herself up into a seated position, her curls erratic and drool dried to the corner of her mouth. She gestured for the steaming mug, and Tenya handed it over. The first sip burned going down, but after that it was all chocolate and perfection. Peri leaned her head against Tenya's shoulder, humming with each sip and waking up bit by bit.

"How'd you sleep?" Tenya sipped his own hot chocolate, excited to get Peri out and into the Christmas Eve festivities, but not wanting to rush her.

She smiled up at him and wrapped her arms around his. "I slept great," she said, "No dreams. But you were awfully snuggly." Peri raised an eyebrow at him from over her mug.

Cheeks warming, Tenya looked away and said, "I don't remember that."

Peri pursed her lips in an effort to conceal her grin, but failed. "Don't be embarrassed, love. I liked it," she said, taking another sip of her drink and eyeing him. "Did you have any dreams?"

Tenya explained his dream (something about one of the robots from the UA entrance exams chasing him down the streets of Musutafu, but Tenya was naked) while Peri finished off her drink. He admired her flushed, freckled cheeks as he spoke, and took a mental picture of her errant curls for a rainy day. She looked like the world's cutest tumbleweed. "Ready for breakfast?" he asked as she set her mug down beside his on the endstand.