~ Written for Summer Sebaciel Week ~

The day was a warm one. The summer sun was shining high in the sky, casting an almost unbearable heat over the city as the people of New York went about their days, without the time to let such a small thing as the temperature deter them from their daily lives. The streets were just as crowded if not more so than usual, people of all ages filling the sidewalk and blocking the path of a tall man who happily lead his sulking boyfriend to the outdoor market set up beneath a large canopy. "Sebastian, why couldn't we have just gone to a store? It's too bloody hot to be out here, besides just look at how many people are here!" Droned the slate-haired boy, staring up at the other male with a scowl that could easily scare most people away, not Sebastian though. After three years of getting similar looks anytime his little lover was even the slightest bit agitated, they no longer had any effect on him apart from making his smile grow at his prickly demeanor. He tried so hard to appear stern and yet all it did was make him seem like a kitten denied a bowl of cream, Sebastian found it absolutely precious. "Because the fruits they sell there aren't as fresh as these will be, besides you should be happy, there won't be as many children running wild around here as there would be in the grocery store. The few here are very well behaved, see?" He nodded towards a cheery blonde girl gushing over the ripeness of the tomatoes at a table just three vendors down from the market's main entrance, happily balancing her grinning daughter on her hip while holding a bag of vegetables in the other hand. That logic seemed to deepen the frown spread across coral lips, only to be shaken away without any other form of acknowledgement as a new - though admittedly-flawed - lie came to mind. "Well… It was supposed to rain today, you know? Surely, you wouldn't want to get caught outside in a storm?" Ciel's attempt, while admirable, fell through in more ways than one; not only were the produce stands covered by a roof of thick, white plastic, but nowhere in sight could a single ominous, grey cloud be spotted. With a triumphant smirk tugging at his lips, Sebastian draped an arm around his lover's thin shoulders, sable lacquered nails faintly tapping against the other's collarbone, "I think I'll take my chances. Besides, you need a little sun, how long has it been since you've been outside without hiding away in the shade?" An irritable groan met the taller man's ears as Ciel attempted to shrug away the hand on his arm to no outcome apart from drawing a laugh from Sebastian. His tone, while thoroughly annoyed, didn't entirely lack a lilt of humor, "Not long enough, I had planned for it to stay that way until autumn, when it's cooler. If I wanted to feel like I live in a desert, I would have moved further south. I'm actually beginning to miss the weather in London, no matter how dreary it used to seem. I would take the rain and fog over this any day." Finally, - after far too long, in Ciel's opinion - there were shadows cast over them by the tent protecting the fresh goods, shielding them from the harsh rays that threatened to make its mark by reddening otherwise fair skin. Already distracted by the massive assortment of apples piled up into small baskets before him, Sebastian's reply was delayed and half-hearted as he picked up a Gala, inspecting it critically before deeming it worthy for the pie he planned to bake, "You say that now, but we both know that you would be running back to the airport before the first night was up. All I ever heard when we were out in London was how you wished for sunny weather. It's always greener on the other side, isn't it?" Eyes of aquamarine and faint violet narrowed briefly, but he let it go for the time being; he had plenty of time to argue his point once they were home.

"Alright, if we're really doing this, at least tell me what we need, I see you already have the apples." Turning his back to the numerous other fruit near the table he had bought the ones he now held in a bag, Sebastian's sienna eyes almost seemed to shine now that Ciel had given into the inevitable hour of shopping ahead of them with very little struggle, "Excellent! Now, here is the list of vegetables we need to make to go with that chicken you mentioned earlier in the week." Stifling a laugh at the obvious joy, Ciel accepted the list thrust into his hands, scanning over it with wide eyes, looking almost fearful at the sheer amount of items listed. 'This is going to be a long day…'

