Quiet Night at Home [Tag: Tadashi]

Gia

Dec 21, 2013 18:01:08 GMT -6

Ichiro was very nervous. He moved around the kitchen in his apartment, making sure that everything was going right. He was pretty sure that being nervous was an understatement. He sometimes got nervous and frustrated at work when a new problem occurred that he hadn’t dealt with… but nothing compared to the idea of cooking dinner for someone. This wasn’t just anyone, though… it was Tadashi. He was a friend of Ren’ai and Yuri – two of his employees now – and they had been dating for a few months now. Things were going fine, but still… the idea of cooking for someone, especially someone he was dating… it didn’t compare. The Waterbender didn’t typically cook for anyone except himself, and he wasn’t sure that he ever had, except maybe his parents when he was younger. That hardly compared, though, as it was nowhere near the same thing.

Checking on the noodles and rice, Ichiro put the vegetables on too cook. It was all about timing… he wanted to make sure that everything would be ready not too long after Tadashi got here. Sure, of course, he wanted to spend more time with him, but… Still, he was coming over here for dinner, right? That meant chances are, he would be hungry. That meant that he shouldn’t have to wait too long. Besides, they had the rest of the night to spend time together, so it didn’t really matter if dinner didn’t take that much time to get ready after he got there. I should make a salad, he thought to himself, and he grabbed a large bowl from the cabinet, and threw a quick salad together. He set it on the counter top away from where he would put all of the hot stuff. He could only hope that Tadashi enjoyed this food, because… well, that’s really what this was all about, wasn’t it?

Fussing, the twenty-year old fussed about with the dining room table? Was it okay to eat here, or should they eat more casually, like on the couch? Ichiro groaned, and ran a hand through his long, brown hair. He left it down, of course, and it now hung down to the middle of his back. There was no reason to be so nervous about everything – at least that’s what he tried to tell himself. Checking on the food, he made sure that it was all coming along okay. Everything would be better when Tadashi actually got here, and then he could set his fears to rest… or everything would get worse. This was the most nervous he had ever remembered himself being. Typically, the Waterbender was very easy going. However, this was important to him. He sincerely hoped that the Air Acolyte got here soon. The food would be ready shortly, so hopefully he had timed everything right so that it would all be perfect.

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Anonymous

Dec 26, 2013 15:46:27 GMT -6

Almost three months. Three. Months. Three months in which Tadashi's mind, tortured from his Grandma's near death and his suffering during Amon's Siege, had finally begun to heal. He was hanging out with Ren'ai and Yuri again, he was deeply involved in his studies at the Air Temple again, and his grandmother was on the mend. But most importantly, he was sharing a tender, sweet relationship with Ichiro.

The first couple dates were very shaky, it was true. Ichiro seemed so anxious to make Tadashi comfortable, and — Tadashi thought, though he couldn't be sure — determined to disprove Tadashi's mispoken notion that Ichiro had agreed to date him "out of pity." Tadashi regretted having voiced that fear at first, but it became a moot point as over a remarkably short time he grew to feel comfortable and safe, and above all, cared about. And he cared deeply about Ichiro too. His free time had dwindled considerably, since now he was dividing it between Dragon Hawks practise with the girls, and finding a time with Ichiro when he wasn't swamped with his new duties as manager of Watashi's.

One of those times was tonight. At Ichiro's invitation they were dining at his apartment. Tadashi had met Ichiro there before, and even been inside a few times, but never for a meal. Despite his boyfriend's (the word still made him break into an eye-cracking smile) protestations, Tadashi still suspected this was partially because he worked in a restaurant and spent all his time around food anyway. On the other hand, that also meant he knew how to cook a great meal — as the fresh steamed aromas were testament too. He could smell them all the way down the hall and his stomach started growling.

There was one small thing Tadashi was worried about... well, "small." This was the first time they had been in prolonged contact that wasn't out in public in at least some way - either with his grandmother, or at the restaurant, or even in the park. He was looking forward to it, and yet he was uncertain what would be happening after the meal. Another thing he had loved about his relationship with Ichiro was that thus far, they hadn't been any pressure on it. They were going at a pace that was comfortable for both of them. But Ichiro was older than him by about a year and a half, and he might be ready to take their relationship to the next step. Tadashi wasn't sure how he felt, one way or the other.

But that was an issue for later in the evening. He had reached the door, and had to rein in his excitement in order to avoid knocking too loud. This was it.

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Gia

Dec 29, 2013 16:42:28 GMT -6

Ichiro watched over his food. None of it was ready yet, and it shouldn’t be for his date wasn’t here yet. This was why he tried not to get worried about anything – it wasn’t worth the effort. There was no reason to worry, but his nervousness was getting the better of him. Taking a deep breath, the Waterbender told himself to calm down. Everything was coming along nicely. He was a good cook – he knew that. His mother had made the noodles for him, of course, because… well, he wasn’t that good. There were other things to worry about, though… This was their first time spend all night alone together in the time that they’d been dating. There had always been someone else around or they were in public. Sure, it wasn’t like Tadashi hadn’t been over after their dates, but that wasn’t prolonged contact. This time, it was the whole night, and it was just the two of them.

