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Although a humble person by nature, Chacha really couldn't see what was so difficult about preparing a home cooked meal. All one really had to do was season some meat and vegetables, cook them, then serve them at the table.

It wasn't rocket science.

Yet, everytime he the television, be it at home in Japan or at a hotel in a different country, he couldn't flip through the channels without coming across at least one cooking show. There was no reprieve at bookstores, either, where entire sections of the store would be stocked with the latest books from the most popular kitchen gurus.

Then, there were the hundreds- no, thousands of people who would always justify their constant consumption of ready-meals and fast food with the excuse of not having time to cook. Sure, Chacha himself didn't have a whole lot of time on his hands, but he didn't see why he couldn't prepare a dish or two and bring the meal to share with the band...

If they'd be more willing to eat it.

Oh well, Chacha thought, putting aside the novel he had been reading, with determination. He knew that his long time lover would have more faith in his cooking and would eat whatever he cooked.

Besides, how bad could it be, anyways? As long as he took care not to overcook or undercook anything, there was really no reason why he couldn't serve a decent meal that evening, for when his lover returned home from the studio.

Chacha hummed in thought, for a moment, as he tried to determine a starting point.

"Hair," he thought, running his slender fingers through his long, silky hair.

He ought to tie it back. After all, neither he nor his lover would much appreciate finding the odd piece of his hair tangled in the food.

Chacha took an apron with him to the bathroom, where he was to retrieve a hair tie. He wanted to see himself in full attire, ready to cook.

And, when he did a once over of himself in the mirror, he quite liked what he saw; most importantly, he was quite sure that Gackt would, too.

"Come on, Lucy, we're going to make supper for Daddy," Chacha said to the couple's dog, as she pranced after him to the kitchen.

-----

Chacha admittedly didn't have much of a plan for dinner. He didn't really know what he was aiming to cook, nor was he to follow any recipes, but he knew that their large kitchen had plenty of raw ingredients with which to work and he was confident that his creativity had more than enough space to take flight.

After a few minutes of rooting through the refrigerator, Chacha came up with the idea to make curried pork, for Gackt loved anything curried and there was a pacakge of carefully sliced pork in the fridge, fresh from the butcher's.

"This should be easy enough," Chacha smiled to himself, as he assembled the ingredients, found the required spices and got out a few pots and pans.

As he sliced the selection of vegetables that he had just washed, he thought ahead to the romantic evening that he would be able to spend with his lover. It wasn't often that he had a day off, and it was even more rare that Gackt would be able to come home early from work. But Chacha had had the whole day to spend at home with their dog and Gackt was going to be able to come home from the studio at six o'clock.

More than anything, Chacha wanted to spend some quality, one-on-one time with Gackt and the older man wanted his lover to relax, too. Gackt always pushed himself so hard with his work and Chacha worried about him, not just from a career stand point, but as his lover.

It was with the intent to help his partner relax and forget about work for even just a few hours, that Chacha wanted to cook not just with wholesome, home-procured ingredients, but also with love. It didn't matter that he was nearly fourteen years older than Gackt; Gackt could still make him giggle and blush like a school girl, even after over a decade of living together like a married couple. Chacha had heard it said that one should never work with their spouse. Confict would undoubtedly arise as work and ambition clashed with romance and partnership.

But he had never run into this problem with Gackt.

Their love for each other was unconditional and they were a team. Chacha wanted to spend every moment of every day with his lover, living out their dreams. And he felt so fortunate, indeed, to be able to have such an opportunity.

He had always feared being "too old" for Gackt. Gackt had always found Chacha to be extremely pretty, but Chacha was already in his fifties, and he knew he wasn't going to be pretty forever, even though his beauty didn't seem to be receding anytime soon.

"In less than eight years, I'm going to be...sixty," Chacha had hissed one evening when they were getting ready for bed, as though he was telling Gackt something disgustingly inappropriate, while poking at his skin and slathering lotion all over his face.

"So?" Gackt smiled, watching his lover from their bed.

He was fully aware of how self-conscious his lover felt about aging and he knew very well that, although the older man hadn't really said much on the subject, he was afraid that Gackt was going to stop loving him and find someone younger. Gackt just wanted his lover to realize that he was all he ever needed and that he had never felt so strongly about anyone, ever.

"...I'm so old..." Chacha had continued, so absorbed in his critical appraisal of his own reflection that he hadn't even noticed Gackt push aside the duvet covers of their bed and walk over to him.

