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A groan leaves his throat as the sun shines through the curtains, damn near blinding his good eye. The silver haired man crawls out of bed, feeling heavy. He checks his phone on his nightstand, the time being 9 in the morning.
He sighed.
Today is one of Kabru and Mithrun's scheduled date nights, but they planned to meet at a local cafe in the afternoon for lunch before Kabru settles at Mithrun's place for the evening, as it's one of the days he gets off early. Mithrun sits at his bed for a few minutes, then gets up to finally wash up. He heads to his shower, undresses, and turns the water on. It's a bit...chilly, but he doesn't inherently care. He keeps a rack in the shower to hold all his washing items, including a 3 in 1 shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, some of Kabru's soaps, as well as his toothbrush and toothpaste, first things first he brushes his teeth since it's far easier to clean up in the shower, and since he's already washing, there wont be any mess. Kabru described it as a win-win when he saw the setup.
Once he's finished showering, he dries himself haphazardly and brushes his hair, getting dressed as is would be easy enough but he's been scolded in the past by Pattadol to make sure he was fully dry before putting clothes on...so he forces a little more effort to not look like a soggy cat. Once dry and dressed, he waits.
The clock hits 11am, then 12pm, then 1pm... He spends his time waiting by tidying up his kitchen, making sure the dishes are in the dishwasher and starting a load of laundry. Normally, he'd rather sit on his couch and do nothing, but Kabru was going to stop by tonight for dinner, so he should at least make the place presentable... Kabru doesn't usually mind when he leaves the house a mess, but Mithrun would rather not deal with "Alright, let's clean up together!" this time around, especially when they had plans to watch a movie.
Once the clock his 2pm, he grabs his keys, phone, and wallet, shoving them into a weird little mushroom shaped bag Fleki bought him awhile back. He makes his way out the door and heads to the cafe, occasionally stopping to check his phone for directions. Somehow, he managed to not get too lost and arrived a bit earlier than usual. The meet up time was 2:45pm, and it was currently 2:28pm. Kabru would often bump up the time by 10 to 15 minutes to account for Mithrun being lost, or Kabru himself being held hostage in an unwanted conversation.
A few minutes passed, and Kabru arrived. The dark hared man smiled gently at Mithrun, his blue eyes were mesmerizing.
"You're early!" Kabru patted Mithrun's shoulder gently.
"Yeah. I made sure to follow the directions."
"That's good to hear. Normally I'd come a bit sooner, but I got held up dealing with Liaos..." He sighed, rubbing his temple with his hand.
"Shall we?"
"Sure."
Kabru holds the door open for Mithrun, and they walk inside. They sit at a table near the door for a moment to discuss what they should eat and drink. Despite not eating anything this morning, Mithrun wasn't feeling very hungry, but he did feel a bit weak, so maybe he was? It's hard to tell. Kabru lists out a few things they could try, ranging from burritos to breakfast sandwiches. It was a coffee shop, so there wasn't really much of a food selection, not that Mithrun cared.
"Hmm... I haven't tried their salads yet... But there's also sandwiches too. What do you think sounds good?" He lifts his eyes from his phone displaying the menu. It was less overwhelming doing it like this.
Mithrun scans the board above the counter, but nothing seems appealing.
"I'm not sure, the bacon thing we had last time wasn't too bad." He couldn't really remember.
"Ah, the bacon and egg sandwich? Yeah, that was pretty alright. Perhaps you could get their avocado sandwich? Looks like it's got quite a bit on it, so it'll definitely keep you full until dinner tonight."
"That sounds fine. I haven't really eaten anything yet today."
Kabru's expression changed a bit, but softened.
"Alright, we'll get that for you. Why didn't you eat this morning?" He asked, obviously concerned but nonchalant.
"Slipped my mind."
"Ah... Maybe I'll start reminding you in the mornings before I leave for work." He chuckled a bit to himself.
Mithrun nodded. Honestly, Kabru already texts him every morning, although he normally sleeps through the notification. It wouldn't hurt to have another reminder.
