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"Alright, I got the rest of the ingredients from the Stolls," Leo began as he opened the kitchen door of the Big House, riffling through the box he was holding just to double check—wait, since when did a ball of yarn get in here? Oh well, he would just leave it for now.
"I'm not really sure why they had vanilla extract so readily on hand though, but whatever. I was thinking we should start with the cake first cause it needs to bake—ha, that rhymed—and—" when he finally looked up, he paused. Um. "Amor...what are...are you trying to eat the espátula?"
Jason blinked back at him. He tilted his head slightly, eyes shining with innocence as if he wasn't just gnawing on the rubber utensil like it was a chew toy.
Was that...was that another wolf trait he had adopted from his childhood? Leo wouldn't be surprised if it was. He'd learn to expect that just sometimes, his boyfriend could be classified as somewhat of a furry.
"...no?"
Leo raised an eyebrow at the espátula that was still in his mouth. Jason grinned sheepishly as he spat it out.
"Right. Uh-huh," Leo said. He placed the box onto the counter and started to unpack it, spool of yarn and all because maybe they would need it for...something? Eh, they were demigods. It was always better to be safe than sorry. "We're gonna need that so you better go wash it." When Jason remained staring at him he added, "Inmediatamente, mi alma."
"Ah, sorry," Jason pouted. Which, that was just unfair. How did he still look so handsome with his cheeks puffed out? Whenever Leo did that he ended up making a very accurate impression of a pez borrón. A blobfish. Not very flattering.
Jason pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and turned around to face the sink. There was the sound of him tapping the faucet on and running the espátula beneath the water.
"So what are we baking again? I know you said cake but like, what kind of cake?"
"Considering you've mentioned barely ever being in a kitchen before, we're going to be making tres leches," Leo explained. "It should be relatively easy, although it does need to sit in the fridge overnight so it can soak up all la leche, which means we won't get to taste the final product until tomorrow."
The recipe they were going to be using was one Leo knew by heart. It was the one dessert his mamá had admited she could never get sick of. She loved to make it all the time, whether it was for a special occasion or because either of them just felt like it, and she always asked him to help.
"Food always tastes better when you make it with the people love, mijo," she explained after he had asked once. "It's scientifically proven."
"Really?"
"Desde luego. And it works especially with desserts because love makes them even sweeter."
"Does that mean the more you love someone the sweeter it gets?"
"Yes," she said before squeezing him into a tight hug. "That's why this will be the sweetest, most delicious thing you'll ever taste."
"Because you love me?"
"Always, Mijito. Te amo, forever and always."
Leo quietly exhaled. This would be the first time he's used this recipe since his mamá's death. Surprisingly though, he wasn't as sad as he thought he would be. Instead of the hollow sensation he got whenever he thought about her, there was a sparking feeling in his chest.
It was like his soul was on fire. It was like his emotions were wires that possessed voltage differences so great that they ended up creating ionized air and an electric arc.
And it was all because of Jason.
"Would you be offended if I told you I've never had tres leches before?" his boyfriend asked as he dried the newly cleaned espátula.
Leo's stomach did a few leaping somesaults at Jason's perfect Spanish pronunciation, and then he realized what had been said and froze. "Qué? Never?"
Jason shook his head and wow. That was a crime. A felony. Wait, were those the same things? Maybe, maybe not but either way their meanings were probably similar enough.
"Well, we are definitely going to change that, mi iluminación," Leo said, walking over to kiss Jason on the cheek (Gods, why was he so tall? Leo needed to stand on his tiptoes just to reach him). For a moment, Leo reveled in the faint pink that bloomed over pale skin before he bent over to start preheating the oven. "So you better strap onto your seat, because you're taste buds are about to be blown away."
—
So Leo may have overestimated Jason's baking capabilites, but honestly? He was too busy laughing to care.
"Oh my gods—I can't believe you just—you know the ingredients are supposed to go into the bowl, right mi cielo?"
"That's what I was trying to do!" Jason exclaimed. His hands helplessly waved through the air, causing more flour to sprinkle to the floor (which would probably be a nightmare to clean up later but eh). There was also some weird, frustrated growl coming from the back of his throat that did nothing but make Leo laugh harder.
"Really? Because it looked to me like you just dumped the dry ingredients all over the floor."
"...sorry?"
Leo squeezed his arm softly. "Nah, don't worry. I used to make a mess all the time when I baked with my mamá," he dipped his thumb into a pile of fallen flour and reached up to smear some onto Jason's face until there were a few crooked lines to emulate cat whiskers.
"I—hey!" Jason protested. He grabbed his own handful and threw it at Leo's chest, coating his camp shirt in powdery white.
The audacity. Obviously, Leo had to retaliate (cause he was a petty little bitch) and they ended up competing to see who could get more ingredients onto the other, resulting in the kitchen closely resembling a winter wonderland.
"Pffft!" Jason spat. "You got it in my mouth!"
"Well you got it in my eyes so consider it as payback."
