Wish You Were Here

Chapter 8: Saved Once Again

-Y/N's POV-

As days bled into weeks, my relationship with Alan has been growing over the past few days.

Mostly we spend our time talking about things, reminisce about unforgettable memories, laugh at hilarious jokes we told each other and of course, eating delicious food. Usually, it was Alan who is doing the cooking while me I only cooked like once or twice.

There was this one time where Alan saved me from burning another dish which I tried to cook on my own.

One evening, I decided to cook dinner for the both of us. Alan has done so much for me already and it is time for me to repay him for his kindness.

I slowly crept towards the kitchen to cook the dinner, and if you were wondering where Alan was at that time, well, he was having a nap in the living room. So, I slowly made my way towards the kitchen to take out some pots and pans out of the kitchen cabinet and I also took out some ingredients.

I grabbed the chopping board and started cutting up the ingredients such as tomatoes, onion, garlic, green onion, radishes, etc. etc.

I decided for tonight's dinner we would have a vegetable soup with a side of bacon. Bacon, for me, would always go so well with any dish whether it is with rice, or with soup.

So, I also took out bacon from the freezer and separated at least 5-6 strips of bacon. As I finished separating the bacon strips, I set that aside and grabbed the ingredients for the soup as it was already prepared.

I took out a pot and I placed it over the stove and started the fire (started at medium heat of course). I am not a cook myself, so I guess I just have to wing the process of making this dish and hoped that I wont burn anything this time. I decided to cook the vegetable soup first since the process of making this soup would be a little longer than cooking bacon.

I added in a little bit of oil, and waited for time to pass to make the pot hot before adding the onion and garlic in. The moment the garlic and onion hit the bottom of the pot, it started to sizzle, and the aroma started to become stronger. I breathed in the scent of it gosh, it smells so good I thought to myself.

-After Some Time-

Finally, the vegetable soup is ready. I looked over the pot to see all the ingredients swimming in the soup. Luckily, I did not burn this dish, I should be proud of myself.

Mom and Dad would be proud of me...

I set aside the pot of soup and grabbed a frying pan from one of the cabinets. Now that the soup is already done, it's time to cook the bacon.

This should be easy, right?

I added the oil to the frying pan and waited minutes before the pan is heated to my desired temperature. And in goes the bacon. After like 2-3 minutes of stirring the bacon, I began to yawn non-stop. I cannot be this tired already. I have only done a few things around the house. I have looked over to the living room to see that Alan has not stirred yet from his position in the couch. Okay, he is still sleeping meaning that I have been quiet for the rest of this cooking I thought to myself.

I made the fire to stove in medium heat and made my way to the dining table. That's it, I couldn't handle it anymore. My eyes were almost dropping at this moment so being careful I sat myself on the dining table and rested my head in my arms. After that, I completely dozed off.

-Alan's POV-

What is that smell? Was the question that came to me as I opened my eyes. I got up from the couch and looked around. Turns out Y/N has been cooking. I smiled to myself as I got myself out of the couch and made my way towards the kitchen area.

The first thing I saw when I entered was the sleeping figure of Y/N in the dinner table.

Looks like she's tired from all the cooking. I looked towards the kitchen counter to see a pot of soup just sitting there, patiently waiting to be served to its customers.

I looked back to where Y/N is sleeping and just as I was about to reach out to her shoulder or give her a hug, I suddenly smelled something coming from the kitchen itself. I sniffed and as I looked towards the stove my eyes widened, seeing that there are about 6 strips of bacon about to get burned. I hurriedly made my way to the stove to turn off the heat. Luckily, it was on medium heat, so parts of the bacon are still edible.

-Y/N's POV-

I awoke to the sound of plates clinking in the background.

The first thing that was on my mind was the bacon strips. Oh no, no, no, no... I quickly shot my head up to see whether I have burned the bacon or not but the first thing I saw was the figure of Alan plating the bacon strips himself. When did he wake up? And was he there before the bacon was completely burned to disaster?

And as if my thoughts have been read, Alan looked towards me and smiled. "Luckily, I woke up before the bacon was about to get completely burned" he started to say.

"I also cut some parts of the bacon which were still edible enough for the both of us to eat" he added bringing the plate of bacon to the kitchen counter.

I mumbled something under my breath, but Alan heard it and asked, "what was that?" his voice soft so I answered, "Sorry. I was tired and my eyes couldn't stand being open for a long time, so when I took a quick nap, I completely forgot about the bacon".

"Don't worry Y/N. It's okay, at least it wasn't completely burned it can still be consumed. People make mistakes and we learn from them. Nobody is perfect Y/N, remember that. And if you feel like you need the time to take a rest, you must. Don't overwork yourself, working without taking a break could be bad for you. So, I guess you deserved that 'quick nap' like you said" he said.

I looked at him, then I smiled and nodded at his words. Alan has been so understanding, he would be that kind of guy who would take care of you no matter what, and who would give good advice.

I stood up and made my way to carry the pot of soup. But just as I was about to lift the pot, Alan suddenly overlapped his hand over mine. I froze, looking at the sight of our hands, holding the handle of the pot at the same time. "I'll carry this. this seems a little bit too heavy for you to carry, you could carry the plate of bacon" he said, and he carried the pot to the dining table.

What just happened?

Anyways, I made my way towards the dining table, plate of bacon in my hands. I set the plate beside the pot of soup and sat down where plates were already displayed including bowls, spoons, and other utensils.

Halfway through the meal, Alan asked "you cooked dinner tonight, was there any reason to it?" Once again, his voice was soft as a pillow. I could sleep just by listening to his voice.

I finished the last bits of bacon and soup and drank a little bit of water before answering him. "Oh, there wasn't any reason to it, I just wanted to do this as a thank you for taking care of me for the past few weeks. You have done so much for me, and I wanted to repay that. So, I decided to be the one who will cook the dinner tonight"

For the rest of the evening, we talked and talked until we felt drowsy, and we headed to bed for a good night's sleep.