A tall, well-built Japanese man stealthily peered into the sitting room, from the open kitchen. He was spying on his lover, a practice that had figured into his most frequent activities over the past few days.

With as much subtlety as he could manage, Gackt leaned over the kitchen counter, squinting, as he tried to catch a glimpse of the magazine that Jaewook had been engrossed in for over an hour. What could the magazine possibly contain that would have kept the younger man on the sofa, completely unmoving except for the occasional turn of a page, for such a long time?

If it had been a mystery novel or some sort of riveting tale of adventure, Gackt would have understood the other's fixation. But from what he could see, it was just a thin, albeit colorful, magazine, something that might have taken no more than ten minutes to flip through while waiting at the hairdresser's.  

Before an inquisitive Gackt could make any inquiries, however, Jaewook spontaneously sprung up from the sofa, laying the magazine, cover down, on the glass coffee table.

"I'm going to be late!" He exclaimed, having just remembered that he had a photo shoot to attend. Frantically, he glanced at his bright blue watch and rushed to the front door to get his shoes on.

Gackt raised a sculpted eyebrow. Normally, his boyfriend was punctual without exception, yet he had been so absorbed in the contents of the magazine that he'd lost track of time. He cast a suspicious glance at the bound, glossy pages lying innocently on the coffee table. 

"I'll probably be back at around seven," Jaewook estimated, as he finished speed-tying his shoes.

Tenderly, Gackt helped Jaewook with his leather jacket the way that a parent would have dressed their toddler in a coat.

Jaewook was able to find a moment of blissful calm as Gackt laid a gentle kiss on his cheek and tucked a strand of his shoulder-length black hair behind his ear. He hugged the older man before gathering some papers in his arms and turning to the door.

"Bye Gakkun," he smiled.

"See you sweetheart," Gackt smiled back.

As soon as he closed the door, Gackt made his way to the coffee table. He hummed in recognition as he realized that it was a travel magazine.

Curious as to which articles had captivated his partner, he leisurely leafed through the shiny pages.

He passed an itinerary for travel in Japan, a list of the most scenic attractions in South America and a regular reader's story about their memorable trip to Zambia, Australia and Singapore. Momentarily interested, he stopped to skim through an outline of a vineyard tour offered in Tuscany. Although he certainly wouldn't object to sampling fine wines, he doubted that the tour was something that would immediately have caught Jaewook's eye. He flipped further then finally came across the article that must have hypnotised his lover.

Jackpot.

"PLAN A ROMANTIC GETAWAY TO HAWAII!!" The page announced, against a bright blue background.

Gackt raised an eyebrow, an amused smirk on his face. Confirming his suspicion that this was the section of the magazine that Jaewook had been pouring over, was the slightly relaxed hold of the spine on the pages.

Gackt was aware that his boyfriend wanted to visit Hawaii. They had discussed it one night, during their regular in-bed conversation, the one time during the day that they were guaranteed some time alone, provided they were both home at the time. The docile, turquoise waters surrounding the islands, the array of brightly colored flora, exotic wildlife and warm climate fascinated Jaewook, as did the variety of activities and culture to explore.

As much as they both would have enjoyed such a vacation together, the idea seemed to be nothing more than a pipedream. Much to both their displeasure, there were often weeks when neither of them were even in the same country. Constantly busy schedules exhausted them to the point that even when they had time off, they were far too tired and saturated with airports and hotels to do anything but to stay home, lounging about aimlessly in bed. Even if they managed to take a holiday in Hawaii, both of their ever-growing international popularity would prevent them from having the "private getaway" that the magazine boasted.   

Gackt felt quite sad for his boyfriend. He certainly wouldn't get his dream vacation anytime in the near future. Briefly, Gackt fantasized about buying one of the Hawaiian islands. Even for him, however, that was quite an extravagant pursuit, and he was sure that even he wouldn't have enough money to purchase such a major tourist attraction.

Sulking in a moment of human limitation, Gackt sat on the sofa, magazine in hand, as he felt slightly irked at not being able to indulge his wonderful little boyfriend's travel fantasies.

With nothing else to do, he continued to examine the article about Hawaii and was suddenly seized with a of inspiration as he scanned a description of some popular regional dishes.  

In general, Gackt wasn't an outstanding chef, but, having certain perfectionist tendencies, he could present a meal worthy of an internationally celebrated five-star restaurant, if he wanted to. He glanced at the clock, delighted to see that there was still several hours before Jaewook was expected home. With approximately six and a half hours at his disposal, there was no doubt that he could bring a small piece of the unique group of islands to their downtown Seoul flat.

Leaping off of the sofa, Gackt sprinted to the bedroom and seized his laptop. He proceeded to research Hawaiian meals, seeking recipes that he could confidently prepare and was pleasantly surprised to find that quite a few dishes incorporated rice. That was something that he was positive that he could make.

Just as Jaewook had been engrossed in the travel magazine's article, Gackt quickly became absorbed in his research of possible foods to put on the dinner table that night. He was very interested variety of Hawaiian specialties, of which many held testimony to the cultural melting pot that was many regions of the islands. Several of the meals that he browsed were Japanese inspired, and he actually exclaimed aloud upon finding Korean kim chi and bibimbap listed as Hawaiian prepared foods.

After an approximate fifteen minute search, Gackt compiled a list of groceries that he would need for his ambitious creation. He had settled on lomilomi salmon, a relatively simple accompaniment involving tomatoes, onions and of course, salmon, baked mahi-mahi fish, a papaya salad, coconut milk jelly for dessert and, even though it was distinctly Korean, bibimbap, just in case his adventurous ideas went to pot. After all, as he justified, he wasn't really cheating- the bibimbap had figured onto the list of Hawaiian dishes.

