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The warm comforting smell of rice and grilled chicken fills the kitchen of Rinne and Niki’s small shared apartment. Rinne perches on top of the table softly kicking his legs as he watches Niki, drinking from his sippy as he waits. Dinner smells good: grilled chicken, fluffy rice… and three suspicious green asparagus tucked neatly on the side.
He’s got a BIG pout on.
“Nikiiiii,” Rinne whined, his voice going high and soft in that cute way he always has when he’s little. “Dun’ want the’ green stuff…” From across the kitchen, Niki peeked over his shoulder and grinned, drying his hands on a dish towel. “What green stuff?” he asked, strolling over. “I only see chicken and rice~! Naha!”
Rinne was absolutely not convinced. He jabbed one slender finger at the asparagus. “That,” he accused. “It’s spiky. Looks like baby trees. Trees ‘re not food, Niki… dey not.”
Niki crouched to his level, resting his chin in his hand with an exaggerated thoughtful expression.
“Well, when you say it like that, they do kinda look like trees… but just a little.” He leaned closer, his voice turning into a playful whisper. “But this one’s special. It’s a Super Tree. Makes you strong like a robot!” he said, gently patting Rinne’s diaper-clad bottom.
Rinne’s eyes narrowed.
“Don’ wanna be a robot,” he muttered. “Wanna be a dragon.”
“…Okay, but even dragons gotta eat their veggies, or they can’t breathe fire. It’s common science,” Niki chided gently. Rinne’s arms are folded over his chest now, his bottom lip stuck out. Niki takes his chance and picks up a spoonful of rice with a sneaky asparagus hidden underneath. “Vroooom… incoming chicken rice plane~ Say ahhh, lil’ dragon~”
Rinne looks at him, completely unamused, eyes narrowing, sticking his little tongue out at Niki. “…S’too big. You made it on purpose.”
“Whaaat? No way! This is a regular bite. Niki approved,” Niki said as he wiggled the spoon gently. “C’mon. Just one lil’ chomp. I made it just for you, and you wouldn’t wanna make me sad by not eating the food~”
..Niki wins this time. Rinne stares at the spoon as if it might betray him, but he reluctantly opens his mouth while giving a side eye.
“Didja… hide t’ green in there?”
Niki looks at him with a mildly panicked face, letting out a small “pfff” and waving his hand up and down dismissively. “What?! Me?! Hide vegetables? I would never. I’m innocent.”
Rinne squints harder; he’s now fully aware of the asparagus, but he’s hungry..and he doesn’t wanna make Niki sad.. so with a very dramatic sigh and a mumbled, “…‘M watchin’ you,” Rinne finally opens his mouth. “Ahhh~”
Niki gently feeds the little one a spoonful, grabbing a napkin and gently dabbing it at his messy face.
“…It had green.”
“Did it? Huh! Guess it made its way in there. Those vegetables are sneaky… Nahaha!”
Rinne crosses his arms again, kicking his legs.
“…Wasn’t that bad I guess.” he mutters, like admitting such a thing was the worst thing he could do.
“Whoa! Did I just hear the tiniest compliment ever?” Niki teases, still gently wiping the little one’s face with a napkin.
“Still don’ like it. But if you do the airplane again, maybe I’ll eat one more…”
Niki laughs softly, already loading another sneaky bit “Deal. Dragon fuel coming in hot~”
———
Rinne ended up curled on top of Niki, hoodie sleeves tucked under his chin, stomach full as he looked up at Niki with a sleepy expression.
“Puddin’ time?”
Niki ran a hand gently through his hair, still absentmindedly patting Rinne’s diaper. “You earned it, little dragon. And don’t worry…” He smiled down at him.
“Not a single green thing in the pudding.”
Rinne gave a happy sigh, already half-asleep.
“Good…”