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Vil’s composed façade fell to pieces as he tried and failed to salvage the mess he’s somehow made.
The pasta was overcooked and beyond salvageable. The sauce had curdled when he accidentally used skim milk instead of the whole milk he’d bought. And the garlic bread…well, it had seen better days.
The actor felt tears begin to sting at the corners of his eyes as he desperately tried to scrape the burned bread off the pan.
“Oh, for the love of…” he muttered and trailed off under his breath as his frustration began to boil over. “How did this even happen?”
This was the first time he’d gotten to cook dinner for Leona since their internships had lined up in Sunset Savanna. But his need to make everything perfect had gotten to him. It had been so long since they’d been able to eat in person together, that Vil wanted everything to be just right. He’d also wanted to impress the prince by showing that, despite their busy schedules, he could still create something special for them. That self-inflicted pressure had only made his nerves worse, though.
Every task seemed more difficult than usual. It was as if the kitchen itself had turned against him. Vil’s mind raced as he tried to pull everything back together. But the more he tried, the more mistakes he made; the once-familiar kitchen now felt like an unfamiliar battleground. And now it was all ruined.
To make things worse, right as he popped the last piece of charcoaled bread off the pan, the doorbell rang. The actor cursed and scrunched his face as he looked over at the clock. There was no way Leona would arrive early. But the hands on the clock told him it was actually five minutes passed the time of the beastman’s scheduled arrival.
Vil’s heart sank as he grabbed a nearby dishtowel to wipe his hands. He did his best to compose himself, but the evidence of his failure was everywhere. The kitchen was a disaster zone, and the smell of burnt food lingered in the air.
With a deep breath to push down his frustration and embarrassment, the actor forced a smile onto his face and made his way to the door. But when he opened it and found Leona there, leaning against the frame with his usual smirk and a bouquet of red camellias, Vil felt his carefully constructed mask begin to crack.
The beastman must have been able to tell things had gone horribly wrong, too. Because he soon lost his ever-present grin and pulled away from the doorframe to stand up straight.
“Hey,” Leona greeted, his voice low and cautious, but with an edge of curiosity as he looked past Vil into the small home NRC had rented for him while there for his internship. “Something smells…interesting.”
Vil winced internally but kept his smile in place.
“Leona,” he began, his voice tight, “I … Dinner didn’t exactly go as planned.”
Leona’s eyebrow arched, his sharp eyes scanning past Vil into the kitchen beyond. The actor knew that the normally immaculate space was a mess; pots and pans scattered about, remnants of flour dusted the counter, and a faint haze of smoke still lingered in the air.
The lion’s gaze returned to Vil, his expression softening.
“Yeah, I can tell,” Leona said, his tone gentle as he stepped closer, the bouquet of red camellias now at his side.
Vil’s smile faltered and he let out a shaky breath.
“I wanted to make something special for us tonight,” he admitted, his voice a whisper. “But it seems as though everything that could go wrong did, and now I’ve ruined it.”
Leona reached out and placed his free hand on Vil’s arm. “You haven’t ruined anything, Queenie,” he said, his voice steady and reassuring. “I’m here for you. Not the food.”
The actor let out a scathing laugh. “That’s not the point, Leona. The point is we haven’t had dinner together in months. Besides, it’s not like I don’t know how to cook. I’ve done this hundreds of times before.”
The prince sighed and moved his hand down Vil’s arm to take his hand.
“Yah had an off night, Schoenheit,” he said as he pressed their foreheads together. “It doesn’t mean you’ve lost your touch. It just means…it’s been a rough night.”
Vil looked down at their joined hands as his chest heaved in an effort to calm himself. “But I,” he whispered, his voice breaking. “I wanted tonight to be perfect. I wanted to do something nice for you,” he confessed, his voice tinged with the vulnerability he rarely let show. “With our internships and everything, I wanted to remind us both of…us.”
There was a pause between them before Leona moved to kiss his cheek. “Are yah sure everything is unsalvageable?”
The actor let out another dry laugh. “I overcooked the pasta, the alfredo sauce is curdled, and the garlic bread looks like it has been struck by lightning.”
The beastman paused again before he pulled back and nodded his head into the house. “Show me.”
Vil pressed his lips together. “If you laugh–”
“Trust me. I have no desire to be single or dead. Just…show me, alright?”
