Work Text:
The lazy hum of cicadas and slight rustle of agitated leaves, marks another summer day passing by with ease. Ever since the meet Sousuke had come to appreciate these things more fully, such as a simple self-made meal under the shade of a campus tree during break. Here, there were no heavy thoughts to plague him, only the peaceful silence and warmth of his food to relax him.
"Yamazaki-senpai!" Came a booming voice, echoing despite the open air and effectively disrupting the serene scene in seconds. With a sigh Sousuke places his chopsticks, that had been inches away from his mouth, onto his Tupperware. He turns to the source of the noise to see a flash of orange bounding up to him, wide grin even brighter under the rays of the sun.
"Momo." Sousuke returns as Momotarou plants himself in the grass, landing with a small thud next to him.
"What are you doing? Eating? It looks good!" Momotarou strung together his questions in perfect succession with little time in between. The red-head leans heavily on his right arm, pressing their shoulders together as he grows closer. "What is it? Teriyaki? Can I have some?"
"Sure." Sousuke’s shoulder grows a bit warm from the pressure, just glad Momo had the sense to sit to his left. Momo bounces excitedly, a movement that could be felt between them as he picks up a piece of chicken before Sousuke has a moment to change his mind. "I can always make more anyways." He finishes, watching Momo’s hand freeze where it was.
"Wait! You made this?" Momo asks, eyes shining orbs of orange that remain transfixed on him. "Really?" The idea seemed to have intrigue him, being a middle child cooking was never something he had to concern himself with. So, the fact that there was others of similar age to him who could was astounding.
"Yeah. There is no need to get so excited." Sousuke comments as Momo begins to fidget. If Momo hears the second part of his comment, there is no indication of it, the otter reminiscent boy placing the chicken in his mouth and chewing carefully. "Hey, you’re getting food over yourself." He isn’t sure how Momo managed to smudge sauce that high up on his nose, teriyaki glistening out of place on his skin. Sousuke leans forward to rub the dressing off, Momo’s nose scrunching up at the contact. There is a small affectionate smile that forms on Sousuke face as Momotarou squirms away from his hand.
"This is good!" Momo bursts, smile wide as his face is filled with amazement. Sousuke opens his mouth to reply, prepared to make a statement when the school bells rang through the halls.
"Here. You can have the rest." Sousuke places the remaining food onto Momo’s lap, rising from his seat as he receives a couple blinks of confusion. "See you later, Momo." With a ruffle of the boy’s tangerine hair, Sousuke begins his trek back to class without waiting for a reply.
"Ah! Yamazaki-senpai!" Momo calls before he can retreat to far, his back already leaving view. "I’ll make you something next time!"
"I’ll look forward to it." Sousuke replies faintly, giving an off-handed salute as he continues to class.
After finishing the meal his upperclassmen had left for him, Momotarou was left to embark on his journey to learn how to cook. He enlists the help of Nitori, who’s apprehensive attitude is solidified when Momo blows up the first thing he tries to make. Too terrified to leave him alone in a kitchen, Nitori begrudgingly resolves to try to help him configure a simple tamagoyaki after classes and practice. Momo finds the task harder than originally anticipated, always adding too much of something or another. It takes him 3 days to make something even remotely solid and it turns out to be way too salty to stomach. Next time, the amount of sugar gives him cavities and he burns himself several times in the process. The dish was complicated for something with only 5 ingredients in it. The small culinary arts room they use often grows stuffy, clouding vision with black puffs of smoke from Momotarou several burned creations. For the remainder of the week it’s constant runs to the local convenience store for a very confused Rin, who doesn’t understand why they need so many eggs and Band-Aids. How Nitori manages to convince him not to worry without a proper explanation is beyond Momo’s comprehension. Regardless, the days move on and by the 2nd week of sleep-deprived labor, it finally pays off. He finally produces a thin egg that he folds as neatly as his patience allows and it’s edible at least, which is more than he can say about his last 20 attempts. With a satisfied grin, Momo packs the meal and finds Sousuke in the same spot during the lunch that follows.
"Yamazaki-senpai." Momo calls, voice a little softer than it usually is. The man’s teal eyes flicker up, squinting at the harsh light of the sun as his eyes focus on Momotarou. The young otter is squirming where he stood with his face slightly flushed as he avoids direct contact with Sousuke’s gaze, hands fiddling with whatever he was holding behind his back.
"Momo." Sousuke returns as usual, bringing a hand up to shield his eyes as Momo thrusts a packaged meal into his nose.
"For you." Momo explains as Sousuke softly tugs the package out of his grip, the raven-haired male smiling softly when he notes the various bandages decorating Momo’s hand.
"Thanks." Sousuke had almost forgotten of that promise Momo had made, but the hard work put into the meal was evident. Momo plants himself to Sousuke’s left, warming the air between them despite the summer heat. He watches with nervous excitement as Sousuke unwraps the meal, hesitating slightly before taking a bite into the softened egg. The food is surprisingly bland, the texture slightly rubbers as Sousuke chews. It’s not bad for someone who’s not used to cooking, Sousuke thinks as he takes a couple of other bites.
"So? Do you like it?" Momo asks, twiddling with his hands as he waits for a response. Sousuke pauses briefly, tapping the chopsticks to his mouth as he thinks to how to phrase his words.
"It’s not bad. I’ll teach you tamogoyaki sushi later." Sousuke responds, watching Momo smile bright, big, goofy as always.
"Okay!" Momo enthusiastically rejoices, all the previous tension that had been in his shoulder suddenly gone. Sousuke plants a smiling peck into Momo’s cheek, the otter’s face turning more exuberant than his hair as he tackles his companion for revenge. Meanwhile, the Tupperware of eggs remains settled on the grass, a gentle beginning of lots of shared meals to come.