Pickles ||Inumaki x Reader||

Fourteen || Nerf Guns

Toge stood by one of the counters with the dark blue sleeves of his uniform rolled up as he carefully cut some seaweed sheets into thin strips with a pair of black scissors. I noticed a bowl of what looked like a mix of tuna and mayonnaise beside him when I crept a little closer.

Upon hearing my footsteps, the boy turned his head just slightly to look at me from the side of his eye. His thin eyebrows raised with curiosity as he continued cooking. He was making rice balls, from the looks of it. Toge had always been the best cook out of all of us, yet again another reason to swoon for him.

"Can I help?" I perked up while he cut the final strip.

But he simply shook his head, "Bonito flakes."

Not wanting to get in his way, I sat up on the counter and just watched in silence as he dissolved a teaspoon of salt into a bowl of water. Toge dipped his hands into the salted water before scooping a handful of rice into his wet palm. I recalled watching him in deep concentration just like this so many months ago while he explained to me that wetting his hands kept the rice from sticking and the salt would keep the it more fresh when he molded the onigiri.

It never got boring observing how dearly he pressed the rice into shape, pushing his thumb in the centre of it all to make a dent deep enough for the filling. That was when he used the small spoon to fill the dent with the tuna mayo, wetting his hands again to squeeze the rice over the filling to form the rice ball. Toge was careful, making sure to never squeeze too hard or too lightly and it made me smile to see that focused look in his eyes.

He was already done when I snapped back to reality as he held out the triangular-shaped rice ball wrapped in the seaweed strip with a smile. "Salmon cod roe," Toge murmured.

As soon as I took it, he was off to grab another spoonful of rice to make the next one. I kicked my legs like a kid as I ate the onigiri happily, absorbing each second the boy spent making it.

The minutes felt like seconds with how peaceful it was to just sit and watch him totter around the counters like a busy video game character. Each time I finished one rice ball he would immediately hand me another, the only thing stopping me from declining being the shine in his pupils as he waited for me to accept it.

Not many words were exchanged by the time he used up all his onigiri ingredients and sealed the rest away in cling film to put into the refrigerator for Maki and Panda when they returned. He always did things like that when the others were away.

I hopped down from the table as Toge washed his hands. I stared at his small back while he rubbed the rosemary-scented soap to his wrists. The only sounds in the entire building at that time was the running water and the mute humming of the air conditioning.

Sure, I wanted that Nerf gun pretty badly but more than that I wanted Toge. As selfish as it might have been, I wanted him all to myself. For him and I to keep spending our days off in the kitchen while he put so much care and love into preparing food for our friends while I sat up on the counter and watched him do so because he didn't like it when people tried to help him.

I was so hung up in those thoughts that I wasn't thinking straight when I walked over to him and banged my head against his back softly. My sad forehead rested against his navy uniform while he turned off the tap.

"Mustard leaf," He chuckled, turning around. I made no effort to stand straight when he moved and just let myself fall but not before he caught me by my shoulders to hold me up. "Tuna?" He cocked his head to the side, trying to read my expression.

But I just kept my gaze fixated on the sink behind him as I bit my bottom lip. "Where do I even begin..." A heavy sigh escaped me, making Toge even more confused.