Work Text:
"you're holding it wrong." sho took a step in zhongxing's direction, taking the whisk from his hands.
"you say that about everything," zhongxing mumbled, but there was no bitterness to his words. he tilted his head, watching as sho stirred the batter with quick, skilled motions. it was like he'd done this a hundred times before; knowing sho, that might not even be an overstatement.
the bowl sat precariously on the narrow counter, and with each move of sho's hand, his shoulder brushed against zhongxing's own (well, it was more like zhongxing's forearm, but regardless). neither of them shifted away, and the energy in the room didn't change, either; it was normal by now. the dorm kitchen was far too small for the both of them, but neither truly minded the closeness.
"you want to try?" sho tilted his head up, offering the whisk. zhongxing gave a nod, taking it back and reaching to stir the cupcake batter slower, more carefully. he didn't catch all the details – something about how the dry ingredients can't be too crumbly, and it'll be completely ruined if not mixed properly – but still, zhongxing copied just how sho had done it.
zhongxing continued to stir, while all that could be heard was the buzz of the heater and the faint sounds of the playlist sho had put on. after a moment, he looked beside him, asking a quiet, "is this better?"
sho didn't reply for a moment; he'd been concentrated on zhongxing's face rather than the batter. zhongxing had to admit that he looked cute in that moment, his hair falling into his eyes as he just stood there, spaced out, in his little yellow apron.
sho shook his head after a few seconds, peering over the bowl to check. he gave a short 'hmm' of approval, turning around to tend to something behind them. "keep stirring," he told zhongxing.
"yeah, yeah," zhongxing waved him off, but not without a smile.
he realized shortly that he'd been stirring for quite a while, and there was quite the racket coming from behind him. zhongxing took a quick glance, seeing that sho had opened the cabinet and was pulling out a wooden stepstool. zhongxing had to stifle a laugh before asking, "what do you need?"
"the vanilla," sho grumbled, "hyunseo keeps putting it back on the top shelf on purpose."
without saying anything, zhongxing put his whisk down, turning to scan for the vanilla and spotting it moments later. "let me–"
"no, let me do it!" sho got onto his stool, stretching his arm high to reach; but not before zhongxing was right behind him, easily grabbing it down and handing it to him. sho sighed, although there was no malice to it. "thanks." zhongxing caught a glimpse of the slight smile on sho's lips.
sho returned to his spot at the counter, effortlessly measuring, adding, and combining the ingredients as zhongxing stood behind him, watching. he wrapped his arms loosely around sho's shoulders, and it didn't faze him at all.
"what can i do?" zhongxing asked. sho seemed to be thinking about it; for much longer than necessary, it seemed. did he just want zhongxing to stay like this for longer?
"hm... taste test." wow, such an honorable role. sho took a spoon from the drawer beside them, taking a small bit of batter from the bowl and handing it over to zhongxing.
sho's eyes were on him the whole time he was trying the batter. zhongxing licked his lips, giving a thoughtful hum. "what flavor is it?"
sho tilted his head, his tone the slightest bit offended. "chocolate. i told you."
zhongxing shrugged, "doesn't taste like it," and handed the spoon back to sho.
"really?" sho asked. he continued to mutter something about how much cocoa powder he'd put in already, as he used the spoon to take another small scoop from the bowl. upon tasting it himself, he winced, agreeing with zhongxing. "yeah, not enough flavor..."
sho turned back to the mixing bowl, checking over and tweaking his recipe. zhongxing busied himself with preparing the cupcake liners for the pan.
neither of them said anything, yet the silence was comfortable; much less awkward or tension-filled as it had been in the past. even while they were working at seperate counters, they were very close, easily brushing against each other and feeling the warmth radiating from each other's bodies.
zhongxing didn't mind it one bit.
after a minute or so, sho called him back to taste the batter again. this time, it was much more flavorful and sweet than before. zhongxing's eyes widened a bit, smiling at sho, who was waiting on his opinion. "much better."
sho smiled back, relieved. "okay. we can bake now." he took the bowl, bringing it closer to where the cupcake tin sat. zhongxing took a small spatula from one of the drawers, and he handed it to sho without a word, prompting him to trade zhongxing the bowl.
zhongxing stood right behind him, almost enveloping sho in his arms as he reached to hold the bowl steady. unfazed, sho scraped the batter out and into the cupcake liners, his expression meticulously focused.
