Work Text:
“Aw bread no…” Clint whined and looked at the charred mess that had been perfectly fine fancy Italian bread only half an hour ago. It was Bucky’s birthday and since it was usually James who did all the cooking, Clint wanted to do something special for his boyfriend’s birthday after the heavenly food he has been spoiled by since Bucky had somehow gotten his shit together and they had bonded over sniping and the hate for brainwashing.
Clint, who had lived off of take out and leftover pizza before James came along had exactly no talent for cooking. After setting the kitchen on fire (twice) Bucky had basically thrown him out of the kitchen with the rule that he wasn’t allowed to cook without Bucky at least supervising what he was doing. But said boyfriend was currently on his way back from a BFF mission with the good old Captain and thanks to JARVIS he knew that the quinjet would touch in down in less than an hour, not enough time for Clint to drive to the closest (it was still about 45 minutes away) store to his their farm to buy new bread. So, he fucked up the starters. He could still try to use some salad leaves to prepare the Bruschetta on. He had managed to dice the tomatoes just the way he had learned during his secret cooking classes with additional youtube tutorials while he was trying to remember the technique which by the way had caused him to forget the bread in the oven and fuck… he probably should check on how the panna cotta was doing in the fridge.
~~~~~
“I’m sorry! I wasn’t even.. I don’t know what happened. I didn’t even touch anything. I promise. I didn’t… It just.. you were gone and… I know… I know. I’m sorry James.. I… Can I at least hel…” Clint stuttered, standing against the counter, shoulders slumped and head hung while Bucky was cursing, the empty fire extinguisher still in his hand, the foam making their kitchen look like it had snowed inside. The dinner that James had been working on for hours now was completely gone and even though he tried not to show it Clint could feel that he was annoyed with Clint. “I’m sorry, James..” he whispered while slowly backing out of the kitchen to find a bucket and mop to at least help cleaning up the mess he had caused. He swallowed around the lump forming in his throat, trying hard to fight against the stinging in his eyes, scared that this had finally been the last straw, making James realize what a huge fuck-up Clint was and drive him away for good.
~~~~~
“This.. this is not supposed to look like that.. it’s… what the fuck..? Why is it still… food no…” Clint whined after checking the clearly failed dessert. Instead of the slightly wobbly pudding-like texture his panna cotta was still watery and definitely not going to change its mind to turn to pudding in the next hour. “What the fuck is even happening? What did I do..?” he muttered under his breath before dipping his finger into the milky-white liquid, pulling a face at the taste. “Ew.. okay.. what ever happened here.. I don’t want to know..”
“Okay… starters and dessert are ruined.. I can still just… make the pasta. I still got the berries.. with some chocolate that makes dessert.. right, Lucky?” he asked and the golden lab gave a happy woof in return. “I swear I made this before. I was actually getting the hang of this whole thing.. and the teacher even gave me some tips after I told her about the surprise…” he told the dog laying at the entrance to the kitchen, watching him lazily with his one eye.
By the time he could hear the front door opening, the smoke and burnt smell had left the kitchen. Clint had forgotten about the pasta which were now more than just a little overcooked, he had cut his fingers twice and most of his left hand was an angry red color where he had burned himself while draining the water from the penne after remembering what he had forgotten while setting the table. Lucky was already running towards the door, tail wagging and barking happily.
Clint followed slowly, the apron he was wearing sprinkled red from the sauce that had boiled over just minutes ago. His un-burnt hand scratching his neck sheepishly when James walked inside, still in full combat gear. A bruise on his cheek was already fading. Smile big and bright and only growing wider when he took in Clint’s appearance.
“Hey babe. You look like you just came from a worse fight than I did.” He teased with a laugh, gently pulling Clint into his arms, fingers brushing through short blonde hair before leaning in to kiss him softly. “I’ve missed you.” he whispered and Clint melted into the touch, eyes closed, dopey smile on his lips.
“I’ve missed you too… and.. don’t get mad.. but I.. uh.. I wanted to do something special for your birthday and… I.. I don’t know what… fuck.. what didn’t go wrong!” he muttered against James’ neck, voice muffled against warm skin. “It was supposed to be a surprise. And I even tried the whole dinner last time in class and everything went okay.. but…” he said after pulling away from James reluctantly, not quite meeting his eyes while he rambled on. Clint only looked up when he felt warm lips against his, words forgotten while he was kissed with so much love, making him feel dizzy and overwhelmed once Bucky pulled away to cup his cheeks, looking into Clint’s eyes with so much adoration that every word died on Clint’s lips.
“Hey… hey.. slow down. What are you even talking about? What class..? And you… tried to make dinner for me?” Bucky asked, amusement coloring his voice while he stepped away to take off his boots and jacket. He took Clint’s hand in his and slowly pulled him back towards the kitchen, a soft laugh escaping him when he spotted the mess that was going on but was ultimately Clint. “Come on. Let me see… maybe we can save some of it.. together, huh?” he offered gently, smile on his lips when Clint only nodded, fingers twitching nervously while he stepped forward.
“Okay.. so… after I ruined that Christmas dinner you made just for us… I started taking cooking classes… because I love everything you make for me and I love watching you work in the kitchen and I… I hated the way you looked after everything was fucking burnt.. and… I was getting better! And.. last week I told my teacher that I wanted to try like a three course dinner because it’s your birthday and I wanted to surprise you like you basically surprise me every day… and everything was going fine! The bread for the bruschetta was crunchy but not burnt… the pasta for the Penne Alla Vodka was just right and the panna cotta was puddingy and not like water and today.. I swear I have no idea what happened…” Clint rambled while Bucky looked through the various pots and pans on the oven, chuckling softly at the huge blob that was supposed to be pasta, eyes going comically wide after he tried the sauce, coughing and spluttering before gulping down two glasses of water straight.
Clint winced and hid his face behind his hands, eventually just sinking down on the ground, back pressed against the counter. “I’m so sorry. I fucked up… again.” Clint whispered, voice cracking at the last word.
James sighed and abandoned the failed dinner before sitting down beside Clint and pulling him into a tight embrace, lips brushing against his temple and hair. “This… is the most adorable thing anyone’s ever done for me. You took fucking cooking classes… in secret! I don’t care that it didn’t work out tonight.. We can either take the jet and get some pizza.. or I can whip up something real quick.. but… that’s not important right now.. this… shit.. Clint…”
“You.. you’re not mad… or… or disappointed?”
James huffed out a soft laugh and shook his head, gently tilting Clint’s face so he could kiss him properly. “I love you, Clint. No matter what.” he whispered and the brilliant smile he got in return was the best birthday present he could’ve gotten anyway.