Haru looked at the price of the different brands of shiitake mushrooms before putting one of the bundles back. He checked the grocery list in his hand, sighing as he crossed off another item.

Sometimes his boss would send him a recipe idea while he was out of the country, so it had become up to Haru to invent new recipes according to what was in season. After the last two of his dishes had included mackerel, his boss warned him that a third dish would be pretty bland.

Haru eyed the fresh catch of mackerel from where he was standing. Perhaps just one small mackerel for himself. Having an empty stomach while you were inventing new dishes wasn't really recommended anyway. Hunger tended to warp the palette.

Haru scanned the fish idly before picking one and getting the clerk to bag it for him. He looked down into his basket. The idle chatter of the super market lulled his thoughts to flow easily, as he recalled the time he spent with Makoto and everyone else a few days prior.

We actually broke up a while ago.

She's still a good friend. Probably one of the best friends I've ever had.

Something small wasn't going to ruin us like that.

Haru could feel himself sigh despite himself. He could feel the envy spread through him when he'd heard those words, and it wasn't like that feeling was going to go away.

It wasn't even because he felt any sort of jealousy towards Makoto's ex-girlfriend, it was more that he was envious of how strong their relationship seemed to be.

It had to be, after all, if they were still close despite her living in another country.

Despite them breaking up.

Haru moved through the aisles as he looked down at his list for the recipe he was supposed to try out. He still needed the white wine and the leeks. He moved through the aisle to look for a good wine to get. He was running out of alcohol at home anyway.

"Haru?" he heard, and Haru whipped his head around to see Makoto, grocery basket and shopping list in hand, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Fancy meeting you here," Makoto said lightly, and Haru looked down at the ground, suddenly self conscious of what he was wearing. It was just baggy clothes, since he was at the grocery store, but Makoto was wearing a lose shirt and jeans and his glasses and Haru couldn't help think how it was doing everything for him right now.

Haru briefly thought that he should just burn his whole wardrobe and get Nagisa to help him replace it.

"How are you?" he mumbled as he stared ahead at the white wine in front of him. He suddenly forgot how to pick out a good wine.

"Okay, just getting some groceries," Makoto replied as he looked down fondly at Haru, who was now fingering one of the bottles, pretending to contemplate if this brand was better. "How about you?"

"I'm fine," he replied. There was a small pause, and Haru could feel himself get more nervous under Makoto's gaze. "Just... trying out a recipe for the restaurant."

"Really?" Makoto said with interest. "You do that often?"

Haru nodded up at him, admiring the way his eyes seemed to shimmer as he looked at him. "My boss travels a lot so I get left in charge of keeping the menu up to season," he replied.

Makoto hummed his amazement. "You're amazing, Haru," he said, causing Haru to turn away with a blush. "I could never do something like make up a recipe."

Haru decided that the bottle that he had been staring at was probably good enough. He took it and put it in his basket. "It's nothing," he muttered, walking away with Makoto following after him.

"Well, it was nice seeing you, Haru," Makoto said as he began to turn into a different aisle. Haru blinked at him wide eyed.

'Wait," he called out before he could stop himself. Makoto turned around with a surprised expression. Haru wished the ground would open up and swallow him, he could feel his whole body burning with panic and embarrassment.

"Something wrong, Haru?" Makoto asked gently, and Haru took a deep, slow breath before replying.

"W-what are you doing tomorrow?" he asked, peering at Makoto from under his lashes.

"Well, I'm on duty tomorrow," Makoto replied, and Haru could feel his heart sink a bit. "But," Makoto continued, and Haru perked up, hopeful. "I have a break from eleven to four so the station can use the volunteers."

Haru swallowed, he could practically feel his palms clam up as he stood there, staring at Makoto, who was watching him with a slightly quirked brow. "Did you," he began, licking his lips a bit nervously, "did you want to stop by? I have my break at two."

Makoto blinked at him, as if surprised by the invitation. A calm, gentle smile spread across his face, and Haru would have burst into tears if he wasn't so nervous for a reply. "I'd like that, Haru," he replied. "I won't be able to come in though," he continued. Haru scrunched his brows together, confused. "I'll be in my fire fighter gear still."

Haru stared at him, before blinking a little, suddenly coming up with an idea. "Come in through the back door," he replied. "Just knock. I usually sit by the bench that's around there anyway."

Makoto nodded at him, and Haru could feel his chest swell with relief and something else he wasn't sure to call. "Sure, I'll see you tomorrow, then, yeah?" Makoto smiled before waving at him, heading down another aisle, shopping list still in hand.

Haru watched him turn the corner before going to pay at the register. The groceries were a little heavy, but Haru figured that it was a good thing that they were difficult to carry.

