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 Posted: Mon May 31, 2021 5:28 pm
He wasn’t going to say anything to Rakovaite. Narcissus’ cheeks were still bright red from his silly endeavor, and as the agent approached from behind, he felt confident the other man would ridicule it as a waste of time or unnecessary.
But even if he did, so what? It was just one silly thing to try and lighten the mood. Even if Rakovanite thought it was useless, maybe Diesel would like it? It was unnecessary in the strictest sense of the word, but it had been a task that almost made him giddy while he was doing it. Giddy to think Rak would appreciate the effort, or maybe say it was cute or think it was funny… And now Narcissus regretted it-
But it was fine. He shouldn’t stress over it like this.
He tipped his head up and back to see the other man as Rakovanite drew in closer to the pot. And- Well, he didn’t think it was unnecessary, at least. Another choked laugh escaped him, and he could practically feel the worst of the tension easing out of his shoulders, despite not having any real reassurance Rakovanite thought it ‘cute.’
“No,” Narcissus admitted. “None of that. I just liked it. C-cute shapes in an average meal? Something to make it ‘brighter,’ without adding any extra flavors- O-oh, but I think this smokey outside pan thing will do it, too. It already smells like the flavors are getting to know each other pretty well…” He leaned in to scrape up some small clumps of onion from the pan and felt resistance as things tried to adhere to the aged metal and came away with toasted brown markings.
Maybe he should add just the tiniest few drops of water, since none of what he currently had was very moist…
So he took the water pot and added a quick splash, before vigorously stirring and scraping at the vegetables he had roasting away. They were making a pleasant sizzling sound now, and the spinach leaves were wilting big time. The potatoes were still pretty hard, but everything else seemed like it was right where it was supposed to be.
He scraped his spoon along the side, collecting a spinach leaf and an onion string and a little carrot star. “So…” He tipped back, offering the end of the spoon up to Rakovanite. “D-do you think you want a taste?”
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Posted: Mon May 31, 2021 5:29 pm
“Oh. I see.” Even if Rakovanite did think the ‘cute’ gesture was unnecessary, there was no active reason to be offended by it. If it pleased Narcissus and was no hindrance to the expected already-poor quality or what they had, how could he rightly complain? He said he would only stand and follow, so he could hardly complain about the senshi’s cooking choices.
And Narcissus at least seemed to know how to handle this, so Rakovanite decided to simply be grateful the other man would cook for him at all.
He hovered near, watching as the senshi scraped at the bottom of their cooking pan, add water, stir, scrape. It did effectively smell like cooking. Everything was smokey and sizzling. Some of the bits were developing what Rakovanite thought was a good char. For all intents and purposes, this seemed like the absolute upper limit of what he could hope for. Things were going well.
The next time Narcissus turned to him, Rakovanite blinked at the offering: a spoon, held up to him, with a small mixture of vegetables. He had said he would be the taste-tester, and everything looked and smelled fine. If he was going to be wary, he probably should’ve expressed his doubts before it got this far. He eyed the little spoonful, then gave a tiny nod, tipping forward just enough to take the bite into his mouth- The hot bite, and his face scrunched immediately in his attempt to simply persevere despite the heat.
He didn’t really taste much, mostly just hot. But he definitely got more hints of onion and pepper than anything else. It wasn’t flavorful by any definition of the word, but it was edible.
Rakovanite raised fingers to his lips, shielding them from view as he murmured, “It is good. ...Thank you.”
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Posted: Mon May 31, 2021 5:30 pm
The tips of Narcissus’ ears prickled in renewed abashment. He’d expected Rakovanite would take the spoon from him, not just- Not just let him feed him! It shouldn’t be that surprising or that much of a big deal, but it still felt so strangely intimate. Something only people close to each other would do. And Rakovanite had… shapely, soft lips, despite how eternally displeased they always looked.
He glanced away abruptly, and stammered out a quick, “I-it’s probably hot!” But too late. His gaze zipped back up sharply, and his fingers fluttered in a worried flap in the agent’s direction. “W-why didn’t you blow on it! Be careful! You’ll burn yourself!”
And though those things were true Rakovanite composed himself quickly enough.
Narcissus was pleased to hear that it was good, that his efforts weren’t for nothing, and that they could have something passable while they were here, even without a bunch of garlic and rosemary and basil and salt and pepper. He’d been worried especially for Rakovanite, who wouldn’t even get the meaty flavors added to his dishes…
“O-oh! Good! Man, I’m really glad you can eat it. I was pretty worried you’d find it unpalatable- Which I know probably isn’t a huge problem for you, since you feel like you only need to eat what you need to eat, so, you know, this would fall under that category, I guess… But it’s just so hard to imagine that you wouldn’t want to enjoy a meal, since it’s- Well, there’s not much to enjoy around here, but we still have food, so-” He rambled a bit, but even Narcissus knew when he’d been allowed to go on for too long, so with a soft cough, he got it together and went back to stirring.
