After cooking at least four dishes in what felt like forever, the table was finally set.
Only Noah was missing.
"Roast beef, fried rice…" Anathasia murmured as she slipped off her apron, her hair still tied back. "Menudo and afritada… wait, when did we even have enough ingredients for all of this?"
She turned to me, head tilting slightly.
"We've always had leftovers from the stuff we bought, like, a week ago," I shrugged. "It's all in the fridge. And letting it go bad would be a waste."
I glanced at the dishes on the table.
"Especially the peas. I bought way too many during a sale."
"Fair…" she trailed off, her gaze drifting toward the egg tart tray on the countertop. One of them slowly floated into her hand.
Well, she was the reason I made them, anyway.
She didn't even look up when the doorbell rang.
"Noah's here," I murmured.
Anathasia, on the other hand, just kept munching on the egg tart in her hand.
As long as she likes it, I guess.
With her preoccupied, I walked over to the front door and opened it. The moment I did, Noah was already beaming at me.
"What's up?" He paused, taking a deep breath. "Oh… yeah. That's definitely the stuff."
"Ahem. Why don't you come inside already?" I cut in, stepping aside. "Food's gonna get cold."
As I let him in, Anathasia was already walking over, her mouth very clearly still full of egg tart.
"Mffppgg—hnggffk?"
"…Don't talk with your mouth full," I sighed, stepping closer and wiping a few crumbs off her lips and cheek. "You're not a child anymore. Seriously."
She swallowed her food, before speaking this time.
"Anyways," she said, completely talking over me, "how's it going, Noah?"
She waved casually. Noah waved back just as casually.
"Man," he said, shaking his head, "you two seriously have that newlyweds vibe now. Kinda makes me feel bad for interrupting your little lovenest."
"…Lovenest? Seriously?" I scoffed, turning Anathasia back toward the table and motioning for Noah to follow.
—
"Man, I missed this!"
Noah immediately stuffed his mouth with nearly everything on the table. Most of the dishes Anathasia and I had made together. Manners clearly weren't on the menu.
Then again, I'd known the guy for almost a decade.
"You're gonna choke at that rate," I said mildly. Then glanced at the girl seated beside me, who for some reason, looked like an actual regal princess right now.
[She's… eating unusually slowly.]
She shot me a side-eye.
Then promptly read my mind. Again.
[What? Got a problem?]
[No, not really…]
She huffed internally before cutting into her roast beef, knife and fork held with almost excessive elegance.
"Dude!" Noah suddenly cut in. "Is it just me, or did your cooking level up?"
"…Level up?"
He nodded enthusiastically.
"I dunno how to explain it," he said between bites. "It feels like I'm eating at a restaurant, even though it's homemade. You know?"
I paused. Then glanced at Anathasia.
She immediately shook her head.
Turning back to Noah, I smiled faintly.
"I see… Anathasia helped out a lot with the cooking."
He stopped chewing.
Then looked at me.
Then at Anathasia.
Then back at me again.
"So you two cook together now…?" he muttered. "Damn. Couple goals."
Anathasia tilted her head.
"Kyle and I have been cooking together since last year," she said, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Which, at this point, it was.
Noah froze.
Then he stared at me like I'd personally insulted his entire bloodline.
"Kyle," he whispered, just quiet enough for us to hear, "I always knew you were attractive and all, but this?"
He gestured vaguely between us.
"This is outrageous. You two are basically married already."
"That's what Arianne said too…"
Noah's eyes widened.
"…Arianne?" he repeated. "You mean the model Arianne?"
"Yeah…?"
Something in his brain visibly short-circuited.
"Wait—so those white-haired and black-haired beauties people kept seeing walking around with Arianne Auclait…"
He pointed at us again.
"That was you two?!"
Anathasia and I exchanged a glance before looking back at him.
"Seriously," he continued, rubbing his temple, "there are only two white-haired girls at NSGU to begin with. The moment I heard people talking about some black-haired girl who could stand next to them without getting overshadowed, I should've known it was you, Kyle."
I stared at him.
"…Dude," I said slowly, "you're not making any sense right now."
