Good Friday

Beef sizzled on the pan with a popping zest, the fires beneath heating the food to a nice, medium rare crisp. Aster sank in a dash of rum, pulling away at the sudden flare of heat and tossing the pan to disperse the flames. He turned away from the now bittersweet-smelling meat to attend to the coconut milk. He poured it into the blender with the chicken broth and honeydew, the odd golden color mixing with the white water in a weird cloud, bursting from the top as it fanned out to the tips of the blades. Aster flipped the machine on, breaking the illusion, as the liquid fell away to a glossy, iced sheen of creamy color.

He didn't hear the flat's door open softly, and then close with a click.

"Aster, I'm home," called a young voice from the hall. "That sculpture downstairs looks really cool. Still don't know what it is though. Why won't you tell me?" The voice entered into the room, revealing a pale man with even lighter hair and ice blue eyes. He made his way to the island countertop, still undetected by the artist at work. He waited until the man finished blending the ingredients with a final shake of the blender. "Aster?"

The man jumped, cursing, and his companion couldn't help the smile that pulled at his lips, or the chuckle that escaped them. Aster took a moment to breathe before turning around to face the menace.

"Hey, Jack, didn't hear you come in," he said before moving to flip over the beef in its pan.

"Well no wonder, with all of this noise. What're you making?"

"Only your favorite," he replied, showing off with another spill of alcohol on the fire, "Rum-glazed Caribbean beef, with a side of iced coconut soup."

Jack rested his cheek on his fist, giving the Australian a once over. Aster wore his usual paint-covered t-shirt and shorts, as well as the flip-flops that he refused to remove even in the dead of winter. Jack didn't blame him for that fact however, as he detested any form of footwear other than a skate. Over his messy uniform, the man wore an apron that stated something about his arse, but Jack never paid it any mind, too used to the image to really notice it. Instead, his eyes traveled to the wavy, blue-grey hair that covered his head and framed his tanned skin, and then slid down his muscular arms, lightly dusted with dark hair that only added to his gruff physique. And yet his calloused hands moved with a delicate grace as he cooked, working the kitchen around him like a musical instrument, not letting one detail escape his gaze.

Over many years, Aster built the kitchen from only the small fridge and microwave in the corner to the beauty that it now resembled. The large island counter with marble finishing dominated the room, and chrome pots hung above like a chandelier, only it created a racket every time Jack forgot to duck when sitting underneath it. Multiple cabinets holding various tools and appliances towered up to the ceiling, with some open shelves stocked with cookbooks and recipes. The counters now lined the walls of the corner of the flat, a small area that he used to its full potential. The fridge bordered the very end now, right next to the entrance into the hall. On the other end of the counters, a sliding glass door took over the wall, opening out onto a balcony that overhang the narrow street below, and contained the grill that Aster used even in the rain. Jack loved the balcony, even with its cramped space, and enjoyed looking down at the assorted passerby, creating stories for them in his mind.

As the smell of cooked meat met Jack's nostrils, a smirk played across his face. "That's not my favorite," he commented casually, knowing the predictable effect.

"What?" Aster whipped around, flinging a grease-and-gravy-splattered spatula around to point in Jack's face. "That's not what you said the last time I made this, you bugger!"

"But everything you make is my favorite! Don't worry, I'll still eat it."

"Hmph," Aster grunted, returning to his cooking. "Damn right you'll eat it. And you'll enjoy it too."

He turned the stove down to simmer while the beef finished, and he grabbed the soup from the fridge, pouring the now chilled liquid into two bowls, placing them on small plates. He dished the beef out of the pan, two steaks roasted to perfection, with a fine glaze and a sprinkle of caramelized onions on top. From a simmering pot on the backburner, he spooned a generous amount of asparagus to top off the meal, and turned around to present it to Jack, setting it gently down on the countertop. Steam rose into the white-haired man's face as his eyes widened in hunger, and his mouth watered at the smell.

"It look's delicious, Bunny!"

"Oi! Don't call me that!" snapped the Australian.

"Aww, but Tooth gets to!"

"Tooth and I have been mates since before you were born, kiddo."

"I'm only… a few years younger than you…"

"Try ten, Snowflake," Aster chuckled, giving the young man a wink.

