Kirie looks from Eyes to the table, back to Eyes, and then to the table again. "What is this?"
"A cake."
"A cake - Raza-kun, you idiot. I know what a cake is. I mean, what is - why is there a cake on my kitchen table?"
Eyes looks over the top of his glasses at the pink-haired woman, one eyebrow slightly lifted (although it is hard to tell with his hair in the way). "Because today is your birthday," he says, and his tone is so matter-of-fact that Kirie thinks she might strangle him. "Therefore... cake."
"You're a brat."
He smiles. "You have told me this before."
"Hmph." Kirie tosses her hair and walks across the kitchen to the small table, eyeing the cake with some disdain. This is not how she expected her birthday to go. She didn't expect Eyes Rutherford to show up unannounced at her door at lunchtime, not only inviting her out for a meal but also (apparently) sneaking in a birthday cake. She'd pictured a quiet Saturday spent alone in her apartment, watching television and catching up on paperwork... not this.
Still... She stops in front of the cake and feels what might be a twinge of delight. Had she told him that she liked chocolate and cherries? It could have been a lucky guess on his part. But it was the very thing she would have picked for herself, had she been shopping for a birthday cake -
She turns around. "Where did you get this?"
"I baked it."
"... what?"
Eyes is smiling, now, outright - in the way he smiles when he's amused by her in some way or another. It's still not a smile like one a normal person would wear; it's reserved and small, and easy to miss, but it's a smile nonetheless. "I baked it," he repeats, and gestures to the cake, "before I came."
"You really are a brat..."
This time he laughs.
They sit together at her small kitchen table and each have a piece of cake. Kirie is surprised by how good it actually tastes; she has known for some time that Eyes Rutherford cooks his own meals, and is quite talented in the kitchen, but she never would have guessed that he could bake as well. That twinge of delight returns when she remembers that she did say something about chocolate and cherries, completely thoughtlessly, meaning that he remembered and chose the ingredients especially for her. It's a realization that makes her feel guilty for all the times she's insulted the Blade Child sitting beside her, whether or not he took it to heart (and most likely not). After all, not even her own family would have remembered a detail like that, if they even remembered her birthday in the first place.
"You know, Raza-kun," she says, in between bites, "if you're trying to get on my good side, you can stop."
"I have a feeling I have been on your good side for quite some time."
"... don't make assumptions like that. You're the first person I've been able to tolerate in ages."
"I see." He pauses with a cherry on his fork, and behind his glasses, Kirie swears she can see his blue eyes twinkle. "I am honored."
She huffs and stabs at her plate with her own fork. "Don't dwell on it. You'll do something that bothers me before too long."
"Until then, I'll continue to take advantage of this position."
"Don't say such stupid - "
Before she can finish her sentence, he leans across the table and brushes his lips against hers, leaving the taste of cherries on her mouth. She sits in stunned silence, her eyes wide, and he smiles in a way that makes her want to choke him. "Am I still on your good side... Kirie?"
She tosses her fork at his head, snorting. "Brat."