Log:Takeaway Food
| Takeaway Food | |
|---|---|
"Gorgeous, you are SO fucked up." | |
| Participants | 27 November 2017 Haruki comes to check on Edmond, and brings foooooood. <3 |
| Location
Highgate Apartment #8, R08 | |
| Haruki's managed to track Edmond down! Who knows how? It certainly wasn't by magic. Anyway here he is, showing up on the doorstep, unannounced, carrying with him what looks to be a bag from his favourite takeaway, all sorts of warm spicy scents wafting out. He knocks. He waits.
Definitely not by magic. Considering Edmond hasn't much been showing his face around since the fracas at the book release, and considering Sterling has his address, that's prrrrobably got something to do with it! The door to Ed's dinky little flat in the bad-news Highgate apartment complex in Fort Brunsett's least desirable neighborhood opens, showing a puzzled starry face attached to a guy wearing a gold-embroidered navy blue nehru jacket over a pale blue long-sleeved undershirt and maroon tracky bottoms. (The apartment behind him, walls painted bright candy-apple red and most lighting consisting of LED-strings and fairylights, is actually more brightly colored than he is. Haruki may need to wear sunglasses.) Edmond's eyes light up. "Haruki! Am I saying your name correctly? Come in!" He gestures widely and steps out of the way.
"Oh good, it's the right door," Haruki smiles brightly. This probably wasn't the first door he tried? Or maybe it was. "Yes. Haruki. Edmond? I brought food. I hope you like it? It's from my favourite takeaway." He looks around. "Oh, I love this place. It's so pretty."
Said dinky little flat also contains one other person besides Edmond at present: curled into one corner of the couch is an elegant little knot of prettily pale hair, decidedly non-elegant blues (dark blue hoodie, somewhat more worn jeans), and impersonally cranky expression. In this case, Kelsey's hair does not actually glow. Well, not more than trivially, anyway. One of his hands flickers up, gesturing back and forth between Edmond and Haruki. "Do you actually know everyone, or do you reserve it for only the ranks of the cute?" ... presumably he's asking Edmond. Probably.
There is nothing elegant about tracky bottoms, at least. Once Haruki's inside, and Edmond's closed -- but not locked -- the door, the elemental beams at Haruki. "Thank you! And thank you for food too! I am a fan of all kinds of food, except I do not think I like natto, someone in San Jose told me I must try it, and the jury is still out." He takes the bag and sliiidesteps back into the room to put it on the counter and start opening it up. "That is Kelsey, he is sometimes very rude but I like him, even if I ignore his rude questions. Kelsey, this is Haruki, he is a brick. Haruki, will you eat with us, I hope?"
"Hi!" Haruki smiles brightly at Kelsey. "I brought takeaway! If you're hungry. And if not, well," he shrugs. "It tastes as good heated up later. I'm Haruki. Friend? Girlfriend?" The words are all sort of bubbling out, he's a touch nervous. "I don't want to interupt. I just wanted to be sure Edmond was okay." He smiles. "You probably had bad Natto. Try it in Japan, it's maybe better. I can't say I really eat it either." Wait? Kelsey's a... him? Haruki goes beet-red. "I'm so sorry! So sorry. I didn't mean. The light... it's so bright. I'm sorry!"
Kelsey uncurls to drape themself against the arm of the couch, back of one hand to their forehead. "This!" they declare. "This is what comes out of decorating like you're trying to make a temple to day-glow Holly Hobbie, Edmond. Your poor blinded visitor! Is this how you repay takeaway?" He uncurls further, and somehow manages to avoid actually dropping onto the floor in favor of catching himself and more or less kicking himself upright. "In which case I'm very glad I threatened to buy you groceries instead. Friend. Mostly. I agreed not to chew on him or his guests, anyone else takes their chances."
"Ugh, shut up, he said it was so pretty! You are a day-glow Holly Hobbie, even your hair glows," Edmond tells Kelsey with an irritated glare, which immediately dissolves when he actually sees what he's taking out of the bag. Also, odds are really good he has no idea what Holly Hobbie is. But! Glare goes away because he's got a look of utter delight on his face, stars twinkling brightly, wooden fingers deftly unpacking and opening. "Please, tell me what all of these dishes are! I will get dishes and utensils. You are very much not interrupting, and I am okay, and--" When he looks up at Haruki again, there's a warmer brightness than the outright delight. He's pleased and touched. "And thank you for checking on me. I am just now approaching all right, and ought to check in with Doctor Plague, who I know was terribly worried."
Haruki laughs at Kelsey's words, and he looks rather relieved. The takeaway's Indian, a wide variety of of vegan, gluten free options, since he wasn't sure what people would like. And there's bread too, but that's in a different bag. He'll rattle off the list of everything, from the vegetable bhajis, to chana masala, and biryani, and saag aloo, and a few other different vegetable curries. "Doctor Plague? I... I'm sorry I didn't check on you sooner. I didn't know where you lived. You were very, very brave and we should have looekd after you better."
