Summary:

Ban is trying to make a surprise dinner for Shido, but things don't quiet as he planned. Let's just say, when onions are involved, there's always going to be tears. This is a companion fic to my story To A Beast's Heart. Mates! Verse

Characters/Pairing:

Shido/Ban

Disclaimer:

Firstly, I do not own anything pertaining to the storyline of The Get Backers, nor do I own any recognizable characters from the show. I only own this story and any characters I have made up for it.

Secondly, if you do not like male/male pairings or this pairing in specific, I respect that but please don't read this fanfic and say mean things about it. As it is fanfiction, it is my personal opinions and likes and I would ask that you respect that.

Thirdly, If you like this sort of thingˌ please do read and review if you wish.

Enjoy! Or not. It's entirely up to you.

Ban and Shido had been staying at Monica's for the past half a week. She was out of country for a series of concerts and had asked them to house sit for her, which they instantly said yes to. Ban was grateful for the chance to get away from Ginji and the Jackal Bastard and Shido wanted to repay her kindness for watching over his animal friends so much.

At the moment, Shido was outside sparring with said animals; he did so occasionally to keep them at the top of their game, teach them new fighting patterns/plans, and to give himself a work-out. They were farther away, near the forest, but still close enough to find if Ban went looking. The Jagan User himself was inside in the kitchen.

For a while now, Natsumi had been trying to teach him how to cook in secret. He wanted to prove to himself and Shido that he was a good mate and would be able to care for his dominant and their home, if they ever decide to find one for themselves that is. He wanted to surprise Shido with a home cooked meal instead of the take-out they'd been having. He had told Monica about it once and she had told him before she left, that he had free reign over the kitchen and whatever food he would need. He had thanked her profusely and had promised not to go crazy or destroy her kitchen.

He had set fire to the stove in his and Ginji's apartment numerous times before in the beginning. Paul had been livid with him each time and he didn't want to ruin Monica's very nice appliances that filled her kitchen.

The recipe he was trying to make for tonight was for Gyudon or beef bowls. Natsumi had handed it to him as he was leaving the Honky Tonk and assured him it was fairly simple to make. He had already measured out the amounts of Dashi, soy sauce, sugar, Sake, ginger, and pickled red ginger he needed and placed them in small bowls across the counter. He had rice steaming away in the rice cooker and was now working on cutting up the beef and onions.

The stove was off for now; he had made the mistake before to turn it on before he had anything cut or measured, which had been one of the causes for his fires. So for now, it was off.

Ban could see Shido through one of the kitchen windows and was occasionally glancing (staring) at him as he worked. He was cutting up the 12 oz. of beef into 2" slices when he glanced back out the window and sighed as he watched Shido move.

He couldn't really see much from so far away, but he could picture Shido clear as day in his mind. He could see the muscles of the Beast Master's unclothed torso bunch and roll as he moved. He could see as his arms tensed and relaxed as he moved them through the air. He could see the calm and collected face of his mate, framed by damp hair that moved as he went through his fighting motions. He could see-

"Ouch!" Maybe I should pay more attention to the knife near my fingers. Ban thought as he lifted his left index finger towards his face. He grimaced as he saw the small cut leaking blood right under his nail. He shook his head, "Natsumi said to be careful. Natsumi said to pay attention to knives in my hands. Do I ever listen? No, no I don't." he grumbled as he made his way to the sink. He also remembered Natsumi saying something about never putting his fingers in his mouth after working with raw meat, otherwise he would have licked the blood away.

He turned the water on to a tolerable warmth before placing his finger under the stream. He winced when the cut stung but held it under until it was clean of blood. He turned off the water and walked over to the first aid kit that was always kept in the kitchen. He grab a disinfecting wipe and a band aid from inside before walking over to the counter next to the trash can. He used the wipe to clean the cut, wincing again as it stung, then covered it with the band aid. He threw his trash away before walking back over to his work counter.

He glared at the cutting utensil laying where he had left it on the cutting board, grumbling, "Damn knife…" to himself as he picked it up. He finished slicing the beef before he grabbed the onion to start chopping it as well.

This time he didn't glance out the window, not wanting to cut himself again. If had though, he would have seen Shido running for the house at top speed.

Shido was sat atop the cooler he had brought out with him. He was giving the animals a break for water and some needed rest. He himself wasn't winded at all, but he was enjoying the water he was drinking from his bottle all the same.

When he was finished, he placed the empty bottle back inside the cooler. He stood and stretched his arms above his head until he felt the satisfying pop of his bones. He began stretching his head from side to side when he abruptly stopped.

