The Proper-False (Part four, PG-13, 1373 words)
Title: The Proper-False
Author: lilian_cho
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Original
Pairing: future Adrien/Nicholas
Wordcount: 1373
Warnings: Harlequinesque plot. Two guys having conversations over cakes and hot chocolates. Don't read this when you're hungry.
Bonus: "Nine creative uses of whipped cream" by Nicholas Goh, age 7 3/4 and Nicholas Goh's Top Five Favorite Desserts
A/N: Answers holidaysmut's Open that bottle challenge and writing_game's prompts: alcohol, worm & year of the monkey.
Unbeta-ed as of yet, please do point out jarring SpaG and/or continuity errors.
Apologies for verbosity/slow pace, will try to fix that when having the whole thing beta-ed. I'll try to have them on the plane by Part Five, 'kay? Or at least at the airport.
Part [ One | Two | Three ]
He gestured at their right side. “Over there are the guest bedrooms. I'm using one of them as my office and library.”
“Do they come with their own bathrooms?”
“Yes, but the water pressure is better in the ensuite bathroom,” said Adrien, oblivious.
“Must be a pain to scrub all those tiles.”
“I have a maid service come in every Thursday morning.”
Nicholas decided that Adrien's being aggravating on purpose. He's lucky if his cousin doesn't use up the hot water. One of these days I’ll actually wake up before Irene and have a long, hot shower, he vowed for the umpteenth time.
Adrien placed his hand on Nicholas’ upper arm, steering him through an alcove. “Here’s the kitchen and dining area, which we primarily use when we’re entertaining.”
“What, no breakfast in bed, or nine creative misuses of whipped cream?”
Adrien paused and seemed to consider the idea.
“Never mind,” Nicholas said quickly. “How about those cakes? We can continue the tour later.”
Adrien didn’t say anything, but his smirk said volumes. He took out two plates and two dessert forks from a cupboard next to the double-door refrigerator.
“How did you and your ex meet?” Nicholas asked, chin in hand.
“How do two gay guys meet?” Adrien took out the tiramisu and cheesecake, halving them with a fork.
“GLBTQ meeting, Pride parade, figure drawing class, women studies class…” Nicholas ticked off each item on his fingers.
“I meant gay guys who are not liberal arts college students.” Adrien divided the cake pieces on two plates. “Really, women studies?”
“Nahh, I think most men who take Intro to Women Studies think they can score with a classmate; Sounds like an interesting class though. Thanks.” He took his plate from Adrien’s hand. “Stop worming your way out of answering my question.”
Adrien scooped a small piece of tiramisu from his plate. “It was a Transatlantic flight.”
As Nicholas was absorbing the implications of that, he went on, “Not that it has any bearings on your role, since my family is unaware of the real facts of our relationship.”
That they had met when his ex initiated him into the mile-high club, Nicholas’ brain helpfully translated. He was tempted to make a big deal out of it but decided to save it for later.
“We should stick to the basic truth when crafting our story,” Adrien said.
Nicholas nodded placidly. Adrien looked at him suspiciously but decided to not question his sudden complaisance. “So we met at my favorite restaurant, struck up a conversation and started dating.”
“And did you fall in love with me over a plate of tiramisu?”
“Your tiramisu isn’t that good.”
Nicholas smiled, unperturbed. “Our cheesecake is that good. Try some.”
Adrien licked the traces of tiramisu from his fork and moved on to his half-slice of cheesecake.
Nicholas watched as the forkful of cheesecake disappeared behind pink lips. Adrien hummed approvingly, snapping him out of his lip-nibbling fantasies.
“It does taste better than the tiramisu.” Blue-gray eyes flicked up to meet his. “I think I’ve found a new favorite dessert.”
“Cool.” He stuffed a slice of cake into his mouth, feeling unaccountably warm. He usually loves his workplace's cheesecake, but tonight he barely tasted the sweet mouthfuls.
“Fancy a nightcap?” Adrien asked, collecting his and Nicholas' plates.
“Is this a bad time to tell you I'm not of legal age to drink yet?”
“I figured as much, since you're a college student. I won't tell if you don't.”
Nicholas blinked. “Did you just wink at me?”
“You must be imagining things,” Adrien said, running hot water over their plates. Instead of unearthing a cleverly hidden liquor cabinet, he took out a pint of milk from the fridge and a bar of something from a cupboard.
“What are you doing?”
