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Red eyes glare at the assortment of hearts decorated all around and over the doorway of the classroom. Everywhere the young man has went to there have been pinks and whites and reds in heart shapes and cheesy romantic phrases. A frown scowls widely along his scruffy muzzle. He is sick of all this lovey dovey bullshit being shoved in his face! And of course one of the few teachers he liked had to be a part of it! Luckily though the inside wasn’t decked out in all that Valentines Day nonsense as he feared (thank the void)!
When said teacher sees him he smiles at the younger man giving him an excitable wave. That has X ducking his head into his chest in a flustered manner with his ear tips burning. Hesitantly he gives him a small wave back before rushing to his work space in hopes to hide away, and not have Chef Rose draw attention to the both of them. Cautiously he glances around to see if anyone was looking in his direction, and to his delight, no one either noticed him or cared that he was here. That reassuring thought has him sigh in relief.
“All right class, today’s assignment is going to be a fun one!~” Chef Rose projects his voice loudly so he can be heard in all corners of the classroom. “When cooking or baking, having the exact and proper ingredients is important as well as making the dish taste as best with said ingredients as well as how you utilize them.”
There are some murmurs of agreement amongst the class. Others wondered where he's going with this.
“But in my opinion the most important ingredient you can use for cooking/baking is…” He taps his fingers against a counter top to poorly mimic a drum roll. “...LOVE!!~”
People either groan or laugh. For X it's both, though he now wishes the classroom wasn’t so noisy now… Sheesh!
Chef Rose has a laugh alongside his students. “I know, I know. That sounds cheesy, but really think about it. Has someone you loved whether it be a significant other or a parent or a grandparent cooked/baked you something, and because you love them and they made this thing with love, didn’t it taste all the more tasty?”
X thought back to moments where Majin made him birthday cakes for, well, his birthday or special soups when he had gotten sick. They always tasted so good…! For as terribly cheesy as Chef Rose is being, he has a point. Everyone else seemed to agree with his sentiment.
“See? Love is an important ingredient!” No one could mistaken the triumphant gleam in his eyes for being right for his silliness. “With that said, let me tell you what today’s assignment is: choose someone you love, and it doesn’t have to be a significant other, it can be anyone, and make them a dish for Valentines Day!”
The class erupts into a chaos of varying opinions. The students who valued creative freedom are excited while the students who needed a set assignment to do are anxious. Despite who felt what, the classroom became a cacophony of drawers opening and shutting, all manner of things being torn open, and stainless steel equipment ringing from hitting one another.
“Sooo…” X hunches over in surprise upon hearing the voice of Chef Rose suddenly by his side. I keep forgetting how fast he can be…! “Who are you going to make your dish for? Your brother or even Majin?” A knowing gleam shines in his verdant gaze. “Or do you have a partner I haven’t met?~”
X’s muzzle immediately flushes and he lets out a choking sound. “I don’t have a partner!” As he tells the older male that, a set of golden colored quills appear in his mind, which has him averting his eyes shyly. His cheeks warming into a bright shade matching the color of his eyes.
That didn’t go unnoticed by the other. His normal perky grin widens excitingly with his striped tail wagging. “Oh, so there is someone!~” He looks around before leaning over towards X. “You gonna tell me about them?~” He asks in a softer tone to make sure no one can hear him outside of the younger man.
X crosses his arms sagging further into his chair. Ears pin back as an angry pout appears on his lips. His face feels as though it's on fire from how hotly it blushes! A sigh is heaved from pouting lips. “...there’s this guy I’m friends with that I kinda like…” He admits out loud. The pout scowls into a full blown frown when he hears Chef Rose make an “awwing” sound at his confession. Wasn’t he embarrassed enough for this man??
Skinny arms prop themselves on their elbows as Chef Rose decides to lean himself on X’s work station. His head resting in his palms while doing so. “So, do you wanna make something for this guy for the assignment?”
Eyes narrow at him. “You know that’s impossible.”
