You woke up, still feeling bloated from the meal yesterday. You yawned, Mayanka is still peacefully asleep with his arms wrapped around you. You relaxed your head on his chest, his plump lips rests on top of your head.

His muscles are less tense than usual, is it because he doesn't need to worry about you leaving too early for work anymore?

You bit back the urge to wake him up and be 'productive' for the day. But that would make you a promise breaker.

You huffed. You can't fall back to sleep because your internal clock is still set to wake up as soon as you detected the first few sunrays.

And it's *blazingly bright* outside. Not even the curtains can spare your eyes.

You're bored. Mayanka is sleeping away like a baby and so is (wattpad username) the pug. You can't use 'feeding the dog' as an excuse because your pug is not hungry yet.

What on earth (except Mayanka) would still be hungry after eating all of THAT?

You looked at the clock. It's nearly eleven in the morning.

Maybe if you're careful enough, you can sneak away and take a peek at today's update on job listings. You don't plan to stay unemployed longer than a month, it will look bad in your resume.

Gently and excruciatingly slowly, you picked Mayanka's arm up—

"La... min fadlik la tadhhab (y/n)..." He mumbled. His thick eyebrows knitted in discomfort, what is he dreaming about?

"No... please... wait a bit..." His hold tightened on you. Mayanka doesn't seem to be fully awake, but he is to some degree.

"...understand me... 'ana wahid jiddaan..." Drops of tears gather in the corners of his eyes.

"Hey, hey, wake up. You're having a nightmare." You shook him, he gasped himself fully awake. Wide eyed, he tackled you and pinned you on the bed.

"Mayanka—"

"Please! Sick one day! I don't— I don't want alone daytime again! I— I..." He mellowed down, realizing that you don't need to call in sick.

"...You stop work." He breathed out a sigh of relief before collapsing onto you. Mayanka's lips curled up into a soft smile. He cuddled you like a soft, boneless teddy bear.

Except you're human full of bones and he's crushing you under his weight.

"Mayanka-! Get off, you're heavy—!" You slapped him repeatedly on the back.

"Sorry." He groggily mumbled, pushing himself up. He rolled back to the side and intertwined your fingers with his.

"Why wake up? Are you hungry?" He shot up.

"No!" You pushed him back down.

"Then why?" He gave you a concerned look.

"I..." You're a *workaholic*, you need to *work*. Or at least do something that resembles working to keep you sane.

"You are hungry." He sat back up.

"No! I'm bored!"

He stared at you quietly.

"I don't want to do sex. Too early, too tired." He pulled the covers over himself and wrapped his own frame into a cozy cocoon.

"Damn..." you scratched the back of your head. That would have been fun...

"You cannot stop thinking of working yes? Then go back sleeping, you dream of work, I hug you long time." Mayanka's voice was muffled by the pillows, but you can tell that he's a bit hurt that you didn't deny it immediately.

"No uh... I don't want to work..."

"Then come, hug." He rolled around and shot his arms out. You sighed and complied, letting warmth envelope you once again.

Your back is snuggly fitted against his front. His enormous hands rubbed your smaller ones to warm them up.

"I Love you." He whispered, kissing the back of your head.

"Love you too, Mayanka."

"...not finish."

"What 'not finish'?"

"You not say love you, Mayanka. You only say: love you, Mayanka. Not finish." He pouted.

"C'mon, that's the exact same thing!"

"So you not love me? Someone else? I love me? Who love me? You did not say."

"You're just bullying me at this point, English professor."

"No. It is important to me..." You bit your lower lip when you realized that he wasn't teasing, but he was completely serious about feeling bad when you didn't include 'I' in your reply.

"I love you. Is that enough?" You asked, trying your hardest to mask your annoyance.

"Ok." He grumbled, indicating that he was placed in a bad mood already. Not a good start of the day.

You opened your mouth, about to tell him off for being irrationally demanding, but you stopped yourself in your tracks and count to ten.

For the sake of your relationship, better swallow your pride and... apologize.

