A/N: A HaruMisa AU where Misaki becomes a youtuber when he lost his job at Marukawa and becomes a top youtube chef with his own cookbook. Haruhiko becomes his cameraman after Misaki becomes serious in preparing for videos.
EDIT: I ended up adding a bit more to the story since I realized I didn't complete some sentences. lmao
Thanks for reading!
-Lucicelo
[A relaxing and peaceful piano piece played in the background as different clips of cutting vegetables, cooking montages, and ingredients came on the screen. At the end, a young man with brown hair and green eyes, showed the finished product with a big smile. The words, "Chef Takahashi's Kitchen" finished the entry.]
"Welcome, my name is Takahashi Misaki and I will be preparing a lovely bento box that anyone can enjoy." Misaki bowed low with a small smile on his face.
The screen shifted to Misaki tying his hair back in a low ponytail and putting a headband to push back his bangs. He donned on a dark blue apron and made himself presentable. On the left side of his apron, his name was sewn into the fabric.
Afterwards, he set out all the ingredients on the counter and the names appeared on the screen. He began explaining the ways his viewers could prepare the ingredients for an early morning or the night before. Adding in quips over his own disasters in the kitchen, he reassured the viewer that everyone made mistakes and not to beat themselves up over it.
He began cutting the ingredients in small clips and showcased his knife skills.
The scene cut, showing a closer view of the vegetable Misaki was cutting. He explained the easiest way to cut the vegetable while reaffirming everyone to curl their fingers to prevent a cut in the kitchen.
Nibbling on a piece of dried seaweed, Misaki shifted through the footage with a calculating eye. Noting his natural presence in front of the camera, Misaki smiled light. After ten videos, he didn't pause in fear or embarrassment. The first few videos never failed to make Misaki hunch into his shoulders and cringe. He didn't blame people for not clicking those videos. After studying ways to edit his videos, he added a mascot to represent him and added words to further describe what he said.
For the first time in months, Misaki felt excitement and anticipation in his work. His cooking hobby brought in a new facet to his life. He loved sharing the cooking knowledge he learned from his parents and his grandparents. In some comments, he linked posts and videos of fellow cooks for them to gain their own traction. Anything to inspire others to take up cooking and find pride in creating nourishment for themselves.
The looming cloud of depression dissipated the more he interacted with the people who enjoyed his videos. Without his editing job, his free time opened up for him to test out the cooking on video hobby. He watched more than enough cooking videos on youtube for him to want to give it a try. He thought it was easy.
Until, he filmed his first video.
The awkwardness of his movements, stammering through his instructions, and how he avoided looking into the camera, made for an interesting first video. No matter how much he tried refilming and editing the video, it showed his lack of experience in front of the camera.
Misaki read the critiques from his comment section and was relieved at the lack of trolling. Then, he noted what he needed to improve down and took them to heart. He began practicing scenes without the camera present as he prepared meals in his home.
Whenever his husband returned early from work, Misaki got him to sit on the island table to provide an audience. His husband didn't understand why he wanted to produce cooking videos, but he supported his hobby. Haruhiko provided his own critiques while praising Misaki's meals.
Misaki's practice paid off in the improvement of his content. His editing and easygoing persona changed the overall vibe of his videos. This was what he imagined when he first started his channel. A homey everyday guy showing people that he loved to cook.
A representation of how he saw himself whenever he cooked at home.
Although, filming wasn't easy as everyone claimed it would be.
Filming videos brought its own anxieties, but not to the extent of his previous job. Editing novels for Marukawa and the carelessness of his department made Misaki dread going into work. Still, he enjoyed interacting with his idol, Ijuuin sensei. Whenever he had time off, he helped Ijuuin's editor bring inspiration and coffee to perk the man up to continue his manga.
