likethelight | IC Contact @ Deer Country

[ Yes, you are. He could have gone longer without realizing it but having Allen actually try and teach him how to cook, it finally clicked.

The sizzling pot saves him from further question, and the command has him moving. Reaching the side of the pot with his right hand, he shocks the water with a drastic temperature drop just above freezing.

Have cold noodles Allen. ]

[ Well that-- is one way to do it. ]

O-oh. [ Blinking a touch owlishly, his search for the strainer (that is literally right in front of him) momentarily forgotten, Allen stares for a moment. And leans over to confirm that the pot didn't just suddenly become a block of ice (he was kind of expecting that).

He looks up to Shouto then, one side of his mouth quirking up in lopsidedly sheepish little smile. ]

That works.

Edited 2023-03-13 02:05 (UTC)

[ Ice isn't the only thing he can do. He reserves that kind of extreme output for fights, but heroes don't just fight. They save too. And extreme temperatures aren't conducive for the average citizen. In the case of hypothermia, he can't just light up his fire and expect not to damage the delicate tissue of human flesh. He knows how to control his output. Something like a boiling pan isn't any different than making tea, except he's using his right side instead of his left and he's always had better control of his right side.

Shouto steps aside, giving Allen room to 'cook'. ]

Are they ruined?

[ It's more that Allen would have half-expected it because that's how his luck tends to go, not so much as a statement on Shouto's abilities. You kind of get used to things going weirdly wrong even when there's no earthly reason they should have gone that way.

He peers in as if that might tell him one way or another, before reaching for the strainer that is so obvious now that he isn't panicking and draining the noodles. ]

No, not ruined... [ He knows that much even from just sight, it's a matter of experience, but his tone is still lamenting. He quickly fishes out a single one to test and chews on it, looking both relieved and a little crestfallen. ]

Just a little soft. [ He overcooked them on Christmas, tragic... his shoulders droop a little. ] Sorry.

Edited 2023-03-13 02:27 (UTC)

[ A quizzical look. ]

Why are you sorry?

[ ? Is that strange?

He looks up and shrugs lightly with a slightly awkward smile, not seeming particularly upset. Just sheepish and a bit disappointed. ]

It's nothing. I just wanted to make them properly.

They look proper.

Do they taste bad?

[ Is that why he's upset? ]

No they taste fine. [ He's got that part down!!! His saving grace is he always gets things to taste pretty good, even if not always what they're supposed to taste like.

He deposits the drained needles into a bowl he had already gotten out to serve them from though, and holds it out towards Shouto. ]

Here, try it.

[ Considering his own attempts in the kitchen often end in... not very tasty food, Shouto considers anything edible a win. So, if it tastes fine, what's the problem?

He takes the bowl still, glancing at him from under his lashes, not quite understanding the issue, but tries it nonetheless.

Using a pair of chopsticks he picks up from the drawer, he slurps up a few noodles, chewing thoughtfully.

A glance at Allen. More chewing. A lick of his lips at the end and - ]

It's good.

[ Any nervousness or gloom he had while watching Shouto try it evaporates as he brightens up like the goddamn sun. ]

Ah? Really?

[ A very firm nod. It's freshly made noodles. It's cold. What else could he ask for? Except, of course, for the dipping sauce. ]

You're a good cook.

[ Don't worry, over to the side is dipping sauce he mixed up earlier so it'd have time to sit and meld and get extra tasty. These are the important things you learn from religiously watching the every move of master chefs like Jeryy!!

The compliment has him again waving his hands sheepishly as if he might ward the notion off that way, but he's also smiling and still positively glowing. ]

I like watching good chefs. [ also in Trench he's become obsessed with watching cooking shows on his omni before bed. it's deeply satisfying. ]

I'm just glad Viktor showed me how to make them.

Edited 2023-03-14 03:15 (UTC)

[ He knows it's where Allen was working, yet he stays put, watching him because that's not what's important, not to him. ]

You are a good chef.

[ Watching all those cooking shows before bed, Shouto would have noticed his interest in the art and found no reason to question him when he proposed to make dinner here and there. He wouldn't have said anything, of course, not if Allen didn't make a point of it like he has now, pretending he wasn't good at something he clearly excelled at. ]

I like watching you.

