Work Text:
The first thing Jyuto noticed when he stepped inside his apartment was that the lights were on, despite him always turning them off when he left for work. The second was that the air was rich with the smell of spices and cooked food, further confirmed by the sound of something cooking from the direction of his kitchen.
The last thing he noticed was a pair of black boots left haphazardly discarded in the middle of his entryway.
Jyuto couldn’t fight his smile as he walked in to see Aohitsugi Samatoki, his white hair messily pinned out of his face and a black apron tied around him, working away in his kitchen.
His red eyes, which were previously focused on the meal he’d been preparing, snapped up when he noticed Jyuto.
“Yo, Jyuto, I’m using your kitchen,” was all he said.
Jyuto shook his head with an amused huff as he slid off his work bag and coat. Apparently, his latest case would have to wait.
“Yes, I can see that,” he said and went to join him in the kitchen.
Jyuto had given his leader a key to his apartment a long while ago, and even though he used it fairly often, it always felt like a surprise when he’d come home to find someone waiting for him.
He stepped in close behind Samatoki and leaned over his shoulder to see what he was up to. “What are you doing?” Jyuto asked.
Samatoki tried to shrug him off. “Cooking, obviously. Get offa’ me and go get changed, it’s almost done,” he ordered.
Jyuto could almost laugh at the entire situation, but he didn’t and instead did as Samatoki told him.
His bath was short. He exited the steam-filled bathroom, a towel wrapped around his neck to catch the water that dripped off his brown hair, dressed only in a sweater and a pair of dark trunks.
Samatoki looked up from setting the table, and whatever he saw made a smirk break out on his face.
“What, you too lazy to put on pants?” He slurred.
Jyuto narrowed his eyes at Samatoki with a tilt of his head.
“Is that the reason why you never wear a shirt?” Jyuto asked, reminded of Samatoki’s apparent inability to wear a shirt that didn’t expose his chest.
“Fuck you,” he said. “I worked hard to get what I have, can’t blame me if I gotta’ show it off.”
“Of course,” Jyuto said in a condescending voice.
Samatoki continued to stare at him as Jyuto moved to join him at the table. He never was subtle in how much he ogled Jyuto.
“So, you gonna’ stay dressed like that?” He asked, his smirk growing even more obnoxious.
“It’s too hot,” Jyuto answered. “Besides, it’s nothing you haven’t seen already.”
Samatoki laughed as his sharp eyes traveled down Jyuto’s body.
“Can’t say you’re wrong,” he drawled.
Jyuto waited a moment for Samatoki to make the first move, but he clearly had no problem with just looking.
“Samatoki…” Jyuto said, his voice low and steady, and gestured with a finger for Samatoki to come closer.
Samatoki smirked as he met Jyuto with a kiss.
Their kiss was soft and brief, but it was immediately followed by more. Jyuto preferred to take the lead in their kisses, and he knew exactly what Samatoki liked. Normally he’d make Samatoki work for it first, but for whatever reason, in this quiet moment between them— he felt especially giving.
Samatoki tried to pull away, but Jyuto placed his hand at Samatoki’s neck and brought him back in with another kiss to the corner of his lips.
When they finally separated, Samatoki laughed.
“What, you have a good day at work, or something?”
Jyuto chuckled. “Not in the slightest.”
“Damn, then you should have bad days more often,” he said, and leaned in just enough to rest his forehead against Jyuto’s.
“Trust me, every day is a bad day.”
Samatoki laughed again. “Ain’t that the fucking truth.”
Jyuto ran his hand down Samatoki’s throat, and his eyes fell shut for just a moment as he breathed in the air between them. It wasn’t like them to be this soft, but he supposed he could allow it on occasion.
Eventually, they separated and Jyuto cleared his throat.
“So, what did you make?”
“Give me a sec, I’ll show you,” Samatoki said before he went to retrieve the last dish from the stove.
“Do you need any help?” Jyuto asked.