The former leader of Pomefiore hesitated, but Leona’s steady gaze and the warmth he radiated won out. With a small nod, Vil stepped aside, allowing the other man to enter his home and the kitchen.
As they walked in, the full scope of the disaster became apparent. The pasta sat in a lump at the bottom of a pot, and the once creamy alfredo sauce was now a separated, curdled mess. Meanwhile, the garlic bread, blackened beyond recognition, lay in stark contrast to the clean white plate it had been intended to adorn.
Vil watched Leona survey the damage and himself for some teasing remark. But Leona remained quiet, his expression thoughtful, until he finally turned to Vil with a soft, almost amused smile.
“Yah really went all out, huh?”
Something about the way Leona was smiling mixed with the disaster behind him broke Vil. But it wasn’t only tears that came out. There was also laughter as he nodded at the lion.
Leona’s brow furrowed, but he continued to smile as he approached Vil once more. He held the flowers back up and lifted his hand to place it on his cheek.
Vil sniffed, but he smiled back at the prince as he took the flowers. “Thank you, Leona.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Before the actor could respond again, Leona’s hands slid down to his waist, and with a playful grin, he effortlessly scooped Vil up into his arms. The sudden motion elicited a surprised gasp from him, followed by another burst of laughter as he instinctively wrapped his arms and legs around the prince.
“Leona!” Vil protested through his laughter as the beastman carried him over to the one clean area of the counter. “What are you–”
“Relax,” Leona cut him off with a smirk as he carefully placed Vil down on the counter, making sure he was seated securely before stepping back to admire his handiwork. “You’ve done enough for tonight. It’s my turn to take care of things.”
Vil’s cheeks flushed slightly as he settled on the counter, the cool surface grounding him as he looked over at Leona, who was already turning back to the stove with a focused expression. The sight of the usually laid-back beastman taking charge in the kitchen was both surprising and endearing, and Vil found himself momentarily speechless.
Leona glanced over his shoulder and his smirk widened.
“What?” he teased. “You didn’t think I’d let you stress out over this all by yourself, did you? Might as well test what those culinary courses at NRC taught me”
Vil shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips despite himself.
“No, I just…I didn’t expect you to…” He trailed off, his eyes on the lion’s movements as he reached for a spatula and began to work on salvaging the meal.
“Expect me to what? Be amazing?” Leona shot back with a wink, his tone light as he expertly twirled a pan he’d grabbed from the pile Vil had pulled out in his hand. “You’ve clearly underestimated me, Queenie.”
Vil laughed again, the sound lighter now as the tension in his chest eased while he watched Leona take charge.
“Maybe I have,” he admitted, leaning back against the wall and letting himself relax for the first time that evening.
As Leona continued to work, Vil couldn’t help but admire the way the beastman moved—confident and assured, yet with a care that showed just how much he wanted to make things right. There was something almost calming about watching Leona. He was far removed from his element, but his hands moved with practiced ease as he fixed the meal that Vil had been so worried about.
First, the beastman put the noodles in the pan he’d grabbed and sautéed them with olive oil. He then was somehow able to fix the separated alfredo sauce by adding a little bit of butter to it. The only thing he had to make from scratch was the garlic bread. But, thankfully, Vil had a second loaf of bread they could use. It wasn’t the expensive kind he’d initially bought for tonight, but it would do.
The minutes passed in a comfortable silence, broken only by the occasional sizzle from the stove or the clink of utensils. In almost no time, Leona turned back to Vil, a proud grin on his face as he presented the revitalized dishes.
“See, Queenie? We got something decent here.” He declared as his eyes shone with satisfaction.
Vil looked down at the food, then back up at Leona, and his heart filled with affection.
“You really are amazing.” He said, his voice filled with admiration.
Leona’s grin softened into a warm smile as he stepped closer, brushing a strand of hair away from Vil’s face.
“Only because I’ve got someone amazin’ to take care of.” He replied, his tone earnest.
Vil’s smile brightened, and he reached out to take Leona’s hand, squeezing it gently.
“We make a good team.” He said, his voice steady now.
Leona leaned in and Vil felt the beastman press a light kiss on his forehead before he pulled back just enough to meet his gaze again.
“Yeah,” the lion agreed, his voice a low rumble. “We really do.”