Ichiro wasn’t nervous so much for himself, and he was for his boyfriend. He was afraid that Tadashi would be afraid. Some people might consider that silly, but he cared about him. Of course, he knew that if Tadashi was worried, it wasn’t about dinner, but what would happen afterwards. Of course, to the Waterbender, that was silly, because he would never… Shaking his head, he didn’t want to worry about whatever his boyfriend was thinking, because they would deal with whatever happened when it happened. Checking on the food again, it was almost ready, and smelled great – if he did say so himself, and he did. It was almost at the exact moment that he heard a knocking on the door, and he couldn’t stop a small smile from crossing his face, as it almost always did when he was about to see him.

Walking over to the door, Ichiro opened it, the smile still playing on his lips. “Hey,” he said, still feeling nervous, but determined not to let any of it show. That wasn’t his style – normally, anyway. “Your timing his impeccable. The food is almost ready.” He stepped aside to let the other man through. His apartment was always the same – it was a decent-sized apartment, but only two rooms, really – the first one was a combined living room/dining room/kitchen. The living room was situated on the right side of the apartment after you walked in, and the dining room/kitchen was on the left. Towards the back, there was a small hallway – very small and really not more than a few paces long – that leads to the bedroom and bathroom – which had two entrances, of course, one for guests.

“Come in.” After he was through, Ichiro shut the door and headed back into the kitchen. “What would you like to drink?” The Waterbender reminded himself not to fuss. He wanted this night to be perfect. After checking on the food again briefly, he grabbed the bowl of salad and sat it on the dining room table. “How was your day?” He’d spent most of his thinking about tonight, but he wasn’t about to tell Tadashi that. The food still needed a couple minutes, but it shouldn’t be too much longer. It seemed he had timed everything perfectly. He’d been worried that it would either take too long, or it would be done before his date even got there. Luckily, neither had happened, so it seemed that at least as far as timing went, everything was good so far. He knew that Tadashi would like the food, because he really had no reason not to. He was a good cook.

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Anonymous

Jan 17, 2014 16:56:42 GMT -6

"Hey," Tadashi said shyly back, feeling like he was on a first date all over again, as Ichiro ushered him into the apartment and shut the door behind him. "Thank you. Just a glass of water would be fine," he smiled and unfastened the red saṃghāti that was draped over his shoulder.

Walking in as folded his saṃghāti and placed it in his satchel, Tadashi was facing the living room which — typically for Ichiro — was neat and tidy, and not too full of anything besides furniture and a few cushions. Whereas the kitchen and dinette, which he saw as he turned his head back to the left, showed the unmistakable signs of a genius cooking. Three pots that he could see (and perhaps one more on the far side) were simmering over heat, a salad on the counter — which Ichiro also seemed to notice and moved to sit on the dining table — and the dining table itself which had two nice, but not gaudy, place settings. He really worked hard on this, Tadashi realised — not that it was surprising, given it was Ichiro, but it was a remarkable gesture in itself that he wanted to make this as special as Tadashi hoped it would be.

Blinking away a small tear of happiness before it got out of his eyelid, it took Tadashi a beat before he registered that Ichiro had asked him a question. "What? Oh. Today was actually very nice," he said a little bit awkwardly. Ugh, that didn't sound formal or anything. Automatically he also started taking off the uttarāsaṅga, the yellow-orange robe that he wore over his shirt and trousers. "I mean, I enjoyed it. Most of my Friday classes are in the library, so it was very contemplative and quiet and serene. I think I sprained my wrist during bagua practise though," he grinned, indicating that he was — at least mostly — joking, and displayed his right wrist to his boyfriend. With a minor jolt he became aware that he was standing there in just his black shirt and off-white plus fours. He was never that relaxed except at home with his grandma. Even around Yuri and Ren'ai, even at his mother's house, he always at least had on a robe or long vest over his minimal clothing.

"Um," he said stupidly to cover his surprise. It wasn't a bad surprise, though. He really liked Ichiro, and he was glad to discover that he was so relaxed around the handsome waterbender that he could revert to his most casual comfort level. On the other hand, he didn't want to throw his personal items all over the apartment.

"Where... can I put these?" He held up his satchel in one hand and the uttarāsaṅga in the other.