He wondered if skipping was normal for a 23 year old man to do, and decided that running home was probably a better idea.

"Nanase-san, good work today!" one of the apprentices called to him as he took off his apron. He nodded at them, fighting the smile that was slowly pushing itself on his face. He glanced at the clock. Five minutes to two o'clock, and Haru could feel himself get antsy.

Haru walked to the back door when Nitori popped out of the backroom. "Ah, Nanase-san! Are you on break?" he asked. Haru nodded. "Alright. I'm just organizing some papers, so you go on ahead, okay?" Haru watched as Nitori disappeared again into the backroom, phone in hand.

Haru stood for a moment to stare at the back door. He wiped his palms on his pants before opening the door slowly.

"Oh!" Haru looked up to see Makoto standing there, hand poised as if to knock. He blinked in surprise.

"Sorry, did I scare you?" he replied as Makoto slowly lowered his hand.

"No, you just surprised me. I was about to knock," he answered. Haru nodded, eyeing Makoto in his fire fighter's gear.

He wasn't wearing his jacket, which was draped on the bench. Instead, he was wearing a tight under armor shirt and his pants, which were being held up by suspenders.

Haru wished he couldn't see exactly how Makoto's muscles flexed under his tight shirt.

"How was work?" Makoto asked as they made to sit down on the bench.

Haru sat next to him, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Fine," he replied. "Lunch rush just ended, so I'm a bit tired."

Makoto went to open his mouth, when a grumbling sound cut off whatever sentence he was about to start. Haru looked up, to find that Makoto was beginning to turn pink. Haru couldn't help the smile that pulled at his lips. Makoto looked adorably embarrassed, and Haru felt nostalgia tug at him back when Makoto used to fluster more often.

"Sorry," he muttered, rubbing at his piercing. Haru noticed that he did this out of nerves, a new habit that he'd developed while he was apart from him. "I didn't get to eat very much lunch while at the station. I ended up training some of the volunteers while I was on break."

"Did you want me to make you something?" the words were out of Haru's mouth before he even realized he had said them. His eyes widened as he fought to stop the blush from spreading across his cheeks.

"I wouldn't want to make you start working while you're on break," Makoto replied lightly, rubbing his stomach to keep the noise down. "I'll just get something at the station after."

"I don't mind," Haru said quickly before hopping up. He walked towards the door before he lost his nerve. "Wait here, I'll be back." Haru turned, leaving a confused looking Makoto to blink after him.

About thirty minutes later, Haru came out with a pizza on a large plate. Makoto's eyes widened, and Haru had to ignore the sudden nerves that overtook him.

"I hope you like it," he muttered when he handed Makoto the plate. He watched Makoto stare at the pizza with a swallow. Haru fought the urge to fidget.

He'd cooked for so many people before, probably with more picky appetites, but now was the one time his nerves decided to bail on him?

"What is it?" Makoto asked as he took a piece off. He stared at it for a little bit before looking back to Haru.

"Smoked salmon," he replied as he watched Makoto take a big bite, contentment slowly spreading across his face. Haru licked his lips. "Is it good?"

"It's delicious, Haru!" Makoto exclaimed as he took another large, hungry bite. Haru released the breath he didn't realize he was holding, feeling relief and a swell of pride as he watched Makoto wolf down the food he'd made him.

It felt nice to watch Makoto eat something he made with so much appreciation.

"I-if you want," he stuttered as he watched Makoto finish off the rest of the pizza, smiling in warm satisfaction, "I could make you lunch from now on."

Makoto swallowed his last mouthful of food before looking at him with wide blinking eyes. "Are you serious?"

Haru looked away, rubbing his hands together. "Yeah, I don't mind," he replied softly. Haru looked back just in time to see Makoto smile at him, and it was so warm and so familiar that Haru forgot what breathing was, and in that moment he didn't mind that he forgot.

"Then I'd like that very much, Haru. Thank you," came the warm response. Haru had to look away, knowing that he couldn't fight the happy blush that was making its way up his neck.

"You're welcome, Makoto," he said.

"Haru-chan! Over here!" Nagisa waved to him as he sat down near the bar with Rei and Rin. Haru glanced up at them before directing duties to the sous chef.

"Haru-chan, do you have any food for us?" Nagisa asked as he made his way over. It was a little dead in the restaurant, being after the lunch rush and just a little before dinner.

"If you didn't order anything, I don't have food for you," Haru sighed as he wiped the bar. Nagisa pouted at him.

"Boo, Haru-chan. You should always have food ready for your friends!" he proclaimed just as Nitori came out of the backroom, probably from taking a phone call.