A small pause of silence as Kabru read the menu.
He looks up from his phone again right at Mithrun, who was staring off into space a bit.
"I think I'll get a salad this time, it's good to try new things after all. Do you have anything in mind for a coffee? Or should I just order the same thing I'll get for you?"
"That works, I don't mind."
Kabru sits up and heads to the register to place their orders, it doesn't take him too long, but he stands by the counter while waiting. Mithrun's thoughts drift a bit... What should he make for dinner? Should they head to the store after they're done eating?
... Did he clean out the fridge? Did he even have anything in there?
A wrapped sandwich appearing in front of him snapped him out of his focus. His eye drifting to Kabru who was sitting back down in front of Mithrun. He sets his salad bowl on the table and slides the second coffee towards Mithrun.
"I haven't tried this coffee yet either, so hopefully it's good." He smiled.
"What even is it?"
"Some sort of lavender matcha? I'm honestly not sure how this is supposed to taste." He took a sip from the straw and made a bit of a strange face.
"It's much sweeter than I expected!" Kabru laughed softly.
"Doesn't matcha taste like grass? Why would you want to drink that?"
"I think it just depends on how it's made? The lavender definitely makes it less dry tasting though, that's for sure."
Mithrun took a sip of the coffee...yeah. That's sweet grass and flower.
They started unwrapping their food, when Kabru started speaking again.
"By the way, what were you thinking about when I was coming by? You didn't notice me."
Mithrun paused for a few seconds...
"I was wondering if we should go to the store afterwards and pick up some groceries for dinner." He tore the top of the paper off on accident.
"Ah... About that." Kabru starts speaking, then pauses. Mithrun looked away from his food and towards Kabru, his expression seemed a bit guilty.
"I have to head back to work after this in order to clean up a mess at the office. Liaos has been causing some trouble and now I have to sort through all his documents again." He sighed again.
Mithrun felt pretty disappointed.
"But! Once that's all done I'll be heading towards your place, I'm thinking I'll stay the night if that's alright with you."
"Sure." Mithrun bit into his sandwich, the egg running a bit onto his fingers. He wasn't sure if he was looking forward to spending more time with Kabru or not, but if he's staying the night then surely he'll feel a bit better about it later.
Kabru still looked a bit guilty, but began eating his salad.
A bit of time passed, with them exchanging a few words. Kabru offered a bit of his salad to Mithrun, but Mithrun couldn't quite describe it other than saucy lettuce.
Kabru checks his phone as they've practically finished their food.
"It's already half past 3, I should wrap things up quickly. Are you ready to leave?"
Mithrun nodded and stood up, grabbing his trash and wiping his hands off on some napkins. Kabru followed suite and they made their way to the door, throwing out their scraps. He holds the door open for Mithrun again.
"Do you think you could make it back by yourself? Or would you like me to walk you there, since it isn't far." Kabru offered with a gentle rub on Mithrun's back.
"Mmm..." Is all he could really reply with, after all, Kabru would have to make quite the trip back to his office if he walks him home... It's quite the dilemma, since he'd like to stay a bit longer, but Kabru will be coming back later. It's not the end of the world.
"It's fine... I'll manage."
"Alright, I'll be sure to head to your place as soon as I can. I'll see you later." Kabru gave Mithrun a light peck on the cheek, and began to wave lightly as he turned his feet the other direction.
Mithrun pulled out his phone, loaded up his directions, and started walking.
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Maybe he'll just go to the store and get it out of the way. There probably isn't anything good in the fridge for a big meal. The real question is, what should he make? A soup he can leave running while they watch their movie? A stir-fry while Kabru sits in the kitchen keeping him company? Last time he made some sort of chili with meat and sausage, and that took quite a long time...
He's got probably an hour or 2 before Kabru comes back, so he should be able to be quick... He would've much preferred going with Kabru, but you don't always need to be with your significant other in order to have a good time. Has he become less independent? Or just more open to relying on someone? It's odd. He can't quite wrap his head around it. But whatever, it's something he can think about later. Food first.
