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Rin sets the plate down on the table in front of Sousuke and takes a step back, watching him carefully. He knows Sousuke very well, and knows that Sousuke might lie to appease him or make him feel better. That's why Rin's gotta pay close attention to his face, to catch every twitch, every pause, every reaction he makes to the meal that's set before him.
He had worked very hard on learning how to cook since he left for Australia the second time. He didn't want to be dependent on anyone for a simple meal, and wanted to be in charge of his calories and diet especially now that he was getting even closer to his dream. With all of that in mind, he had worked out a schedule with Lori and was starting out small. They were going over the basics, trying small items and side dishes, not quite at making a complete meal yet - until today. Sort of.
Today's adventure is homemade blueberry pancakes from scratch with scrambled eggs. Rin’s pretty proud of himself, but is certain his mother was going to bite his head off the moment she returned home and found the disaster area that she used to call her kitchen. He doesn’t want to think about it; he had to keep stopping himself from cleaning to make sure he didn’t take time away from cooking.
Today, Sousuke would be his taste tester for the first time. While he’s home for a week’s break, Rin figures it’s the perfect time to test his skills.
"Tell me the honest truth," Rin says, folding his arms across his chest as he watches Sousuke expectantly, waiting for him to take the first bite.
Sousuke is grinning widely, obviously amused at Rin's efforts and how concerned he is for Sousuke's opinion. He could only imagine how much work Rin had put into the meal, what with the flour powdered in multiple places across his apron ('It's my mom's, you jerk, I didn't want to get dirty!')
"If it's the truth, wouldn’t it be honest?" Sousuke answers teasingly, super pleased to see the glare Rin sends his way in reply. "So. How long do you think it takes for the signs of food poisoning to show?"
"You don't trust my cooking?"
"If I remember your attempts in the past correctly…"
"The TV rushes things, okay?! How was I supposed to follow along if I didn't skip a few steps to keep up?"
"Uh huh."
"Sousuke. I'll take it back and lace it with poison if you keep this up."
Sousuke puts his elbow on the table and sets his chin in his hand to prop his head up, smirking. "Was that a confession?"
"I… Ugh, just try it! I worked really hard on it and I want to know if it's great or if Lori should stop wasting her time."
"Hmm." Sousuke glances down at the plate that's settled in front of him. It does look good. The three pancakes aren't round, more like giant blobs with blue dots randomly spread across them. On the center of the top pancake sits three lopsided strawberries with syrup and a dab of what looks like whipped cream. The eggs are to the side of the pancakes, and it's clear that Rin tried his damnedest to make the plate look presentable. The pancakes are dark, but not burnt, and the eggs look decent. Sousuke doesn't see any immediate warning signs anywhere.
"You're breaking my heart over here," Rin says, frowning.
Sousuke laughs as he picks up his fork and knife, cutting into the tower of pancakes to get a small triangular piece, making sure to dip it in the syrup and whipped cream. Rin's biting on his lower lip nervously, and Sousuke really wishes that he had a camera to capture how worried and adorable Rin looks. It's endearing but he knows that saying so will result in getting a plate full of breakfast in his lap, so he refrains.
He stabs a strawberry with the fork as well, and brings the fork full of food to his mouth to eat it, taking care to chew slowly in order to really savor the taste. Rin's watching him silently, and Sousuke notices that he has at some point stepped in closer so he was right next to him. Maybe Sousuke will confess how cute he thinks Rin looks - later, when the food is no longer there to serve as a threat.
Sousuke swallows the fork full and moves to cut another piece, not commenting on the taste or the texture or anything, just eats piece by piece very slowly, dragging out the movements on purpose because Sousuke knows it'll draw a rise out of Rin and exasperate him.
That is exactly what it does; Rin groans loudly before slamming his left hand on the table while his right hand rests on his hip. Sousuke nearly chokes on his food while trying to stop himself from cackling.
"Well?? You're still eating, so it must be good. Do you think it's good? Is it undercooked? Damnit, just tell me! How am I supposed to improve if my taste tester is an uncaring idiot that just likes to make me suffer in silence?"