"Sorry." It seared itself into your ego. You still thought it was Mayanka's fault for overreacting over a lack of word. But the fact that he's not a native speaker of English and some words may mean differently to him makes it easier for you to let go.

"I love you." Was Mayanka's reply.

" love you too." An excited, lovestruck squeak sounded from his lips, you didn't know he could reach a voice register that high.

——

"I didn't know we have four ovens and a shit ton of stove tops..." Mayanka snorted.

"Yah, you come home to eat only. Never help."

"I am helping now, aren't I?" You struggled to knead the soft dough on the spacious counter.

"Yes. That make me happy. Super." Mayanka pecked your cheek before placing a tray filled with heavily seasoned roast vegetables onto one of his oven rack.

All of Mayanka's dishes are extremely flavorful. That's what made you addicted to his food. The downsides to this are: not even the best restaurants can compete with his quality and a lot of money is spent on spices that you cannot even pronounce or identify.

You just wished that he would cook less in volume.

"Do we really need to make four large pizzas, two trays of roasted vegetables and a big bowl of pasta? This is only lunch... or very late breakfast." You asked, watching him professionally sprinkle some spice blends onto the carbonara sauce.

"...I think not enough, I also want to make oven potato—"

"Mayanka, I can't finish all of that. H-how much do we spend on groceries every month anyways?? We can't afford to spend this much now since I lost my job!" You died inside a little when you saw him dumping a truckload of perfectly boiled pasta into the sauce pan.

"I have enough money." He deadpanned.

"C'mon! No matter how much you have, it will be gone one day. I'm not saying we gotta starve ourselves, but can we please cut back a little on the meals? We're eating like a family of ten every day! We can save so much if we remove just one dish from every meal!"

...was it a mistake to bring it up? Mayanka became completely silent.

"I-I'm not— I'm not trying to offend you or anything—"

"Reason why I love you is because you don't care my money— you not trying to take, but you... 'care' until you work very hard. You still stay even you think I very poor." He struggled to express his thoughts.

"What?" You held the dough in your hands. His eyes are obscured by his hair.

"If you know how many money I have, you will not worry."

"Yeah, you literally showed me your bank account. That's like... enough for a year or two if this continues. We can't keep living like this, at this rate my account is going to drain too!" He let out a laugh.

"(Y/n), (y/n). So cute. Don't know many things... not even my real money. I never use your work money to buy house things, I use my own." You gasped.

"Oh my god..." you mentally calculated, If what Mayanka said was true, his account would be in a deficit and debts must be piling up. You feel guilty about that because not only does he spend his time and energy to take care of you, he burns his wallet too.

You're itching to tell him that either one of you have to work. But Mayanka seem to read your mind and shot you a glare in your direction.

"I can pay everything, no worry money. I have enough and still make many. We are rich. Finish. No talk anymore." He snapped.

You thought he was being delusional and arrogant. The both of you certainly aren't rich, for all you know, Mayanka is probably swimming in debt and hides away from loan sharks. Maybe that's why he's always at home. Just because he can't control his appetite.

But... then, if you look the other side, Mayanka could be telling the truth. The number of his crafts sold aren't for the faint hearted, he could be using that as a source of funding for his eating addiction.

Yeah... you'd like to think that way. But you can axe any possibility of him having a shred of savings. All of his revenue either goes back into his business or into his bottomless stomach.

Your account may have a few hundred thousands in there, however, you can never predict what will happen in the future.

Insurance does not cover damages from natural disasters. Mayanka had a serious surgery, whatever his medical condition was, it may come back and puncture your bank account. You're not even sure about your OWN health.

Moreover, factors that you cannot control like inflation, corruption, tax increment and price spikes will further eat your savings up.

You remember Mayanka saying that he wanted four children. Your savings aren't enough for half a child... having kids in this economy is a suicide mission.

"Alrighty then." You muttered. Mayanka smiled, glad that you didn't want to press further.

Hey, where is your dough? You remembered holding onto it a while ago.

"You want ham in oven potato?" He asked. Your eyes were about to pop out of your eyes when you saw a tray with raw, hassleback potatoes right in front of him.

