Recently redone because it's been about three years since this was written.
(... Wow.)
Disclaimer: I don't own Neku or Josh. I do, however, own the delicious bento.
Food is the Doorway to the Soul
"Ugh, Scramble Crossing again... not that I'm surprised, though..." Neku muttered, groggily blinking his eyes against the morning sun.
"Oh, you're awake! Wonderful," Joshua said, walking towards Neku. He was holding two medium-sized boxes and grinning.
"Joshua, what's in the boxes?" Neku asked warily, his mind immediately running through different scenarios - all variously horrible - related to what the boxes could contain.
I really don't need this kind of thing this early in the morning...
"You're so impatient, Neku! You'll just have to wait and see," Joshua replied, giggling. "You'll find out in around two hours."
Two hours? Neku thought, checking his phone for the time. It's ten now, so I have to wait until noon.
"Fine, then. It doesn't look like we've gotten a mission yet, so how about we train a little?"
"That's fine with me. There's no better way to start the morning than by erasing some noise!" Joshua exclaimed cheerfully.
Neku groaned - he was far too tired to deal with this much enthusiasm.
After battling a couple rounds of noise and being dragged around shopping again, Neku was more than ready to open the boxes. He glanced at his phone, noting the time. His eyes never left the screen as the clock ticked towards noon.
"Joshua!" Neku yelled. Joshua whipped around, slightly ahead of his partner.
"Neku, I'm right in front of you," Joshua said, a bit annoyed. "You needn't yell."
"... Sorry, but it's twelve, and I was wondering if you could show me what's in those boxes."
"Oh, of course, Neku!" exclaimed Joshua, his demeanor changing immediately from ticked off to delighted. Joshua opened the top box and inside was a perfectly prepared, delicious-looking bento. Neku's mouth started watering. He hadn't had anything to eat all day, and had only just realized how hungry he was.
"Ah, not so fast," said Joshua as Neku's hands extended to take the bento. "There's one condition."
"And that would be...?" asked Neku, ignoring his growling stomach.
"You have to let me feed you the bento." Joshua giggled again.
"No. No. No way in hell," Neku shook his head furiously, looking terrifically scandalized at the suggestion.
"Are you sure? You wouldn't want this food to go to waste, would you? Besides, there's nothing else for you to eat..." said Joshua, grinning evilly.
"You spend all that yen on purpose, didn't you? So that I'd have to eat the bento!" Earlier, Joshua had gone on a small shopping spree and spent all of their yen. They didn't have money left for good, and this was very likely the only meal Neku would get for the day.
"... I guess I don't have much of a choice, do I," Neku muttered, angry at himself for letting Joshua rope him into this and angry at Joshua for ... being Joshua, he supposed.
"Good! What would you like to start with?"
Neku simply glared in response.
"Rice it is, then," said Joshua, using a pair of chopsticks to delicately pick up a clump of the chosen food. He leaned in and positioned himself as close as possible to Neku.
Neku's face grew red as Joshua placed the rice in the boy's mouth. Joshua, noticing Neku's brilliant new coloration, chose this moment to purposefully drop a piece of rice on Neku's shirt.
"We can't have you getting your clothes covered in rice, now can we?" Joshua asked rhetorically, leaning in further. To Neku's mounting horror, Joshua proceeded to lightly lick to fallen piece of rice off of its place on Neku's neck.
"You can't just go around licking people!" Neku choked out, voice sounding far more like a whine than he would have liked.
"Who ever said I'm licking just people? I'm only interested in you, Neku. Besides," he added, grinning, "you taste wonderful. And personally, I'm feeling quite hungry. "
A/N: I was actually writing a fic with a different premise, and it just kind of took on a mind of its own and turned out this way. Not that I'm complaining.