Warnings: None

NOTES: This is a non-canonical LC side-snippet inspired by a writing prompt meme on Tumblr. The following prompts were all requested to appear in the same one-shot.

Prompt 9: "What are you doing?" "… nothing."

Prompt 14: "Are you trying to seduce me?"

Prompt 21: "Gimme a kiss!" "Only if you can catch me!"

Children of Misfortune

To be read any time after NQK and Kurama become friends.

"Kitsune Udon"

Midway through deep-frying tofu, Kurama appeared at my elbow and said, "Hello, Kei. How are you?"

I screamed, because no one was supposed to be in the tiny kitchen in our apartment above the restaurant but me. In fact, being alone was a crucial element of my plan for the day; I'd been listening quite intently for any feet upon the stairs, but Kurama had apparently ascended them without making a sound. My jello-strong legs wobbled, pitching me against the countertop with a thud. The pot of oil on the stove sizzled and hissed as pouches of sweet tofu bobbing up and down on the bubbling liquid.

"Who let you up here?" I said with accusation dripping from every syllable. "It's the middle of the lunch rush!"

"I let myself in, actually." Kurama did not look guilty about this in the least, surveying the pot on the stove with interest. "What are you doing?"

"Oh. Um." I shot the pot a glance and curled a lock of hair behind my ear. "… nothing?"

I was definitely doing the opposite of 'nothing.' I was, in fact, practicing how to make twice-fried abura-age, the pouches of fried tofu wrapped around rice that were the star of a steaming bowl of kitsune udon—one of my father's favorite dishes, and yet one we only made on rare occasion in our household. Mom said the sweet, double-deep-fried tofu was bad for Dad's cholesterol. My father's birthday was just a week away, however, and I'd been granted Mom's permission to make the dish for the occasion.

Not that I wanted to tell Kurama any of that. I was making a dish named after fox demons, after all—and fox demons were rumored to hunger for this dish with perhaps an uncomfortable level of desire. Part of me wanted to ask Kurama if this dish was, in fact, his specie's special favorite, the green glitter in his eye practically screaming with envy for the treat bubbling on the stove… but there was no way I could ask without making things awkward, right?

Apparently Kurama didn't think so. After a moment he inhaled through the nose, drinking down the rich scent of frying oil and fragrant tofu. His eyes widened at once, fastening on my face with a viridian flash.

"Why, Kei," he said with teasing brightness. "Are you trying to seduce me?"

I made a joke to hide the way my face caught fire. "You know what they say. The way to a demon's heart is through his stomach." Turning quickly to the stove, I grabbed a set of chopsticks and fished out some tofu, holding the dripping item over a dish towel. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to put you to work."

"Oh?"

"As my taste-tester." I reached for a plate. "C'mon. Try it."

He didn't quite let me get to the plate. Kurama grabbed my hand, and to my embarrassed shock he had me feed the tofu to him directly. He didn't let go of my wrist as he chewed, fingers loosely encircling my arm as we stood together in the tiny kitchen. He regarded the ceiling while he savored the bite, ignoring me as I tried like hell to get my flushing face under control… but thanks to the heat of the stove and his proximity alike, this proved nigh impossible. The bastard seemed to know it, too, smiling at me once he finished eating, fingers tracing a feather-light path over my pulse.

"The seasoning is a little on the sweet side," Kurama said.

The words popped out of my mouth before I could even think of controlling them: "I thought foxes liked it sweet."

"Well." His lips curled, slowly, in increments. "We can be persuaded."

My heart beat a little faster. "Cute, Kurama."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," he said—and before I could think of anything even remotely witty to say, footsteps sounded upon the stairs, someone ascending in a series of creaky floorboards. Kurama released my arm at once, stepping back and out of my personal space just as my father opened the door to our apartment.

"Keiko, have you seen my—" From across the apartment he spotted me in the kitchen, stopping cold when he noticed the pot boiling on the stove; the eyes and nose of a restauranteur recognized the food at once. "Well, well, well," Dad said as he sauntered over to take a closer look. "What's this?"

"Boo! Hiss!" I held up the chopsticks in the shape of a crucifix. "The power of Christ compels you to get the hell out of here!"

"You've been watching that scary foreign movie again, haven't you? You know your mother hates it." But his scolding had no teeth, unlike his enormous grin. "But if you're cooking what I think you are, then you can watch whatever you'd like!"

I tried to stand between him and the abura-age, though it was no use. On principle I still yodeled, "You're ruining your surprise!"

He ignored me, snatching away my chopsticks so he could scoop some tofu from the pot. His eyes rolled back after he took a bite. "Oh, man. Daughter of mine, you've outdone yourself."

"Really?" I shot Kurama a (playful) glare. "Minamino says it's too sweet."

"That's because young men haven't developed a taste for the sweeter things in life just yet," said Dad. "But that'll come with time, don't you worry."

My face flushed again (and Kurama laughed, damn him). "Who said I was worried?"

Dad ignored me once more, snatching up another bite. "Delicious. Have I told you lately that you're my favorite daughter?"

"I'm your only daughter."

"My favorite, my favorite!" He held out his arms and lunged. "Now give your old man a kiss, huh?"

"Ewww!" I fought him off with a giggle. "You have ramen breath!"

Dad made a fishie face. "Gimme a kiss!"

"Only if you can catch me!" I said, and Kurama could only laugh as Dad chased me around the room, human instead of fox demon seduced by the taste of kitsune udon.

NOTES

I slacked off on answering these, but I thought I'd get through a few of them while on my winter break from work.

More than half of the prompts coming from Tumblr involve Kurama, NQK, and the MOST ROMANTIC PROMPTS ON THE LIST. Buuut I can't just hand y'all your ships on a silver platter, now can I? You may have this flirting and then Papa Yukimura being an adorable, cock-blocking parent.

Thanks to an anonymous user for asking for prompts 9, 14 and 21 (with NQK and Kurama as the main characters) and Rya the Naughty Kitsune for asking for prompt 21 (characters unspecified, but set in the LC universe). I hope you like how I used this combination of your suggested prompts.