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It was fairly common for Daichi to wake up before Koushi. Daichi was a morning person. Koushi, simply put, was not. Daichi was the type to be up by five in the morning to take a run. Koushi, if he had his way, would sleep until noon. This made it significantly easier for Daichi to plan grand romantic gestures first thing in the morning. Much like the one he had planned for the morning of Koushi's birthday.
Daichi allowed himself to skip his morning run in favor of lying in Koushi's arms for an extra hour. But once six A.M. rolled around, Daichi squirmed his way out of Koushi's embrace. He did his best to not jostle Koushi too much. Koushi was a light sleeper, and woke at the smallest movements. If Koushi woke up before he could finish, the surprise would be ruined. Koushi had no concept of letting surprises be surprises. Unless of course, he was the one doing the surprising. On more than one occasion Daichi had been forcibly removed from the apartment in order for Koushi to set something up. Still, Daichi had something planned, and he wasn't about to miss this opportunity.
Having successfully extracted himself from Koushi's arms, Daichi rose from the bed. He was pulling on his pajama bottoms when he heard Koushi shift on the bed. Daichi glanced back over his shoulder in time to watch Koushi roll over, flopping face first into his pillow. Daichi held his breath for a moment, waiting for Koushi to say something.
"And where are you going exactly?" Koushi mumbled into his pillow. "Sneaking out on me are you?"
And there it was. Daichi smiled fondly at Koushi. He sat back down on the bed and reached to run his fingers through Koushi's hair. Koushi let out a contented hum and nuzzled his face into the pillow.
"I promise I'll be back in a bit," Daichi murmured, bending over to press a kiss to Koushi's temple. "I have a surprise for you."
"What kind of surprise?" Koushi asked, turning his head in Daichi's direction.
Daichi ran his hand from Koushi's hair down to his shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze. "You'll find out in a bit. Go back to sleep for me, okay?"
With a small huff, Koushi flopped back onto his pillow and said something that could very well have been either "sounds good" or "hurry back", Daichi wasn't entirely sure. Giving Koushi's shoulder one last reassuring squeeze, Daichi stood up, leaving their shared bedroom and entering the kitchen. It wasn't a big space, but it had a stove, and it had an electric hand mixer, and that was all Daichi needed today. With a flourish, he turned on the radio, filling the kitchen with the sounds of Top 40s pop hits.
Daichi placed his hands on his hips and took a deep breath, "Right, time to make breakfast."
Dancing around the kitchen in time with the song, Daichi opened several cabinets, removing a variety of utensils including several mixing bowls, the electric hand mixer, measuring cups, a whisk, a sifter, and a frying pan. Daichi placed the frying pan on the stove, then arranged the rest of the utensils on the counter. He grabbed one of the cookbooks that his mother had given to him as a housewarming present. He began thumbing through the pages until he found what he was looking for, a simple crepe recipe. Daichi set the book on the counter and read over the first page, reading the list of ingredients. He then moved onto fridge, pulling out ingredients and stacking them on the counter. Satisfied that he had everything, Daichi got to work.
"Melt two tablespoons of butter, then set to the side for later," Daichi murmured to himself.
He cut the approximate amount off the end of a stick of butter and placed it in the frying pan on the stove. He turned the heat on, watching as the butter slowly melted. After a minute of constant heat, the butter melted. Humming to himself, Daichi turned the heat off. Looking back over the cookbook, Daichi muttered, "Ok, add one and a half tablespoons of sugar to three fourths cup of flour."
Daichi grabbed the flour and sugar containers, two of the mixing bowls and the measuring cups. Opening the flour container, Daichi scooped out a generous amount of flour. He took a knife and scraped off the top layer back into the container with only minimal mess. He then dumped the flour into the first mixing bowl. He repeated the process with the sugar, mixing the two briefly. Daichi sifted the two thoroughly; the recipe book had said it was necessary to avoid having lumps in the batter.
"Ok, so now I whisk two eggs and pour them into the flour. Mix the two together until properly combined," Daichi read. "Easy enough."