Despite his connections, Misaki was fired due to the department shoving him into the line of fire. Somehow, an anticipated second in a trilogy was leaked online. It took a few hours for the company to find out and got it removed from the site. Although, it was too late to stop the distribution of downloading sites and fans managed to get their hands on it. Spoilers spread through different sites, ruining the anticipation from fans who wanted to be surprise through reading the book. The author was devastated of the lack of security and screamed at the department head for his incompetence.
Misaki didn't know who messed up enough for the book to leak into the internet, but he knew for a fact that it wasn't him. He was placed with a different author who finished their book and Misaki sent it off to the printers. No matter how much he defended himself, the department turned their backs on him. His boss threatened to get him blacklisted if he didn't take the fall.
Misaki was fired and sent packing without a letter of reference.
Weeks later, Misaki got a phone call from Isaka. Misaki was relieved when Isaka cleared his name. Isaka investigated the whole issue and looked through all the paperwork. He realized Misaki was with another author and not with the one whose work was exposed.
The whole department was reprimanded, almost fired, and new bright eyed editors took their place in the hierarchy.
Misaki relished in having won, but didn't accept Isaka's proposition to go back. He liked filming youtube videos and received new chef friends in return. At least, he could do freelance editing in the future.
Once Haruhiko noted the seriousness of the YouTube videos, he offered to become the background person. He could handle the camera and move in different angles to add onto Misaki's videos. From viewing a few of his husband's videos, he noted some stiff scenes where it suddenly cut into a different area in the kitchen. It was obvious that Misaki positioned his tripod in order to get the right shot, but there wasn't an organic camera person to guide the camera just right.
Sure, it intervened with his day job as an architect, but the grateful smile on Misaki's face was worth it.
"Really?!" Misaki hugged Haruhiko tight. "But, aren't you currently working on a big project?"
Haruhiko shook his head. "Yes, I'm still working on my project. I can always make time for to help you. I noted you film two different videos a week to have a backlog for uploads." He ruffled Misaki's hair and pressed their foreheads together. "You can always add on another day of filming in order for you to have two upload days,"
Misaki beamed. "That's a good idea!" He furrowed his brows. "I might have to rearrange my current lineup to make sure the weekly uploads don't run out. Hmm...Hikkun do you have family recipes? That is if you want to give them to me! I don't mind if you-"
"Not much." Haruhiko admitted. "My mother wasn't one for cooking. My grandmother left me with some recipes from her mother."
Misaki nodded with determination. "I'll dedicate a week to family recipes. My own grandparents left me multiple recipes and they wrote everything down in a book. Now, that I think about it, I have to transfer them to a new book. Might as well make it a whole month."
Haruhiko watched in awe as Misaki began typing the ideas on his phone.
Not too long after Misaki hit 30k subscribers, his videos were edited to include English, Spanish, Chinese, and Korean subtitles. Haruhiko knew a multitude of languages, due to thinking ahead for his career ambitions, and made sure to translate Misaki's words to the letter. Haruhiko teased Misaki over certain comments he let slip into his videos and Misaki could do nothing more than fake punch his husband's chest.
As a result, Misaki's videos became easily accessible for a larger audience and his subscriber base rose higher. Misaki was stunned when he woke up one morning to 80k subscribers. Haruhiko's plan in adding in subtitles was a huge success.
Misaki kissed Haruhiko senseless for his brilliant idea.
When he checked his analytics, he saw that a majority of his viewer base were women, but men were slowly subscribing to him. A good base for him to work off of. He knew many men were intimidated in the kitchen and he wanted to lessen the fear.
Misaki couldn't help but produce a special where he showed his appreciation to his audience. He voiced gratitude over the kind comments from all walks of life who watched his videos. He showed off the fanart that people sent him online and made sure to include usernames for people to check them out.
[100k Blooper Special]
"Hikkun!" Misaki whined as a hand appeared on screen and wiped away the whipped cream from his face.
A deep rumbling laugh broke in the background as Misaki squawked.
"This isn't funny! I didn't know the attachment wasn't on properly!" Misaki scrambled to clean up his counter as the laughter continued. "Don't just stand there, help me!"