That has the other man let out a combination of a sigh and a chuckle. “I mean, I guess you have a point…” Barely he is able to shrug his shoulders in his hunched over state. “The best you could do on your own is slather yourself in either chocolate or whipped cream and that guy’s choice of fruit.” He teases with a tiny playful smirk.
Oh, how that made the fading blush roar back to life brighter and hotter than before! That only seems to widen the other’s smirk into teeth. Half the grin hidden behind a part of his palm in an attempt to hide another chuckle. “EXCUSE ME??” He seethes in utter embarrassment!
Chef Rose doesn’t respond immediately, only waving off another student dismissively who glanced over in concern when X gets a little loud. That has X lower himself in his spot to try and hide himself as much as he can. Both his face and ears were red hot.
“Whatever you’re trying to use on my brother doesn’t work for the rest of us!” Maybe if he implied suggestive things about his own crush (even if it was about his older brother) then he’d be embarrassed as well, which would serve him right!
The pink hedgehog’s shocked expression and reddened muzzle had X feeling a sense of triumphant! …till it was quickly replaced with a cheeky toothy smile and the quirking of an eyebrow. “Would Lord X like a nice Valentine's Day surprise like that?~”
That has X reeling! “I don’t know! I was just fucking with you!” Did he not have any shame??
What he receives is a comforting pat on his shoulder from the other reaching over at him. “Sorry, sorry. I just wanted to mess with you some more. Didn’t mean to upset you.” He apologizes. “But I’m serious about the assignment X. If you can make everything else then I can cook/bake the final product. It’ll be like how I helped out your brother for Majin’s birthday cake months earlier, but without the chance of someone accidentally burning my classroom to the ground.” He chuckles when X yells “HEY!” at him.
A sheepish expression comes to X’s face and he averts his eyes scratching the side of his muzzle with a finger. “...I remember this dessert he’s eaten several times, but uh, I can’t remember the name of it or the place he got it from to look it up.”
“Oh that’s easy then. Just ask him the name of the place.”
“I can’t just ask him!”
“Sure you can. Just be subtle about it.”
“I don’t know how to subtly ask him!”
Chef Rose rolls his eyes which gets him a glare. “Just tell him you are craving whatever you had last time from there, but can’t remember the name of the place and maybe that it’s at the tip of your tongue too. He won’t know you’ve got an ulterior motive, and he’ll give you the name. Easy peasy!”
“...that’s actually a great idea.” X realizes as he pulls out his phone.
Chef Rose shakes his head with a sigh though he’s smiling.
X: Man I got a mad craving for that place we went to the other day, but fuck if I can’t remember the name of it! Wanna put in an order so I can just pick it up when I get there later. Can you tell me what it is?
His heart's racing by the end of the text message. He hops this is a good enough lie to get what he needed.
Fleetway: Yeah the place has such good fucking food! LOL gotcha hooked!! >:P
Fleetway: And you’re gonna get some without me??
Fleetway: You owe me for next time!! It’s the least you can do!! JK
X sends a ‘thank you’ and a snarky response when the name of the restaurant pops up on Fleetway’s end. Afterwards he searches up the place immediately, finding their website and scrolling down to the dessert menu. The moment he spots the picture of the dish does he recognize it. “This one!” He shows it to the older man with an excited smile.
“Sticky Toffee Pudding with Butterscotch sauce.” Chef Rose reads out loud as he types it into his own phone.
“I don’t know how much sauce comes with it, but I’ve seen Fleetway put a lot of it on it!” He instantly regrets name dropping the other young man when he gets this knowing grin from Chef Rose.
“So Fleetway likes extra sauce on his pudding, hmm?~”
Dammit all he wasn’t trying to give away everything about his crush! That has him pouting and grumbling again. “...yeah.” He fights another blush trying to over take his muzzle.
He feels a comforting pat on his head. “We’ll just have to double the amount of the sauce so he has plenty. How does that sound?”
“That sounds awesome actually, thanks.” His embarrassment starts to melt away as he thinks about the less embarrassing parts of his feelings.