Much to his surprise, he actually began to enjoy the shopping trip after the first few tries to speed up the process. Once grudging movements as he picked up various foods became more animated as Sebastian pointed out how many different ways each thing could be cooked, seasoned, and paired, going as far as to tell him many of the recipes he planned to teach his boyfriend to cook once a week even after their classes at the university began again. It didn't surprise Ciel at all how passionately Sebastian spoke of cooking, he was an aspiring chef after all, but after hearing and discussing the meals so many times, he was astounded to find that he himself didn't mind at all. In all truthfulness, he loved listening to the man's ramblings, it always left a warm feeling in his chest to see him completely relaxed and happy after how stressful the last semester had been. "Ah! What about some potatoes as well? They would go quite nicely with the steak, don't you think?" Said student questioned, effectively breaking Ciel from the haze of thought he had fallen into. "Yes, of course, that sounds lovely. You could add some of that rosemary you bought too." While Ciel could hardly be considered adept at cooking, he learned more and more every week, especially when it came to knowing which spices he did and didn't like. While rosemary and cinnamon were two he had grown very fond of, he abhorred clove and tumeric, his only exception being the clove-spiced tea that Sebastian often enjoyed when winter came about. Beaming, Sebastian nodded eagerly in response to his suggestion, "I like that, good choice. Now, just help me pick out a few tomatoes and carrots then we can be on our way." Long, slender fingers soon sorted through the crate of fiery-orange fruit, narrowed eyes managing to catch each and every scuff or indention marring the delicate outside. It seemed to him that the more ripe they were, the more bruised they were, something quite unfortunate when he had planned to use them in just a few hours. "Not this one, or this one, definitely not that one… Hm, this one will do. Two more to go." Ciel rifled through them as well, holding up several, sometimes more than one at a time, to appease his lover's pickiness. After raising enough tomatoes to fill half of the basket and receiving nothing more than a disapproving shake of the head, he left Sebastian to his own devices, choosing to busy himself by looking around at the other produce while he waited.

A thin, ash-blue eyebrow raised suggestively when he caught sight of a familiar, green vegetable from a few feet away, "Actually, before we leave, I think I want to buy one of those. I'm quite hungry and I think it would sate me nicely; you know, with the size and all." Catching sight of the cucumbers Ciel eyed, Sebastian huffed a sigh of faux resignation, pursing his lips to keep his laughter at bay, unwilling to give into the other male's jibe. He wouldn't win this time. "So you're going by size rather than flavour? If that's the case then it would be such a waste to buy something of that sort when I already know of something you can eat that will be much more filling and flavourful, something I will gladly provide." The words subtly purred against the shell of the younger's ear brought forth goosebumps on his skin in spite of the scorching temperature, the shiver only worsened by the nip to his earlobe just below his piercing. The older male knew all of the places that could easily turn his lover to mush and never failed to use them at the most inopportune moments. Being as close as Sebastian had been then, he suddenly seemed so far away when he stepped back, innocent smile in place as if he hadn't just almost caused a problem that would be impossible to fix in public. "Now that that's settled, let's finish up shall we?"

By the time they arrived home to their third floor flat, both were a panting mess, three bags hanging loosely off each of their arms. "You told me we only needed a few things… You also said we didn't need to take a cab to get all of this back… You call this a few things, Sebastian!?" A sheepish smile painted the man's lips as he unceremoniously dropped the food sacks he carried on the couch before taking two of Ciel's to lighten the load as his peeved lover stepped over the threshold, grumpily setting them on the kitchen table. Admittedly, he had given Ciel the heaviest of them without meaning to, something he didn't realize until he held them himself. By themselves, they weren't so bad, but when carrying six in total that were filled to the brim, it wasn't at all comfortable for the very unathletic Ciel. An apologetic kiss was placed on Ciel's lips, ruby-brown eyes sincere but also filled with an unspeakable amount of adoration, "I'm sorry, love, I didn't plan to get so many things but it all looked so good! How about I bake you a strawberry cake to make up for it? I'll start from scratch, make everything myself, and cut up some strawberries to go on top too."

