Work Text:
On a lazy Tuesday afternoon, Xie Lian was struck with what was possibly his worst idea yet.
He and Hua Cheng were alone in their apartment, relaxing together on their day off of work. It was a cool day, a light chill sweeping through their city, so Xie Lian had taken his usual place lying across Hua Cheng, resting his head on his husband’s chest, and Hua Cheng didn’t protest.
He’d been listening to the steady thump of Hua Cheng’s heartbeat beneath his ear and absentmindedly scrolling through short videos when he saw it.
“San Lang?” Xie Lian asked softly, “Are you awake?”
“Hmm?” came the voice above his head, and Xie Lian felt cold fingers slide through his hair, brushing through the strands gently. “What does gege need from San Lang?”
Happily, Xie Lian shifted upwards until he and Hua Cheng were face to face. Hua Cheng gave him a fond look, keeping his hands in Xie Lian’s hair, still paying attention to his words. Xie Lian leaned into the soft touches, allowing himself a moment to enjoy the attention before he said, “Let’s make pancakes.”
“Does gege want pancakes? I’ll make them for you,” was Hua Cheng’s instant reply.
“No, no.” Xie Lian tilted his phone screen towards Hua Cheng. “Let’s make pancakes for each other!”
Hua Cheng watched the video attentively, and Xie Lian watched him, trying to hide his smile. “I see. Are there any rules?”
He pushed himself up, resting his arms against Hua Cheng’s chest for balance. He could feel Hua Cheng’s hands going to his waist for balance. “Okay. We both make our own batter and do everything on our own. You can use your own recipe, and add whatever you want! Be creative. You can decorate, too.”
“Alright, then. Do you want to start now, or later?” Hua Cheng pulled Xie Lian a little closer, smiling broadly. “Aren’t you comfortable?”
“We can take a nap together later, I promise.”
“Mm. I’ll make sure gege makes good on his promise.”
With that, the pair disentangled themselves and Xie Lian stood up, reaching out a hand to pull Hua Cheng up. He cast a final, dramatically longing look at the couch where they’d lay, making Xie Lian laugh.
He laced his fingers through Hua Cheng’s and tugged him along to the kitchen.
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“San Lang, will you pass me the sugar?”
“Of course, gege.”
Xie Lian could hear Hua Cheng rummaging around in the pantry. He returned his attention to trying to figure out what was causing the strange lumps in his batter.
“Here you go.”
He began to turn, holding his hands out to take the bag. “Thank you, San La-”
The bag of sugar thumped down on the counter beside his bowl and Hua Cheng, wrapping his arms around Xie Lian’s waist with a look of delight, began to pepper him with small kisses.
“S-San Lang!” Xie Lian protested, laughing and stumbling back as Hua Cheng dropped a tiny trail of pecks along his jaw.
Hua Cheng’s arm steadied him, pulling him even closer. “Hm? It’s the sugar gege asked for,” he told him between kisses.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it!” Xie Lian pushed his chest lightly, teasingly.
“Mhm. Does that mean you want San Lang to stop?” Hua Cheng asked innocently, pausing and giving Xie Lian a soft, cocky smile.
“Let me think…” Xie Lian reached out and cupped Hua Cheng’s face with his hands. He savored the flash of shock that crossed the man’s graceful features before pulling him close and planting a kiss on his lips. He tasted faintly of strawberries and chocolate, and Xie Lian could feel his own mouth curve into a small smile before he released Hua Cheng.
“Alright. Now go back to your side of the kitchen.”
Hua Cheng still looked pleasantly surprised and a bit embarrassed. Xie Lian gave him a bright grin, and Hua Cheng let out a little huff, burying his face in his husband’s shoulder.
“You cheated.”
“I won,” Xie Lian replied. “Go on! I want this to be a surprise.”
Hua Cheng disappeared to the other side of the kitchen, allowing Xie Lian to focus on how to fix his creation.
They’d split up into different sides of the kitchen, each half-hiding his cooking with various tall boxes and other odd structures. Yin Yu would have a heart attack if he saw the mess they’d made.
There was only one stove in the apartment, so Hua Cheng had built a small wall from cereal boxes he’d fished out of the recycling and copious amounts of tape. He’d been progressing nicely, and Xie Lian could hear the soft sizzle of his first pancake being poured into a pan. The air filled with a thick, sweet scent.