Noah let out an incredulous laugh.
"Seriously?" he said. "Dude, you literally won a beauty pageant in town and at school." He waved a hand.
"And don't even get me started on those guys who tried hitting on you a few days ago."
"…Right," I muttered. "Those guys…"
Noah pulled out his phone, scrolled for a second, then shoved the screen in our faces.
On it was—
Me.
In a red dress.
From one of the pageants I'd been dragged into and barely remembered agreeing to.
Anathasia leaned in immediately, eyes locked on the screen. Beneath the table, a perfect copy of the photo quietly materialized in her hand.
"Look at this," Noah said. "And tell me you wouldn't rival even your own girlfriend."
"Noah's pretty much right, Kyle," Anathasia chimed in, still staring at the image.
"I mean… gosh…"
I reached over and gently pulled her back.
"Okay—how the hell did you even get your hands on that?"
I tried snatching his phone, but he pulled it back easily.
"What do you mean?" he said. "A lot of people have it. Even your parents."
…What the fuck?
"Hah?!" My jaw tightened as I stared at his now smug expression.
"What is wrong with you people?"
I'm starting to get genuinely pissed off here.
"Relax," Noah shrugged. "It's just a memory."
That excuse didn't even register.
"Delete it," I said flatly.
"No."
"…Are you serious right now?"
My voice dropped. "Why are you acting like a brat?"
Why does this feel like arguing with a male Anathasia…
Noah laughed it off.
I didn't.
—
"Sorry," he muttered, head lowered. A small bump was already forming on his forehead.
Beside me, Anathasia continued eating. Though she had gone oddly still, fork frozen halfway to her mouth.
…Her hands trembled slightly.
Not from anger.
Not from restraint.
From surprise.
I sighed and scrolled through Noah's phone, deleting the photo before handing it back.
"Yeah," I said flatly. "You should be."
Anathasia finally blinked, slowly turning to look at me.
"…You hit harder than I thought," she murmured, eyes oddly bright.
"I know," I replied, casually setting Noah's phone beside his plate. "I trained with him in Taekwondo for a bit before switching to Muay Thai."
"You still hit as hard as I remember…" Noah grumbled, rubbing his forehead while shooting me a glare. "I completely forgot how you used to pack me up back then… I should've known better."
Anathasia quietly went back to her meal, and lunch wrapped up with a few more light exchanges after Noah's little stunt.
—
Now settled on the couch in the living room, Noah was sprawled out across the one opposite us, taking up far more space than necessary.
"Still," he muttered, glancing at me, "I didn't even know Auntie had already bought you a place to stay. No one told me anything."
As he spoke, Anathasia moved around the table to serve tea, despite the fact that we definitely didn't have tea leaves in the house.
…But with omnipotence at her fingertips, that hardly mattered.
"Mom already bought this place back in 2016, apparently," I shrugged, quietly taking the tray from Anathasia's hands and setting it down on the small table in front of us.
"Not sure how she even had the funds for this, though."
Noah sat up and nodded while Anathasia settled beside me, pouring tea for all of us.
"True… I mean, Auntie once bought a whole car on a whim back then," he said, picking up his cup before taking a sip. "It's surprising, but also not, considering she isn't really the type to show off."
"Yeah," I leaned back against the couch. "She's the type to go for stuff that's cheap but lasts a lifetime."
I glanced up at the ceiling. "Aesthetic-wise, this place honestly fits her more than our house back in town."
Objectively speaking, the place Anathasia and I were staying at did look far more modern and polished than the humble home I grew up in. Judging by the design alone, this place probably cost a few million.
"Yeah… your mom's crazy," Noah said, setting his cup down with a soft clink. "You sure your family isn't secretly rich bigwigs pretending to be middle class?"
"Last time I checked, we're pretty much middle class," I replied, lifting my own cup. "Maybe slightly upper."
He nodded, before his eyes suddenly narrowed at Anathasia and I for some reason.
"Now that aside…"
A smirk curved on his lips. The exact look he always had when he was up to no good.
"So… who confessed first?"