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After spending almost 15 minutes contemplating whether or not he should offer Off a helping hand to cook for their dinner tonight, Gun finally makes up his mind. There's no harm in helping Off to cook tonight since they're going to eat together. That's the least Gun can do.
Not denying any allegations, he does feel attracted to Off and maybe by spending some time cooking with the latter, he can get to know him better. Let's not forget the adorable white-grey tabby cat named Mimi that Off has. He wants to cuddle with the adorable feline all night if he can.
He reaches out to get his phone, opening the Line app. He taps on the Line chatroom with Off. His mind-gears are working hard to structure a suitable message that won't make him sound too over-eager to help Off to cook.
He didn't know where the newly found bravery came from when he asked Off for his Line ID earlier. He has never been the one that does the first step but with Off he feels like it's a once in a million chance. He always has a soft spot for guys that love cats too. Off's soft demeanour and his worried face when he was looking for Mimi, Gun can sense that he is a nice guy.
_____
Gun :
Hi, Off
This is Gun
Do you need any help to cook for dinner? >_<
Off :
Hey, Gun
Actually… I really need help
But, aren't you busy unpacking your stuff? You just moved in
Gun :
Oh!
I'll help you then, Off
Nope, not busy at all!
Wait for me ;)
_____
When Gun sends his last text, he thinks he is being too forward. What if Off is just trying to be friendly with him because he stops his lovely cat before getting lost? Gun shrugs exits his own apartment and heads towards Off's unit.
He rams his knuckles on the wooden door, and stands in front of the door for quite some time, he can hear a slight rustling behind the closed door, followed by a whispered-yell of "Mimi! Behave!" before the door opens showing his new neighbour, Off Jumpol holding Mimi in his right arm.
"Hi, Gun. Erm… sorry for taking a long time. Mimi wouldn't get off the front door. I'm scared she'll run away." Off says a bit embarrassed, his left hand scratching at his own head.
Not that Off delays opening the door on purpose, he was actually preparing the ingredients of the dish he wants to cook tonight by putting everything on his kitchen counter and keeping all the non-relevant ingredients back in the fridge. He hopes that will make him look a little less useless and more put together once Gun comes to help him cook later.
And, sorry Mimi for blaming everything on you. He'll give the tabby cat a lot of treats later. He needs to at least impress Gun tonight.
Gun giggles, he shakes his head, "It's fine, Off."
"Come in, Gun. I was just preparing the ingredients for the dish to cook for dinner tonight." Off says while leading Gun's way to his kitchen.
Their apartment has a similar layout, a three roomed bedroom with bathrooms attached at each bedroom and a walk-in closet in the main bedroom. A kitchen with a kitchen counter in the middle of it that can also be a dining area for casual times.
Gun follows Off's lead to the kitchen, he sees a pile of groceries on the kitchen counter, they look like they're freshly bought. While Off busies himself in front of the fridge, looking for god knows what, Gun eyes begins scanning the items on the counter.
He moves closer to the ingredients. There are lasagna noodles, minced beef, some cream, tomato sauce and some cheese like ricotta and mozzarella.
Gun is just going to take a guess that Off is planning to make lasagna, which is not that hard and totally manageable for Gun.
"Do you want anything to drink, Gun? I don't have much but I have some soda, orange juice and water." Off asks, breaking the silence and not even looking at Gun, his eyes are glued inside the fridge, probably waiting for Gun to choose what he wants to drink.
"You don't need to offer me a drink, Off." Gun says, chuckling to himself, he decided to sit down on one of the chairs that is placed at the kitchen island. The chair is quite high, Gun is able to swing his legs when he is sat.
"No. Choose one drink, Gun. You're a guest." Off insists, now he is looking at Gun.
"Hmmm, I'll have a soda then." Gun says, smiling at Off.
Off grabs two cans of coke from his fridge and brings it to the kitchen island where Gun is currently seated at. He places the can in front of Gun. He takes a seat next to Gun on the chair.
"Thank you, Off." Gun says while grabbing the can and attempting to open it. He was struggling with the can because he just trimmed his nail short, so he couldn't open the coke himself.
Noticing Gun's struggle, Off opens his can and places it in front of Gun and grabs the one that Gun is holding at. He gives Gun a small smile, "Take that one." Off says while gesturing to the can with his head.