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Gia

Jan 17, 2014 19:47:34 GMT -6

Ichiro nodded and immediately went about pouring Tadashi a glass of water and setting it on the table, because he seemed to be in the middle of taking off his robes. Glancing up at him, he looked to see his boyfriend looking around the apartment. A quick thought of I wonder what he’s thinking flashed through his mind before he pushed that thought away. It didn’t matter – well, it did matter, but he knew the place was fine – and the food was fine. Besides, the Air Acolyte had been here before. Sure, not for a whole evening. Usually, it was only for a short period of time after a date. He knew the food was almost ready, but couldn’t stop from checking on it one last time. Yes, it was almost ready, just a tad bit longer and dinner would be done. The timing had been flawless.

Ichiro listened as Tadashi explained about his day. He made a joke about hurting his wrist in bagua. At least he was fairly certain he was joking, judging by the grin. The Waterbender couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. That didn’t mean that he couldn’t play along a bit. “How is it feeling?” he asked. “Do you need anything for it?” He let a slight flirtatious tone enter his voice. “I’m glad you had a good day.” His own had been a bit more stressful, but nothing out of the ordinary. “Mine was fine. Just one of the new girls keeps trying to do everything on her own and not ask for help. She got backed up today, and I helped her get caught, but I had to tell her to ask for help next time.” He honestly hadn’t wanted to say it – and he was sure that Tadashi would know that by now. “I had to tell Ren’ai to keep an eye out on her.”

Ichiro was big on teamwork at his job, and tried to get everyone to help each other. Yes, during a rush, everyone was busy. That didn’t mean that they couldn’t get drinks for you in a spare moment – and he always made time to help out people. That was his job, to make sure that the restaurant ran smoothly. These thoughts passed very quickly, though, as Tadashi asked where he could put his satchel and robe. “Uh… the hall closet,” he said, figuring that the food would be ready by the time he got back. He led Tadashi into the hallway, and to the closet, which was near his bedroom door. He opened up the door and opened it up. Intending to stay there, he could smell the food, and knew that he needed to get it ready. “I think our dinner’s ready.”

With that, Ichiro headed back towards the kitchen, and shut off the stove. He put the vegetables into bowl first, and then the rice. After that, he drained the water out of the noodles and then poured them into a bowl. Realizing that he couldn’t carry all four bowls, he grained the vegetables and the rice first, setting them in the middle of the table. Then, he went back and grabbed the noodles, and set that on the table, too. Steamed rice, cooked vegetables, homemade noodles, and a salad – all in all, not a bad dinner for him, even if he didn’t actually make the noodles. He’d already thanked his mother for that, but if Tadashi really liked them, he’d have to thank her again. Everything looked great. Sighing, he walked over and got himself a glass of water as well before walking back over to the dining room table.

“Okay, I’m pretty sure, it’s ready,” Ichiro said, making sure not to set down until Tadashi did first. That was only polite, right? “I hope you enjoy it.” To distract himself from the thought that he might not, he thought of something else to talk about, albeit only briefly. “Oh, and did I tell you? My mother wants to take me up to the Northern Water Tribe next summer. She’s been mentioning it lately. I think it’s because I’m her only child. She’s from there, you know? Born and raised until she moved down here. She hasn’t been back since, and I think now that I turned twenty, she’s realizing how long it’s been since she’s been up there, and with me inheriting her Waterbending, I think she wants me to see where she came from, you know?” This conversation would only be brief, he assumed, but if Tadashi liked everything, then his distraction from himself would no longer be necessary.

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Anonymous

Jan 28, 2014 9:53:27 GMT -6

"Thank you," Tadashi smiled, following Ichiro to the closet in the hallway and carefully hanging his robe over a crossbar, then setting his satchel on the floor directly beneath it. Ichiro passed back behind him to get to the kitchen as he told Tadashi that dinner was ready. "You sicced Ren'ai on the new girl? Yikes," he joked. "If she thought it was hot in the kitchen before..." the thought trailed off as he stepped back into the front of the apartment and watched his boyfriend in a whirlwind of activity moving the dinner from the stovetop and counter to the dining room table. It looked *really* nice. Ichiro had put a lot of work into making this dinner date as amazing as possible, and it showed. The flurry of activity slowed when Ichiro got himself a glass of water and looked at Tadashi as he stepped back over to the table. Tadashi gave him a glowing smile - he was very appreciative of all the effort and what it meant.

Suspecting that Ichiro wouldn't sit down until he did first, Tadashi pulled his chair back and took a sip of his water as he settled into his seat. "Of course I'm going to enjoy it," Tadashi gave his boyfriend a pained look, though the corners of his mouth tugged up again in mere seconds. "Aside from the fact that you're an amazing cook, I can tell how much care you put into this. Thank you." He put his hand over Ichiro's fingers and gave them a little squeeze.

