[ His arrival earns a quick turn, and a quicker bark of laughter at the shirt. ] Bro! I told you to wear your worst griz, what are you doing here in that finery?
[ It's a joking admonishment and Jake follows it up with a quick wave over to the counter. ]
So what kinda dango are we making here? The sweet kind, the salty kind, the eggy kind... I got the rundown from Finn via Itachi a while back. Fun fact, that dude loves this stuff.
I could've guessed that. You've got a major sweet tooth, pal. [ He laughs, pushing a large bowl of rice flour, a smaller bowl of sillken tofu, and a few other dry ingredients measured out in front of Chishiya -- identical to his own setup. ]
So I did ya the favor of measuring these out for ya already. You combine all these together, add a cup of water, then start mixing. A lot of mixing. [ He holds up two wooden spoons before stretching one of them towards Chishiya. ] It gets hella sticky, wood is your friend.
Sure did. [ Jake responds mildly, getting started on adding the ingredients. Chishiya was plenty observant; he trusted him to pick up without being told that he should follow along. ] Best part about being here. You pull in enough people from different worlds, they bring a lot of new recipes with 'em.
[ He pours in the sugar, stirring it in with the spoon. ]
This is a Japanese recipe, right? Did you just get a sudden craving for home or something?
[He watches Jake carefully and copies the steps he takes as he responds.]
Well, something like that.
[It's at least partially true. Between the Ximilia and Borderland he's learned to miss certain aspects of the culture he grew up with. He still has a preference for Japanese flavors, and if he's going to learn to cook something, even at someone else's request, he'd rather it be Japanese food he focuses on.
There's more to it, of course, but he does jump to explain it. At least not yet.
[ Unfortunately, he doesn't need to. The man's coyness was practically its own language, and one that Jake had gotten pretty good at reading over their time spent together. With an eyebrow raised, Jake's stirring hand slows just slightly. ]
Care to be more specific, or am I supposed to start guessing?
[His tone is dry. He could tell him to keep trying, and he actually does consider that, but realizes Jake would probably be as annoying as possible about it.
He sighs as he continues to stir.]
Alina expressed an interest in my cooking.
[He says it casually like it's totally normal for him to go to this amount of trouble because someone expressed a passing interest.]
Edited (My formatting is cursed in this thread) 2023-07-23 20:23 (UTC)
[ Is it more or less frustrating that Jake doesn't seem to react at all at the name? Well, scratch that. There's a reaction, however uncharacteristically subtle. As Jake continues stirring the mochi flower, his smile twinges slightly into a half grin. Almost like he's about to laugh. ]
Is that right. [ He asks, taking great pains to sound casual. ] And how'd she get the impression you knew how to cook, brother?
[He'd rather he not react, so that's good actually. Until Chishiya notices him smiling. That's a little irritating. He narrows his eyes slightly.]
I can cook a few things.
[He mutters because he can, in fact, cook well enough to feed himself, but he doesn’t feel good enough about it to feel confident cooking for someone else.
And he definitely never learned how to make mochi or anything like that. Which she specifically asked for.]
I actually told her I couldn't. But then she seemed...disappointed.
[Even as he says it he realizes that this sounds the opposite of casual. Hm.]
[ Nailed it. Jake definitely isn't snorting into his flour as he begins mixing. ]
Mind if I run that story back to you, just to get your take? [ Jake begins, lightly enough, feeling the dough's texture and holding it out to Chishiya ("Feel that," he instructs in a quick aside, "It should feel like that when you're done"). ] Okay, so. This girl you hang out with constantly asks if you can cook, you tell the girl who hangs out with you constantly 'no', the girl you hang out with constantly seems suddenly disappointed aaaand....
[ Flour mixture divided into three bowls, Jake begins adding the flavorings with only a quick glance up in Chishiya's direction. ]
Now you're out here challenging yourself, completely independent from Alina's big doe eyes? Now I asks ya, pal, if I told you that story would you think I'm full of it or what?
