Feeling bored and missing Hunter like crazy, Aiden hugged the pillow to his chest. His brain, as always, refused to stay quiet when he had nothing to do.
"What do boyfriends even do after they start dating?" he wondered dramatically.
Suddenly an idea popped into his chaotic little head.
He remembered that online group he entered a few days ago. Those crazy people who had welcomed him last time when he had no clue about anything.
Grinning to himself, he opened the app and clicked into the chatroom.
The moment he entered, the chat exploded.
YesQueen: IT'S THE NEW GAY!
TeaSpiller: OMG OMG OMG THE CHILD RETURNS.
BobaBoy: Baby boy's backkkk, where have you been, you precious creature??
GayGoth: It's about time you show up.
Aiden laughed, feeling oddly excited to talk to them.
He quickly typed.
Aiden (KittyLover) : Guys...um, remember the person I was talking about last time? The one I liked? We're dating now!
TeaSpiller: OH MY GOD OH MY GOD—SOMEONE BRING THE CHAMPAGNE.
BobaBoy: I'm actually crying real tears. This is what hope looks like.
GayGoth: You mean to tell me...love is real?
YasQueen: STRUTS IN HEELS TOLD Y'ALL IT WAS GONNA HAPPEN.
Aiden grinned like a kid, his cheeks hurting from smiling so much. He typed shyly:
KittyLover : But...uh...what do we do now? Like...what do boyfriends even do?? I wanna do something for him. He always cooks for me and takes care of me…"
He waited, expecting sweet suggestions like write him a letter or buy him a cute keychain.
Instead...
TeaSpiller: OH HO HO. You've come to the right place, my sweet innocent flower.
SassySnob: Wait. WAIT. TeaSpiller, no.
BobaBoy: Hide your innocence KittyLover.
GayGoth: This is gonna be so good. Lemme grab some grabs popcorn
TeaSpiller: First order of business. LISTEN: Ask him to ride him till he begs. Suck him slow, spit, then repeat. Sit on his face and don't let him breathe. Tie him up and tease his tip. Bend over and tell him, "Now." Tell him to choke you while he fuck you hard, drag you by the hair to the bed, spit in your mouth while he's deep inside you, flip you over however he wants…
SassySnob removed TeaSpiller.
Aiden blinked at the screen in horror, his face already turned bright red.
He covered his burning face with the pillow. Still, deep inside, he secretly tucked away a few suggestions for...future emergencies.
Just in case, right?
He quickly exited the group and made his way to the kitchen thinking about cooking for Hunter like he always does for him.
He stood proudly in the kitchen, sleeves rolled up, an apron he found buried somewhere tied around his waist— backward, but he didn't care.
Today, he would cook for Hunter. Today, he will prove himself that Hunter could rely on him too!
He stared down at the recipe on his phone with an intense focus like he was about to perform surgery.
"Okay, step one...easy. Mix the stuff." He threw the ingredients into a bowl with the elegance of a cat falling into a bathtub. Flour puffed up in a white cloud, covering his hands, his face, and somehow even the wall behind him. But he kept going. Determination burned in Aiden's chest.
He grabbed a spoon and stirred and stirred and stirred. And kept stirring until the mixture resembled something between glue and cement.
"Looks about right," Aiden nodded proudly to himself.
Next step: heat it up.
He poured the unholy mixture into a pan, set the stove to the highest setting because duh, it'll cook faster, right? and waited.
Nothing happened. He poked it but still nothing. Impatient, Aiden cranked the heat even higher and threw in random things he remembered Hunter using while cooking. A pinch of something here. A splash of oil there. Maybe some sugar? Why not? He was practically a chef now.
But suddenly it started to sizzle and make popping sounds.
"Huh?" Aiden blinked at the bubbling mixture.
Which swelled and then started making noises that no food should ever make.
Before Aiden could react, it exploded with a loud BANG, sending a cloud of black smoke shooting straight into the air.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Aiden shrieked like a little kid seeing a spider. He dropped the spatula, jumped three feet back, slipped on the flour-dusted floor, and landed on his butt with a loud thud.
The fire alarm shrieked right along with him.
The smoke filled the kitchen, pouring out into the living room. Aiden scrambled up, coughing, fanning the smoke with his arms like a wild man. He grabbed a random towel and started swinging it around, if anyone saw him, they'd think he was trying to summon a demon.
Still coughing, he stumbled to the couch, wrapped himself in a blanket like a sad burrito, and sat there with black smudges all over his face.
What went wrong?
He just wanted to make something nice. Why did it feel like he was just...not meant to touch kitchen appliances?
The last thing he wanted was for Hunter to find out he couldn't even make a simple meal. He was so determined to impress him, but now...now he was in big trouble.
◾◾◾
Hunter rushed in hurry, sweat glistening on his forehead while his face was pale with worry. He saw an officer holding his clipboard.
"What happened? Where's Aiden?! Is he alright?!" Hunter's voice broke as he let out between heavy breaths.
The officer looked at him with a raised brow before gesturing toward Aiden.
