WIP
Kyon loved being reminded of how good a cook Haruhi was. There was a gentleness to the way she prepared the food that made Kyon turn his gaze time and time back to the kitchen, just to watch her work. It was different from her usual brashness, but both were nice.

...Though he had a sneaking suspicion that the vampire next to him was watching her for entirely different reasons. Kyon also found his gaze falling below the tie of her apron as she diligently went about her work. Well, he had enjoyed the chaste image while it lasted.

Haruhi was oblivious to their gaze, focusing on the pans and pots simmering and boiling around her. A rice cooker steamed in the background, and she periodically checked it. The rice was the backbone of the meal. She couldn’t let it get ruined.

Kyon turned around in his seat to face the table again. He wasn’t going to let Ling bait him into staring at Haruhi’s ass any longer. Because, he knew, the second Haruhi turned around Ling would discreetly have shifted his gaze, leaving Kyon alone to take the heat.

Damn that vampire.

Said damn vampire was now staring him in the face, the tinge of a smile on his lips. He seemed to have some kind of sense that let him know when Kyon was thinking about him. To reiterate, damn that vampire.

An impromptu staring match now ensued, Kyon with his mouth set in a firm grimace and Ling smiling back at him. Wait, how was this any kind of a staring match? Ling was cheating already since he kept his eyes closed 98% of the time. It wasn’t fair, damn it!

“I hope you’re not going to eat each other’s faces.” Haruhi had somehow appeared between them, and was now shifting her gaze back and forth at each of them, a look of annoyance plain on her face. So much for the serenity she had in the kitchen.

She stood up fully, brandishing a ladle as she spoke down at them. “It’s almost done, so just hold on a little longer.” She then returned to her post in the kitchen, taking the top off the rice cooker to check it for the nth time. Kyon’s eyes shifted back to Ling. He had one of those looks.

“What?” Kyon asked, speaking for the first time since they had sat down.

“Nothing~” Ling responded, chuckling. Ugh, Kyon could even hear the tilde in his voice. He was definitely planning something, as usual. If it was indeed as usual, then Kyon was pretty sure he had a general idea of what type of activity he was planning.

Kyon sighed. When Haruhi had planned the dinner, Kyon had been expecting that it would be just that: a dinner. But nothing was ever just as he expected with Ling around. It didn’t help that Haruhi went along with pretty much whatever Ling proposed. It was hard for Kyon to resist the both of them.