"What the— when did you prepare that!? And I don't want another dish!"

"I prepare when you dreaming. You no move for long time, I also already put 'pisa' in oven." You decided not pay his unique pronunciation of 'pizza' any mind. You find it cute.

"Wh— no way was I in deep thought for that long!"

"Yes, you did." He pointed at the wall clock.

Your jaw dropped, you were thinking (day dreaming) for twenty minutes?! Without being aware of your surroundings!?

"No, I don't want any ham with it." You replied, yes. It may taste nicer, but that also means more to munch on.

"Hmm. Yes, I put ham in oven potato." He Ignored you and stuffed folds of savory ham in between the gaps.

"Then why did you ask if you're going to do it anyways?!"

"For funny." A cheeky giggle left him.

"Maybe also put a bit *keju*... what is in English again?" He mumbled as he held onto a shrinking block of cheese and a grater.

"Cheese?"

"Yes. Chis."

"Cheese."

"Chis."

"Cheese."

"Chis!"

"No! You gotta pull the 'e' out!"

"Chee?"

"No— you know what, 'Chis' is good enough."

"Ok. I put ham and chis on oven potato." Grated flakes of cheese rain down on the hassleback potato like a blizzard storm.

Your toilet is going to have a bad time.

___

Boy, The menu for lunch sure is *long*.

Appetizers:

•FOUR hasselback potatoes, baked with ham and cheese.

•SIXTEEN pieces of 'Gorengan Bakso' (Indonesian fried beef meatballs).

•FOUR jumbo sized beef 'Risoles'.

•FIVE plates of deep fried, stuffed tofu with 'Sambal Bajak'.

Soup of the day:

•Mayanka's mystery herbal tea. As usual.

Main courses:

•FIVE pizzas, each with different toppings.

•EIGHT plates of carbonara pasta.

•TWO FULL trays of delicious roasted vegetables.

•TWO FULL trays of French fries with an unknown special sauce he made using yogurt, mint, lemon juice and some other spices you can't bother to learn about.

Dessert

•ONE massive tray of Kunafa (a very cheesy Arabian dessert)

•TWO PARTY bowls of Rice Pudding.

•THREE bowls of whatever flavored ice creams Mayanka has in his FIVE freezers in the massive pantry underground.

•For some reason, Mayanka prepared a tray of marshmallows. He didn't bake or do anything to it. You assume that it's also considered the dessert for today.

Drinks:

•More of Mayanka's mystery teas.

•As much coffee or normal tea as you want.

•Anything you ask him to make.

After cooking, it became quite late to be considered lunch. You're STILL full from YESTERDAY'S food fest, whereas Mayanka's stomach was growling like an enraged lion.

(Wattpad Username) also has a heaping amount of food in his bowl. However, he is no where to be seen.

"Where is dog? Time for dog to eat also." He stopped eating mid way and went upstairs to search for him.

You? You're still in disbelief. So much food, so nauseating. Maybe if you and him had ten kids, it wouldn't be that unreasonable.

But it's only the two of you.

Mayanka's plates and bowls aren't small either.

"Come, Alkulb. Eat, eat." He carried him down and set your pug in front of his bowl. The shadow of it rivals (wattpad username)'s.

Your dog... doesn't seem as excited as before. He even looks... sick. No, not him having an illness. It looked like he's sick of food.

Your pug waited until your husband becomes occupied with his meal before quietly walking away. He got onto the couch and took a nap.

"Do you feed him that every day?" You asked before drinking his mystery tea. It helps you resist the temptation to puke all over the table and it somewhat keeps you 'hungry'.

"No. I most of the time give him smaller amount. Today and yesterday special day."

"Special day? Why?"

"Celebrate me and dog not alone. Celebrate you no work."

Oh. So it's just a special occasion, phew. You thought you were going to go through this much of food every day.

"Is that why you made a crap ton of food?" You asked, forcing a piece of deep fried tofu into your mouth.

"Yes."

"Sooo... everything will go back to normal after today, right?"

"This is normal."

"What...?" You froze.

