"This isn't the most romantic place you've taken me." Sakuma remarked as they walked towards the entrance to one of the many McDonalds they had in the city, the man dressed in his usual business attire. His younger boyfriend had offered to take him out to lunch after he was finished with his morning classes so they could spend some time together.

Hatano was ahead of him, wearing a plain shirt and pants that were completely opposite of Sakuma's professional style. He was a college student, not some executive manager of a business company like a certain someone. "It's not romantic, but it's one of the best places to eat and that's all that really matters."

They entered the establishment and the space was filled with chatter and movement, a line of people standing by the counter waiting to get their orders taken and the employees working the noisy machines and equipment. They moved to the back of the line behind a man on his phone, Sakuma looking up at the menu to decide what he wanted.

"Enjoy!"

Hatano retrieved their food and carried the tray to the table Sakuma had picked out as they waited, the student distributing their meals so that he could lighten the weight and put the tray back.

In the end, Sakuma only ordered a sandwich and drink while Hatano decided on a whole meal plus a dessert item. Sakuma hardly ate out at fast food places but he never minded the menu, nothing could go wrong with a burger. He had a late breakfast too, which influenced his choice.

Meanwhile, Hatano was already breaking into the chicken nuggets and sauce that went with them. His total meal consisted of a sandwich wrap, chicken nuggets, a large serving of fries, a sundae, and a coke. How he managed to gain such an appetite for such a thin body, Sakuma would never understand. Perhaps it was a metabolism thing, he wasn't sure.

"How has work been so far?" Hatano asked between bites of his sandwich and chicken, careful to avoid spitting out his food as he spoke. Conversations were rare between them on weekdays because of their schedules, so it was nice to talk face to face instead of through text like usual. These lunch meetups were something they both planned and agreed on so they could see each other once a week between their breaks instead of just on the weekends. It was tough, but they made it work.

"I had to fire someone today because they came in late." Sakuma took a sip of his drink.

"Ouch."

"It was their last strike. If they don't show up after four times I have to let them go. Company policy." Sakuma never felt good firing someone, whether they've been working with him for a couple months or years, it didn't matter. "How were your classes today?"

Hatano shrugged and reached for a fry. "Pretty good. I just sat through the lecture and took down some notes for the test next week." He slid his sundae closer and dipped his fry in the ice cream before popping it in his mouth. "The essay I've been writing—"

"That's disgusting."

"Yeah, I know. I hate essays. Anyway—"

"No," Sakuma set his burger down as he stared at the sweet glob of ice cream that was tainted by Hatano's fry, a chunk of it gone from the side. And Hatano ate it. "What possessed you to do that?"

"Write essays?"

"No! Why did you just dip your fry in your sundae?"

"Oh," Hatano paused, looking down at the ice cream before inspecting another fry from the pile. "It tastes good." He picked it up and swiped another bit of ice cream before taking a bite. "You would think that the flavor wouldn't mix because of the salt, but it works. Everyone does it."

"I don't." Sakuma's face scrunched as he saw his boyfriend finish the fry like there was nothing wrong with it. "No one I know mixes their food like that."

"I think grumpy managers and executive officers over forty don't like anything." Hatano pushed his fries toward Sakuma from across the table, moving his sundae with them. "You can try a bite if you want."

Sakuma moved back in his seat and pulled his burger away, as if the food would somehow endanger his sandwich if it touched. "I'm fine with just this, thank you."

"Come on," Hatano wiggled his eyebrows and motioned to his offer, "It isn't as gross as it looks. Try one, I think you'll like it."

"No."

Hatano leaned forward and went through the process to set up the sweet and salty treat, waving the fry in Sakuma's face. It made his boyfriend's eyes cross as he struggled to look at the offending food while pushing his head as far back as he could to avoid having it actually touch his mouth.

"You're going to get ice cream on my suit if you don't stop." Sakuma didn't want to pay another dry-cleaning bill after the last time Hatano stained his brand-new navy blue suit. He was never trusting Hatano with ketchup bottles again.

"It doesn't have to be this way, Sakuma." Hatano raised himself from his seat to extend the reach of his arm, but Sakuma stopped him by grabbing his wrist and tried to push it away. His strength was always superior to Sakuma's, but he wasn't going to put up a fight if he was going to reject it so strongly. "Just one bite?"

Sakuma pushed until Hatano completely retracted himself and the fry was nowhere near him anymore, "I'm not trying it, no matter how many times you ask." Just the idea of a salt-covered fry coated in something so cold and sugary was absolutely disgusting. It didn't even look appetizing.

"You're missing out." Hatano ignored the fries and went back to munching on his sandwich, haphazardly chewing and washing his food down with a chug of his soda.

Their conversations went back to normal after Sakuma had eventually chosen to forget the attempted assault, Hatano returning to talking about his class and assignments. Despite Hatano's weird eating habits, the rest of the lunch date went by quickly, Sakuma a bit upset that he didn't spend as much time as he wanted with Hatano. He supposed forty minutes wasn't much to begin with, but it was better than nothing.

When it was time for them to leave, they threw away their trash and left for Sakuma's car. "Aren't you going to throw that out?" Sakuma was asking about the small portion of ice cream left just as Hatano dumped the remainder of his cooling fries into the cup. Sakuma grimaced.

"There's only a little bit left, I can eat it in the car." He couldn't exactly save the food for a snack later, anyway.

Sakuma let him have his way and unlocked the car before they both got in, hoping that Hatano would at least be careful enough not to spill his to-go on the seat. Hatano's college wasn't far from the fast food restaurant, which was convenient for Sakuma and gave him enough time to make it back to work. The only problem was that he couldn't provide Hatano with a ride home during certain days, so Hatano usually relied on his friends to drive him.

Traffic wasn't bad for a lunch hour rush, for Sakuma's standards anyway, and he found himself pulling into his boyfriend's campus without a single problem. Other students were loitering around outside or passing in and out of the buildings with textbooks and bags, Hatano pulling his own from the back seat and adjusting it on the shoulder.

"Text me when you get home later, okay?" Sakuma parked the car and took his hands off the wheel to lean in and peck Hatano on the cheek.

"I will, promise." Hatano moved to open the door when he grinned and turned towards Sakuma. "Hold on, what kind of kiss was that?"

Sakuma furrowed his brows. "The one I always give you?"

"No, no," Hatano shifted in his seat, "I want another kiss to compensate for your attitude in McDonalds."

It took a moment for Sakuma to know what he was getting at when he rolled his eyes. "Is that all?"

"Yes."

"Fine." Sakuma reached for Hatano's cheek again before his boyfriend stopped him.

"Ah, on the lips this time."

"Fine."

He leaned in again—

"And close your eyes."

Sakuma groaned and did what he was told, ready to just throw him out of the car if he said another word on the matter. It was harder to aim without seeing where he was going, but Hatano met him half-way and kissed him, his lips cold from the ice cream he was eating.

After a second of contact, Hatano pulled away just before he shoved the last ice-cream covered fry into his mouth.

Sakuma's eyes snapped open.

"Hafframo!"

Hatano snapped a picture of his face with his phone before he bolted from the car, leaving Sakuma to suffer alone and choke down the concoction.

He was never taking him out to lunch again.