[C] Chance Encounter

Hayden had scampered away from home yet again, he had been venturing out more and more lately, luckily the woman he lived with never noticed, normally during the day when she went out he played in the garden anyway.

Today she had gone off to the community center to gather with her knitting circle.

It was the woman's birthday soon and he was taking this opportunity to buy her a small gift with the money he kept stashed away for a rainy day.

The boy smiled as he padded down the confectionery isle, humming softly to himself as he looked over boxes of chocolates skeptically, he wanted to choose one she would like the most.

Dario hummed to himself as he looked through the ready meals.

Right now he couldn't afford anything beyond these cheap ready meals. After the sharks had gotten hold of him and raided him for every penny he had on him, he was living on scraps until he could milk Doc again.

He picked up a lasagne and slid it out of the cardboard sleeve, scrunching up his nose and sticking his tongue out as he gazed down at the less than pleasant looking 'food' within the plastic packaging.

He'd never had to deal with this little money before. Usually he managed to scrape by with edible ready meals.

Apparently the really cheap ones weren't edible at all.

He sighed and dumped the package back on the shelf and padded down the isle.

These isles were not made for people as large as him.

The man's arm nudged Hayden's side roughly as he tried, and failed, to slide past him without nudging anyone. "Sorry," he murmured, not even glancing at him as he padded down the isle.

Right now he wasn't in a great mood. He didnt want to talk to anyone right now. He just wanted to buy whatever inedible crap he could, get home, force food down then sleep for as long as he could until he needed to get up for work again.

Hayden very nearly fell over as Dario bumped against him, catching himself up against the shelf as the man walked past.

"That's alright- Oh, hi Dario."

The boy muttered as he noticed who had bumped into him, a shy smile gracing his lips as he looked up at the man.

He seemed to be in a foul mood, looking far less happy as he had been when they had first met, this was the only time he had seen the man since then as truth be told, he couldn't help but feel butterflies in his stomach after laying eyes on him again.

Dario glanced back over his shoulder, cringing internally.

Great, someone recognised him. Now he had to stop and talk to the damned person for a while.

He cursed himself for being polite.

He forced a little smile to curl his lips as his eyes settled on Hayden.

"Hi, Hayden."

A smile was gracing Dario's face but happiness didn't seem to reach his eyes, the man looked tired, excessively so.

"How have you been? You look a little worn out."

He asked, Hayden wasn't the best at small talk but he tried, a genuine smile graced the boy's lips.

He was still very thankful to Dario for what he did when they last met, he hadn't been to the beach yet but their time together afterwards had made him a little less bitter toward the ocean.

"I've been..." Terrible. Sad. Angry. Worried. Scared. "Fine."

He forced his smile to widen a little. "I've been fine, thanks. How have you been?"

He could make an effort for Hayden. The boy was a sweet boy. Very different from the people he usually hang around with. The other people he knew would just brush off him having a bad day and ignoring them.

Hayden seemed more breakable than the others he knew. He felt that the boy would feel sad if he brush him off.

He didn't want that.

"Oh, that's good to hear."
He replied, leaning back against the isle gently as he looked up at the man.

"I've been good, keeping my feet on dry land."

Hayden gave a gentle chuckle, the memory wasn't too raw anymore, he was still scared of going back in the water but he could at least joke about it now.

"I really did have a nice day with you, are you...are you busy at all?"

He asked somewhat tentatively.

Dario chuckled softly. "Sure you don't want to go swimming any time soon?"

The man glanced down at his almost empty basket. He really did just want to go home and eat and do nothing...

But being around Hayden would be nice.

"I...I don't feel like going out for the moment. But you're welcome to come back to mine and we can sit and watch a movie or something?"

Sitting and watching a movie with the boy would be nice.

"I'm very sure, the water and I still don't get along very well."

Hayden's smile brightened as Dario spoke.
"That sounds like fun.

Hey, I'll make you dinner, I figure I owe you that much after you stormed into the water fully clothed to save me."