"Wow, I never realized you were such a pedophile," Jack replied back cheekily. He knew exactly what buttons to push.

"Oi! You came on to me!"

"No, I 'caught your fancy', as you like to put it." Jack took a bite of his steak, and then exclaimed in mock disgust, "Ugh, I take it back! Your cooking sucks!"

"At least I can cook," Aster commented, not looking up from his meal. "Do you want something to drink with that?"

Jack nodded yes, and settled back to eating. He whimpered a little when he noticed the taste of the asparagus with the steak, and Aster smirked in satisfaction, but remained silent, standing up to get a glass of water for the two of them.

"What, no wine?"

"Not today, sir 'I'm-finally-twenty-one-so-I-have-to-get-drunk-every-bloody-chance-I-get'."

"Hey! That was only one time!" laughed Jack, "It's really good, Aster."

"Thank you, I try."

"Oh my god, you are such a pompous bastard."

"Not as bad as you, you bloody show-pony." Aster paused before asking, "So… what is your favorite food? Your real one?"

Jack sat up, tapping his spoon to his chin as he thought. "Hmm… Hot chocolate," he decided, bending back over his soup, trying not to spill it from the shallow spoon in his hand.

"Hot chocolate?" Aster repeated, incredulous, "Why hot chocolate?"

"I don't know," said Jack, "When I think of hot chocolate, I imagine sitting in front of a fire while it snows outside."

Aster scoffed through his food, "You've been watching too many romance movies. Besides, winter's over; it's not going to snow."

"You never know." A hint of amusement entered his voice. "It's been pretty chilly lately. We might have a white Easter."

"We better not."

Jack ate a few more bites before asking, "You know what tomorrow is, right?"

"Yeah, Good Friday. I'm going to keep the store closed so I can finish the rest of the googies before the benefit on Sunday."

Jack swallowed, nodding. "I'll see if I can get off work early tomorrow to come and help."

"You? Help with painting the eggs?" laughed Aster, struggling to take a bite of his asparagus through his chuckles.

"I can paint!" exclaimed Jack, offended. "But no, I was going to come home and help around the house, since you probably won't be able to cook or anything if you're working so much."

"You can't cook either, Frostbite."

"I'll get take out," Jack responded quietly.

Aster looked up, and stood, bending down in front of the young man. He placed a strong yet gentle hand under his chin, meeting his emerald eyes with blue ones. He wiped the hint of tears away, cupping his cheeks in his calloused fingers.

"Hey, hey, hey, mate. I was only messing with you."

Jack shifted his eyes away before stuttering, "Y-yeah, I know." He sniffled.

Aster leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on the man's lips before giving him another one on his nose. "I love you, Snowflake."

"Love you too, Cottontail."

Aster stood, clearing his empty plate from the counter and moving to the sink. "Come on, eat up and come help me to do the dishes."

"O-okay!" replied Jack, standing up and wiping his eyes once more, before spooning the last of his soup into his mouth. He rushed over to the sink, dumping his plate in, and then moved to take his place next to Aster, drying off the dishes and putting them away.

When Aster playfully bumped his lover, Jack pushed back, sending a spray of soapy bubbles over the edge of the sink. Laughter filled the flat as they finished, the final dish placed away and the cabinet door closing with a dull thump against wood.

"I'm heading out, Aster!" Jack called from the front door of the shop. "I'll try to be back after lunch!"

"Okay! Be careful on the roads!" came the reply from the storage room in the back.

The bell on the glass door jangled, telling of the man's exit. Aster came out of the back room, hefting multiple cartons of chocolate eggs, all stored within thin, candied shells, ready to be painted with edible coloring.

Aster set them down in the middle of his studio, a room behind the front desk of the store. It also served as his office, but he preferred to do his financed upstairs, with less physical mess involved. He bent his back, cracking his limbs as he looked around the room.

Worktables and benches cluttered most of the walls, the center barely open from the artwork surrounding him on all sides. A large blob of a sculpture stood off to the side, just beginning to take shape for a commission due in a few weeks' time. Jack constantly pestered Aster on the subject of the figure, but in all honesty, he didn't know himself.

