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Their kitchen was a mess, and that was to put it mildly. Whatever clean space it had just this morning was stained by soft cheese, melting chocolate, blobs of milk and crumbs of cookies. Nine’s paws were soaked in the baking mix, and even though he washed them three times by now, he could have sworn that some still lingered between his claws. The scent of mint candies was so persistent and so strong, he wasn't surprised that it penetrated his stunted sense of smell; he felt a little nauseous and had to step away for a while, carrying the aftermath of their cooking session to their living room.
This whole escapade started innocently enough: Tails had to go away for a few days to conduct an important research in regards to his latest project, pretty much insisting that Sonic would give him some space; considering how affectionate and clingy their boyfriend was, Nine perfectly understood his request. And though Nine wasn't entirely indifferent to tagging along, he did not object to spending some time with Sonic either, and his idea managed to sway the scales ever so slightly. While Tails would be away, Sonic explained unto him, the two of them could prepare to celebrate his return.
Most of their effort was rather simple, really. They cleaned both the house and the workshop (Nine did not trust Sonic to handle the latter), bought a few new comic books and also stuffed their fridge with mint-flavored drinks. Speaking of, Sonic has got that brilliant suggestion of baking Tails’ favorite mint cheesecake. Usually, Vanilla made it for them out of kindness of her heart, but Sonic wanted to do something special for the occasion, and as much as Nine protested the decision, he was forced to capitulate before his relentless enthusiasm. However, that did not change the fact that they were absolutely terrible at cooking.
Nine had access to instant meals back at the city, and the lack of fresh ingredients did not really nourish his deeply-seated passion for the craft; Sonic, on the other hand, rarely spared time for a proper meal and had no patience to teach himself. Tails was the only half-decent cook among them, and that was solely by the fact that he could have boiled water without burning it. Nine tried to argue that getting a cake in a fancy bakery would be a much better solution, but when Sonic set his mind on something, there was nothing that could have dissuaded him – especially when it came to his boyfriends.
With that being said, Nine was forced to admit that Sonic had grown slightly more thoughtful in three months they had been living together, and he certainly took the preparations seriously. He gathered many recipes, including Vanilla’s own, read multiple cooking books and got so many ingredients, they could have made ten cakes and then some. For his part, Nine wasn't slacking around either and meticulously planned each and every step, taking the best from all recipes and incorporating the most useful tricks he could have found. Thus, it was not exclusively Sonic’s fault that everything went terribly wrong, and Nine was disappointed by that more than he was comfortable of admitting.
The cheesecake was a rather simple dish all things considered, but Nine did not account for just how versatile it could have been. As a result, the recipe he came up with combined a cake that needed no baking with a cake that required some proper time in the stove, which turned the end result viscid, crumbling and so unstable, it collapsed as Nine tried to move it away. Their next attempt could have been called more successful, for the cake had a proper form and was edible, probably. Nine would not have known that though: in his infinite wisdom, Sonic assumed that heating the oven to the brim would spare them waiting time. All things considered, Nine did miss the stench of ash.
By their fifth attempt it became obvious that they were doing something wrong, and so they decided to bite the bullet and just follow Vanilla’s recipe to the letter. But Sonic’s handwriting was so terrible, neither of them understood half of the words written, and what little they uncovered made so little sense without the broader context, Nine contemplated visiting Vanilla himself. He was slowly coming around to her suffocating need to nurture and offer her sympathy, but in the end he sent Sonic to return with a recipe written in such pristine penmanship, they somehow understood even less.
After very tiresome cuddles on their couch that was now covered in baking powder, they realized that Tails was supposed to return in mere hours, and they still had not the slightest idea of working things out. When Nine entered the kitchen after his little break, he found Sonic mixing whatever remained of the cheese with soft mint candies, and his muzzle betrayed so much worries over an issue so minor, Nine had to roll his eyes.
“Relax,” he said calmly, covering his hand with his paw. “We don’t have time to prepare anything now. Go get a cheesecake from a bakery while I clean up the place.”
Sonic scoffed, pulling back. “I want this to be perfect, you know? Don’t worry, we can salvage something with my speed.”
“We already tried that. Didn’t work out.”
“Second time is the charm, right?” Sonic beamed at him, but even such an expression was unable to mask how tired he looked.
“You are clearly forcing it,” Nine hissed, firmly taking Sonic’s hands. “Can’t you listen to me just this once?”
“Look, I just want to make something good for Tails!”
“Do you now?” Nine frowned. “Or do you want to prove something to yourself?”
Sonic looked genuinely insulted at first, but, as he struggled to come up with a response, he lowered his eyes and shook his head.
“You are right, Nine,” he muttered, and that admission made Nine immediately subdue the confusion stepping through his muzzle. “I guess I got so obsessed with making everything perfect, I kinda lost the plot.”
“…not for the first time,” Nine said so quietly, he wasn’t sure whether Sonic could have heard him.
Then, Sonic freed himself from Nine’s grasp and wrapped his hands around him, his head resting between his fluffy ears.
“Sorry for roping you into this, Nine. I know you would have rather done… pretty much anything else.”
Nine hesitated with his response, the very tips of his claws drawing shapes on Sonic’s back.
“I also wanted to do something nice for Tails,” he admitted. “And, well, cooking together was fun, for the first few tries at least. Maybe… we could do that again sometimes, all three of us.”
Sonic ruffled fur on his head and gave him a thumb up. “If anything, I am glad we spent this time together, Nine. Who knew that you could be so bad at something!”
He hit him with one of his stubby tails and turned around before Sonic, who was still laughing, would have caught a half-grin on his muzzle.
Tails returned home to such a pleasant, overwhelming scent of mint, he realized that he began salivating even before the came inside. Truthfully, he did expect that Sonic and Nine would try to surprise him, and so he was looking forward to it even more than to finally concluding his research. His paw touched his new scarf as he betrayed a soft smile: Sonic was unsurprisingly affectionate, even if a little bit annoying at that sometimes, and Nine was proving himself to be just as amazing and as loving as Tails always believed him to be. And so, he turned the doorknob, expecting to greet them with a gentle embrace.
First thing he noted was that the smell of mint suddenly grew so stale and so domineering, even he found it a little be excessive. Then, as he was making his way through the house, he couldn’t have possibly ignored that their furniture had a few more dirty spots than he remembered, and there was a noticeable trace of the backing powder leading to the kitchen. Inside, he found Nine erratically doing the dishes while Sonic was scrapping the counter top so hastily, the movements of his arm were blurring before his eyes.
“Hey guys…?” Tails called them cautiously, and they both suddenly turned to face him with such expressions, he did not know whether he should have felt amused or alarmed.
“Oh, Tails!” Sonic chuckled awkwardly, scratching his nape. “Sorry for the mess. We were in the middle of ruining another cake, ha ha.”
Nine rolled his eyes at that. He approached Tails quietly and, taking his paws, spared a quick kiss before pulling away.
“Welcome home.”
Sonic’s kiss lasted for a few more moments before, without uttering a single word, he turned to embrace Nine, both of them still holding to Tails’ paws. Their house was a complete mess and his cake turned out to be a waste, yet never had Tails been more glad to be here.
“I love you both so much,” Tails whispered.
That was the confession Sonic and Nine affirmed as they embraced his lips just one more time.