The disembodied voice's laughter calmed down enough for him to comment. "But, Micchan, I'm just your cameraman. I'm not supposed to enter the screen for any purposes."
Before Misaki could retort, a towel was throw at him from behind the camera.
Misaki caught it without an issue and then stuck his tongue out at Hikkun.
Misaki cringed at the hot piece of food he placed in his mouth. He opened his mouth and huffed out small breaths to cool his tongue down. Stubborn to not spit it out, he began bouncing on his feet and fought past the uncomfortable feeling. He began chewing and couldn't savor the flavors before he gulped.
His cameraman teased him. "How does it taste?"
Misaki glared at him before he huffed out, "Delicious,"
When Misaki left the screen, he left behind a plate of well decorated rice balls on the counter. Each one contained a different flavor, but were decorated beautifully for display and photos.
It didn't take long for Hikkun to make an appearance. Well, for his body to strut in front of the screen. From the neck down, he showed off his fit form in a v neck shirt and his broad shoulders. He snuck multiple rice balls into his hands before he rushed out of frame.
From behind the camera, the sounds of munching filled the audio.
Misaki noted the missing rice balls and snapped his face toward the camera. "Hikkun!"
Misaki pulled a tie from beyond the screen and yanked down a man. The mischievous smile on Misaki's smile gave away his intentions as his face disappeared from view. The sound of a smack, a shared laugh, and Hikkun commenting about the camera were heard.
Misaki's reddened face was partially seen as he stammered out. "H-Hikkun! Don't tell me that was recording!"
Hikkun deadpanned. "It wasn't recording."
"That better be erased from this video!"
"Hmm...maybe."
On Misaki's 500k special, he decided on a Q&A livestream instead of cooking. After all, he answered questions about food prep and replacements for ingredients during his videos or filmed a specialized video that focused on these subjects. He owed it to his audience to answer some personal questions. Anything related to his brother's family or his husband wouldn't be outright answered.
He prepared the questions on his phone and split the screen to show the chat portion of the livestream.
Before he started, he rearranged his living room to look nice. Adding pillows and a throw pillow on his couch, he brought in a tray of iced tea and an array of treats. He made sure to position the camera away from the seat Haruhiko chose to sit on. After all, Haruhiko checked on the livestream through his laptop and became a moderator. This fact calmed many of Misaki's concerns.
He nodded to husband that he was ready.
Haruhiko hit the livestream button.
"Welcome everyone!" Misaki got up from the couch and bowed. "Thank you all for coming to my five hundred thousand special!" He sat back down and picked up his phone. "I rearranged the questions I received from Instagram and twitter. There will be some I won't answer due to privacy reasons, but thank you again for the submissions."
Haruhiko gave Misaki a thumbs up.
Misaki continued on through talking about his day and answering the first few questions.
Haruhiko made sure to filter out the trolls and block people who wanted to distress Misaki. Ever since Misaki's audience grew bigger, there were those who wanted to hurt Misaki through commenting hurtful things to ruin his good mood.
Haruhiko wasn't going to allow that to happen.
"Question number eight, who is the camera man? Why doesn't he show up in the videos? Oh...well, Hikkun is my husband." Misaki blushed. "And to answer the second one, he works a day job and he doesn't want to expose his face. Sort of why I use this nickname for him whenever I speak to him in my videos. I respect his privacy in this matter and I won't force him to come behind the camera if he doesn't want to."
Haruhiko added in. "It's not that I feel embarrassed over Micchan's current occupation, but I'm not comfortable in front of a camera."
Misaki chuckled. "Yeah, Hikkun is far more awkward than I am on camera. And that's saying something! Remember my first video?"
"Ah, but you've improved vastly since the beginning."
Misaki rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks, Hikkun."
Haruhiko smiled at the sight of Misaki's fans typing kind things about their relationship. It seemed a majority of people figured out their relationship due to their blooper special. Misaki forgot he left the clip in there until he received multiple messages about his secret rendezvous with his camera man.
