Writer's note: I think this might be the longest chapter I have ever written. I didn't know how to and didn't really want to split it into two, so enjoy this extra long chapter! Merry Christmas.
To read the other chapters, click the links below:
To read the other chapters, click the links below:
part 6 - Bonds
part 7 - Disclosure
part 8 - Confidence
part 9 - Wishes
part 10 - Thoughts
part 11 - Chocolate
part 12 - Wölfe
part 13 - Bliss
part 7 - Disclosure
part 8 - Confidence
part 9 - Wishes
part 10 - Thoughts
part 11 - Chocolate
part 12 - Wölfe
part 13 - Bliss
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the pictures
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Flambéed Love
~Flowers~
Minori took one last good look at herself in the mirror before leaving the house, constantly brushing her hair and fixing the new outfit she was wearing for this special night. She was dressed in a knee-length navy blue gown, complete with dark stockings and a shoulder cape to keep her warm. Although Spring is fast approaching, the air still feels chilly at night and Minori doesn't want it to ruin her plans. For the final touches, she put on a few sprays of the rose-scented perfume she received from Klaus, and the wristwatch Raeger got her for her birthday. She made sure that she had all of the necessary items packed into her bag, and eagerly head off towards town.
Flambéed Love
~Flowers~
Minori took one last good look at herself in the mirror before leaving the house, constantly brushing her hair and fixing the new outfit she was wearing for this special night. She was dressed in a knee-length navy blue gown, complete with dark stockings and a shoulder cape to keep her warm. Although Spring is fast approaching, the air still feels chilly at night and Minori doesn't want it to ruin her plans. For the final touches, she put on a few sprays of the rose-scented perfume she received from Klaus, and the wristwatch Raeger got her for her birthday. She made sure that she had all of the necessary items packed into her bag, and eagerly head off towards town.
...
Upon arriving, Minori stood in front of the door way, and placed three firm knocks on the door. Her steps towards her destination was light, for she was elated about her plans tonight with her beloved. Raeger had asked her to spend the upcoming New Year's Eve with him, and for her to stay the night at his place - which of course, made her a little nervous. He promised to cook a nice dinner for the two of them tonight, and they had agreed to dress up formally for the upcoming occasion.
The door swung open almost immediately, revealing the chef finely dressed in a navy blue suit - that of the same shade as Minori's. His hair was slicked back effortlessly, and Minori could immediately notice the fragrance he was wearing - subtle, but very enticing. Her cheeks became noticeably rosy, not only because of the cold air her skin has been exposed to, but also because she was blushing upon seeing how attractive he looked tonight.
"Minori, you're here! Come on in!" Raeger beamed upon seeing her, and greeted her excitedly before leading her into the premises.
"Hey Raeger." Minori smiled sweetly. Her mind was still fixed onto his stunning appearance, more especially his irresistible smell. She had put more effort into dressing herself up tonight, thinking that she'd try to impress him, but what happened was the complete opposite. It was her who has completely been caught off guard, and as a result she became even more nervous than she was before.
Little did she know that he has been looking at her with complete adoration as well, constantly sneaking glimpses of her cute appearance today. By now, the restaurant was dim, empty, and the tables have all been tidied up; the only source of light came faintly from his room, where he escorted her to as they both started sharing their tales of today.
But as Minori finally took the last step of the staircase towards his room, she suddenly noticed the warm, gentle, and inviting atmosphere coming from Raeger's room that he had clearly put effort into. She involuntary stopped her words and movement, as she was left completely speechless and stunned by the beautiful setting right in front of her. The faint luminescence coming from his room turned out to be candle lights, which Raeger has carefully and strategically positioned around. Minori immediately took notice of the coffee table in front of her, for it had been especially decorated just for today. A white porcelain vase filled with roses has been placed at its center, and alongside it a bottle of wine could be spotted, with two empty wine glasses.
"Raeger.." Minori began, "It's beautiful." She uttered in amazement. "When did you do this?"
He looked at her gently, and smiled, "Just a short while before our agreed time. We don't want the candles to completely melt or burn out you know." He chuckled.