Aster left the back room to check on the store, making sure that the sign said 'Closed', before returning to the storage room to collect the paint he needed.

With a sigh, he plopped himself down on the floor in his studio, picked up an egg, and settled into the hours of work.

The ice rink sent chills into the air, the pleasant kind; the kind that gave you a blushing, rushed feeling in your cheeks. Jack loved the feeling, knowing the pink hue that took to his normally pale face. He skated gracefully across the ice, weaving in between the usual customers, as he made his way to his final student of the day.

"Okay, Jamie, you can do this!" Jack encouraged, coming up behind the boy.

"J-Jack? Where are y-you, w-whoa!"

Jack caught the boy under the armpits before he could crash down onto the ice. "It's okay, I've got you! Haha, that was fun, wasn't it?"

Jamie nodded, his face flushed with the effort of the last half-hour. "Yeah, that was awesome! Thank you for showing me how to turn like that! It's so cool!"

"No problem, kiddo. Hey, I think that's your mom over there. We'd better get off the ice."

"Aww, do we have to?"

"Sorry, Jamie!" said Jack as he led the boy to the edge of the rink and helped him get his skates off. "I'll see you Monday, right?"

"Yeah!" the excitable child exclaimed, bouncing into his shoes and following his mother. "Bye Jack, thank you!"

"Bye, Jamie!" Jack waved after the boy, before sitting down and starting to remove his own skates.

He made his way to his locker in the employee room, hanging his skates up by their laces. He patted them softly, a sad look creeping into his eyes.

"Leaving so soon?"

Jack turned around to face his boss, hugging his arm to his side. "Yeah, Aster has the big Easter benefit coming up, and he's rushing to get the last of the eggs done. I finished all the lessons for the day, so I figured I'd head home."

Manny smiled down at the youth. "I'm glad to hear he's doing well. Were you going to try and get some practice in over the weekend?"

"Nah, the skating season's nearly over, and I don't have another competition for a few months, so I was planning on helping Aster, and then getting back into practice on Monday."

Manny nodded, before patting Jack on the shoulder. "Well, it's good to have you back on the ice, Jack."

Jack nodded, a soft smile flitting across his lips. "Yeah, it feels nice…"

Manny chuckled, before leaving through the back door to the office section of the rec building. "Give the old Bunny my regards, yeah?"

Jack laughed, "I will!" before slinging his pack over his shoulder, and leaving to head home.

Aster heard the door this time, and met Jack in the shop.

"So, did you bring food?"

Jack laughed, shaking his head. "You've been painting candied eggs all day and you haven't eaten? Where are your priorities, Aster?"

"Obviously not on my stomach."

Jack set a paper bag on the front desk, smiling. "Here, have a sandwich," he said, leaning over to Aster a quick kiss. The Australian smiled, bending down to accommodate, but Jack pulled away at the last second, backing away to the stairs. His face remained plastered with the most innocent look, with his hands clasped neatly behind his back, and he teased, "Manny gives his regards!"

And with that, Jack disappeared upstairs, closing the flat door behind him, and throwing his pack onto the couch. He rushed to the shelves, grabbing down one of the recipe books, quickly flipping through their thick pages. His fingers stopped on a page, and his expression brightened.

"Yes!"

With a whoop of joy, he threw open the balcony door and reached down to turn on the grill.

Aster first smelled the smoke before the he heard the alarm. Night had fallen, and he could see the stars through the small glass window at the back of his studio, the only section of the wall he determinedly fought to keep free of clutter. At first, he took the burning scent as a car outside, and paid it no mind.

Then suddenly, the smoke alarm went off from the flat above.

"Jack!" Aster cried, rushing to his feet, spilling green paint onto the cement floor. Aster ignored it as he leapt out of the room, stumbling as fast as he could through the store.

He hit the stairs at a run, and nearly tripped as he flung himself at the door to their flat. The door burst open, and Aster stopped in the hall, stunned by what met him.

A cloud of white powder covered the room, and it cleared so show Jack aiming a cherry-red fire extinguisher at the grill. A furious look glinted in his eyes, tears threatening to spill.

Aster ran, pounding across the wood to his boyfriend's side. He hugged the man close, pressing his face to his chest, unable to let go for the world.

