Work Text:
Zuko wipes his sweat away with his forearm. His brow furrowed in deep concentration as he stirred the milk and eggs together vigorously in a bowl to ensure it blended smoothly, and nicely before dumping a cup of sugar into the bowl.
I really hope Aang would like this, he thought blithely as he continued to whisk three ingredients together at a rapid pace. I hope I'm even doing this right.
Soon afterwards, he slowly poured his well-mixed liquid on top of his homemade puff pastry crust. And to top it all off, he sprinkled a reasonable amount of nutmeg powder on the tarts.
The tart looks almost complete.
Now, all he needs to do is to put it in a wood-fired oven and wait patiently until the puff pastry crust should be crisp and brown with the custard slightly baked, at least according to the recipe book he picked up and tried to replicate the following steps.
This better not be a failure, Aang deserves his dessert after all. Zuko narrowed his gaze at the tart that's gonna be freshly baked in just at any moment right now, his foot tapping the floorboards anxiously.
The sun began to set, and they sat down next to the campfire to eat their dinner that Katara packed for them for their expedition. It consisted of spicy sticky rice balls, and some fire flakes. It's good enough for both of them.
After they finished their meals together, Aang sighed heavily, his shoulders slouching. Seemingly upset about something.
“Aang? What is it?” Zuko asked, his tone hinting with concern and worry.
“I just…,” Aang paused, his gray ever so gentle eyes gazing over at him. “I just really wish I had an egg custard tart sitting between my palms.”
Zuko blinked. And then he raised an eyebrow, unsure if what he was hearing was correct. “An egg custard tart?”
Aang nodded with a small smile. “It’s my favorite dessert,” he sighed again, hanging his head down. “I miss eating it.”
Zuko blinked several times, processing the information. “...How come I never knew this?”
Gentle gray eyes that still bore onto him now gleamed with curiosity. “Didn’t I mention it before?”
Zuko looked up to the sky, trying to reminisce about the years they've been together. However, the results he only got are blanks. “Not that I can't exactly recall,” he said as he folded his arms together. “I can't believe I've known you for about three years by now and you never told me this very important fact about you.”
Aang’s lips curled upwards. “Well, now that you know, maybe you can buy me one the next time we come across a dessert shop,” he chuckled softly.
Zuko made an amused noise, and soon smirked at the airbender. “Perhaps.”
As Aang airbent himself a gust of wind to land safely, the balls of his feet touched the floorboards before his insteps did.
As much as he dislikes Toph's nickname for him, it does somewhat make sense in a way.
You are pretty light with your feet, he recalled a memory of one of her many playful comments about him which reverberated a small laugh out of his chest.
Aang would then make his way to the kitchen. He didn't know why Zuko requested his summon—a kitchen out of all places they'll be seeing each other again after a long hard day's work. He figured he would get his answer sooner or later once he talked with him.
The Fire Prince stood by the kitchen’s sink with his brown and golden sleeves rolled up and rinsed the used bowls with running water. His long raven silky hair tied up into a high ponytail and his amber eyes swimming in preoccupation as soon as he begins to scrub off the contents of the bowl with a sponge.
Aang smiled at the mere sight.
With a mischievous idea, he made his way to sneak behind Zuko's back quietly, taking advantage of his obliviousness of his presence and being distracted by doing the dishes in the sink.
With itchy and grabby hands, Aang tackled his boyfriend into a loving embrace. “Hello!”
Zuko momentarily yelped out in surprise as he jerked into Aang's embrace. He whipped his head over his collarbones frantically at first. Soon comes after relaxation once his amber eyes landed on Aang, his porcelain-like face boomed with the color of scarlet red as his mouth gaped slightly.
“Aang? Aang!” he bursts into a pleasant laughter, swelling and warming Aang's heart with affection for him. The Fire Prince would then twist and turn his body around, facing him and reciprocates the embrace back.
His laughter is so contagious. Aang couldn't help but to join into the laughter as well as pulling his boyfriend into a tighter clinch. “Yup! It's me!”
