A few days later, Shubman and Kamari found themselves in her cozy kitchen, ingredients spread out on the countertop as they attempted to make dinner together. Shubman wore an apron Kamari had forced on him, which proudly proclaimed, "Kiss the Chef," complete with a cartoonish lipstick mark on the front.

Kamari smirked, looking over at him with raised eyebrows. "Looking good, Chef Shubman. Feeling confident?"

Shubman laughed, dramatically adjusting the apron strings. "Oh, absolutely. I am a natural in the kitchen." He picked up a tomato and twirled it around in his hands with exaggerated expertise.

Kamari snorted, grabbing the tomato out of his hand. "Yeah, right. I saw you struggle just trying to slice an onion."

"Listen," Shubman said, holding up his hands defensively, "the onion was slippery, alright? Those things have a mind of their own!"

She chuckled, patting his arm. "Fine, Chef. How about you take charge of the garlic? I'll handle the rest so we don't burn the kitchen down."

"Garlic? Easy," he replied, grabbing a clove and fumbling around for the garlic press. After a bit of a struggle, he managed to crush the garlic into a bowl, looking absurdly proud of himself. "See? This is practically Michelin-star level."

Kamari rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her smile. "I'll be the judge of that. Let's see if you can handle stirring the sauce without turning it into something we can't eat."

He leaned over, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Is that a challenge? Because you know I never back down from a challenge." He smirked, eyes glinting with mischief.

"Fine, prove it," Kamari challenged, handing him the spoon.

Shubman took the spoon with a dramatic flair and started stirring the tomato sauce with exaggerated concentration. He looked over at her and winked. "I got this."

Kamari folded her arms, leaning against the counter as she watched him. "Alright, Mr. Confident. Just don't splash it everywhere."

In no time, though, he was enthusiastically stirring, and sure enough, a small splash of tomato sauce flicked out of the pot and onto his cheek. Kamari burst out laughing, pointing at his face. "Oh my god, hold still! You've got sauce everywhere."

Shubman tried to look offended, though a grin broke through. "Hey, a little mess just adds to the flavor!"

"Sure it does," she teased, grabbing a kitchen towel to dab at the sauce on his cheek. As she leaned in to wipe it off, he caught her hand, pulling her closer.

"You know, I could get used to cooking if it always involves you fussing over me," he murmured, a teasing light in his eyes.

Kamari shook her head, biting back a smile. "You're just in it for the attention."

"Guilty as charged." He leaned in, brushing his lips against hers in a light kiss. "Besides, it's a perk of dating such a cute chef."

Kamari's cheeks flushed, but she held his gaze, eyes twinkling with mischief. "Well, if that's the case, then you should help me finish this masterpiece, don't you think?"

Together, they finished cooking, Shubman playfully trying to feed her bits of pasta and sneaking spoonfuls of sauce when he thought she wasn't looking. 

Finally, they plated their meal, proud of their work and their makeshift "culinary adventure."

As they sat down to eat, Shubman raised his fork in a mock toast. "To us. And to not setting the kitchen on fire!"

Kamari laughed, clinking her fork with his. "I'll drink to that. Here's to our kitchen chaos."

They dug in, and surprisingly, the food was delicious—a blend of flavours that seemed to reflect the perfect chaos of them in the kitchen. Kamari looked over at Shubman, who was busy eating, a satisfied grin on his face.

"Not bad for a team effort, huh?" she said, nudging him.

Shubman looked up, his eyes warm as he smiled at her. "Not bad at all. But it's only the start—I say we make this a weekly tradition."

"Weekly?" she teased, feigning surprise. "That's ambitious. You sure you're up for that much mess?"

He leaned over, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. "For you, babe? Always."

As they finished their meal, the cozy comfort of the kitchen started to settle over them. Shubman leaned back in his chair, looking over at Kamari with that affectionate, slightly mischievous smile that she'd come to know well.

"You know, I think I could get used to this whole domestic thing with you," he said, swirling the last bit of pasta on his plate. "I'm practically a five-star chef now."

Kamari raised an eyebrow, laughing. "Chef, huh? You're welcome to take over dinner anytime you like. I'll just sit back and supervise with a glass of wine."

"Ah, you're putting me in charge of everything now?" Shubman replied, feigning shock. "Watch out. Next, you'll be ordering me to make dessert."

Kamari leaned forward, smiling as she wiped a smear of sauce from the corner of his mouth. "Would you say no?"

"Not a chance," he grinned, catching her hand and holding it. "Especially if it means I get to keep you around the kitchen. Or maybe I'll just keep you around everywhere."

She squeezed his hand, her smile softening. "I'm not going anywhere, Chef."

As they finished cleaning up, Kamari leaned against the counter, watching as Shubman folded the kitchen towel with a sense of accomplishment. The sight made her grin.

"What?" he asked, catching her look.

"Nothing. Just—" she gestured at the little domestic scene they'd created "—I never thought you'd actually be so chill about cooking dinner at home. I'm still half-expecting you to suggest takeout every five minutes."

He laughed, reaching for her and pulling her close. "I'd go anywhere and eat anything if it's with you," he said, kissing her forehead. "Besides, who knew cooking with you could be this fun?"

She wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest as they swayed slightly in the quiet of the kitchen.

After a moment, Shubman broke the silence. "Alright, we've been domestic enough for one night. How about we celebrate our successful dinner with a late-night movie?"

Kamari looked up at him, eyes shining. "Perfect. But only if you let me pick the movie."

He groaned in mock protest. "Fine, fine. But no rom-coms where the guy has to run through the rain at the end, alright?"

"Oh, I make no promises," she laughed, tugging him toward the couch.

As they settled in with a blanket and a bowl of popcorn, Shubman kept one arm around Kamari, pulling her close. She started the movie, and he pretended to protest her choice, but soon they were both fully engrossed, stealing bites of popcorn and making fun of the characters on-screen.

"Okay, this guy's an idiot," Shubman commented as the lead made yet another poor choice.

Kamari laughed, nudging him. "You sound like you're personally offended by the movie plot."

"Because I am," he replied, hand resting on her shoulder. "They never get it right. Like, why can't they just talk it out instead of causing all this drama?"

Kamari gave him a look. "Pretty sure that's what makes it a movie, not real life."

"Still, it's unrealistic," he muttered, tucking her closer under his arm.

Kamari leaned her head on his shoulder, relaxing as the movie played on. "Maybe next time, I'll pick an action movie for you. Would that make you happy?"

He grinned, rubbing her shoulder. "I'll take any movie if it means you're watching it with me. Even the ones where the guy has to run through the rain."

Kamari looked up, kissing his cheek as they both settled into the peaceful quiet of their little movie night. The warmth of the kitchen and their laughter still lingered in the air, and for the moment, everything felt wonderfully, perfectly right.

soup rants!

so we have our twelfth chapter!

they're like so soft, i love them

so do comment if you liked this chapter!

- love soup!