Domaystic

He was right. Azul would insist on cutting up new ingredients while ranting about "quality" and "possible health risks". You'd rather not go through one of his business talks today, so you thought up a plan. Grabbing a pair of dishwashing gloves, you reached into the fridge. Carefully, you set the container down on the floor as Idia grabbed a spatula.

"You plan on eating that?" you asked, raising a brow. "Wha- No?! This is for defense. Just in case it turns out to be some magic-filled freak of nature..." He mumbled the last part, but you had heard enough.

. . .

"Do you think pouring it down the sink is a good idea?"

"Nah. It looks too solid and might jam up the pipes. If it did, I'm NOT fixing that lol. We can burn it?-"

"Why, that's awfully rude!"

Idia shrieked, and you could have sworn he jumped a good few feet into the air from the sudden voice. Who could blame him? Lilia had a knack for materializing out of thin air and giving people the scare of their lives.

"Wh-whats rude is you sneaking up on me like that!", Idia said, holding the spatula close to his chest as he shifted away from Lilia. Ignoring the commotion, you spoke up. "Hey, Lils...do you happen to know where this container full of goop came from?" Scratching your head, you continued. "I know it couldn't have been the chipmunks. Too heavy."

An unlabeled container magically appearing in the kitchen fridge...you just couldn't find an explanation. Unless...No. Seven's No-

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"That 'goop' is the sample dish I brought for Cater. Since the lot of you have come up with so many amazing new menu ideas, I thought I'd give it a go too!~" Idia squeaked at this revelation. "Ahaha- I should've known!" you said cheerfully, forcing a smile. There was POISON in that container, and you knew damn well somebody was gonna come out of this shift either cursed or puking. "Has Cater already given it a try?" Lilia shook his head, picking up his plastic container of waste and cracking the lid open. "Ahh...no, not yet, I'm afraid. I brought it up to him, but he zoomed off hurriedly, saying something about being too busy with customers..."

"Which I found strange, since there's hardly anyone here today!"

"I can't blame him...", Idia mumbled. He had somehow made his way behind you, as if you were his human shield and distraction in case of escape, all in one. Obviously not one to be used as a sacrifice, you prepared to call him out on it when a trecherous, and I mean HORRIBLE odor assaulted your nose.

You sputtered, bringing both hands to cover your nose and mouth as you frantically looked back to its source, the container. "What the he- erm...what'd you use to make your uh..dish, Lilia?" Gulping down your gags, you forced yourself to look into the container from where you were standing. ...Damn, it looked worse...

"Oh, just your basic household ingredients...some eggs and herbs and-"

Lilia went on to list common ingredients that, alone, would be fine but, when combined, would sound like an abomination. Some of the things he named didn't even sound human! Perhaps fae?... That's besides the point. How can someone turn basic, alright-tasting foods into grey nuclear matter?! The questions in your head were so many that you failed to realize what Lilia had asked of you.

Only when Idia placed a hand on your shoulder, thanking you for taking one for the team and making his quick escape, did you realize what your aimless nodding and zoning off had gained you. •✦•··········•✦•··········•✦•··········•✦•··········•✦•··········•✦•··········•✦•··········•✦•

"Say 'ahhh', Prefect!"

"...Is this really necessary?"

If anyone were to walk into the kitchen, the scene before them would heavily resemble that of a long-time married couple. Your cautious face, followed by Lilia's ever-so-doting one, made for a rather humorous clash. Good thing Cater wasn't there, or else he'd have a field day taking pictures of you two.

"You said yes to trying my dish, yet you were taking so long... of course the only obvious next step was to feed you!~"

"It also helps that it makes the food taste better!" he said, poking the corner of your mouth with the spoon. "Where did you hear that from?" Maybe he was right, and it'd make the food taste decent?... "The internet, where else?" Never mind...

Welp. You did this to yourself. It was time to suck it up and deal with the consequences of your own mindless agreement. Closing your eyes, you opened your mouth nervously, expecting the worst.