“No. Just sit the hell down,” he growled.
Jyuto rolled his eyes before he sat, and he looked at the dishes in front of him.
Samatoki had cooked for him and Rio on occasion, but it was never without reason. Usually, it’d be because he wanted to showcase for them his ‘impressive’ cooking skills or he was just trying to work off some stress, though right now it didn’t seem like either was the case.
“Is this some way of you asking for a favor?”
“What? Hell no,” he said with a frown. “Just figured you’d be breaking your balls over that shitty case you got. Plus, I know you always eat that disgusting crap from the convenience store when you’re busy, which is pretty pathetic.”
“Thank you for that,” Jyuto sneered with an unamused smile.
“Hey, I’m not the one who eats that shit. Anyway, just thought it’d do you some good to eat something fucking great for once,” he said with a smug grin.
Jyuto’s lips spread into a coy smile as he bit back a sharp insult. He wouldn’t put it past Samatoki that if Jyuto made fun of him as he usually did, he would leave and take all of his food with him out of spite.
Finally, the meal was ready and Samatoki lazily explained the collection of dishes he cooked: stir-fry, hamburger steaks, and tamagoyaki with cheese—to name a few, were all among the variety.
“I thought you didn’t like vegetables?” Jyuto asked.
“I made them for you, dumbass,” he said.
Jyuto furrowed his brow.
“You really didn’t have to,” he started.
“Shut up and be grateful that the Samatoki-sama made something for you,” he said.
As humble as ever.
Samatoki leaned his head into his hand, his elbow on the table, a sudden pensive look on his face.
“Besides, it’s been a while since I’ve had anyone to make dinner for, y’know?”
Jyuto nodded.
He had at first found it out of character for someone like Samatoki to have the patience and inclination to cook, but it had made more sense after Samatoki had told him about his life growing up. Jyuto guessed that he must have learned something after being thrust into the role of a guardian at such a young age.
But now he was on his own.
“I suppose you’ll just have to come over more often,” he said.
Samatoki smiled. “Sure, but you’re gonna' have to work for it if you want my food every day.”
Jyuto let out a half-hearted laugh; he wouldn’t have expected him to agree so readily.
Samatoki didn’t bother with niceties before he dug into his meal, but Jyuto just stared at his plate.
He wasn’t quite able to tell if Samatoki was joking or not, after all—it was strange to even imagine it.
Jyuto had known Samatoki for several years, and though their relationship had naturally progressed to the point where it was now, being close like this and eating dinner together somehow still didn’t feel quite real.
A few years ago, this never would have happened. A few years ago, he had no one save for a single friendship- a friendship that was never allowed the chance to become something else. He had no power, no connections.
He’d come home to an empty apartment, tired and beaten down, solaced only by the hope that all his efforts would eventually mean something.
This time felt so similar: Jyuto was exhausted from work, all week he’d been straining to find any semblance of information. He had already asked Samatoki about his problem, but the other had come up empty-handed as well.
When he had left the station that evening, he’d anticipated another long night of hard work and dead ends.
But this, the food, Samatoki….
It was nice.
“Oh, I almost forgot. I found a lead for that case of yours.”
Jyuto dropped his chopsticks.
“You what?”
Samatoki wasn’t looking at him, more preoccupied with filling his plate.
“I got you a lead,” he repeated. “Wasn’t easy. Had to call in a favor, so you seriously owe me a big one.”
Jyuto gaped at Samatoki.
“That should have been the first thing you said!” He exclaimed, utterly dumbfounded. Samatoki just shrugged. “What are we waiting for?”
Jyuto shoved himself out of his seat, but Samatoki pointed his chopsticks at him threateningly.
“Sit your ass back down. I’ll tell you after we eat. I know I’m fucking starving,” he said.
Jyuto was struck speechless. He sat back down in his seat, unable to stop staring at Samatoki in disbelief. He could see, even as Samatoki tried to hide it with his drink, that he was smiling.
“God damn you…”