She pouted playfully at his comment, but her eyes was still fixed onto the charming radiance and she continued to be amazed at the sight. He smiled in satisfaction upon seeing her reaction, and gently took off her cape as he led her towards the couch stationed just behind the aforementioned coffee table.
"I hope you like it, Minori?" Raeger gazed into her eyes and gave a gentle smile as they both finally sat down on the couch comfortably.
She blushed with her eyes wide opened upon hearing his question, and she smiled bashfully towards the chef, "Of course I do, Rae. I wasn't expecting this at all." She paused, and continued smiling. "I really like it. Thank you for doing this."
He shifted close towards Minori, and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "I just want you to be happy, Minori." He whispered tenderly, and kissed the top of her head with so much love. "I've prepared a meal for us; you could wait here while I heat it up again?"
"Oh, I can come down with you and help!" She offered sincerely.
"No, no. Please. I insist." Raeger quickly declined. "I promised that I'd prepare our meals tonight, so just relax until I come back, okay?"
"Uhm, are you sure, Rae?"
"Yes, honey." He smiled reassuringly. His gentle expression and the way he had just called her by her pet name quickly left Minori speechless, so she had no choice but to agree with his offer.
...
He carefully held the tray of plates in his hands, and took his steps firmly up the stairs. As he arrived back in his room, he found Minori staring into an old frame by his cabinet. He smiled at her curiosity, quietly walking towards the coffee table to put his tray on top of it. The unintentional soft clanking sound from the silver tray alerted Minori of his presence, and she quickly returned to her seat to see Raeger.
"I'm sorry I distracted you." Raeger expressed.
"Oh, no no." Minori waved her hand in protest. "I'm sorry for snooping around." She replied awkwardly.
"Haha, don't be. You're free to explore my room anytime you want." He laughed at her reaction. "That photograph was of me, my mom, and my grandpa many years ago when they were still the one running this restaurant."
"Oh." She uttered her new found realisation. "That's why."
"Hhmm?" Raeger asked in confusion.
"I thought that the lady in picture looked a lot like you. So she's your mother." She smiled sweetly.
"I get that a lot. People said that I look just like my mom." He smiled gently as he recalled about his childhood.
Minori returned the gesture; she knew that at the back of her mind, she wanted to ask more some questions about his family. But she'll wait for now, and trust that Raeger will be the one to tell her his stories when he's comfortable enough.
She finally looked into the tray, and noticed two plates of spaghetti bolognese topped with some parsley leaves - her favourite. Raeger usually likes to experiment with complicated new dishes, so she was surprised to see him prepare a classic bolognese tonight, not that she minded; in fact, she was looking forward to it since she has never tried Raeger's very own version of this dish.
"Sorry it's a simple dish tonight." Raeger scratched the back of his head nervously.
"No, no, Rae. I can't wait to try this dish!" Minori exclaimed excitedly. "Although I do agree that you'd usually make something more complex..." she express her curiosity.
"Uhm, well.." he began nervously. "It's embarrassing but... uhh, never mind!!"
"What?" Minori looked at him strangely. "Is there a specific reason, Rae?"
"Well, yeah..." his cheeks turned red in embarrassment. "It may sound stupid.. but there's something I wanted to try."
"What is it?" Minori asked. "You can tell me anything you know. I won't judge."
Raeger held his breath, and finally sighed. "So you know that incredibly famous scene from Lady and The Tramp?"
"Ohh." Minori immediately realised what Raeger wanted, and blushed a little. "You want us to..."
"I thought we could try..." he averted his gaze shyly. "It looks romantic."
She blushed hard upon seeing his expression, and sneaked a little smile for him. "Yeah that does sound romantic.. we could try." Minori was keen on the idea itself, but still, she was rather shy about it. She continued blushing, waiting for his response now.
Raeger returned the gesture, relieved that Minori did not think strangely of his idea. He proceeded to place each plate in front of them respectively, and put the tray aside. He took the wine bottle with his left hand and opened it using his right. "Some red wine for m'lady?" He raised an eyebrow and displayed the bottle to Minori, and smirked confidently.
"Ahaha stop it!" Minori laughed. "You're like Klaus!" She joked around with Raeger, truly enjoying her night with him. Raeger began pouring some wine into each of their glasses, and once he had poured enough, they both started to pick up their utensils and began eating.