As they began to fill their plates, Tadashi starting with salad, Ichiro startled him with the announcement about his mother's plans. "Really?" Tadashi gave his boyfriend a wide-eyed look. He hadn't really thought about the fact that Ichiro's family might have roots somewhere besides Republic City; he and his twin brother were second-generation United Republic natives. He knew his great-grandfather, for whom he had been named, had come from an island micronation in the Fire Nation waters; his great-grandmother had been from the Southern Water Tribe; and of course Grandma Sora was... well, unusual. He seemed to vaguely recall she had been born in the Earth Kingdom, but her family had been traveling during her conception and birth so the question of her citizenship was complicated. Thoughtfully, he took his first bite of the salad. Almonds! That was an unexpected surprise.

"I think that will be a great idea," he said as soon as his mouth cleared. "I'd miss you a lot, of course, but you shouldn't miss out on an opportunity to see your roots." Putting voice to his musings from earlier, he added, "My roots are here, mostly, so I don't have a lot to explore. Though my great-grandmother was a Southern Waterbender." Tadashi pointed his fork at the salad on his plate and said, "I know it's 'just a salad,' but this is already really good, Ichiro. You made everything yourself, didn't you?"

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Last edit by Deleted: Jan 28, 2014 9:53:42 GMT -6

Gia

Jan 30, 2014 16:28:01 GMT -6

Ichiro could feel his heart beating, and it was beating so loud that he was sure that Tadashi could hear it. The glowing smile that was on his face when he saw the food that he had been working on made the brunet’s heart flutter instead. His boyfriend was nothing if not nice, and the Waterbender appreciated that more than words right now. He was so nervous, and he figured that he had to know how much work was put into it. “You don’t know if I’m a good cook,” he told him, a smile playing on his lips. “You haven’t eaten any of my food yet.” It was true, of course, but part of him didn’t want to hear those words until the Air Acolyte had actually eaten food that he’d prepared. He couldn’t say any of that, though, because he was probably only trying to make him feel better about all this.

Once Tadashi had sat down, Ichiro followed suit. After all, Tadashi was the guest, and the Waterbender was not about to sit down without his guest sitting down first. It was rude, for starters, and right now, following such a simple protocol eased his mind and racing heart, if only just for a bit. When Tadashi said that of course he would enjoy it, he could do nothing but smile at him. It seemed like such a simple statement, but there really was no guarantee. Ichiro seemed to wait for his boyfriend to do everything first – taking a drink, and then start eating the salad. It was subconscious because he’d prepared everything, and the brunet didn’t realize he was doing it until after he was already doing it. It seemed a bit silly as an afterthought, but he didn’t react to it, and just ignored it.

Ichiro was glad that mentioning his mother’s trip idea seemed to have worked, at least a little. As Tadashi said he would miss him, a smile crossed his lips again. Yes, he’d probably be missing him like crazy, too. He had a point, too… he shouldn’t miss an opportunity to see his roots. It was where his mother came from, and he should see it one of these days. He wasn’t sure he entirely wanted to leave, though, but that may have something to do with meeting a whole bunch of family. “I’d miss you, too, like crazy,” he admitted. “I’d be nervous about leaving the restaurant now, too, especially since there are two of them now.” His father and mother would have to account for themselves and the new one, and that meant the old one would be without its manager. “She assures me that everything will be fine, and it’s not that I don’ trust Ami and Yang.” Ichiro was a workaholic and that’s all there was to it.

The conversation inevitably turned back to the food. Ichiro blushed at the compliment. “It is just a salad,” he told him. “There’s a lot more food.” Hot food, too, that he didn’t want to get cold. He should have thought of that! The Waterbender reminded himself that there was a lot more to come, and getting nervous now would only make the rest of the night worse – and it wanted it to be perfect. “Thank you, though, I appreciate it, and yes, I made everything myself. Well, except for the noodles. You should recognize them when you eat them – my mother made those for me.” He gave a shrug of his shoulders. “I’m a good cook, I’ve picked up a few things from my mother, but… I’m not that good.” His mother was a professional, and Tadashi had eaten at the restaurant long enough to know that they would be familiar, despite the fact that his mother isn’t the one that cooked them. “I mean, I did cook them, but I didn’t make them.”

“Speaking of my mother… my parents and I all got next Saturday night off.” He paused for a minute, before locking eyes with Tadashi. “They want to meet you… I mean, I know they’ve seen you since you visit the restaurant before the new one opened, but… They want to meet you officially. They want to have you over for dinner.” Ichiro thought it was nerve wracking to invite his boyfriend over for dinner at his parents’ house. He had never brought any of his boyfriends home, though he hadn’t had that many. In the back of his mind, he knew that he was Tadashi’s first boyfriend so this would be the first time he’d be over to meet his boyfriend’s parents – since he’d never had one before. He sincerely hoped that Tadashi wanted to, and honestly… it was about time. They had been together three months, and besides, he kind of already knew them… sort of.

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