puppycrush2 | week two

Entry tags:

!week: two,
mingle

week two | mingle

Welcome to week two, Teens Who Are Definitely Searching for Love!

Hopefully everyone got a lot of rest over the weekend, and are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the upcoming week, because there are a few things of interest this week.

But first, some changes of note in the house!

First: there is a giant rectangular box on the living room table, addressed to Lessing. It is a care package. The only thing in it is his sword.

There is some Bauernbrot bread on the counter. Ask Lessing about that too.

There is now a hot tub near the pool. It’s large enough to seat about six teens comfortably, but you can get more in there if you really try for some reason.

Okay I think that’s everything. Additionally, Tsukasa is here early this week! He’s looking pretty perky, seemingly recovered from the Match Ceremony, and he’s got some interesting info to share with everyone.

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[ she turns like a wife in a kitchen too, beaming as she dries her newly washed hands off. like sanji's just returned home from work... you, too, can live vicariously. at least until she opens her mouth. ]

You cleaned up well too, Sanji-kun! It was kinda shocking to see that your eyebrow's not a stylistic choice.

[ please. oh my god. you can't just say that, anna, but there she goes, saying it... as she goes to retrieve a hen on the smaller side. it'd been maybe about this size...? ]

Anyway, I haven't roasted chickens before, so I'm gonna need your advice on that... He said it was done whole, and then they'd cut pieces off it to serve.

[LIFE IS SO UNFAIR!]

[Deigning not to acknowledge the weirdness of his eyebrows or lose himself overmuch in the heavenly image at the heart of the kitchen, he heads over to fetch his own apron.]

So you've been trying to recreate a dish . . . How did he describe it?

Let's see... A bird roasted in... spiced herbs, I think he said. Tender enough it melts in your mouth -- can totally confirm that -- and with a bit of a kick that keeps you coming back. It's supposed to be served on the herbs it's roasted with, and sometimes there's vegetables on the side.

[ that's all she got out of him. ]

But I was kinda considering switching the veggies out for some rice, since that'll taste just as good and no one makes better rice than me. [ ... a tilt of her head. ] Or maybe I should just stick entirely to what he said, since it'll be closer to home that way...?

[ she'll take out a bottle from the back of a cabinet though, apparently the spices she's been working so hard on perfecting from her triumphant shake of it. ]

It's called redgrass-roasted bidou and it was really yummy when he brought back some for Ritsuka-chan and I.

[He tries to picture it in his mind, substitution and all. And it does start to come together, but it's the last thing she shares that slots the pieces into place while he works on tying the strings of the apron at his back.]

That one, eh? He mentioned it to me once—said it reminds him of warmth and camaraderie.

[He eyes the spice bottle as he approaches.]

And you want to make it your own. In this case . . . I don't think it's a bad idea.

If you weren't our resident chef, I'd think he was telling everyone his favorite food...

[ petty jealous feelings don't worry about it, that's just anna for you. but. she perks up. ]

Really?

To start, the local ingredients alone won't make this the redgrass-roasted bidou he brought back. It's going to be your version, made just for him by you.

[Sanji's envious. He wants to try Anna's cooking, too! But that's not important right now. Damn Will . . .

He surveys the ingredients that have been laid out.]

Secondly, cooking is love. If even the mixing of the spice is done without love, the dish will be ruined . . . meaning your signature rice would be perfect for the occasion.

[ oh... he's right, they won't. anna seems to droop a little, but lightens again as sanji continues. she remembers that from his profile too -- that cooking is love.

and, if... not love, then at least a way to thank him. a show of care. it's too strong of a word for her more inner thoughts, even if she likes him far too much for just the simple publicity play they've been doing. ]

... I see.

[ so passionate... but anna tightens her apron strings a little better and nods firmly. ]

Got it. Then I'll pour all of my heart into every step! Um, that means you really can't help out though, huh?

[He nods. If it's her heart that she wants to pour into the dish, his will only muddle it. However . . . ]

I can still give you pointers and move things along. Just tell me what you need, even if it's to grab something, and I'll do it.

Great! Um, so... what temperature should I preheat to...?

[ they can get cooking, advisor and chef... she's fairly capable outside of not knowing the best way to get a succulent chicken, peppering sanji with questions (what sort of herbs go best with poultry? would they be okay with these spices? oh-- there's some temperature it's gotta be to be fully cooked, right? how do you check that?) and focusing on doing her absolute best.

the rice is like, the most relaxing and easiest part of this, next to actually putting together the little box lunch itself... rice on bottom, then it'll be the herbs and a little too large slices of chicken on top, paired with some of the bread lessing had received from tsukasa on the side.

there remains the legs at least, and anna'll hold out a drumstick for sanji. chewing on her own as she stares thoughtfully at the container.

... ... ... ]

What kinda cheese goes with sourdough?

[ she's such a diligent student, asking so many questions... ]

[She's diligent while Sanji is all too happy to share what he knows. They're doing this for Will, and Anna's feelings carry through the process—enough so that Sanji blinks before taking the unexpected breakfast in drumstick.]

That depends. [Biting a chunk out of the drumstick, he follows the trajectory of her gaze to the box lunch.] However, you can't go wrong with cheddar, which pairs well with Gruyére.

[ ... fancy... maybe the fanciest sounding thing will will have tasted... hmmm. ]

Lessing-san says they usually pair some kind of cheese or soup with the bread he got, so I wanted to add it in.

[ gruyére... oh, if she had a proper divider and it wasn't just tubberware she could do a little salad too. anna shakes her head. ]

Okay! Okay. I think I'm done then.

