“I swear I’m not in love with you, I just can’t afford a two-bedroom apartment.” // oxo // CLOSED

Chris’ face went blank.
“I— I may have forgotten the sprinkles,” he mumbled, but rushing before Alex could reply he continued, “but I do have the blueberries and chocolate and syrup and whatnot.”
He gave a sheepish smile, the bags jostling slightly at his walking as his feet tapped quietly on the sidewalk.

Chris shook his head, beginning to take up a slight jog.
“Unfair!” he called after Alex, voice shaky with each labored step. “I have the bags, man!”
Yet he tried his best to break into a run, following the other boy back to the apartment. Upon arriving, Chris gave Alex a mocking smile, nodding toward the door handle.
“Could you give me a hand, please?” he asked kindly, although his expression was teasing.

Chris gave a slight chuckle, throwing everything down on the counter. The orange lights gave a warm glow to the room, bringing out the colors of the paintings adorning the wall. It already felt like home, and Chris breathed in the slightly warm stuffy air before opening one of the diminutive windows.
“Well, we don’t have measuring cups so I guess we can eyeball it,” he said, walking back around to the counter. He took a small bowl from one of the cupboards— a bowl he had already stocked away from his bags, and set it on the table. The kitchen was a small area— very small— but they’d have to make it work.

“Oven? How do you make pancakes?” Chris asked, raising an eyebrow.
“The stove, man. Put the pan on the stove,” he said jokingly. He took the pan gently from Alex’s hands, setting it on the very small rack that seemed to be a stove. He lit it, silently praising that they got non-stick. He grabbed the bowl, spatula, and mix, eyeballing the proportions with everything before pouring a small circle of the mix on the pan, decorating it with a few blueberries.

Chris furrowed his brow, looking up with a grin.
“I have a knack for cooking,” he said sarcastically, quickly setting the spatula down, taking off his suit coat, and stepping aside to toss it atop one of his bags. He’d have to hang it later, but it was pancake time.
He flipped it, the other side beginning to brown. He took a small paper plate from its bag, preparing to flip it all cool-style.

(So sorry for the delay! I’ve been off of nb for a little while, but I’ll be back on regularly (hopefully) now!)

Chris looked over with a sheepish smile.
“Well thank you. But trust me— I wasn’t always this ‘good.’” He paused for a moment, giving a small chuckle. “I exploded a cup of ramen noodles in the microwave… twice.”
Before Alex could reply, Chris looked back to his pancake.
“I forgot the water,” he said quietly. “Not one of my best moments, eh?”
Carefully, he took the pancake from the pan and set it gently on the paper plate, before pouring another circle and leaning up on the small counter, crossing his legs and arms.
His eyes suddenly narrowed and he took his phone from the counter. He looked up back to Alex.
“This place needs some music.” He mumbled, unlocking the device. “How about it? Got any requests?”