Work Text:
Idia sighed as he scraped the remnants of yet another F-tier crepe into the trash. He knew his cooking level was low, but figured crepes would’ve been easy enough for a newb like himself… he was so wrong. Everytime he made one, something went haywire. Idia set to work scrubbing the charred remains of his latest attempt off of the pan. ‘How did I even get myself into this…’
- Flashback to three days ago -
“O-M-G, Idia!!! Look at these incredible crepes Vil just posted!” Cater exclaimed, twisting around from his seat on the floor to show his phone screen to Idia on the couch.
“Don’t they look totes tasty???” Idia leaned forward and squinted at the phone screen.
The first really did look delicious, a sweet and simple crepe topped with strawberries, powdered sugar, whipped cream, and syrup. Idia was happy to see a blurry pair of black gloves near the plate, knowing the over-the-top delicacy wouldn’t go to waste.
The second was the one that most definitely caught Cater's eye, gruyere and prosciutto peeking out of the neatly folded triangles, topped with balsamic vinegar and chives. Well, that’s what the caption said in any case.
“Woo, those must be SSR tier; the plating is definitely expert level,” Idia replied.
After dating Cater for 5 years, he had developed a fairly keen sense of Magicam aesthetics, both food and otherwise. He leaned back on the couch and went back to casually watching the Some Game 37 playthrough on the TV.
Cater tabbed through Vil’s story, updating Idia on everything he was up to. “Mannn, I should FR look up that cafe tho! If it’s nearby I could pop in for lunch~”
Idia tilted his head and thought. He wasn’t especially close to his old schoolmate, but he could have sworn Cater mentioned it in passing the other day.
“Isn’t Vil shooting in San Fransokyo right now? That cafe is probaaa…bl…y…..” Idia’s speech tapered out as he noticed Cater sitting up, frozen in place.
“Ahhh… ahaha… You’re right! I forgot about that… probs won’t be making it there anytime soon then, huh?” Cater said over his shoulder, his smile weaker than Idia wanted to see it.
“H-hey, don’t get too disheartened!” Idia said, looping his arms around the ginger’s shoulders and resting his chin on his head.
“I’m pretty sure there’s an IRL tournament for Some Game 23 out there next year, if I place high enough I could get an invite! Then you can come with me, and I’ll buy you as many power ups from that cafe as you want!” Cater looked up at him with the biggest puppy dog eyes Idia had ever seen.
“Do you prommy?” Cater asked with the joke obvious in his voice, but something in Idia snapped.
There was no way he was going to wait a full year to fix this. He kissed Cater’s forehead and ruffled his hair as they went back to sitting in their comfortable quietness.
- End flashback -
Idia opened the crepe recipe he bookmarked last week and set his phone into a stand on the counter. He tied his hair into a bun, tied on an apron, took a swig of his Monster, and surveyed the ingredients littered about him. He had woken up hours earlier than he ever had before so he could sneak out and buy what he needed.
The scenario had played out in his mind over and over. He would be setting the perfect and beautiful crepes on the table as Cater came down the stairs, all rumpled pajamas and bedhead. He would comment on the good smell, and be oh so surprised by Idia’s consideration that his heart meter would totally max out. Idia giggled to himself, briefly forgetting about his exhaustion.
“Alright! This’ll be totes easy mode~” Idia said, squinting down at the recipe.
'Ok.. 2 eggs, 1ish cups milk, 2… tbsp? Was that the big one or the small one? Eh, what? Does it want me to put the cooking spray. In the batter? Well, they are the one writing the tutorial…' Idia thought as he dumped the ingredients into a bowl. He stared at the bowl for a second, then dumped it into a bigger bowl.
"Next… whisking. Whisking! I can whisk!" Idia muttered to himself, thinking back to when he would accompany Cater to the Heartslabyul dorm to watch him charm treats out of Trey while he cooked. Idia thought Cater looked more like a cute dog asking for table scraps, but he’d never say that to his face.
As Idia whisked, he saw all the ingredients for the fillings still sitting out, and realized he hadn’t even started on that yet. He threw the bowl to the side and switched the tab to the recipe for the filling.
“Ok, Idia, don’t panic. It’s still stage one of the boss fight, you can’t be panicking already,” He said to himself as he scrolled past all the filler about the author’s great great great grandmother once removed or whatever. “Ha! Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Got it.”
Idia spun around to face the oven. Thankfully he had a basic understanding of the thing, since Cater showed him how to use one properly. (Pizza rolls taste way better in the oven than in the microwave.) He pulled a baking sheet out from the drawer under the oven and left it next to the stove.
Idia took a breath to center himself and remember what he was doing. He glanced at the clock. Still a pretty good amount of time before Cater’s usual wake up time, he could still pull this off. He grabbed the bowl of batter, which still had almost sizable chunks of flour in it. Figuring that it couldn’t be that bad, Idia grabbed a pan from the cupboard and put it on the burner.
