suddenlybees | || IC INBOX

I sure do.

Let's make cookies. I have peanut butter and flour!

And I have the rest!

We need a little sugar, but it won't taste sweet. It's just to help the dough bind together.

KK
I'll trust in your baking knowledge!
Let's also make cookie cutters!!

We can make cookie cutters!

Do you want to meet out in the hall? I'm free.

Alright. Give me 3-30 minutes.

[ Most like 45... Kano's sense of time is a bit warped, and Nana should know better than to wait outside when she can just listen for when his door opens, and she meets him out there.

He comes empty handed. Presumably, everything he needs is in the infinite pockets of his jacket. ]

[She figured out that she shouldn’t just head out right away. Nana gets her supplies together: some sugar, a couple of extracts, and other baking supplies.

And then she goes out when she hears his door open. She smiles instantly. It’s a relief to see him. Nana does a short wave.]

Kano-kun! Ready for baking?

[ -—he lifts his head and breaks into a bright smile as well, always the ready actor. ]

Nana-chan, hello~!! I'm ready, I'm ready, I have everything I said I'd bring! Do you need help carrying anything?

I think I’ve got it. [The smile and everything else is... she’s not sure it’s totally real. But it’s comforting in a way to see him try. Nana watches him for a second too long, then shifts the bag on her shoulder, and starts walking for the kitchen.

Once they’re past everyone’s doors — reasonably out of sight if someone steps out at just this moment — she tries to take his hand.

She missed that too.]

[ He'd expect awkward silence, downward glances; the fact that Nana still smiles at him just makes his heart pound in his throat and his stomach churn on itself, like he doesn't agree with this at all but still forces himself through the motions. All of that is easily ignorable, though; that's just sort of how he goes through everyday life.

But when Nana reaches for his hand, he startles—- much worse than any time before, where he'd just jolt involuntarily and then settles down- when Nana reaches for his hand, he jerks his hand out of the way in surprise, blinking once or twice before reaching over to take her hand with an apologetic laugh. ]

Sorry, sorry~ I wasn't expecting that! You'll be off-balanced if you only carry the bag over one shoulder, and it'll hurt later too.

[ His hand is cold and clammy, with a weak grip. He can make it look otherwise, but nothing can change how it feels. ]

[Nana is a little dismayed, when his hand jerks back. There's a flash of a confused, hurt look on her face -- but it only lasts so long, because of how he takes her hand and laughs apologetically. It all clicks into place, despite the expert acting, the illusion-made smile, and the easiness of his voice. His hand is clammy, like he's... nervous? Scared?

He was worried. And he wants to her to not worry. It's the same way that Shuuya smiled at her, like she shouldn't worry. She looks at him, hesitating, and then her smile comes back and she squeezes his hand.

She could point it out... but no, this is nice, in its own way.] I can handle a little off-balance, and it's not that far, Kano-kun. I'll just trade shoulders on the way up.

[It's things like this, she thinks, holding his hand and seeing he's nervous and worried and who knows what else. It's far from perfect, but moments like this are why she didn't tell him to stay away after summoning a daemon, getting her and others killed.

She's smiling a little distractedly and not talking while they walk to the kitchen. She's working all that out in her head.]

[ He's always like that, nervous and scared out of his wits and never knowing what to do. The difference is, between Nana and other people, that Nana always reaches for his hand first, makes it hard for him to hide or run away, and it's worse because he doesn't want her to worry— knows she doesn't want him to worry- the same way he and Ellie never talked about anything but would share a bed when either of them are having a rough night and then wake up the next morning pretending everything is okay.

It's okay like this too.

The silence, he's also alright with, more comfortable with silence than he is anything else, though the urge is still there to mindlessly chatter to fill the silence. Whether he speaks or not, it'll be awkward, so he decides against it, pulling away from Nana as soon as they reach the kitchen so he can take out his half jar of peanut butter and three-quarters jar of one of the white powders in his closet. He is fairly certain it is flour. ]

[Nana smiles over her shoulder after he lets go, then she goes to the pantry. She's getting extracts out -- vanilla, almond -- and some sugar, for making things stick. More from the refridgerator.

She does glance at the jar, just to get a look. She's not entirely sure Kano would know the difference between flour and, say, baking powder.