“You're just right in time,” Zuko said, slightly drawing himself away from him but still clutching onto him. “I can't wait for what I'm about to show you.”
Aang raised a brow up, his head slightly tilted to the left with intrigue. “Show me what?”
Zuko's hand found Aang's and politely guides him to seat down on the chair that was next to a table, and Aang simply follows him along with whatever he has gotten for him. “Wait here,” he said with a hint of excitement in his voice.
“Okay?” Aang giggled in amusement, setting himself comfortably by placing both of his hands down on top of the table.
He studied his boyfriend closely as he goes ahead of him and went to the kitchen counters.
In all honesty, Aang couldn't wait what Zuko had for him. Seeing him so thrilled over something is one of the many things that Aang knows deep down that he'll be really glad that he managed to take a day off to spent time with him, bonding over whatever they might discuss about throughout the entire evening.
In a moment or so, Zuko approaches to Aang again with both of his hands behind his back. Intently hiding the surprise for Aang. He really wanted to take a peek at it.
“Do you remember the first night we spent together in Sun's Warrior ancient city?” Zuko asked, his amber eyes glimmering with remembrance of their trip.
Aang blinked, now wondering where's this conversation heading to. “Yes,” he replied, trying not to sound too suspicious, straightening his posture as he sat up. “What about it?”
Thankfully, Zuko only gave him a small smile. “We talked about a lot things,” he said before grimace suddenly washed over his expression, wrinkling his nose. “And—uhm—most of them are maybe unpleasant because of me. I apologized,” he cringed his shoulders momentarily. “But that's not what we're here for.”
Aang frowns at the self-incrimination comment, and before he could reassure him that it wasn't his fault at all, Zuko continues on with his speech. “One of those topics we discussed are about dessert, you mentioned it once from what I can hearken back to that your favorite dessert is an egg custard tart right?”
He stared at the Fire Prince with both of his brows lifted up, albeit taken back as his heart skipped a beat. “You bought it? Actually?”
Zuko shook his head with a lighthearted smirk, startling Aang further. “Even better,” he chortled softly as he finally presents Aang his long-awaited dessert. An egg custard tart sitting between his boyfriend's palms. “I baked it for you instead.”
Aang presses his hand against his mouth in both exuberance and disbelief, blinking back his joyful tears. Shortly, the hand that clasped on his mouth lowered down to clench his hands together in gratitude. “Zuko, really?” he said, awfully emotional than intended.
Zuko nodded with glee as he puts down the egg custard on top of the table and slides it over to Aang. “I'll grab the utensils for you, I'll be ba—”
He was interrupted when Aang jumped out of his seat to dart over and hugged him tightly once more.
“Oh, Zuko!” he exclaimed with threatening tears in his eyes, leaning his forehead into the curve of the firebender's collarbone and grinning widely. “You're so good to me, I love you so much. You know that right? Tell me you know that!”
Zuko chuckled afresh, and requites the hug back as he wraps his hands around Aang's neck gently. “I know, I know.”
When Aang pulled away to gaze into those kind amber eyes, Zuko traces his hand down against his visage deliberately intimate, cupping it even. “I love you too,” he said without missing a beat. “More than you could've ever know.”
Tears bubbled up in Aang's eyes, and he couldn't help himself but leaned in and kissed him with all of his heart open.
As always, no matter what he does, Zuko melts and return into his love and affection that was held out for him. Only just for him.
The Fire Prince smiled against his lips before parting away from the kiss. “Come on Aang, you need to eat what I baked for you,” he said with an indication of eagerness to his tone. “I want your opinion about it.”
Aang nodded enthusiastically and dash over to his chair to sit down once again.
Zuko left and comes back quickly with a fork and knife in hand and gives them to Aang first before seating himself next to him, their shoulders bumping and touching each other's closely
Aang found his boyfriend's chivalry just so sweet, it flutters his heart immensely as he received the fork and knife that's been handed to him.