Daichi cracked two eggs into a bowl, whisking the until the whites and yolks mixed almost perfectly. He poured the eggs into a small indent in the flour-sugar mix, then reached for the electric hand mixer. Daichi plugged it in and set the whisks into the mixture. He turned the mixer on low, the gentle whir barely audible over the sounds coming from the radio. After a minute or two of mixing, Daichi turned off the mixture. He grabbed a jug of milk and measured out a cup before putting the jug back with the other ingredients. Returning to the hand mixer, Daichi placed it back in the bowl and turned it on again. He then grabbed the cup of milk and began to gradually pour it into the mixture. Once done, he set down the measuring cup and grabbed the frying pan from the stove top. He tilted the melted butter into the bowl, mixing that in as well. Daichi let the mixer run for another five minutes before he shut it off. Satisfied that the batter was lump free, Daichi covered the bowl and placed it in the fridge.
"Ok, so that needs to sit in there for half an hour. Tuna salad time."
Daichi grabbed an onion from the pile of ingredients, a knife and a chopping board. He peeled the onion, mindful that the skin didn't drop onto the floor. He quartered the onion, keeping one quarter and wrapping the remaining onion in plastic wrap before putting it in the fridge. Daichi returned to the onion and cut it into thin slices. He scraped the onion into a smaller bowl, then sprinkled it with salt and pepper. Daichi wiped his knife and cutting board before grabbing a tomato, a cucumber and a few pieces of shredded lettuce. He sliced the tomato and the cucumber, then he plated the vegetables and returned to his onions. Daichi took half a can of tuna and mixed it with the onions, then dressed it with mayonnaise and soy sauce. Finished, Daichi took the plate of vegetables and the tuna salad and placed them on a nearby tray.
"Alright, that's one topping option down," Daichi said. "What's next? Maybe fried eggs and ham?"
Daichi placed the frying pan back on the stove top, turning the heat on medium-low. He cracked two eggs into the pan as he tapped his foot to the music. The eggs settled into the nonstick pan, sizzling gently. Within minutes, the edges of the whites had browned a bit and the whites themselves had cooked through. The yolks were still liquid; Daichi had managed a good sunny-side up. Daichi lifted the eggs out of the pan and plated them with two slices of ham. He set that plate on the tray and pulled the frying pan off of the stove for the time being.
"So that makes two savory toppings," Daichi mused. "Better make some sweet ones as well. Starting with chocolate sauce."
Daichi grabbed a bag of chocolate chips and the jug of milk. He measured out a quarter of a cup of the chocolate chips and poured them into a mixing bowl, then added it to a quarter of a cup of milk. He placed the bowl in the microwave and let it run for a minute, taking it out and mixing until the chocolate was thoroughly melted. Daichi wiped the cutting board and knife down once more before slicing a banana and a handful of strawberries. He put those in another bowl and drizzled them with lemon juice, trying not to think too much about how many dishes he would have to do later.
Deciding that he wanted one more topping, Daichi pulled a container of cream out of the fridge. He measured out half a cup and poured it into the bowl along with some sugar and a splash of vanilla. Daichi took the whisks off the electric mixer and gave them a quick rinse. Daichi then spent a few minutes mixing the cream until stiff peaks formed.
"Alright, crepe time," Daichi sang to himself.
Daichi walked over to the fridge and pulled out the crepe batter. He set the bowl next to the stove and grabbed the frying pan once more. He wiped the frying pan down and set it on the stove top. Daichi grabbed a small ladle to scoop the batter with, spinning once in time with the song currently playing. He filled the ladle with batter and poured it into the frying pan.
"Alright, turn the stove on medium-low. Rotate the pan to spread the batter," Daichi narrated to himself, tilting the pan to spread the batter. "Wait for the edge of the batter to turn brown which is about forty five seconds, then slide the spatula around the edges to loosen the crepe. Flip the crepe over and cook for another twenty to thirty seconds. Cooking it for too long's going to make it rubbery. Remove the crepe from the pan, and repeat until the batter is gone."
