How was this possible? Kaoru had worked so hard! What happened? He watched as Kojiro shifted the vegetables through his fingers. He didn't say anything as he looked upon the misshapen cuts, the thick and thin slices. Kaoru sat down his knife.
"I was never good in the kitchen." He muttered.
"Mother always had me doing something else when her and sister cooked." He swiped at his eye. He refused to cry before the huge Fu dog.
"Tony, toss these in the soup. We will put veggie soup on the lunch menu for the kids." Kojiro called.
"It isn't a waist. But your talents aren't in the kitchen. That's fine." Kojiro took his hand.
The restaurant wasn't even open yet. The large male walked Kaoru out to the main dinner. He pointed up to where the artistic Sai La Luce shown brightly in its red and gold design.
"That is masterful! You're not useless, your talents just aren't with cooking." Kojiro picked up a menu.
With the menu in one hand, while holding Kaoru's hand in the other, he walked into their house. Kaoru wasn't sure when he started thinking of it as theirs, but he did and he wasn't even sure if sister Fu dog would let him stay.
Kojiro broke into his musings by setting him down at the table. He placed the menu before Kaoru. Then pulled out a tablet. He opened up a program. Holding the device out to Kaoru, Kojiro smiled in his boorish gorilla way.
"Revamp my menu. It's pretty plain but all I could afford at the time." He stated.
Bending over as Kaoru eyed the tablet, the Kitsune was shocked to feel the other's lips press into his hair. Kojiro stood up. He smiled down at the Kitsune.
"I'll pay you for the design, also make sure you sign it. I will add your credit as the designer." The Fu dog offered.
"I don't want your money." Kaoru said.
He looked up at Kojiro who seemed to be frozen with that dorky smile on his face. Kaoru smiled back. This man, was adorably stupid. He loved it, loved him! Wait, no! Kaoru shook his head. Not like that. He looked away.
"You are allowing me to stay here. Feeding me, also keeping me safe from the demons. Redesigning your menu is the least I could do." He added fighting not to blush as his thoughts shifted from his feeling for the man.
"OK then. If that's how you feel." Kojiro's name was called from the restaurant.
"I have to get back." He tapped the table. "Sign it. You deserve the credit at the very least." He insisted.
Once more, Kaoru felt the Fu dog kiss the top of his head. It made him smile as the man rushed away to deal with something in the kitchen.
Kaoru picked up the menu. It was indeed very basic. A white back ground. The front had a generic looking building on it. The name of the place was written in a half circle above it. There was half of a sun logo below it, but that was it. Nothing else on the cover.
Kaoru flipped the laminated paper open. Inside was just a list of dishes. No photos, no drawings a sterile looking list of ingredients. There was no design of any sort. He snorted at this. His beloved carbonara was just a foot note on the bottom of the page! That was scandalous! Kaoru slammed the menu closed.
On the back was a very tiny picture of Kojiro denoting him as the owner and operator of the establishment. It said nothing about his talent as the chef! How fucking stupid! Who created this! There was no piazzas to it! Nothing that made it feel like the restaurant felt to Kaoru. This was his home! He couldn't deal with this atrocity!
He picked up the electronic tablet. Flipping the pen across some of the features made him even more upset. Not that he couldn't draw or use it, but because it was lifeless. This wouldn't work right now. He needed something to stir his creativity, a lifeless hunk of plastic wasn't going to cut it.
Standing, Kaoru went up to Kojiro's room. He found a large drawing pad, several pencils, a large eraser, and the small paint kit he had found earlier. With these all tucked into his arms, or hair or wherever he managed to carry them, Kaoru headed back downstairs.
He left the menu and the electronic tablet on the table. Walking outside, Kaoru looked around for the best spot. He watched how the sun played over the building from various angles. He found one he liked, but he wasn't tall enough to get the right perspective. He set his supplies down.
Hands in hips, he eyed the items in the lot he could easily move. His eyes landed on the dumpster. A smirk carved itself onto his face. Rolling up his sleeves he marched up to it. He made sure the lids were closed, then took the wheel breaks off. With some effort and a bit of grunting, sweat and struggle, he finally got the smelly thing to where he wanted it.
Picking his supplies up, he placed them atop the first lid. Climbing up, he carefully positioned himself in the center. He distrusted his weight between the two sides so he wouldn't fall in. With that, he huffed. Now the sun was going to burn him. He glared up at it.
