brooks & hale ✔️

hale

twenty seven ;
h a l e

"AND," HALE SAID, ADDING a pinch of garlic that he'd found in the huge pantry, "I'm done."

He took a step back to admire the finished product. As it so happened, chicken noodle soup was one of the few dishes he could cook from memory, because it had such a simple recipe and his mum made it whenever he was ill. He dipped his wooden spoon with awkwardly plastered fingers into the soup and tasted it with a satisfied nod. Damn, if this didn't fix Brooks right up, Hale didn't know what could.

"Hey, it actually looks good," Brooks said, gripping the edges of his stool as he leant forward to peer into the pan. He still looked too flushed and exhausted but Hale was glad he'd at least stopped shivering. "It probably smells good too, but I can't smell anything, which sucks."

"Trust me, it smells great," Hale said, ladling large spoonfuls of the steaming soup into a bowl. "Ready to have your mind blown?"

Brooks looked amused. "Really that good, huh?"

"Of course. Cooking is one of my many talents."

"If you say so," Brooks smiled, spinning around in his barstool as Hale rummaged around in the drawers in search of a spoon.

Hale stepped around the counter with the bowl and spoon, preparing to slide it across to him when he had a better idea. Brooks had his elbows propped on the counter and was blinking sleepily at him, patiently waiting. "You know," Hale drawled, with a mischievous look, "you really are very sick, Brooks. Too weak to even pick up a spoon."

Brooks looked confused. "Huh?"

"I doubt you could feed yourself," Hale went on, scooping up a spoonful of soup with a smirk. "So let me do it for you."

Brooks' eyes widened and quickly leant back. "W-what? No way," he stammered, getting so flustered that his entire face turned an even brighter shade of red. "You're not feeding me, Hale!"

"Why not?" Hale asked innocently. "It's a perfectly reasonable request. There doesn't have to be anything sexual about it. Unless, of course, you want there to be," Hale added with a teasing look.

Hale was just messing with him because it was too much fun not to, especially when Brooks only got even more embarrassed. "I don't...um, you don't have to...shut up," he grumbled, when Hale's smirk only widened. "I hate you, sometimes."

"Sure you do. Now let me look after you properly," Hale said, wiggling the spoon towards his mouth. "Open wide."

Brooks scrunched his nose up in that adorable manner and finally sighed, opening his mouth. Hale grinned in triumph and stuck the spoon into his mouth. Brooks' eyes widened again, for an entirely different reason, and he swallowed the mouthful. "Well?" Hale said. "Mind blown or what?"

"This is actually really good," Brooks admitted, and Hale couldn't decide whether he was affronted or pleased by his awed expression. He figured he should just take the compliment and go with the latter. "Since when could you cook so well?"

"I help my mum make this stuff every time the twins were ill, just so there was enough for both of them. TJ is a strange kid who eats more when he's sick."

Brooks looked impressed. "Well, offer her my praise. You could become a chef with this."

"Oh yeah," Hale agreed, with a thoughtful nod. "Definitely. I could open up a restaurant dedicated to chicken noodle soup."