[He focuses on the dough, patting it at Jake's instruction and making a mental note of the texture. Though he's listening to the rest of what Jake says, too. In spite of himself, honestly.
Okay, maybe Jake has a point. Maybe Chishiya even knew that this would happen. Still, he doesn't answer Jake's question at the end, instead he says:]
I don't hang out with her constantly.
[Sometimes, he does other things. Like work in the infirmary and tinker in the lab. He people watches and trolls the network. He eats cookies and listens to tier talks. He takes naps.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ It's a joking admonishment and Jake follows it up with a quick wave over to the counter. ]
So what kinda dango are we making here? The sweet kind, the salty kind, the eggy kind... I got the rundown from Finn via Itachi a while back. Fun fact, that dude loves this stuff.
no subject
[He told him to wear something he didn’t care about, and t-shirts are plentiful at supply drops. Even if this one is pretty amusing.
He quirks an eyebrow at the information about Itachi, though.]
Does he? Huh.
[Anyway, to answer the question:]
The sweet kind.
no subject
So I did ya the favor of measuring these out for ya already. You combine all these together, add a cup of water, then start mixing. A lot of mixing. [ He holds up two wooden spoons before stretching one of them towards Chishiya. ] It gets hella sticky, wood is your friend.
no subject
I guess I do.
[Not as major a sweet tooth as Alina's but he won't deny that it's there.
He takes the offered wooden spoon from Jake.]
I'm not surprised.
[That it gets sticky. It's about what he'd expect given the chewy texture of the final product.]
So you learned how to make this here?
[It sounded that way, if he learned about Dango via Itachi's preference for it.]
no subject
[ He pours in the sugar, stirring it in with the spoon. ]
This is a Japanese recipe, right? Did you just get a sudden craving for home or something?
no subject
Well, something like that.
[It's at least partially true. Between the Ximilia and Borderland he's learned to miss certain aspects of the culture he grew up with. He still has a preference for Japanese flavors, and if he's going to learn to cook something, even at someone else's request, he'd rather it be Japanese food he focuses on.
There's more to it, of course, but he does jump to explain it. At least not yet.
no subject
Care to be more specific, or am I supposed to start guessing?
no subject
[His tone is dry. He could tell him to keep trying, and he actually does consider that, but realizes Jake would probably be as annoying as possible about it.
He sighs as he continues to stir.]
Alina expressed an interest in my cooking.
[He says it casually like it's totally normal for him to go to this amount of trouble because someone expressed a passing interest.]
no subject
Is that right. [ He asks, taking great pains to sound casual. ] And how'd she get the impression you knew how to cook, brother?
no subject
I can cook a few things.
[He mutters because he can, in fact, cook well enough to feed himself, but he doesn’t feel good enough about it to feel confident cooking for someone else.
And he definitely never learned how to make mochi or anything like that. Which she specifically asked for.]
I actually told her I couldn't. But then she seemed...disappointed.
[Even as he says it he realizes that this sounds the opposite of casual. Hm.]
Anyway, I like challenging myself sometimes.
[Nailed it.]
no subject
Mind if I run that story back to you, just to get your take? [ Jake begins, lightly enough, feeling the dough's texture and holding it out to Chishiya ("Feel that," he instructs in a quick aside, "It should feel like that when you're done"). ] Okay, so. This girl you hang out with constantly asks if you can cook, you tell the girl who hangs out with you constantly 'no', the girl you hang out with constantly seems suddenly disappointed aaaand....
[ Flour mixture divided into three bowls, Jake begins adding the flavorings with only a quick glance up in Chishiya's direction. ]
Now you're out here challenging yourself, completely independent from Alina's big doe eyes? Now I asks ya, pal, if I told you that story would you think I'm full of it or what?
no subject
Okay, maybe Jake has a point. Maybe Chishiya even knew that this would happen. Still, he doesn't answer Jake's question at the end, instead he says:]
I don't hang out with her constantly.
[Sometimes, he does other things. Like work in the infirmary and tinker in the lab. He people watches and trolls the network. He eats cookies and listens to tier talks. He takes naps.]