Work Text:
He tried to bake them a cake.
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Prae had told Kongpob about how her girlfriend recently baked her a cake for their anniversary, where she went into great length over how the gesture was so romantic and how it was nothing like she had ever experienced with a lover before. Her tone was ecstatic, the story filled with bright details on how Prae’s girlfriend did everything possible to make sure the day was perfect. He could practically hear the swooning in her voice. Kongpob chuckled to himself over a particularly funny anecdote, happy to hear that his friend was happy. Prae deserved all the love and care that her girlfriend was showering her with.
He hung up the phone with a smile on his lips and an idea starting to form in his brain.
He wanted to do the same type of thing for Arthit, wanted to show him yet another way how important the man was in his life. He wanted Arthit to know that he was the very reason for Kongpob’s beating heart. His love for the older man was palpable in the way his heart stuttered and flared to life whenever he thought about his sun. And the ache Kongpob felt not being able to spend quality time with the ex-head hazer was agony.
It had been a rough couple of weeks since Kongpob became a working member of society, and the both of them had been bombarded with work and projects that kept their interaction to a minimum. Kongpob missed his lover dearly. But now it was Friday night, both Arthit and Kongpob had no projects nor plans for the next two days. To say that Kongpob was excited was an understatement. He felt like an overeager pup waiting for his master to return. He could barely contain the exhilaration that thrummed in his veins, the anticipation of the perfect weekend that awaited them both. The former campus moon convinced himself that baking a cake would be the perfect thing to start their romantic hideaway.
Kongpob had been told on more than one occasion that he wasn’t suited for the kitchen, that he should avoid cooking when possible. A cake was different, though. It had a set number of ingredients and step-by-step instructions to be followed. He had done a quick Google search of an easy cake recipe, and even watched a couple of YouTube videos to make sure it was something within his realm of cooking expertise. It was just a cake. Not a full course meal. Something even he could do. With a strengthened resolve, he grabbed his keys and phone, heading to the nearby grocery store to buy ingredients.
How hard could it be?
--
Arthit came home to flour all over the counters and on the stove, a couple of broken eggs on the floor, and what might have possibly been frosting on the doorknob. Arthit wasn’t sure he wanted to know what exactly happened in the kitchen.
He stepped over the disaster in front of the doorway and turned towards Kongpob.
“P’Arthit! You’re home from work early!” Kongpob exclaimed, half of him covered in white powder.
Arthit took in the sight and hid a smile from his enthusiastic boyfriend. He instead opted to frown at the mess covering the kitchen, aiming for a stern look but convincing neither of them of his pretend ire.
“Kong, I thought we said that the kitchen was off-limits?”
The taller man mulled it over for a moment, shrugging at the question asked of him.
“I thought I would do something nice for you and bake a cake.”
Arthit blinked in response, not sure what had come over his younger lover and why he all of a sudden felt like baking a cake. “I didn’t know you could bake.”
“I don’t. But that doesn’t mean I can’t try!” Kongpob grinned at him, defending himself and the mess that he had left behind in his pursuit of his culinary masterpiece. “I just wanted to make you something to show how much I love you, P’Arthit. I didn’t mean to make such a mess. Please forgive me?”
Arthit smiled fondly, huffing an exasperated chuckle at his boyfriend’s thoughtful attempt. “That’s sweet of you, Kong. A ridiculous idea, but very sweet.”
“Nothing will ever be as sweet as you, P’Arthit. Not even this cake I’m making.”
Arthit started to feel himself redden at such a saccharine statement, so instead he wrinkled his nose at Kongpob and rolled his eyes.
“Yuck.”
Kongpob remained undeterred, approaching his lover slowly. He walked over the mayhem that littered the floor. His hands had a mind of their own, gravitating towards Arthit’s beautiful face. He held the man’s face between his hands, gorgeous milky skin a stark contrast to his flour-dusted, tanned hands, his face inching closer and closer to the senior. His eyes were transfixed on the visage of beauty in front of him. He paused, delaying, waiting to see if Arthit would reject him. Finding that there was no hesitance coming from the other, Kongpob closed the gap between them.
The kiss started off soft, a bare brush of lips that leaves them both breathless. It’s sweet-- sweeter than the nomyen that Arthit constantly drinks, honeyed in its touch, and better than any dessert that Kong has had in his entire life. Their mouths linger for a moment, Kongpob gently caressing Arthit’s cheek as their heads tilt to another cloyingly sweet kiss. He licks Arthit’s lip like it’s candy, swiping over his bottom lip, tasting the flavor that’s uniquely and wholly his.
He doesn’t think he’ll ever get enough of this in his lifetime.
Arthit makes a small sound in his throat, a subtle moan that Kongpob catches. He deepens the kiss, and they migrate to the bedroom to continue the intensity building in their desires.
--
They forget all about the cake, and when they return much, much later it’s to a burnt block of something inedible.
Kong thinks he’ll try again next time.
Arthit worries he’ll try again next time.
They leave the charred remains of the cake on the stovetop and order delivery instead.