Akatsuki Drabbles

I'm gonna teach you how to cook (Itachi)

You wanted to try—even though you knew it would only end badly. Everyone was in the hideout for the time being, and that being the case, it was common knowledge that everyone took turns in cooking dinner each night. The schedule had just naturally worked itself out over the first few days, and then repeated as time went by. Obviously, being a member of the Akatsuki yourself, you, too, had had a place in the schedule—though quickly it had begun to be phased out. You hadn't been a member particularly long, and that meant this had been the first time staying all together in the hideout with the rest of them. No one had known what to expect from your cooking, but no one had really cared. For the most part, food was food, and if it was edible, that was all that mattered.

The only problem was your cooking wasn't even that.

After the third time you had attempted to make dinner, causing the smoke alarm to go off again, the others had told you to just not bother anymore. The results of your cooking were always nothing but a blackened mess, and they had to go and turn the alarm off each time. Kakuzu had started to get annoyed at you wasting food and running the battery down, and the noise disturbed everyone else as well as the smoke stinking the place up for the next few hours. As such, it had been obvious to keep you away from the kitchen, and that was the way it had stayed, until it got around to it being Kakuzu's turn to make dinner. He was still out on a bounty hunt, however, and the others were waiting on him to get back to do it—but he was taking a while. Having gone into the kitchen to make some tea, you couldn't help but glance around and consider the idea of doing it yourself—they'd only be eating in the middle of the night at this rate. Pausing to consider it, you had taken a deep breath and made your decision. You'd be careful this time; this time it would work. Moving forward to start choosing things you might need, you jumped as you heard a voice behind you,

"What are you making?"

Spinning round to face them, you saw Itachi standing in the doorway, and immediately hesitated. Now they knew what you were trying to do they'd instantly shoo you away. So, it surprised you when Itachi did nothing of the sort, a small smirk on his face as he waited for you to answer. Wondering what he was planning, you glanced down, eventually responding quietly,

"I wasn't sure yet. I just...Kakuzu's been gone for so long, and it's getting late...I thought someone should take over instead."

"It's a sensible thing to think," Itachi instantly replied, surprising you again, especially as he fully came into the room and over to you, adding on as he did so, "I'll have a look around—see what we've got."

You could only narrow your eyes, not quite understanding what he was getting at. If it had been anyone else, you would have accused them of being patronizing—but Itachi wasn't like that. So, what was he doing? Watching him as he made his way around the kitchen quietly, opening the fridge and various cupboards to see what food was still available, you remained silent, not moving at all, until eventually you had to ask, questioning in bewilderment,

"Itachi...what are you doing?"

"You can't cook, (y/n)," he responded bluntly, and you gritted your teeth at the comment. You couldn't exactly deny it—it was a fact that was utterly obvious—but it didn't help to hear it being said so directly. But just when you were about to protest, Itachi went on softly,

"And seeing as you set the smoke alarm off every time you try...I thought it was about time I gave you a little help."

Looking down, knowing you were blushing but not knowing how to stop it, you didn't reply to his words at first. Though Itachi had never exactly complained about your antics in the kitchen, he never really complained about anything, so it hadn't been much of a win. So, for him to be saying that, you were utterly, utterly grateful, and as a smirk finally blossomed onto your face, you questioned almost hopefully,

"Are you saying you're going to teach me to cook?"

"If you're willing," Itachi responded simply, and looking up to see him smiling back at you, you whispered gently,

"Thank you."