He makes his way to the store pretty quickly and wanders around the store aimlessly, grabbing a small bag of mini potatoes, some chicken breast, a carton of mushrooms, and makes his way to the frozen aisle. He's got a very thin idea on what to make... but can't quite know what to put in it, so anything that sounds good works. He grabs frozen cauliflower, carrots, and broccoli, as well as frozen peppers and onions. Up next, the sauce aisle. He looks at the options for tomato sauces and just picks a random one. Some sort of vodka pasta sauce or something... He grabs some beef broth as well. Onto the spices. He can't quite remember what he has at home, but grabs some garlic powder, onion powder, ground coriander, and some paprika.
He checks out his cart, and heads home carrying bags. The meal will be a soup he can leave running for over an hour and not have to prep too much for, since that sounds... tiring. He wouldn't want to risk Kabru offering to help.
He makes his way home and checks the time. 4:58pm. It's not quite dinner time yet so he'll just start it before Kabru comes home. He hangs his mushroom bag on his coat rack, making sure to take his phone from it. He pulls out his dishes from the dishwasher, switches his laundry, and throws the clean clothes in a clean hamper. Folding is a bit too much effort right now, so he'll just make sure his pot is clean. Afterwards, he just sits on his couch waiting for Kabru to text him 'I'm on my way!'
And then, the text comes.
"Mithrun, I finally got out. I'm on my way now!"
"Okay"
Just a short reply, Mithrun wasn't much of a texter. Anyways, it was now time to start the soup...thing. He starts by rinsing his pot, setting it on the stove, and turning the stove up to medium. He pours all of the vodka pasta sauce into the pot and half of the beef broth, then fills the pasta jar up with water and puts that into the pot too. Next, he cubes the small potatoes and throws them in and places the lid on top. After putting the leftover beef broth in the fridge, it's time to wait again.
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about 30 or so minutes later, a knock is heard at the door. Mithrun gets up and opens the door, and there stands a bit flustered Kabru.
"Did you run or something?" Mithrun deadpans.
Kabru laughed a bit as he walked into the entry, taking of his overshirt.
"Yeah, it started raining as I was coming over."
Mithrun hadn't noticed, but it was indeed raining, he must not have heard it over...zoning out on the couch.
"Do you want me to get you a towel?" It was the least he could offer, after all.
Kabru chuckled again.
"Yeah, that'd be nice."
Mithrun heads to his laundry room and grabs an extra towel from the cabinet, making his way back to the living room, Kabru is standing in the kitchen. Mithrun hands the cloth to Kabru, who puts it on top of his head.
"What are you making tonight? It smells good."
"I'm not really sure. I just grabbed some things that were cheap, and figured I'd throw it together."
"Oh! I see. Do you need any help with cooking?"
"I don't think so... it's mostly frozen veggies." Mithrun glances at his groceries on the counter and speaks again.
"Actually, would you like to cut up the chicken while I put the frozen stuff in the pot?"
Kabru has a soft smile on his face, and agrees.
He pulls out the cutting board, while Mithrun takes out a pan from one of the bottom cabinets, and sets it on the burner, turning up the heat to low for Kabru. Speaking of, Kabru has been slicing off the fat and extra bits unneeded from the chicken, and begins cutting it into small strips. Once done, Kabru takes out a tub of butter from the fridge, scoops some out with a spoon, and spreads it around the pan. Mithrun starts seasoning the soup with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and some coriander. the salt and seasons each strip of chicken on both sides, then finally putting it into the pan.
Mithrun being done with the soup for now, walks away to grab Kabru's overshirt hanging in the entry, and puts it into the laundry.
"How was your overtime at work?" His tone sounded a bit more cutting than intended, he wasn't mad at him in anyway, but disappointment from earlier still lingered.
"Ugh..." Kabru washed his hands, dried them, then put his fingers to the bridge of his nose.
"It was extremely annoying. Liaos had managed to put all of our projects into wrong folders, and I had to sort and reorganize them. Of course he has to do that when I'm supposed to be getting off early."