Hayden's mind was clearly made up, he would cook something nice then they could watch a movie and eat.

His eyes darted down to the man's empty basket, that wouldn't do at all.

"Just let me buy some ingredients and we can go."
He added as he debated about what he wanted to cook.

"You don't need to make me dinner."

He could already hear Pina and Desi complaining loudly about someone in the house. He could only imagine what they were going to do when they found out that Hayden was cooking for him.

"I can live on these." He picked up the closest ready meal. Korma. That would do. He was sure it was edible enough. At least he knew Pina and Desi would eat them. That'd do for now.

He dumped another two korma's into the basket and moved on towards the area of the fridge that contained juices and milk.

He picked up a large carton of apple juice.

He didn't want the boy spending money on what could possibly be an expensive venture. He knew that Desi and Pina would definitely want whatever Hayden would be cooking. Cooking for four would be expensive.

Hayden shrugged up at the man.
"I know I don't have to, that's kind of the point of doing something for someone out of gratitude."

He looked up at the ready meal Dario had picked up, wrinkling his nose, that looked disgusting.

Hayden did had a small amount of money to his name, he picked up money here and there for odd jobs and still had some coming in every so often from his family.

"Those don't look very nice, so don't try to change my mind, I'm cooking."

He decided, quickly padding off to grab the few ingredients he needed to make a simple enough meal. Hayden was quite a good little cook.

When he had everything in his basket he quickly went to pay for it and went back to find Dario before he could try to talk him out of it.

"Ready."
He chimed, looking up at the man.

"But there'll be four of us," he objected with a sigh as the boy scampered off.

He just knew he wouldnt be changing the boys mind any time soon. He seemed very stubborn for a little guy.

The man shook his head a little when Hayden appeared at his side again.

"Thank you," he murmured softly, ruffling the boy's hair as he headed towards the check-out.

They could have the kormas for tomorrow. This was just a day he didnt have to worry about so much.

Hayden was excited, he had gathered enough ingredients for all four of them, he never got to cook any more, he couldn't wait to make a big meal.

When he finally was at Dario's side again he nuzzled back against the man's hand as his hair was ruffled.

"I love cooking."

He muttered in reply, swaying the bag in his grasp happily. He was going to go all out today, he didn't know when he would get a chance like this again.

"If I had the money to buy ingredients, you could cook at mine whenever you wanted," Dario chuckled as he paid for his 'food' and led the boy out of the store.

He could already feel his mood lifting a little.

The longer they walked, the closer Dario moved towards Hayden until he was pressed against his side, eyes flickering around almost nervously. They were in the roughest part of the city. He didn't trust anyone here and for good reason.

His arm wrapped around the boy's shoulder, pulling him closer as a couple women hanging at the closest street corner turned their gazes towards them.

He nudged Hayden into a large tower of apartments and led him up the stairs.

They got to the fifteenth floor before Dario stopped and led the boy out into the hall and down to the very last door.

He rifled through his pockets until he found his keys, unlocking the door and leading the boy in. He coughed as smoke choked him. "I told you two to smoke in your rooms," he called out with a little growl as he led the boy into the small kitchen.

"I don't normally get to cook at home, my Grandmother insists on doing all the cooking herself."

He replied, he wished he got to cook more, he had no qualms about going over Dario's to cook to him.

Hayden noticed to the moving closer to him and the further they walked the less pleasant the streets looked.

He nestled in against the man's side as he was held close, his eyes darting nervously to the woman standing around, Dario's protective posture had him worried.

When they got into the apartment building he relaxed a little, more so when he entered Dario's home. The smell of smoke tickled his sensitive nose, causing him to sneeze as he was led into the kitchen, the noise mimicking that of a small kitten.

"Ha-ki."

The boy gave a small sniffle, rubbing his nose against his sleeve.

Dario chuckled when the boy sneezed.

"You sound adorable." He ruffled the boy's hair as he set his bag down on the counter.