Gun blushes at Off's act of kindness and nods slowly, his hand reaching out to grab on the can, "Thank you, Off. Again." Gun says, giggling.
Off chuckles at what Gun said, he breaks the silence, "Why did you move here, Gun?" Off asks the small guy beside him.
"Oh. My sister is studying at university here in Bangkok so I thought I'd move here to accompany her." Gun says while sipping his soda slowly.
"That's so nice of you." Off says. Not trying to impress Gun or anything but he just personally won't move to somewhere else because of his siblings. No offence to his sisters and brothers.
"I mean, university can be lonely. I don't want her to be alone." Gun says. He turns his head to face Off, which is imitated by Off which also turns to face Gun.
"What about you, Off? Any siblings?" Gun asks. Now they are staring eye to eye because they are sitting on the high chair that makes them the same height.
"I have but they're way older than me. I'm the youngest child." Off says.
Which is replied by Gun, "Oh. No wonder."
"Hey! What do you mean by that?" Off asks, he truly doesn't know if that is supposed to be an insult or a compliment. He'll just think of it as a compliment.
"Not a bad thing. You look very endearing. When you were looking for Mimi, you looked so worried." Gun says assuring Off that he is not dissing him or anything.
Which is… good. Off wouldn't want to give Gun a bad first impression.
"How old are you, Gun?" Off asks to continue the conversation. He looks at the cute figure in front of him. This guy can't be older than 22. He's not gonna look like a creep, right?
"Guess." Gun says mischievously.
"20?" Off guesses, his head tilted slightly.
A loud laugh came from Gun which made Off a bit taken aback, quite surprised but smiled too, following Gun, "Why?" Off asks.
"I'm 30, Off." Gun says as he sips on the soda again. Giggling at Off's surprised reaction, his eyes wide scanning him, mouth open.
There's no way Gun is 30. He looks young and very youthful. His fluffy cheeks, his plump lips, his jaws and most importantly him as a whole doesn't look 30 to him! Sue Off for being surprised.
"No way!" Off says while his eyes are still staring at Gun who is still giggling at Off's reaction.
"Yes way!" Gun replies with a grin.
"Okay, okay. Nice to meet you, Gun." Off says, while reaching his hands to Gun to shake his hand.
Gun smiles and accepts the handshake, "Nice to meet you too, Off. What should we make today?" Gun asks, feigning innocence even though he can definitely know from the ingredients right away.
"Erm, I was thinking of lasagna but I don't really know how to make it." Off says, a bit embarrassed at himself because of how useless he is when it comes to cooking.
"I can help you, Off. Let me see what we have." Gun says, standing up, walking around the kitchen counter, his hands flipping through the ingredients while his eyes scans the items.
"Okay, I think we have enough stuff. We have to cook the meat first. Can you get me a skillet, Off?" Gun turns to Off to ask because he obviously doesn't know where Off keeps all of his kitchen appliances. It is also very rude for him to suddenly rummage through the cabinets to find the skillet. Maybe when they're finally boyfriends, he can do that.
Ignore the last bit, that was Gun's other consciousness thinking, not him.
"Sure. Wait for a while, okay, Gun." Off says while scurrying to open his cabinets trying to find a cabinet. Gun watches Off browses through all the cabinets he has.
Gun can actually see the skillet in the first cabinet that Off opened but the latter seems oblivious with what he is actually searching for.
'This guy probably never cooks for himself at home.' Gun thought to himself while watching Off fondly.
Gun makes a mental note to always send food to Off whenever he cooks. He approaches Off and asks, "Can I help you find it, Off?"
Off facepalms himself internally. He actually doesn't know the difference between a skillet and a pan and anything kitchen related. He usually just uses one non-stick pan to cook his dishes. Which he never really has to do because he orders takeouts almost everyday.
"Sure… Erm. I.. Gun." Off calls out for Gun.
At this point, Off just needs to come clean that he knows nothing about cooking before he proceeds to make himself look more dumb.
Gun is still standing next to Off, who is looking at the opened cabinet, shifting his gaze to look at Off. "Yes, Off."