"Your...friend? He was attempting to cook and, well...he triggered the fire alarm. We had to call the fire department to check everything. It's all fine now, though."
Hunter turned to look at Aiden, and his heart nearly stopped. Aiden was sitting in the middle of the living room, wrapped in a blanket, but it wasn't the blanket that made Hunter's stomach drop. It was the smoke-covered, soot-blackened face staring back at him. The poor kid had absolutely failed, and it was written all over him. Aiden looked like he had been through a war zone.
Aiden's eyes flickered up at Hunter, the tears just beginning to well up. His heart thudded in his chest. He was so embarrassed.
Hunter's chest tightened brutally. His concern overpowered everything and all the worry he'd felt on the way evaporated into the need to just hold Aiden. He rushed over to him without wasting any time and engulfed the scared boy in his arms tightly, pulling him into a warm comforting embrace.
"Are you okay?" He ran his hands through Aiden's hair, gently pulling him closer, as if to reassure himself that Aiden was truly alright. "You scared the hell out of me, you little idiot."
Aiden sniffled, holding onto Hunter as though he were the only thing keeping him from falling apart. He buried his face into Hunter's chest. He felt so bad for messing up. This was supposed to be his way of showing Hunter how much he appreciated everything he did for him. But now, he has made a huge mess instead.
"I-I'm sorry…don't be mad at me.." He sobbed.
Hunter's heart hurt at the sight of Aiden's fragile state, feeling a tight knot of guilt in his stomach. But he couldn't just let Aiden suffer like this.
"Hey, it's okay, I'm not mad at you," Hunter spoke out tenderly, stroking Aiden's back gently in order to calm him down. He pulled back slightly to look at Aiden's face, his thumb brushing away a stray tear that had escaped down Aiden's cheek. "I left food for you. You didn't have to try and cook. Why didn't you just eat what I made?"
Aiden's eyes, which were full of regret, met Hunter's. His face was still covered in soot and dirt from the smoke, but it didn't stop him from looking heartbroken. He felt so stupid. He couldn't even make a simple meal for his boyfriend, the one person who always took care of him.
Aiden's lip wobbled as he slapped Hunter's chest. "I just wanted to do something for you...I wanted to be good for you. So, I t-tried cooking for you…"
Hunter's eyes softened at those words. He shouldn't feel happy at a moment like this. He cupped Aiden's face in his hands, the frustration slowly melting away. He can never stay mad at this precious boy.
Hunter pulled Aiden tighter into his arms. "You little dumbass…"
Aiden hiccupped, sniffling into Hunter's shirt, while Hunter kissed the top of his smoke-dirty hair over and over.
And as Hunter held his chaotic little disaster of a boyfriend close, he realized he couldn't let Aiden enter the kitchen ever.
With Aiden, every day was an adventure, an unpredictable storm wrapped in a sweet, ridiculous body. Hunter was still shaking when he remembered Aiden's mother's panicked call earlier where she told him to go and quickly check on Aiden.
Hunter didn't even think twice. He dropped everything and ran as if his life depended on it.
Only for this idiot. Only for this sweet little devil who didn't even know how to boil water properly yet still tried to cook for him.
In the evening, Hunter the cleaners to undo the disaster Aiden created.
Meanwhile, Aiden was still shaken up. Hunter's heart clenched painfully when he looked at Aiden still curled up miserably on the couch, wrapped in the blanket.
Hunter sighed heavily and walked straight past the cleaners without a care. He reached the couch and knelt, gently pulling the blanket down from Aiden's head. Big, watery eyes stared up at him, full of guilt and sadness.
Without hesitating, he scooped Aiden up and sat down, pulling him onto his lap. He cradled Aiden's small and warm body against his chest, one hand rubbing soothing circles on Aiden's back while the other gently cupped his soot-streaked cheek.
"You don't ever have to do anything for me," Hunter whispered against his hair. "Just...being okay and safe is enough for me. That's all I ever want."
"But...I wanted to do something for you..." Aiden mumbled brokenly. "You always cook for me and take care of me and I—I wanted to...to do something too..."
Hunter pulled back slightly, brushing Aiden's hair out of his eyes. His thumb ran carefully over Aiden's lower lip. He smiled, soft and full of adoration.
"You already do so much for me, Aiden." Hunter leaned in and nuzzled their foreheads together. "You make me laugh. You make me crazy most of the times. You make me want things I never even thought I could have."
Aiden blinked up at him, tears caught on his lashes. Hunter chuckled, the sound rumbling through his chest.
"I love your stupid little face." He kissed Aiden's forehead tenderly. "And your stupid little hands that almost burned down the home." Another kiss, this time to the tip of Aiden's nose. "And your big stupid heart that just wants to make me happy."
Aiden finally gave a tiny, watery giggle and sniffled. Hunter grinned, tipping Aiden's chin up between his fingers.
"Never scare me like that again, though," Hunter whispered in a more serious voice. His thumb dragged slowly over Aiden's jaw, tracing it lazily. "I don't think my heart can take it."