08 | red velvet

Third Person POV

Rain pounded heavily against the roof of the Kazekage's mansion . In the minimalistic styled kitchen , (Name) and Gaara sat , flinching slightly when thunder struck.

" Luckily this house is on a hill ," (Name) commented , taking a bite from the spring onion and sour cream flavoured potato chip.

" It's even luckier for us that we managed to get here on time ," Gaara responded , digging into his red apple.

" Only for us though ," she snickered . Apparently , boredom struck Kankurou and Yashamaru , and the two of them ended up going to the River Country reserve forest , intending for a good time taking photos.

" It's flooding immensely there .." Gaara trailed. "  The cook is also away ..So .. We have the house all to ourselves until it eventually dries up ..".

" Hmm.." (Name) murmured as she headed to the fridge . " Woah ! So many ingredients here ! " she burst as her eyes landed on the tightly packed fridge.

The fridge itself was gigantic , and was filled with all sorts of raw ingredients. A smirk formed on (Name)'s face.

" Now I will be able to make a birthday cake for Gaara ! " she thought.

" Gaara .. Why don't you go up to your room and play with the stuff we bought earlier ? I have some work to do in the kitchen ," (Name) spoke sweetly.

" Are you baking a cake for my birthday  , (Name) ?" Gaara questioned bluntly . 

" Eh ? How did he know  ?!"  (Name)'s mind thought furiously.

" W..what ? Naw ! I was just thinking about ... Uh .. Cleaning the tabletops .." she blurted . 

" Oh please , (Name) . I can see right through you . After all , I'm one year older than you . And tomorrow , it'll officially be two ," Gaara smirked.

(Name) huffed . " Fine .. I am going to bake a cake for you .." she retorted. " Ooh.. What type of cake ?" Gaara spoke , curiosity lacing his voice.

" I was thinking about a chocolate and vanilla red velvet cheesecake .."
(Name) explained. " Mind telling  me how do you make that ?" Gaara voiced .
" It shouldn't be hard . I'll just combine a vanilla cheesecake and red velvet sponge cake . And I'll put some cream cheese icing and drizzle with melted milk chocolate . Done !" she confessed.

(Name) showed Gaara the recipe on her phone .

" Oh .. Sounds like a piece of cake - which is named La Difficult - from De Easier Said Than Done bakery , on Wearisome street  ," he insisted hotly .

" And because you wanted to know so much , I guess you should help out !" (Name) burst sneakily as she smirked widely.

" Eh ?! I thought the birthday boy is supposed to stay in the living room and play video games ! " Gaara retorted.

" Come on ! You're older than me to boot! " she blurted. Gaara let out a grunt.
" Okay .. But first .." he murmured as he pulled (Name) into a tight , warm embrace . Gaara lifted (Name)'s chin and pecked her lips playfully. " I guess the older one gets to make the first move ," Gaara commented. (Name) giggled as she kissed Gaara's left cheek.

" Does it still hurt ?" Gaara asked as he fingered (Name)'s bandaged cheek. " Not anymore ," she responded blissfully.

" We should do this more often ," Gaara whispered , burying his face into (Name)'s hair. " Pervert ," (Name) growled playfully. 

" Call me whatever you want .. As long as you love me , " he murmured.

" Okay.. Now go preheat the oven to 350 degrees ! And then take three 9 inch sized cake pans and layer them with butter , and then sift cocoa powder onto it ," (Name) spoke. " Bossy .. " Gaara commented . " I like that , ".

He made his way towards the shelves and took out a pot , a kettle and a wok.

" (Name) ! Is this a cake pan ?" he spoke innocently as he held up a kettle .

(Name) whipped her head towards Gaara , and opened her mouth to retort , but the innocent look on Gaara's face made her words stop abruptly.

" No . That's the kettle . This is the cake pan ," she voiced gently as she retrieved three clean , shiny cake pans from the shelf.

" Layer them with butter and sift cocoa powder onto it ," (Name) repeated . 

Gaara went to the fridge , and took a jar of apricot marmalade. He grabbed a spoon and scooped the marmalade out . " Wait ! That's marmalade , not butter ! " (Name) bellowed from far away. She took the marmalade jar from Gaara's hands and replaced it with a butter dish.