Ever since he and Ban had solidified the bond between them, Shido had been able to feel whenever the fellow spiky-head was in pain and vice versa. He hated the feeling because he never wanted his mate to be in pain, and he could feel it right now. He turned to face the house and stared at the building a moment. When he felt Ban's pain flare, he growled as his mind reeled for an explanation as to why.

Did he hurt himself? What could he have hurt himself on? Something in the kitchen… No, no he never really goes in there. Something in one of the rooms… No, that can't be it. He would never snoop through Monica's things and there's nothing in the room we're occupying to hurt himself with. Maybe he fell down the stairs… No his pain would be greater. What if somebody broke in? What if some burglar was hurting him?! What if-

His thoughts were cut off when he felt Ban's pain flare once again. He didn't think twice and sprinted for the house, the animals calling to him in confusion and worry. They didn't follow him, assuming it just was their master/friend's mate calling to him, and stayed where they were under the shade of the trees.

The Beast Master was across the lawn and to the front door in record time. When he stepped through he paused to sniff the air and listen. It only took him a moment, before he was sprinting through the halls towards the kitchen where he could smell Ban. As he made it to the archway to the kitchen, he halted when he heard a sniffle. His head whipped around towards the sound and he stared in confusion.

Ban was standing in front of one of the numerous counters within the vast expanse of the kitchen. Upon which, was an assortment of ingredients and small bowls, the beef standing out the most. Shido couldn't see what Ban was doing, but could hear the sound of chopping.

There was no intruder; he could smell no blood and this confused him, but not as nearly as much as Ban and the fact that he was obviously cooking something or at least trying to.

This is the first time Shido had seen Ban in any kitchen for more than something to drink or washing dishes. He stared at the Jagan User, who had yet to notice his presence, until his heard the sniffling noise again. He reacted immediately when he realized the sound was coming from Ban and strode over to the slightly smaller man.

He grabbed Ban by his shoulders and turned him around so he could see his face.

Ban tensed and nearly squealed as he was turned around. Onion and knife still in hand as he was currently chopping half of it. The other half was already finished and sitting in a nearby bowl waiting to be cooked. He visibly relaxed when he saw it was Shido who had grabbed him.

"Monkey Boy! Don't sneak up on me like that!" he exclaimed. He wasn't angry, only surprised. Before their bond, Shido would have been furious that Ban called him Monkey Boy, now though, he doesn't mind the pet name as Ban only ever says it with love.

"Why are you crying?" Shido asked.

"What?" Ban blinked at him in confusion.

"You're crying. Why?" Shido asked again as he raised a hand to wipe a tear from Ban's cheek. Ban's confusion melted into understanding.

"I'm not crying, Shi. I'm chopping onions." He lifted the hand with said vegetable, placing the knife upon the counter with the other, as he spoke. As if to further prove his point, the Jagan User lifted his, now, free hand to rub the tears from his eyes.

Shido let his hands fall from the other's shoulders and leaned back. He opened his mouth again to ask another question, but was sharply cut off as Ban called out in pain. Shido winced as he felt the pain and as his ears rang with the volume of the shout.

"Damnit! That stings!" Ban had mind enough to put the half an onion back on the counter before he started flailing his arms about and rubbed at his eyes with both hands. Shido watched his mate wide-eyed a moment before he grabbed the other by the wrists.

"Shido, let go!" Ban tried to wrench his arms away so he could rub his eyes again.

"Ban, calm down. Rubbing your eyes is only making them worse." Shido said in a soothing way.

"Then make it better! It stings!" tears were flowing down Ban's cheeks. He had given up trying to free his arms and was now trying to rub his face upon his shoulder.

Shido didn't say anything, instead, he let go of one arm and turned Ban around until his back was to the Beast master's chest. He let go of the other arm and brought one of his up to wrap around the smaller man, effectively pinning both arms to his sides. He maneuvered Ban first, to the counter containing the drawer of dish cloths, then over to the sink. He used his free hand to wet the cloth before he maneuvered Ban towards one of the bar stools on the opposite side of the kitchen island to the sink.

He let go of Ban long enough to sit himself down, then grabbed him again, pulling him up onto his lap. Ban instantly situated himself to where he was straddling Shido's thighs, it's one of those things he can do with his eyes closed. The Jagan User leaned back against the island, placing his hands on his mate's knees as he did.

Shido placed his left hand to Ban's cheek, then started to gently wipe Ban's eyes with the cloth in his right. Ban merely hummed in relief.

"Your eyes sting because you were rubbing onion into them. You had onion juice on your hands from chopping them." Shido explained as he finished. Ban opened his eyes and was glad to be able to see again.

