Chapter Text
Chiaki Morisawa loved everyone.
Well - not everyone. But it sure seemed like he did. Don't take it the wrong way, he didn't harbor any hidden distaste for anyone or anything. He was just the cheery type; he was friendly to everyone no matter how close they actually were to him. Though because of his nonchalant behaviour concerning most, it comes off as a surprise to some that he's always dreamed of having a loving and cute girlfriend.
A girlfriend who'd make him bento every morning, console him when he needed it, and take care of him when he's ill. Oh, how he'd love that. He'd cherish her forever and would hope to repay her tenfold. He hummed, delighted at the thought.
Other than that, everyone was treated almost the same way. It shouldn't come as a surprise though that he played favourites.
His favourites being the members of his unit, Ryuseitai.
And to prove it, it was a bright Monday morning, and Chiaki was on his way to one of his juniors'. His only intention was to wake and pick him up ("like a proper senpai should!" he nodded to himself,) all the while fighting away his own grogginess.
"These burning rays won't stop me! Nay, they will energize me throughout the day! ☆", he told himself. Of course, he realized how noisy he was so early in the morning and stopped blabbing.
He also stopped walking, as he turned to his destination. He looked up at the store's sign.
"Greengrocer Takamine," he read aloud. Chiaki smiled to himself as he walked forward and gingerly peeked through into the house.
"Good morning!" He called out.
He waited, but there was no response. Maybe everyone was still asleep, he thought, until he heard a loud metal clang that was quickly followed by a recognizable yelp from inside.
Chiaki flinched at the noise and hurriedly let himself in with a mumbled and slurred "Sorry to intrude!" and ran over to where the bang came from, only to see Midori crouching on the ground with a ladle in his hand.
"Morisawa-senpai…" Midori looked up at Chiaki, quickly turned away and got up to put the ladle on the counter. Still avoiding his gaze, he sighed while getting back to whatever he was working on. "You're earlier than usual."
Chiaki laughed, boisterous as ever. "I could say the same with you, Takamine! You're usually never up this early," he sputtered as he went over to the counter and leaned over. "What are you making?"
"Isn't it obvious…? I'm making bento boxes for everyone." Midori pouted. And yeah, upon closer viewing, Chiaki noticed 5 boxes already completely packed. He turned his attention to Midori, who was now collecting all the bowls and plates into his arms.
"I'm just cleaning up," the taller boy said, dropping all the dishes into the sink. "I don't really want to do it, since I didn't even want to make bento today… But I'll get yelled at if I don't clean up after myself…"
"Do you want me to help? A good hero always helps whoever's in need!" Chiaki exclaimed. He looked to Midori for a response, but the boy kept his face away from Chiaki for whatever reason. Maybe it was just embarrassment, considering he could see Midori's ears being a bright red.
"Mm," Midori mumbled. "sure…" He still accepted, possibly because saying no would just lead to Chiaki pestering him until he gave in anyways.
Chiaki scooted over to take a rag and wipe up whatever tiny spills he noticed on the counter. There was a moment of silence, only filled with running water, the clacking of dishes being put aside to dry, and a small hum from Chiaki. The silence ended not even a minute in, cut by a question.
"Why did you decide to make bentos, Takamine?" Chiaki asked, eyes still on the table, wiping away. "You said you didn't want to."
He heard another groan from the younger boy. "My mom," he started. "She found out how fatigued we all were from practice and preparations, so she told me to make something that'd help restore everyone's stamina…"
The shorter boy nodded at this. "Hmm…! I see where she's coming from! With the event coming closer by the day, everyone's starting to get a little worn down. And not to mention, some of the others are a bit fussy after multiple nights staying over at the school. Regardless," He turned to Midori at this, "you've gotta keep your chin up Takamine! I think your mom was right! I'm sure with the meal even you could be energized-"
"Ugh," Midori cut him off before Chiaki could get too into his speech. He turns to Chiaki, face grim. "I don't think I'm energized at all, even after trying to make myself enjoy making the bentos more..."
Chiaki questioned the last bit, but decided not to voice his concerns in favour of consoling his dear underclassman. "Cheer up, Takamine! You'll definitely be in high spirits once you eat them yourself!" He beamed, and put his hand down on Midori's shoulder. And the rag that he held, also now on Midori's shoulder. It was damp, and made a gross squish sound on impact.
"Eughh," Midori cringed and pushed Chiaki's arm away. "Good thing I wasn't in my uniform..."
Chiaki, fretting, exclaimed "Takamine, I'm sorry!" Midori however, just sighed, possibly for the 5th time that day, in response.
"I'm gonna go change, you can leave without me, senpai." He said, untying his apron and groveling his way to his room. Chiaki decided to stay and help clean the rest of the mess when he heard a soft, yet completely audible "Ugh, it's so depressing… I wanna die…"
A few moments later, Midori was out of his dirtied house clothes and into his uniform. The kitchen was also clean, thanks to the efforts of Midori and a now slightly more careful Chiaki, who are both now standing in front of the dinner table, boxes filled with food in front of them.
"Thanks for the help…" Midori fumbled with the bento boxes on the table, which were all now individually wrapped in colour-coded cloth. He handed the one in red to Chiaki. "That one's yours, senpai. I could carry them all if you'd like but… ahh…" He grumbled, scratching his head.
"No worries!" Chiaki took the bento box into his hands and smiled. Thinking about it, getting a handmade bento from Midori made him a lot more happy than he should be. He's always known that he wanted to get a bento box from his (future) girlfriend - but that's that! His girlfriend! Was he just so desperate that any bento given to him will do? Either way, he has to be grateful no matter who gave it, so it should be fine!
"Morisawa-senpai?" Midori's voice said, apparently repeated but Chiaki didn't notice. "You've been making weird faces for a while now. Are you alr- wait, no…" He trailed off, turning his head back to the other four bentos he was tying up. "Stupid question, you're never alright… and I wouldn't have any advice anyways…" He was mumbling at this point, making the shorter boy come out of it and chuckle.
"W-what is it?" Midori shot back in surprise.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, it's nothing," Chiaki insisted. "We should hurry, or we'll end up late!"
"...Alright." Midori said with hesitation and a yawn, slowly following Chiaki out the house.