"Liaos sounds a bit incompetent." Mithrun couldn't help but be a bit amused. It seems like Liaos is always causing problems for Kabru. his upset feeling is beginning to fade, seeing how aggravated Kabru is.
"He's plenty competent in his own department! I don't know why Yaad had him transferred to mine. He just keeps causing trouble because he isn't used to the organizational flow. I can't keep giving him training when he's been here for over two months now."
As Kabru sighed again-for what seemed like the fifth time today, Mithrun chuckled.
"Enough of that though, let me get the chicken cooked up. You want it put into the pot, right?"
"yes, that'd be fine." Once that's done, he can put the frozen veggies in and they can finally watch their movie, eat, and relax.
Kabru stirs the chicken, making sure its cooked on both sides. He grabs a cooking thermometer to make sure it's at the right temperature, and starts putting the chicken in the pot. Once done, he rinses off the pan in the sink. Mithrun makes his way back to the kitchen, opening the bags of frozen veggies and throwing about half of each bag into the pot. While he's doing that, Kabru is washing the pan fully. Mithrun adds another small dose of seasoning into the pot and now... It's finally time to let it sit with the lid on for awhile. He turns the temperature down low-medium.
"We can let that sit for about 20 minutes or so, and then it should be ready." Mithrun says with a small smile on his lips.
"Alright! I'll get the TV on, do you want to grab some blankets?" Kabru is already grabbing the remote.
Mithrun nods and heads to his room closet and grabs some extra throws... and a neck pillow he keeps for Kabru. Making his way back, Kabru has the couch seats reclined and ready.
And now, it was movie time. Kabru turns the kitchen light off, and walks back over to sit down. They both sit on one side of the couch, nearly cuddling because of their close proximity. Mithrun hands the small stack of blankets to Kabru, and Kabru starts unraveling them and sprawling them out to fully cover the both of them. Mithrun then place the neck pillow into Kabru's lap. With a small thank you from the dark haired man. He wraps it around his neck and they both get cozy... Kabru finally hits play.
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30 or so minutes pass, and Kabru starts to speak up.
"I'm gonna pause it for a quick sec and use the bathroom, do you wanna serve both of us the soup? Or should I serve myself?" He pauses it and starts to get up.
"I can serve both of us." Mithrun slowly parts the makeshift blanket sea they've made, and walks to the kitchen while Kabru heads towards the bathroom.
Mithrun turns the kitchen light back on, then grabs two bowls from the top cabinet and places them down on the counter closest to the stove. He then grabs two spoons and the ladle from a drawer, placing each spoon in their respective bowls. He takes the lid off the pot and scoops some soup into each bowl, making sure there's an even amount of chicken per scoop. Once done, he pulls out a side table from a corner near the TV, unfolds it, and sets it up next to the spot on the couch they were sitting at. He places each bowl on the small table. Right as he was finished doing that, Kabru comes back.
"Man... that smells so good." He closes his eyes for a second to take in the smell of warmth, then props back onto the couch, scooting so Mithrun can lay on him again. Kabru presses play again while they wait for their food to cool off. After a few minutes or so, Kabru touches the side of the bowl-checking the temperature, and then hands one of them to Mithrun.
"Don't forget to blow on it" Kabru whispered in a teasing voice.
"Be quiet." He shot a glare towards the other man.
They both do just that, and begin to dig in.
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"Man, this is great. Did you put a tomato sauce in it?" Kabru's eyes are closed, clearly savoring the food.
"I did. It didn't turn out too bad." Mithrun can't really quite place the taste, but it's definitely warm... Comforting to say the least, especially with Kabru here with him.
"Didn't turn out bad? It turned out pretty dang good, you know."
"Sure."
"You should really give yourself more credit... Have some more confidence in yourself, y'know?" He pats the light haired man on the shoulder with his free hand. Causing Mithrun to lean further into Kabru's side. He groaned a bit in response, but Kabru is certainly right. He can't quite bring it in himself to care about how he thought of himself, but judging by how quick he's improving his cooking... He definitely can be proud of that.
