The Ultimates

Twenty-Three

When I invited Nagito over for dinner, I forgot about my parents. I wasn't sure if Nagito was expecting my parents to join or if he was hoping it would be just the two of us. While I wanted it to be the two of us, if my parents were home, the last thing I wanted to do was worry Nagito and make him feel anxious.

Thankfully, I didn't wind up needing to worry about it. My parents had to work late at night, so we'd have the house to ourselves for the night. The night would be all about Nagito and me, getting even closer to each other. I was looking forward to it.

Wanting the night to be perfect, I decided to cook dinner from scratch instead of cooking one of my typical boxed meals. A while back, Nagito told me his favorite meal was roasted ham with steamed vegetables and mashed potatoes, so I went to the grocery store in the morning and cooked all day to make it perfect. In order to make sure I was doing a good job, I texted Teruteru about the best way to prepare the food. He was kind enough to give me a few pointers. Surprisingly, he even offered to stop by and make the food himself, but I wanted this meal to be homemade by myself.

In the middle of the afternoon, Kyoko and Chiaki stopped by to ask if I wanted to go out with them for the afternoon. Once I told them about my plans for the night, their eyes lit up in excitement, but their usual calm and composed expressions remained on their faces. I was glad they weren't trying to tease me. They truly understood my reasoning for not wanting to confess first, so they understood why this dinner was so important to me.

When six o'clock rolled around, Nagito rang the doorbell. I hurried to answer the door. He stood on the front porch, dressed casually in black jeans, a white designed t-shirt, and a long green hooded cardigan, and he held a bottle in his arms. His smile widened when I answered. "Good evening, Hajime."

"Hi, Nagito," I said, leading him inside. When I closed the door, I hugged him. "How was your day?"

"Oh, it was alright. I just finished up some homework." He handed me the bottle, and he gazed at me from under his eyelashes. "I, uh... I wasn't sure if I should bring something, so I brought some sparkling cider. I hope that's okay."

"It's perfect," I replied, taking the bottle from his hands. "Dinner will be ready in just a moment. Feel free to sit at the table."

"Do you need any help?"

"Well, you can help set the table."

I handed Nagito the plates and silverware, and he quickly set up the table. When the food was done, I brought it all out to the table. Nagito stared at the meal in awe as I poured him some of the cider.

"You made all this?"

"Yeah. I wasn't entirely sure how to make this. I mean, I really do just cook boxed meals for the most part. Teruteru was kind enough to give me some tips, so I think this came out pretty good."

He gasped, pointing at himself. "You went through all that for me?"

"I wanted to make you a special meal," I mumbled as I sat down.

"I love it."

"You haven't even tried it yet," I chuckled.

Nagito shook his head. "It's the thought that counts. You went through all this trouble to make me my favorite meal."

"It wasn't any trouble at all. I wanted to make it for you."

"Thank-"

"Hajime, we're home!" my mom called out.

I jerked my head back towards the front door. They weren't supposed to be home yet.

She sniffed the air dramatically and exhaled loudly. "Damn, that smells good. What did you wind up cooking tonight?"