Misaki swiped down his finger and continued. "Question nine, what made you want to do youtube videos?" He hissed and peeked up at the camera. "Uh...I lost my job due to circumstances that have since been resolved. I can always go back to editing books, but I found myself enjoying youtube. So, I guess I'll stick to doing this until I lose my passion for it."
"Unless, you publish a cookbook." Haruhiko suggested.
Misaki snapped his attention onto Haruhiko and tilted his head to the side. "A cookbook?"
Haruhiko nodded his head.
Misaki hummed out loud, "Um...maybe? I don't know. I never really thought to publish my own book. It seems like so much work. I saw how hard the authors worked to get their work published."
An influx of comments begged Misaki to publish a cookbook.
Misaki gaped. "Eh? Everyone, I haven't even thought of creating my own cook book! But, maybe in the future!"
Isaka waved his hands around with a refreshing smile. "C'mon, Haruhiko, there's no need to glare at me. You're the one who called me to set up this meeting. Now what exactly do you want from me? If this is about Micchan's job position, he knows he can have it back at anytime."
Haruhiko slurped his cup of tea, eyes cold as ice as he stared deep into Isaka's panicked pair. Ever since they were younger, Haruhiko clashed with Isaka's playful and joking nature. His half brother, Akihiko, felt the same way about this man. Yet, they both interacted with Isaka in a variety of ways. Haruhiko through Misaki working for him and his half brother published his books through the company.
Haruhiko shivered at the idea of sharing anything in common with that man.
"Misaki will, in the future, search for a publishing house to print out his cook book. Since he has a nice connection with Marukawa, he might call you to make an offer or ask for a meeting to describe his idea."
"Cookbook?" Isaka uttered out. "Since when does he cook?"
Haruhiko responded. "Since he was a child."
"Really? Huh. No wonder he always ate in the office, he brought his own little bento. Damn, Haruhiko, you lucky bastard. You have an adorable cook at home while I have to eat out." Isaka placed a hand on his chest.
Haruhiko arched a brow. "Asahina-san, prepares your bento."
Isaka huffed out. "Play along with me here. Kaoru makes delectable food, but Misaki just has that cute aspect going for him."
Saying nothing else, Haruhiko sipped his tea.
"Killjoy." Isaka harrumphed. "Anyways, you don't need to set all this up to promote Misaki's cookbook. I'll do it without issue on my part. If his audience is huge, it will sell well. Besides, it's the least I can do for him." Isaka let out a deep sigh. "Don't think that I still don't feel bad about what happened to Misaki. His old department head tried to gloss over everything and he didn't realize Misaki was connected."
Haruhiko hummed.
Isaka tapped his fingers on the table as he grinned. "Does Misaki know you're in this meeting with me? You know how that boy feels about people surprising him with expensive things."
"No." Haruhiko shook his head. "But, I brought up the idea recently and Misaki is coming around the idea of publishing in the future. He will trust you enough to come to you first."
"Good," Isaka agreed. "I'm not letting Micchan publish anywhere other than Marukawa! You can be sure of that!"
Half a year later, Misaki posted a series of images on Instagram that caused a stir in his fanbase.
In a shuffle of images, Misaki stood in his kitchen with red eyes as he held a book in front of him. It didn't take long for everyone to realize that it was his cookbook. Misaki stood on the cover with a pure black apron with his mascot embroidered on the apron. His arms motioned down to the completed meal in front of him.
One slide had a small video showed Misaki, almost crying, thanking everyone for making it possible for him to get to that point.
The last video was somewhat blurry due to Hikkun showing up on screen. As Misaki broke down into tears, half of Hikkun's face showed as he comforted Misaki with a hug. There was an exchange of words where Misaki thanked his husband for being supportive and not sneering at his new ambitions.
Haruhiko continued on holding him until the video ended.
In time, Misaki received news of his cookbook selling enough for a reprint.
The end.