"there," sho said softly, "this is good." he gestured for zhongxing to stand back, which he did as best as he could with the proximity they were in. sho pulled out oven mitts from the cabinet overhead (which matched nicely with his apron), and he bent down to put the cupcakes in the oven.
in the meantime, zhongxing had taken ahold of the mixing bowl, eating the excess batter from the spatula. as soon as sho finished fiddling with the oven timer, he turned to look at zhongxing with a disapproving gaze. "not too much. isn't good for you."
"it's fine," zhongxing insisted, taking one last lick before placing the spatula back in the bowl. sho just giggled, turning his attention to the stray ingredients he had to put away.
zhongxing helped, too, clarifying where everything went beforehand. he'd noticed that about sho; very particular about the way he liked things.
they talked as they both cleaned up the kitchen, about trainee life, new hobbies, and everything in between. above all else, zhongxing was happy with how easily they could communicate now.
sho had took it upon himself to teach him new korean words whenever he could, and zhongxing did the same with chinese. that's all they really needed; they'd found out by now about what they had in common, their opinions on different things, and sho rarely ever had to pull out the translator anymore.
they'd gotten to know each other very well since the show had ended, really.
"you weren't too bad. have you baked a lot before?" sho asked at one point.
zhongxing shrugged, "no. not really my thing."
sho's tone was confused. "why are you doing it now, then?"
"because i know you like it."
"aww." sho didn't say anything else, and zhongxing couldn't see his face, but he swore he could feel how the boy was blushing.
when they met eyes again, surely enough, sho's cheeks were tinged red. along with that, sho's gaze lingered on him for a bit longer than usual. "zhongxing, you have…"
zhongxing tilted his head in a question. sho just stepped right up to him, reaching his hand up to brush his thumb just zhongxing's lips. he noticed it was the batter from before; sho brought his hand back, licking the chocolate from his thumb. zhongxing just laughed, uttering a soft, "thanks."
sho nodded, his lips curling into a smile. "mhm."
once the kitchen was all clean, and the counters were wiped down (something zhongxing took over on after insisting sho should rest), the two of them sat down at the other side of the counter. the stools were pushed close, legs and arms brushing against each other's repeatedly. sho sat forward, elbows propped up with his head in his hands, and zhongxing smiled at the sight. he didn't even have to do anything and he was cute.
sho shifted closer to zhongxing after a minute, and they fit together almost naturally, without a thought to it. sho's head dropped to zhongxing's shoulder, and zhongxing's arm snaked around sho's body in response.
zhongxing could see sho's features when he looked down, saw the faint smile still on his lips and the sparkle still present in his sleepy eyes.
sho was so calm, so sweet in that moment, that zhongxing smiled at him, impulsively leaning down the slightest bit. he pressed his lips to sho's temple – softly, quickly. he watched as sho's smile grew, leaning further into zhongxing.
"what was that for?" sho joked, but something in his tone sounded soft, vulnerable.
"because i wanted to," zhongxing explained simply.
sho hummed. "okay."
the two of them basked in the silence and the warmth of each other's presence. it overpowered the november chill, made it feel just like it was june all over again. it was comforting to be next to sho – not just now, zhongxing thought, but always.
out of curiousity and mild boredom, zhongxing asked, "how long until the cupcakes are done?"
sho looked up, as if he were doing the calculations in his head. "maybe… 25 minutes? some in the oven, some to cool before the icing."
"that's way too long. want them now," zhongxing groaned in a joking complaint.
sho laughed softly, his voice stern as he ordered, "be patient."
"okay." he didn't mind it, truly; because it did technically mean more time for them to spend together like this. he held sho a little closer, to which sho gave a contented sigh, his head burrowing into zhongxing's chest.
damn. sho was too sweet. who needed cupcakes, anyway?