[CLOSED] won't you shine in my direction

[lakebrat]

[[OOC: NB, this thread is closed to Sunflowkechi and Girlren. Also backdated to after Sfk and Bmtaba's initial Palace survey, but before Crow and Falcon have made contact.]]

Goro is going to Mementos later. Actually, he was in Mementos yesterday. And the day before. And last night, he was in Tartarus with Phoenix and the crew (and the less said about working with Magpie the better).

Either way, he needs food, and would anyway. And so will Ren, and Morgana, and Phoenix's team. And cooking takes some of the stress off him; always has. So he's at Leblanc's small sink, peeling and quartering potatoes like his life depends on it. There are the beginnings of dark circles under his eyes. He's got to save Ren, and he can't even set foot in the Palace.

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[lakebrat]

And he looks up from his now-tightly clenched hands to glare at her, except now his lips are quivering instead. The patronising—

He takes a deep breath. He's better than this; he's got this. And, shit, he really can't do it alone. Isn't that the lesson this whole year has taught him?

"You're right," he admits, looking away. "I just... I've never been carried, you know. Even before the Metaverse. If I don't do things, they don't get done, and if I can't do them, or won't do them...."

The potatoes in the pot stare back at him with their countless eyes. "I can't leave all this cooking to you, Amamiya-san."

[phantomlotus]

And she accepts the glare, letting him do so until he finally breaks said glare away from her.

No point in getting angry about it on her end, she knows he has to feel like absolute garbage about this, and she's not going to add more to it if she can help it.

Honestly, trying to get him to rest is adding enough as is.

"...I get you. That was the way things were."

She had to do a lot on her own, too. Maybe not like Akechi ever had to, but when your parents are always busy and then you get dropped like a sack of hot potatoes because of a false arrest... well, you kind of have to be self-reliant.

"But you don't have to do it on your own. You've got your team. The one back home and the one here."

She glances at the potatoes in the pot... but shrugs nonchalantly.

"This? This is nothing. Easier than taking orders at Ore no Beko. Besides, I've got a knack for it. Cooking."

She cracks another small smile at Akechi, stepping towards the pot of potatoes, looking it over properly.

To say she has a knack for it might be overselling it, but she's learned quite a bit about working in the kitchen since living at Leblanc. Mostly about curry, but she can make the meal no problem.

"...I mean you can stick around if you really want, but I'm convinced you're gonna fall asleep standing up if you do."

She can't really stop him, she just doesn't want him suffering for it. That was the point of her telling him to go get some rest.

[lakebrat]

His lips purse again, as he struggles with his pride. Taking a hand held out, rather than offering it. Being part of the team, rather than the leader. Letting go.

He doesn't let go. But, looking into her face, of course he thinks of Ren. Ren, who Goro is asking to do this exact thing—to at least depend on one other for everything that matters most, if he can't bring himself to trust them all.

Taking off his green apron, he hands it to her, passing the baton. "Um. Don't forget the mushrooms. Most people don't add them, but the added umami...."

[phantomlotus]

She takes the apron with a small smile. There's a quiet look in her eyes that says something she doesn't.

'I won't let you down'.

Instead, she says something else along with a small nod.

"Mushrooms. Umami. Got it."

She gets to putting the apron on, carefully making sure the collar goes around her hair all right.

"Anything else?"

She wants to make sure he shares everything he needs to. Let him have that.

[lakebrat]

Again, he scans her face. There are a lot of things he could mention, but won't. "I don't want to make work for you. Besides"—and his smile begins to creep back—"I'm anxious to see how you do it. I've tasted your curry, after all."

And he liked it a lot. He heads for the stairs. "I won't be long. I'll just nap."

Once he's gone, she may or may not notice, next to the carrots he's already peeled, a sakura cutter that he neglected to mention.

[phantomlotus]

"OK."

She watches him go, knowing full well that things were left unsaid... but she can't help but crack a confident grin. She's going to knock his socks off with the food, he can count on that much.

...But as she turns back to the food that needs to be handled, her eyes linger on the sakura cutter that happens to be there.

"..."

She picks it up, looking it over... before the smile fades a bit.

'...Looks like you didn't tell me everything', she thinks to herself. She has to decide how to go about this... Try to surprise him with its use and possibly use it for the wrong thing, or just keep it quiet and know for next time...

...

...Maybe she should ask him about it later...

[lakebrat]

As for Goro, he steps out of his shoes, falls onto the bed, and blacks out almost right away. But as he does, he hears the butterfly voice in his head again. Sanctuary, rank two.

Huh, he just has time to think, before he passes out entirely. He'll sleep far longer than he meant to.