[ ...

she looks like she's resisting every urge to poke the food around with a fork to make it look perfect, even though it looks just fine and definitely doesn't need to be readjusted any. ]

[It's a little bit of everything, isn't it? Will really is a lucky guy while Anna continues to put so much feeling into everything she does.

But it's hard not to notice the look she's giving the food, which he also takes a moment to study. There it is: Anna's heart, laid out in pretty and fond layers. This is guaranteed to taste good.]

Looks delicious, Yanami-san. Do you have the lid?

... Yeah.

[ idly reaching for it, hesitating a moment with it in hand before she seals it up. gets a thin cloth to wrap it in. puts it into the fridge for later.

and slumps onto the counter with the most exhausted sigh. ]

Geez, this is a totally different beast than when I made lunches for a friend of mine... I can't even say "I hope he likes it!" because I'm pretty sure he will no matter what I give him. Will-kun's just that kind of person, feelings aside.

[He leans back against the counter beside her, still facing the fridge that now carries a great burden.]

He'll like it, but he'll also be taking in your heart as he eats. That's probably what tastes the best to a guy like him.

[The sentiments surrounding the original version of this dish are what made it Will's favorite, so this one will definitely carry through. That's what Sanji believes.]

[ yeah, probably. especially after...

... she's tearing off a paper towel to turn it into a pile of little pieces. ]

Do you think it's silly to like someone so much so soon, Sanji-kun?

[As long as it's not food.]

No way. It's like you've said: Love sparks all the time. That means any time, too.

Yeah, I did say that.

[ but it's still

the pile grows. it's nothing she can deeply talk about -- to no one but tsukasa anyway -- but. she wishes she could. even if it started genuinely as a way to help him and herself, she can't say it didn't swiftly dip the other way. ]

I guess the point of this show is pretty much that too anyway.

[ ... ]

Want me to make you a better breakfast? I'll throw some fried eggs over the leftover rice as thanks. You always cook so much for us, you should get a taste of someone's love, too.

[He considers probing this time, because, if anyone should get to love freely, it should be Anna. Just as he's about to open his mouth to ask, however, he's beaten to the punch and pulls away from the counter with wide eyes.

A t-t-taste of someone's love?!]

Y-yeah! I do! I want to taste your cooking, Yanami-san . . . !

[ heheh. anna straightens up again and goes to get a pan then, far more comfortable making this simple dish. ]

If that's the most important thing for food to have, then this'll be the most delicious thing you've ever tasted! Sometimes simple beats out the most elaborate meals out there, right?

[ the yanami family likes their eggs on the sweeter side, so he'll even be getting a little sugar on his... don't worry, she'll be making a plate for herself. ]

[He doesn't doubt that at all. Even if she were to make him toast, it would still be the greatest meal of his life.]

R-right.

[Having someone absorb the meaning of cooking for him and return it in kind—it's uniquely overwhelming. Sanji will buzz in anticipation the entire time he's waiting.]

[ she is! someone who loves love! so much! and hates it at the same time! "cooking is love" really got to her!

... because... there as a kind of care in the way she prepared nukumizu's, too. nothing romantic, but she took time out of her morning, just like she's doing now, to make him something anyway. to pay off a debt, because it was fun having lunch with him, because she wanted to see his face change from that dumb unimpressed stoicism to something surprised and happy--

but anna understands, because it's the thought that's put into every motion. so the eggs are a little crispy at the ends, the yolk isn't perfectly runny, and there might be a tad more sugar than sanji might prefer... but it is made with care, with gratitude, and both must make the simple dish sparkle in front of him when she sets the bowl heaped with rice in front of him, egg laid carefully on top. and a fork, of course. though she's got the option of chopsticks since she'll be using it herself, and soy sauce as an addition if wanted... ]

Dig in!

[Sanji brightens once Anna sets the bowl down in front of him. The food smells divine, and his eyes twinkle as he takes in the glistening egg atop the plump rice.]

Don't mind if I do!

[Since she gave him the fork, he takes that up and presses the tines down on the yolk to watch it run. He mixes the egg into the rice, then takes an eager first bite—and freezes.

It's sweet. There's an off crunch to the egg whites, and the yolk isn't consistent. The flavors and textures intermingle curiously on his tongue, and all he can think about in that moment is how he understands now what his mother must have felt when he'd made that awful meal for her . . . except this isn't awful at all. This is perfect. And, in his heart of hearts, there's the grateful realization that this will probably be the first and last meal like it in all his life.

He wipes his arm across his eyes with a sniff before taking a second bite, followed by another. He eats, never having felt so fed in all the years he's lived, and he never stops smiling as he does.]

[ anna watches him as she takes a seat, snapping her chopsticks together in victory at his apparent pleasure in eating her food.

it's been a bit since she made something for herself and someone else to share. she's confident in her own cooking ability -- it's not five star restaurant quality, but it is good -- so she doesn't think about how she could improve the next time like someone who cares might, just how hungry she'd ended up being. it really hits the spot.

having a quiet breakfast isn't unusual for her, so she doesn't mind it. if it wasn't trauma dumping on nukumizu during lunch it was silence outside of asking how much she could take off her debt. a comfortable silence, not pushy or pressured to end it. just the sort she prefers. ]

[The comfortable silence lasts for a time. Sanji isn't in a particular rush, but he also can't stop coming back for more. As soon as he inhales the last forkful, he sets the fork down in the bowl, wipes his mouth with a napkin, and straightens to beam at Anna.]

That was great, Yanami-san! It was the best meal I'd had in ages.

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