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It's for your own good, dear.

[ He throws the endearment back easily before turning towards the pot again. The beginnings of the curry are aromatic, the smell filling the kitchen when Akira gives it a stir. From there, he gets back to work, navigating the kitchen with ease despite its unfamiliarity as he prepares the next ingredients to go in. ]

[grakraka]

[Seeing it come together, even if he didn't contribute much more than cash, feels good. Akechi leans against the counter as he watches Akira move around the kitchen. It looks impressive in how natural it is, despite it not being the kitchen he is used to working with. But he knows it means a certain level of skill, the kind that looks like nothing to anyone else.]

Say, tell me something about you that I don't know.

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[ Akira glances up from where he's preparing the apple, mincing it into fine squares.

It's a vague request, and something about the broadness of it requires a moment of consideration before he speaks up. ]

I like to go fishing.

[grakraka]

Fishing? I'm surprised. Isn't that usually an activity for older people? Then again, you seem like the type of person to enjoy the peace and quiet of it as much as the skill.

[Not that he has been fishing more than a couple of times but even if he hadn't, he knows the sorts of people who do. Fishing isn't particularly trendy.]

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It's actually Ryuji who showed me the place. [ Which honestly might be the most surprising part of all of it, considering how easily Akechi pins down why Akira likes it. ]

I just kept going after that. It was a good getaway from everything and I had fun trying to beat my high score.

[grakraka]

[His eyebrows go up.] Really? Huh. I wonder why he likes it.

[Ryuji doesn't seem like the patient type. Maybe it's more fun with a friend, though.]

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[ Akira shrugs a shoulder. A mystery even he hasn't solved. ] We didn't catch anything that day, but we had fun.

[ He tosses the apple into the pot. It's tempting to turn the same request back on Akechi, but there's something more pressing at hand: ]

About the yogurt and the sauce...

[grakraka]

Ah, yes.

[Akechi grabs his bag and spreads out the ingredients on the counter. For the most part, they're a bunch of small, labelled bottles with glass and cork stoppers, with a can, a small bottle of something milky and a single lemon as well.]

Plain buttermilk works for yogurt, though only use a small amount of it compared to the yogurt you would use. Umm, I suppose a fourth? Something close to that. It functions virtually the same in consistency, texture and taste. [It's obvious he's guessing. Educated guesses and ones he feels confident in taste wise but as Akira knows, he is not a cook by any means. At all.] As for the steak sauce, I managed to find some canned tomatoes, so lucky us. So using that as the base, add vinegar, garlic, mashed peppers, salt, molasses, sugar, lemon juice, mustard and black pepper. Um, everything else is already in the curry but since this goes in, too, I guess some extra onions, too...

[Clearing his throat, he glances at him.] This will have to be to taste, sorry.

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[ Akira steps closer as he lays out the ingredients, peering at each. The look on his face morphs into something impressed as Akechi rattles off a recipe for the makeshift steak sauce. ]

No, this is... [ He glances over to meet Akechi's eyes with a smile. ] I never would've figured this out on my own. This is great.

[ Well, better get to work. He picks up the can of tomatoes. ]

Time to invent steak sauce.

[grakraka]

[A light flush comes to his face as he stands a bit straighter, proud.]

Well, you'll be doing the work from here! I trust in your judgement.

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[ Well, he can't fail now, can he? Akira gets started, first preparing the ingredients—mincing onions and garlic, mashing the peppers, juicing the lemon, and so on. Once the mise en place is finished, it's time to take out a smaller pot for preparing the sauce.

He follows the vague recipe Akechi gave him: cooking off the aromatics first and then using the tomatoes as a base to which he adds the rest of the ingredients. Akira has no idea how long it needs to cook for, but he stirs at it until it seems to be completely combined. ]

I think it's done... [ Well, he should definitely strain it, but it's probably best to confirm the taste before then.

Rather than doing the honors himself, Akira takes a spoonful of the sauce over to Akechi, offering it to him. ]

Try it.

[grakraka]

[As Akira works, Akechi watches him, taking mental notes for his future cooking attempts. It smells good but more than that, he likes to see the way Akira works, figuring out his thought process as best as he can.]

Ah? Well then, certainly.

[He takes the spoon from him and sips the sauce, letting it settle on his tongue for a moment. Then he smiles as he hands it back.]

It tastes good to me. The flavours have combined well, so I didn't notice any separation between them. Good work.

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[ There's a moment where he watches intently as Akechi tastes the sauce, and then Akira is looking somewhat pleased with himself at the approval. He accepts the spoon and pops it into his mouth to taste what's left on it. ]

... It really isn't bad.

