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[... Goddamnit, he likes curry. He always gets it from cheap chain restaurants, though. He's never had it homemade before.]

I know it's popular in the UK. Americans like it, too?

Edited 2025-09-17 02:40 (UTC)

I've had Indian curry before and like it. I've never had Japanese curry before.

[He frowns at this.]

You're making it specifically for me, then.

[ He could lie but they both know it would be a lie. ]

I can teach you pasta with meat sauce if you'd rather.

[Ugh.]

Curry is better.

[Look at him, even giving a food preference that isn't just coffee.]

[ Got 'im. ]

Come up to the door when you get here and I'll let you in.

Fine.

[And at 2:58pm tomorrow afternoon, Accelerator will have made his way up to the second floor of the library. He hasn't brought anything with him, since John didn't specify. He doubts he needed to, anyways. John is well aware that he doesn't cook, so his kitchen at the apartments is bare of the essentials. It's sad, really.

He doesn't really want to be doing this. John doing all that cooking on that other Earth at least had the excuse of it being a mission, now that they're back in Etraya this is just him being kind and supportive towards someone who doesn't deserve it. It makes him a little sick to think about, like there's a budding static in the back of his head threatening to turn into a headache, and he tries to ignore it as best he can as he approaches the door.]

[ John still doesn't know how to have the conversation he wants to have with Accelerator. It's going to be awkward because they're both so bad at this, but they need to have it. He needs to know Accelerator understands it wasn't him, it was the anomaly.

Right? It wasn't either of them?

The alert goes off in the apartment that someone is at the door and John promptly goes to open it, stepping out of the way immediately to let Accelerator in. ]

Thanks for being on time.

[ He's early, but that's close enough. ]

[With his usual surly expression he steps inside, immediately kicking his shoes off.]

Let's get this over with.

[Not even a 'Hi, how are you?' It's as if he's having to go to a dental appointment instead of spending the afternoon making a delicious meal with someone he likes. But being the slightest bit normal about this opens him up to any potential emotions he doesn't want to deal with, so he's going with being stubborn instead.]

[ There's the Accelerator he knows. And loves. Isn't that how the phrase goes? He doesn't know if "loves" is the right word, but... he cares for him. That much is undeniable. That being said, he doesn't take the comment to heart. This is just how Accelerator is.

John leads him to the kitchen, a small but efficient space; there's only so much they can cram into the library. He grabs two aprons and holds one out for Accelerator to put on; it's tan with a blue cord that goes around the neck and ties in the back. John wears the dark blue apron. Since they're just cooking he's not in his usual suit, just jeans and a grey t-shirt. The kind of clothing that Accelerator would have very rarely seen on Earth, just on the occasion John wasn't working and wasn't planning on going out.

In the kitchen there's an array of equipment and ingredients out. Carrots, potatoes, onion, spices, a peeler, a knife, a cutting board, some bowls. ]

Don't sound so enthusiastic.

[ But it's clearly said as a tease. ]

[The kitchen seems nicer than the one he has in his apartment. Whether that's actually true is up for debate, it just seems that way to Accelerator. Maybe because this one gets some use, while he only uses his own as essentially a large pantry? He isn't sure.

Taking the apron, he leans against the counter so he can let go of his crutch and put it on. Once he does that he eyes the ingredients and pokes at a bowl. Weirdly, despite John being dressed casually he seems very serious about this.]

I'm only keeping my expectations low. It's realistic. I never even stepped foot into a kitchen until I was old enough to live in my school's apartment-style dorms.

[Then he got his own kitchen, a tiny one, that he proceeded to never use.]

Have some faith in both of us.

[ Both of them, because while John will be there to stop anything catastrophic from happening, Accelerator is going to be doing most of the work. Hopefully. He's not entirely new at teaching people, he's been teaching Maria for a while now, but teaching Accelerator is different. ]

Have you used a knife or a peeler before?

[A skeptical look is etched across his face, though to Accelerator's credit he doesn't complain or argue.]

A knife, not a peeler.

[Even for someone who doesn't cook it's hard to avoid using a knife to cut or chop things. Any proper chopping skills are, however, nonexistent.]

[ Good place to start. ]

Let's start with peeling the carrots. I've washed the vegetables already but that would be your first step. [ Accelerator can figure out how to wash vegetables on his own, that's not hard just tedious. ] Watch how I do it.

[ He grabs a carrot and the Y peeler and deliberately peels three long strips of the carrot's skin, and then puts both down and steps aside. ]

You do the rest and the other carrot as well.

Okay.

[At the very least, Accelerator takes this seriously, watching intently as John peels the carrot. It seems easy enough, so he leans against the counter, letting go of his crutch so he can grab the peeler and vegetable. He gives it a few experimental swipes.

It... isn't great, but he keeps going with a very serious expression on his face. Those vegetables are going to get peeled!]