"I actually don't know anything about cooking," Off says, pausing for a while before continuing, "I don't know what a skillet is." He looks down, embarrassed at his own lack of knowledge.
"Don't worry, Off. I'll help." Gun says as he walks towards the first cabinet that Off opens and grabs the first appliance that he can see.
The black coloured cooking appliance that Gun called a skillet is shown towards Off.
"This is a skillet. Precisely, a cast iron skillet. It looks very new so I don't think you've used this before, Off." Gun says, his hands tracing on the cast iron skillet sides as if to show Off how smooth and clean it looks, meaning that Off never used it.
Off raises his hand to the back of his neck, "I've never used it. I just bought it when I went shopping with my sister because she told me to." Off says, embarrassed.
Gun chuckles and brings the skillet to the stove. He grabs a wooden spatula that he saw at the utensil holder.
"Off, can you get the thawed minced meat here?" Gun asks, he extends his hand to take them from Off.
"Here, Gun." Off says while handing the meat to Gun.
Slowly, Gun turns the stove on, heating the skillet. His hands slowly open the package of minced meat, peeling off the wrapper before dropping the meat in the hot skillet. Using the wooden spoon, he presses on the meat, breaking them into small chunks before handing the spatula to Off.
"Now it's your turn." Gun says, his smile dimpling his cheek, holding out the spatula for Off to take.
"Oh. Okay." Off's hand awkwardly takes the spatula. He tries to repeat Gun's action to spread the meat evenly in the skillet so they will cook thoroughly, but his action is clumsy and uncoordinated.
"Okay, I'll put in the seasonings now. You can stir the meat so they are all seasoned evenly, okay?" Gun instructs. His eyes scan the seasoning rack nearby, picking up a few bottles, putting the seasonings in the skillet where Off is trying to stir the content without making a mess.
The fumbling stirring by Off caused a lot of random minced meat to fall out of the skillet.
Trying to hide the disaster, he attempts to grab the fallen meat with his bare hands, his clumsy hands accidentally touch the skillet instead, which makes him hiss in pain and pulls his hand back.
"Fuck!" Off exclaims. His fingers hurt.
Hearing that, Gun turns his head to face Off, a worried expression on his face as he looks at Off's hand, "Off! Are you okay?" Gun asks pulling Off to run his finger under cold water.
"It's okay, Gun. It doesn't hurt that bad." Off reassures the small guy. Gun looks at him and takes the spatula from his hand, shoo-ing him to stand a bit further from the stove.
"Let me do it. Don't do anything, Off." Gun says as he skillfully stirs the content in the skillet.
"But I want to help you, Gun. It doesn't hurt that much anyways." Off says, feigning innocence. Well, he's not lying completely. The pads of his fingers do feel a bit sore and uncomfy but he can definitely help Gun.
"No need, Off. In a couple of minutes, the meat will be ready." Gun says, still stirring the searring minced meat in the skillet.
Off just watches in silence while Gun does the cooking.
"Prang!"
A sudden loud shattered noise breaks their silence. That's when he remembers, Mimi is somewhere outside the kitchen and that is probably Mimi's doing.
Abandoning the cooking meat on the stove, both Off and Gun walks to the living room to find the source of the sound. To no avail, no sight of Mimi is seen in the living room. Panicking, Off searches for Mimi in his main bedroom while Gun looks for Mimi in the rest of the house.
"Mimi!" Off calls out for the tabby cat. He tries to look for the cat inside of his walk-in closet where the cat always hides but she's not there.
"Off!" Gun calls out for him from his reading room.
Freaking out, Off runs to his reading room, he is surprised to see 2 shattered table lamp on the floor and Mimi is excessively grooming herself while hiding in a shelf next to the mess of shattered glass.
"Mimi!" Off exclaims and runs straight to pick her up into his arms. He pets Mimi comfortingly, calming the feline. Excessive grooming by cats means that they're anxious or scared.
He turns to Gun and before asking, "Can you hold her for a while? I want to clean up the shattered glass. I don't want Mimi to accidentally step on it." Off says, his hands waving to the direction of the shattered glass.
"I'll clean it up, Off." Gun says turning around to get his vacuum from his laundry room. He saw the vacuum there while he was looking for Mimi.
