As the rain hastily became even heavier and heavier, Kiyoko's pace increased. If she didn't get back quickly enough, her coat would still be soaked through by the next morning and she wouldn't be able to lend it to Yachi for her important interview, which she was anticipating nervously.
Finally, with a sigh of relief, she reached the front door. She was relieved, if slightly worried, to find it unlocked. Giving it an urgent shove, she pushed down on the handle and let herself in. The smell of baked goods instantly greeted her nose - she could almost taste it! She wondered how much had been made in the last five hours or so that she had been gone for to leave such a strong smell.
Imagining Yachi anxiously cracking eggs, only to drop half of the shell in her bowl in her worried state, she couldn't decide whether to be amused or concerned for her. It was a sweet way of managing stress for sure but only when it was a small amount of stress and only when it was one or two things made. For this, she must've been really anxious about the interview and it ultimately wasn't something to laugh about this time.
Realising she had been caught up in her thoughts and rain was getting on the carpet, Kiyoko softly pushed the door shut. It wouldn't be good to make loud noises now, she decided. She coughed quietly as she made her way into the kitchen so that Yachi wouldn't be startled by her sudden presence.
Straight away, Yachi came running out of the kitchen, ''oh no, a-are you getting s-s-s-sick. This isn't my fault, is it? Oh my god, it is! I'm s-so s-s-sorry, I s-should've made you take an umbrella or something, shouldn't I?''
''No, no. I'm fine. Really.'' Kiyoko assured her, ''I was only outside for a little while. I-''
''O-oh my god. I-I left s-s-something in the oven unsupervised. Oh no, it's going to burn, isn't it?'' she said, returning to the kitchen as hurriedly as she had left it, leaving Kiyoko frozen midsentence.
She sighed, following her into the kitchen and frowning at the sight of the countertops, which were completely coated with flour, sugar, and other baking ingredients. The powerful smell of vanilla in here would stick for days at least. Kiyoko slid on the yellow gloves and grabbed a sponge to wash it all away.
''W-w-w-what are you d-doing?'' Yachi asked, crouched down on the floor in front of the oven.
''I'm just cleaning,'' Kiyoko said, after a pause. She hadn't actually planned to say anything and let her actions speak for themselves but thought that it would ease Yachi's nervousness if she knew what she was doing.
''N-no! I can do that myself when I've finished baking,'' Yachi said.
''It's okay,'' Kiyoko said. ''I don't mind. Go watch something on TV and I'll do the rest, alright?''
''But what i-if you mmmiss a s-spot?'' Yachi blurted out. ''I-I-I-I. I-I m-mean, I'm not s-s-saying you c-can't do it properly or a-anything b-b-but-''
''I know, don't worry,'' Kiyoko said, trying to save her the effort of more talking.
''N-no, yyyou think I'm a bad p-person now, d-d-don't you? I-I-I didn't mean it like that, I-''
''You don't like things to be dirty, I know. It's okay,'' she said. ''You look a little bit red. It's okay if you just go and sit down for a bit. I can do the rest.''
''C-can y-y-you...'' Yachi started to say something but trailed off, leaving an uncomfortable silence. ''N-no, never mind, actually.''
''What is it?'' Kiyoko asked. ''Don't worry, it's okay.''
''I-it d-doesn't really m-matter,'' she said. ''I w-was just w-w-wondering if yyou would c-come with mmme? I-I-It's fine if y-y-you don't want t-to!''
''Of course,'' Kiyoko said, putting a big smile on her face to try to soothe the other. ''What do you want to watch then?''
''I-I don't know c-c-can we just put on t-that thing we w-w-were watching last night?'' Yachi asked, fiddling with the hem of her t-shirt.
''Okay, I'll go and put it on,'' Kiyoko said. ''Now, you start counting.''
''I a-a-always f-feel s-silly doing that,'' Yachi whined.
''Well, it works, doesn't it?'' Kiyoko asked before she started counting.
''T-t-thanks for that,'' Yachi said when Kiyoko came back to the sofa to settle down. ''T-that helped a lot. Can you help me practice again later though? I'm still a bit worried.''
''Yeah, that's fine,'' Kiyoko said.
''Thanks,'' Yachi said again, surprisingly not catching herself on her words this time.
''It was the yeast I could do,'' Kiyoko said, hoping to get a grin out of the other (but getting breathless laughter instead).