"Okay, so how do we do this?" Minori asked, unsure of how they were going to be doing the Lady and The Tramp scene. "Should we each try getting some spaghetti off your plate and hope that they're somehow connected?"
"Hmm I guess that's one way to do it." Raeger replied uncertainly. "Well, here goes." He took his fork and began twirling his spaghetti, and his action was followed by Minori.
"Do you think we'll get it the first time?" Minori chuckled.
"Only one way to find out." He smiled, and the two of them began slurping their spaghetti. Of course, their first attempt was a miss, and so they kept trying again and again for a few times.
"This is harder than I thought." Minori uttered. "We never got the same strand.."
"Do you think we should try again?" She suggested.
Raeger sighed, and slowly put down his fork on his plate. "Screw it."
"Huh?" Minori uttered. But before she could ask what he meant, Raeger had already pulled her close into his arms, and gave her a long passionate kiss. Slowly, Raeger began pushing her down onto the couch, until she was now laying down facing up, and he was towering above her.
"Raeger.. w.. wait." Minori broke the kiss to gasp for some air.
"I can't wait anymore, Minori. I just want to kiss you already." He resumed his passionate kiss, occasionally stopping to speak, "Our initial plan was taking too long for me to handle."
He continued kissing her lips, then began to plant soft kisses on other parts of her: first her cheeks, then her forehead, her chin, and finally he brushed her hair aside to begin kissing her neck. With him being so close to her, he could more distinctly smell her perfume, which he really liked. Klaus might annoy him from time to time, but his skills as a perfumist is no doubt world class.
As Raeger continued to nibble onto her neck, Minori started to feel a newfound pleasure that she began to crave more and more. Her breathing became heavier, and a few soft moans began to escape her lips, driving Raeger even wilder.
But Minori noticed the time, and she knew that if they don't stop now, they won't be able to finish their meal and reach their next venue on time.
"Raeger.. we need to continue eating and leave for the New Years Eve celebration." Minori uttered with difficulty as Raeger continued pleasuring her.
"Oh yeah?" Raeger asked in between his kisses. "But I am eating, Minori." He replied casually.
"No you're not! What are you talking about?" She replied, still breathing heavily.
"I'm eating you." He replied teasingly, and looked into her eyes playfully, earning furious blush from Minori.
She struggled to reply due to her embarrassment, but she finally managed to speak up in protest, "Raeger!!" She exclaimed and placed a light punch on his chest.
Raeger chuckled in amusement, finally giving in to Minori, "Alright, alright." He kissed her one last time on her forehead and her lips, then brought himself up before helping Minori up to a sitting position. His body was in heat; he wanted to do more, to fulfill his desire, but he knew that she was right. They have looked forward to this event for a while, and it'll be such a shame to miss it just because he couldn't control himself. He'll wait and be patient for now, since they'll have plenty of time together once they come back after the end of the event anyway.
...
Raeger and Minori finally arrived at the trade depot for the New Year's Festival, and noticed that almost everyone was already there. The pair did not arrive late, but they were cutting it close with just a few minutes left before the start time.
Shortly after they arrived, Minori could hear foot steps coming from the direction behind them, and instinctively, she immediately turned to see who it was.
Those footsteps came not just from one person, but two.
Klaus and Iris had just passed the entrance towards the trade depot, arriving together for the festival, but Minori noticed something... different. Klaus was being extra close with Iris than the usual, it almost seemed.. very protective. Minori squinted her eyes slightly to observe the pair in more detail, and noticed that his hand has been supporting the small of Iris- back, and holding her hand with the other one. In the middle of this confusion, however, Minori was relieved. Iris looked so much better compared to the last time she saw her, and so Minori smiled gratefully, still looking at them.
"Everything okay, hun?" Raeger enquired when he noticed Minori staring into just one direction.
"Ah! I'm sorry about that, Rae." She immediately stopped her observation and returned her attention towards Raeger. "It's Iris... she looks so much better today.. I'm glad." She smiled sweetly.
Raeger smiled towards her with even more adoration, loving the idea of how caring Minori is towards her loved ones. "Don't apologise... I'm glad to hear that too."