Adrien put a saucepan on the immaculate black electric range. “I'm making hot chocolate. Haven't you ever had any?” he asked absently.
“Yes, I've had instant hot cocoa at summer camp, like other normal Americans.”
Adrien shook his head sadly. “Normal is overrated.”
Nicholas made a noncommittal sound. “Should I expect a cinnamon stick and a shot of rum in my mug?”
“We're all out of cinnamon sticks, but I do have a brand new bag of mini marshmallows in that cupboard.” Adrien gestured at a cupboard with the unwrapped chocolate bar.
Nicholas grinned and eagerly liberated the marshmallows from their lonely corner. “Did you miss your BFF, the chocolate bar?” he addressed the marshmallow bag. “It's alright, very soon the two of you will be reunited and inseparably joined.” He ripped open a corner with relish.
“Do you always do this?” Adrien was stirring heated milk and melted chocolate in the saucepan.
“Assign personalities to inanimate objects?”
“Chat them up before you eat them.”
Nicholas clutched the bag to his chest. “Don't listen to him, marshmallows! My love for you is true. I'm totally not two-timing you with coconut flavored Pocky.”
Adrien chuckled. “Put your true love down and grab the rum bottle from that cabinet.” He pointed with his wooden spoon.
Nicholas hummed “A pirate's life for me” under his breath.
Noting the four bottles in the cabinet, he said, “I figured you'd have at least a dozen bottles of wine.”
“Oh, those are dessert liqueur and cooking wine. The wine for drinking are kept somewhere else.”
“What, are you afraid I'm a closet alcoholic?”
Adrien poured the hot chocolate mixture into a large bowl and took out an artsy-looking carved wooden wand from a cupboard. “I just don't want to witness your first hangover.”
“I'll have you know that my friends took me bar-hopping in Vancouver the weekend I turned nineteen,” Nicholas said, a touch indignant.
“Oh? How was it?” Adrien eyeballed the rum bottle and poured a small amount into the bowl.
“We got sidetracked after the second bar and went to eat at a late night all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant instead,” Nicholas admitted. He didn't mention that Sam had called a halt to the proceedings when his face and neck had turned alarmingly red. At least he didn't get hives like Irene, who turned out to have an alcohol allergy.
“Mmm.” Adrien placed the wooden wand in the bowl and started spinning it between his palms.
“Are you using that wand...as a whisk?” Nicholas asked as the hot chocolate mixture started to froth.
“It's a molinillo, and it's basically a chocolate whisk, yes.” Adrien poured the frothy mixture into two earthenware mugs, filling them to the brim. “Try it.”
Nicholas lifted the heavy mug carefully and took a sip.
“How is it?”
“Chocolate shouldn't be spicy, but...” He took another sip and savored the warm, gritty taste of chocolate, cinnamon, pepper and rum. “I like it.”
Adrien's eyes brightened. “Some people like Kahlua, but I think rum goes well with Mexican chocolate.”
Nicholas paused from plunking the fifth mini-marshmallow into his mug. “Is that what you used earlier? So I can't just use a random Hershey's bar?”
Adrien looked pained. “Would you eat a melted candy bar?”
“If I was hungry enough...” said Nicholas, in the spirit of starving college students everywhere.
“Never mind, bad question.” Adrien cupped his hands around his mug, bringing it close to his lips. “Once you hit late twenties you'd stop inhaling every single food item that comes your way.”
Nicholas caught a melted marshmallow between his lips. “If you say so.”
*******
When Nicholas yawned five minutes later, Adrien set down his mug. “Time to turn in. Do you want a turn in the bathroom first?”
It took a few seconds for his brain to work. “I thought you said you have three bathrooms?”
“It'd be weird if you don't know what the ensuite bathroom looks like,” Adrien repeated his words back at him.
“Mm-kay. Can I borrow a towel? Oh, and an old T-shirt.”
Adrien put their mugs in the sink. “You didn't bring pajamas?”
“Thought I'd shoot for I-sleep-in-my-boyfriend's-shirt authenticity.” Nicholas stood up and leisurely let his spine stretch.
When Adrien didn't say anything, he opened his eyes.
“Should I wash the dishes?” He gestured at the sink.
Adrien started. “It's fine; I'll run the dishwasher in the morning.”
“'kay. I'll just grab my suitcase and follow you.”
*******
Nicholas stood at the threshold of the master bedroom, suddenly feeling awkward.
