Mandarin Orange, Kotatsu, And A Found Cat

The sound of the oven timer rang in the kitchen, signaling me to take out the cookies that I had placed inside.
At that moment, the oven was filled with a savory smell that whetted my appetite for snack time.

“It’s a nice smell. They look delicious.”
“I didn’t know you could make them so well.”
“The hedgehog in question is also very well made.”

Of course, it wasn’t just the scent, but the appearance as well, which was just as beautiful as I had expected.
Not only did they smell great, but they looked just as good as we expected.

“It’s just about time as planned, shall we have a snack?”
“Yeah.”

At Mashiro’s urging, we decided to have a snack right away.
We had eaten a delicious lunch a few hours ago, but after concentrating on making cookies, our stomachs were already filled with hunger.

“Then, Itadakimasu.”

We put our drinks and cookies on the table and started to eat them together.
First, I picked up a simple round cookie and threw it into my mouth, surrounded by a savory smell.
As I move my mouth to enjoy the crunchy texture, the slightly sweet taste spreads in my mouth without being too dry.

“Mmm, it’s good.”
“Really, it’s that good.”

When I told her how I felt, she gave me a small smile and took a bite of the cookie.
I thought it tasted good enough, but Mashiro looked a little unconvinced.

“I found the flavor to be a little too gentle for my liking.”
“Is that so? I like it because it’s very Mashiro-like.”
“I-Is that so?”

In a word, Mashiro’s cooking was nothing but “delicious,” but compared to the food I make myself or the food my parents make when I’m at home, it has a much gentler taste.
It was not that the taste was light or too simple. But Mashiro’s cooking is definitely filled with her kindness.

“…You’re a bit like that sometimes, aren’t you, Satou-san?”
“…? What do you mean?”
“It’s okay if you don’t understand.”

Mashiro looked away, embarrassed for some reason.
I picked up a cookie, wondering why she was so embarrassed.
The next thing I picked up was the hedgehog cookie.
It was a little awkward to put something so adorable in my mouth, but when I tried it, I found it to be much more delicious than the others.

“The hedgehog cookies tasted the best because of the effort you put into them.”
“If that’s the case, it was worth the effort.”

The hedgehog cookies had the original dough for the body and chocolate for the needles on the back, and they were quite delicious with a good balance of sweetness.

“Which one is your favorite, Mashiro?”
“Let’s see…these cat cookies are delicious because the baking process was most successful.”

As she said this, Mashiro picked up another cat cookie from her plate and showed it to me.
The mold was a store-bought one, but the face was designed by Mashiro, and it was just as cute as hers.
The cat with the cute face went into the mouth of a much larger cat.

“…Cannibalism.”
“Did you say something?”
“I said cannibalism.”
“I know. Please don’t say that twice, it’s a bad omen.”
“Sorry, sorry.”

Mashiro was unusually upset at my little teasing.
She was so cute that I couldn’t help but pat her on the head to soothe her.

“Nya…”

As soon as I touched her smooth hair, she let out a small voice.

“Did you not like it?”
“N-No. It’s not that I don’t like it. You know, Satou-san…”

In response to my question, she shook her head.
As I said, Mashiro didn’t seem to avoid my hand or dislike it, and just stayed still.
I gave in to her will and moved my hands as instinctively as I could.

“Mmm…”

Mashiro closed her eyes without resisting my hand, occasionally letting out a ticklish sound.
I couldn’t find a place to end it, as she was never reluctant to do so, and eventually I became embarrassed and pulled my hand away.

When I pulled my hand away, she looked sad for a moment, and I couldn’t help but look away.
We continued to be silent for a while. I had patted her head unintentionally once before, but just like that time, I couldn’t say anything.

Mashiro was the first to break the long silence.

“…Do you like to pet women, Satou-san?”
“Don’t mislead me, please.”
“Do you not?”
“No, it’s not…far from the truth.”

It is true that I like to pet Mashiro. I’m not saying that in a disreputable way, of course, but I naturally want to pet her as if I were genuinely loving something cute.
This is a habit that has been with me since Mashiro was in her cat form, and I really want to touch her as often as she will allow me to.

…Of course, I won’t talk about it, and I don’t think I’ll ever.

“Satou-san. Maybe you have a hair fetish or something…”
“If anything, I’ve gotten farther away from it, so.”

I don’t know where she learned that, but I firmly denied Mashiro, who was about to say something outrageous, and I continued with my words.something outrageous, and I continued to speak.

“…It’s not about the woman, or her hair, or anything like that.”

It was not that I’m spending time with Mashiro for such a simple reason or with such shallow feelings.
But I couldn’t find the right words to convey that, and I couldn’t come up with anything else.

Mashiro tilted her head and waited for me to say something else.
She looked me so straight in the eye that I couldn’t help but open my mouth.

“That’s why…t-this is a thing that I don’t do to anyone but Mashiro.”
“Eh…”

It was a more embarrassing confession than I had anticipated.
Naturally, Mashiro froze, her eyes swimming as she searched for the meaning of the words.
Seeing her like that made me feel even more uncomfortable, and I couldn’t even recognize the sweetness of the cookies left in my mouth.

“I-I’m…”
“Eh?”
“…No, it’s nothing.”

After Mashiro’s meaningful words, there was silence again, and neither of us could look at each other.
…In the end, the two of us just kept eating cookies in such an awkward atmosphere for the rest of the day.