Chacha jumped a little, when very strong arms slipped around his delicate waist, but he was quick to relax in his lover's embrace. Gently, Gackt had taken his hand and eased the lotion-drenched cotton puff that Chacha had been using and set it on the vanity table, before kissing him, sweetly.

"Yukihiro, you're gorgeous," Gackt had reassured, meaning every word.

To him, Chacha really would never be anything but beautiful, especially with his silky, slightly curled locks tied up in a loose ponytail and his slim, willowy body covered in nothing but a pretty satin robe, as was his nightly attire.

"I would never, ever stop loving you or get sick of you or leave you...or anything else that you're afraid of," he smiled, tenderly, dispelling all of Chacha's fears.

Gackt had sealed his promise with a loving kiss; his were the best kisses that Chacha had ever received in his life.

Never had Chacha felt anything but loved and cherished when he was with Gackt and he wanted to show the younger man just how much he meant to him with the tender, home-making mother's gesture of cooking.

Gackt had always told him that he would be the best "mommy" (and a very pretty one, at that), had they ever been able to have children, and the thought made Chacha smile and blush as he readied the pork for marination in curry.

But Chacha was in some way a mother- to his and Gackt's puppy, at least, for the animal seemed always to be trying to get his attention and getting into trouble.

"Lucy, that's Daddy's slipper...!" Chacha put down the jar of curry paste that he had been just about to use, when he noticed the small animal happily chewing on Gackt's indoor shoes.

Just as Chacha was about to try and pry the shoe from the puppy's jaws, however, she leapt up and sprinted away, with the slipper still in , clearly under the impression that Chacha wanted to play with her.

"Wait! Lucy, I'm trying to cook, I can't play with you now..." Chacha sighed, as though the animal might understand him and decide to spare him the time-consuming task of chasing her around the house.

Chacha sighed again, before taking up the chase and inwardly cursing the fact that his and Gackt's house ( or rather, mansion), was so big.

It took him nearly a half an hour, but finally, Chacha tracked down the small dog and managed to get the slipper from her, with the help of a few dog treats as a bribe. He returned his lover's slipper to their bedroom and closed the door to make sure that his pet wouldn't be able to get in again, then picked her up and carried her back into the kitchen with him.

"Where was I?" Chacha asked himself, aloud, having been thouroughly distracted from his meal preparations.

He smiled as he remembered that he had been just about to season the pork.

After setting aside a few slices of plain, unseasoned meat for Lucy's supper (she was, after all, almost the couple's child), he picked up the jar of paste again, then poured out a generous amount with a spoon.

He had begun humming to himself, finding that he actually quite enjoyed cooking.

It was only when he began spreading the paste evenly over the meat, however, that Chacha noticed something a bit...off about the curry.

"Why is it green?" He asked himself, picking up the jar to check the expiry date of the paste and what kind it was.

Gackt had always loved Thai food, so maybe he had bought green curry paste, instead?

But, to Chacha's horror, the label on the jar revealed that fact that he had just slathered spicy, prickly hot wasabi paste all over the meat.

"Oh no...what have I done...?" Chacha quickly closed the offending jar, then noticed the jar of curry sitting innocently right beside the wasabi paste.

Why had he even taken the wasabi out of the fridge in the first place?

After a few blank seconds of consideration, Chacha came to the realization that there was really only one solution to the problem at hand.

With the help of a few sheets of paper towel, he wiped off as much of the wasabi sauce as he possible could then, feeling rather silly, filled a glass bowl with water and slipped the meat in to soak, with the hopes of being able to "wash" the meat. 

"Maybe he won't notice..." Chacha shared his hope with Lucy, as she happily wagged her tail.

Gackt had eaten an entire handful of wasabi paste for the purposes of filming, once, but it wasn't as though he had actually enjoyed eating it. Still, Chacha remained hopeful. Maybe, any lingering wasabi paste would actually accentuate the curry or maybe it wouldn't be noticeable at all...

It could have been worse, Chacha reasoned, as he pressed forward. Wasabi sauce actually went quite well with pork, albeit in a much more moderate quantity, and at least he had realized his mistake before actually cooking the meat.

As he gave the meat time to soak, he went about washing and preparing some rice, then getting the vegetables ready to be marinated. (This time, he made sure that neither the wasabi paste nor any stray slippers were in sight, in order to avoid another mistake or distraction.)