“Ok, and put it on high heat, and… fuck. Ohhh shit,” Idia said, scrolling down on the recipe. He Most Definitely Should Not Have put the cooking spray IN the batter. Idia thunked his head onto the counter and closed his eyes.
‘I mean, baking spray is just like, butter and oil, right? Like, it’s not poisonous at least… W-well! It should taste fine!’ Idia thought to himself, straightening back up. Maybe this way he wouldn’t even have to spray the pan! Yeah, it’d be great!
- 35 minutes later -
It was not great. Idia found out quickly that he did still need to spray the pan, but it didn’t matter when the next one was way too thick, and the one after that burnt before he even had a chance to flip it. Idia turned the stove heat off and stepped away to lean against the counter behind him.
“Why would you say ‘high heat’ if they burn so fast…” He muttered to himself, running a hand down his face. He grabbed the pan and ran it under the sink faucet. He squeezed more soap than necessary onto the pan, scrubbing the burnt crepe off into the hot water. Continuing to scold himself for being the worst crepe maker in the whole world, he was completely oblivious to the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.
“Idia, love, I don’t know why you’re up so early, but I’ve told you to be careful when you play otome games! You get too flustered, I can smell your hair burning the…” Cater said as he stepped down the last step, trailing off as he laid eyes on their mess of a kitchen.
Idia jumped at Cater’s voice and dropped the pan in the sink, crouching down to hide behind the counter. How had he lost track of time so badly? He didn’t think Cater would be up for at least another 30 minutes…
‘Maybe it’s the same mechanic in the kitchen level as Some Game 24, and he won’t notice you if you just make yourself small enough and don’t move?’ Idia thought to himself, squeezing his eyes shut so he wouldn’t have to see the disappointed look on Cater’s face.
“Did- Were you making breakfast…?” Cater said, now much more alert than he was when he first came into the kitchen. His voice was closer now, and Idia could hear his slippered footsteps this time, stopping a few steps behind him.
Idia curled in on himself more, embarrassed at his failed attempts, and the fact that he was attempting at all. Cater smiled as he watched the tips of Idia’s hair blaze redder, the now loose bun bouncing with his head as he nodded. Cater crouched down beside Idia and leaned against his shoulder.
“Awww, babe,” Cater said, rubbing his head against Idia’s shoulder, “That’s so nice of you! I know you’re totally not a morning person, I can’t imagine how much work you put into this~!”
Cater brushed part of Idia’s hair away from his face, trying to catch his boyfriend’s eyes. He knew Idia wouldn’t break out of this funk without a fight, and Cater was ready to resort to the dirtiest tactics to help him feel better. He brushed the backs of his fingers down Idia's cheek, feeling his face heat up even more.
"C'mon… You don't need to be embarrassed! Just seeing how much work you put in is more than enough for me." Cater said, holding Idia's chin gently, trying to get the other to turn his face towards him. "I'll love you through everything, y'know that right?"
Idia looked at him with wide eyes. Cater smiled and pecked him quickly on the lips before standing back up. He reached his hand down for Idia to take, and he slowly made his way up to a standing, albeit very hunched, position.
“What were you trying to make, anyway?” Cater asked. He spotted Idia’s phone on the counter and tapped in the passcode, opening it right up to the crepe recipe Idia had tried so hard to make. The dots connected instantly.
“Were you making me crepes… because I talked about the ones from that cafe?” Cater looked back at Idia, who was staring down at his feet and combing his fingers through his hair, now free from it's bun, still visibly anxious.
"Well, lucky for you, your boyfriend happens to be an excellent crepe maker," Cater said, putting a hand to his chest proudly. We'll start from scratch, and I'll teach you everything along the way!" Idia had barely moved, prompting Cater to sigh. Cater stepped closer to him and grabbed both his hands in his.
"Don't think of this as a failure… you were just," Cater paused and hummed, trying to think of the words, "trying to solo-clear a multiplayer level! It's harder that way, right? So let me help you, and then we can enjoy our breakfast together, okay?"
Idia nodded, eyes still fixed on the ground, but at least he was reacting. Cater let go of his hands to wrap his arms around Idia's shoulders, standing on tiptoes to press a kiss on Idia's cheek.
"Alright, c'mon babe, these crepes won't make themselves!" Cater called over his shoulder as he turned to survey the kitchen. "IIRC, the blender should be in this cabinet…" Cater thought out loud, rifling through a cabinet that Idia had never even looked in before.
"W-why would we need a blender for crepes?" Idia asked, finally snapping out of his own head to peer over Cater's shoulder. There was a fancy blender on the left side, which Idia vaguely remembered ordering when they moved in, but hadn't seen since.
