Yakisoba

Stepping out of my off white room I do another big stretch in the livingroom.

"Good morning." Max says not taking his eyes off the new painting he had on the easel from last night. 

"Good morning." I reply shyly. 

Max is sitting on the arm rest of the couch with his left leg up and resting that same side elbow on his knee. His left hand is twirling a paint brush between his fingers. His blue eyes are staring very intently at the red canvas. There were different shades of red here and there but for the most part it looked like a toddler really liked the red paint. His baggy white paint stained shirt slips off his right shoulder. The gray sweatpants he has on are also paint stained. Not to mention his bare feet look cold.

"That's it!" Max shouts snapping his fingers. He practically leaps off the couch toward the easel. His hair thats half tied up is bouncing ontop of his head. Popping a stick of gum into his mouth he starts ripping away at a sponge. With that I make my way to the kitchen.

I grab the left overs from my work and heat it up. Once heated I lean up against the counter picking at the rice, chicken, peas, carrots and mushrooms while lost in thought. I wonder if he has work today or if we both have the day off. 

I clean up the kitchen before heading to the livingroom. Max has little white almost grainy triangles all over the canvas. Which looks weird not going to lie.

"Hey I'm heading to the store, is there anything you need?" I ask Max as he is cleaning up the sponge he ripped.

"Ahhhh yea there is something I need but if it's alright can I tag along? It's a really specific thing." He asks scratching the back of his head.

"Mmhmm." I nod. "I will only be a few minutes to get ready."

"I'll hurry then." Max says drying his hands.

Max takes about 10 more minutes then I do to get ready. I debate if I should have told him yes to coming.

🍋🎨🖌

Ayumu asked me to go to the store with him, well sorta, alright he didn't but he agreed that I can come along. My butterflies in my stomach turn to dread as I look in the mirror at the mess my whole attire is in. My hair is everywhere so I brush that while taking notes on all the paint splattered on my face. Then anxiety hits when I realize I don't have an outfit picked out. What should my clothes say? I question over and over as I fling clothes from my closet onto my bed. Too dressy, too showy, wore that already, not the right season, warm weather casual... Do I have anything casual? This baggy shirt and pants give a little bit of a punk look but it's the tamest thing I have that's clean. Ah! I need to brush my teeth!

I finally get ready and Ayumu is quiet on our walk to the store. Dread and anxiety starts to set in a little bit til he breaks the silence.

"You have today off?" He asks.

"Y-yea I do. You work tonight?" My nerves came through.

"I'm off tonight. You have plans or should I plan on dinner too not just lunch?"

"I don't have plans. Natsu is going out tonight with a guy so I will be at home. How about you? Aren't you going out with friends tonight?"

"Nah. I don't have any friends in the city yet and all the cooks I talk to at work are working tonight."

"Hmmm." I hum to contain my excitement of hopefully being able to talk to him later tonight.

"You're good with pork belly for the yakisoba right?" He asks heading into my place of work.

"Oh yes! That's the best!" I say a bit too happy while following close behind.

"Would you mind eating yakisoba for lunch and dinner? That way we can use up the ingredients so they don't spoil."

"Yakisoba twice in one day? Heck ya! Let's do it!" I practically cheer in the produce isle.

Ayumu looks around embarrassed before ducking his head away from someone peeking around the corner.

"Sorry. I show more expression then most." I say grinding my shoe quietly into the ground.

"I'm kinda use to my siblings yelling when excited but public settings are a bit hard for me." He says not taking his eyes off a few carrots.

"I understand. The public use to scare me too til I studied abroad for a few years with my parents. I'll be more calm for the rest of the trip. I promise." I say with a big smile.

"Hmmm." Ayumu nods awkwardly.

So in turn, I awkwardly follow Ayumu for a bit. That is before mustering up courage to ask him if he wants me to grab something while he looks produce over. He shows me on his phone the noodles he wants and I know right where they are. 

🍋🔪🍱

Once we have everything purchased for yakisoba we start on our way home. Max insisted that he can carry a bag but it looks a bit on the heavy side for him.

"Wait did you get your thing?" I ask.

"Oh, nah it's alright." Max shrugs it off. Then points to a store just a few doors down. "It looks like the store isn't open yet so I will have to come back later for the red paint."

I wonder why you ran out of red paint.

The walk home was mostly quiet. Once home Max asked if he could watch me cook. I found it a bit strange but at the same time I'm use to my head chef watching me so I agreed. He sat at the table watching my starting routine of tying a bandana over my hair, wiping the counter and washing my hands.

I get all my cook wear out of a skillet, knives, two cutting boards, rubber tipped tongs, whisk, and bowls. I gather my ingredients and wash the produce we just bought.

Using a bowl and whisk I combine the Worcester sauce, soy sauce, sugar, ketchup and oyster sauce. Setting that aside, I cut the pork belly into bite size pieces on its own board with it's own knife. I cut the carrot into two inch chunks then into sticks. The onion and shiitake mushrooms are cut into thin slices. Two inch long cuts for the green onion. The cabbage gets cut into bite size pieces also.

Oiling the skillet I place the already steamed noodles onto the hot surface. Using the rubber tipped tongs I gently break the noodles apart from each other. Once warm I place them on a plate. Next I cook the pork belly on the skillet til mostly cooked. I add the onion for 2 minutes and carrot right after. Moving everything around I add the shiitake mushrooms, green onion and cabbage til it is about tender. Bringing the noodles back to the skillet I add the yakisoba sauce I made earlier. Gently tossing everything together til the sugar slightly caramelized and everything is warm again. I transfer the food to two plates and top with beni shoga and aonori seaweed.

Setting the plates on the table Max claps his hands together with a huge smile. He says "thank you for the food!" 

I do the same only quietly.

One bite in and Max is making noises, I believe they are happy noises though.

"This is so good!" He says taking another bite and hums or is that moaning?

His expression is something I have never seen before. Max is practically smiling while eating and keeps complementing that it tastes better than the street vendors. My family members tastes are split down the middle so normally half complain while the other half tell me thanks and eat quietly. My family use to complement my cooking but with everyone growing up and getting busy they would take their food to their rooms while studying. Now that I work at a restaurant chefs eat the dishes I made with a straight face and meticulously pick my dish apart. As for customers I'm in the back away from them so I don't see their face. Have others been this happy to eat my cooking? 

"I'm glad you like it." I reply to Max.

"Like it? I love it! I can't wait to have this again tonight." Max says before shoveling more into his mouth.

His happy expressions are captivating. My eyes don't want to leave him while he eats. I want to see his smile while eating again. And I did get to see him enjoying my cooking a few hours later. Yet I want to see it again and again. For the next month his texts with smilie faces just don't do this craving justice. I need to see him happy while eating something I cooked again.