[ John shouldn't be surprised that Accelerator is taking this seriously, and... he's not. Somehow he didn't doubt that Accelerator would take this seriously. But he has no real criticism of his peeling, it's the work of someone unfamiliar with the movement. Nothing that practice can't solve.

When Accelerator is finished John moves the bowl with carrot peel scraps aside and pulls the cutting board closer. ]

Pay attention to how I'm holding the knife, especially my off hand. Tuck your fingers slightly so the blade slides against the back of your fingers, not towards the finger tips.

[ He carefully demonstrates the correct position for both hands and slices the tip of the carrot off, then tosses it in the scraps bowl. Then he slices quarter inch disks from the carrot, going an inch up on the vegetable. The knife gets placed down and he slides the cutting board over to Accelerator. ]

Take it slow.

[Accelerator is noticing how terrible of a job he's doing peeling the carrots, and by the time he finishes he's scowling down at the vegetables as if they've offended. They haven't, of course, he's just annoyed with himself for somehow not being good at this even though he's never done it before.

That's also why he's silent as he listens to John's instructions and watches his demonstration. This seems more difficult than peeling, since it requires (in his mind, anyways) being able to cut exact measurements. After the cutting board is slid in front of him he stares down at it, sorely tempted to cheat by just cutting everything with his ability. He's never bothered using it on produce before, but he's confident he could chop everything up perfectly with a few simple (hah) equations.

He's still considering that option as he picks up the knife, squinting down at the carrot and mentally measuring out exact quarter inches.]

Can't you just buy this shit already cut up?

[He starts cutting. His measurements are dead-on, but unfortunately he's less skilled at keeping the blade of the knife straight, so a lot of these pieces of carrot are going to end up somewhat angled.]

[ Once again, this is something that will come with practice. Accelerator is smart enough to recognize what he's doing wrong and will (hopefully) ask for help if he needs it. Micromanaging will only get them both frustrated. ]

You can buy shredded carrots at the grocery store but not sliced rounds like this.

[ Getting settled in talking about mundane things like cooking is better than just jumping in the deep end, right? He has no clue how to segue into talking about Earth and all the things that happened there. Either it will come up or... he'll just have to make the leap. But he can wait a bit longer. ]

[Accelerator clicks his tongue as he chops, it becoming quickly clear to him that he isn't doing a great job of this. Despite that he keeps going, focusing more on trying to keep the damn knife straight, frustration growing on his face.]

They should just sell it already sliced like this. It'd be ea -

[That thought is cut off as the knife slips and digs into one of his fingers. Not deeply, thankfully, but there's blood and he's dropping the knife as he curses.]

- Fuck!

[ John is immediately grabbing the injured finger above the cut, applying pressure, and dragging him over to the sink where he turns the water on. ]

Keep pressure on that.

[ And then off he goes for the first aid kit. Thankfully it's not far and he's back quickly, but he just sets it aside for now, opting to examine Accelerator's finger under the stream of water instead. ]

Doesn't look like it needs stitches. A bandaid should do.

[ He gets one that's close enough to the right size and a paper towel. ]

Dry your finger off with this and I'll put it on.

[A second curse is escaping him when John grabs him, both because he isn't use to being touched and because his dumb ass let go of his crutch, so when John drags him over to the sink he's having to grab onto him with his other hand to keep himself from falling over. Having used his crutch for long enough to be used to it, not having it while his body is in normal mode makes him feel even more unbalanced, and his legs wobble shakily. Once they're at the sink he's latching onto it, glaring a little at John as he steadies himself.]

It isn't a big deal.

[He's grumbling that in irritation, taking the paper towel and drying his hand off. It stings, especially after pouring a bunch of water on it, but it's nothing he hasn't felt before.]

[ John ignores the grumbling and puts the bandaid on anyways. ]

It's easy for the knife to slip if you're not paying attention. Happens even to the best cooks. You're lucky it was just a little cut.

[ That gives him an idea though. ]

How is your arm feeling?

[ Is this the start of that conversation? Maybe? He's expecting that Accelerator will try to shut down this dialogue but John is going to push this time. ]

[He rolls his eyes, leaning against the counter. Cool, cut himself, nearly fell over because he can't stand on his own, this is off to a great start. That question doesn't help his mood, and he's silent for a few seconds, stewing and trying to decide it he wants to answer.]

... It's fine. That version of Earth had some really advanced medical equipment.

[His tone is dismissive. His arm is still sore, yeah, but it's usable, so it's not worth bringing up. Not when there are a bunch of bad memories and feelings attached.]

[ To be fair to Accelerator, John should have realized it would be hard for him to get to the sink on his own. But he doesn't dwell much on it. Instead he tries to figure out where to go from here. Accelerator clearly doesn't want to talk about it. But they need to. ]

It wasn't all bad.

[His eyes hang on the bandage before he turns his gaze up to meet John's, his expression dark. This is not a subject he wants to tackle, though at the same time he knows ignoring it isn't helping any.]

Yeah, it was. Don't pretend otherwise.

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