Chomp!

Immediately after biting down, Lilia began talking about all its nutritional values and how the Diner would benefit from such a healthy dish. He was more than certain that the place would soon trend on Magicam with all sorts of health and wellbeing gurus- and parents too!

Perhaps the presentation could use some work, but who would truly care if the food had all the things the body needs? Right? "What do you think, Prefect?" ...Gulp.

"It...it needs some salt..." you said through pursed lips. This dish stunk of poo. It was TERRIBLE. Now you finally understood why Malleus would avoid the topic of Lilias meals entirely.

"ooo! I love constructive criticism. For some reason, people are always so nervous to tell me what they truly think of my cooking...must be my intimidating aura, hm?~"

You struggled to nod as you fought back every part of your body telling you to throw up. The taste...was indescribable. You were convinced the FUEL Ortho drank tasted better than this. "It's...It's good, Lilia! But uh, haha. Maybe not the right dish for a Diner? People don't come here to eat healthy, yknow..."

He hummed, closing the lid and setting it aside on the counter. His tone had shifted to a lower, far more serious one. "I hadn't thought of that."

Thinking you'd upset him, you got ready to face either his wrath or his mischievous yet dark attitude. What you didn't expect, though, was him coming to pinch your cheeks and coo at you like a newborn. "Aren't you something? Because of you, now I've got a head full of ideas to make this a diner-worthy meal!"

"You'll be my personal taste tester from now on, won't you? Oh, I know you will!"

Standing there, getting baby-talked to and praised by him, you struggled to say no to him. I mean, who in their right mind would? Well. Probably a sane person would. But you were anything BUT sane. And Lilia? Oh, Lilia was well aware of that fact.

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Suguru unlatched himself from Satoru, standing in the cold hallway with his arms wrapping his thick coat around his own frame. Satoru fumbled around in his pockets, first checking his coat, then his pants. After some sighing, he dropped his arms to his side, turning towards his boyfriend.

“Suguru, do you have your keys?”, he exhaled, slightly annoyed at himself.

Suguru’s attention snapped back at the question. “No, why?”

The following silence between them was deafening, so quiet Satoru could hear his heart thumping in his chest and the soft breathing between them.

—“Satoru, you got to be fucking kidding me.” Suguru slapped his hands on his face, voice louder, trying to hide his growing frustration from him.

“I thought you had them!”, Satoru immediately replied back, not wanting to actually shout back. His fists were balled up, frustration forming like a headache behind his blue eyes.

“I told you to get yours and you didn’t!”, Suguru let out a stupid short laugh, as if laughing over the sheer stupidity of the situation they were in. His hands slid down his face. “Now we are stuck locked outside our apartment.”

Satoru wanted to responded with some snarky reply but refrained from it, knowing Suguru was overwhelmed enough. “I’ll call up Shoko, she’ll come by with her extra key.”, he instead redirected, taking out his phone to pick her contact out.

Suguru simply turned his back towards him, facing the wall next to their door. And the white-haired gave him some space, phone already next to his ear counting down the rings until she would pick up. She only picked up on the fifth ring—like always.

“What do you want?”

Satoru nervously laughed at her irritated tone.

“Wow. I wonder who pissed you off today.”, he joked, pretending to be cool with the situation but nervously running a hand through his white strands.

“I’m in the middle of my Spanish soap opera.” Satoru pictured Shoko sitting in her living room with a glass of wine. “Isabella was just about to reveal that Alejandro’s mother forged the DNA results.”

Satoru paused, genuinely confused. “What?”

“She switched the samples because Alejandro is actually the heir to the Velázquez estate, not Javier.”, she continued to ramble his ear off.

He paused again. “…who the hell is Javier?”

Silence settled onto the line. It was so quiet Satoru had to check if she hung up on him—until she spoke again.

“What do you want?”, she finally addressed why he was asking for her.

Satoru snorted at the tone despite himself.

