Chapter Twelve

                                    

                                          
"Here, watch this, watch this," Kurt said. "Ready?"
                          
Sebastian chuckled. "Yeah, watching."
                          
Kurt took the plate of lumpia, setting four in the skillet with the hot peanut oil. A delicious aroma floated through the kitchen.
                          
"Ready? Ten... nine... eight... seven... six..." 
                          
"What?" Sebastian asked, confused.
                          
"Five... Four... Three... Two..." Kurt pointed to the doorway on 'one,' exactly at the time Blaine walked through it.
                          
They both immediately started cracking up. "You're like clockwork!" Kurt exclaimed, laughing so hard he was bent over.
                          
Blaine went red. "Did you count down until I came into the kitchen again?"
                          
"And you were perfectly on time," Kurt teased.
                          
He chuckled a bit too, walking into the kitchen. He didn't understand how Kurt could be so nice to him. "Does that mean you are making what I think you're making?"
                          
"Yep. The restaurant was closed, and I wanted to make sure you'd have an appetite."
                          
He smiled. "Thank you."
                          
"Hey, don't thank me until we know if they're any good or not." He pulled them out of the oil, setting them on a plate lined with paper towels. They were a perfect golden-brown color.
                          
"I mean, you could tr–"
                          
Kurt smacked Sebastian's hand as he went to take one. "Those just came out of 350 degree oil, idiot. They would melt your face off."
                          
"350? Why?" he asked, bewildered.
                          
Kurt gestured to the skillet. "Do you not see the sizzling? It's so they cook and you don't bite into raw meat. You have not cooked a day in your life, have you?"
                          
"Mm, no. First time I tried, I exploded a bag of flour, second time, I almost cut off a finger and had to go to the ER. I kinda gave up after that."
                          
"Third time you almost melted your face off," Kurt added.
                          
"Does badly dicing shrimp count as cooking?"
                          
"In a way, yeah."
                          
Blaine laughed. "I'm surprised Kurt hasn't taught you how to cook yet."
                          
He snorted. "Right? In my defense, I didn't know he was this useless until today, when he asked why the shrimp wasn't pink."
                          
"The... raw... shrimp?" Blaine asked uncertainly.
                          
"Exactly! It's gray!"
                          
"How am I supposed to know that?" Sebastian defended. "I've never seen raw shrimp before!"
                          
"Clearly!"