As he holds the fork with his left hand and held the knife with his right hand, he begins carefully slicing himself down a small wedge from the egg custard tart. And pin down the point of his fork in his tart, ensuring that it won't fall.
No longer wanting to wait any longer, Aang takes a bite of it.
As the food that he's about to digest rolls and melts onto his tongue, somehow and some way, Zuko's version of his favorite dessert is as delicious than what he had expected.
It's buttery, its flaky, it's warm and just so custardy. And between the sweetness and creaminess of this small bite of an egg custard tart—perfection.
Aang flutters his eyes shut, and chows down another bite again and again until his mouth is stuffed. He wants to savor the taste of it in a lasting long period of time, it's such a comforting taste.
It reminds him of home the most.
“Woah! Aang, slow down there!” Zuko said, snapping Aang out of his mindless gourmandization. “Was it really that good?”
He was almost laughing at Aang with the way his breathing was starting to sound funny, his smile adorably crooked.
Aang swallows down the contents that remains in his mouth while simultaneously trying not to choke himself to death before he talks. “Yes! Yes! It's quite flavorful,” he sighs out of deep satisfaction. “So good….”
Zuko continues to smile at him ever so adorably, his cheeks turning handsomely rosy red from such simple compliments. “I'm glad you like it, I was a bit worried that you wouldn't honestly.”
Aang blinked at him, raising a brow up in confusion. “What makes you think of that?”
“It was because...” Zuko stammers out nervously, his hand traveling upwards to rub the back of his neck. “I didn't taste test the egg custard tart beforehand, I just hope for the best that it tastes at least okay for you,” his amber eyes bores into Aang's with a conscience-stricken expression. “…Which is really dumb on my part the most because I was supposed to ensure that it tastes delicious, and prevent errors on my behalf because there would be a possibility of you hating every ounce of it due to how I'm supposed to—”
Aang interrupts Zuko's babble by plopping a tiny piece of an egg custard tart into his mouth just when he was talking earlier. “It is really delicious,” he reassures him softly with a small smile. “But what do you think about it?”
Initially, Zuko's blush deepened while processing what happened prior. But as soon as he starts to munch and taste his own baking the redness of shame was beginning to fade away.
“…It's—” The Fire Prince struggles to talk for a moment before absorption, his amber eyes widening every second in pleasant surprise at his own commissariat.
Aang grins at him lightheartedly. “It's good?”
Zuko nodded shyly, an affectionate smile slowly appearing on his face.
Aang chuckles at how his boyfriend can be so endearingly cute and handsome at the same time. “I'm happy that you think so too.”
He begins to slice down another piece of an egg custard tart, and playfully attempts to feed Zuko again with a beaming grin that plastered across his face.
Zuko's head pulls away from Aang, dodging the romantic gesture swiftly. “Aang—No, I'm alright, I don't want another.”
Despite the words he spew, he was giggling during the entire endeavor, his eyes seemingly brightening and lighter than formerly.
Aang couldn't help himself but to also giggle along with him as he still held up the fork with a piece of tart on top of it. “I don't want to eat this all alone, I wanna share it with you! Plus, you deserve it after all. You baked this for me in a single try!”
When Zuko still refuses, thinning his mouth into a line to avoid being fed, Aang inhales deeply.
“Please?” he said in a mock over-sentimental tone, anticipating that his boyfriend would give into it while batting his eyes prettily.
Zuko stared at him intently for a moment, his lips still thinned into a line.
After that, much to Aang's delight, Zuko takes a mouthful of his dessert—finally giving into his playful yet romantic pantomime.
Then the Fire Prince smiles at him again, ever so sweetly and gentle as always. The mere sight alone makes Aang's face feel heated often, and it makes him so happy to feel that way for him.
This day has been by far one of the best days Aang has ever spent, and he gets to spent it all by eating his longtime favorite comfort dessert of his that's baked by his beloved.
With a content sigh, he takes another piece of the tart for himself before offering to Zuko. It started with a tease before it eventually becomes one of their many official dates they have together.