Meanwhile, Xie Lian was trying to fix his batter. It’d turned from an appetizing cream color to something closer to… black? When he’d dipped a finger into his scuffed glass bowl, hoping that it would at least taste alright, he’d found that it was strangely sour and bitter.
Some sugar will fix this , he decided, then I’d better start cooking these if I want to catch up with San Lang.
Eyeing the bag, he threw caution to the wind and upturned the bag, shaking sugar into his batter.
It only took a slip of his hand to end up with a mountain of sugar in his bowl.
… Way too much!
“Gege? Are you alright?” Xie Lian could hear the sound of Hua Cheng flipping a pancake. He shoved the bag back onto the counter and frantically grabbed at a whisk.
“Just fine! I’ll be done soon!” Xie Lian desperately tried to mix the sugar in and smooth out the texture of his batter. It seemed to be actively resisting his results; he swore that for every lump he squashed, three new ones formed, bigger than the first. “Is San Lang nearly finished?”
“Yes. I don’t mind waiting, gege,” Hua Cheng said, but Xie Lian had already abandoned his efforts, pouring a sizable amount of batter onto the pan.
“Alright, alright, I’m not rushing, I promise,” Xie Lian told him hurriedly, very much rushing. He yanked open several drawers before locating one with a spatula, wrestling it out and watching his pancakes with laser focus.
Perhaps the presentation of the pancakes would allow Hua Cheng to overlook the taste. He absolutely could not let them burn!
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Xie Lian burnt the pancakes.
He wasn’t entirely sure how, exactly, it had happened. Only that he’d had his pancakes cooking nicely (well, as nicely as they could) on the stove one moment, and they’d been reduced to black lumps the next.
There was no time to attempt a new batch, and Hua Cheng was waiting for him. Besides, who was to say that his next try at cooking would be better than his first? Feeling thoroughly dejected, Xie Lian scraped the remains of his efforts onto a plate.
“Is gege finished?” Hua Cheng asked with a kind of earnest excitement that almost made Xie Lian feel bad. “I’m a bit hungry.”
“Ah… well…”
Hua Cheng moved aside their makeshift wall, carrying it out of the way. The moment it was moved, Xie Lian caught sight of Hua Cheng’s creation.
The pancakes could best be described as divine. They were perfectly fluffy, cooked to a golden-brown that could only be called perfection. An incredibly heavenly scent drifted over to where Xie Lian stood, so dense and vibrant that he could almost taste them.
He took a step closer, examining the absolute artistry Hua Cheng had poured into crafting his dish.
Hua Cheng had shaped the pancake into the shape of a stoat, complete with crescent-shaped ears and strawberry slices forming three small marks on its forehead. Two large, round pieces of dark chocolate made up its eyes and a smaller one created a tiny, cute mouth.
“Does gege like it?” Hua Cheng sounded immensely pleased, coming to stand behind Xie Lian.
“Ahem… San Lang, I think you should eat this one,” Xie Lian managed, hastily moving to cover his own plate with both hands.
“Why? Is it not to gege’s liking?” he questioned, taking a step closer to Xie Lian’s dish. “It’s for you.”
“Well… if you’re hungry, you should eat! Besides, your… your pancakes look much better,” Xie Lian finished. “I would hate to make you eat. What I made instead.”
“Hm? But why?”
“Yours is much prettier, and smells much nicer… I’m afraid my dish didn’t come out as well as San Lang’s.”
Hua Cheng’s face split into a wide grin and he reached out for Xie Lian’s plate. He tried to move it away, but Hua Cheng was half a beat quicker, catching him off guard and snatching it away. Before Xie Lian could stop him, his deft, pale fingers grabbed a bite, popping it into his mouth.
Xie Lian covered his face, humiliated. He heard Hua Cheng set the plate down, then felt his hands tug at Xie Lian’s own, pulling them away from his face. His tender smile filled Xie Lian’s vision, and he couldn’t help but stare.
“Don’t be silly, gege. Anything you make for me is better than a dish made by the greatest chefs in the world.”
Without even wincing, Hua Cheng took hold of another bite, chewing thoughtfully. Xie Lian only laughed, and Hua Cheng looked cheered by this response.
“Come on. I’ll get your plate, could you bring some forks? Let’s eat in the dining room,” Hua Cheng said, and Xie Lian shook his head.
“San Lang… ah, nevermind. Alright, I’m coming.”
As he retrieved the utensils and followed Hua Cheng into the next room, Xie Lian found himself unable to suppress his smile.