Rounded Love

Breakfast

Xiao Chen was...incredibly uncomfortable. It was more then just this morning. This feeling he was on edge. His fingers trembling, trying to avoid all eye contact with Lu Feng's figure as he bustled around the kitchen. He had always been the better cook of the two of them, something which Xiao Chen had felt awful about. He had attempted, at one point, to learn how to cook, feeling guilty that Lu Feng would cook their meals each time given that he was incapable of it, but...he had been swiftly banned from the kitchen after almost accidently setting the stove alight. He had not meant to, though Lu Feng had been livid....

...

Lu Feng was out for the day, or so he had told Xiao Chen, who was standing, having seen the door close behind his boyfriend. The other was so...stressed all of the time. That is what it was. XIao Chen felt a little bad. His boyfriend had woken in a bit of a bad mood already...because of the increase in meetings he had at his father's company. This was understandable given that Lu Feng had not wanted to take over the company, but would inevitably be forced to do so anyways. Not anything that the other could do about...at least not much that the other could do about it. It was...overwhelming. He had woken to Lu Feng frustrated, and scrambling about the kitchen attempting to make breakfast, which was an incredibly silent and awkward affair. Something about it, it put Xiao Chen on edge. He was not really sure why exactly it was that his lover was upset, but he felt that perhaps it was because the other was trying to stretch himself too much.

He was not...the best cook, and in fact he could barely cook anything at all, to be honest. Not for a lack of trying, however, as he did try his best. Lue Feng was just...so much better then him. At least Lu Feng could scrape together edible food without risking a fire or some burned through food. Xiao Chen was not sure what it was about his inability to cook what seemed like anything, but he was hopeless at it, and he knew that only a day to practice was not going to do much help, and he did have tests to study for, but he just wanted to get rid of this sad forbidding feeling in his chest. Seeing Lu Feng rush about in the morning...so upset and yet even still trying to get food on the table for the two of them...

So he had made his decision and snatched a cookbook from one of he shelves, though it took a while to find them. He was not really in the kitchen much, even if he was allowed to go in, he just never...really did. Today, however, he was determined to manage to make something and make it work. He would have to really work at it, and he was not really truthfully the best person for this, but...he was determined to figure this out as best as he could. He may not manage...well, but he could try his best to figure something out and make at least one decent dish.

It did take him a while flicking through the pages of the cook book to even find a recipe that they had enough ingredients before. He had been meaning to go to the store...Xiao Chen glanced at the paper on the fridge and sighed heavily. He should probably go before Lu Feng returns. He had mentioned his annoyance at the lack of ingredients that they had in the shelves. Usually, he was the one who did all of the shopping, but he had been so busy with work and school he had just kept forgetting about it. With Lu Feng's attitude in the morning, though, Xiao Chen knew better then to really put it off for too much longer. 

Though he supposed if he was going to the store he could do something more simple, and just grab the ingredients while he was there. It would save time, and hopefully it would be easier for him. He was not exactly the best person in the entire world when it came to cooking and he did not want to accidently do something stupid. 

The trip to the store took a bit longer then Xiao Chen would like to admit, though he still did have several hours to try and figure out this dish out, something that he was grateful for. He just hoped that his boyfriend would be happier now that he had finally gotten all of the groceries that he had been told to buy whilst he was out. He breathed in, and exhaled out slowly. There was no point in delaying this. If he messed something up he wanted to have enough time to fix it...or at the least, try to fix it, before his boyfriend returned. 

Despite his best attempts, when Lu Feng came home it was to a smoking house and a burnt pan, with nothing but crumbs of the dish which Xiao Chen had been trying to make, and Xiao Chen sitting near the stove, arms wrapped around his knees miserable in his continued failed attempts. 

He did not know what it was that he had been doing wrong. He had followed the recipe perfectly, but each time he made something he must have put the wrong amount of...something in because it never tasted good, and this time it had been a true disaster. Xiao Chen had been gone for less then ten minutes and he had not thought that everything would catch fire. 

"Xiao Chen!" Lu Feng gasped, rushing over to the boy that was crying on the floor. "Xiao Chen, look at me," He snapped, his harshness coming out in his haste and fear. Xiao Chen looked up at Lu Feng, eyes filled with tears. 

"I...I am sorry," He gasped out, "I just wanted to try to...to try to..."

"Shhh," Lu Feng said gently. "It is okay. Do not worry. I know what you were trying to do. You do not have to worry about food though," He said with a small shake of his head and a light laugh. "I can do that for the both of us." 

...

It  brought back those memories. Memories of a time when Lu Feng was not always so angry all of the time for seemingly no reason. Xiao Chen felt his mind recede and he tried to shake the memories off. No matter how kind he had been previously....he was being held hostage...for whatever reason. He could not allow himself to forget that. Why did he seem to keep forgetting such an obvious thing?