"I am not hobby anything. I am professional, dammit." Kelsey's head tips to listen to the list of foods, and eyebrows go up, impressed at the amount stuffed into the bag. 'Doctor Plague?' is mouthed in unison with Haruki. But not asked aloud; the slight little thing takes a step back to to let Haruki and Edmond talk more effectively undistracted. Possibly it is Make Edmond Feel Like A Football Player Day and nobody told him.
Edmond is seriously practically vibrating in glee at all of the things Haruki brought, even as he's taking out those shallow bowl-dishes Kelsey's already seen; either he's REALLY EASY TO PLEASE or the selection is coincidentally made of his favorites or possibly some combination of both. "Doctor Sterling-- she calls me Sunset Colada, we first met on Halloween. She had invited me to tea without knowing what happened, and I came when I really should have postponed. I was-- a nervous wreck, and had to leave early, and she was exceedingly kind..." When Haruki's telling him he was very brave and they should have looked after him better, this is the first time either Haruki or Kelsey is actually seeing him blush: usually, vanishing into the collar of his shirt, his skin gets lighter, more lavender or more gold, like the horizon near dawn or dusk. With him blushing, it's decidedly sunset colors creeping up his neck, his face, even his ears; he turns away very quickly to rummage in a cabinet for glasses. "It is quite all right. I think it was more foolhardy than brave, and I still do not really know what actually-- what she actually-- did. To me. But everything was finishing anyway. And nobody there really knew me except for C.B. and he had very many of his own problems at the time. I am all right." He's talked himself out of the blush, and finally turns around to put the glasses-- and a fresh carton of mango lassi-- on the counter with everything else. Kelsey gets a mildly challenging side-eye. "You are a hobby professional."
"Oh, yes," Haruki says. "She was very worried about you. She came to Cat-22." He shakes his head. "You didn't know she'd completely overreact." He nods. There's a curious glance at Kelsey. "A hobby professional? Professional at what?"
Kelsey offers Haruki a bright smile. "Trying to get a rise out of him. See? It keeps working." That smile's tilted Edmond's way afterward, but it's still Haruki he's speaking to. "Though you're doing it better than I've ever managed to, so maybe I should surrender the role. Edmond, do you want the food in the kitchen or on the table?" That possibly being the only part of the conversation that actually makes sense to them.
"Oh no, I'm not trying to get a rise out of him," Haruki says. "I'm just being a friend. Or trying." He looks around for somewhere he can sit down. "So uh, how do you know eachother then?" he asks Kelsey, since Edmond's busy in the kitchen dishing up or whatever.
"Overreacted...?" echoes Edmond, puzzled, and then blinks at Kelsey. "On the table, I think..." And then his phone buzzes in his pocket and he looks startled, pulling it out, and he looks back up and grimaces at the two of them. "I am sorry. I will be right back I promise." A beat. He beams. "You may talk about me, of course." And then he slips into his bedroom and closes the door, bringing his phone up to his ear.
"I live down the hall," Kelsey replies. There's a couch just there, at the least, the one Kelsey was curled in when Haruki entered. "The night I moved in, Edmond decided it was a good night to ambush his neighbors and inflict palak paneer on them." Laughter follows, as they turn and start fetching foodstuffs to the table. It might've been more efficient to do that still in the bag, but it's less fun. "Terrible idea. You should never try his cooking. Save it all for us. And you? How did you happen to meet him?"
Haruki drops down onto the couch. "Oh I wish I could eat paneer. That must have been such a nice welcome." He smiles. "Oh, I met him at CB's book signing. He braved a monster, and managed to provide a target so no one else got hurt. He was very courageous. And none of us checked on him to make sure he was okay."
"Dairy-free?" Kelsey asks, pausing to consider Haruki for a moment. Then opting to go back for a second trip for the rest of the food. There is A LOT OF FOOD. Trip three can even be dishes, and spoons. "You, I mean. Not the monster. What was a monster doing at a book signing? Was it a fan?"
Haruki nods. "Yeah. No dairy. No gluten. Veganish." Yeah Haruki's incapable of making decisions and working out what people want so he ordered way too much food. It's a good thing Kelsey is here. "No. It was there to cause trouble. It looked like a woman, and it read CB's mind and used his worst experience, fear, something, against him. And Edmond tried to distract it, and it turned into a monster that everyone could see. And I think it scared him too, magically. There were muggles everywhere too."
"No lassi for you, then." Kelsey investigates the fridge anyway, and then makes a triumphant noise, fetching out a pitcher of filtered water. "Oh, wait. Was this the thing in the papers? With the sprinklers going off? I think I read about that." Glasses are poured and likewise brought to the table. Now there is food, drink, things to eat with, and things to eat off of. Meal ahoy! "How -ish is veganish? And is this CB all right?" Apparently these topics don't strike Kelsey as incompatible.
Haruki nods. "Yeah. That was the thing. Ish. Honey. Alcohol. Figs. Refined Sugar. Wool." He lists off. "CB's okay I think. He's gloomy, but he always is like that. I think he likes it."
"Is that a list of things you avoid, or things you can have?" Kelsey asks, with an inquisitive little tilt of that bright head. Then pauses, in the middle of reaching for the chana masala. "Wait. Wait. And he and Edmond have been in the same room? At the same time? Did either of them strain anything? Was that the fun part?"