His gratitude has the other man beaming. “You’re quite welcome!~” He pulls out a small pad of paper and a pen. “Here. Write down what we need and see what we have. I’m going to check on the other students to make sure they’re doing good and don’t need me. Once I’m done with that I’ll be back to help.”
As Chef Rose is leaving X hears his phone chime and realizes it's an email from him with a link to the recipe. …when did he send that? I didn’t notice him sending it… Despite the confusion he pulls it up doing what's asked of him by his teacher by jotting down the ingredients and gathering them up. The only thing they're missing is the alcohol for the sauce, but they could pick that up later. Seeing that the dates needed to be chopped he pulls out a measuring cup for dry ingredients, a cutting board, and a knife.
As X gets into a rhythm his mind thinks about how close he’s gotten to Chef Rose in the short amount of time he’s known him. Not all of the teachers in Khaos University were as warm and bubbly as the pink hedgehog. He could be a little overbearing and over friendly, much to the dismay of the social recluse X is prone to being, but he always meant well. It's no wonder he became fast friends with Majin. Those two were two peas in a pod. His friendship with his brother on the other hand… A thoughtful frown appears on his lips. X couldn’t make sense of it. Maybe Lord X liked the free food and the… odd compliments.
“So my big bro is the best bro I could ask for, even if he gets on my nerves more than most of the time, and don’t tell him I said that because I don’t need him rubbing it in my face!”
Magenta streaked quills fall to one side as Chef Rose cocks his head to one side in confusion.
“But what is it that you see in him that makes you go nuts over him? Like, out of all the hedgehogs why him?”
X fills up one of the measuring cups with the chopped up dates before throwing a bunch more on the cutting board to chop up another cup full.
There’s a pause while Chef Rose watches the younger man get back into his rhythm. He uses that small window of time to mull over his answer. “I guess you could say I like his confidence… I also like how deceitfully smart and charismatic he can be while simultaneously being the biggest grump in the world!” X looks up at him upon hearing his giddy laughter. “He has the most gorgeous smile, and this goes without saying, but uh-” His silly little smile turns into a cheeky grin “-your brother is fine as hell!”
Oh the sheer look of disgust X gives him while making fake gagging sounds. It only makes Chef Rose laugh way too loudly. He has to dismiss the curious and confused students closest to X’s work station.
“Ugh. Forget I asked.” X grumbles as he turns his attention back to his task. He feels pats on his back. “Sorry, sorry. Couldn’t resist messing with you.~”
“But in all seriousness, I do enjoy your brother’s company. I can just be myself around him and for the most part he humors how… much I can be.” There’s a fondness in his eyes. “Sure, he’s a little rough around the edges, but nothing I can’t handle.” His striped tail wags vigorously as he goes back to smiling like a goof. “Plus, I don’t mind telling a good looking man how good looking he is, and seeing the way he smiles like he already knows makes my day!~”
“Sheesh…” The younger man murmurs to himself as he scraps the newly chopped dates into another measuring cup. Then he unlocks his phone to check the recipe. “Okay. This is where you come in. The oven needs to be preheated and we have to boil the dates and some water together. I’ll measure out the water and put that and the dates into a sauce pan.”
That snaps Chef Rose out of his lovesick daze. “Right. Let me get on that.”
The two of them work in sync as Chef Rose quickly preheats the oven then gets out a sauce pan for X to fill with the dates and water. The younger of the two is shooed away before the older attempts to turn on one of the burners. He wasn’t risking the chance of X being that close to the stove top!
“So…” Chef Rose begins, never taking his eyes off the sauce pan. “What is it that you like about this Fleetway?~”
X almost drops the large stainless steel bowl in his arms. Ears pin back upon hearing his teaching giggling at his reaction. He sets down the bowl onto the countertop just to be safe rather than sorry. He already feels his cheeks warming up again. “Honestly? Fleetway is so fucking cool and tough and dressed like a badass! He’s also got these neat eyebrow piercings!” His insides start to feel mushy as he gushes. “He can sing and play the guitar too!” Red eyes shift as he looks around to see if anyone is looking over at the, to which no one is, and he lowers his voice. “Uh, don’t tell anyone (especially my brother!), but Fleetway’s singing voice is kinda hot…” His face is just as red as his eyes as he confesses. Chef Rose smirking and failing to hide laughter doesn’t help much with that. He decides to hide his face by measuring out the next set of ingredients. “Fleetway really understands me instead of telling me how I should be or act, and it’s nice to hear that sometimes.”