"I can see! Thanks Monkey Boy." Ban wrapped his arms around his mate's neck, digging his hands in the spiky hair at the base, and placed a kiss to his lips. Shido took no time to deepen it, wrapping his arms around the other's waist and licking soft lips, asking for entrance.

Ban let his mouth fall open and fought the tongue that slid into his mouth. Eventually, Shido won the battle of dominance and happily explored the very familiar mouth of his mate. They kissed until the need for air became very prominent and leaned apart, but not before Ban nibbled on Shido's bottom lip.

"So tell me…" Shido started as he placed a hand on Ban's ass, squeezing the flesh.

"Hmm?" Ban had moved from Shido's lip to his jaw and was kissing a trail towards his ear. One hand still in the other's hair as the other slipped down to rest in between the shoulder blades of the Beast Master's back.

"What are you cooking?" Shido smiled as Ban halted in his nibbling of his earlobe.

"Oh, uh…well, you see… um…" a blush began to spread furiously from Ban's cheeks all the way down to his shoulders. He tried to hide it by burying his face in his mate's neck, but alas, Shido spotted the red of his skin anyways and his smiled widened as he tried to push the other away from him so he could see his face.

"Well?" Ban sighed before he let Shido lift his head away, his arms falling to his sides as he did. He refused to look at him as he spoke, which just made the taller man chuckle lightly. The bastard.

"Natsumi has been trying to teach me to cook. I figured you were getting tired of eating take-out all the time so I was going to make dinner tonight."

"Oh, really?" Ban's blushed deepened even more as he nodded.

"Yes, asshole. It was supposed to be a surprise." He lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck. He remembered the cut on his finger when he felt the band aid rub his skin. "You felt my pain when I cut my finger and came running, didn't you?"

He lifted he covered finger in front of Shido's face. He was going to answer before Ban cut him off. "I bet you thought there was an intruder, huh?"

Now it was Shido's turn to blush lightly and for Ban to smile at him in amusement. When he didn't answer, Ban spoke again.

"You did, didn't you?! You are such a worried Monkey! I'm gonna start yelling 'wolf' whenever you're sparring, just to see you-" He was cut off as Shido sealed their lips together for another deep kiss. As they broke apart for air he said, "Shut up, Snake Bastard." Before kissing him again. And again. And again. And again.

Before their make-out session could become even more heated, and judging from the very noticeable bulge in the Beast Master's jeans, he wanted it to, Ban leaned away from Shido to breathlessly speak.

"I still need to make dinner and we are definitely not christening poor Monica's kitchen. So I'm going to get off your lap, finish chopping my onions, and start making our beef bowls before the rice somehow burns." Ban gave Shido a quick peck on the lips and did just that, all the while feeling the Beast Master's eyes transfixed on his ass.

Author's Note

Before I say anything else, I would like to say I got the idea for this story while reading another story called It's the Onions by AlibisDragon. The stories aren't really the same at all except for the whole, 'getting onion juice in the eyes because you rubbed them with onion covered hands' bit; otherwise, they are completely different stories. I don't know why, but I felt like I should mention it. Now that I've gotten that taken care of…

Here it is, my first ever one-shot story and my first one-shot for this pairing! Whoop!

I don't think I'll ever be able to write anything less than 1,000 words, but that's okay with me and anyone who likes stories with length.

Like it says in the summary, this one-shot is meant as a follow-up or companion to my series To A Beast's Heart, so if you haven't read that one yet I strongly suggest you do. It's not a mandatory thing, but if you were confused while reading this at all, reading the series might clear some things up a bit. Really though? I don't mind if you just want to read this one; whatever floats your boat.

If you have a story/one-shot request for this pairing, leave me a review and tell me all about it. I'd be very happy to see what you have in mind. Otherwise, let me know what you thought of this one. Reviews are greatly appreciated, but you don't have to leave one; knowing my stories get read is enough for me.

I actually looked up a couple of Japanese recipes partly because I wanted to see if I could make one and partly so I didn't have to use like hamburgers and hot-dogs, or spaghetti/lasagna, or something like that. It just didn't feel right using a more traditionally American sounding food choice. I decided on beef bowls because it looked rather simple to make and since Ban is mainly a novice at cooking, I thought it would work for him. If anyone is interested in the recipe, I'd be happy to share, just send me a message. :)

I have a mini-note for ASmileWithSecrets if you're reading this: I am soo sorry that this isn't about your idea. I actually have one started of your idea and have been trying to work it out as a possible sequel to my story To A Beast's Heart. I hope that's okay with you. :) Also, I was wondering if you had any idea of who you wanted to challenge Shido? It's okay if you don't; I just thought I'd ask. :D Either way, I hope you enjoyed this one. :)

So anyways, I think that's all I have to say.

TTFN

Taric