Before he gets away, Off grabs his arm. Stopping his movement, "No. I'll clean the mess up. It's dangerous, Gun. You've helped me a lot this evening." Off says.
He doesn't want Gun to help him anymore. He's been such a burden this evening and Gun is supposed to be the guest. If his mom is here with him right now, he'd get a good smack from her for troubling a guest.
"Then, this time I'm helping Mimi." Gun says, dismissing himself from the short banter to get the vacuum and proceeds to clean up the mess of glass in the floor. When he is done, he puts the vacuum away while Off stands there, unmoved.
When Gun comes back, he pets Mimi on her head earning him a purr or comfort, her eyes closing and her head nudges into Gun's hand as if asking for more pets. Chuckling at the view, Off leans in closer so Gun can scratch the feline to perfection.
While they are basking in the domestic atmosphere, Off's sharp nose sniffs the air around them. An unpleasant smokey smell strikes his nose, "What's that smell?" Off asks, curiously.
"What smell?" Gun replies completely oblivious of his surroundings. He is still smiling while petting and scratching Mimi in Off's arm. Occasionally he nuzzles closer to baby-talk the feline in Off's arm.
A pang of realisation hits Gun, he looks at Off, eyes wide. "The meat! I didn't turn off the stove!" Gun exclaims in panic.Off's eyes turns wide, with Mimi in his arms, they run towards the kitchen to salvage the kitchen.
Turning off the stove, nothing burns, which is the most important part, but the cast iron skillet and the minced meat is definitely destroyed to the max. The burnt minced meat that is borderline turning into charcoal is definitely not scrapable off the skillet.
"Off… I think I destroyed your skillet." Gun says guiltily while looking at the skillet. He knows how pricey a cast iron skillet is so if Off is angry at him, he'll definitely just accept it.
"Oh, no worries, Gun. It's not your fault either. Let's just throw it away, okay?" Off says, he tries to grab the skillet before Gun does it for him, instead.
"Your hand is injured and you're holding Mimi. I don't want you to accidentally hurt her." Gun says while cleaning the kitchen away from any residue of burnt food.
Hearing what Gun said makes Off's heart warms, he cares for Mimi as much as Off cares for her. He stands there, eyeing all of Gun's motion not in a creepy way, while Gun cleans the kitchen from the mess they made earlier.
"So… I think we have to order out because I'm already pretty tired from what's happened today." Off says as they sit at the kitchen island.
"It's fine for me." Gun says while looking at Off.
Who would've thought that today's supposedly peaceful home cooked dinner with Gun will turn into a chaotic evening with Gun. Not that Off is complaining, as long as no one got hurt, he is happy spending time with Mimi and now their new addition, Gun.
"Should we order pizza?" Off asks.
Pizza is good. They are fast, they are deliciously good, too. Nothing can go wrong with pizza. They can sit at the couch, put a show on the TV and maybe get to know each other better.
"Sure, Off." Gun says with a grin.
Off got up to order the pizzas and they were delivered within 25 minutes only. A knock on the door notifying them that the food has arrived, Off gets up to take the pizza while Gun sits on the couch with Mimi in his lap. His hands never stopped the petting gesture on her head. The feline purrs in comfort when she feels Gun rubs her body softly.
Off comes back with the pizzas, placing them on the coffee table in front of them. He heads back to the kitchen, grabbing 2 plates and 2 cans of beers before plopping himself down. He opens the pizza boxes grabbing one slice, putting it on a plate before handing it to Gun.
He does the same to himself, opening the beers and sits comfortably on the couch.
"We should've settled on pizza instead of trying to cook lasagna, Gun." Off says while opening his mouth to eat the pizza.
Chuckling, Gun replies, "Next time, come have dinner at my place. I'll make a delicious lasagna for you."
"And, don't forget to bring Mimi, too." Gun continues, petting the tabby cat beside him while feeding himself the slice of pizza.
"Deal."
The three of them sit on the couch, eating the greasy pizza.
Gun cannot help but think that this is the vision of his dream relationship. Lounging on the couch while eating greasy snacks, away from the eyes of other people. Only two lovers enjoying their quality time with a feline sleeping on one of their laps, purring happily while being pet lovingly.
Maybe after getting to know Off a little more, he'll make his vision come true.