“Aww, how sweet!” Chef Rose exclaims softly which causes the tips of his ears to burn.
After throwing in the butter and sugar into the big bowl he had set down prior, X goes into the cabinet of his work station pulling out a standing mixer. It’s sat down right next to the bowl where he plugs it into the nearest outlet. The bowl is placed onto the base of the mixture where he inserts the paddle attachment then turns it on allowing it to combine the ingredients together.
There’s a few minutes where nothing is said between the two. The only sounds being the sauce pan starting to bubble and the paddle attachment slowly creaming the ingredients.
“Can you measure out the baking soda so it’s ready when I need it?”
“Yeah. On it.”
“Thank you.~”
After measuring out the baking soda for Chef Rose, X cracks open an egg dumping it into the creamed mixture.
“So, will you ever confess your feelings to this Fleetway?”
The eggshells in X’s hands are accidentally crushed into pieces when he lurches in shock from the question. “I’ll do it whenever I feel like it!” He snarls at the other as he tries to swipe the shell pieces into the nearest trash bin. To his surprise, he doesn’t see a teasing grin on the man’s lips or hear it in his tone.
The burner is turned off and the sauce pan transferred to an unused one. The pre-measured baking soda is tossed then stirred into the liquid. While that’s going on, another egg is added into the creamed mixture.
Chef Rose looks over at X giving him a sincere smile. “Of course you’d want to let him know when you’re ready. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
X stares down at the standing mixer with a thoughtful frown. He’s quiet for a moment, only allowing himself to add in a third egg. “...what if I’ll never be ready?” He asks in a tone so low that the other man almost doesn’t hear him. Anxiously he rubs a hand over one of his arms. He hated being so vulnerable!
The sauce pan is left to settle on the cold burner while the pink hedgehog stands himself next to the taller blue one. A hand is carefully placed on the arm that isn’t being rubbed down and pats it comfortingly. “And that’s okay. There’s no wrong way to go about this… As long as you don’t beat yourself up over it, or make Fleetway feel bad about how he feels.” He reassures him with a tender smile.
The final egg is added to the mixture.
While X isn’t necessarily smiling, no one can mistaken the gratitude shining in his eyes down at the shorter male. “Thanks.” There’s a pause as he grabs a bottle of vanilla extract and measuring spoons. A couple of teaspoons were added shortly after the last egg. “It’s nice to be able to talk to someone with about Fleetway.”
Chef Rose is beaming up at him. “Oh, you’re quite welcome!~”
Eyes narrow at the man. “Just don’t tell Majin, or for the endless void, my brother! I don’t need to be coddled or made fun of!”
“Of course!” A smirk replaces his gleeful grin. “...but only if I can see a picture of this guy. After all, I need a face to a name~”
“...all right, fine!” X grumbles upon pulling out his phone to search for a picture of his crush. The picture he decides to go with is of Fleetway perched on one of those brick dwarf walls around campus with his electric guitar laid out on one of his legs doing the rocker horns sign with one of his hands while having his tongue out with a toothy smirk.
“Ooh! He looks like a bad boy! No wonder you like him! He’s cute!~” Chef Rose exclaims with a wink. That has X all flushed again averting his eyes in embarrassment. He pats his shoulder. “I’m just teasing~”
They shut the standing mixer off, removing the bowl from it. X fetches a secondary stainless steel bowl while Chef Rose checks the temperature of the concoction inside the sauce pan. “I hope Fleetway likes this. You’re doing such a good job getting everything together for it.”
