Chapter Text
🐉𝒯𝒶𝓉𝓈𝓊🍳
-now THIS is the man you want to teach you how to cook. probably, maybe, definitely. you want to make milkbread, and Tatsu agrees, but that’s the last decision you make in the kitchen
-put on your apron. now. the cute Polycure one that will quickly be destroyed by flour. you have to match!
-Tatsu is a tough teacher, ngl. he wants you to follow the instructions exactly the way they’re written, no deviation, and if you do, he’ll get after you. maybe even lightly smack your ass with a wooden spoon but you like it
- “If you think you can skip a few steps here and there, yer dead wrong! Don’t underestimate any of the steps!”
- you underestimate most of the steps, so you guys have to start over at least twice, but his instructions are clear and easy to understand, once you decide to start listening. there’s lots of yelling, but not malicious or accusing
-Tatsu the master bread maker demonstrates how to knead bread, then gets behind you and places his hands on yours for a more immersive example; only then do you start to gain confidence in your kneading skills
-most of Tatsu’s time is spent actually trying to make the bread and stopping you from burning yourself or cutting a finger off (you were mockingly pretending to cut your pinky off for making a cooking mistake and got a little too close to the skin)
-ridiculous, overdramatic compliments he subtly backtracks from
- “See? Yer getting the hang of it. With those kneading knuckles, you’ll be better than Paul Hollywood himself. Well, that might be a stretch...but yer definitely getting better. Wait--don’t take it out! It’s still rising!”
-you quote The Great British Bake-Off and Guy Fieri the entire time, which Tatsu finds cute, also takes the seriousness out of the cooking lesson
-when you stop touching the dough and finally listen to Tatsu’s instructions, you are left with a huge, delicious milkbread loaf, and there is no disastrous dropping on the floor like there was with Masa
-Tatsu breaks off a piece for you to test first, holding the piece to your mouth and smiling smally when you hum in amazement. you give him the credit, but Tatsu is quick to correct you
- “You kidding? Ya almost sacrificed a pinky for this bread. Show some respect.”
-it was nice, spending an afternoon in the warm kitchen watching Tatsu work in his apron, so cute and focused on making everything perfect...you realize how crazy you are for this shades wearing, peach fuzzy man
-(this lesson caused your husband a lot of stress, though, so don’t expect him to invite you back for at least two weeks. *Azula voice* “You, are banished.”)
🐅𝒯𝑜𝓇𝒶𝒿𝒾𝓇𝑜🍰
-another man who knows a thing or two about cooking...or does he? baking is his specialty, but there’s nothing a little “secret ingredients” and “family recipes” can’t fix
-Tora takes you to his truck for your cooking lesson: you’re going to be making Oinarisan (inari sushi) a recipe of his mother’s which he got from his sister. does he know anything about sushi? no, but he prepared well, reading over the recipe a dozen times
-being in such small quarters with Torajiro makes you both nervous and excited; you like the homey atmosphere he’s created here, just the two of you in your own little cooking show world
- “And now, ladies and gentlemen, the lovely [ YN ] will cook the rice; watch it materialize right in front of yer eyes. Brown grains, from the hills of Tokyo, freshly bought this morning.”
- “Didn’t we get it from Tatsu, Tora? And there aren’t any hills in Tokyo.”
- “...”
-how much ginger is too much?? apparently the amount you dumped in without measuring. oh well. Tora thinks it’s kinda cute how pathetic you are at cooking, so he doesn’t get mad that you have to start over (but he keeps the ginger away from you after that)
-he nudges you with his elbow or lightly touches your arm when he asks you to do something, keeping your attention on what you’re doing so no accidents happen. he would FREAK out if you even got so much as a mild burn
-Tora is very delicate when folding the tofu pockets, not at all speedy like he is when making crepes. you watch him with a smile, getting distracted from your own folding, and he blushes and tries not to smile back when he catches you watching him
-it’s impossible to not overfill the stupid tofu pockets with the rice, kombu and mushroom mix, and that’s when Tora starts getting pissed at the damn things, trying desperately to patch them together so you two don’t go hungry. he even tightens his headband, like that will help him focus more
-you find his desperate attempts hilariously endearing, and ensure him they’re fine the way they are, which he eventually submits to
-the sushi doesn’t look...horrible. it’s not the best looking street food you’ve ever seen, but to your surprise, Tora seems impressed by your combined efforts, grinning and holding one deformed Oinarisan up for you to see
-you insist he tries first, and when his eyes light up upon tasting the sushi, he quickly offers you a piece
- “It ain’t good lookin’ like you, but it sure tastes good!”
-Tora and you spend another hour eating the fruits of your labor before the dreaded time comes...to do dishes. Torajiro will insist he will do them, but doesn’t nudge you away when you slip up beside him to help
-overall, you had a good time on Tora’s “cooking show,” and hope to be invited back soon as a special guest (hopefully with more cooking skills by then)
🐕ℳ𝒶𝓈𝒶🥡
-oh baby boy...we all know you still cannot cook worth a damn, but that’s okay. we’re in this together. try not to burn the house down this time. either of you.
- “You want...a cooking lesson? Uhhhh....s-sure! No problem! I’m a pro, now! Big brother Tatsu taught me everything he knows!”
-everything Masa knows: how to open the microwave door, how to buy instant ramen, how to pour water into a glass
-you two decide for something very Western to eat, something very common that shouldn’t be too difficult to make...how about grilled cheese?! cheese on bread! easy! apparently not
-obviously you know Masa has no idea what the fuck he’s doing, but you let him believe you don’t know. ingredients bought, now Masa is staring at them in confusion, wondering what goes first
-it doesn’t help that he’s easily distracted by you, even though you aren’t doing anything in particular aside from looking cute in your apron...he keeps getting even more nervous by looking over at you, knowing you’re expecting him to produce something edible for you to eat and not be poisoned or die
- “Haha! Okay, here I go, babe! On second thought...wanna just order in?”
-you insist that with the two of you on it, making grilled cheese is possible. why do you have to put butter on the bread? neither of you are sure, but you manage to follow the instructions somewhat and get a single piece of bread on the skillet
-it burns
-you try again
-and again, and a few more times after that, wasting almost an entire loaf of bread
-down to the last two pieces of bread, Masa finally manages to get an overload of cheese on and places the other bread piece over top of it. the bread partially rips because the butter is too hard, but the flip doesn’t go as bad as both of you expected, and the bottom bread piece isn’t burned!
-after three agonizing minutes of trying to stay focused enough to ensure the bread doesn’t burn again, Masa realizes most of the cheese is spilling out of the sandwich onto the skillet and lowers his head in defeat
-you tell him it’s okay and plate the grilled cheese, watching more cheese spill out when you cut it in half. Masa sits beside you and looks down at the sad sandwich you have to share because he messed up so badly.
- “Some househusband I am! I’ve failed you, boss!”
-however...when you bite into the grilled cheese sandwich, all of Masa’s defeated attitude floats away. even though a lot of the cheese fell out, it’s still good enough to eat, and the two of you giggle while fighting for the glops of cheese on the plate
-in a better mood, Masa sends a selfie of you two with cheese on your lips holding up your pathetic grilled cheese to Tatsu and Miku. Miku thinks it’s cute, Tatsu is horrified, but Miku stops him from sending a long text about the proper way to make grilled cheese
-Masa and you may not be the most talented married couple on the block, but you have glops of cheese, and that’s really all that matters
🐉 🐅 🐕