Close to You || Chifuyu Matsuno

Chapter 37

After you talked to Ian and he saw how much better you were looking than the last time he saw you, he insisted he cooks for you to celebrate. He used to do that a few times, it was his way of showing gratitude that you were doing the grocery shopping for him every week, and repair his broken devices. Chifuyu got excited by the idea and asked if his family can join the dinner.

"Of course, it was a long time ago since my family visited me, and was able to cook for them..." Ian looked at the floor with a nostalgic look in his eyes, and Chifuyu and you looked at each other sadly. "But I don't think I can fit that many people around my dining table..."

"It's okay, we can cook at my place, I have enough room for all of us." Chifuyu smiled and Ian's face lit up.

"Excellent! How many of us are gonna be there exactly?" Ian asked as he walked back to his apartment and Chifuyu and you followed.

He pulled out a piece of paper from a cookbook and sat down at the table to calculate the ingredients necessary.

Chifuyu looked at you and started listing the names, while you counted on your fingers.

"Uh, let's see, you, Y/N, me, Takemitchi, Hina, Amaya, Baji and Kazutora."

Chifuyu wanted to invite Kazutora to thank him for helping him deal with Noa and this way he can introduce you to him too.

"Eight people, wow!" Ian eyes lit up, finally he can be around people who he can talk to, since his family's not visiting him that often, despite them not living that far.

He started scribling down what he needed from the store and you and Chifuyu grinned at each other, seeing the old man's excitement.

"I hope you like Gumbo."

"I haven't eaten Gumbo since forever!" Chifuyu said with a grin.

"I actually never tried it, but seeing Chifuyu's reaction it must be delicious." you smiled.

"Believe me, you're gonna love it!" Chifuyu said excited as he took the paper from Ian's hands and led you out of the apartment.

On the way to the store Chifuyu explained what kind of dish it was and that the last time he ate it was when his mother made it when he was a little kid.

"Looks like Demon Slayer has to wait." you smiled at Chifuyu as he picked various spices off the shelf.

"Yeah, but I don't mind, Ian seemed pretty excited when I suggested inviting more people for dinner. Do you know anything about his family? Chifuyu asked.

"Not much, I know he has a son, but when he got together with this woman he visited Ian less and less and since they got married and had a kid, they only visit him like twice a year."

"That's sad, he's such a nice man."

"Yeah, he is." you agreed.

You looked at Chifuyu with a small
smile.

Chifuyu smiled back at you and kissed your temple.

He texted everyone while you were in the line waiting to pay, and everyone agreed to go to his place at 5.

Once you were back in the apartment, and Ian looked around in Chifuyu's kitchen, he realized that Chifuyu didn't have bowls and pots big enough to make a meal for many people.

Before Chifuyu could freak out, Ian said they can use his, but Chifuyu didn't calm down.

"Damn, I just moved here, what was I thinking, I don't have enough plates and glasses and cutlery and..."

"Whoah, whoah whoah!" you rushed to him and cupped his face. "We can use yours and mine too, we can bring in my table too and put it next to yours, so everyone can sit down comfortably, I can bring over some glasses too, everything's fine." you smiled as you caressed his cheeks with your thumbs.