Hanging by a Moment (Private Vivi)

Akina's normally steady hands twitched. "I...like that...though..." She licked her lips quickly, finding her body was trembling slightly. "That's normally a lover's nickname for the other half, so...just between us?" She asks slowly, as she thinks of a dish in her head. Teriyaki chicken or steak sounded great, but there was a marinade that needed to be done. Maybe while the meat soaked, they could play a board game or something? She finally pulled out a bowl and some soy sauce and ginger as well as orange juice and Worcestershire sauce and chili powder. She also grabbed some cola and measuring cups. She told Viper how much of each ingredient to put into the bowl, after adding in the right amount of garlic and oil. She took the precaution to write everything down before turning to the refrigerator to pull out some fresh chicken.

The girl carefully used a knife to remove the skin and cut the two large pieces of meat into smaller pieces. After that, she prepared rice for cooking, and pulled out some fresh vegetables. "When the marinade is done, let the chicken soak in it for at least an hour. Do you want fried rice or plain rice?" She was filling a pot with water when she asked.

Viper chuckles a tad at her reaction to his nickname, and smiles softly at how she refered to the couple name be kept just between us.
"Very well~"
He watches her pull forth the ingredients, then hears her instructions, Viper begins doing as instructed but slowly, ensuring that everything is done perfect, going so far as to get everything perfectly lined up in the measuring cups with his Sharingan, should he be watched it would truly be a funny sight to view, the Hokage crouched beside a cup on the table eyes wide and staring at the lines to perfectly measure the liquid.
He adds each perfectly measured ingredient in to the bowl and smiles triumphantly, "Perfection!" he exclaims childishly, the Hokage's real age only known by those who cared to know him in the past before he made himself known by establishing his nation at his new age.
Viper grabs the chicken from her and puts it in the marinade as to let it soak, he thinks; "Friend rice sounds good Aiai!" he says with his smile still upon his lips, his time with her truly making him happy and forget the responsibilities he has, and the stress of ruling a nation, she truly is his cure to all the bad in his life it seems.
Viper sits in one of the empty kitchen chairs, "So what do you want to do while we wait on it to soak?" Viper asks, thinking about what there is to do at home, him and his brothers never stayed at home that much, they were always messing around outside. Speaking of his brothers, it seems him and Akina are the only ones home, or at least the others are not making enough noise to be noticed, regardless it hardly mattered, he was happy with her.

[Wordcount:1,110 from past posts and this one included.
4th Zetsu grown back at base with 1K words.]

Approved.

Akina tsked her tongue slightly as she noticed Viper trying too hard to be perfect, and then she burst into a giggling fit. "Vivi..." she walked over to him slowly, trying to place her hands on his shoulders. She would start to rub them gently if he let her. "You're trying to hard to be right on the nose. I've messed up on cooking a ton of times, but if I'm having fun with it, unless it looks like a dragon breathed on it, it generally still tastes good." She smiled warmly before getting out the ingredients for the fried rice. "Your precision; however, is unparalleled." She smiled broadly.

As Viper placed the chicken in the bowl, Akina sank into the stiff wooden chair. "Do you like to play board games?" Her eyes showed her curiosity. "Chess, maybe?" She was in a strategic gaming mood. She smiled more today than usual, and she realized how hungry she was when her stomach growled loudly.

Viper chuckles softly at the comment about a dragon cooking the food, something he has seemingly accomplished in the past, he smiles feeling her hands upon his shoulder.
"Well, I do not wanna have us eating chicken burned by a dragon, then I gotta do it all over again" Viper says playfully.

Viper proceeds to take his seat watching her sit beside him, he hears her request, "Hm, never been one for board games" He then hears her bring up chess which causes a smirk to form upon his lips, he speaks in a teasing tone, "You so do not want to take me on in chess, I'm undefeated in all of Konohagakure no Sato ever since I was a kid!" Viper proclaims, his smirk wide a bit of his ego showing through.

Akina laughed loudly at the comment Viper made, and she decided to think of something else to say. Nothing really came to mind, but as she slid easily into her chair that was across from Viper, she smiled. "Is that right?" Her tones said that she was curious to play him at his own games, but she felt that she would definitely lose against him.

A better woman would have taken heart and not have doomed herself to such shame, but Akina knew Viper too well for such stupid romantic notions. Still, there was something within him that most people rejected that she accepted, but that didn't make her feelings any easier to deal with. She sighed and started to twiddle her thumbs. "So...what is it about me that you like?" It was something the girl asked herself very often, and if games were out of the question, then she should try to get a conversation in before people annoyed her.

Viper hears her question, he never really gave it much thought, all he knows is that he really care about her, everything about her seems to make his day brighter.
Viper answers bluntly smiling wide."Everything!"
With this Viper stands and walks to the living room pulling a box from atop one of the cabinets and blows the dust off it, he brings it back in the kitchen.
Viper sits the box on the table and opens it revealing a finely crafted wooden chess set, unknowingly made by Viper in his youth, "Shall we play?" He offers about to set up the board and pieces.

Akina sighed a little. His very blunt answer was somewhat surprising and she wondered if he would one day figure out the little reasons as to why he liked her, but she was satisfied for now. Life seemed better with him, but she wondered if he felt the same way, but she was more interested in where Viper was going for a few moments.

He gently placed the box on the table, and Akina watched him open the box with avid curiosity. There was a checkered board that was placed on the table and some of the pieces were retrieved and placed on the board. Her head bobbed slightly as he asked her if she wanted to play, and she carefully picked up her pieces and began to set them up with some care, taking note that the pieces were very unique, or possibly handmade. She smiled, even though she had only played chess a few times, she imagined that she was going to have fun playing a strategy game with Viper.

Viper carefully sets up his own pieces, he picks a few pieces of dust from the corners of his pieces.
Viper smirks with the pieces now set up, he is curious how she will challenge him, no one really has in his entire life but maybe today will be different.
Viper leans back a bit in his chair, Akina has white so it is her turn first, Viper sniffs the air, the food is getting a smell aroma to it, his stomach growls in response.


Made it for lols in case you really do wanna play XD

Spoiler:

Akina was mesmerized by the purity of the white pieces she was taking extra care to arrange, and when she was done, she could smell the marinade. The smell often reminded her of home, or at the very least, things that were supposed to be associated with a home.

Her fingers lightly touched a pawn on the chess board. She said quietly. "Pawn to E8." It probably was not one of her best moves, but it was a start. She just had to remember to stay calm and think things through. She smiled warmly.