I'll teach you how to play, sometime! Whatever sport you want.
[ This is basically all she can offer in return for cooking for her, which is still a pain and she'll have to judge whether it's worth cooking for half an hour vs zapping something in a microwave for two minutes. By the smell of it already, though, it's worth it. ]
Uh.... Are you sure? I'm not the most flexible guy around, and I doubt I have much stamina. But if you really want to, I could try whatever you like best. ....You'll have to put up with me being pretty terrible, though.
[Sports have clearly never been a point of interest for him, but all the same, he's a bit touched that Mafuyu would go out of her way to offer teaching him.]
Yeah? I'm sure your family would worry if you said you want to move in here on your own. It can get lonely living by yourself.
[Back to the food, though! Because he let the vegetables cook in the pan for a few minutes before pouring the sauce over them (even though I didn't write it, listen, let me live my life), they're just about finished, and he takes out a plate and fork before offering them to Mafuyu.]
Don't burn yourself on it, it's hot. Let it cool before eating, okay? [Guess what's not going to happen.]
Think of it like this: If you can hit a home run, you don't have to run bases.
[ Put another way, you don't have to be amazing at everything, just good at one thing and everything else accommodates. Flexibility and stamina aren't all that necessary if he can be a good soccer goalie, or shoot three-pointers in basketball, so she's sure she can make things work. Kind of how like she can't cook but Kouhei still found something she can do and now she's the best potato peeler in the world!!! ]
My parents probably wouldn't care if I moved out, but I want to take my dog and cat and snake too...
[ They'd probably be happy about her moving out, to be honest, so they don't have to put up with things like Mafuyu taking this plate and blowing the steam off a forkful of food as if that will magically make it not feel like fire when she shoves it in her mouth. IT'S HOT AND IT HURTS BUT WHAT IS THERE TO DO besides chew and swallow and not only burn your mouth but your throat too, she is probably crying or close to it. ]
[Well.... Mafuyu has a point, and that does get a small smile out of him. There's no way he'd be able to hit a home run, but he isn't going to say that. The meaning is clear, and he isn't about to be enough of a downer to argue that.]
It might be hard to take care of--
[That many pets on her own, in addition to herself, he's about to say.... (And he hopes her parents would care.) But then she does EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID NOT TO, and he straight up drops the spoon he was holding and hurriedly fills up a glass of water for her.]
Are you okay?! Uh, just-- Spit it out! You aren't choking, are you?! [SHE DIDN'T SWALLOW IT, DID SHE.... He honestly can't tell from her face, but he's freaking out a bit anyway. Please help this child.]
[MAFUYU?!?! That's a sweet sentiment, certainly, but not when she's burning her entire mouth! Kouhei's practically shoving the water into her hands at this point, hoping that the food didn't scald her tongue enough that she can't taste anything else....]
Drink this! You can't-- You can't just do things like that! Are you alright?!
[ She is young and stupid and all the things that suggest that she'll be just fine. The best that anybody can hope for is that she'll learn her lesson about waiting next time, but the pain's already subsiding and Mafuyu takes the glass of water and downs half the cup before stopping there and holding the water inside her mouth without swallowing.
It's fine. It's fine. And she's still going to eat the rest of the food, sliding over a little to angle her body in between Kouhei and the plate as if he would take it away from her because she didn't listen. Look! She'll just... take her free hand and wave away the steam rising up from over the plate to cool it down before eating the rest. It's fine. ]
[She'll probably be fine, yes, but that certainly isn't stopping from Kouhei from fretting. What if the burns are so bad that he has to take her to the ER? No, they wouldn't be that serious, but let him worry, okay! The good thing is that she's drinking the water now.... Kind of. That works too.
He isn't going to take the plate from Mafuyu, but that doesn't keep him from sighing slightly and wilting a bit in a combination of relief and "why this."]
Okay, okay, I'm not going to stop you! Just don't keep eating if it's too hot, alright? [REALLY, NOW.] What am I going to do with you....?
[ "Why this" is a question for the ages. She gets a little feeling back in her mouth a she takes another sip of water, but her taste buds have definitely been scalded and they hurt a little when she runs her tongue against the edge of her front teeth.
That doesn't stop her front eating, though. What does stop her is a memory that comes filtering through her mind, noisy and full of commotion although it leaves her quiet here, staring blankly down at the plate with the fork held limply in her hand. ]
[In spite of the commotion, he's genuinely happy to see Mafuyu eat the stir fry so eagerly. But just as he's about to turn around to refill her glass of water, she suddenly falls quiet, and leaves Kouhei immediately concerned.]
Mafuyu? Are you okay?
[She seems just fine when she looks back up at him, but that doesn't stop him from faltering a bit and taking a seat next to her in concern. The potatoes can wait.]
Huh? [That isn't what he was expecting.] Well.... Yeah, my Mom used to say it when I helped her in the kitchen. In Japanese, it's ryouri wa aijou. Why?
[ And she goes back to eating normally too, mulling over the phrase— ryouri... ryou... Hmm. She does not actually know Japanese very well despite her parents speaking it at home. ]
Just something I remember someone saying to me. I was choking down food that was all burnt and disgusting! I could've died! I was being so stupid!
It's delicious! Of course it's delicious! I never get to eat home cooked meals, so I would die happy if I could eat this every day!
