-Part two- Cooking with Portugal

Portugal flinched as he went into Thailand's kitchen. The maids were cooking something terrifying and its smell was so nasty it pricked the inside of his nose. He tried so hard to sneeze but ended up choking more of spicy air into his lung.

'What in the world are you cooking?' he finished the sentence with a rather high pitch. It made him sounded furious even though he didn't mean it that way. The poor Portugal was only trying his best to breathe some fresh air but his shaky struggling sent the maids scattered in fear. Thailand came in panicking shortly after the chaos broke. He started to run around with a small cup in his hand when he saw the heavily-coughing Portugal. By the time he got back to an older country, the cup was full with fresh-scented water[i]. Portugal washed down his throat in one gulp. Much to his surprise, the itchy sensation was almost immediately gone.

'Those were chilies' the boy took back the cup to fill it up again before he handed back to Portugal. The suffered country gave him a light frown when he thought of the dish that the fearsome ingredients would turn into. But he had a more important question in mind.

'You don't tell me those chilies are going into tonight's menu,…do you?' he paused at the thought of the possibilities while he glanced back at Thailand, making sure the boy didn't feel offensive about the topic. Thailand seemed oblivious to Portugal's concern behind the question. He leaded the older country to their way out of kitchen while signaled the maids to continue with their chores.

'It's not going to be spicy when they're done with it. Please don't worry' Thailand said. His face was more relaxed than the time when they first met. But the boy had never once smile. Instead, he kept scratching his eyes every time Portugal saw him and it got worse especially before meal times. Thailand now had to carry a leather bag filled with water at all times (so he could wash his eyes when it became unbearable).

'How about I cook for you tonight? You have never tried eating foreign food before, right?' He smiled faintly at the younger country, feeling bad for Thailand as he tried his best to save his own health (and his tongue). Thailand was blushing but he gave a slight nod.

'If it doesn't bother you too much...' the boy rubbed the back of his head.

'No no! I'd be happy to cook for you! Just leave it to me' Portugal was beaming with excitement. It's true that part of it was because he could get away with Thailand's cooking but other than that, he really wanted Thailand to try his cuisine.

_

'NO! No one puts clams together with pork. You have to separate them into two dishes' Thailand whined when he saw Portugal put clams and pork cubes into the same dish.

'And you can't eat them plainly without herbs and chilies. That would be tasteless!' The boy had been giving Portugal a non-stop advice since he started cooking. First he spoiled the boy by letting him do whatever he wanted but this time he plainly ignored Thailand.

'And he already slipped some cumin and black pepper into my beans. I didn't know he was so sneaky' Portugal thought as he sighed helplessly at Thailand's eagerness over remaking his dishes. But Portugal had to hold his breath when he realized that Thailand was sprinkling some red powder over his finished clams and pork.

'Hey, what are you doing? What's that...thing...in your hand?' the poor Portugal struggled to keep his cool. Thailand turned to him and beamed, for the first time he saw the boy smiled and with such cheerful look on his face. But the smile cost Portugal to lose the originality in his second favorite dish. He couldn't get mad at the boy but he had to keep him away from 'his' temporary kitchen. Portugal dragged Thailand to the corner of the kitchen where the boy should be able to see him cooking without interrupting in the process. When Portugal pinned the younger country down the chair, Thailand started rubbing his eyes intensely.

'What's wrong? You sure do that a lot. Something gets in your eyes?

Thailand shook his head. He looked up at Portugal with his watery eyes which had turned slightly red. 'I always had itchy eyes since I was little. China said it must be something in my kitchen that caused the problem but he couldn't figure out what it is. So he gave me the glasses to help protecting them.'

Portugal's heart skipped a beat when he came to understand why the boy needed the glasses. He soaked a clean cloth with cool water then returned to Thailand, covered it over the boy's eyes so he couldn't see Portugal's blank expression. The younger country sensed a strangely quiet air around him so he swung his arms randomly, hoping to get a hold on Portugal's petty coat.

'Portugal? Where are you?' Thailand started to feel uncomfortable with his eyes blinded.

'…I'm still here' Portugal answered. His cheerful tone had disappeared. 'Do you feel better now?'

'This is great! I should have done this a long time ago. You're genius, Portugal!' another bright beam from Thailand but his smile would look much better if Portugal could see the boy's innocence eyes. Portugal teasingly tapped Thailand's forehead as he forced himself together.

'Here, have this' He put a huge caramel bar into smaller hands. Thailand quickly remembered what it was from the smell. 'This should last at least 5 minutes for you' Portugal chuckled.

Thailand instantly devoured his caramel while Portugal made his way back to the stove. 'I hope you don't get bored with sweet stuffs just yet. I still have one more dessert left on today's menu'

Thailand almost jumped out of his chair. He chomped down his favorite bar even faster than before. Portugal laughed at the scene as he started to pour some milk into egg yolks [ii] but something smelled strange.

'Thailand, where is this milk come from?' Portugal wrinkled his nose.

'Oh! Err…milk from cow is rare and pretty expensive so I replace it with coconut milk~' Portugal could feel the excitement danced in his little friend's body. He too could feel heated air blew out from both his ears.

'WHY YOU LITTLE...'

'Or you could use buffalo's milk if you prefer. It's a bit stinky but that should be fine.' Thailand cut in, oblivious as ever.

'Right, you GOT me' Portugal's lips curved into a smirk as he thought.

[i] In old days, people usually mixed some leafs/flower into drinking water to add some scent.

[ii] One of many Portuguese's dessert recipes which Thailand had adapted into its culture, in this case, custard made with coconut milk. It is still widely popular in Thailand to this day.