Subaru flicks his forehead, hard, then gets up to go to the kitchen. "Want any help?" he asks Inori.

"...sure."

Subaru tries to strike up conversation a few more times, but his attempts are all met with grunts or barely any acknowledgement (and with Tōkan's insufferable mirth) so eventually he just settles into working in silence with only the occasional request exchanged. Which... actually works pretty well, to be honest. Inori does not act like a feral boy when they're just companionably sharing silence, and Subaru is getting the impression that a lot of the barbs in Inori's speech patterns can be mostly ignored; he's (mostly) not actively trying to hurt people with his words. Subaru thinks if he wants to hurt people he'll use his fists (or his lead pipe) and otherwise the words are just kind of a different way to converse. Sort of.

It does seem like Inori is kind of angry nearly all the time but Subaru can honestly not fault him for that.

What Subaru can fault him for is just how much he uses the "chef's perks" excuse to eat half of the ingredients they're working with before they even get to be used. How this boy isn't twice his weight is a complete mystery to Subaru.

Eventually they're done, though, and they bring the food and bowls to Tōkan and kneel around the sitting table to eat.

Tōkan has the silly idea that he might be allowed to also kneel there but Inori's hand on his chest is like steel for all that he can move under it. "Come on, I'm not an invalid!"

"We're pampering you," he replies, as if that explained everything. And to be fair, he does in fact seem to be feeding Tōkan himself, with his own chopsticks.

...that's kind of cute.

"Cute" should not be a word ever associated with the Shikiri demon.

What the fuck.

(And obviously Subaru is jealous of the casual affection, but... surprisingly little, actually? This feels pretty homey.)

Tōkan gives up on struggling because he has ever met his boyfriend and he knows that once Inori puts something in his head it will not go away without a fight that is likely to leave him even more beat up.

"So, I'm curious. What was it that you wanted to do today?" he asks Inori.

"Cat café."

What the fuck.

"Any particular reason?"

"I like cats. And I like you."

It's been a pretty long while that they've been dating and it still throws Tōkan every time Inori says things like that. It's not even surprise, really, it's more something about how he doesn't say it in the way someone says "I like you" to their partner, usually; he says it in the same way he says "I like cats". It's just a fact about the world that explains his actions and there is nothing more to it. And it feels very nice.

"And the reason you invited me...?"

"I didn't invite you."

"The reason you explicitly didn't disinvite me, then?"

"Do you dislike cats?"

"...no..."

"That's why."

...he really actually means the shit he says.

"He's more straightforward than you," Subaru tells Tōkan before taking a bite of his onigiri.

"It's kind of impressive."

"...?"

"Don't worry about it."

...shrug.

Tōkan tries to get up and Inori once again places an unmovable hand on his chest. "I want a drink!"