Arthur and Antonio both happened to have the day off on Sunday, so Antonio had invited his friend over for lunch that afternoon.
Antonio hadn't planned on making the meal an extravagant affair, but the facts that he couldn't decide what to make, and the wide range of delicious ingredients on the market that day were going cheap meant that he ended up buying whatever he thought looked good. A leg of serrano ham here, a few threads of saffron there...And some shiny tomatoes...And perhaps some clams too, no, wait, should I go for the squid instead? Screw it, let's get both!
That kind of thinking had left Antonio with a very light wallet, and several heavy bags he'd had to haul home. Now he stood in his rather small kitchen, with his spoils laid neatly about the worktop, as he pondered on what he should do with everything he'd bought, given that he now had enough to make a veritable feast...Perhaps he'd do just that! Prepare a delicious range of dishes and impress Arthur with his culinary skills, wait, impress Arthur? What am I thinking?
The last dish was just about ready when Antonio's phone vibrated sharply against his thigh, alerting him of Arthur's arrival. He hurried to the door to let his friend in, ushering him proudly to the table.
Arthur's eyes widened in complete delight as he scanned the dishes Antonio had prepared; a brick-red garlic soup, on top of which sat a soft white egg, fish and clams, tinted delicately with their accompanying wine sauce, breaded beef fillets with a wonderfully crisp, golden crust, and slices of melon wrapped in neat ribbons of serrano ham all jostled for attention, their powerful scents permeating through the entire apartment.
"Wow...You made all of this?" Arthur signed, tearing his eyes away from the display.
His companion cheekily signed, "Every last morsel," as he threw a playful grin in Arthur's direction. "Shall we?"
Arthur nodded affirmatively and sat beside Antonio, deciding on trying the soup first. It was wonderfully flavoured, tart, but fragrant and overall absolutely delicious. He could've polished off the entire dish if it weren't for the fact he didn't want to look like a pig in front of Antonio...
Despite being thoroughly stuffed, and not being used to eating this much so early in the day, Arthur insisted on helping Antonio do the dishes, carefully carrying the beautifully decorated pottery out to the kitchen, and resisting the urge to ogle Antonio and his broad hips, which swung in tandem with his footsteps.
"How was it?" Antonio mouthed, as he shoved his forearms into soapy water.
No words could ever do Antonio's cooking justice, let alone signs. "That was incredible. Your cooking is truly something special," Arthur mouthed, joining Antonio in the growing mass of bubbles in the sink.
Their hands touched, just for a moment under the water, prompting both to pause and gaze at each other in embarrassment for a few seconds. Then Antonio playfully flicked a splash of water at Arthur, who, in response, dabbed him on the nose with a few suds. Antonio gave his friend a mocking glare before he scooped up a handful of water, and dumped it on Arthur's head, prompting the now very wet Brit to turn on the tap, full blast, and jam it with his thumb, soaking the young Spaniard's white shirt until it turned translucent.
He barely had time to gasp at how beautiful Antonio was beneath that shirt; light olive skin, shining delicately under the wet cotton, before his companion bowled him over, leaving Arthur pinned to the ground.
"You won't get away with that!" Arthur mouthed teasingly, rolling them both over so that he was now on top of Antonio.
What happened next just felt...natural.
Arthur's eyes drifted shut as he locked lips with Antonio, waiting for him to start kissing back before he slipped his tongue inside, tasting all of the wonderful flavours from lunch in one go, again in his friend's mouth. The taste of their kiss was something rather special, something that no chef could ever hope to recreate.
That magical moment, shared just with Arthur stirred up emotions Antonio never thought he'd feel again.
Neither of them noticed the front door clattering to the ground beside them as they deepened their kiss...