Who deserves your love?

Surely… someone with the purest of souls, the kindest of hearts… a person without sin. A person who never causes anyone any pain.

What makes me think that I'm at all deserving?

I'm not pure. I'm not kind.

I am filthy. I am cruel. My life is full of sin and pain inflicted by my hand.

I do not deserve your love, and yet I yearn so deeply for it that I will try with all I have in me to be cleansed, to become pure… to put my past behind me.

I want, above all, so become someone who deserves your love.

Is that… possible?

Tetsuya had always loved the smell of the supermarket. So many fresh and delicious aromas mingled together, and out of all of them, it was his job to pick out the right ones for tonight's meal. There was something stimulating about that.

Tetsuya was an avid cook and longed to try out new and exotic recipes, but Kasanoda was a little too selective when it came to food to try anything too out of the ordinary. Tonight's dinner would be steak with curry and fried noodles.

Although… what a great price for mangos. And they were in season, too. Maybe Kasanoda's lack of sweet tooth wouldn't bar him from trying a little fruit, as long as it was prepared well. They looked good enough for it to be worth the risk in any case. Tetsuya wondered why more people weren't buying them, at this price. There was only one other person turning the fruit over carefully in her delicate fingers. She obviously knew just what to look for, because her examinations were thorough, and the mangos she ended up choosing were of an excellent quality.

The girl turned and smiled at Tetsuya briefly, lowering her head a bit as if in recognition. Tetsuya smiled too, and wondered where it was he knew her from. Those huge eyes were so familiar. Before he could figure it out, though, she was gone.

Tetsuya sighed and turned away from the mangos. Maybe he should just stick to things he knew Kasanoda would like already, after all. Although… look at those yubari melons. They weren't at that price the last time he was here…

A few hours later, Tetsuya began to prepare the evening meal. He stared a bit discontentedly at the bottle of steak dressing he'd bought. He would have so much rather made his own, but it was the kind they used at that restaurant Kasanoda liked so much. He sighed to himself and made up his mind to give it a try. Oh, but he'd make sure to give it his own personal touch, of course.

He retrieved the biggest skillet he could find and set to work. He melted just enough butter to cover the bottom of the skillet and added the steak dressing to it, then some lemon juice, salt, onion, and garlic. He hesitated a bit and then chopped some mushrooms to add to it. Kasanoda disliked fresh mushrooms, but Tetsuya was pretty sure he wouldn't mind them if they were fried. He let the aroma spread throughout the room, and then took to adding some persil, which sat on top of the rest of the ingredients prettily. Tetsuya added persil to any recipe could, not only for its fresh flavor, but for its pleasing appearance. When the mushrooms seemed to be tender, Tetsuya melted more butter into the pan and then the steaks. Now it was a matter of getting them to just over medium, the way Kasanoda liked. Then he could switch those to low heat on the back burner and make the curry, and the noodles…

It was then that the door sounded, and the room was soon overwhelmed by Kasanoda's commanding presence. Tetsuya turned and gave him a warm smile.

"I'm back," he waited for Kasanoda to say, and then answered with,

"Welcome home. I'm fixing dinner—I hope you don't mind if it won't be done for awhile.

"I don't really mind." Kasanoda turned his head away and stared off at something on the ceiling that only he could see. "It eh… it smells… good."

"I'm glad," Tetsuya said, and leaned forward a bit, shyly, to see if he could catch Kasanoda's reaction, but his face was blank. Or at least, it was as blank as Kasanoda's expressive face ever got. "I'm making steak," Tetsuya added. "Do you like mushrooms, Waka?"

It may have only been because he sensed the apprehension in Tetsuya's tone, but he responded, "I don't dislike them."

"Oh, good." Tetsuya couldn't tell if that answer was sincere or merely aimed to please, but either way… it made him happy.

"Are the mushrooms okay?" After twenty minutes or so of additional preparation, dinner was on the table. Both the kitchen and the dining room were western-styled, which seemed inexplicably to suit Kasanoda very well. I'm pretty lucky, Tetsuya thought privately. I get to have dinner with him every night.

"I already told you I don't dislike them," Kasanoda said uncertainly.

Tetsuya giggled a bit.

"What's so funny?"

Tetsuya brushed off the question with a wave of his hand. "It's nothing. I was just thinking, you always praise my cooking without really saying anything positive at all."

"It's not that I dislike it." Kananoda's cheeks flushed in frustration. He just didn't quite know what Tetsuya was getting at sometimes.

"I know," Tetsuya said. "I just meant that it's kind of sweet."

"Eh? I don't think so at all. Is it supposed to be?"
Tetsuya blinked, not quite comprehending Kasanoda's words. Suddenly it came to him. He thinks I meant the food. He couldn't help it; he burst out laughing.

"What, what?!"

"N-no! It's… nothing! Nothing. Really."

Kasanoda stared suspiciously at Tetsuya for a moment, but soon enough he returned to his plate and finished the meal without saying another word.

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Author's comments: This one was about 50 longer than the last part, which is still way too short. This is because I rushed to get it done in time to be part of my best friend's Christmas present. She lives in HK and I live in the US, so it takes awhile for a package to go that far, especially during the holiday season… I feel guilty 'cause it's probably gonna be late anyway. .
In this part I got to do a lot of things I wanted to do! Writing the part about Tetsuya cooking made me SO hungry. Especially so because I wrote it right before lunch. That's probably why I didn't write about him making the curry or the noodles. By the time the steak was simmering, I was already drooling! XD It's an actual recipe, too, and a good one. If you want it, let me know and I'll give it to you. I can also give you a recipe for the homemade steak sauce Tetsuya wanted to use instead of the readymade one. Later I might have Tetsuya cook more, and if I do, I'll make every recipe he uses a real one. Maybe it would be better for me to stick to strictly Japanese recipes, but I don't want to! And I don't think Tetsuya wants to, either.
Oh yeah, and persil is just another name for parsley. ;
I wanted to mention that I didn't mean the part about Kasanoda "trying some fruit" to be a pun or… or anything. I totally didn't mean anything by it! When I realized how suggestive it sounded, I wanted to cut out that section entirely! I couldn't, though, because it contained two reader requests: mention something about mangos(Allan), and Tetsuya meeting Haruhi at the supermarket(PDOTL).
I didn't end up mentioning much about the dining room at all. I planned to make it a big part of that scene, but I got lazy and only mentioned it in passing. Well… that's how things happen sometimes. ;
I think after this part, unfortunately, I might take a little break from Kasanoda and Tetsuya and write a bit about one of the other couples that'll appear in this little collection. I'll definitely come back to these two, though! At the latest, I'll write more of them for Valentine's Day. If a lot of people really want it, I'll write one sooner. Requests?
The next couple I'll write about… well, there's one in particular I have in mind, but I'd love to hear some requests! I most like to write about somewhat-obscure couples, and I do not limit myself to boys' love. If there's anyone in particular you want me to write about, let me know! If not, I'll post some choices and let you vote.
On a final note, thanks so much for the reviews and requests I received last time! Please continue to send them. Much love to all of you! Happy Holidays!

-Jaela