Title: Pay It Forward
Pairing: Kazahaya/Rikuo
Rating: PG
Prompt: Cooking Diaster

Kazahaya usually ends up washing the dishes, as Rikuo finds himself cooking dinner more often as the time passes. It isn't out of any supposed kindness; rather Rikuo prefers not to chance death any more than he already has to with Kakei's ridiculous side jobs.

It isn't long however, before a mixture of exhaustion and preoccupation catch up with him one evening and dinner ends up being nothing more than a burnt bowl of ... well, looking a bit like something Kazahaya would have cooked.

Kazahaya, of course, won't shut up about it and continues to call him a "complete culinary failure" for the better portion of a week. Rikuo exacts his revenge by refusing to cook, but almost immediately regrets it when Kazahaya performs almost as badly. Come Friday, Rikuo can't imagine eating dinner without feeling a deep fear for his digestive system.

Despite the fact that it is Kazahaya's fault, Rikuo feels guilty over the rejected look Kazahaya gets when he informs him that he will be eating out that evening. Belatedly extending an invitation to join him won't work until Rikuo swears that he'll pay for Kazahaya's dinner (and yes, really, whatever he wants) and that Kazahaya can choose where to eat. At which point Rikuo can't decide if blowing his entire paycheck is worth not eating Kazahaya's food for another night.

The ensuing night is a practice of Rikuo's patience, when Kazahaya finds himself more ignorant about the method of ordering fast food than any normal person has the right to be.

It isn't until they are seated with their food that Rikuo can even start to relax. When he does, it is at the sight of Kazahaya struggling valiantly with a packet of ketchup. After he finally succeeds in tearing it open and accidentally spilling it on all of his fries, Rikuo is forced to push his own serving over to share. Kazahaya thanks him a bit shyly and the urge to tease him arises from a mixture of embarrassment and habit.

"It's only appropriate that I share with my date," Rikuo tells him with a smirk.

Kazahaya chokes on a fry and stutters his response. "Y-Your date? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Let's see," Rikuo begins thoughtfully, ticking off each point on his fingers, "I invited you out to dinner; I paid for you, and I even shared my food with you." He stops to look Kazahaya meaningfully. "You don't think this all comes without a price, do you?" His point is clear by his leering stare.

If possible, Kazahaya's cheeks begin to burn even brighter. "Rikuo, you bastard!"

He chuckles at the predictable response and comes back with his own. "Stop looking so sexy when you're angry then."

Kazahaya looks ready to storm off, and Rikuo guesses that if there hadn't been take-out involved, probably would have. Instead, he settles back into his seat, muttering various insults and pulls Rikuo's fries closer to his side of the table.

Rikuo mentally congratulates himself. Now that was worth his paycheck.