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Luca had no idea how Damien managed to convince him to stay in for a date.

It wasn't that he didn't like the idea—he did! A cozy night with just the two of them (and, okay, Mochi too, but she barely counted as an obstacle. Probably).

But normally, Damien was the one who liked going out.

Fancy dinners? Check.

Late-night drives? Check.

Amusement parks where Luca was forced into humiliating bunny-eared hairbands? Check, unfortunately.

So when Damien suggested, in his usual too-casual-to-be-trusted tone, that they should have a simple, quiet date at home, Luca had immediately been suspicious.

"You're up to something," Luca had accused.

Damien had just smirked. "Sweetheart, it's called spending quality time with my boyfriend."

Luca had squinted at him. "Uh-huh. And what's the catch?"

"No catch." Damien's smugness was unbearable. "I just thought we'd cook together, watch a movie, relax—"

"You want to cook?" Luca narrowed his eyes. "With me?"

"...Yeah?"

Luca's skepticism doubled.

The last time they tried cooking together, Damien nearly burned the kitchen down trying to make something "simple." (His words. Not Luca's.)

But whatever.

If Damien wanted to stay in, Luca wasn't going to complain.

The plan was simple: make a nice dinner together, enjoy the meal, then snuggle up for a movie.

The reality?

Luca should've known it would descend into chaos immediately.

It started off fine. Damien was chopping vegetables. Luca was prepping the stove. Mochi was watching intently from her spot on the counter.

Then Damien—a menace in the kitchen—decided to be a little too distracting.

"You're really cute when you concentrate," Damien murmured, standing way too close behind Luca.

Luca, who was stirring the sauce, nearly knocked the pan off the stove.

"Damien!"

Damien chuckled, arms snaking around Luca's waist. "What? I'm just complimenting my boyfriend."

"You're being annoying."

"You love it."

Luca was about to argue when—

CRASH.

Both of them froze.

Slowly, very slowly, they turned toward the counter.

Mochi sat innocently among the mess of a fallen bowl and scattered vegetables.

She blinked up at them, tail flicking, completely unapologetic.

Luca sighed. "Great. Now she's part of the problem, too."

Damien chuckled, shaking his head. "She's learning from the best."

Luca glared. "That is not a compliment."

The rest of dinner was... somewhat successful. Mochi had to be exiled from the kitchen, Damien kept distracting Luca, and Luca almost threw a spatula at Damien's head for snatching a taste before the food was ready.

But eventually, they managed to make a half-decent meal.

And somehow, Damien even managed to make washing dishes romantic—mostly because he kept sneaking kisses to Luca's cheek while drying the plates.

"Annoying," Luca muttered.

Damien just grinned. "Irresistible, you mean."

After dinner, they finally settled on the couch, Luca curled up with a blanket while Damien picked a movie.

Luca was ready to enjoy the rest of the night—but apparently, so was Mochi.

Because the moment Luca got comfortable, Mochi trotted over... and jumped directly onto Damien's lap.

Luca stared in betrayal.

Damien, as usual, acted like he expected this outcome all along.

"She's obsessed with you," Luca grumbled.

Damien smirked, scratching under Mochi's chin. "You sound jealous."

"I am jealous," Luca huffed. "She's supposed to be my cat."

"Your cat seems to disagree."

Luca pouted. "Unbelievable. I brought her home, I fed her, I—"

Damien leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to Luca's lips.

That shut him up immediately.

"Better?" Damien murmured.

Luca blinked, then scowled. "You think you're so smooth."

"I know I am."

Luca groaned, shoving his face into the blanket while Damien just laughed at his suffering.

Meanwhile, Mochi, who clearly did not care about their moment, curled up in Damien's lap and started purring loudly.

"Fine," Luca grumbled, snuggling back into the couch. "But you're both the worst."

Damien just wrapped an arm around Luca, pulling him close.

"Love you too, sweetheart."

Luca rolled his eyes.

But he didn't argue.

Because despite the chaos, this was perfect.

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