It wasn't every day that Loki found himself in the kitchen trying to prepare a meal for him and Tom. He didn't favour mortal food at all, but he didn't mind it. He can stand Tom's cooking and exceptionally enjoys the way he cooks. But, ever since they've been together, Tom did all the cooking for the two of them which includes breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, Tom makes lunch for Loki or he just heats up left overs in the microwave.

Recently Loki has been feeling like he hasn't been doing his share of the household duties, and letting Tom do everything. Although Tom doesn't complain, he does express some annoyance in some areas of daily mortal work. So, Loki finally had enough of sitting on the sidelines and he decided he would prepare dinner for his lover and himself.

He's seen Tom cook in the kitchen hundreds of times, but he never actually cooked in a midguardian kitchen before. But, as stubborn as he is, he refused to ask Tom to teach him how to follow a recipe in a "cookbook" and how to use the materials required.

"A cup of flour?" Loki read out loud to himself, before cursing under his breath, very irritated he couldn't understand what a "cup" meant. "Idiotic mortal books! This makes no sense!"

Loki grumbled and went to grab the so called "flour" in the pantry. He looked around on the shelves for any label that read "flour". Loki looked on the bottom shelf and saw a bag of flour. He picked it up and carried it to the counter in the kitchen. He tried to open the bag with both hands, but had no luck. Loki cursed and grinded his teeth together violently. He placed his hands on either side of the bag and pulled as hard as he could.

What came to a shock was, when he ripped open the bag, it flew across the counter as flour went everywhere. Loki was covered in flour and he looked at the mess he made on the counter, windows and other items. He sighed, now worried that Tom will make him sleep on the couch tonight because of this mess.

Loki shook his head and knew that his lover won't be home for another couple hours. He had time to clean this up and make dinner without making another mess… hopefully.

…

"Loki darling, I'm home," Tom called as he walked through the door wearing his dark blue wind breaker jacket, and white sneakers. He took off his shoes and coat and put them in the nearby closet. Shortly after, he started to smell a burning smoke coming from the kitchen. In concern, Tom started walking towards the kitchen, wondering what happened while he was at work today.

"Loki?" Tom called out, but there was no answer which made him even more worried. Is Loki ok, is he hurt? Was there a fire? He then heard a loud crash from the kitchen that sounded like something metal or glass. Tom stopped to put a hand over his chest to recover from being startled. Once he composed himself, he heard his lover shout in a full anger tantrum.

"Damn it, you bloody, useless piece of junk!"

Tom instantly ran into the kitchen and was completely taken aback from the disastrous sight before his eyes. Water was spilled everywhere on the counter and floor, the front right stove element is on high with what it looked like burnt vegetables on a pan, but Tom couldn't tell because the food was black as coal. Various spices were spilled amongst the counter; a sauce was spilled all over the floor along with a whole chicken which was almost completely burnt as well that was placed under a cookie sheet. The oven was open with smoke coming out of it.

Tom glanced up at Loki who is wearing one of his jeans and t-shirts. Loki had stains, sauce and water all over his clothes, his black hair was messed up, and he appeared to have small swollen burns on his right arm and hand.

"Loki!" Tom gasped in shock. He barely could comprehend that his lover managed to make such a mess in the kitchen. He was always quiet and subtle when he came home at night from work, and usually bored.

"Hello Thomas," Loki replied in a low tone, refusing to look at his lover because he is so utterly embarrassed and upset.

"W-what on earth happened?!" Tom asked still in a state of shock, glancing around the room then back at Loki.

"Nothing," Loki said bending over and picking up the cookie sheet with the chicken, and closed the oven door in the process. He placed the chicken on the counter and tried to turn off the stove but he couldn't figure it out. In frustration, he used his pointer finger and started jamming a bunch of random buttons. "Curse this goddamn machine!"

Tom walked over to Loki, "Loki, Loki, stop!"

Tom gently pushed Loki's arm away and pressed the "clear" button on the stove. Tom then turned off the stove element and removed the pan off to another element; placing the scraps in the compost. He turned to his lover and saw that Loki's eyes were beginning to glass over, and his mouth was quivering.

"Sweetheart," said Tom in a more soothing voice, placing his hands on Loki's arms to turn him around. "Tell me what happened. I promise I won't be mad."

"I-I tried to cook dinner…" Loki began in anger, embarrassment and sadness. His voice was cracking up, trying not to break down in front of Tom like this. "But, clearly my efforts weren't effective."

Tom could tell that Loki was trying to fight back his tears and hold a brave front. He is the only one who can tell when Loki is fighting his vulnerability. Tom sighed and cupped Loki's cheek, stroking it with his fingers.

"Loki, it's ok," Tom reassured his lover with a small smile, and then he turned more serious. "But, you should've asked me to teach you how to cook. What you did was dangerous; something may have caught on fire, and you may be more seriously injured." Tom moved his hand to the back of Loki's neck, rubbing slowly in circles, speaking softly again. "You never expressed any interest in cooking, Loki. Why did you want to cook dinner?"

Loki stayed silent, his cheeks flushing a light shade of pink and Tom noticed. This was unusual; Loki rarely ever blushed in front of him before. This was the most vulnerable he's been in a while.

"Loki?" Tom tried again, hoping for a straight answer.

"You do everything for us, Thomas," Loki confessed, and his voice sounded irritated and huffed. He felt his cheeks heat up as he spoke the truth to his lover. "I just wished to do my share of the work to help you out. I wanted to surprise you with dinner."

Loki huffed again and rolled his eyes slightly because he rather stay annoyed than be open with his feelings.

"Oh Loki," Tom said feeling his own eyes swell with tears as he brought Loki into a warm, affectionate embrace. He placed a kiss on the crook of his lover's neck and squeezed tightly. He never thought Loki cared this much for him and the daily work that goes into sharing a flat together. Tom felt Loki's arms wrap around him and held him in place. Loki let out a single tear, and didn't feel it at all.

This embrace lasted several minutes until Tom broke it and framed Loki's face with his palms.

"Thank you," Tom said giving his lover a warm smile. "But you should never feel ashamed to ask for help. Everyone needs help, and there's nothing wrong with needing it."

"I'm a god!" Loki tried to protest but Tom was making it difficult by making him more vulnerable than he's used to. Tom continued to smile at him. It was adorable to see Loki try and cover up. "I certainly don't need mortals telling me what to do."

"So you are just going to master everything right away?" Tom clarified as Loki blushed and turned away. "Not working, darling. You know I can see right through this act." He forced Loki to look at him. "How about we clean this mess up and order in?"

Loki tried to snarl but failed miserably, "But what about my midguardian chicken?"

Tom looked at the nearly black whole chicken on the counter and chuckled.

"Sure, if you like the taste of coal," Tom teased as Loki pouted. Tom sighed and ran a hand through Loki's black hair. "Loki, we both know that chicken is burnt and it won't taste good." Loki rolled his eyes. "Darling, it was a strong effort, and I really appreciate the thought."

Loki sighed, knowing he can't keep up this act any longer.

"We'll clean this up and order in tonight?" Tom suggested. "I promise I'll give you a cooking lesson on the weekend, ok?"

"That plan will be acceptable," Loki mutters. Tom smiled and gives Loki a soft kiss on the lips.

"Ok, now go get a few wash cloths from the bathroom, and I'll do the dishes," Tom said running the tap water under the sink.

"Alright."

Loki walked off and then Tom called out to him before he was able to leave the room.

"Loki?" Tom asked as he turned around.

"Yes?"

"Remember, I love you, no matter what you do."

Loki couldn't help but smile, "I love you too."