Work Text
"Ugh... I think I'm doing this all wrong."Prompto let down the whisk as he stared down at the mixture before him. He was pretty sure the mixture was too liquidy. He whisked for so long and no matter what he tried, he couldn't get his mixture to be bubbly. He let out a great sigh as he surveyed the kitchen before him. Flour and egg mixture was lightly strewn about the counter space from his previous attempts to stir from leaving the dirty whisk on the counter. It wasn't unlike him to be a little messy, but today he couldn't leave any traces of baking. Today was special - a surprise. Maybe even a gift? He started to doubt his idea of a gift as he grabbed some paper towels to clean up his mess.However, he soon became startled by a hand on his shoulder and a kiss on his cheek. "Experimenting in the kitchen?" came an English-accented voice behind him.Prompto could feel his eyes bulge from their sockets almost in a cartoon-like way. His cheeks flushed from the kiss, but a cold sweat broke out on his forehead as the realization hit him. He was just caught. Or maybe he could play it off? Would Iggy even fall for that?"Pffff oh yeah! Just whipping up a new masterpiece like a certain someone!" he jested, big grin splayed across his face as he playfully nudged Ignis.Ignis gave a small laugh and looked over Prompto into the bowl he stopped mixing. He adjusted his glasses a bit before asking, "What is it you're trying to make? Cake?"Prompto screamed internally. Iggy was too close for comfort. He wasn't supposed to know. He shouldn't know. How long could Prompto truly keep up this charade? "Wellll, y'knooowww, like you said earlier! Experimenting!"Nailed it.Ignis gave an amused smirk but seemed to play along either way. "What are you experimenting with? Would you like some help?"On the one hand, no, because Ignis wasn't supposed to know about this at all. Prompto thought he was going to be out much longer. On the other hand, though... Prompto needed as much help as he could get considering he was the type of guy who could somehow get water to burn instead of boil.Prompto sucked in a breath, gathering up the courage to speak. "Well... I was trying to make that chiffon cake you make at camp sometimes."Ignis scanned over the bowl's contents once more and eyed the ingredients piled in the corner of the counter. He gave a thoughtful hum as he gave Prompto's shoulder a squeeze, which sent a small shiver down his spine. Was that a good or bad shiver? Honestly, he wasn't sure. He was still even unsure about letting Iggy in on his secret, even just a little bit."I see," he said finally, looking back into the bowl. "It was a good attempt, but if you're trying to recreate MY chiffon then you're missing one key ingredient."Prompto perked up a bit. "Oh?"Ignis reached into one of the lower cabinets and shuffled with a bag inside. Just a few seconds after, he pulled out... "Leiden potato."Prompto's face scrunched up. "I... Potato?!?"Ignis gave another small laugh. "Never thought potato was the key ingredient of the chiffon?""No! It's just so fluffy and sweet, I... Are you messing with me?""I can assure you, I'm not!" chuckled Ignis, leaning in for a peck against Prompto's temple. From his pocket, he produced his small notebook of recipes and placed it on the counter in front of them. "You can even check my notes. It truly is the main ingredient."Whoa... Iggy just gave him his recipe book. Even though Prompto wasn't a cooking whiz himself, getting Iggy's recipe book was like receiving the holy grail of all culinary arts. Prompto gingerly flipped through its pages, almost afraid that disturbing this holy relic too much would cause it to crumble in his hands. "Where is it then?"With the book still in Prompto's hands, Ignis swiftly turned the leaflets over to the correct page and in his thin, clean handwriting at the top of the page read the words 'Fluffy Chiffon Cake'. "Right here, love."Ignis wasn't lying. The first thing listed on the ingredients was '15g - Leiden Potato'. Not that Prompto would think Ignis would lie to him like that, but it did seem silly that a cake would have potato in it. And yet the first thing out his mouth was, "I feel like I've been lied to."The small, amused grin from earlier spread across Ignis' face. "Is it the light and fluffy taste? Or the mystery of how I fit a dense potato inside a fluffy cake?""Uhhhhh... both?"Ignis gave his shoulder a small squeeze before placing the potato with the rest of the ingredients and pulling out a few more things. "I'll show you."He instructed Prompto to carefully measure out all the ingredients on the scale in front of him. Prompto noted how some of his calculations were off, but then again there were more ingredients at play now so that was to be expected. They got to the egg separating and Prompto accidentally broke the yolk. Ignis showed him to carefully crack it and tip the egg upwards so the yolk didn't fall out, then play hot potato with the yolk between the two egg shells until the egg whites were fully separated. Ignis helped him prepare the meringue and egg yolk mixture and then mix the two together very gently without breaking up the meringue. Ignis was actually a very good teacher; good enough to make him feel like he had a chance at reproducing such a difficult recipe again. Of course, he'd like to do it again with Ignis hovering behind him and his hand gently guiding his too, but y'know.Once the cake batter was all mixed up, they poured it into the cake tin, tapped it on the counter twice, and placed it in the oven. Afterwards, they made whipped cream from scratch - gods, this stuff was so much better than canned whipped cream - before placing it in the fridge as they waited for the cake to pop out."Is there a reason you wanted to make my chiffon cake specifically?" Ignis asked, his hand on his chin in thought.The inevitable question. Prompto hoped he wouldn't have asked that, but it wouldn't have been Iggy if he didn't. "It's a secret," he told, shooting a finger gun and a wink at Ignis. That totally wasn't suspicious... but we wasn't lying either."Alright, I suppose," Ignis remarked, immediately dropping it despite the small hints of a smirk betraying his face. He probably already figured it out, but Prompto wasn't going to tell him just yet.As soon as the cake came out of the oven, they let it cool and then presented it as Ignis usually does - two slices of chiffon cake with whipped cream on the side and a garnish on top. Before Ignis could say anything, Prompto took the plate in his hands. "Wait a minute, I've gotta add something extra." He turned his back to Ignis, waited a few seconds for emphasis, then swiftly turned around and presented the same plate to him. "Tada!!! Happy Valentine's! I, uh... I wanted this to be more of a surprise, but oh well.""Prompto," Ignis muttered, a sweet smile on his lips. "It may not have been much of a surprise, but I was happy to spend time with you in the kitchen. And of course, you made one of my favorites. I couldn't be happier."“I…” Somehow Prompto was the one surprised. He hadn’t expected something this simple would make Ignis display such a bright smile, but then again that’s why he liked cooking so much, wasn’t it? Prompto couldn’t help but smile back. “Then my work here is done!”“Thank you, love,” Ignis whispered, leaning in to give him a quick peck on the lips. “But now I must return the favor.”Prompto chuckled. “As long as you let me help too!”When Prompto thought Ignis’ smile couldn’t get any brighter, he flashed a small grin at him and pressed his lips against his longer than the last time. Prompto’s toes curled and his heart skipped a beat. He suddenly found himself thanking the gods for bringing Ignis to him, yet this wasn’t the first - and definitely not the last - time he’s thought that. When Iggy pulled back, he stared lovingly into his eyes and replied, “Of course.”