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If Kaoru were to be asked what his favorite food was, he would immediately wave off the question and respond with “anything sweet”.
However, it was no secret, especially with his husband and kids, that he had a soft spot in his heart for pancakes.
Pancakes were just so soft, and so light. They had a mild sweetness that paired well with anything, from fruit and nuts to, in Kaoru’s opinion one of the best pairings in the world, ice cream and lots of syrup. They took very few ingredients, and with enough time and effort could be turned into one of the most photogenic desserts.
“W-wait, Koga! You’re mixing the batter too fast!”
However, unfortunately for him, it seemed as though his most recent pancakes would not be as photogenic as he hoped.
“Koga, if you keep mixing it that fast you might-” Kaoru barely had any time to finish his sentence before it was too late, the batter spilling over the edge of the bowl and onto the counter. Taking a moment to inwardly sigh to himself, he quickly reached over to the hanging cloth towel near the sink and ran it under water. Once he deemed it damp enough, he turned and cleaned up the counter, careful to wipe down the bowl as to make sure there weren't any lingering bits of batter.
Finally, rinsing off the towel till it was clean once more, he turned over to the sitting boy next to him. Gently lifting his head with a hand, he wiped down Koga’s face before moving down to his arms and hands. He made sure to quickly wipe down the boy’s apron, glad that he was wearing an apron to begin with, before deeming him clean enough to continue.
“Koga, I told you that you were mixing the batter too fast.” Kaoru reached over after putting away the towel, once again lifting his head from under his chin, reassuring that the boy was making eye contact. “I know you’re excited about making these pancakes, but you still need to listen to me, okay? We’re working together.”
“Ok… I’m sorry.” The words were quiet, more mumbled than said, but it was loud enough for Kaoru to hear. Giving in with a smile, he retracted his hand and gave his son a small ruffle to his head.
“Thank you, Koga. I appreciate it.”
“Kukuku. It seems like you two are having some difficulties, right Adonis?”
The side comment made Kaoru snap out of his attention on Koga and instead towards the teasing voice. He was quickly met with a sly grin as his husband leaned over the counter, his head resting on top of folded hands. Beside him was Adonis, who seemed way too enamored with a small bag of chocolate chips to notice the way his parents were sending silent daggers to each other.
“Oh to be young~. How jealous I am of you…” Rei’s eyes shone in the light, and Kaoru could swear he could see the amusement glimmering in his eyes. “Maybe Kaoru would be willing to share some of that shining youth with me sometime?”
“S-shut up…” Kaoru covered his eyes and attempted to hide his face with his hand, being careful not to let the now curious Koga and Adonis notice the creeping warmth filling his face.
“Oh? And why should I?” Rei swiftly abandoned his spot next to Adonis and walked around the counter, making his way to his husband and grabbing his waist. Bringing him closer, he hid Kaoru’s face behind his own as he whispered in his ear. “It’s nothing more than simple teasing, my dear. However, it certainly is a mystery to me as to why you’ve gotten so worked up over it...”
“Rei… The kids…” Kaoru choked out, the warmth on his cheeks spreading and becoming more and more intense throughout his face. Rei only responded to the muffled concern by continuing his actions, either because didn’t seem to hear him, or he was valiantly choosing to ignore them. Either way, Kaoru could feel his hand being removed from his face, being quickly replaced with a colder hand to his cheek. Taking a proper look at Rei, he bit back a small noise that threatened to escape him as he soon discovered the small proximity between Rei and himself. Rei was close.
“Oho? Why are you wearing such a face, my dear?” Rei glided his tongue over his lips in an instant, bringing Kaoru’s face closer to his own. Honey-brown eyes locked onto crimson ones, and immediately Kaoru couldn’t help but let his body surrender to the kiss. “Just one kiss wouldn’t be bad.” Kaoru thought, letting his eyes slowly droop in anticipation.
If they were in a room by themselves, their kiss would end peacefully without a hitch. However…
Crash! Tink, tink, tink...
They seemed to have forgotten that they were in fact not alone, and were instead with two mischievous children.
“Koga! Adonis! What did you-” Both Kaoru and Rei broke away from each other and turned towards the kitchen, Kaoru ready to simultaneously give a lecture while checking over both Adonis and Koga. He barely got a sentence out of his mouth, however, before he truly took in the scene before him.
Koga and Adonis were safe and didn’t seem to be harmed, to Kaoru’s relief. The problem instead seemed to lay all over the kitchen, with the main problem laying in Adonis’s hand - a busted bag of chocolate chips. Koga and Adonis had managed to burst the bag of chocolate chips open, resulting in little chips of chocolate scattered throughout the kitchen floor and counter.
Normally, Kaoru would laugh at the resulting shocked faces of Koga and Adonis. However, the thought of picking up every chip only made him want to add more shots of espresso to the cold cup of coffee he had brewed himself earlier that morning.
Thankfully, the sigh that left his mouth seemed to notify Rei of his feelings and put him into action. “Alright, no need to worry about the mess, you two. Adonis, you leave the bag of chips on the counter, okay? We’re going to need to clean up this mess before we can finish the pancakes, but…” Rei seemed to think for a moment, the eyes of the rest of the family on him as he tapped his chin in thought. Then, his face lit up in what seemed to be inspiration as the imaginary lightbulb went off in his head. “Let’s make the clean up more interesting, shall we? How about we play a game?”
Rei waited a few seconds for any objections, but the children's curious faces gave him enough incentive to move on. “We’re going to see who can pick up the most chips the fastest. Every chip is equal to one point. Whoever picks up the most chips the fastest is the winner, and will earn the right to make and eat the pancakes first. The teams will be you two against me, so…” Rei stepped forward and gave both the kids a toothy smile, showing them his fangs in a small effort to seem intimidating. “I hope you’re prepared to lose.”
Immediately, as soon as those words were said, Koga jumped out of his seat and grabbed Adonis’s hand, tugging him out of his own seat to the other boy's surprise. “We’re not gonna lose to you, old man! Right, Adonis?” He squeezed his hand reassuringly, letting go in order to bend down and start picking up the strewn chips at his feet. His brother, with only a few seconds of delay, seemed to give a determined nod before beginning to collect the chips on the counter.
“O-old…” Rei sighed and clenched his heart with his hand, faking hurt before straightening himself out again, a tender smile resting on his face. “Well, with a claim like that, there’s no way I could refuse the challenge…”
He took a moment to stretch his hands above him, giving the younger ones a head start. During that time, he gave the awkwardly standing blond next to him a long meaningful stare, before walking into the kitchen and rolling up his sleeves.
“Let the games truly begin...”
Kaoru slowly blinked at the remark, watching as his husband confidently waltzed back into the kitchen and into action. He couldn’t help but enjoy himself slightly while looking at the antics being played out by his family. Rolling his shoulders back, he gave into Rei’s previous stare and slowly relaxed himself, releasing pent-up tension from throughout his body. "Thanks, Rei."
Now standing away from the action, with Koga and Rei seemingly in an argument, and Adonis messing with the chips in his hand, Kaoru couldn’t help but smile. Eyeing the abandoned bowl of batter sitting in the middle of the counter, Kaoru’s smile quickly turned into a smirk. Even though, by the end of this, there would be most likely no chips left to mix into what was already overmixed batter, Kaoru could already tell these pancakes...
...were going to be some of the best pancakes he’s ever made.