But his point bore repeating. “A-anyway… I’m glad it’s good.”
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Posted: Mon May 31, 2021 5:30 pm
It was fine. He was pleased it was fine. It wasn’t revolting on his tongue, and it didn’t have any strange-world aftertaste to it…
“You did really well with what was provided,” he supplied honestly. “I am very pleased. It is good that we will not have to struggle with taste or preparation as much as I feared.” Though there was still that issue of supply that plagued the back of his thoughts.
Still, since Narcissus intended to use most of these for his stew with the meat, Rakovanite didn’t feel pressed to wait for everything to finish. Once everything was done roasting, the pan was removed from the flame, to be replaced with the water pot. Most of the veggies and all of their fond was scraped into the water, to which a few chunks of the dried meat (which did not look even slightly appealing to Rakovanite) were added.
But Rakovanite’s portion of the meal was left in the pan, and since it was there, he didn’t see a reason not to sample the offerings while they waited for all of Narcissus’ and Cervantite’s food to simmer away to its most flavorful.
He’d taken up a seat on the grass, close at the senshi’s side. When Narcissus wasn’t stirring, Rakovanite used the spoon to pick through his own small stash of vegetables: what seemed to be most of a chopped carrot and potato, a few peas and clods of spinach, some onion strings, and a few pepper strings. It wasn’t mind blowing, but it was very acceptable, and as they sat together, his mind started to wander: what would he be doing if he was at home?
Playing games? Taking a bath? Not cooking, for sure. Perhaps preparing for bed or reading over his lecture materials… “Mm…” The note was quiet as Rakovanite’s thick lashes started to feel heavy.
They fluttered shut. His head tipped, first just enough for his cheek to rest against his shoulder, and then all at once, his arm slid out from under him, and he was laying in the grass.
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Posted: Mon May 31, 2021 5:32 pm
It was a huge relief. It was a giant, massive, huge relief to hear that Rakovanite didn’t want to harp over the small shapes or didn’t want to complain about the lacking quality of the meal. This was just what they had. And it was good enough. Thank God it was good enough. Narcissus smiled sheepishly at the praise and gave a tiny shrug of his shoulders. “You’re welcome…” His voice was much softer than usual, and not tinged with uncertainty or anxious energy or the stutter that often plagued him.
They finished cooking the vegetables in the pan and switched to preparing the stew.
Narcissus wasn’t so foolish as to think it would be almost anything more than slightly flavored water with some chunks of produce and meat in it- And maybe it would’ve been better not to make it into a stew at all, but to just eat everything straight out of the pan, as Rakovanite had opted to do. But this should be more filling, shouldn’t it? And they needed to be conservative…
Even if it was really cute to watch the agent sitting in the grass, casually eating from a pan with a spoon that was clearly meant as a serving utensil.
Narcissus almost… almost wanted to touch him, and he was right there, so it wasn’t like he was out of reach, or anything. And the moment was so peaceful and serene and gentle. He just wanted to take it and transfer the feelings to the other man, somehow. He reached with delicate fingers, gently skating through the thick (and slightly tangled) strands of Rakovanite’s hair. The other man’s lashes fluttered. His body shifted, and then-
He crumpled to the grass.
Narcissus’ body stiffened in immediate uncertainty. It had just seemed so immediately abrupt and uncharacteristic. “Rak? Rakovanite!” He moved to situate himself at the other’s side. Narcissus’ fingers fidgeted worriedly over the agent’s chest: still breathing. To his heart: still beating. His head: warm, but not feverish. He brushed wayward hair out of Rakovanite’s face.
His lashes fluttered lightly. He made quiet sounds and shifted when Narcissus said his name.
He… he was sleeping. Narcissus’ frame was taut and hovering as he deduced this, and even after, he wasn’t sure if he quite believed it. They hadn’t slept soundly since their arrival. No one had felt peace enough to do more than lightly doze. But he was fairly sure that Rakovanite was just in a relatively deep sleep…
Because of the food?
How long would it last?
Should he risk he and Cervantite eating-
Could he afford to not risk it? Sleep deprivation had haunted them, and if it just so easily knocked Rakovanite out- Outside, no less. Dangerous. Absolutely dangerous. Could he lift…? Narcissus wedged a hand beneath the agent’s shoulders and hefted him upward. Rakovanite’s protest was a grumble, but it was as least a protest…
But yes, he could lift him. Enough to get him inside to safety, where he and Cervantite could keep watch to see how long this lasted or if anything worsened. He didn’t know what he’d do if it did, but… Well, they couldn’t stay outside for too much longer, anyway. He and Cervantite would have to wait and eat until he heard anything else from Rakovanite...
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