Eventually they calmed down. Jason leaned his weight against Leo's side, comforting and present.
"What was she like?"
"My mamá?" Leo asked. Jason nodded. "Well, she's definitely who I got all my good looks from," he winked. Jason huffed, rolling his eyes but he stayed quiet, giving Leo the space to talk.
It was...nice because normally, Leo had always been a handful to have a conversation with. He spoke too fast, spoke too loud, and spoke too much. In multiple foster homes he had been yelled at to tone it down or he would face some sort of punishment, but with Jason? He never had to worry about that.
He didn't know how to explain it but Jason just listened. Not because he was forcing himself to so he didn't hurt Leo's feelings, but because he seemed to genuinely like listening to Leo ramble on about anything and everything, no matter how stupid it was.
And it made Leo's love for him burn even warmer.
"Mamá also made it her mission to always be kind," Leo continued. "She believed that kindness was a universal language, and that there would never be too much of it in the world. One of her favorite things to say was haz el bien y no mires a quien or—"
"Do good no matter who you're helping," Jason translated. Leo smiled, nodding.
"Yeah," he said. "You said you learned Spanish from Reyna? Did she teach you that too?"
Jason shook his head. "No. She mainly taught me some basics and a lot of cuss words. I only started actually studying it recently."
"Really?" Leo blinked. "Why?"
"For you," Jason said, kissing him tenderly on the forehead. Leo internally screamed, begging his heart to please stop trying to explode.
"Oh," was all Leo could breathe.
The bastard hummed, like he didn't just almost cause Leo to die via combustion.
There was a moment of silence as Leo stumbled to regain his composure. Then, he whispered, "She would have loved to meet you, y'know."
"...really?" Jason asked, slightly choked.
"Yeah," he nodded. Jason sniffed and mierda. Leo prayed that his boyfriend wouldn't start crying because then he would probably start crying too, and they would become sobbing, emotional messes and never get around to finishing the cake.
Ah. Right. The tres leches. Kinda forgot about that.
Leo cleared his throat. "I think we should try to actually bake now. Do you want to start beating the egg whites while I remeasure the dry ingredients? That is," he glanced over the kitchen, "if we have any left."
Jason made a sound of affirmation, squeezing Leo's hand twice, and then they got to work.
—
"Wait...how do I beat the eggs? With my fist?"
"No, no, no. You don't beat them literalmently—"
"You mean literally?"
"Literalmente. Whatever, same thing. You use the batidor electrico."
"Okay...what's that?"
"It's right—ow, stupid drawer—here."
"How do I turn it on?"
"Just flip the dial thingy—I don't know what it's called—wait, no! Not all the way—"
—
"And we just...leave it in the fridge overnight? We can't eat it now?"
"Nope."
"Not even a bite?"
"No, mi alma. That'll spoil the end result."
"But what if someone steals it and eats it instead?"
"Don't worry, that won't be happening."
"How do you know for sure?"
"Because I labeled it as an explosive bomb that would go off if anyone touched it."
"You...what."
—
The tres leches looked perfect when Leo took it out of the fridge the next day. Although, that was mainly because he had done most of the baking since Jason had ended up slipping on the floor and hitting his head against the table. He had been fine, considering he had landed on the ball of yarn instead of the actual counter, but Leo had still insisted for him to sit down and take a break.
Picking up the espátula, Leo began to spread a layer of whipped cream on top of the cake. There was a shuffle and a yawn from behind him as Jason wrapped his arms around his waist in a one-sided hug, tucking his face into Leo's neck.
"You good there, mi alma?" Leo asked as he grabbed the knife next to cut out two slices.
"Yeah," Jason faintly nodded. "Training with Percy and Nico is just...exhausting."
"Well, we can go back to your cabin and take a nap if you want—"
"Wow, caro," Jason interjected, hooking his chin over Leo's shoulder. "You're not going to hole yourself up in Bunker Nine?"
"I know, right?" Leo pulled out a drawer to get two tenedores. "Being full of surprises is just one of my many charms. But, we can sleep after your taste buds are blessed with the taste of pure heaven."
Holding both plates in his hands, he turned around and wow, Jason was a lot closer than he expected. Leo couldn't help himself from just...looking at him. From his eyes, electric behind his glasses, to his soft smile, one that melted his heart faster than his own fire could melt a random piece of metal.
"I...here," Leo said, very eloquently. Dios mío, they were already dating and Jason still had this kind of effect on him. Not that he was complaining; it was a very...what was the word? Contento? That worked. It was a very contento effect.
Jason didn't take the plate. Instead, he kept one arm around Leo while the other picked up un tenedor, which he used to eat a small sliver of cake. His eyes widened.
"Oh, wow. That's really good."
There was a bit of whipped cream on his upper lip and before he could stop himself, Leo surged forward and kissed him.
Jason softly gasped, but relaxed against him, bringing the hand that was around his waist to cup the side of Leo's face. He tasted like sugar. He tasted...
He tasted sweet with love.
"Te amo," Leo mumbled against him with a grin. Forever and always.