Chapter Text
Before Kakashi had retired he’d take his work home in the evenings when Sasuke sent word of an impending arrival. He hated the idea of Sasuke showing up to their home and finding it empty and dark. Sasuke didn’t mind it so much, insisting he was fine to settle in and wait for Kakashi’s return, but if it meant luring Kakashi away from the Tower earlier he never protested very hard.
Now, Kakashi doesn’t really have anywhere else to be, will spend the evenings waiting in their large backyard with the animals they’d adopted: two playful mutts and a sweet grey-haired kitten that would sit by his side with her head on his thigh when he’d gotten enough of running around with the dogs.
There he is.
Kakashi can always sense when Sasuke arrives, a powerful chakra like the beginnings of a summer storm - heat and all. It sends little sparks across his equally charged skin, the darker veins of his right arm pulsing softly like it is calling up the beginnings of a chidori and hair standing on end.
He can feel Sasuke, but he doesn’t see him just yet.
When Kakashi had been Hokage, Sasuke had no qualms about showing up as he was; reporting in with twigs on his cloak and leaves clinging to his hair. Since then, Sasuke had become quite precious about sneaking in to shower first, no matter how much Kakashi had protested this. It’s cute, this desire to leave some mystery and wanting to appear in front of his husband fresh-faced and sweet smelling after what was often still months apart.
So, Kakashi lets him have his way and makes his way to the kitchen instead when he senses the flicker of chakra arrive and disappear inside. Their cat follows him back inside and curls up in her favourite spot on Kakashi’s recliner while he gets to work on dinner.
Homecoming days mean Kakashi doesn’t know exactly when Sasuke will get home, though he keeps their fridge and pantry well stocked with the basics and seasonal produce. Laying his ingredients out, he rolls up the sleeves of his grey civvies shirt.
Wash, dry, chop.
It’s therapeutic, to look at a blade in a whole new way. He moves his knife fluidly, part of a set he’d been gifted from Sasuke on the day of his retirement. Sasuke knew he loved to cook of course, benefited the most from this hobby much to the rest of Team 7’s annoyance. Husband privileges, he’d said smugly, sitting closer to Kakashi as the rest of them had pouted.
Kakashi had been staring at the gift, tracing the simple but elegant handles, their polished steel and the velvet they’d been set in. What had for so long been mainly weapons meant to maim and kill, now an instrument he would use mainly to provide for his loved ones. He’d been embarrassed at his own emotion over it, brought out of images of cooking haphazardly as a child for his often haggard father by a gentle kiss to his brow.
He tosses the vegetables into a bowl and sets out the meat, watching a large pot of water on the stove. He’s seasoning as he goes and debating what wine to pair with it when an arm comes around his waist and he feels the dampness of Sasuke’s freshly washed hair against the back of his neck.
“I’m back,” murmured softly against his skin.
He turns around to greet his partner properly, kissing him like he hasn’t gotten to in months before he begins his usual inspection for any injuries. There isn’t much that can hurt Sasuke now, but he’d thought the same about others before.
He won’t take any homecomings for granted.
“Welcome home.”
Sasuke leans up again, trapping him against the counter and curling around him like a large cat, wild and untamed as a jungle variety but as gentle as the little one curled up in their living room. Kakashi will indulge him a little now (a lot later) before leading him to sit at their wooden table. Sasuke rolls his eyes at this, he’d be perfectly content to distract Kakashi away from dinner now, only to wake with a grumpy and wanting stomach later.
Sasuke’s in one of Kakashi’s yukatas, not the usual dark navy he personally favors but a warm, earthy green. It’s a little habit he'd developed after he moved in - especially when he’d been away for a while, wrapping himself up in Kakashi’s scent. It soothes something in Kakashi too, something that still harkens back to pack, loyalty, family . Most of that is now encompassed by the man sitting at the table, chin in his hand as he looks at Kakashi softly.
Kakashi hadn’t known that Sasuke could look quite like that. Unbearably soft.
The dogs run in through the side door, greeting their other master obediently and nuzzling in when they also get little pecks to their faces, this being enough to set their cat on a mission to commandeer Sasuke’s lap.
He lets them have their fill before shooing them all back into the living room, approaching Sasuke with a spoonful of broth.