“Shoko, I know how deeply invested you’re in this right now but…”, he sucked in a tight breath. “…could you do me a favor?”, his free hand stuck itself in one of his pockets, nervous.

Shoko paused, reluctantly answering. “Depends.”

He rocked back and forth on his heals, face slightly flushed from being mortified by his previous carelessness. “Could you come over with your spare keys? We locked ourself out.”

“Seriously?”, she questioned him, suspicious. Never in the decade that Shoko had known him had he forgot his keys. Maybe he was distracted—Satoru was way too nervous for a simple phone call.

“Yeah. Could you please come?”, he tried to make a whiny tone, pleading.

She sighed loudly into the speaker. “Fine.”

“Thank you Shoko!”, he cheerfully thanked, but Shoko hung up before that.

Once he ended the call, he turned around, seeing his boyfriend sitting against their apartment door. His head was tilted back and his arms folded neatly over his abdomen. He looked tired, smaller than Satoru remembered. His loose strands rimmed his face, perfectly styled hair messed up from cool night wind and too much laughter—now all forgotten.

“Great, how fucking great. You forgot our keys again.”, he muttered under this breath, staring holes into the air hopelessly. Suguru didn’t often swear, but all the going out and wine must have blurred a few of his restraints.

Which also meant a more emotionally vulnerable Suguru.

“I’m sorry.”, is all Satoru could apologize for, seating himself to the ravenett, bending his knees. They both knew they would be sitting there for some time.

“Really.”, Suguru exhaled exasperated, tilting his head at him with a pissed-off expression. Satoru mentally noted his bad mood.

“I’m sorry.”, he could only apologize again. “I know you just wanted get home and wind down.”, he brushed some dust off Suguru’s thick coat, brushing it down softly. “It’s my fault.”

Suguru took a long look at him, looking him directly in the eye, whatever emotion he was feeling unreadable in his violet eyes. “It’s okay.”, he breathed out, whatever frustration earlier dissolving into an eerie calm. “Sorry for lashing out. I know it’s just a small mistake…but…”, he spoke as if the words were too hard to get out, trailing off as if he didn’t know how to explain himself. “Lately I’ve been feeling sort of stuck.”

His words were vulnerable, as if subconsciously seeking support from Satoru. His face softened at the eyes, Satoru’s face conveying only subtle concern. “In what way?”, he asked, inclining his head to the side.

“…I don’t know.”, the ravenett sounded lost, as if he hadn’t finished the thoughts he was spilling out. “Just, feels like my life is going nowhere. Or nothings changing or new.”, he stared onto the floor with half-lidded eyes, letting out a tired sigh. “Work is boring as usual and…I just don’t know what I actually should be doing right now.”

Satoru shifted slightly closer, arms softly pressed together instead of the earlier shoulder-brushing. “Well, there has to be something we can change.”, he suggested, pondering ideas of a little switch-up. “Maybe our furniture.”

Suguru scoffed at the thought, not being able to mask a small smile at the memory. “I’m not going to go with you to IKEA again.”, he exhaled. They were just 24, buying their first apartment together and spending hours arguing in the sofa section of IKEA. It was unironically one of Suguru’s favorite memories, and thinking of it made him slightly happier inside. It was a part that might have defined their relationship, something that was more than just casual to a home.

“Maybe our relationship.”, Satoru spoke out loud, stretching out the syllables as if testing the waters of their conversation.

Suguru frowned in confusion, tilting his head towards him, long black luscious hair falling off his shoulder. “What’s with our relationship?”

“Nothing—just a thought.”, He sighed out…fingers fiddling together nervously. “I feel like it could be better…”, he made himself look up, staring into clear violet eyes. He studied the small frown at his eyebrows, how one of his eyebrows was slightly raised in questioning. He then breathed in, letting the rest of the thought slowly tumble out.

“…maybe more intimate.”

