The secret to making a great Baklava was in the patience. At least, that was what Itachi had said. At the moment, Pein wasn't feeling very patient at all, the kitchen a mess around him and his pathetic attempt at a Greek dessert obviously failing. He was doing horribly, and he knew it. All he'd wanted was to make Itachi his favorite dessert, surprise him and be romantic. But burnt to a crisp with too many nuts was not appealing, and currently that was all Pein had. How did Itachi make this? It was such meticulous work.
Pein pitched out the ruined batch, feeling a little withering in his chest as all his hard work went into the trashcan for the fourth time that day. When Itachi had said he'd be gone until seven Pein had thought that he'd be able to make his love enough Baklava to last a lifetime, but obviously not. Pein looked at the clock. He still had two hours until Itachi came back. He could make at least one batch that was edible by then. He bent over the oven, prepared for more hot, hard work.
By the time Itachi finally walked in, Pein was exhausted. He'd been cooking all day, running back and forth to the store as he ran out of ingredients, but he'd finally made Baklava. "Pein," he heard his lover call, "I'm back. Where are you?" Pein quickly shed his apron, cutting two wedges out of the pan and putting them on the fancy plates.
"I'm right here," he said, walking out of the kitchen. Itachi looked with confusion at the plates in Pein's hands, then his eyes widened cutely as he saw exactly what his boyfriend had for him. "And I've got homemade Baklava for you!"
"Oh, Pein, did you really make it yourself?" Itachi said, stepping closer and taking one of the plates. "I know you don't like cooking…"
"It was no problem," Pein said. "Let's sit down. How was your day?"
As they sat and Itachi started explaining what had happened, Pein took a bite of his culinary creation. He blinked. Wow, it was really good. It was better than the bite he'd stolen only five minutes before Itachi had walked in. Pein looked at Itachi and felt himself begin to smile. So that was the secret to a great Baklava. If only he'd known it before.
It had to be with the one you love.
Pein leaned over and gave Itachi a kiss on the forehead.