Fandom: Free! Iwatobi Swim Club
Pairing: Rin Matsuoka/Makoto Tachibana/Haruka Nanase
Summary: All Makoto wanted to do on one of his afternoons off was to make his boys a nice dinner, that was all.
Disclaimer: I don't own this series or these characters!
Author's note at the end!
Makoto Tachibana, even with his hectic and ever-changing job schedule as a young fireman, would try his best to still keep up with his daily routines and taking care of his part of the chores in his home along with his two lovers, policeman Rin Matsuoka and chef Haruka Nanase.
Unlike those two on most occasions, he didn't have a set day to day schedule. Some days he would work mornings and have to be up early, and others he could be going out at five in the afternoon. His least favorite shifts were the late night ones, typically past midnight, but whenever his shifts were supposed to start around the time where both Rin and Haruka would be coming home from their own full work days, he'd sigh and get going. After all, he couldn't control fires and to have people on alert at all times was something that he had gotten used to. Some days he'd be lucky and most of his shifts would be during the day so he could come home to Haruka and Rin already home and he could wind down from a busy shift with his boyfriends unless he (or even Rin, sometimes) would get called in for emergencies. He loved his job, he really did, especially when he could take his lunches with them both and when he came home and regardless, the both of them would be more than happy to see him, but some days he just wanted to spend a nice afternoon or evening with the loves of his life, no work strings attached.
When Makoto was home and Haruka and Rin were still working, he would tidy up the house and sometimes find Rin out on duty before going to Haruka's restaurant for a late lunch. However, when Makoto would watch those two come in after a long day, kicking off their shoes and taking off their coats and tired smiles when they saw Makoto waiting on the couch, the fireman felt bad when either of them would go back into the kitchen to make something for dinner.
If Makoto's skills in the kitchen were more than acceptable, every time he could he would want to have dinner made, plated, and on the table as soon as Haruka and Rin walked through the front door, and sometimes he had...that is, with takeout and the small arsenal of simple dishes that he could manage (things that excluded the use of the stove and oven to not burn anything), but it just wasn't the same as actually making it himself.
So, just once, he attempted to make dinner.
The fireman stared at the ingredients out on the counter, deciding on making something Rin and Haruka would both enjoy: steak and mackerel. With having Haruka as his boyfriend, he and Rin time to time would assist Haruka in tasting new recipes and giving their input on how it tastes, Makoto had a general idea on flavor combinations and what went well together. But steak and mackerel in the same dish? That was something not even Haruka had even tried.
Gotta season this the right way..., Makoto thought, trying to recall Haruka's seasoning methods. To go for a dry rub, or to set it in something...
An hour of focused tasting, chopping, sauteing, and making sure nothing wasn't too burned, Makoto stared at the dinner that he made, by himself, for the two people that he loves the most. He smiled as he finished putting the result over rice and inhaled once the steam had risen up, sighing in relief. It looked good, it smelled good, and to him it tasted good. Glancing at the clock he expected Haruka and Rin to walk through their front door at any minute, so carefully he rushed to get the plates on the small table and to get glasses out for drinks. Before he reached in the cupboard to get cups, Makoto placed the dirtied pans and utensils in the kitchen to soak and when his hand touched the first glass, the door creaked open and Rin and Haruka shuffled inside to take their shoes and jackets off.
"Ah, welcome home!" Makoto beamed, setting the clear glasses on the counter to fill them with a few ice cubes and water. "How was your day?"
"Fine, up until Sousuke and I had to chase some kid down that decided it'd be great to vandalize a wall of the animal shelter." Rin stretched his arms over his head and groaned, feeling his bones pop slightly and sighed in relief. "But it's good to finally be home."
Haruka shrugged. "Same as ever, I guess."
Both pairs of eyes wandered to the table where the plates of their dinner was, and eyebrows were raised in curiosity.
"Um, Mako?"
"Yes, Haru?" Makoto placed the full glasses by each plate, wiping the water from his hands against his jeans.
"Did you really make dinner?" He and Rin approached the table, each kissing the brunette before turning their attention to the table and Makoto motioning for them to sit down.
"I just wanted to do make you two something so you can relax after work..." Makoto sat down once Rin and Haruka did, smiling at them both. "Hopefully it turned out good enough!"
"Well it smells good enough...and looks that way, too..." Rin picked up his spoon to mix the curry-like substance in with the rice and paused once he noticed the odd chunks. "Uh...what's in this?"
"Steak, mackerel and vegetables? And of course fresh rice! I tried to make it sort of like a curry?"
Haruka's arm stopped halfway to his mouth, eyes moving to stare at Makoto. "...What?"
"I mean, I tasted it and it seemed fine, but it's like two dishes in one, so-!"
The chef and policeman shared nervous looks from across the table with a proud Makoto between them, hesitating to eat what Makoto had made them, and that he probably wouldn't start eating until they had.
"Go on, go on!" Makoto's smile was wide and looked to his left at Haruka and then Rin at his right. "You two must be hungry, after all!"
Taking a deep breath and looking down at the spoon in their hands, they slowly put it in their mouths, taking a moment to taste and chew before suddenly pushing away from the table, both running towards the sink to spit out what they had just ate.
The smile on Makoto's face spread into a frown, watching Haruka and Rin gag at the sink. "...So...it's not good after all?"
"Mako, it's just..." Haruka sighed. "The thought is nice, it really is. But..."
"But if you would have left the meat separate and not cooked 'em together it would have been fine, probably. Instead it was too...well, salty and all the wrong kinds of fishy and that didn't mix well with the beef. I don't even think that the dog at the station would eat this-" Rin wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked towards Makoto. "Oi, hey, don't look like that..."
"You two can shower and stuff if you want, I'll clean up."