"But I am still curious about what actually happened before..." Minori expressed her curiosity. "She only mentioned that she left the Starlight Gala early because she wasn't feeling too well.. and that Klaus accompanied her home to make sure she's safe. But I somehow feel like there's more to it than just that.."
"You could ask her the next time you see her in private." Raeger suggested.
"You think I should? I don't want to seem like I pry into her business way too much."
"I mean.. you guys are best friends.." Raeger explained. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind telling you. Fritz and I share about our problems sometimes too."
"You're right.. I'll go over to her place next week." Minori smiled gently. "Thanks for your advice, Rae."
"Don't mention it." He returned the gesture, and proceeded to lead her into where the main event would start.
...
A pleasant chime coming from the bell that Veronica owned as the guild master signaled the start of the celebration, and she opened the ceremony by giving an end-of-year speech to appreciate the effort of everyone in town, and to voice her wishes for Oak Tree Town for the upcoming year. With celebratory claps from all of the villagers upon the conclusion of Veronica's speech, the festival finally began. Everyone began chatting around, eating the complimentary soba from Sakura country, and some happily dancing. Minori and Raeger started with each other, but they each began mingling around with their friends. They chatted happily, went to the stalls for some light snacks and drinks, and before they knew it, it was almost time for the end-of-year countdown.
Minori began looking for Raeger among the huge crowd, and was relieved when they finally found each other before the clock strikes 12.
"Raeger! I was starting to get worried I won't be able to see you for the countdown." Minori jumped into his embrace in relief, forgetting the presence of everyone else in public.
Although he was surprised by her sudden boldness, he was happy. He wanted to spend the first second of the new year with Minori, and was glad that Minori felt the same. He tightened his embrace around her, and kissed the top of her head lovingly. The couple stayed in the same position until the countdown began, when they finally let go of their clutch to put enough distance for the two of them to look at each other.
"10!!"
Everyone began counting down the last ten seconds of the year.
"9!!"
Raeger looked into Minori in the eyes, thankful of everything that has happened this year. She made his year special; revealing so many emotions he had previously never experienced, sharing their joy and misery together. He brought his hand up to her cheek and gently caress it, earning a gentle smile from Minori.
"5!!"
The countdown had reached 5 before he even realised, but he chose to keep his gaze fixed onto Minori. There was silence between the two, but no awkwardness at all. They just continued to be engulfed in each other's presence, deep into each other's eyes.
"4!!"
The crowd grew wilder as the countdown went closer and closer to zero.
"3!!!"
Raeger slowly began closing in to Minori, tilting his face to the left and opening his lips slightly apart.
"2!!!"
Minori looked at him with a gentle expression, slowly closing her eyes and following his cue, fully aware of what he intended to do.
"1!!!"
Raeger pulled her even closer into him, with his right hand still on her left cheek, but his left on the small of her back.
"0!!!!"
The crowd cheered loudly, exclaiming "Happy New Year!" to everyone around them. Raeger kissed Minori passionately, engraving this very moment into his memory. His kiss just before during dinner time with Minori was hot, wild, and a little sloppy; but his kiss right now is gentle, loving, and slow. He let the kiss last a little bit longer, until Minori had to pull out for some air, finally breaking the kiss.
"Happy New Year, Raeger." Minori spoke gently.
"Happy New Year to you too, Minori." He looked at her lovingly. "May we have many more New Year's Festival to celebrate together." He kissed her forehead, when he noticed her subtle fatigue.
"Are you okay, honey?" Raeger asked her with concern. "You look like you could use some sleep.."
"I'm just a little tired, that's all." She beamed reassuringly.
"Let's get you home anyway?" He offered.
"Oh, but the festival won't end until another hour!" Minori replied. "Are you sure, Rae?"
"Yeah, let's tell Veronica and the others we're leaving early and we can head back to my place." He outlined his plan. "Besides, I want you all to myself for a while tonight." He winked gently.
"Okay.." she giggled. "Let's go then."
The pair let go of each other's embrace at last, but continued walking hand in hand as they carried out the agreed plan, before finally leaving the trade depot and returning home, back to Raeger's room where they'll spend the night together.
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