Mission - Pancakes / Backdated to the morning of April 3rd

[oncedevil]

Who: Tony and anyone awake at Willow Ridge after the Kidnapping Incident
What: Demon be hungry, so that means pancakes for all.
Where: Willow Ridge kitchen
When: Morning of April 3rd, after Nathan's rescue
Warnings: Possibly some recollections of violence, but otherwise only pancakes. Maybe eggs. We'll see.

Dressed in jeans and a light T-shit, one could almost forget just the night before he'd been barely able to walk under his own power and bleeding all over himself. Quite the change, though watching closely it was still evident Tony was a little tender and sore. Moving stiff and careful while he cooked.

As it turned out, healing was hungry business. Fortunately Willow Ridge was equipped with a well enough stocked kitchen, and Tony with a little skill instilled by Hajime. Despite his best efforts, he still couldn't really use chopsticks with any kind of efficiency. Fortunately pancakes only required a spatula.

Stacks of them, in fact. The first attempts, under-cooked or over had already been eaten, but now he was on a roll. Why not ask him why he's cooked so much, or join in to help devour the abundance? Surely, he figured, the others would wake soon and they'd be hungry as well. Though likely Tony was far over-estimating their hunger by comparing it to his own.

Comments

[oncedevil]

"Mm? Sure, this was kind of an emergency anyway. Didn't need to be great." Just needed to be plentiful and available. No one wants to deal with a hungry demon, he's possibly more grumpy than hungry Shou when he's forced to wait too long. But hey, he wouldn't mind a better option for when he's not in a rush to fill his gut.

[chalicejoker]

"Still...food's important." Too important for just straight mixes. "And mixes are...I don't know, when it's just me, I don't like taking the easy way out. Like the food should be important, too."

[oncedevil]

"Heh, I get where you're coming from. 'Fraid that hasn't always been an option, so when I'm hungry enough I don't really think about it. Never had the liberty of being particular before."

It wasn't that food wasn't important, but it was viewed as a necessity rather than a luxury. With that mentality, you take what you can get.

[chalicejoker]

"Oh, right..." That comment about cooking fires and trash cans. "...I've always been lucky. You don't go hungry growing up above a restaurant." Which explains a certain amount of food snobbery, too.

[oncedevil]

Probably to Hajime's despair, Tony will probably never really understand his being so particular about food. To him, as long as it's edible it's fine. And if it's better than edible, excellent!

"Heh, can't say I know what that's like. Dumpsters behind restaurants are good places to forage though."

Look, it's disgusting but true. You're homeless long enough you figure out where to search for food that's not going to kill you. "But a mix sure beats that. You'll have to show me how to make it better sometime, when I don't feel like I need to eat seventeen horses."

[chalicejoker]

Hajime would make a face there if he weren't a giant bug right now. "I guess it's better than most places would be, yeah." There is such a sound of a wince in his voice. He can't even imagine having to do that.

"Don't worry, I will. Pancakes aren't my specialty, but I think we can get you cooking something that's still better than a mix."

[oncedevil]

He'd almost have to laugh at the irony of a giant cockroach having an issue with eating out of dumpsters, if it weren't so depressing. See, he told you his conversations are depressing Hajime, you were warned. "S'not so bad, sometimes they throw away perfectly good food. You'd be surprised how much people waste."

But it was good for the scavengers like him, who had to find the places that wasted so much. Soup kitchens were risky business, fights could break out at any time. You didn't want to risk that too much. But, he certainly learned to never take things for granted.

"Sure, that'll be nice. Then maybe you won't want to turn your nose up at it," He smirks over his shoulder, casting Hajime a wink. Yes, yes, he knows this isn't up to your standards bug brother, but there's only so much he can do. Food sharing is a Big Deal for someone who had lived with scarcity for so long. It's something he's happy he's able to do, even if it isn't gourmet.

[chalicejoker]

"I think I've got a pretty good idea. Some of the stuff we clear off of tables when people get more food than they can eat..."

Now Hajime's feeling kind of like an ass over that, so he'll shovel an entire half pancake into his gaping bug maw. (This is probably a big mistake, for no lips makes for a really messy and awkward dining experience.) "But these are good, really."

[oncedevil]

"See? And I know you can't repurpose that so..."

He gives a vague shrug. It still feeds the hungry sometimes, even if owners don't like it when they catch you in their dumpsters. Although watching Hajime try to inhale an entire half pancake is hilarious, and Tony has to let out a barking laugh at it. Don't feel guilty, Hajime, it's not your fault, just try to understand.

"Thanks. I'm trying, I know it's not perfect but... practice, right?" He grins, trying to reassure the bugman.

[chalicejoker]

There is pancake everywhere. It is a pancake massacre. It is also debatable just how much Hajime has actually eaten and how much he's managed to get everywhere. "Right. Practice." Though he can't actually smile, the sound's coming through in his voice. "I'll make a chef out of you yet."

[oncedevil]

Pancake massacres mean victory for Tony, who has successfully made Hajime the pickiest bug in all the land eat his cooking. It might not be gourmet or from scratch but he means well and puts heart into it. Even if Hajime likes to think mixes are soulless.

He shoots a grin over his shoulder, and slips another pancake onto Hajime's plate, on top of the pile of massacre. "Great, glad you haven't given up on me yet. Cooking's kinda fun."

[chalicejoker]

"Yeah, I really enjoy it." He nods amiably...even if now he's got to massacre another pancake. "Good way to relax."

[oncedevil]

"It is pretty relaxing," Tony agrees, as he flips another pancake onto the pile. That is, after all, why he's doing it this morning. After letting the demon out a little more than he'd typically like last night, he's definitely in need of some detoxing time. "And I get to look after everyone on top of it." It gave him some kind of satisfaction to be able to do things for his little family. Feed them and give them a small bit of normalcy in their otherwise insane lives.

Well, as normal as it ever was as a Numbered.

[chalicejoker]

"Yeah, I can understand that." Hajime nodded as he tried to massacre another pancake. "Makes a lot of sense. You should have seen the cooking I did after I got stuck like this."

[oncedevil]

"Was it akin to piles of pancakes?"

Awe he's eating it, it might not be the best stuff in the world but Tony's glad Hajime's at least humoring him. Why he's insisting on still being a bug is anyone's guess but whatever.

[chalicejoker]

"Yeah, but it was gyoza and sushi rolls instead." Those were particularly soothing and tasty, Hajime has found.

[oncedevil]

"Pfff, you and your fancy tastes. 'Course I'd probably do the same if I had the skill for it." And supplies. He had a bag of pancake mix and an empty stomach, thus breakfast for an army.

[chalicejoker]

"It's not fancy," Hajime protests, "just different." He shrugs a little. "Kind of like how what you grow up with ends up being the best comfort food."

[oncedevil]

"Alright, alright, I'll give you that," He won't be too hard on Hajime. It's not his fault he's a food snob. Besides his food snobbery is delicious. "Anything?" He shoots a grin over his shoulder, then chuckles. "Hmm but I get your point, I kinda like sandwiches when I'm down. The big loaded ones, you know? Or nachos."

Also loaded, thank you very much.

[chalicejoker]

"Yeah, I can understand that." He's finished up with that second pancake. "And sometimes, I like pizza, even if it's something I don't really make myself.

[oncedevil]

"Ooh, yeah, pizza. Pizza's always a good choice." You can never go wrong with pizza for comfort food that's for sure. Besides the best part about pizza is that you can order it and just have it delivered to your door.

[chalicejoker]

"Sometimes, you just need all that grease and cheese..." Much as it pains him to admit it.