Now on a race to finish everything before Jaewook returned home, Gackt drove to their mutually preferred supermarket. It was very small, not unlike a grocery shop in an older Chinatown, but what he and Jaewook liked about it was the complete anonymity with which they could make their purchases. The vast majority of the clientele and staff at the supermarket consisted of elderly men and women and as they were much less media-savvy than their younger counterparts, they failed to recognize the two celebrities. To Gackt and Jaewook, it was almost like the last safe place on earth; the only place that they knew of that they could truly feel integrated in general society.

As a precaution, Gackt parked his vehicle as close to the store as possible, in case he had to make a run for it, although that had yet to happen. He was glad to find that the small supermarket actually did have all the ingredients that he needed. To help set the mood, he purchased a potted hibiscus to set on the table, along with candles of the same scent. As he was making his way to the check-out counters, he passed the bath and body section was further inspired to expand his idea. As with nearly everything that he did in his life, Gackt intended to do a proper job, including the establishment of the right romantic atmosphere, as opposed to simply laying out some limp, pre-sliced pineapple on dollar plastic palm-tree place mats and taping up some postcards from the 90's on the walls. Jaewook was interested in a holiday shared between two lovers, not a nine-year-old's island themed birthday party, and Gackt would certainly rise to the occasion.

Upon returning home, Gackt headed to the kitchen, freshly printed recipes in hand, and set to work assembling the appliances that he would need.

He began with the maki-maki based dish, slicing the fish that he was used to seeing used in sashimi and covering the fillets with the appropriate seasonings. Next, he made the salmon side-dish, humming as he did so. He wasn't one to tear when cutting onions and he easily mixed the spicy purple vegetable in with the fish and tomatoes. The end result was an appealing, brightly colored salad that seemed worthy of an authentic luau. With a rather sheepish chuckle, he then prepared the bibimbap. At least the Korean specialty was one of Jaewook's favorites- that would probably compensate for the fact that it wasn't exactly Hawaiian. He finished the cold papaya salad and coconut jelly with exactly an hour to spare and he promptly used the extra time to set the table, light the candles and initiate the second part of his "bring Hawaii to Jaewook" plan.  

As a finishing touch, with Jaewook due home at any time, Gackt folded a few small pieces of lilac cardstock and wrote the names of each dish, as he had seen them online, folded them in front of their respective culinary piece and to top it all off, took out a bottle of wine. He figured he might as well incorporate elements of his own ideal vacation.

He had just brought out the crystal wine glasses and ed the top half of his white dress shirt (knowing that his lover enjoyed having a view of his bare torso), when the front door opened, signalling the return of his beloved.

"How was the photo shoot?" Gackt inquired, as he greeted his lover.

"Exhausting," the younger sighed, leaning appreciatively into Gackt's waiting arms and burying his face in the Japanese man's shoulder.

They shared three little kisses, glad for the relatively rare occasion to be at home together.

"Mmm...it smells really good," Jaewook smiled, taking note of the foreign blend of spices that evaded their home.

Gackt grinned, taking the Korean man's hand in his own as he led him to the dining room, subtlely bringing up the topic of travelling to Hawaii.

"I know it's not the real thing, but I hope it'll do until we actually go to Hawaii," Gackt said, having escorted his partner to the laden table.

Jaewook stood in absolute shock for a moment, making Gackt a little nervous, until he let out a high pitched squeal, throwing his arms around the older man.

"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!" He gushed, squeezing the life out of his lover in his excitement.

Gackt smiled as he returned Jaewook's fervent embrace.

"I'm glad you like it."

"I love it!" Jaewook answered, giving his boyfriend a long, firm kiss. He felt extremely fortunate to have such an attentive person in his life and he was delightfully overwhelmed with the familiar feeling of glowing warmth that he experienced whenever Gackt so much as looked at him.

They enjoyed the meal thouroughly, occasionally feeding each other the delicacies, as it managed to taste even better than it looked. During dessert, Gackt pulled out his laptop to prove to Jaewook that bibimbap was indeed a part of Hawaiian culture. While savoring the refreshing richness of the well-prepared jelly, they browsed Hawaii's official tourism website, discussing the activities they would like to do, should they ever go.

When they finished, Gackt bargained with a very-insistant-on-helping Jaewook that he would use the dishwasher instead of doing the dishes by hand as long as he loaded it himself while the younger took a bath.

Gackt smirked at the resounding squeal from the bathroom, signifying that his lover had discovered the little "island spa" that he'd set up with various bath oils, soaps and candles.

He had just closed the dishwasher when a very excited Jaewook jumped on his back, wrapping his legs around Gackt's waist.

"You shouldn't have!" He exclaimed, feeling like an adored heavenly being that was being lavished with his boyfriend's care and effort.

"You deserve it, sweetie," Gackt smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

They shared a long, deep kiss. Upon separating, Jaewook took note of Gackt's exposed torso and smiled.

"Care to join me?" He asked, taking the elder's large, warm hand.

"It would be my pleasure," Gackt grinned in response.

Just as he was being led to the bathroom, Gackt turned around, casting an appreciative glance at the travel magazine lying cover up on the coffee table.

Note:

I'm really not sure where the idea for this story came from. Sorry if it's a little crazy and long! ^_^'

Information is courtesy of gohawaii.com , polynesia.com (where some of the recipes are actually available) and Wikipedia. And yes, bibimbap is actually listed under Wikipedia's list of Hawaiian dishes.

I really enjoyed writing this and I hope that it was enjoyable to read, as well.

x Angela