"Hazuki-san, that's not how our restaurant works," he scolded lightheartedly as he organized the receipts that were left under the bar. "Hello Rin-san, Rei-san."

"Hello, Nitori-kun," Rei replied. "Should we order drinks while we sit here?"

"That would be nice of you," came his joking reply as he scribbled on some of the receipts. "Nanase-san is out here, so he could probably fix something for you."

"Ai," Rin said, startling Nitori to stand up and look at him.

"Y-yes, Rin-san?" came his nervous stutter. Haru kept his face as neutral as possible, but he could see the tiniest of blushes blooming on his cheek.

"Do you recommend anything?" he said as his eyes lazily gazed over the drink menu. Haru watched Nitori's shoulders slump slightly before he regained composure.

"It depends, are you ordering food, too?" he said as he continued to make calculations on the receipts.

"I want food!" Nagisa proclaimed. Haru just rolled his eyes.

"Well, if you order food, it depends on what you want. We have a large selection of white wine due to our seafood based menu, but there are some cocktails and mixed drinks that we offer also, if those are what you prefer," Nitori rattled on, never looking up from the receipts.

"Why can't you just tell Haru-chan to cook for us, Ai-chan?" Nagisa said, stretching his hands over his head. "He gets one meal for himself and someone else, right? I can just have that."

"Please don't call me Ai-chan," Nitori deadpanned.

"Why do you get the extra meal, Nagisa?" Rin muttered at him from over the menu.

"Nagisa-kun," Rei began to scold him, "You shouldn't use Haruka-san's privileges like that."

"Well, it's not like anyone else is eating that extra meal," came Nagisa's argument back.

"Actually, someone has already been eating the extra meal," Nitori replied as he finished up with the receipts. Haru stiffened as he felt three pairs of eyes shoot identical accusatory stares at him. "Excuse me, I have to finish these." Nitori moved away from the bar, unaware of the havoc he just brought up.

Haru mentally cursed himself for not asking Nitori to keep quiet about it. It's not like Nitori wouldn't know about what he'd been doing with the extra meal, it's just that he didn't want the others to know what he was doing with it.

"Haru-chan," Nagisa said lowly, menacingly. Haru looked to him with a carefully blank expression. "Who's been getting an extra meal?"

"No one," Haru lied quickly. He knew this wasn't going to be easy to avoid.

"Haru," Rin said as he leaned over the bar to look at Haru closely. "Are you hiding something from us?"

"Not in particular."

"Haru-chan," Nagisa whined at him. "Why would you give away your meal if it's not to me? I always eat your food in the most appreciative way possible!"

"Nagisa, that's debatable," Rin shot him a look before turning back to Haru, who had found an interest in his nails all of a sudden.

"Haruka-san," Rei began, and Haru felt something form in his gut. "Are you giving the extra meal to Makoto-san?"

The moment of silence said everything.

"Haru-chan!" Nagisa cried. "Why didn't you tell us you were talking to Mako-chan again?"

"Wow, Haru, you move pretty quick," Rin teased. Haru glared at him through narrowed eyes.

"Does he like your food? Have you gone out with him yet? When was your first date? Did you kiss?" Nagisa's flurry of questions made Haru feel dizzy. He put one hand on the bar to steady himself as he rubbed his temple.

"I'm not dating him," came his slow, exasperated reply.

"What? Haru, why not?" Rin sounded incredulous.

"Because we're just friends," Haru said.

"Haru-chan, you still like Mako-chan, don't you?" Nagisa reasoned. "He's single now. So you should date him."

Haru sighed as he straightened the front of his chef's jacket. "It's too soon," came his quiet answer.

Nagisa's expression dropped and Haru had to look away. He knew his friends meant well, he just wasn't sure how to proceed. He had talked enough with Makoto since he started making him lunch, and it wasn't like they were actually strangers.

Haru's attention was drawn back to Nagisa, who had giggled a little. "If you say it's too soon, then it's too soon," he said, and something about Nagisa's tone set an alarm in Haru's head. "Are you free next weekend?"

"Why?" came his automatic, suspicious reply.

"No reason. The mall is hosting an expo for small businesses around here, so I wanted to go with everyone," Nagisa explained. Haru shrugged away his suspicion. Maybe it was just his imagination.

Rei and Rin were looking at Haru with odd expressions and Haru couldn't shake off the feeling that he was missing something. "I guess I'm free," he said.

"Great! Meet us at the front entrance at one!" he said with his usual exuberance before he hopped off from the bar stool. He pulled Rei down from his seat, and Rin soon followed.

Haru watched them leave, wondering what exactly was going on.