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Adrien thought he’d planned this all out.
It’d seemed simple enough in his head. He got Alya involved to make plans with Nino and cancel last minute to make sure Nino was free. Adrien had researched a recipe that he thought was straightforward, bought the food, and now he was standing in his kitchen. He had flowers and candles.
He just… didn’t realize how hard it was to cook.
He could handle simple things – he’d cooked pasta and made eggs and things like that – but apparently this recipe was harder than he’d anticipated.
He had had the foresight to buy extra food and start early, which was good, because he was currently staring at what was supposed to be alfredo sauce. It was definitely not a sauce. It was almost solid, somehow, which… well, he knew that wasn’t right and it definitely wasn’t edible. And Nino deserved more than just edible – he deserved his food to be good.
Adrien was in way over his head. He knew he needed help. The only problem was he only knew one person who was good at cooking.
He couldn’t just ask Nino for help. How awful to get Nino to help for his own dinner? But… maybe Adrien could call for some advice, and then it would still be a surprise and a funny story to tell.
So he picked up the phone, confident he could just ask for help and still pull his plan together.
“Hey, Dri,” Nino said when he answeredd. “What’s up?”
“I need some cooking advice.” Adrien stared at the pan of his failed sauce and tried to figure out how to describe it. “I was making alfredo.”
“Yum. How’s it going?”
“It’s… not,” Adrien admitted. “It’s almost solid. Which doesn’t seem right.”
Nino snorted. “No way. How’d you pull that off?”
“I wish I knew. I was gonna try again, but don’t want to mess it up.”
“How much flour did you put in the roux?”
“Um. What?”
Nino laughed over the phone. “Oh, man. You should’ve asked me for help. What’s this for?”
“I’m… surprising someone,” Adrien said. “I didn’t want to bother you.”
“It’s no big. I was supposed to hang out with Alya but she’s sick so I’m just sitting at home anyway.”
“No, it’s okay. But any tips for my second attempt?”
“Measure your ingredients for sure. Don’t cook the flour too long or it’ll taste awful. I’d try to tell you how not to do whatever you did again, but honestly, I’m at a loss.”
A timer went off – the oven, because Adrien had foolishly thought he could handle two things at once. He pulled the tray out and sighed. “Oh. Well, actually… I have another question.” Adrien stared at the tray. When he’d put it into the oven, it’d been two chicken breasts. Now? He couldn’t really say they were anything other than completely burnt. “I burned the chicken, too.”
“What were you trying to do?”
“Bake it.”
“And it’s burned? Like, way burned?”
“Yes?”
“You never stop impressing me. Okay, I’m coming over.”
“No!” Adrien said quickly. “You don’t have to.”
“And let you burn down your apartment? No way. I seriously don’t mind, man. You know I like to cook. I’ll be there in ten.”
“Nino, you really don’t have to.”
“Too late. I’m on my way.”
The line went dead.
Ideally, Adrien would like to have dinner ready when Nino got here. Given he had nothing but failed attempts in front of him… he was going to have to accept the help.
“Oh my god.” Nino poked at the semi-solid alfredo with a spoon. “This is, like, jello?”
“I know,” Adrien whined.
“Just… how?”
“I don’t know. I swear I was following the recipe.”
“Genuinely, I’m impressed, but this can’t be safe for anyone to eat.”
“Oh, it’s absolutely trash,” Adrien said.
Nino picked up the pan to toss the abomination in the garbage. “Man, I’m glad I came over just to see this before it’s gone. I’d never have believed you. But let’s just start over.”
“What can I help with?”
Nino smiled. “You can bring me ingredients. And maybe do some measuring.”
Yeah, that was fair.
In reality, Nino ended up doing most of the work. And Adrien felt awful but he didn’t know how to explain without ruining the big reveal he’d had planned so he let it go on. He set up his dining table instead, complete with candles and a carefully crafted floral centerpiece.
Nino even plated the food, and it was incredible.
“So, who’s the lucky girl you made this for?” Nino asked as he set the plates down.
“What?” Adrien asked.
Nino gestured at the table. “You said you were surprising someone. I mean, it’s a pretty romantic set up.”
“It’s… not a girl,” Adrien said.
“Oh.” Nino smiled. “Sorry. The guy, then, or whoever. When are they getting here? I don’t want to intrude.”
“He’s already here.”
“He…” Nino glanced behind him and then turned back to Adrien with a gasp. “Me?”
“Yeah, dummy,” Adrien teased. “It’s you.”
“Oh,” Nino breathed. “Really?”
Adrien nodded. “I really wanted to surprise you. But then it… wasn’t going well, and you’re the only person I know who knows how to cook and I wanted it to turn out good for you.”
Nino smiled, clearly holding back a laugh. “You- Dri, you’re hilarious.”
Adrien felt his face getting warm. “I’m serious,” he said.
“No, no! I’m sorry,” Nino said. “I- I’m flattered. I just can’t believe I cooked my own surprise dinner.”
“You’re the only person I know who knows how to cook,” Adrien repeated tentatively. If Nino turned him down now… Adrien would never be able to live with himself.
“Well,” Nino said, pulling out a chair and gesturing to it. “We better enjoy it before it gets cold, huh?”
Adrien sat, giddy.
Somehow, it’d actually worked. Nino sat across from him, wearing his own perfect smile. “For our next date, I’ll take care of the food.”
“Or I can take you out?” Adrien suggested, feeling bold.
Nino smiled, warm and inviting. “Yeah. I’d like that.”