Pie

Jack felt like an idiot donning his apron, foolishly labeled "Kiss the Cook," but it was the only one left in the kitchen, and he certainly wasn't going to be doing any baking without one. When he was younger, trying to learn how to cook, he had spilt melted butter on himself, which had burnt him and ruined his favorite shirt. The aprons he got were thick, making sure that something like that wasn't going to happen again. He was more careful about these kinds of things now, and he couldn't remember the last time he had spilled anything in his general direction, but he wasn't about to take that chance.

Sandra giggled at the sight of her boyfriend in something that he so obviously would never wear. She had intentionally gotten it for him nearly three years ago, hoping that one day it would be his only option left when he went to cook. She knew how much he loved to cook, and how he never did so without an apron. She also knew how much she loved to kiss him - and he her - and how cute he looked when he was frustrated. She could hardly see a way that she was losing in this scenario.

They had talked about Jack teaching Sandra to cook for a long time, but when it came down to it, most of the time Jack simply did the cooking on his own. He enjoyed it. He found it relaxing, being able to combine a variety of odds and ends from the kitchen into something delicious and beautiful. He basked in the sights and the smells of his creations all throughout. But Sarah was finally ready to sit down and take a crack at it, and for whatever reason, they had decided to do this through a pie.

It wasn't a particularly difficult recipe by any means, but Jack liked to do things from scratch, and he had a lot of explaining to do. There was a lot of rushing back and forth across the kitchen, double checking on things, questions and answers about what to do and how to tell when things were done. Things that Jack hadn't consciously thought about in ages, and that he surprisingly had to think about in order to give a satisfactory answer.

But finally the pie slid into the oven and the door closed, and there was a moment of peace in which the two silently reveled in their victory. Jack had full confidence that the pie would be delicious, and Sandra knew to trust in Jack's word on that. When he turned his head to say something, she surprised him by throwing her arms around his neck and planting a big kiss on his lips.

Jack couldn't help himself, and slipped his arms around her waist as he kissed her back. They stood like that for a long time, leaning against the table, before Sandra finally slowly pulled back, her arms still around his neck, and smiled brightly at him.

"How long have you been waiting to do that?" Jack asked with a coy smile.

Sandra sighed dramatically. "Forever!"