X freezes in place as he stares off into space or what seems like the bowl he has in his hands. Dread churns in the pit of his stomach at the thought of Fleetway hating what they’re making together for him. “...I hope so too.”
~~~
[Valentines Day]
Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. Fleetway isn’t sure how long he’s been pacing after he sent his final text to X, but holy hell is he so damned nervous! He shakes his hands in an attempt to get rid of the trembling in them. They had to be steady so he could play his guitar soon. The last thing he needed is to not be able to play! Especially after practicing for the last few weeks. He's sure End would be pissed if he disturbed him all this time only to not play for the day he’d practice for! Get it together, Fleet, you’ve got this! Fleetway tries to mentally encourage himself. …which would have worked, had the damned doorbell not shaken him back up!
X is just as anxious, if not more so as he rang the doorbell with trembling fingers. In his free hand he held a tupperware container that kept the pudding safe as well as a small container with double the amount of butterscotch sauce they made. He feels his scruffy muzzle flush when the front door flies open. His heart racing upon the other’s gaze landing instantly on the tupperware container. Inwardly he curses. He was hoping he had time to gather his thoughts!
“What’s that?” Fleetway asks as he steps aside to let X inside.
Well shit. Here goes nothing…! “So, uh, remember when I asked for the name of that restaurant the other day?”
Fingers snap in response. “Oh yeah!” A confused expression comes to the blonde’s face. “What does that have to do with what's in the container?”
“So, uh, the truth is that I didn’t want to know because I wanted food for myself…” X goes over to a kitchen counter where he puts the container on top of it. “I wanted to know because I couldn't remember the name of the dessert you get there every time.” He removes the lid revealing the pudding in the shape of a heart. His cheeks warm up from seeing that stupid shape. “I didn’t bake the pudding or cook certain things, but everything else I made. Chef Rose wanted us to make something for a…” He coughs into his hand feeling his blush grow hotter, averting his eyes anywhere else but where the other young man was. “‘loved one’ for the holiday so I chose you. It was his dumb idea to make it heart shaped…” He's pretty sure his face is as red as his eyes by this point.
Between the confession and immediately seeing his favorite dessert, especially in the shape of a heart, Fleetway feels his heart skip a beat before stuttering nonstop! His muzzle is equally flushed and his irises multiplied into many rings. And-and was the butterscotch sauce as big as if not bigger than the pudding itself?? “Sheesh, what a sap.” Is all he can think to say.
X laughs at the remark. “That’s what I told him, but he was super convinced that doing so ‘made it extra special’.” Not that he agreed with that or anything…
“Oof. That’s even worse.” Fleetway laughs alongside him.
“So, uh,” X covers the dessert back up by securing the lid back onto the container. “Is there a reason you wanted to see me alone?”
Fleetway could hear his heart pounding loudly and quickly in his ears, and he has to wipe his fingers on his clothing the moment they started sweating. He nudges his head towards his room. “I’ve got something I wanna show you.”
X’s mind is running a mile a minute and his face feels so hot by now. What did he have to show that required him to go into his bedroom?? He has several very graphic thoughts as to what it is, and he's sure he's as red as a lobster from how hot his body is feeling alongside his face.
The moment Fleetway sits down onto his bed (patting a spot next to him so X could join him), he picks his guitar up from its stand that is close to said bed. There’s an amp sitting right next to the stand that's plugged into the wall. Fingers fiddle with it for a bit and it buzzes to life. “For the last few weeks I’ve been practicing a song that I wanted to sing for you for Valentines Day.” Fleetway never looks up from his guitar as he tunes it. His cheeks warming with a blush. “Hope I don’t sound too bad…” He mumbles to himself before strumming his pick against the strings of the guitar.
The types of songs that X is used to Fleetway playing are usually something hard, heavy, and loud. He liked to be loud and proud, much to the dismay of, well, everyone else. But what he is playing this time feles more heartfelt instead of rebel rousing. …wait. He recognized these lyrics! His heart skips a beat and he clutches his chest. This was a song from his favorite band! Fleetway had been practicing a love song from his favorite band for weeks for Valentines Day!! His heart goes from skipping to soaring!~
I’m hanging on every word; to every word you say
And it’s taking me over; over and over
And then it starts over again
Is it You? Is it me?