Suguru’s face eased in surprise at the statement. “What are you on about? We already live together.”, he pointed, bringing a curled finger to knock their door behind them. He then looked at Satoru for a long moment. Satoru could practically see his thoughts wander through his mind. “Are you saying that…we aren’t intimate enough? We regularly have se”—

“Not that.”, the white-haired abruptly interrupted him, the conversation wasn’t go into his planned direction. “I was thinking maybe…we take it to another level.”, he grasped Suguru’s soft hands in his, slowly caressing his thumb over slightly pinkish knuckles. “Maybe staying together forever.” Crystal clear cerulean eyes stared into beautiful violet ones bold, all traces of nervousness gone.

“We’ve been dating for four years now.”

Silence settled in between them. Satoru could hear the thumping and beating of his heart in his ears, how his heart was about to burst out of his chest. How his palms got all clammy, hoping Suguru didn’t notice the sweating, and rather what he was trying to get at.

Suguru stared at him puzzled, but a dawning realization hit him, the thought causing his breath to hitch.

“…are you seriously proposing…”

Satoru slowly nodded, the anxious feeling sitting at the bottom of his stomach, every part of him wanting to look away, yet he didn’t. His gaze stayed unwavering.

“…to me in the middle of the fucking hallway?”

Satoru nodded, voice rough as he confirmed. “Yes.”

“After you locked us out?”, Suguru gave him an incredulous look, floored by the question.

“I’m sorry!”, he raised his voice as Suguru continue to grouse at his mistake.

“Wow.”, he let out a short laugh at the sheer situation and overwhelming question. “Unbelievable.”

Satoru’s face spilled back slightly, feeling slightly hurt from the exasperation. Yet he knew it wasn’t out of malice and rather just situational annoyance.

“So…do I get an answer?”

Suguru shot him that same look again, looking bewildered from the constant emotional swings. “You really want an answer from me?”

“Yeah.”, he nodded, cutting off the awkward half-exhales escaping the overwhelmed ravenett.

Suguru gave him a long slightly panicked look, the words just on the tip of his tongue. He knew with his entire heart what he’d say. He never had a doubt. Yet in that moment his mind raced, heart thumped in anticipation, lips moving uncontrollably as he tested out any answer.

This was all he ever wanted. Being with his forever.

“…yes…I would want that.”

Satoru exhaled his held-breath, relived tears prickling in his eyes as he looked at him with slightly glassy eyes. “Are you seriously accepting my proposal in the middle of the hallway?”, the words were meant to be teasing but they were slightly watery from such overwhelming emotions.

“Yes.”, Suguru laughed briefly, feeling his eyes getting hot. “Yes I am.”

And both leaned in, soft lips meeting, pressed together deeply. Satoru savored the sweet taste of wine on Suguru’s lips, moving to angle his face to kiss even deeper. Suguru’s hands moved across his crossed legs, interlacing their fingers together, then squeezing their hands. In Satoru’s chest the earlier stress and nervousness loosened. Yet he didn’t want to part their lips, rather he wanted to stay there, sitting against their front door, feeling his lips and warm hands. Feeling tear-stricken cheeks brush his from how close they were.

His whole world just narrowed onto every little graze, every small exhale.

He never tasted the feeling of home on another mans lips apart from him.

Their lips parted. The warmth gone on Satoru’s lips, replaced with seeping cold. Their hands yet still intertwined, and their faces so close. So close Satoru could feel his breath against him. So close Suguru could count the singular white wet eyelashes.

“Been wanting to propose for a while.”, he lightly chuckled with a watery grin, shortly diverting his eyes from teary purple ones for a split second, sheepish.

“But certainly not in the hallway outside our apartment.”, Suguru laughed breathlessly, pressure and stress seeping out of his muscles. His eyes quickly drifting to the older one’s lips. He softly smiled as Satoru tucked back a loose strand from his slightly tear-stricken face, feeling his soft hands graze his skin for a short moment. “Do I get a ring?”, he softly asked, almost teasing.

Satoru looked at him for a moment, eyes still rimmed red, then sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.