" Oh .." Gaara murmured as he spread the butter on the cake pans . The butter looked like cheese to Gaara , the colour light yellow and it also had a nice cheese-like texture.
He cut up a small portion of the butter and popped it into his mouth.
" Ugh ! What is this ?! Frozen oil ?! " Gaara burst as he tried to get rid of the greasy substance in his mouth.

(Name) stared from afar , giggling slightly . Gaara sprinted towards the sink and opened the tap on . He cupped an amount of water into his hands and gurgled. " I'm never eating butter on itself again," Gaara commented.

He headed towards the spice and herbs shelf , and took a jar of cumin powder .

" No one makes cakes using cumin powder Gaara ," (Name) smirked , handing him a metal box of Van Houten's cocoa powder. " And only use one tablespoon for every pan ,".

Gaara nodded and did as told . Meanwhile , (Name) went through the fridge , taking desired ingredients.

She took out a butter dish and left it out , to let it become room temperature.
(Name) also took a carton of milk and a carton of buttermilk.

" Gaara ! When you're done with the cake pans , can you help me make some Ermine icing ?" she voiced.

" What is Ermine icing ?" Gaara questioned. " The icing for the red velvet cake . And add some cream cheese too ! " (Name) bellowed.

" But I don't know how to make Ermine icing (Name) ," he replied with a sweatdrop. " I'll show you later ," .

(Name) took a bowl and dropped some butter and sugar into it . She proceeded to cream it and added two eggs separately from time to time. " You forgot the vanilla ," Gaara whispered from behind her , holding a bottle of vanilla extract in front of (Name)'s face while his arms slithered on her waist.

" Thanks ," (Name) spoke bluntly as she took the bottle of vanilla extract and poured it into the mixture . " Are you ignoring me , (Name) ?" Gaara questioned . " I'm busy Gaara .." she retorted lazily. (Name) added cocoa powder and some food colouring to the mixture , turning its colour bright red.

" Looks like my hair ," Gaara commented sassily . 

[Time Skip]

" (Name) ! The cake's done ! " Gaara called out to his nurse after peeking into the oven . " Really ? How do you know that ?" (Name) questioned , raising her eyebrow .

" Um.. I peeked into the oven ," Gaara murmured , crossing his fingers together bashfully . " I told you not to do so . What if your face got burnt ? " she sighed.

" Never mind that . Look ! I finally managed to make this Ermine icing ! " Gaara grinned as he showed off a bowl of perfect , fluffy Ermine icing.

" Nice going ! " (Name) congratulated , giving a thumbs up . " Now go get the cheesecake mix in the fridge !" she said as she quickly melted some milk chocolate on a double boiler.

(Name) set the sponge cake on the tabletop , and Gaara plopped the cheesecake mix on the red velvet cake . She took another cake and placed it on the cheesecake mix . 
When they were finally done with layering the cake , it had three layers of red velvet sponge cake and three layers of vanilla cheesecake.

" Now is the time to put the icing ! " Gaara cheered. (Name) scooped the Ermine icing and spread it onto the cake.

" And chocolate ! " (Name) snickered as she took the hot pot of melted chocolate from the double boil.
" Wait . Let me do it ," Gaara voiced as he took the hot bowl from (Name)'s hands.

Gaara let the chocolate slide from the wooden spatula , forming thread-like patterns.

" Hey .. Can we eat this now ?" he questioned , drool dripping from his mouth.
" No . Your birthday is tomorrow , and you can only eat it tomorrow ," (Name) huffed. " Go take a shower and take a nap Gaara . You must be tired ," she spoke , wiping off some Ermine icing that splattered on Gaara's pale face.

​Gaara let out a sigh as he left the kitchen , which was spotless , thanks to (Name)'s dictator-like instructions.

(Name) popped the cake into the fridge and left for her room.

She locked the door behind her , and tears began to flow.
Guilt ran through her being - she felt as if she was betraying Gaara's love.
Part of her truly loved Gaara , but another part of her was unsure.
" I'm sorry Gaara .. I'm so sorry .." (Name) murmured.

[Time Skip]

Gaara's POV

I stepped out of the bathroom , water dripping from my hair. My eyes trailed towards the stuff (Name) and I bought earlier.

I took the lime green mochi plush pillow and held it in my hands . I breathed into it , and if smelled fragrant - like sweet peas.

