CHAPTER 7
720 Words
The house was... unusually quiet.
Too quiet.
As Wade stepped inside after his morning shift at the bakery, he frowned.
"Theo?"
No answer.
"Theo?"
Still nothing.
Then—
BANG!
CLANG!
"Ow!"
Wade sighed.
"...Please don't tell me the house is on fire."
He hurried toward the kitchen.
The moment he stepped inside...
He froze.
Flour covered the table.
Eggshells littered the floor.
A pot was boiling over.
Smoke lazily drifted toward the ceiling.
And standing in the middle of the battlefield was Theo...
Covered in flour from head to toe.
Wade stared.
Theo stared back.
Silence.
Then Wade asked, in a voice that was dangerously close to laughter,
"...Are you cooking?"
Theo cleared his throat and tried to stand a little straighter.
"I..."
"I wanted to do something nice for you."
For a second...
Wade actually felt his heart skip.
Then he looked around the kitchen again.
The burnt pan.
The smoking pot.
The flour on Theo's face.
A grin slowly spread across his lips.
"...And yet..."
He looked Theo straight in the eyes.
"...you cooked."
Theo's eye twitched.
"I knew you were going to say that."
"I tried not to."
"You failed."
"I failed spectacularly."
---
Theo folded his arms.
"I followed the recipe."
Wade picked up the recipe book.
"...It's upside down."
"..."
"..."
Theo blinked.
"...That explains a lot."
Wade couldn't hold it anymore.
He laughed so hard he had to lean against the counter.
Theo grabbed a dish towel and threw it at him.
"Stop laughing!"
"I can't!"
"It's not funny!"
"It absolutely is!"
---
"I'm never cooking again."
"You said that after making coffee."
"That coffee was good."
"It melted my spoon."
"It was... concentrated."
"It was lava."
---
Theo sighed dramatically.
"I wanted to thank you."
Wade stopped laughing.
"...For what?"
Theo looked away.
"For taking care of me."
The kitchen suddenly became quiet.
"You've been feeding me..."
"Giving me a place to stay..."
"Teaching me the language."
"...Even if half the words are lies."
Wade chuckled softly.
"I just thought..."
"...maybe I could make you lunch."
For the first time that day...
Wade didn't tease him.
Instead, he smiled.
"You already did something nice."
"I did?"
"You tried."
Theo looked unconvinced.
"The kitchen disagrees."
"...The kitchen can recover."
---
"Move."
"Hm?"
"I'll teach you."
Theo blinked.
"You cook?"
"I'm the one who keeps you alive."
"Fair point."
Wade washed his hands before standing beside Theo.
"First..."
"Hold the knife properly."
Theo reached for it.
"No."
"Like this."
Wade stepped behind him and gently adjusted Theo's grip.
His hand rested over Theo's.
His chest brushed lightly against Theo's back.
Everything suddenly became...
Very quiet.
Theo forgot about the knife.
Wade forgot what he was about to say.
They were close enough to hear each other's breathing.
Theo slowly turned his head.
Their faces were only inches apart.
Blue eyes met dark brown ones.
For a brief moment...
Neither of them moved.
Neither of them spoke.
The world outside seemed to disappear.
"..."
"..."
Then—
SIZZLE!
The pan began smoking again.
"Oh no!"
Theo jumped back.
"The food!"
Wade immediately grabbed the pan.
"Turn off the stove!"
"I'm trying!"
"You're turning the wrong knob!"
"This one?"
"That's the faucet!"
Water sprayed across the kitchen.
Theo yelped.
Wade got splashed in the face.
They both stood there...
Completely soaked.
Silence.
Theo looked at Wade.
"...Did I make it worse?"
Wade slowly wiped the water from his face.
"...Impressively."
Theo burst into laughter.
Soon Wade was laughing too.
The disaster meal never made it to the table.
Instead...
The two of them shared instant noodles while sitting on the porch.
Theo looked at the bowl in his hands.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I couldn't even cook one meal."
Wade nudged his shoulder.
"You'll learn."
"You really think so?"
"I survived your coffee."
"I did improve."
"Barely."
Theo elbowed him.
"You're impossible."
"And yet..."
Wade smiled.
"...you still wanted to cook for me."
Theo looked away to hide the small smile creeping onto his face.
"...Don't get used to it."
Wade laughed.
"I'll take my chances."
Neither of them noticed the old doctor passing by the house.
He smiled to himself.
Those two were still convinced they were just housemates.
Everyone else in the village...
Already knew they were becoming something much deeper.
End of Chapter 7
- Writer
