Set The Moon on Fire (Akaza x Kyojuro Rengoku)

Chapter 5

With two weeks until the deadline, Kyojuro and Akaza began prioritizing their assignment, neglecting their other classes in order to meet up and work on it. Kyojuro began spending more and more time at the younger boy's apartment, often leaving when it gets dark out. He did mention it took almost a half hour to get home so Akaza was always worried whenever he'd leave so late. "It's fine, I'm a big boy." The fire-haired man assured while Akaza panicked the first time Kuojuro left his house at 11 P.M., anxious beads of sweat running down his forehead.

But during his time at Akaza's apartment, the pair's imagination went wild and they completed hours of work like it was nothing. It would become more casual, the two dropping formalities and the pink-haired boy usually set the mood by playing R&B songs through his home speakers, a way to ward off the stress and make the dull apartment feel more lively. It was like time didn't exist to them whenever they joined together, getting comfortable in each other's presence and putting their all into the painting. It sometimes felt like they'd known each other for a long time with the way they matched each other's drift.

The sun had long past set and the moon and stars were up and shining when Akaza was torn from his thoughts by his growling stomach, finally dropping his paintbrush after two hours of nonstop work. As he slowly got out of his determination mode, his hunger became more and more apparent and he bet it was the same for Kyojuro, who was sitting beside him, working on the artist statement that accompanied the piece. They hadn't said a word to each other since they started, which wasn't unusual; sitting in complete silence, deep in one's head was the way they got most of their work done. Had they burst into their long conversation, absolutely no work would be completed and that couldn't be happening with how close the due date was. The unusual part of this long silence, however, was how Kyojuro suppressed his hunger and had gone so long without saying anything.

"You aren't hungry, Kyo?" Akaza said as he stretched his sore lower back, his tone much more casual than when they first met up. He'd learn to become more comfortable around the elder as they spent more time together, revealing his natural self once he realized Kyojuro accepted him for who he was and encouraged him to always be authentic around him. The pink-haired boy got up from his seat on the floor, headed towards the small kitchen and opened the silver fridge, being greeted with empty shelves like usual. Akaza would usually order food because his mom was never home to cook nor did he have time to cook himself. But tonight, even with the few ingredients he had in the fridge, he wanted to cook up something special for his guest.

"I am starving! Did you know that dolphins are one of the most terrifying sea creatures out there? They torture and abuse other fishes and mammals for fun, literally committing domestic terrorism on a daily basis." The older boy said energetically, looking at Akaza with big, shining eyes, pleading for validation of his not-so-fun fact.

"Is that what you've been doing the past two hours? Searching up dolphin facts?" The younger boy chuckled, the realization that Kyojuro's silence and diligence he put in his "work" was for dolphins. It was cute, seeing this side of him. Akaza cherished every bit of the man's curiosity as he fetched the few vegetables from the fridge and placed them on the counter, debating on what he could make. It wasn't long before he came to the decision of a simple, but filling fried rice considering there was extra rice in the rice cooker and he promptly started chopping the onions and carrots, his movements careful and the cuts he made were very precise as he made sure everything was an even size. Akaza took great pride in cooking although he didn't do it often, the act just came naturally to him whenever he found the time. On top of that, he just wanted to care for his friend, a rare nurturing side to him he couldn't suppress. He wanted to make Kyojuro happy and...I want to impress him, cook him something that would make him smile...

As things began heating up in the kitchen, it was still fairly silent between the two men, the R&B music the only noise filling the small apartment. Akaza assumed Kyojuro got back to work (if it even was work) and allowed himself to be immersed in his cooking, the sweet smell of the frying aromatics waving in the air and the music absorbing him into a feel-good mood. He sighed hungrily, incorporating the day-old rice into the seasoned vegetables and adding several sauces to finish the meal. He quickly peaked inside the fridge for green onions as the final touch, sightly bending over to reach the far bottom of the fridge, relieved that the remaining stems hadn't wilted yet.