Chuck || Motorcity

[dieharder]

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[dieharder]

[Chuck shrugs as he thinks about the question, following Mike down the hall.]

I'm gonna guess something like pancakes isn't happening, is it.

[He asks hopefully, even if he knows neither of them can make pancakes, and that the ingredients to make them are scarce to say the least. Can't blame a guy for trying, though.]

Guess cereals are cool. Or those toasts you talked about earlier.

[livefaster]

[Mike tries to make a mental list of what they have in their pantry. It's not much, but he figures they could at least try.]

I think we have enough for really thin ones, so we can give it a shot. What do you think?

[dieharder]

[There's a happy hum and he picks up pace so he can walk alongside Mike.]

We do? Man, that's awesome! And I know we got some leftover whipped cream too - the good kind. Because I hid it at the back of the fridge.

[He breaks into a grin.]

[livefaster]

[It's matched by a really proud smile and a chuckle.] I knew I could count on your attention to detail, man.

[Getting into the kitchen, he wondered where the others were -- then heard outside Texas explaining Dutch more of his propeller issues. He twines his fingers and stretches his arms lazily forward, then up, almost going on tip toes as he pulls the muscles of his back.] Would you get the eggs? I'll search for a decent frying pan.

[dieharder]

[Chuck's already on his way to the fridge as Mike speaks, and he searches for the eggs - the good eggs, not Jacob's version of eggs -, pulls them out along with some milk and the butter. He sets them down on the counter.]

Think we're gonna need those too, right?

[He's trying not to be too loud because he can hear Texas outside and a) he doesn't want to have to go work on Stronghorn right away, and b) he doesn't feel like sharing right now. Neither the pancakes, nor Mike.]

[livefaster]

[Mike's reaching up through the cupboards and he arches back just a little to look at what Chuck's referring to.] Yup! And this, too. [He points at the pack of flour on the counter, something he had found on the cupboard beside the one he had opened. He doesn't really know why Chuck's speaking so quietly, but he does it as well, by instinct, or mere unconscious empathy. He goes back to moving through different shapes of pots and pans and then he finally sees the really clean-looking round one.]

Found it!

[dieharder]

[Chuck beams victoriously as he fetches a bowl for the mix, then...

He stares at everything. He never did anything close to pancakes before - in fact his cooking skills only went as far as boiling eggs and potatoes (and even then it's just barely), so he has no idea what to do now.]

... alright, now what?

[livefaster]

[Mike looks at Chuck, blinking. Well, he hadn't thought this through. But. He thinks he saw something. It was downright ancient, but it could work.]

I think I've got just the thing we need.

[Zooming through the kitchen, he peeks in a drawer by the stove. And grins. When he turns to the table, he drops a really dusty book. A paper book. It was that old.

The print is gone, but there are words carved into the worn leather - R E C I P E S.]

Think we can give this a shot?

[dieharder]

[There's a puff as the dust from the book forms a cloud when Mike sets it down. Chuck waves a hand at it, opening the book carefully.]

Bro, that's ancient! I don't even know how it's still in one piece!

[Give him a moment to run his fingers over the pages; he only saw books a couple of times before, after all.] But I guess we can try.

[livefaster]

[He lets him. It's not the first time he's seen that particular book. The last time had been about a year before, by Dutch's birthday. Jacob had wanted something that would remind him of his family, and none of the recipes he knew would do. He had Mike scavenge for days before he got something like that, and he was glad he did find that.

Plus, he knows how Chuck would probably love it. He always had a thing for vintage. He's glad he remembered where it was.]

Are all the ingredients there?

[dieharder]

[He'd be smelling the pages by now if he wasn't so hungry. Instead, he's just checking the index and finding the recipe so he can answer Mike's question.]

Hmm, we're also gonna need some sugar... [His finger trails down the page thoughtfully.] Salt... uh, do we have baking powder?

[livefaster]

[Mike's already searching for it. The sugar was easy to find - Texas always made sure they had sugar around. The salt, too.

The baking powder was something else all together. He searches for it through every cupboard, until he reaches the pantry.

The pantry is filled with weird ingredients from Jacob's cuisine. It looks strikingly normal against the weird jars, but Mike still turns a little to check with his friend.]

Uh... you think that'll work?

[dieharder]

[Chuck walks over and takes the small can - it's washed out and he can't even tell what's the name or the expiration date printed on the label, but he opens it with a curious frown and a sniff.

Then he shrugs at Mike. Why the heck not.]

Let's try. We're just supposed to add a tiny bit anyway.

[livefaster]

[Mike's excited. He's running on an energy he never really felt before, only tasted when he was a little kid, back in Deluxe, when there were yet no mentions of Kane in his house. He only remembered the sun hitting the pure white of his breakfast table and resting his head on it to warm him up.]

Alright, let's do this. [He's reading the book's instructions, thumb brushing carefully on the dust.] We gotta make the batter first, right?

[dieharder]

Unless you're planning to add the unmixed ingredients to the frying pan... I'd say that's probably a good idea.

[He arches an eyebrow at Mike with an amused smile, looking over the instructions and adding the sugar with the butter to the bowl.]

[livefaster]

[He grinds his knuckle on his upper arm mischievously, grinning. Mike likes the sass coming from Chuck. He appreciates it because it means he's comfortable.] Can I whisk it?

[dieharder]

[With a snort, Chuck shrugs and hands the bowl over to Mike, wiping the butter off his hands before moving to measure the rest of the ingredients.] Knock yourself out.

[livefaster]

[And whisk he does. Rather quickly, noticing that too much would be counter-productive so he tries to get a nice rhythm that doesn't throw everything out of the bowl and manages to mix everything up.

It looks yummy just to look at it.

... He's starving, he thinks.]

[dieharder]

[Chuck's already stealing a bit with his finger to get a taste, before he adds in the eggs and the flour all at once.

Of course he's not very good at this, so he kind of forgot the part where he was only supposed to put in the gems, and that the flour was to be added bit by bit. A puff of white lifts from the bowl, and the mix might be a little harder to whisk now.] ... oh, whoops.

[livefaster]

[There's a cloud of flour almost instantly wafting upwards and onto Mike's face as he halts the whisking, eyes closing and scrunching up his face.

...

A moment of silence.


He opens one eye. And he starts laughing.]

[dieharder]

[He stares at Mike stupidly before wincing.]

Oh, shut up... [But he's laughing too, as he tries to swat the flour off his hair and face, only to have it fall and join the stains already on his shirt.]

[livefaster]

What, I didn't say anything! [The smile remains as he sets the bowl down and helps Chuck with the swatting, shaking his head like a dog and creating yet another cloud of flour in the air.

Diversion created, and he dips his finger into the batter to try it as well.]

[dieharder]

[Oh he saw that, mister! He's making a face at Mike as he picks up the milk, but waits for him to blend the ingredients before adding it in.]

Mikey, that's not even mixed up! It's just flour on top of eggs.

[livefaster]

So? It's mixed up in my mouth.

[And back to whisking he goes. Although, a lot slower this time, firmly and enveloping the flour in the batter. After a bit, he checks the consistency and mashes a few lumps of flour that gathered.] Looks good enough, right?

[dieharder]

Yeah, just missing the milk... [He pours it in, and lets Mike mix it all together, dipping his finger in too, to check consistency...

... no, just kidding. He just wants to get a taste. He hums.] Hmm yeah, seems good.