Edited 2023-03-14 03:52 (UTC)

[ That's--

...that... hits Allen in a very weird way, making his throat tighten up. Not even that it convinces him at all of the notion he's actually good, but something about that unwavering belief... No, not even that, but I like watching you said with such simple, quiet insistence--

It strikes something deep inside him that still aches a little, that he didn't even know was there. And feels so personal and intimate, infinitely supportive, even if of course it isn't actually a surprise to him. So his smile drops for a moment at that to be replaced with such a gently caught kind of expression, not sure how to respond at first. Not able to at first until he swallows past the lump in his throat, and steps forward to gently take the bowl from him. So he can set it aside on the counter, slowly curl his fingers into the edge of Shouto's apron to pull him lightly forward by, and set his lips against his delicately with a quiet kind of purposefulness. No rush, no hurry. Letting the kiss run its course in a long, drawn out and sweet moment. Like there's something he really needs to say with it, but isn't sure how. ]

I like being with you. [ He whispers gently in response without pulling back entirely, demeanor so gentle but serious. Even if he laughs lightly a moment later, such a quiet but happy sound, as something occurs to him. Bumping Shouto's nose with his unintentionally in a manner still so loving. ]

Even learning how to make something like soba for moments like this. [ the cursed noodle that Some Disagreeable People who won't be named nearly ruined for him.

...but he probably just got flour all over him too because the front of his own apron is covered in it. Still super messy. ]

Edited 2023-03-14 04:01 (UTC)

[ A simple declaration with none of the customary bells and whistles that usually accompanied such things. He means it too. Every word. Keeps track of his movements when he takes the bowl from his hands and sets it down. There's a questioning look in his eyes, subtle in a way that is infinitely intertwined with him. A look that's reflected in his omen's mismatched eyes that settle on him even as she goes translucent in shimmering gold that drips upwards. She's gone by the time their lips meet.

No rush. No need to hurry. Quietly, like a cat settling into a welcomed touch, Shouto relaxes into the kiss, shifting slightly to direct Allen to a better angle. ]

I like being with you too.

[ He says, closing his eyes to better listen to the bright and happy sound that would always catch his attention. ]

I like it when you laugh.

[ When you kiss me, he means to say, the words on his tongue before his thoughts get muddled with that phrasing.

He blinks, puzzled. ]

Learning?

[ Tim rarely ever returns inside of him, but he does very quickly and quietly manage to recede into the background when it isn't the place for him, with far more subtly and quiet intelligence than he often displays. There on Allen's shoulder one minute, and the next drifting silently off and finding an unobtrusive perch. Where he watches, a piece of the background, but with a quiet and impassive sort of observation. ]

Mm. [ Despite recognizing his confusion, Allen just smiles gently, his mood still relaxed and warmed with sentimentality. He leans in slightly, to lightly brush his smile against his lips in what's not quite a kiss.

--and that might, then, be just a touch coquettish. Might. If you squint. ]

It's not like I had any reason to before.

[ No rush or hurry still, just enjoying the closeness and being in each other's presence, the little extra tingle that comes from a not-quite-a-kiss. He fingers the edge of the apron lightly. ]

But if I hadn't we couldn't do it together now.

Edited 2023-03-14 05:23 (UTC)

[ Might or is, it makes no difference. It goes unseen. Picking up on the subtleties of others isn't in his skillset, not yet at least. Maybe later, when he learns to read Allen better, he might understand what it means for him to tease him like this. Perhaps if he wasn't so distracted with the slow understanding coming to fruition before him, he would have noticed something playful in his manner. ]

Don't you like it?

[ Isn't that the reason he learned how to make it? ]

I like it.

[ He pats his chest, still smiling in a gentle, almost secretive way.

Have you really not realized it yet? ]

But I like being able to make something you like so much and think is good more.

[ Realized what? ]

I like whatever you make.

[ ? Shouto.

Allen just smiles, and brings his hands up to cup his face at that response, patting his cheeks lightly. ]

Good.

Edited 2023-03-15 00:47 (UTC)

[ The odd feeling that he's right at the cusp of something he can't quite put his finger on leaves him staring down at him. ]

Do you like what you make?

[ You're trying to figure something out, aren't you. Probing and looking at him like that. ]

I like being able to make it more. [ Pleasantly matter-of-fact, and he dusts some flour off his collar. It kind of just makes it worse. ]

Why are you asking?

Because you aren't answering the question.

I did!! [ He wrinkles his nose up. How rude! ]

I only learned how to make soba because it's your favorite in the first place, so the part I like is the being able to make things like this. For both of us! [ also it's more frugal this way tbh. but also the sentimental thing. ]

There isn't any "liking" or "disliking" it beyond that!

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