A/N: Thanks Cyanote and Lilybud! And yes, it was such a tragedy, right? Haha, I'm sure Rio's animals were perfectly fine the next day, and Amir and Sanjay probably made her breakfast in bed the next morning or something sweet and gentlemanly like that. How awful.

-CCM

008. Herb Pasta

"Thanks for coming over to my place for dinner today," Rio said with a small smile. "I don't think you've ever really seen the inside of my house… AndI wanted to cook for you this time. You're always doing such nice things for me."

Sanjay quickly returned her smile, though he still felt oddly nervous. Something about Rio just seemed to make his insides melt, but he tried his best not to let it show.

"Your house is wonderful…" He glanced around at the lightly worn furniture and polished wood that made up the room, complete with an assortment of well-used farm tools that lined the shelves, and leaned against the wall beside the door, next to Rio's own pair of dirt-stained work boots. It was the complete opposite of his own home at the mansion, which was enormous in comparison and always sparkling clean and uncluttered, but Sanjay didn't mind one bit.

"It's very quaint and cozy… It feels like a home."

"Oh, thank you-" Rio's sigh of relief was interrupted by the sound of a ding coming from the kitchen. "Huh, that's dinner! Let me go get it ready; it'll only take but a moment!"

Sanjay nervously sat down at the handmade wooden table in the center of the room, running a hand along its smooth surface, broken only by a few stray bumps and scratches in the polished exterior. He looked up as Rio reentered the room, wearing a proud smile and holding a large pasta dish out in front of her.

Rio set the dish down on the table, along with two slightly chipped china bowls and forks for each of them. The butler took a closer look at the steaming noodles inside the dish, speckled with green, and smiled at their comfortingly familiar aroma. "You made… herb pasta?"

Rio nodded enthusiastically, a blush spreading over her cheeks. "I heard it's your favorite," she added, winking; of course, she had already been served the dish at the mansion a few times, by Sanjay himself.

Quickly, she scooped a portion of the pasta noodles into Sanjay's bowl, and then scooped another for herself.

Sanjay delicately lifted his fork from the table and took a bite of the homemade pasta, chewing slowly to savor the beautifully subtle taste of the herb-seasoned noodles, and his eyes widened. "This is delicious! You are a wonderful cook, Rio."

He took another bite, eyes closed in bliss, as Rio giggled softly and began to dig into her own bowl. She smiled to herself as she took her first bite of the meal.

It seemed that asking Amir for the recipe to prepare Sanjay's favorite food had been a great idea, after all.