FfoJ2! Heck yeah! For starters, RenjixOrihime!
…
It's not like Renji could feel bad begging to join Orihime at her house for dinner. Sure, he had heard the rumors about the honey in the curry, and the wasabi in the butter, but at this point he didn't care.
The past week, Urahara had been running him ragged. Sweeping, dusting, mopping, taking inventory, sweeping, cleaning the gutters, sweeping, and a load of other meaningless tasks just to keep the redhead busy. "I'll bet the others are having it easier," he said to himself one morning, leaning on the broom. "Really? Even with all of these Arrancar attacks?" Urahara said, peeking his head into the room.
"It's not funny! Why do I have to do all of this work, anyway?"
"Well, this is a big place, you didn't expect to just lounge around, did you?" Kisuke said, shaking his head. Renji fumed. "And besides, did you really have any other place to go but here?" Kisuke asked. And it was true, Renji didn't, but he would find one before he died another night from cleaning chemical fumes.
…
When Renji got to Orihime's apartment and was allowed in, he couldn't help but notice that he and Orihime were the only two there. Apparently Hitsugaya and Rangiku had gone out together on Soul Reaper duties, leaving the redhead and the budding chef to themselves.
"Dinner will be pretty simple tonight," Orihime said at Renji took a seat at the low table. "Miso soup with mint, and udon with grated cheese on top!" Unknowingly, Renji made a face. Orihime giggled. "Don't worry, I would never serve anything that tastes bad!" She giggled again and skipped off to the kitchen.
Ten minutes later, a napping Renji awoke, the smell of burnt pasta wafted into the dining room, and a buzzer went off. Orihime hopped in, smoking pot in hand. "It's ready!" she said gladly. She scooped servings onto their plates and poured a glass of water for the both of them.
Orihime quickly dug into her dinner as Renji stared cautiously, sipping his water. After a few moments, he allowed himself a taste, gagging slightly as he swallowed. "Oh, is yours cold or something?" Orihime asked.
"N-no, I'm just less hungry than I thought…" Renji said, casting his eyes downward.
"Oh, okay…" Orihime said, also looking downward. It was silent for a while, before Orihime spoke up again.
"It's because the food's bad, isn't it?" Renji looked up. "I know I don't cook well, but I always try my best! I guess, just because I like something, doesn't mean that other people will…" Her voice shrunk with each word. Renji got up and went over to her, crouching down next to her. He put her head on his shoulder. "C'mon, at least you cook despite that," Renji consoled, regretting his not-so-helpful words. "You still continue to do it, and to practice, even if you get discouraged sometimes, and that's what really matters. So long as you feel that you've done a good job at the end, you've succeeded." Renji placed a hand on Orihime's shoulder, a silent attempt to stop her from crying.
"Thank you, Renji. That's nice of you…" Orihime said, barely a whisper as she rubbed at the edges of her eyes. Renji smiled.
"Now, dinner must be really cold, so how about we go out to eat?" he said, standing up and offering Orihime his hand. She looked up at him,
"Okay!" she said cheerfully, her smile returning.