They continue to watch their movie while eating... And once it ends, it's still quite early in the evening... so they watch another. It's roughly 8pm now, and while Kabru doesn't have work tomorrow, it'd probably be a good idea to start preparing for the night.
"I'll put the food away, you can keep relaxing here." Kabru gave him a soft smile and got up for the kitchen. He pulled out a ceramic leftover dish and starts scooping the soup into the dish. It seems like it's cooled off enough to finally put away in the fridge.
Meanwhile, Mithrun is just sitting there. Staring a bit into space. He should probably prepare a bath or something for Kabru, since he mentioned before that he enjoys relaxing on his last day of work... To set up for a more comfortable day off, or something like that. Should they bathe together? Or would that be too much... They've done it before, but Mithrun doesn't have the biggest tub, so it might be out of the question. Well, whatever, he can think of it later... What should he make for breakfast tomorrow? Leftovers wouldn't be the most appealing... He should still have eggs, so maybe an omelet? He grabbed some mushrooms from the store after all.
Mithrun's thoughts were interrupted once more by Kabru walking over, clapping his hands together.
"Alright! Food has been put away, so I guess we should start getting ready for bed?"
"That'd be a good idea." Mithrun nodded and stood up, starting to collect the blankets from the couch to put back away. He made his way back to his room, with Kabru following behind. He set the blankets onto the bed and went to the bathroom to turn the water on. He might as well heat up the water for a quick shower for Kabru. He came back out, and Kabru has folded the blankets and put them away.
"I got the shower running for you, feel free to take a bath once you're done too."
"Sure, Thank you Mithrun." He closed his pretty blue eyes at him and went to grab his spare clothes he keeps in Mithrun's room.
"Ah, do you want to join me?" Kabru mentioned, while still grabbing his shirt.
Luckily, Mithrun didn't have to bring it up. He had already showered in the morning, but he missed being in close proximity with Kabru. It's been over a week since they've had time to actually... Hang out. Due to both of their schedules.
"Sure, let me grab the towels from the laundry room."
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Once he returned, the water must've been hot by now. Kabru was already beginning to undress, so Mithrun placed the towels on top of the toilet next to the shower, and began to undress as well. Once fully undressed, Kabru adjusted the water, and hopped in-waving his hand gently to beckon Mithrun to join him, so he did.
They rinse off, then set up the bath, sitting across from each other.
"It's been a bit since we've done this, huh?" Kabru breaks the silence.
"It has. I can't remember the last time, honestly."
Kabru laughed softly.
"Maybe we should start doing this more. I'll look into my schedule and see if I can come over more often."
Mithrun smiled softly.
"If it wasn't for your job's irresponsibility, this wouldn't really be an issue."
"Yeah, you're right. Luckily, the busy season should be over soon."
"Mmm." Mithrun didn't have much to say.
Kabru became a bit somber and spoke softly.
"By the way, I've noticed you've been much more productive around the house. It's good to see you so lively. You've gotten better at cooking and managing yourself, it makes me proud."
Mithrun didn't quite expect the sudden compliments, so he tilted his head a bit up against the wall of the shower.
"...Thank you..."
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Once they were done bathing, Mithrun drained the tub as Kabru got up and stretched. He grabbed one of the towels and placed it on Mithrun's head and started drying off his hair. Once done, they both dried off respectively, and got dressed.
Mithrun glanced at his phone, which he brought to the room earlier. The time was roughly 9pm... It's definitely bedtime, so he turned on the bedside lamp, and turned off the main rooms light. Kabru started to brush out the bed and crawled in-prompting Mithrun to follow. They both laid down, feet lightly brushing together.
"Today was good, I enjoy doing this with you, Mithrun."
"Me too."
They stared at each other for a bit, Mithrun's dark eyes meeting Kabru's bright blue.
"I'm thinking of making Omelets for breakfast tomorrow. " He spoke while closing his eyes.
"That sounds great, I'll help you." Kabru lifted his arms up a bit to embrace the smaller man and closed his eyes as well.
"Sure."