[ They'd had a brief flurry of an almost-fight shortly after Akihiko was mobile again. They'd been talking, and he started asking about Persona suppressants and insisting Shinji not take them again, only to be told Castor had already faded away, like the collar on Aki's neck he'd scrubbed through.
That was one problem solved, then. With the turning of the month came Caesar departing, the wreaths around his wrists disappearing. Akihiko felt the loss in a way he didn't expect - Caesar was familiar, comforting, almost paternal in a way.
He's lost and unmoored a little, again... but he has an apology that Shinjiro is due. If not for the suppressants, then for forcing him to take Castor on again, however brief it was.
Akihiko skulks around until he finds a decent recipe for marinated chicken to use in oyakodon. He might not be great in the kitchen, and the look on Minato's face when he asked how to make pancakes will always stick with him.
But Shinji does have a rice cooker and a nonstick pan. He figures it can't be too hard to simmer chicken in dashi broth and pour egg over it, right? Feigning confidence for himself, he wishes some specific items from the crystal - because he doesn't know where Shinji keeps his stuff beyond a couple basics - and gets to work while he's out.
It's not a disaster. He thinks he cooks the thighs a little too long, but they're supposed to be forgiving. He's using instant dashi instead of making his own because he didn't trust himself to do it. He almost burns the onions, too, but he saves most of them and scrapes what he couldn't into the trash.
The rice comes out fine. He adds the egg in two layers, the way he's seen the cooks do at Umiushi, but that makes some of it cook a little more while the rest is runny.
It's ... good enough. He does taste it and while it's not as good as Shinji's (or even Umiushi's) it's not bad, either. He resists the urge to throw in some protein powder - if he wants any, he can put it on his own bowl.
Anyway, it's his apology meal and he's not going to swap it out.
He's cleaning off some of the utensils when the door to Shinji's apartment open, and he - jumps a little, clears his throat so the other teen knows he's there. (As if he can't tell from the rice cooker being on the counter.) ]
Hey.
[ He tries for casual and misses it by several meters. ]
[Shinjiro isn't quite sure what to make of it at first, when he opens his door to the smell of something recently burnt. Leaving the stove on isn't the sort of mistake he usually makes, but it's been a hell of a month and if he needs to accept that he's wasted a bunch of cords of food or will need to spend some shards fixing his kitchen, so be it.
...Apparently, that's not the case. Aki's face has nervousness written all over it, and he's about to ask what kind of misadventure occurred while he was out when the other teen speaks up, and Shinjiro's brain short circuits a little. Now that he's aware of it, he can smell spices in the air, too. Aki ... made food? An entire, proper meal, with actual seasoning, instead of the bare minimum?
If he weren't already a dead man walking, he might have assumed this meant something had gone terribly wrong with his state of existence, right about now. He wanders into the kitchen to see for himself, and he's honestly a little shocked at how nice the presentation is, despite the slightly burned sections. He even tried to caramelize the onions? Damn. The edges of his mouth pull, into something that's only almost a smile, but definitely affectionate.]
This really ain't bad, for a first try. You pulled out all the stops, huh.
[Maybe he's not such a hopeless case after all ...... if he's open to it, maybe he can even wean his friend off the boiled chicken and protein powder with the promise of tastier, meatier dishes on the horizon `_`]
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> early july, post event
That was one problem solved, then. With the turning of the month came Caesar departing, the wreaths around his wrists disappearing. Akihiko felt the loss in a way he didn't expect - Caesar was familiar, comforting, almost paternal in a way.
He's lost and unmoored a little, again... but he has an apology that Shinjiro is due. If not for the suppressants, then for forcing him to take Castor on again, however brief it was.
Akihiko skulks around until he finds a decent recipe for marinated chicken to use in oyakodon. He might not be great in the kitchen, and the look on Minato's face when he asked how to make pancakes will always stick with him.
But Shinji does have a rice cooker and a nonstick pan. He figures it can't be too hard to simmer chicken in dashi broth and pour egg over it, right? Feigning confidence for himself, he wishes some specific items from the crystal - because he doesn't know where Shinji keeps his stuff beyond a couple basics - and gets to work while he's out.
It's not a disaster. He thinks he cooks the thighs a little too long, but they're supposed to be forgiving. He's using instant dashi instead of making his own because he didn't trust himself to do it. He almost burns the onions, too, but he saves most of them and scrapes what he couldn't into the trash.
The rice comes out fine. He adds the egg in two layers, the way he's seen the cooks do at Umiushi, but that makes some of it cook a little more while the rest is runny.
It's ... good enough. He does taste it and while it's not as good as Shinji's (or even Umiushi's) it's not bad, either. He resists the urge to throw in some protein powder - if he wants any, he can put it on his own bowl.
Anyway, it's his apology meal and he's not going to swap it out.
He's cleaning off some of the utensils when the door to Shinji's apartment open, and he - jumps a little, clears his throat so the other teen knows he's there. (As if he can't tell from the rice cooker being on the counter.) ]
Hey.
[ He tries for casual and misses it by several meters. ]
I made lunch.
no subject
...Apparently, that's not the case. Aki's face has nervousness written all over it, and he's about to ask what kind of misadventure occurred while he was out when the other teen speaks up, and Shinjiro's brain short circuits a little. Now that he's aware of it, he can smell spices in the air, too. Aki ... made food? An entire, proper meal, with actual seasoning, instead of the bare minimum?
If he weren't already a dead man walking, he might have assumed this meant something had gone terribly wrong with his state of existence, right about now. He wanders into the kitchen to see for himself, and he's honestly a little shocked at how nice the presentation is, despite the slightly burned sections. He even tried to caramelize the onions? Damn. The edges of his mouth pull, into something that's only almost a smile, but definitely affectionate.]
This really ain't bad, for a first try. You pulled out all the stops, huh.
[Maybe he's not such a hopeless case after all ...... if he's open to it, maybe he can even wean his friend off the boiled chicken and protein powder with the promise of tastier, meatier dishes on the horizon `_`]