[ It doesn't taste or smell exactly like the sauce Sojiro used to use in his curry, but he's so impressed that it tastes good that it doesn't really matter. It's only a small portion of what goes into it, and Akira knows he wouldn't have been able to perfectly replicate the curry here, anyway. ]

[grakraka]

[Akira's approval means the most at the moment. It doesn't matter much if Akechi thinks it tastes fine when Akira is the one who knows best. Gaining it lightens his heart considerably and he gives a soft, pleased hum.]

I thought as much. [He says it with confidence, which happens to be mostly true. He really did think it would work but there is always room for error.] We can bottle the rest. It should keep for awhile.

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[ Akira nods his concurrence and gets back to the stove to remove the pot of sauce. Then it's back to flitting around the kitchen: He checks on the curry and adds a couple more things, the scent from the pot shaping into something more and more familiar, and then another bit of water is set to boil separately before he busies himself with finding a sieve which he can press the homemade steak sauce through.

As he's doing so, he finally speaks up again. ] Time for you to tell me something about you that I don't know.

[grakraka]

[Like before, he enjoys watching him in silence, only stirring from his own muted thoughts when Akira speaks. Well, he did ask him the same thing earlier, so that is fair. His intentions had just been to get to know him better and he supposes it probably goes the same way for Akira.]

Hmm... [He drums his fingers on the side of his thigh as he tries to think of something worth giving.] I like a variety of movies but my favourite type would be animated ones.

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[ It might have been more surprising a month ago but after hearing about Akechi's taste in television shows and his favorite book, this new detail fits right in. ]

I get that. They have a charm that live action movies don't. [ He glances up from mashing the sauce through the sieve. ] I can see you liking ones about animals.

[grakraka]

[He smiles. True enough, it seems Akira has his number.]

I do. There was one I saw awhile ago, about little mice-sized people and their life. Of course, the cat in that appeared very large to them, as did any other animal. It proved to be a dangerous but enchanting world from that perspective. Movies where animals are the humanized characters are fun, aren't they? [Fun isn't the only reason but it's true he really likes stories with inhuman characters.] Though I also just like the animation itself. The different styles and approaches can convey so much more to the stories, even if the stories are simple ones. They feel richer and more meaningful, like you can see the creative team's feelings.

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[ Akira nods, focusing again on his task. ] It puts a new spin on stuff you see as completely normal. And the animation gives it its own personality.

[ He falls quiet for a moment as he finishes with the sauce and just sets the finished product aside for now. Finding something to bottle it in can come later; right now, he has to tend to the curry and get the fixings for coffee ready before the water finishes boiling. ]

I miss movies.

[grakraka]

[His eyes continue to follow him, his arms folded loosely as he does.]

Me too. I only went a few times. Most of what I saw was at home in my rare moments of free-time. But it was nice.

[Maybe he should have seen more. Well, that ship has passed. Maybe they can invent movies here? Possibly? Hm.]

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Curry and a movie would've been a good way to spend the afternoon.

[ That's what he misses most about them, he thinks. The social aspect. Going to the theater with a friend or taking in the fuzzy picture on his boxy old television with Morgana.

Well, it's true that that's no longer an option. This isn't so bad, though. The lulls of silence while he works, interspersed with brief bursts of conversation. Akira readies the coffee pot amidst it, a process different from the manual drip he learned back at Leblanc, and once the pouch with the grounds is inside, he pours the boiling water over it. ]

[grakraka]

[It sounds like a nice way. In fact, he'd love to see a movie with Akira. Akira brings an interesting energy to everything he does; even seeing a movie would be different. But, also, it just seems fun, like a thing friends do.

Speaking of fun, he's enjoying getting to know him better. Before he never really did, for multiple reasons at any given point in their relationship. But now there isn't much point in keeping his distance.

At least in this specific way.]

Hey, it's your turn again.

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[ Akira gives the coffee pitcher a thoughtful look as he closes it. Both of their facts so far haven't been all that surprising. What can he say that Akechi might not have been able to infer already? ]

... One time I called one of those shady maid services.

[grakraka]

[Congratulations, Akira. His eyes go wide and his soft voice rises an octave.]

Wh-What?! You did what? [He still can't believe he heard it right.] Did you use it?!

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[ Well, he managed something surprising. The honest shock in Akechi's reaction is kind of satisfying, Akira can't deny that. ]

It wasn't my idea... [ His friends just chickened out at the last second. ] But yeah, I did.

[ Which he realizes sounds terrible, so he continues as he moves back to the curry: ] She needed the money, so I wanted to help. I'd get her to come clean my room after Leblanc closed for the night.