Fortunately, he was able to rectify his mistakes- the wasabi paste hadn't really washed off very well, but after taking another paper towel to the meat, Chacha had managed to get most of it off and he successfully curried both the meat and the vegetables.

It was with the idea of experimenting that Chacha decided upon using the oven to cook the meat. Rarely had the oven in his and Gackt's home been used- when they did cook at home, they usually used the compact counter-top grill, a pot or a pan and neither of them had ever tried to bake.

Although, Chacha daringly entertained the thought, maybe he would try to bake more often if this meal went well...

With a few hours before the meat would be cooked, Chacha advanced by another chapter in his book, played with Lucy and cleaned his and Gackt's bedroom (not that perfectionist Gackt had left much in their room to clean, anyways).

He was just about to check on the meat, when a phone call from Gackt side tracked him and he found himself talking to his lover for quite a bit longer than either had intended.

Gackt had called, wondering if Chacha wanted him to pick up anything for supper, for he was nearly home and with that simple question, they had launched into a thirty minute conversation. Gackt had had a chauffeur drive him home and not having to focus on the road meant that he could focus on his lover.

It was just as Gackt was trying to pry for more information about what Chacha had cooked, that he remembered the meat still in the oven.

"I have to go!" Chacha exclaimed, already hurrying to the kitchen, phone still in hand. "I totally forgot about the food...!"

With that, he hung up, leaving a very entertained Gackt even more excited to get home to his lover.

Much to Chacha's surprise, neither the meat nor the vegetables were burnt...but they were indeed very well cooked. The bottom of the pork slices were especially crisped and some of the vegetables were a little scorched but all in all, the meal was still edible.

"Sorry, I almost burnt yours, too," Chacha informed Lucy, who was still nonetheless eager to eat the same food as her masters.

"Ugh...it probably doesn't taste very good..." Chacha observed, as he tried to give the now fibrous meat, browned vegetables and unfortunately also over cooked rice the most appetizing presentation possible.

It was a good thing, he thought, that he and Gackt didn't have children; he couldn't imagine how anyone could possibly grow up healthily by eating meal after meal of over cooked food...

Chacha's own mother had always cooked perfectly and his older brother could have had his own cooking show if he had ever set his mind on it. It appeared that this talent had completely skipped over him.

Maybe, Chacha thought, miserably trying to turn over a piece of meat on the plate so that the burnt side wouldn't show as much, cooking was harder than he had thought.

So absorbed was he in his thoughts and in the destitute condition of the meal before him, that he didn't even realize his lover's return home, until Lucy started barking joyfully at her "father".

"How was your day off, baby?" Gackt smiled, hugging his equally happy lover.

"I needed it," Chacha closed his eyes, focused on Gackt's warm hands on his slender waist and inhaled his lover's cologne, as was his best method of relaxation.

The couple shared a few long-awaited kisses, then Gackt noticed the meal that Chacha had attempted to ready.

"It probably didn't turn out very well," Chacha said, wringing his hands a little.

Gackt chuckled, then wrapped an arm around his lover's waist.

"I'm sure it's not as bad as you think," he reassured, ever confident in his lover's untapped cooking.

With more courage than even Chacha had, Gackt confidently picked up a pair of chopsticks and tasted a generous amount of his lover's cooking.

He looked thoughtful as he chewed and Chacha looked nervous.

"...Well?" Chacha asked, hesitantly.

"...It's really spicy," Gackt said, after a moment. "What kind of curry did you use?"

With a slight blush tinting his cheeks, Chacha explained the little problem he had encountered with the curry and Gackt couldn't help but to laugh and kiss his lover.

"Aw, it's not that bad," he smiled. "It's actually pretty good. Try some," Gackt encouraged, holding out his chopsticks to his lover.

To Chacha's surprise, it really wasn't nearly as bad as he thought although, as Gackt had reviewed, it was quite a bit more spicy than the average curry.

It was with several glasses of iced green tea that the two managed to enjoy the meal and there was no complaint from their dog, either.

-----

"You should cook more often," Gackt said, later that evening, as he played with his lover's carefully kept hair while they flipped through television channels, in bed. "And you should wear that apron," he added, kissing his lover's slightly exposed shoulder.

Chacha smiled, leaning against the younger man's chest as he cradled their dog in his arms.

"Maybe I will...and next time, I should bring something for the band. But the apron's only for you," he said, turning around to kiss his lover.

Thanks for reading! :)

x Angela