"You two get your asses in your room," he yelled, slapping the wall between the kitchen and livingroom.

His response was two loud "fuck you"s in response before the sound of shuffling and two doors slamming sounded. He groaned tiredly, eyes sliding shut as he leant against the wall.

He could deal without his family at the moment.

"You have full reign on the kitchen. I'm going to go and attempt to air out the livingroom a little."

Dario chuckled when the boy sneezed.

"You sound adorable." He ruffled the boy's hair as he set his bag down on the counter.

"You two get your asses in your room," he yelled, slapping the wall between the kitchen and livingroom.

His response was two loud "fuck you"s in response before the sound of shuffling and two doors slamming sounded. He groaned tiredly, eyes sliding shut as he leant against the wall.

He could deal without his family at the moment.

"You have full reign on the kitchen. I'm going to go and attempt to air out the livingroom a little."

Hayden blushed softly as his hair was ruffled, it was hardly his fault but he couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

"Alright then."

He replied, trying to ignore the previous shouting as he searched through the draws and cupboards, finding the pans and tools that he needed to cook.

Hayden hummed happily to himself as he began to unpack the ingredients he brought and began peeling, chopping, frying and boiling.

It didn't take long for smokey air to be filled with the rich smells of brazed meat, fried bread crumbs, cheese and tomato.

There was a lot of things that Hayden couldn't do but in the kitchen, he worked like an artist.

Dario disappeared into the livingroom, throwing open the windows and waving a pillow around to try and disperse the thick smoke.

Sometimes he wished his family would actually listen to him when he set down house rules.

When he had decided that he had done all he could, he reappeared in the kitchen and leaned over the Shifter, wrapping his arms around the boys waist.

"Smells good," he purred in Hayden's ear, nuzzling into his light hair.

Hayden jumped slightly as arms wrapped around him, he had been so engrossed in his cooking that he had totally forgotten that there were other people around for a moment.

A smile graced his lips and he nuzzled back against Dario.

"I'm glad you think so."

He purred back in response as he dipped his spoon in the tomato sauce and brought it to his lips, blowing on it gently until it was cool enough to taste, offering it to the older man to sample.

"Good?"

He asked, wondering if it needed more pepper or salt.

A purr erupted in his chest as the sauce coated his tongue.

He hadn't tasted anything so good since his mother had been alive.

"Tastes damned good," he purred, nipping the boy's ear gently as his arms tightened around his waist.

He was looking forwards to dinner now. The boy's cooking skills were amazing so far. He was going to eat well tonight.

"It's nearly ready."
He murmured with a blush as his ear was nipped and his body held tighter.

"What are we watching?"
Hayden asked, leaning back and nuzzling in against the man's neck softly.

Having someone appreciate his food always put him in a good mood, he couldn't wait for the man to taste it all.

He smiled as he looked back down at his humble meal, today was looking like an enjoyable day.

"Can't wait."

He smiled as his fingers stroked idly over the boy's hips.

"I dunno. I'll let you into my room in a minute and you can take a look through the movies I own and take your pick."

Hayden could take a pick of the movies.

He had watched all his movies a million times over. He didnt mind what they watched.

A small shiver ran through his body as Dario stroked his hips, he wasn't used to this sort of contact but he liked the way Dario held him close, it was so comforting.

He set the burners down to a low heat so the sauce could simmer and the meat could cook evenly without burning or going tough.

"I have a moment now while the food cooks."

He replied with a smile as he set a small pot of oil to heat up.

"Let's go pick a movie, then."

He pulled away from the boy after a moment and moved through the house, heading through the livingroom and down the hall to his room.

He pulled his key fob out of his pocket and unlocked his door, pushing it open.

The room was sparse; light brown furniture, white bedding. He owned a bed, a wardrobe and small bookcase. That was all. There wasn't even a poster on the wall.

There were a few DVDs on the bookcase; stuff he had bought cheap when he saw it and thought it looked good.

The bed was unmade and laying on it was a fleshlite. The toy was the only character in the room.