a/n: Sara, I kind of hate you for asking for this pairing because IT WAS SO HARD TO WRITE. Thank the gods for soundtracks.

Warning & Disclaimer: Anything you recognize I can guarantee is not mine. Mistakes are mine, though, le sadface.

For Sara, because she is the only person I would have done this hellacious fic for.

–

'with a touch of flour and love'

or:

five foods the beast attempts to make for his beauty.

–

first.

It's plain to anyone who's met him, the Beast is no cook, he's always had someone to feed him and he's never cared much for the art of creating edible dishes. Belle, on the other hand, loves to bake and create and he has to impress her somehow.

He doesn't understand how much he loves her until his furry hands are covered in flour and he's about an inch away from shutting Ms. Potts in a cupboard for a year.

She laughs when he sets the sad excuse for bread in front of her, but she eats every bit of her side of the loaf and gives him a long hug afterwards.

He thinks that there might be something to this cooking thing after all.

–

second.

Soup, by all means, should not be harder than bread, but by the third attempt he's about to lose his temper and Cogsworth is cowering behind a frying pan. Still, he manages to get the potatoes to stop dissolving and the broth comes out tasting less like cabbage than the first time.

She's been absorbed in a book all day, reading about a prince in a far off place and she thinks that most books have it wrong about princes. They always talk about bravery and grand gestures, but as the bowl of home made soup sets in front of her, she knows that loving a prince is about the moments when they don't have to be brave or strong, but tender and sincere.

So maybe he mixed up the spices and added way too many carrots, it's the most difficult hand created gift she's ever received from a man and that's more than enough for her.

–

third.

Adam knows that Belle is a fan of sweets; it's her guilty pleasure, she'd told him all about the cakes in the market her father would bring home to her as a girl. They'd been married a year and their anniversary was fast approaching when he decides that he's going to make her the perfect cake.

Of course, he'd counted on being human again to prove to miraculously cure his dismal skills in the culinary arts, and that didn't happen. At all. Instead, he was clumsy in the kitchen, spilling flour and sugar and getting icing all over everything. Ms. Potts had to leave the room to keep from exploding at all the mess.

The cake was a patchwork of colors and frosting, but he managed to make one, and was immensely proud at the kiss he received as reward from his wife. She didn't mention to him that you were supposed to put the frosting on after you baked the cake.

It was still fun to smash it into his face from across the table.

–

fourth.

Their second Christmas together, Belle fell ill with a nasty head cold and Adam was left with virtually nothing to do but watch her anxiously. Somewhere along the way of trying to impress the beautiful woman, cooking turned into a hobby, an escape. And it didn't matter that he was awful at it, he loved being in the kitchen, it made him feel productive.

He makes pudding more quickly than he usually makes anything, but he's been practicing this one for a while and confident there's nothing wrong with it when he smiles at Belle to take the first bite.

But as it runs off the spoon, she doesn't have to tell him he failed to chill it before he's stormed out of the room, ignorant of her pleas that she still loved the surprise.

–

fifth.

The five year anniversary is a big date for the kingdom and the entire country side is full of celebrations for the once Beast and his beauty. Adam plans a big ball all in Belle's honor, though she'd rather sit and read to him all night. He doesn't tell her it's because he's planning on cooking almost the entire meal they'll share privately by himself.

He works endlessly, with burns covering his fingers and flour in his hair and every time he makes a mistake he gets angrier and angrier, (his temper can still be nasty on the bad days), and Ms. Potts and Lumiere get Belle and lead her surprisedly to the kitchen.

She only laughs at the white powder all over her husband before she reaches a hand up to cup his face and pull him closer to her with nothing but love in her heart.

"The veal was the only thing I could salvage." He mumbles in her hair, clearly defeated, but she looks at him with a hard gaze.

"Then I'll eat every bite." She promises, dusting food off his nose.

And she keeps her promise.