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🎵 Is it cool that I said all that?
Is it chill that you're in my head?
'Cause I know that it's delicate 🎵
~ Delicate Taylor Swift
The absolute last thing Jack Howl expected to be doing during the culinary class he'd signed up for was making sweets and he especially didn't expect the process of trying to make macarons as difficult as it was.
He was just not used to handling small, delicate things. He was terrified that he'd break them...and judging by the plate of cracked macarons, this fear was not completely unfounded.
The chef ghost he was working with was encouraging. "Don't give up, Jack! I'm sure you'll get it!"
Just as Jack picked up the tube of filling to try again, a beautiful voice cut in. Can I help?
Vil Schoenheit, Jack's partner, both in the culinary class and romantically, came over. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help but notice that Jack's been having a little issue with the macarons."
"Oh! Vil!" Jack's tail started to wag. "Are you finished with your cake?"
"It just needs to cool before I do anything else to it," Vil replied. He then inspected the cracked macarons with a critical eye.
Jack could feel his ears flatten underneath his chef's hat. He'd been trying so hard, but he just couldn't seem to get it right. "... I know they're not..."
Vil picked one up and popped it in his mouth. After a moment of chewing, there was a smile on that beautiful face. "Oh, these are delicious!"
Jack's ears perked. "You think so?"
"Yes, but your technique needs a little finessing...."
"I'm not so good with small, delicate things."
"Don't be ridiculous, you just need a different approach," Vil picked up the tube of macaron filling and carefully applied it to a cookie on the rack. "Think of these like your cacti. They need tender loving care, like so..."
Vil then placed another cookie on top of the filling and gingerly placed it on a serving plate. "See? Try it. As I said, think of it as a cactus."
Jack scrunched up his face for a moment, then took a breath and tried to imagine the tiny cookies as one of his cacti and treat it with the same tenderness.
Very carefully, he picked up the tube of filling and began squeezing it over several cookies. Steadying himself to get into the right mentality. And then, he carefully began putting the cookies together. As they came together, the chef ghost beamed with pride.
"That's it, Jack! You've got it!"
Jack blinked, his focus breaking to see the pile of perfectly made macarons resting on a plate in front of him. He smiled, looking up at the chef ghost. "I did it!"
"I knew you could do it," Vil was so proud he thought he might burst. "Those look perfect!".
Vil's smile made Jack's tail wag. And then, the wolf noticed something on Vil's cheek. A smear of chocolate ganache on his perfectly porcelain skin.
Vil blinked, noting that Jack was starting. "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
In lieu of a reply, Jack just reached out and tenderly wiped away the ganache with his thumb. The action brought them closer together and it was at that exact moment that he realized that Vil smelled different .
Usually, Vil smelled of a heady, head-spinning combination of silk, poison, and a potent perfume, but now...
...he smelled of sugar and silk.
The wolf inhaled deeply for a moment, before licking the chocolate off his thumb.
"You, uh...you had some chocolate on your face," Jack was bashful despite his gruff tone and Vil was utterly charmed by it.
"Oh I did, did I? Did you get it?"
"Think so, yeah."
Vil then noticed the little hint of chocolate lingering on the edge of Jack's mouth. He studied it for a moment before giving in to the urge to do something...rather impulsive.
Before he could stop himself, Vil leaned in and kissed Jack, making sure to get that little bit of chocolate off as he did so. The kiss was warm, and tasted of chocolate and fruit, so unlike their usual kisses.
One of the Chef Ghost sighed wistfully. "Ah, young love. One of the many things I miss about being alive."
The kiss broke slowly, the two of them almost reluctant to part.
"You see? I told you that you can handle delicate things," Vil kept his lips close.
A gruff chuckle. "You are not small and delicate. I know I can't break you."
"That's funny...with you, I feel delicate."
And then, they kissed again and everything else, save for the scent of chocolate and sugar, seemed to just fade away.