Author: lilian_cho
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Original
Pairing: future Adrien/Nicholas
Wordcount: 1373
Warnings: Harlequinesque plot. Two guys having conversations over cakes and hot chocolates. Don't read this when you're hungry.
Bonus: "Nine creative uses of whipped cream" by Nicholas Goh, age 7 3/4 and Nicholas Goh's Top Five Favorite Desserts
A/N: Answers holidaysmut's Open that bottle challenge and writing_game's prompts: alcohol, worm & year of the monkey.
Unbeta-ed as of yet, please do point out jarring SpaG and/or continuity errors.
Apologies for verbosity/slow pace, will try to fix that when having the whole thing beta-ed. I'll try to have them on the plane by Part Five, 'kay? Or at least at the airport.
Part [ One | Two | Three ]
He gestured at their right side. “Over there are the guest bedrooms. I'm using one of them as my office and library.”
“Do they come with their own bathrooms?”
“Yes, but the water pressure is better in the ensuite bathroom,” said Adrien, oblivious.
“Must be a pain to scrub all those tiles.”
“I have a maid service come in every Thursday morning.”
Nicholas decided that Adrien's being aggravating on purpose. He's lucky if his cousin doesn't use up the hot water. One of these days I’ll actually wake up before Irene and have a long, hot shower, he vowed for the umpteenth time.
Adrien placed his hand on Nicholas’ upper arm, steering him through an alcove. “Here’s the kitchen and dining area, which we primarily use when we’re entertaining.”
“What, no breakfast in bed, or nine creative misuses of whipped cream?”
Adrien paused and seemed to consider the idea.
“Never mind,” Nicholas said quickly. “How about those cakes? We can continue the tour later.”
Adrien didn’t say anything, but his smirk said volumes. He took out two plates and two dessert forks from a cupboard next to the double-door refrigerator.
“How did you and your ex meet?” Nicholas asked, chin in hand.
“How do two gay guys meet?” Adrien took out the tiramisu and cheesecake, halving them with a fork.
“GLBTQ meeting, Pride parade, figure drawing class, women studies class…” Nicholas ticked off each item on his fingers.
“I meant gay guys who are not liberal arts college students.” Adrien divided the cake pieces on two plates. “Really, women studies?”
“Nahh, I think most men who take Intro to Women Studies think they can score with a classmate; Sounds like an interesting class though. Thanks.” He took his plate from Adrien’s hand. “Stop worming your way out of answering my question.”
Adrien scooped a small piece of tiramisu from his plate. “It was a Transatlantic flight.”
As Nicholas was absorbing the implications of that, he went on, “Not that it has any bearings on your role, since my family is unaware of the real facts of our relationship.”
That they had met when his ex initiated him into the mile-high club, Nicholas’ brain helpfully translated. He was tempted to make a big deal out of it but decided to save it for later.
“We should stick to the basic truth when crafting our story,” Adrien said.
Nicholas nodded placidly. Adrien looked at him suspiciously but decided to not question his sudden complaisance. “So we met at my favorite restaurant, struck up a conversation and started dating.”
“And did you fall in love with me over a plate of tiramisu?”
“Your tiramisu isn’t that good.”
Nicholas smiled, unperturbed. “Our cheesecake is that good. Try some.”
Adrien licked the traces of tiramisu from his fork and moved on to his half-slice of cheesecake.
Nicholas watched as the forkful of cheesecake disappeared behind pink lips. Adrien hummed approvingly, snapping him out of his lip-nibbling fantasies.
“It does taste better than the tiramisu.” Blue-gray eyes flicked up to meet his. “I think I’ve found a new favorite dessert.”
“Cool.” He stuffed a slice of cake into his mouth, feeling unaccountably warm. He usually loves his workplace's cheesecake, but tonight he barely tasted the sweet mouthfuls.
“Fancy a nightcap?” Adrien asked, collecting his and Nicholas' plates.
“Is this a bad time to tell you I'm not of legal age to drink yet?”
“I figured as much, since you're a college student. I won't tell if you don't.”
Nicholas blinked. “Did you just wink at me?”
“You must be imagining things,” Adrien said, running hot water over their plates. Instead of unearthing a cleverly hidden liquor cabinet, he took out a pint of milk from the fridge and a bar of something from a cupboard.
“What are you doing?”
