Ok so could I pls request nanami teaching reader how to make bread (maybe reader has only baked a couple things like cookies but bread is entirely different to what they’re used to but they wanna learn!!) and at one point, reader gets flour on their nose/cheeks (they’re unaware of it). When nanami notices, he is absolutely floored becoz u look so adorable and his heart goes pitter patter and he just loves the fact that you’re spending time with him doing one of his favourite hobbies 🥺🥺
i honestly looked at this request and just,,, where do i even start bc i bake bread and there's a lot less flour flying around than people think so i took ~artistic liberties~ and changed it slightly i hope u like this!!
it's no secret that nanami bakes. he bakes a lot. if there's fresh bread left in the common area, it's baked by nanami. after all, it's impossible to finish a whole batch of sourdough loaves alone. and baking's pretty much all nanami does in his free time, beyond reading. he bakes lots of stuff, but he likes sourdough. he's got a real nice recipe down, and makes sure to take good care of his starters.
so it also makes absolute sense that you would ask him for help when you wanted to learn how to bake bread. at first he was kinda confused by your question. there's so many types of bread? you didn't strike him as a sourdough person, but then again, all he's seen you eat are those overly-sweet yet addictive donuts that gojo-san and ieiri-san are always buying. which makes sense because that's what is always around. he only brings fresh bread over on mondays, after the weekend, and usually it's gone by the next day, and you're not known to stick around the common area all that often. to be fair, he doesn't stick around the common area all that often too, only coming out if there's a fuss, which usually means there's an obnoxious senpai who has bought donuts, and who is making people eat junk-
nanami-san? your voice pulls him back to the present time. if it's too hard to teach me how to make proper bread, is there like, a simple recipe? oh good heavens nanami is going to suffer today, isn't he? what is "proper bread"? you don't even know what you are talking about. he looks at you with a hint of amusement, taking in your hopeful face, a touch of pink around your ears. why were you blushing? nanami tilts his head. so... what kind of bread do you want to make? you almost sigh in relief at his question, and nanami interjects: i haven't agreed yet, i just want to know if it's within the realm of what i know and can teach you. you deflate a little, and it must have been obvious because nanami sighs. i'm not the bread expert, you do know that, right? undeterred, you press on, telling him you like soft, fluffy bread, that tastes good even when it's plain for those days when you don't have time to make a sandwich- just buy a sandwich, nanami cuts in, and you pout. he sighs. again. okay, so a soft and fluffy bread, that tastes good plain, and doesn't seem too difficult or take too long to make? you look up at him hopefully. nanami sighs inside. bread usually takes hours. but it's a weekend, he's got time, and he knows just what to make. let's go grocery shopping. you cheer. he sighs. AGAIN. and you laugh, because you know that's just him, pretending he's so tired by your demands, yet he still follows through.
an hour or so later you're back in the kitchen together with a lot less groceries than you expected. nanami, always straight to the point, immediately starts setting things up. he explains each ingredient on the table as he unpacks the bags: bread flour, sugar, milk, butter and yeast. we're gonna be making milk bread. let's start with the yudane. nanami takes one look at your expression, and he explains. it's just an additional step that we use to make the bread softer and last longer. it's not a compulsory step. he opens the cupboard and picks up a small saucepan. he makes the water-based roux quickly, with practiced movements. this should be enough, he says, spooning out the yudane into a small bowl, and covering it with plastic. i made extra, you can keep the excess for when you try making bread the next time. the rest of the steps follow fairly quickly and is as you expected bread making to be, with nanami giving you instructions, and you attempting to follow. the trouble comes when you're trying to knead the dough. to be fair, you were warned that it was a long and tiring process.
how long do i have to do this, you whine, arms aching. until you can stretch the dough out and it forms a translucent film, nanami states. you've been kneading the dough for 30 minutes. if you can call it kneading: it's actually not rolling and kneading as much as it is lifting the entire piece of dough and throwing it on the countertop, folding one edge in, rotating slightly and repeating the steps over and over. your arms ache. this was not what you signed up for. you thought you could have a nice day out with nanami, bake a little, and play around in the kitchen and maybe get him to fall in love with you. you've baked other things before, surely it couldn't be that hard to bake bread, can it? well, you were very wrong. nanami notices your expression shift from persistent to slightly upset and he moves nearer to you. it's okay if you're tired, i can do the rest. he stands beside you, about to move you out of the way when you push him back. i wanted to bake bread, not ask you to bake it for me, you mutter resignedly. nanami sighs. such a troublesome wish, he says, gently tapping you on the forehead. provoked, you stick both hands into the bag of flour and wipe it on his cheeks, sticking your tongue out at him. covered in flour, nanami's surprised expression is really cute. you giggle, and nanami recovers immediately. he touches his face and swipes a line across your face, cheek to cheek. he taps you on the nose, you'll get no bread if you're going to be cheeky, he says, his clean hand steering you away from the countertop so he can work on the dough. he wipes his face with a clean towel before starting. you lean on the other side of the table and watch him, studying his expression, appreciating how he works the dough as if it were second nature, blushing when you watch the muscles on his arm ripple. in what seems like no time at all, the dough finally passes the windowpane test, and nanami separates the dough into six even portions and leaves them in a loaf pan to proof. you look up at him in wonder. you're so cool, nanami-san! nanami looks at you, your eyes wide in adoration, blushing slightly, framed in the golden glow of the late afternoon sun, and lightly covered in flour. flour that he put on your face. you, covered in his fingerprints. and he has to turn away before replying. thanks, he says. if he knew he had to see you looking this cute today, he would have rejected your plea outright. he knew he was going to suffer, just not in this way. he closes his eyes for a moment, pleading to the heavens that he can keep his hands off you, then shifts to wash his hands.
you don't even notice his reddening ears as he moves to the sink, your eyes fixed on the bread proofing before your eyes. but if you would just take a peek at his expression now, as he watches you silently from a corner of the kitchen, arms folded, eyes soft, it seems like you've achieved the goal of making him fall in love with you after all.
for anyone who wants to bake bread: get a bread maker, i beg you. making bread by hand is a HUGE workout and needs a large countertop. and also like, several hours of just beating and kneading the bread. where do you think nanamin gets his muscles from! all those hours of kneading...
yudane is called tangzhong where i live and it's a popular way of making bread softer and yes, last longer, in japan, korea, taiwan and other places. it's not hard to make!
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