“Taste.”
Sasuke opens his mouth, never breaking eye contact with him. A cheeky look on his face as he pulls back from the spoon with a slow drag, swallowing before he drags his tongue around his lips - giving Kakashi a preview of what is sure to be a more enthusiastic reunion later.
“Perfect, as always.”
Kakashi tries not to look too chuffed at that, it is never a good idea to stroke Sasuke’s ego too much - part of his job as friend, comrade, lover , sensei, husband, really is to keep his pretty head from getting too big. The one atop his body anyway.
“Tell me how the Land of Tea was,” he says instead, stirring the stew as it bubbles away, sending the delicious aroma throughout the kitchen.
He makes a note to set aside some of the meat for the pets, lest they whine despite having eaten. He is sure they are to blame for the truly weaponized big eyes Sasuke throws at him when he doesn’t get his way.
He can’t be outnumbered in his own house.
Their house now though, and for quite some time, he thinks fondly as Sasuke begins talking.
He is not a reticent person really, despite what others might think. Sasuke’s voice is low and calming as he talks of his travels, bringing a grin to Kakashi’s face when it occasionally colours with annoyance or amusement.
When Kakashi sets down a steaming pot and two bowls of fluffy rice, he watches Sasuke stop his retelling of an eventful boat ride and lean in to breathe, his cheeks a gentle red from the heat and all the tenseness melting right off him.
It’s enough to nourish Kakashi for days, the sight alone.
Later, fed and happily naked in bed - satiated in an entirely different way - Sasuke curls up close at his side. He’d tried to stay awake as Kakashi worked, large eyes dark and admiring as he traced the scars on Kakashi’s arm, pressed his nose into Kakashi’s hip and kissed the spot just above the bone where the largest scar ends. Now, he’s fast asleep as Kakashi sits up and types away gently by lamplight. He pauses to run his hands through Sasuke's dark locks, now dry and curled into their familiar midnight waves.
He replies to a few new comments on his last post, smiling at one in particular from a man saying he had cooked his girlfriend a meal as part of his proposal using one of Kakashi's recipes, with much success.
Congratulations on your engagement, he writes back, Marriage did me wonders.
Being a shinobi, a Kage, had been many things but rarely did it ever result in victories that didn’t come at magnificent cost.
When he’d first begun this little venture, he’d mostly just done it to archive his favourite recipes - some of his own making - and have something to do with more free hours than he knew what to do with. He’d begun taking the time to actually enjoy this influx of technology he’d overseen for something more whimsical than he’d had opportunity for then.
Of course, he doesn’t use his real name - the unassuming title of his blog and his pseudonym equally plain. He prefers it this way.
A little mystery never hurt anyone.
* * *
NIKUJAGA JAPANESE BEEF STEW RECIPE (AKA MY HOMECOMING STEW)
Sometimes you need to whip something up relatively quick that is still hearty enough to sate an appetite.
I’m (semi)retired at this point, but I remember coming back after a work trip, exhausted and starving after eating for weeks at roadside cafes (best case scenario). My partner is still on the working grind and he comes home pretty ravenous and with the benefit of a metabolism that hasn’t caught up to mine yet.
He’s also an impatient, not so little, thing. Good thing he’s unbearably cute when he’s hungry (do not tell him that though).
I never really know when exactly he’ll be back so an easy recipe where I can swap out ingredients for what I have on hand works beautifully. Hence, my homecoming stew - a take on nikujaga. Even in summer, there isn’t a better meal after so long on the road though it’s especially welcome in these cooler months. It’s satiating, simple, and easily modified.
You will want seconds, maybe thirds - so make sure you have a large enough pot to make a good portion, leftovers keep well refrigerated or in the freezer if you want to plan ahead.
I prefer carrots, potatoes, onions, and konnyaku myself - but feel free to use whatever root vegetables you have on hand and are seasonally available. A good sake is key, and a homemade broth will do wonders - but store bought is fine. I’ve been there and it’s only now that I don’t have to clock in to a job anymore that I’ve found time to make my own.
Don’t sweat it - this one never fails to get my husband vowing to marry me (again). I think twice is probably enough at this point, but I’ll never say no.
Serve over rice and a dark red wine to really amp up the warmth.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got more welcoming home to do ;)