Within several minutes of flipping and hip shaking, Daichi had accumulated a decent size stack of crepes. Some of the first attempts had to be relocated to the compost bin, but overall Daichi was proud of his stack of crepes. He set the plate to the side and surveyed the kitchen. There was a mess, but it was a manageable mess. Most of the utensils Daichi had used had been used more than once. Taking a few moments, Daichi stacked what he could into the sink and ran water over them to let them soak.
"Dishes are in the process of being done," Daichi said, making a mental checklist. "Breakfast is pretty much done. I just need to make some tea and everything's all set."
"I'd ask you if you always talked to yourself while cooking, but I already know that answer," came a voice from the doorway.
Daichi would be lying if he said he didn't jump. He turned to look at the entryway of the kitchen, frowning at a tired-eyed, comforter-cocooned Koushi. "I had hoped you would stay in bed and wait for the surprise."
The Koushi cocoon shuffled into the kitchen until he was pressed against Daichi's side. "You know that I am physically incapable of following directions when surprises are involved," Koushi mumbled, reaching for a strawberry.
"Koushi," Daichi warned, brandishing the spatula like a sword.
Koushi looked between Daichi and the spatula, weighing his options. Daichi shook the spatula in Koushi's direction in a half-assed attempt at menacing. With a grin, Koushi darted forward, plucking a strawberry from the bowl. Daichi placed the spatula on the counter, fixing Koushi with a disapproving look. Koushi flashed Daichi his own, cheeky smirk as a challenge. He popped the strawberry into his mouth, chewed, then swallowed. Daichi sighed, then stood up straight.
"Ok, you asked for it," was the only warning Daichi gave to Koushi.
Daichi grabbed Koushi around the middle and lifted, no small feat considering the sheer amount of blankets Koushi had wrapped himself up in. Ignoring Koushi's indignant squawking, Daichi carried his boyfriend back to their bedroom.
"You do this to me on this, the day of my birth," Koushi grouched into Daichi's ear.
Nudging the door open with his hip, Daichi chuckled in response, "This wouldn't have been an issue if you had just stayed in bed."
Koushi didn't respond, but Daichi could feel the pout in the way Koushi dead-weighted in his arms. Daichi stumbled, barely stopping himself from dropping Koushi on the floor. And there it was, the return of the indignant squawking. Daichi murmured his apologies as he set the Koushi cocoon on the bed.
"You're lucky you're cute Sawamura," Koushi grumbled, scooting backwards until he was settled against the pillows.
Daichi crawled onto the bed so that he and Koushi were almost touching. He pecked the tip of Koushi's nose, grinning at the look on Koushi's face. He pressed another soft kiss to Koushi's lips before murmuring against them, "I'll make it up to you, just give me a minute."
"You have exactly one minute," Koushi replied, giving Daichi another kiss.
Daichi laughed, "So demanding today."
"It is my birthday you know," Koushi said in response with a dismissive hand wave.
Daichi stood and retreated back to the kitchen. He set the plate of crepes on the tray on top of two empty plates. He made the executive decision that Koushi could wait a few more minutes and made tea. He placed the teapot and two teacups on the tray, rearranging things for aesthetic purposes. Satisfied that he had everything, Daichi carefully lifted the tray. Slowly, so as to not spill anything, Daichi carried the reasonably heavy tray back to the bedroom. Koushi had unwrapped his blanket cocoon, opting to sit on top of them while he waited for Daichi to return. He smiled up at Daichi as he placed the tray in front of Koushi on the bed.
"Oh my goodness, what's this?" Koushi asked in a mock tone of surprise. "Did you make me breakfast in bed for my birthday?"
"As a matter of fact, I did!" Daichi exclaimed, playing along. He sat down next to Koushi, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "I figured it was the least I could do for you since you're one year closer to being put in a retirement home."
Koushi clasped his hands to his chest, "If that isn't the sweetest thing! Thank you for being so thoughtful Daichi!"
Daichi pulled Koushi close, nuzzling his temple and pressing a soft kiss there. "You're welcome Koushi. Happy Birthday."
Koushi turned on the bed so he was facing Daichi. "You really didn't have to do all of this for me," Koushi said.
"I know, but I wanted to," Daichi replied simply.
Koushi smiled at him, the thousand watt grin that Daichi loved so much.
"Let's eat!"