week two | mingle

[showhost]

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.

Embrace Space | Property Damage, etc | Dates | Mini-Event
Truth Booth Voting | Match Ceremony Submissions

Comments

[makeine]

[ 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!

[hgeegh]

[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.]

[makeine]

[ 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. ]

[hgeegh]

[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.

[makeine]

At least someone can appreciate my cooking properly. Nukumizu-kun could learn a thing or two from you!

[ if you're watching, bub, take notes. this is how you compliment someone's hard work. you idiot. anna clacks her chopsticks at him again, smile widening. ]

But you mean it? Really? Even better than your restaurant's?

[hgeegh]

Those slobs? Your cooking is better than theirs.

[He loves the guys back at the Baratie, but they're men.]

I can give you technical feedback, but it was damn delicious.

[makeine]

[ "but they're men" you're so right sanji ]

Nah, I'm good. It's nothing I'm gonna make a career out of after all. I'm thinking more of being a housewife who writes on the side.

[hgeegh]

[He should just rip his heart out. It would make this sudden thumping more bearable.]

Of course! As a housewife, you wouldn't have to change a thing.

[After all, she's the resident love expert! However, this thought gives him pause.]

Ah, although . . . Yanami-san, can I ask you a question?

[makeine]

Sure, shoot.

[ while she polishes off her rice. ]

[hgeegh]

. . . You've seemed troubled lately. Is it because of the show?

[makeine]

[ ah

her chopsticks stay lifted at her mouth, and she does the courtesy of finishing a meal she's lost the appetite for. patting her lips delicately with a napkin, and carefully laying her utensils on top. ]

... Is it obvious?

[hgeegh]

[Maybe he should've waited. But he's put it off for a while, hasn't he?]

I wasn't sure about prying before, but that didn't feel right once you asked me about falling. Do you want to talk about it?

[makeine]

[ and he's still asking her if she'd like to talk about it. anna thinks of her talk with josuke, with tsukasa, with ritsuka in some measure, and crosses her arms on the table to make a pillow out of them.

... ]

I really, really like Will-kun.

[ bit muffled, but it's there. ]

[hgeegh]

[He knew this, of course.

Well, he thought he did, but Anna's behavior—both now and then—has him wondering just what's going on between her and Will.]

Is that a bad thing? I thought you'd be happy about it.

[makeine]

I am! I'm super happy! So happy I could cry! So happy I could throw a fit!

[ the kitchen echos briefly with the frustrated words and she simmers down again, turning to rest her cheek on her arm instead. her expression's mostly hidden, but what can be seen is resigned. ]

Will-kun's been pretty open about it, but he's here for publicity, not romance. You could say... I'm aiding him in that, and just I bit off more than I could chew.

[ somehow, it's easier talking about it the third time. she doesn't even feel like crying this time. she's just mad at herself. mad at how she felt in that room alone with him, content but worried, happy but hesitant, so close and no closer at all. things she couldn't say even with the cameras off of them, things she didn't want to say, and

her heart flutters, still, at the memory of his kiss and touch, every part of her face flushing as her voice lowers. ]

It's a problem, Sanji-kun. For a lot of reasons, it's a problem.

[hgeegh]

[Good. If she had felt like crying for any reason other than happiness, Sanji would have left to kill Will.

The pieces finally begin to fall into place. Anna's paradoxical reticence and candor line up with the dichotomy of she and Will's differing priorities. It must not have been love at first sight as she initially suggested, but a deal that's since bloomed into something more on her end. It brings to mind what she'd said to Akechi last week in a fervor, and, looking at her like this, he's almost afraid to hear what she'll say.]

Does Will know?

[makeine]

Nope.

[hgeegh]

[She really has been enduring a lot. Even with Sanji's limited knowledge base, it's not hard to gather why Anna hasn't told Will. She's scared . . . and enduring every blessed day with fear atop her lithe shoulders.]

It must be frightening.

[Not being able to speak a word, yet saying everything at once. Craving to be seen, only to dread what will look back. Constantly bracing for the other shoe to drop or not. What a miserable, happy existence.]

[makeine]

[ ... ]

Mmhmm. But I can't tell what's scarier, Sanji-kun. That he might return my feelings or not.

[ it's frustrating. ]

If he doesn't, fine. I've been burned before. But if he does, then what? He has a country to become king of. I have exams. I'd love to tell him more than I have, but I don't wanna... distract him from his goal, or anything like that. I'm greedy when I get what I want.

[hgeegh]

[Isn't Will already king? That's what it sounded like during an argument last week . . . but that's not important, even though royal blood complicates things.

Is a broken heart that's still on the mend really that easy to set aside as just fine? Sanji doesn't think so; however, something needs to change.]

A nation whose king doesn't listen to its people will never prosper, no matter how good he is. He can't make a decision if he doesn't know. I can't say what the correct course of action is . . . but a man who returns your feelings would never think of them as a mere distraction.

[If he does, he's a damn liar—and a cruel one at that.]

[makeine]

[ tearing up. when sanji learns will's running in a popularity contest for king without a drop of blue blood in him. ]

... I guess I am doing the same thing I did last time.

[ and she sighs, resting her cheek in her hand. ]

So I should tell him, right?

[hgeegh]

[Friggin' Will.]

I'm afraid that's the only way things will change.

[Because even from Will's end of things, the publicity he's gaining here might suffer if this drags out for too long. In the best case scenario, how he handles Anna's confession might cement his popularity with the people (however that's supposed to work). As for Anna . . . whatever happens, she'll have friends there for her. Most of all, Sanji can't stand to see her suffer like this.]

[makeine]

... I'll sleep on it.

[ because she doesn't want to act rashly only to see a moment's hesitation on will's face, or worse -- pity. hear the beginning of her name in the tone sosuke had before he ran off. ]

I mean, maybe literally, we had a whirlwind of a time lately so I'm still pretty head over heels about it, I just... want to be careful. A little. For once. But thanks, Sanji-kun -- I do feel better after talking to you.

[hgeegh]

[He nods. It takes courage to speak from the heart; that's what she said. If she needs a little bit of time to put herself together for it, no one can blame her.]

I'm glad to hear it. And, ah . . . I'm sorry for bringing it up so suddenly.

[It was important, but he feels bad for springing it on her after a joyful stint in the kitchen, and at such an early hour, too.]

[makeine]

You're forgiven. We can call it even for me spooking you awake.

[ an impish little grin. she's not sorry. it was funny, actually. ]