[ She probably would have died happy five minutes ago when she was busy scalding her mouth; the dying might have been the similarity that triggered the memory, she thinks? Because it definitely wasn't the person. ]
Anyways, there was no love in that memory! The cook was my neighbor I grew up with— he was like a spartan general, always ordering me around!
[Oh no, how sweet.... He can't help but grin even more brightly than usual to that, though the mention of Mafuyu never having someone cook for her is a little sad.]
I'm glad! Then how about I cook for you more often? I usually make something for a friend once a week, so I can start making a little extra and bring you leftovers.
[A guy ordering her around, huh? It could always be that he liked her.... but he isn't about to say that.]
He wouldn't have cooked it to make you choke, right? Was he really that bad of a guy?
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[ This is basically all she can offer in return for cooking for her, which is still a pain and she'll have to judge whether it's worth cooking for half an hour vs zapping something in a microwave for two minutes. By the smell of it already, though, it's worth it. ]
Lucky.......... I want to move in here too.
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[Sports have clearly never been a point of interest for him, but all the same, he's a bit touched that Mafuyu would go out of her way to offer teaching him.]
Yeah? I'm sure your family would worry if you said you want to move in here on your own. It can get lonely living by yourself.
[Back to the food, though! Because he let the vegetables cook in the pan for a few minutes before pouring the sauce over them (even though I didn't write it, listen, let me live my life), they're just about finished, and he takes out a plate and fork before offering them to Mafuyu.]
Don't burn yourself on it, it's hot. Let it cool before eating, okay? [Guess what's not going to happen.]
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[ Put another way, you don't have to be amazing at everything, just good at one thing and everything else accommodates. Flexibility and stamina aren't all that necessary if he can be a good soccer goalie, or shoot three-pointers in basketball, so she's sure she can make things work. Kind of how like she can't cook but Kouhei still found something she can do and now she's the best potato peeler in the world!!! ]
My parents probably wouldn't care if I moved out, but I want to take my dog and cat and snake too...
[ They'd probably be happy about her moving out, to be honest, so they don't have to put up with things like Mafuyu taking this plate and blowing the steam off a forkful of food as if that will magically make it not feel like fire when she shoves it in her mouth. IT'S HOT AND IT HURTS BUT WHAT IS THERE TO DO besides chew and swallow and not only burn your mouth but your throat too, she is probably crying or close to it. ]
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It might be hard to take care of--
[That many pets on her own, in addition to herself, he's about to say.... (And he hopes her parents would care.) But then she does EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID NOT TO, and he straight up drops the spoon he was holding and hurriedly fills up a glass of water for her.]
Are you okay?! Uh, just-- Spit it out! You aren't choking, are you?! [SHE DIDN'T SWALLOW IT, DID SHE.... He honestly can't tell from her face, but he's freaking out a bit anyway. Please help this child.]
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-—'s delicious, so 'm not gonna waste it by spitting it out!!
[ even if she can't feel her tongue!! It was made with care and love; she can't do that. ]
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Drink this! You can't-- You can't just do things like that! Are you alright?!
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It's fine. It's fine. And she's still going to eat the rest of the food, sliding over a little to angle her body in between Kouhei and the plate as if he would take it away from her because she didn't listen. Look! She'll just... take her free hand and wave away the steam rising up from over the plate to cool it down before eating the rest. It's fine. ]
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He isn't going to take the plate from Mafuyu, but that doesn't keep him from sighing slightly and wilting a bit in a combination of relief and "why this."]
Okay, okay, I'm not going to stop you! Just don't keep eating if it's too hot, alright? [REALLY, NOW.] What am I going to do with you....?
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That doesn't stop her front eating, though. What does stop her is a memory that comes filtering through her mind, noisy and full of commotion although it leaves her quiet here, staring blankly down at the plate with the fork held limply in her hand. ]
...
[ She looks up suddenly, and turns to Kouhei. ]
You ever heard the phrase "food is love"?
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Mafuyu? Are you okay?
[She seems just fine when she looks back up at him, but that doesn't stop him from faltering a bit and taking a seat next to her in concern. The potatoes can wait.]
Huh? [That isn't what he was expecting.] Well.... Yeah, my Mom used to say it when I helped her in the kitchen. In Japanese, it's ryouri wa aijou. Why?
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[ And she goes back to eating normally too, mulling over the phrase— ryouri... ryou... Hmm. She does not actually know Japanese very well despite her parents speaking it at home. ]
Just something I remember someone saying to me. I was choking down food that was all burnt and disgusting! I could've died! I was being so stupid!
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Isn't choking down food someone made for you an act of love in itself?
[He can't imagine that she was close to dying, but it still gets another smile out of him.]
You didn't remember that because this food tastes bad, right? If it does, you can tell me.
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[ She probably would have died happy five minutes ago when she was busy scalding her mouth; the dying might have been the similarity that triggered the memory, she thinks? Because it definitely wasn't the person. ]
Anyways, there was no love in that memory! The cook was my neighbor I grew up with— he was like a spartan general, always ordering me around!
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I'm glad! Then how about I cook for you more often? I usually make something for a friend once a week, so I can start making a little extra and bring you leftovers.
[A guy ordering her around, huh? It could always be that he liked her.... but he isn't about to say that.]
He wouldn't have cooked it to make you choke, right? Was he really that bad of a guy?