"Oh, Jack! You bloody made me piss my pants! What happened?"

Jack stuttered through the small sobs that racked his body. "S-some of the smoke got in, and t-then it all c-caught on fire."

"What in the God's name were you trying to do?"

"I-I wanted to cook something for you! Y-your favorite!"

Aster chuckled, despite the situation. He knelt down in front of his lover, and wiped the tears away. "Oh, Jack. Why didn't you come get me?"

"I'm not a child!" Jack exclaimed, "I can cook things, and make stuff, and do everything that you can do! I c-can do it too!"

Aster didn't answer at first, and gave Jack a stern look. He stood up, and walked over to the cookbook, and nodded, looking at it. But then he shook his head, and moved to the fridge.

"A-Aster? What are you doing?"

Aster pulled a large bag of flower from the fridge, and then brought a metal bowl up to the counter. "I'm making my favorite: double chocolate cake with a carrot icing."

"B-but I thought–"

"Oh, I love kabobs, they're my favorite to make. But really, to eat, now that's when I like my sweets. Want to come help me?"

Jack hesitated, standing in the middle of the hard wood floor, dusted lightly with white powder. He couldn't move, couldn't think, except to stare at the man he loved. Thoughts raced through his mind, and he wanted to voice them all, but instead, he only nodded, and took a step forward, before running to hug Aster around the neck.

"I love you," Jack said, so simply from his lips.

"I love you two, Snowflake," Aster replied. He set him down, and continued, "And it is my first job to always protect you, and to always make you feel special. I want you to know that, alright?"

"But–"

"I want you to feel special, Jack, no matter what." Aster planted another kiss on Jack's forehead, before going back to the cabinets to collect more ingredients.

"How was the skating today?"

Jack blinked, too shocked to answer right away, but then replied, "It was good." He walked almost numbly to get a measuring cup. "Jamie is getting better every day." A warm feeling began in his chest as he scooped out the flour. "He's really talented, reminds me a lot of myself."

Aster tapped him on the head with a sifter. "You're too young to be thinking thoughts like that. You make me feel old."

"You aren't that old, Aster."

"Ten years, Snowflake," countered the Australian.

"It's not that much!"

"That is a downright lie if I've ever heard one. Did you get to practice yourself?"

Jack shook his head, a huge grin plastered across his face. "No, but it's alright. The season's nearly over anyway."

"Your mum would be proud."

"…Yeah… she would…"

The cake came out of the over perfectly, and stood at attention on the table in front of the fireplace. The white frosting sprinkles with orange carrot shavings contrasted nicely with the brown cake, dripping down the sides in a gooey waterfall of sweetness. Aster sat, painting an egg, while Jack emerged from the kitchen, sitting down next to him.

"Here," Jack offered the man a mug of hot chocolate, but then set it down next to him, to allow the man to paint.

"Thank you, love."

Jack settled down next to his lover, looking at the light blue pattern that began to take shape across the face of the egg. He smiled, and leaned his head on Aster's shoulder, bringing the mud of hot chocolate closer to his chest. The fire crackled warmly, setting an orange glow to outline Jack's snow-white hair. He closed his eyes, content.

"Happy Birthday, Aster."

A/N: So this was a request from yukimono (who y'all should follow), who asked for some nice Jackrabbit fluff with cooking! :D I had intended for this to be a multi-scene oneshot, which it is, but I feel like it ended up being really choppy. I mean, I rushed towards the end, just cuz I need to get to bed, and I wanted to get this up for Good Friday. It was sort of weird writing based around a religious holiday, you know? I mean, one that isn't commercialized. One thing though: my actual headcanon is that Bunny's b-day is March 21/22, the spring equinox. Not Good Friday, because that date changes every year.

Anyways, this unintentionally became the sequel to a fic that I currently have planned. It will also be an AU, and so I kind of added some references to that throughout this fic. (I'm getting to work on the actual multi-chapter fic/prequel over spring break after I finish Snow Globes). Also, this counts as my Easter contribution to Jackrabbit, because I felt an obligation to. The next chapter of Snow Globes will be up this weekend as well, though.

Anyway, reviews are, as always, appreciated! :)

I love you all!

~Renoku