Pretending to ponder the offering, Ciel couldn't bite back his clear joy at the promise of dessert; Sebastian does make the best food after all. "In that case, apology accepted." Standing on his tiptoes, he was able to reach Sebastian's cheek, lips briefly meeting the sun-flushed skin. His grin must have been infectious because soon enough Sebastian wore a matching expression, slowly taking on a more teasing look that made his little lover groan. He wasn't going to like the next thing the chef-to-be said. "But before I make that, I need your help making dinner!" He barely dodged before an overly fluffy pillow from the couch was thrown in his direction, acting as if he didn't notice the obvious threat as he moved the bags to the kitchen and put away everything he didn't plan to use on their current meal. There was no possible way for Ciel to be shocked, he had seen this coming from a mile away, had felt suspicion weighing on his chest. That didn't stop him from picking up the abused throw-pillow from the kitchen tiles and smacking his lover across the back with it, however. "I knew you have an ulterior motive when you offered the cake, you're trying to bribe me!" The raven-haired man didn't even flinch at the weak aggression let out with the plush object, he much preferred that to flour fights. The last one had taken eight hours to clean up, another hour to wash it all out of his hair, half an hour to clear the residue from his troublemaker-boyfriend's hair, and two washes to get it out of their clothes; it simply wasn't worth the trouble, no matter how fun it was. "Who said I was trying to bribe you? I'm succeeding." "I'll help you, but I won't cut up the vegetables, you remember the incident." After kicking off his shoes and washing his hands, Ciel stood beside Sebastian, prepared to accept whatever job he had planned for him. "By incident you mean when you cut your finger and almost sliced my palm when your hand slipped because you cut the onion after I told you not to?" Sebastian couldn't restrain a snort at his partner's expense, lovingly brushing his fingers through storm-cloud locks to soften the blow, "Yes, I remember and while I think you should learn how to do it someday, that won't be today. I just need you to cook the chicken. I've already heated the pan and mixed the spices, garlic, and olive oil in a bowl so it's ready to be cooked." With a wrinkled nose, Ciel moved each piece of raw chicken from the glass bowl into the skillet, cringing at the slimy feeling it left on his fingers, "Disgusting…" "I know you don't like touching it, but you'll love it once it's ready. Just leave it that way for a few minutes and then flip each piece so it can cook evenly, otherwise it might burn. I need to slice the onion, carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms, so the chicken should be ready to be put in the oven once I'm done."

Sebastian calmly hummed a song Ciel couldn't quite place as his steady hands worked diligently to wash and cut the vegetables, not worried in the slightest about the chicken; confident in the slighter boy's skills even if he wasn't. One by one a mix of vegetables began to fill the bowl, his focus never broken even when he heard a quiet sizzling in the background of the murmured lyrics parting his lips. His lover on the other hand was distracted, enthralled by the precise movements and tilts of the hand Sebastian made when dousing the bowl's contents in olive oil. The way muscles could be seen working beneath his snowy skin despite the small movements of his fingers when he rinsed and put away the knife he had used. "Ciel, have you… Ah, I see." Biting his lip, nearly crimson eyes searched the chicken fillets for any serious burnt spots. Overcooked? Definitely, but not so much that it was blackened or unfit for use, which was very good because if Ciel had messed up something like this, he would never set foot back in the kitchen unless it was for baking - which he was fairly skilled at. "This will do nicely, except for the one on the far left. Actually, I may need to scrape a little off of the edge of some pieces as well, I must not have put enough oil in the pan, but that's alright." The look given to the meat was skeptical, but Ciel made no comment on it, observing silently as the vegetables were tossed into the pan with the chicken and put into the oven. Wiping the tiny spot of grease off of his hands on a nearby cup towel, the dark-haired man seized his beloved by the waist and tugged him closer, connecting their lips with a gentleness that would only ever be shown to him, tone proud even with the other man's minor blunder, "See? Like I told you, it's coming along well." Leaning his head against the t-shirt clad shoulder, Ciel sighed serenely, taking note of his boyfriend's warmth. The only form of warmth he would ever enjoy, "Sebastian."

"Yes, Ciel?"

"I know I burnt the chicken."