Adrien put a saucepan on the immaculate black electric range. “I'm making hot chocolate. Haven't you ever had any?” he asked absently.
“Yes, I've had instant hot cocoa at summer camp, like other normal Americans.”
Adrien shook his head sadly. “Normal is overrated.”
Nicholas made a noncommittal sound. “Should I expect a cinnamon stick and a shot of rum in my mug?”
“We're all out of cinnamon sticks, but I do have a brand new bag of mini marshmallows in that cupboard.” Adrien gestured at a cupboard with the unwrapped chocolate bar.
Nicholas grinned and eagerly liberated the marshmallows from their lonely corner. “Did you miss your BFF, the chocolate bar?” he addressed the marshmallow bag. “It's alright, very soon the two of you will be reunited and inseparably joined.” He ripped open a corner with relish.
“Do you always do this?” Adrien was stirring heated milk and melted chocolate in the saucepan.
“Assign personalities to inanimate objects?”
“Chat them up before you eat them.”
Nicholas clutched the bag to his chest. “Don't listen to him, marshmallows! My love for you is true. I'm totally not two-timing you with coconut flavored Pocky.”
Adrien chuckled. “Put your true love down and grab the rum bottle from that cabinet.” He pointed with his wooden spoon.
Nicholas hummed “A pirate's life for me” under his breath.
Noting the four bottles in the cabinet, he said, “I figured you'd have at least a dozen bottles of wine.”
“Oh, those are dessert liqueur and cooking wine. The wine for drinking are kept somewhere else.”
“What, are you afraid I'm a closet alcoholic?”
Adrien poured the hot chocolate mixture into a large bowl and took out an artsy-looking carved wooden wand from a cupboard. “I just don't want to witness your first hangover.”
“I'll have you know that my friends took me bar-hopping in Vancouver the weekend I turned nineteen,” Nicholas said, a touch indignant.
“Oh? How was it?” Adrien eyeballed the rum bottle and poured a small amount into the bowl.
“We got sidetracked after the second bar and went to eat at a late night all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant instead,” Nicholas admitted. He didn't mention that Sam had called a halt to the proceedings when his face and neck had turned alarmingly red. At least he didn't get hives like Irene, who turned out to have an alcohol allergy.
“Mmm.” Adrien placed the wooden wand in the bowl and started spinning it between his palms.
“Are you using that wand...as a whisk?” Nicholas asked as the hot chocolate mixture started to froth.
“It's a molinillo, and it's basically a chocolate whisk, yes.” Adrien poured the frothy mixture into two earthenware mugs, filling them to the brim. “Try it.”
Nicholas lifted the heavy mug carefully and took a sip.
“How is it?”
“Chocolate shouldn't be spicy, but...” He took another sip and savored the warm, gritty taste of chocolate, cinnamon, pepper and rum. “I like it.”
Adrien's eyes brightened. “Some people like Kahlua, but I think rum goes well with Mexican chocolate.”
Nicholas paused from plunking the fifth mini-marshmallow into his mug. “Is that what you used earlier? So I can't just use a random Hershey's bar?”
Adrien looked pained. “Would you eat a melted candy bar?”
“If I was hungry enough...” said Nicholas, in the spirit of starving college students everywhere.
“Never mind, bad question.” Adrien cupped his hands around his mug, bringing it close to his lips. “Once you hit late twenties you'd stop inhaling every single food item that comes your way.”
Nicholas caught a melted marshmallow between his lips. “If you say so.”
*******
When Nicholas yawned five minutes later, Adrien set down his mug. “Time to turn in. Do you want a turn in the bathroom first?”
It took a few seconds for his brain to work. “I thought you said you have three bathrooms?”
“It'd be weird if you don't know what the ensuite bathroom looks like,” Adrien repeated his words back at him.
“Mm-kay. Can I borrow a towel? Oh, and an old T-shirt.”
Adrien put their mugs in the sink. “You didn't bring pajamas?”
“Thought I'd shoot for I-sleep-in-my-boyfriend's-shirt authenticity.” Nicholas stood up and leisurely let his spine stretch.
When Adrien didn't say anything, he opened his eyes.
“Should I wash the dishes?” He gestured at the sink.
Adrien started. “It's fine; I'll run the dishwasher in the morning.”
“'kay. I'll just grab my suitcase and follow you.”
*******
Nicholas stood at the threshold of the master bedroom, suddenly feeling awkward.