daron oneshots :)

a nice little dinner (october 2020)

Hence the title, it takes place in October of 2020. Idk what possessed me to write this, but here u go. Something cute, I suppose :)

I was busy preparing dinner after the sun had gone down, and it was a rather chilly October night in Los Angeles. Daron had gotten sick earlier that week and was fighting off a pretty nasty flu virus (thank fuck it wasn't COVID), so he'd been laying in bed for most of the day, napping. I brought him tea every now and then, since he wasn't really eating that much during the day. I was worried about him, but he assured me he'd fought off worse and was fine. Tonight I was making stew chicken and dumplings for dinner, one of my favorite dishes that I always had when I was younger. I had learned to make it well over the years–it had taken some practice, that's for sure.

I was so preoccupied dancing to music and tending to the food that I startled a little bit when Daron wandered out of the hallway, looking like he'd just awoken. His hair was wild and frizzy, and he looked exhausted, blinking against the light in the kitchen. "From what little I'm able to breathe through my nose, it smells amazing in here."

"How are you feeling, D?" I asked him, walking over and giving him a gentle hug.

"Mmm, I'm okay," he hummed. "Fucking exhausted; my back hurts like hell."

"You should draw a bath," I suggested. "That should help."

"Yeah, but I'm sweating like a pig; this fever has me all fucked up." He pulled out of the hug and rubbed his eyes. "Eh, I'm sure it'll help somewhat. I'll do that after dinner, maybe. I am ravenous."

"Dinner's almost ready, so don't go too far," I told him.

He went over to the counter and checked his phone, and I went back to making dinner. In a short ten minutes, it was ready, and I brought the pots and pans over to the table, which were still steaming. Daron looked up from his phone and his eyes widened. "Ooh, you made stew chicken and dumplings?"

"Yep." I set them down on the trivets on the table.

"I'll be damned." He set his phone down and began pulling his hair back into a low ponytail to get it out of his face. "I didn't expect you to go all out tonight."

"I just felt like it, I don't know." I sat down at my normal spot at the table, and he followed suit. "Help yourself to as much as you want."

He didn't need any further encouragement; he had lifted the lid on the pot of dumplings and served himself two of them. I grabbed the serving spoon and placed two chicken legs on my plate, ladling plenty of sauce on top. We then switched serving spoons and our plates matched, and when we were settled, Daron wasted no time digging in, starting on the chicken. His eyes widened. "Holy shit, babe, what did you put in it this time? It's a hell of a lot spicier than normal."

"That was intentional," I said, smirking. "I wanted to see if you noticed."

"I definitely did," he said, blinking away the tears the spices had brought to his eyes. "This'll surely clear my nose a little bit."

I laughed at that, and then we were silent. He hadn't been lying when he said he was hungry; he destroyed everything on his plate in ten minutes. I finished about ten minutes after he did, during which he spaced out with his eyes fixated on the far wall. As soon as I, too, had fallen silent and begun to space out, he noticed that I had stopped moving and looked over. "Good god, babe, I am stuffed."

"I'm glad you liked it, D." I reached over and opened my palm, and he took my hand, smiling kindly at me. "You gonna go take a bath now?"

He groaned. "I'm too tired to go draw it."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "I'll go get it started for you; then your only job is to get in the bath and relax."

"But I need to help you with the dishes," he said, frowning.

I laid a hand on his arm. "I'll take care of the dishes, D; don't worry about it. Just go relax in the bath for a little while. I'll clean up."

He seemed too tired to fight me. "Okay, fine."

So I went upstairs and began running the hot water in the bathtub, pouring the bubble bath soap in as it filled. The bathwater was pretty hot, since that's how I was used to drawing my own baths. When it was almost full, I was about to call for Daron just as he appeared in the doorway of the bathroom. "Oh, perfect timing, I was just about to go get you."

He chuckled amusedly. "Well, would ya look at that." Upon dipping an experimental hand into the water he quickly withdrew it. "Holy shit, that's hot."

"That's how I usually draw mine; sorry if it's a bit too hot," I noted. "It'll cool down in a little bit, if you want to wait."

"Nah, that's perfect, actually." He walked over to where I was sitting on the side of the tub and kissed me on the top of the head. "Thanks, babe. You're the best."

I kissed his hand in return, smiling up at him. "Anything for you, D."