"Mako, I'm sure that if you didn't put it all together it would have been great-" Rin started, stepping forward and holding out his arm and reaching towards Makoto but the brunette just shook his head. "Makoto-"
Makoto stood up, stacking the plates on top of each other and giving his boys a reassuring smile. "It's fine, really. Now go on, get cleaned up. It's been a long day for you two."
Both Rin and Haruka opened their mouths to protest and say something (like "There's still some rice left, we can make something else and you can choose-"), but stopped when Makoto kissed them.
"I told you two, it's fine." The plates were placed in the sink and Makoto placed his now-empty hands on Rin and Haruka's shoulders, smile back on his face. "I think we still have some ramen cups around, I'll get those ready for when you two get out of the shower."
Since then, Haruka and Rin still apologized for their reactions towards Makoto's hard work when he attempted to make dinner for them. And still, Makoto would just smile and said that it was no big deal and that he'd just try harder and have assistance the next time he tried to make something. But when his next free day rolled around, Makoto couldn't help but think that he needed to do something to make it up for his cooking mistake even though it had been several days since then. The only thing he could think of to do was to make another meal...but that would most likely end up just like the last time, and Haruka still was working and was unable to aid him. He did remember that he was getting off before closing and was going to go to the police station to wait for Rin so that they could go home together, so that meant that Haruka wouldn't be at his restaurant...
"No, I couldn't..." Makoto sighed and shifted his position on the couch. The thought that came in to Makoto's mind was none other than getting Rin and Haruka's dish at no other place than Haruka's restaurant and to pass it off as he made it. "Haru would know right away-"
Sighing and minutes later, Makoto had his keys, phone and wallet in hand and made his way to Haruka's restaurant, nerves easing when the server (who of course knew him) informed him that Haruka had already left. It was easier to place the order to go and also asking for her to not mention this to Haruka, and with a smile and promise she left to tell the other cook in the kitchen to place the order. He had sent a quick text to Rin to make sure that they were still coming home at the same time and not too early and he had responded once the young employee handed Makoto the plastic bag with three styrofoam containers in it, and resumed conversation with the redhead on the way home.
Yeah, same time of course. Unless Haru keeps looking at the water cooler the way he is...
You better keep an eye on him, 'officer'!
I'd just handcuff him to my desk but we both know he'd like that too much.
...Can we use them tonight?
I say yes, Haru says yes, so HELL yes. See you soon, babe.
Makoto laughed and set his phone on the counter along with the bag, taking out each container along with plates from the cupboard. He started up the water heater for his and Haruka's tea as he noted he only had a few minutes before Rin and Haruka would be coming home. One by one he opened each of the containers, plating them as if he had made it himself. For good measure he even put a few pans and utensils in the sink with soap and water to make it look like he had been cooking, and as soon as the water started to boil the front door had opened.
"Ah, welcome home!" Makoto greeted, reaching into the fridge to get Rin a bottle of beer and seeing the same nervous expression as before when blue and red eyes saw the plates of food and Makoto in the kitchen. "I-I think this time it went really well?"
"Are you sure?" Haruka stepped forward and inspected the plates on the table, raising an eyebrow. "Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary, and this time you didn't put it all together."
Haruka not recognizing that it was food from his restaurant made Makoto sigh in relief, placing the two cups of tea in front of his and Haruka's plates, and the glass bottle by Rin's. They all sat down in their respective places at the table, Haruka and Rin still being hesitant about eating. Without thinking Makoto had gotten a piece of chicken from his plate and put it in his mouth, eagerly showing that the food was edible. Glancing at each other and shrugging Rin and Haruka started to eat, and Rin was the first to speak.
"...Hey, this kinda tastes familiar." The policeman swallowed and Haruka nodded. "Doesn't it, Haru?"
"Yeah, you're right." Two pairs of eyes landed on Makoto, who stopped his eager eating. "Makoto? Did you really make this?"
"O-Of course I did!" The brunette frowned and put his fork down, feeling his face warm up and heart quicken due to his lies. "I did everything...really carefully, and paid attention to the notes in your cookbooks Haru-!"
"Are you sure-"
"You can look in the sink and see for yourself, there's dirty dishes in there from all m-my...hard work...!"
The two made a small noise and shrugged, finishing their meal in almost silence and once finished, Rin and Haruka offered to do the dishes 'because Makoto worked so hard'.
"Why don't you wait in the bedroom, Mako? I'm sure this won't take too long..." Rin's voice was low and he winked at the brunette. "Because we're still kinda in the mood for what we agreed on earlier..."
The fireman's face heated up as Rin nipped at his earlobe, warm breath against his skin and Makoto nodded and went to the bedroom to wait on their bed. Several minutes passed until Rin and Haruka walked in, a pair of handcuffs spinning on the policeman's finger as he and Haruka crawled to join Makoto in bed. Haruka's fingers ran through soft brown hair and Makoto hummed, mouth parting open and expecting a kiss from Rin with how close his mouth was to his-
"Hey Mako."
"Hmmm?"
"We know you didn't make dinner for us." Green eyes widened at Rin's words and at the feeling of cold metal being placed around his wrists and being clicked in place against the headboard.
"I-"
"You should have taken out the trash." Haruka flicked Makoto's nose and the fireman whined. "Honestly, Makoto."
"So now the big ol' fireman liar is gonna get punished." Makoto bit his lip hearing Rin's tone, eyes fluttering shut as sharp teeth nipped at his neck. "Right, Haru?"
"Right." Haruka's fingers traced Makoto's jaw. "Punished all night. You're not going to leave this bed for awhile, liar liar pants on fire."
Author's note: based on a series of tweets with someone on twitter which...escalated into this trainwreck I am so sorry