"I'm simply savoring it. Wanting to make sure I experience every spot to ensure it was cooked evenly," Sousuke replies with a shrug, as if his words should be common knowledge. "You know, make sure the flavor is consistent." He pauses to take a few small bites of the eggs, nodding slowly to himself while Rin's fingers start tapping loudly against the table top.
"I am never cooking for you again," Rin grumbles. He starts to turn around to walk away but is stopped when Sousuke grabs his wrist to keep him put. Rin looks back at him, but Sousuke isn't even looking his way; he's still eating, small bite after small bite, making sure to mix the eggs into the syrup, and get bites of strawberry with each piece of pancake.
In frustration, Rin starts struggling against Sousuke's hold when an entire minute of Sousuke's silent eating goes by, but Sousuke doesn't let go. He tightens his hold, his thumb brushing the skin of Rin's wrist in small swipes, up and down, as if that should be enough of an answer for him.
"I swear…"
"I give it a B, for effort."
"B? You're kidding me, right? That deserves an A!"
"As are rarely given."
"You ate just about the whole thing! What the hell did I have to do to get an A?"
Sousuke doesn't answer, instead pulls at Rin's arm to tug him forward so he practically stumbles and falls against him. Rin places a hand back on the table to steady himself but doesn't move away fast enough to avoid Sousuke's lips crashing into his. He tastes sweet and syrupy, and there was maybe a bit of whipped cream on his lower lip that Rin now wonders if he left on purpose, and there's also the taste that is so distinctly Sousuke. It's a heavenly combination that he thinks needs to happen more often - warm and sweet and soft.
Sousuke's the one that eases back, leaving a blinking and bewildered Rin as he lets go of Rin's wrist to go back to his meal, finishing off the bits that remained on his plate.
"Mm. An A would've been earned if there were more pancakes. Maybe three more. I also don't think there were enough strawberries. This was very sweet, I'm surprised since it's not your taste, but I greatly enjoyed it. Next time, maybe don't be so stingy. And maybe add some tomatoes and peppers to the eggs, it adds more protein that way. That would've given you an A for sure. This was lazy."
"L-lazy…" Rin trails off. He licks his lips to get a taste of whatever bit of sweetness and Sousuke that was left before he kicks Sousuke's shin from under the table. Sousuke's laughing again, unable to help himself even as Rin undoes the frilly blue apron from behind his back and pulls it up over his head. He rolls it onto a ball and throws it at Sousuke before sighing loudly, grabbing the empty plate from the table to turn back to the kitchen. "You're an ungrateful bastard and I am never feeding you again."
"But Rin, how else will you learn?" Sousuke calls out to Rin's retreating back, his laughter only growing harder at the arm that comes up to display Rin's reply in the form of a middle finger pointed in his direction.
"Whatever! You get kitchen duty, then, since I slaved away at this subpar B breakfast and all."
Sousuke gets up, trying desperately to contain his laughter as he follows Rin into the kitchen. "Rin, it was delicious, you know I was playing with you. I wasn't expecting it to be so good. It was really good for your first time. It was really it was hard not to eat it all in one… shot…" Sousuke trails off, eyes widening at the sight that greets him in the doorway of the kitchen.
Rin's a neat freak, that's for sure. But neat freak Rin seems to have taken a small hiatus during his first solo breakfast excursion because there's flour and sugar all over the counter, dirty spoons and bowls in the sink, and the ingredients still laid out on the kitchen table.
"I didn't want to keep you waiting," Rin mumbles as he goes into the fridge for a water bottle. "Being in here is making my eye twitch. Let me know when you're done, we should go for a jog while it's still early."
"But - wait - this isn't - "
When Rin moves to walk past Sousuke, he stops long enough to press a kiss to Sousuke's cheek. "Think about that next time you give me a shitty grade."
Rin walks away and into the living room, and Sousuke just sighs loudly, knowing that he didn't have much of a say in the matter anymore; Rin's mother would be back soon and he didn't want her to return to a mess.
"You're a demon, Matsuoka Rin," Sousuke shakes his head as he finally makes his way into the kitchen, heading toward the paper towels to start cleaning up.