"So that we don't have to whisk the batter! It's waaay easier to get the chunks apart this way!" Cater stood up and set the blender on the counter. When he turned around, Idia was staring at him slack jawed, like his soul had been sucked out.
Cater laughed so hard he snorted, causing Idia to pout at being laughed at. "I'm not making fun of you, I promise," Cater said between heaving breaths, "You were just following the recipe! It's not your fault that not everyone is as good a chef as I am."
Cater flipped his hair and feigned exaggerated confidence, which just made Idia roll his eyes fondly at his over the top display.
They started to tidy up the kitchen together, Idia washing the batter bowls and pan while Cater reorganized the ingredients and set up the blender.
"BTW, why is the baking sheet out?" Cater said, pointing at it as if he wasn't sure Idia knew what a baking sheet was.
"Ah, uhm, the recipe said to cook the prosco- prosciutto? In the oven…" Idia said as he looked away from the sink to Cater.
"Hmm… this prosciutto is dry-cured, so it's actually fine to eat raw!" Cater said, checking the packaging before setting it off to the side and putting away the baking sheet. "With the way I want to make these, it'll be easier to skip the oven, TBH. That, and, it doesn't look like you actually ever… started the oven?"
Idia whipped around to look at the oven. Sure enough, he never hit the 'start' button to preheat it. He hung his head and groaned in agony next to Cater, who just chuckled and kissed him on the cheek.
After the dishes were dry, Cater showed Idia how to work the blender. Idia added the ingredients into the blender, with Cater by his side to answer any questions.
Cater made quick work of shredding the gruyere and chopping up some chives while Idia ran the blender, even though he looked slightly terrified by it. Cater put the pan on the stove to start warming it up.
"Ok, I'll make this first one, and you'll follow my example, sound good? Cater said, the pitcher of batter in hand and Idia nodding along and watching intensely.
"Alright. So after spraying the pan, you're going to pour in just enough batter to cover the bottom, making sure to spread it all around before it cooks too much. Once it's sliding freely on the pan, we flip it." Cater narrated his actions, using a spatula to carefully flip the crepe.
"Now while this side cooks, we'll sprinkle the cheese on one half, letting it melt." Cater continued, sprinkling the cheese like that one old meme, which made Idia giggle. "Now this side is done, so we'll fold over the empty half, add the prosciutto to this new half, and flip it one more time to seal the deal~"
Cater lifted the finished crepe onto a nearby plate with the spatula. "Once we finish 2 more, we'll drizzle balsamic vinegar over the top, throw some chives on for the color, and ta-da! Magicam quality crepes!"
Idia clapped in awe, admiring how Cater could just come in and make up his own functional recipe.
"Alright then," Idia said, grabbing the baking spray and standing at the stove. "I can do this! Spray the pan… Pour just enough batter… then flip it… when it's loose!"
Cater smiled softly and leaned against the counter next to the stove, basking in just how seriously Idia was taking this. It made him happy that someone would do so much for him.
Cater snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of a long groan coming from Idia, and looked into the pan.
'Ah, well. That was bound to happen.' Cater stifled a laugh. Idia's flipping skills left much to be desired, but it's nothing that plenty of time and batter couldn't help.
"Don't worry babe, we have more than enough ingredients, and it's not like it's totally ruined!" Cater said, prying Idia's hand off his face. "We can still make a good crepe out of this, and I'll eat it even if it is crumpled up."
'Right. This is still salvageable. It's not over yet!' Idia thought as he sprinkled cheese onto the crepe, folded it in (kind of) half, added the meat, and folded it in (mostly) half again.
"Woohoo!!! See? I told you you could do it!" Cater exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air before wrapping Idia in a one armed hug. "Alright, you ready to knockout the rest of these crepes and have the best breakfast ever?"
Idia chuckled and kissed the top of Cater's head. "For sure, my cooking skill definitely went up a level!" Idia pushed his sleeves up and grabbed the pitcher, determined to make the rest of the crepes at least 7/10s.
- A while later -
After eating and helping wash the dishes, Cater sat down next to Idia, who was lightly dozing on the couch.
“Boyf woke up early to make me these gorge crepes, #crepes #homemade #magifood #arentitheluckiest #youwishyouhadwhatwehave,” Cater narrated as he typed, adding a couple emojis and hitting post.
Idia’s head dropped onto the back of the couch, no doubt exhausted from even waking up this early. Cater grabbed the throw blanket next to him and draped it over he and Idia’s laps, taking the chance to snuggle in closer to his boyfriend. With a sudden thought in his mind, he grabbed his phone off the cushion next to him, and snapped the world’s fastest selfie.
Luckily Idia didn’t wake up, Cater didn’t want to explain why he was taking pictures of them while he was sleeping. Checking the picture in his camera roll, Cater smiled to himself. That’s definitely one that Magicam wouldn’t be seeing.