As he was trying to think of a way to not get scorched while he worked, a shadow fell over him. He blinked. Turning he saw Kojiro placing one of the umbrellas from an outdoor table over him. He smiled at the man who wasn't looking at him. Once the chef stood up, Kaoru scowled.
"Aren't you suppose to be working?" he scowled throwing an arm out to indicate the full parking lot.
"I have three chefs on today. It's my day to observe them. Why the dumpster?" Kojiro asked.
"I needed to get high enough!" Kaoru pouted.
"Don't fall in. I'll se if I can find something better." The chef walked away.
Kaoru watched as his tight lean back strained the material of his white chef's coat. His eyes scanned down to where he saw the muscled buttocks swaying too and fro in the loose fitting black pants he wore. Kaoru bit his lip. What was this being doing to him?
He shook his whole body to get the image out of his head. Spreading out his supplies. Kaoru began to work. He sketched the building before him. The sign was faded. The wood cracked in several places. Kaoru pouted at that. It just wouldn't do for what he wanted the restaurant to look like. He finished a quick sketch of the building, the shrubs, the windows the flow of it was perfect, yet when he came back to that sign! It irritated Kaoru just to look at it.
He slammed the pad of paper closed. This wasn't going away! In a huff, the Kitsune hopped down from the dumpster. He set out to search the surrounding parking lot, building and the small span of woods. Nothing! He couldn't find anything he needed. He growled!
"Need help?" Kaoru looked up. The panda stood before him.
"Do you have a car? Money? I need to go into town!" Kaoru insisted.
"Hang on." Reki vanished.
Kaoru walked back to the dumpster to gather his things. He took them inside, meeting Reki back out in the parking lot.
"Um, can you...?" the teen pointed to the board with wheels he was standing on. Kaoru huffed.
There was another board beside the teens. The Kitsune placed a foot upon it. It rolled forward. He bent his knees as he kicked off making it go faster. Reki crowed with delight. They rode into the nearby town. It wasn't the big town that Kojiro had taken him shopping in, but Kaoru found what he was looking for.
A craft supply store. He rushed in gathering paints, brushes a better drawing tablet, markers, and then he saw it. The very thing he had been searching the parking lot for. A large mostly flat, but slightly curved, piece of wood. Kaoru set his other supplies on the counter. He picked the wood up.
It was heavy, he grunted a bit under its weight. One end lightened. He glanced over to see Langa had come to assist him. Reki took the other end.
"This what we came for?" the red panda asked.
"Yes!" Kaoru beamed.
Reki paid using a credit card. Langa carried one end of the large drift wood board as Reki skated with the other. The two knew each other's style well enough to not get messed up carrying this between them. Kaoru went before them. He carried several bags of supplies.
When they got back to the restaurant, the dumpster was moved back into its place. The umbrella was now held up by a wooden chair that looked like it was atop a ladder.
"He stole the lifeguards chair?" Langa asked.
"I'm sure he asked!" Reki snorted.
Kaoru danced around. "It's perfect!" He squealed.
He made the boys set everything down around the chair. When they tried to ask him anything, he just shooed them away. Kaoru sat in the dirt off of the parking lot. He stayed under the shade of the umbrella as he went to work. He had bought a wood burner. With it he was able to burn the name of the place, he worked in front of, into the wood.
He created the same design he had placed on the wall inside, into the sign. He also added the sun tattoo that he saw on Kojiro's shoulder. Lost in his work, he didn't know what time it was when the aroma of something mouth watering struck him. He looked up.
Kojiro grinned down at him. "Care to take a break?" He asked holding out a silver covered tray.
His red eyes went to the driftwood. His mouth fell open. If Kaoru hadn't sprang forward to catch the tray of food, it would have been wasted on the ground. Kojiro picked up the sign with ease.
"Kaoru, this is amazing!" He cried.
"I'm not done, yet." Kaoru was trying to peek under the lid.
Kojiro chuckled at him. "Well, let's eat." He set the sign back down.
They went to one of the out door tables.
"You really have talent. Maybe you could do something to make money with it." Kojiro offered as he opened the lid.
He placed to lunch specials before them. Kaoru picked dup his silverware.
"What could I do? It's just art." He muttered.
"Artists can make money! Especially as good as you are. Let me ask around, see what I can come up with." Kojiro offered.
"Sure, but you're not going to make me leave, are you?" Kaoru asked the plate before him.
Kojiro leaned over lifting his chin up. He didn't say anything until those golden eyes looked at him.
"I'm keeping you!" Kojiro insisted.
He sealed the promise with his lips. Kaoru sank into the kiss. Never before had he wanted something this strongly!