She's also looking over the peanut butter. She pulls her phone out.] Let me check the recipe, just to make sure I get everything right...

[ Vanilla... almond... The extracts smell nice, sweet but he can't tell how strongly they would also taste in a cookie. The jar of flour is thankfully a jar of flour, which he had to make sure because he used a quarter of it for some other ~*~*secret project*~*~ and it had to be flour. ]

Okay. It's the kind that's not sweet, right? Just sort of peanut buttery, but not sweet at all?

[ This is important. ]

Nope, not sweet. It has some sugar, but... sugar and butter helps it stick together. It's... kind of how a lot of things have salt, but don't taste salty.

[Nana's starting on the measuring, but she pauses to look over her shoulder at him. She lifts one eyebrow.]

Do you not like sweet stuff?

[ Kano watches closely, eyes flitting between the recipe and what steps Nana is doing— glances briefly to meet her eyes and then it's back to staring at her hands. ]

Ahh, okay, I get it! Sweet stuff is fine! I don't mind it~

[She starts prepping the butter/sugar mix that's the base of the whole thing. Nana flips the mixer on then heads to the counter he was at to grab the peanut butter. It's next.]

But not too sweet today?

[ Kano will... supervise, he supposes, not getting in the way but still being able to watch closely and memorize all of Nana's subtle little techniques not written into the recipe. ]

Hmm~ Yeah! I want to learn how to make cookies for somebody, so it can't be too sweet~

Ah! And they don't like sweet things?

[She contemplates asking who, but waits.

Sometimes Nana gets so wrapped up in cooking, she forgets that she's supposed to be involving others. She starts rolling out the dough on a cutting board once it's mixed -- and peanut butter-filled -- and then pauses, as she looks back at Kano.

RIGHT, give him things to do. It's almost like Nana tries to do everything herself...]

Could you get a baking sheet? And cookie cutters? They're going to be in the fourth drawer, on your left.

Mm, that's right!

[ Which probably makes it very clear who it is, he thinks, but at the same time, here's Kano who doesn't particularly like sweet things but always goes around asking people to treat him to cookies and milkshakes and ice cream, so who knows.

But he does like feeling useful, so he heads over to the drawers and pulls out number four on the left— and good for him that Nana's specific about it, because he wouldn't know a baking sheet from aluminum foil, so grabs the roll that's in the drawer, and paws through the cookie cutter to find some fun ones. Cat is obvious, and he picks out the heart and the star and something that could be a dinosaur but he's not sure. ]

Is there anything else we need? Rolling pin? Toothpick to see if it's raw inside?

Mav?

[Just a hunch.

She looks back at him -- there's a thought for a moment, and then she adds:]

All three of those sound good. Maybe some extra flour, in case we need to dust the parchment with it so they don't stick.

Also, a frog-shaped cutter if they have one.

Shh, shhh!!

[ As if Maverick can hear, all the way down the hall, but he isn't supposed to know anyways!!!! Even though Kano told him directly that he's going to make cookies with Nana's supervision. He doesn't think Maverick believed him, so it's all the same.

He can't find the frog-shaped one, but he finds something vaguely blobby and he can use a toothpick or something to etch in extra lines to make it look like a frog, he's pretty confident he can do at least that much. ]

Alright, got it~

Ah, right. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me.

[Nana laughs, then she takes the rolling pin. She gets them down into a nice, flat sheet, before stepping back. Then she looks at him.]

We should start cutting shapes out. That one is... maybe sort of a frog?

[ He can at least always trust Nana to keep his secrets, because unlike anybody else, she doesn't need to blackmail him to do anything- she could just ask, and he finds it hard to say no. ]

Hm, yep! This is is maybe sort of a frog!!

[ But what he pulls out is the cat head cutter, pressing it into the dough and cutting out the shape before drawing lines in with a toothpick. You know what they're going to do? Every single one of these cookies is going to be a frog- a silhouette is a silhouette, after all, and Kano's specialty is making things look like whatever he wants. ]

[It's funny, in a way.

Nana walks over; her finger comes to her lips, and she follows it with a confused look at first. Then, she realizes what he's doing with the toothpick, and she laughs with delight.]

Oh! You're turning the cat into a frog!

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