"Oh come now. You and I both know we could compliment each other's cooking until we were blue in the face, and never decide on who's was best." Katsuya knows your games, but he's still smiling.

"The cake was just to soothe singed tongues, not to run away with the attention. But, I did say I wouldn't let you down. I endeavored to do as good of a job as you would have done, given enough time to do both."

This is easier. He still doesn't know why it should be the case. But he does know he had missed the banter. The food discussions. The...levity of the conversation.