"Things I can have," Haruki says. He nods. "Yes, they were in the same room. They're friends?" He sounds hesitant. "I don't know Edmond so well, we just met in passing." He helps himself to some of the food too. "Uh... do you think he actually had a call? Or is he hiding?" He looks towards the bedroom, concerned. "I didn't want things to be awkward."
"I don't think he remote-controlled his phone," Kelsey says lightly. "Especially with both hands in sight. I could be wrong, but he didn't go on for eight sentences about how it was a very important call that he had to take, right now, and that seems to be more his style for faking things. Unless he's much better at lying and doesn't want us to know it, but really, there's a limit to how suspicious someone can be and still function." Biryani is likewise appreciated, but he lets Haruki have first crack at most of the rest. And all breadlike objects stay in that separate bag for the duration.
Edmond finally comes back out, looking really sheepish. "Sorry, it was the landlord. I am--"
Haruki's phone buzzess just as Edmond's returning. He looks down at it, a bit panicked. "I need to go!" he says. He's barely had a chance to touch his food. "It's an emergency! I'll see you both later." And he dashes off, accidentally leaving his hat and scarf behind. He's going to have to be back later. But for now, he's gone.
Kelsey regards the empty space. Then regards the door. Then looks, appropriately slowly, back toward the abandoned hat and scarf. "You are going to have a return visitor later. Please tell me you are not also behind on your rent?"
"I believe that is called bettymarking," Edmond says with a slow tilt of his head as he regards the hat and scarf. Then he pockets his phone and comes over to drop himself back down on the couch. "Only a day, but I told him about it ahead of time and gave him half; he is surprisingly reasonable. Perhaps it is because I sometimes bring him dinner." He proceeds to scoop a little of everything onto his plate.
There is an indignant little huff. All other commentary waits till post-biryani, and also post- a little bit of potato. "We," Kelsey informs Edmond, "are going to have to do something about your cash flow. This is ridiculous." Apparently corpse theft for sandwiches is not, but late rent is.
Edmond just sort of shrugs, glancing at Kelsey sidelong. He finishes his mouthful and says, "I am actually okay sleeping in my car or the woods, I just like having a place to cook and keep my sarode warm. But CB said if I did not have a place to stay, he would find me one. Anyway I will have his money by the end of tomorrow, it is nothing to worry about."
Kelsey returns the sidewise glance, then gives a little shrug. "Well then. If you've already got it covered." And applies themself to spiced chickpeas, Fairest self-focused.
There's a pause, with Edmond's fork literally halfway to his open mouth, and then he puts it down and turns to look searchingly at Kelsey. "Oh. This is an instance of you offering help in a friendly overture and me being too habitually self-reliant and unwilling to impose to recognise it for what it is, is it not? I would like to avoid rebuffing your overture."
Kelsey's eyebrows twitch upward, and they give another of those sidewise glances at Edmond. "Really? I just thought you'd changed your mind since the last time we talked. Which you're perfectly welcome to do, you realize. Give it some time; we can talk about it later."
"No!" protests Edmond, putting down his plate and waving his wooden hands, then reaching to thunk one lightly on Kelsey's shoulder, bending his head to one side and leaning forward a little, trying to see the most of Kelsey's face possible beyond hair. "No I have not. It was a reflex reaction to hearing someone think I needed help, which admittedly is something I need to work on, especially since I do not mind help from you. I am not going anywhere, and I trust you, and that means I should also listen when I am being stupid about something." A pause, and a tentative smile. "That does not mean I have to agree, but I must listen."
This time it's not an indignant huff, but an exaggerated sigh. "That doesn't mean you have to listen tonight," Kelsey says, green eye gleaming from behind the locks that've worked their way free of the tail. "You can eat your dinner, and wonder when the source of it is going to notice he's missing a hat, and be distracted by wondering what kind of emergency he ran off to and whether or not you should've run off to help. It's okay."
"...mf," Edmond finally says, withdrawing his hand, then reaching to pick up his dish. He eats in silence for a moment, looking a little broody. Finally he says, looking at his food instead of Kelsey, "I am just worried about Doctor Sterling and this mystery overreaction. I -- when I was at her home, I spilled tea on my hand and-- thought it was blood-- and could not stop washing my hands-- and cried. I was a mess. She is a very strong person, and she is also very powerful, and we are friends, so I am also preoccupied with this because I do not wish her to start a war on my behalf. And this-- is why-- I..." He shakes his head, putting down his dish. "You are right. I am not being reasonable or rational right now. Please-- don't go-- I will be back in a moment." He gets up and heads for the bathroom, and closes the door behind him. There is the sound of water running.
Kelsey regards the place where Edmond had been sitting. And does not, in fact, go. And does not, in fact, try the bathroom door, or stalk the bathroom door, or anything else the bathroom door. But does murmur to the air, very quietly, "Gorgeous, you are so fucked up." Which isn't to stay that everyone else might not be worse. Kelsey included. | |