Content filled my heart . It felt wonderful to have someone to love . I glanced towards the clock , which read 8:21 pm.

To think of it , (Name) and I did not even had lunch. I set the pillow on my bed and headed towards (Name)'s room.

I approached the door ,which was unlocked . " (Name) ?" I called out as I entered her room.

My eyes ran wildly , searching for (Name) . They stopped abruptly at the figure on the bed , fast asleep.

" (Name) ?" I murmured softly as I walked towards the bed . Her (h/c) hair was damp and she had changed into a plain white night gown.

Her eyes were shut , but they were a bit puffy . I gently shook (Name)'s shoulders in order to wake her up . It would be bad and unhealthy to go to sleep without eating for hours.

" Hmm ?" (Name) grumbled as she blinked her eyes open . I smiled at her , caressing her hair .

" Wake up . You haven't ate since morning . You'll get a stomach ache if you go on without food any longer ," I soothed.

" Eh .. I'm fine .." she yawned in an adorable manner . " I thought I'm supposed to take care of you ," .

" Well .. I'm your lover , so .. It's kind of my responsibility ," I responded. (Name) giggled softly as she got up on her feet.

" It's still raining .." she commented . "Yeah ..I hope everyone else is safe ," I spoke.

" Yeah .. Let me cook up something for you ," (Name) smiled as she held my hand. " I say not  . Usually you cook for me , but tonight , you will taste my cooking !" I spoke in spirits as high as Mount Everest.

" Sounds good ," she responded. " Let's go !" I voiced . (Name) did not reply though . She seemed to be in a daze , and her face grew red , but it was not a blush . 

" Do you have a fever , (Name) ?" I questioned , placing my hand on her forehead . It was burning hot. 

" I'm not sure ," she replied weakly. I took her in my arms and set her on her bed . I swiftly pulled the duvet and tucked her in .
(Name) was shivering and she occasionally tugged onto my shirt . 

Her eyes were open slightly , and she looked at me through those slits. " Stay here (Name) . I'll go get some Paracetamol pills ," I spoke softly.

I took the First Aid Kit and rummaged through it . I grabbed two pills and sprinted towards (Name). " Here . You can swallow it dry , right ?" I said as I gently patted (Name)'s unhurt cheek to keep her awake. 

She nodded weakly as she attempted to take the pills from my hand. I shook my head as I gently slipped the pills into her mouth . 

" I'll go get some food to keep you warm , okay ?" I smiled as I caressed (Name)'s red face.

After I left the room , I gasped in horror on what I just said . No .. I can't cook !

I walked to the kitchen , which was spotless and shining. I guess that (Name) is quite the clean freak.

My eyes trailed towards a basket of instant ramen. A smirk formed on my face . 

[Time Skip]

" (Name) ? Wake up . I cooked up something for you ," I voiced , excitement present in my voice.

" Oh .. Did you cook instant ramen ? " (Name) spoke as she blinked her eyes. " Eh ? How did you know ?" I asked out of curiosity and shock.

" You were yelling ' I'm the king of cooking instant ramen ! ' at the kitchen . Naturally I figured that you were cooking instant ramen .." she murmured.

I let out an embarrassed laugh . " Are you feeling alright ?" I questioned , caressing her hand.

" Better ," she responded. " Now eat up ," I said as I handed her the huge ramen bowl.

" What about you ?" she asked , concern lacing her voice. " I'll be fine ," I said as I smiled at her.

" Here ," (Name) spoke as she shoved a piece of narutomaki fishcake in front of me . I smiled as I bit into the fishcake.

(Name) ate some of the noodles , and a pleased look formed on her face. 

" It's delicious for a beginner ," she complimented. I slid into (Name)'s bed and under her duvet.

" Dinner in bed is splendid , isn't it ?" I snickered as I pecked her cheek gently.

" Hmm .. It's decent ," (Name) responded , pondering for a while . I let out a chuckle as I pulled (Name) into an embrace.

" Gaara ! The ramen will spill !" (Name) burst . I grabbed the bowl and set it on the nightstand. " Are you still hungry ?" I questioned. " Not really ," (Name) murmured.

" I think it's time to turn off the lights ," I spoke sneakily . " Coincidentally , I happen to think the same ," (Name) giggled.

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top