Is it heaven and we’re meant to be
Is it here, is it now
That only we can feel somehow
Is it You? Is it me?
Is it everything we’ve meant to be
Is it here, is it now
That only we can feel somehow
Is it you… Oh… Is it you
The entire time Fleetway is playing he never once looks up from his busy fingers, eventually closing his eyes strumming the chords and singing from memory. He dared not look up over at X so he wouldn’t lose his nerve. He had to focus on playing or singing as to not make himself anxious and have it go into his voice or hands. When he's done with his performance he finally worked up the courage to look at X. “...so, uh, how was it?”
X avoids Fleetway’s stare looking over to the side, hugging one of his own arms to himself. There’s a fondness in his eyes and a giddy little smile on his lips. “I love it.~” X answers in a soft though blissful tone. He's on cloud nine!~
He is so fucking cute!! Hearing that makes Fleetway smile from ear to ear showing off all of his spiky teeth. In a moment of pure excitement he stands up scooping the taller male into his arms swinging him around laughing in utter happiness!~
At first X lets out a yell from being picked up so suddenly, but after the initial shock he finds the shorter’s glee infectious, finding himself laughing alongside him matching his toothy grin with his own. They spin around for a bit before Fleetway trips and they go careening onto his bed! Slowly yet surely their laughter dies down and they lay silently in the comfort of each other’s arms.
X looks down at Fleetway. “Is there any way I could get a recording of your cover? So I can listen to it whenever and wherever I want?” He feels the bed move from the other’s tail swaying at the idea.
“I could probably do that. I met a guy in my music class who can help me record a polished higher quality version.” X’s own tail wags with his in anticipation.
Suddenly, Fleetway rises up yanking a shocked X up with him. “Oh shit!”
“What?? What’s up??”
“We haven’t tried my gift and it’s been sitting out!” Exclaims the blonde quilled young man. “Let’s give it a try!”
X smacks his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Oh shit, you’re right! My bad!”
So the two untangle from each other rushing back into the tiny kitchen area. X grabs the tupperware container while Fleetway digs out a couple of spoons. The container with the sauce is thrown into a microwave to warm it up per the recipe’s suggestion. Once it’s ready, both take a seat with the dessert at a kitchen counter.
Despite despising the gaudy decor of the holiday and having all things love shoved constantly in his face, X finds himself in absolute bliss for this Valentines Day. His cheeks pinken. “Um, do you think we could do something next Valentines Day around?” He asks with a sheepish grin feeling embarrassed by such a silly suggestion…
The other snorts out a laugh. “What a gay thing to ask!” When he gets scowled at he waves his hands around apologetically. “I mean, uh, sounds GAY… I’m in!” He smiles coolly upon trying to save face.
At first X thought Fleetway was rejecting his suggestion, which has him frowning in disappointment, but now he's chuckling at his stupid meaning of a yes. He rolls his eyes with a smirk. Only gay for you. The blue hedgehog thinks to himself.
“HOLY SHIT!!” The booming voice of his affection snaps him back to reality. “THIS IS FUCKING AMAZING!!" Apparently the shorter of the two had already drenched the pudding in way more than enough butterscotch sauce having gotten his first spoonful. Joy gleams in his red eyes. “Like, I know you weren’t able to bake the actual thing, but whatever else you did to it probably helped it turn out so good!” Another big spoonful was scooped up and going into his mouth.
His praise has X grinning the proudest most triumphant smile. That little blue tail of his wagging a mile away. Chef Rose’s classes were definitely paying off~
As Fleetway happily chows down on his gift (X getting at least a small bit to try, which is as good as is praised), X finds himself humming his own. Fleetway joins in with him in-between bites. They’re not sure who reached over first, but at some point between the eating and humming, their fingers found each other intertwining. Their hands fitting in perfectly with one another as if they were meant for each other.