"I'm gonna have to eat this much... every day from now?" He nodded happily.

"Listen, Mayanka. I appreciate the gesture and I love your cooking. It's the best I ever had and nothing can ever beat it. Anyone who says that you're bad at cooking is dead wrong and I'll tell them off." Heat rose up to his cheeks, Mayanka then stuffed more carbonara pasta into his mouth.

"But..." All the bashful blushing is gone now. Replaced with a somber expression.

"...This is too much. I have had my fill, I can't eat anymore." You gently pushed your plate away from you.

"No, no, no. You are just shy, no need to shy. I cook all for you." He tried coaxing you to eat more.

"No thanks, I appreciate it. I'll keep it so I can eat later." You began standing up.

"(Y/n), please eat. Please eat with me." Mayanka's eyes became glassy.

"Maybe later. I'm really full right now and I don't think I can eat—"

"No! You are not full, you are hungry! Please don't go!" Mayanka's desperation shocked you.

You watched him cry in front of you. He sobbed uncontrollably and noisily, waking (wattpad username) up.

Your dog quickly ran to his food bowl and scarfed down his own meal while fearfully looking at your husband with his beady eyes.

The powerful temptation to tell him he's a psycho is hard to resist. But you knew that this reaction probably stemmed from years of your neglect. You need to calmly talk to him.

"Why are you crying?" You asked softly, trying your best not to sound condescending. This is very unlike Mayanka, you knew him as this block of ice who showed no emotions. A strong stoic man that has no vulnerable spots.

"You— you only see me if you eat! If y-you—" He hiccupped.

"—you don't eat, you work or sleep!" Mayanka's shoulder shook as he wailed, tears non-stop flowing down his optics. He brought the back of his hand to rub them away, but it spilled all over his lap.

That's also true. Sadly. You would only talk to him about your day during meal times. You would even work on weekends, only interacting with your husband during breakfast, lunch, teatime and dinner.

"Please... please eat with me..." He whimpered, begging you with two hands clasped together. It was a pitiful sight that made your heart wrench.

You sighed and sat back down. It calmed Mayanka down a bit, but he's still sobbing like he's about to lose his life.

The love of his life.

"...what I'm getting here is, you cooked up a ton of food so you can distract me from... job hunting while I'm awake?" You asked.

He gave you a small nod, sniffling.

You rubbed your eyes. You messed up a lot and you didn't know about it.

"I-I make small food when you work bec-because you don't— don't have time to eat with me. You no care how many I make, you always go after half hour." He whimpered, grabbing his fork again to continue eating.

"...okay, hear me out. You make smaller portions of food for me AND I'll still spend most— if not, ALL of my time with you, deal?" Mayanka seem skeptical of your deal.

"You lie."

"No, I'm not lying."

"Then, if no eat, you will not give me more time."

"It's spend time. Anyways, I will."

"I don't like use spend, it's not spend. It sound bad, like I spend money, I waste money. I give... share time with you... no waste time." He glared at you with his bloodshot, puffy eyes.

"Okay, I get what you mean. But that's just how English works— anyways, I promise I will share more time with you."

"No, I don't believe. You only share awake time with me when you eat." He frowned.

You sighed.

"There are many... many ways we can spend— share time together as a couple other than eating."

"Like what."

"We can go out, have joy rides around town, go on dates. Go to beaches, go to restaurants—"

"But you say you only like my cooking."

"Yeah, that's true. But you know, you deserve a break too." His eyes twinkled.

"You've... been working really hard— and I know the food outside ain't gonna be as good as yours, but at least you can rest at the same time, eat. That's not even my point, I'm saying, we can spend time together as a couple doing other activities. We don't have to stuff ourselves to the point of explosion just to be awake together!"

"Share time."

"Spend time, share time, give time, all the same—"

"NO! Is not!" He shouted. More clear liquid rush out of his eyes.

"Okay! Okay! share time, share time." Your toes curled up in irritation. But you had to remind yourself that this is your fault for making him like this, breaking his mind into this... unstable thing.

Mayanka mellowed down considerably.