Tan Decides To Do Bento

[warmskies]

There's a small layer of dust along the shelf when Tan pulls the cookbook out from its place, and he wrinkles his nose at the sight of it. "Now, really... I know that I've dusted fairly regularly. Don't tell me it's been that long since I've picked this up."

Then again, it probably has been that long since he's touched any of the cookbooks on his shelves. All of his primary cooking was done when Ignis still lived with him, from his childhood years to when he was finishing the last of his 'official' schooling. That's been a good few years now, ever since he made the decision to move out and mimic His Highness's own choice. And now that he and Gladio have moved in with each other... Well, alright. So it's been some time since he's touched a cookbook.

Which isn't to say he hasn't cooked! He has. Sometimes. On occasion.

Alright, so, he does have to admit that it has been a long time indeed since he's bothered to start packing any sort of bento. It can't be helped. It's just so much nicer to sleep in a little while, have a leisurely breakfast (which he does cook!), and then order something out or in while he's at the Citadel.

At least he can proudly say that he still has a great deal of bento boxes tucked away in his cupboards. Nice ones, too. Some from his family when he still had more family to speak to, and others bought so that he and Ignis could match, and thus they had to look nice.

Now he just has to fill them.

With what? Well... That's the question, and Tan dusts off the cover a bit with his hand as he carries it over to the couch so he can peruse it thoughtfully. It's not like he'll be cooking anything today, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't give some thought immediately. It's always good to plan ahead. Else, he'll look a bit like a fool, won't he?

Well, even if he hasn't touched this book in some time, it still saw more than its share of use back in the day. It falls almost naturally to a rather simple recipe, and he smiles. It's nostalgic, seeing the simple egg sandwich recipe there. Ignis really did used to love his egg sandwiches as a child... A touch on the sweet side, but not too much. Not overbearing. Even if he's seemed to have moved on from having them so often, Tan is fairly certain that he still has that preference for more mild tastes as an adult.

Better yet, because the recipe is so simple, Tan has no doubt that he could recreate it without even needing to consult the book too much. Some things are hard to forget after all. He used to make so many of those sandwiches...

The problem is he isn't sure if Cor would care for them.

Alright, well, perhaps that's the wrong way to put it. He has no doubt that if he handed Cor an egg sandwich, the man would eat it without complaint. It's hard to hate something that simple, unless one hates eggs themselves. But, well... That seems more than a little bit silly to do. Go to all the time making a bento, and for it to be something that the person isn't particularly inclined towards. Isn't his favorites.

And, well, Cor really likes the traditional Lucian recipes the most, doesn't he? So things like rice balls, curries, all of those sorts of things. Egg sandwiches might hit both carbs and proteins together neatly, but lunch is for more than just that. So, carefully, Tan flips back to the start of the book and starts surveying his options.

There's no doubt in his mind that he'll have to go with rice as the main star of it all. Cor seems like one of those types who isn't properly filled up unless he's eaten rice as a part of his meal, which seems like something an older person would say. Then again, Tan supposes they're both reaching their years bit by bit, so possibly not out of place. Still, that's good. It means if all else fails, he can always fall back on rice balls. Nice and versatile, rice balls. He can put just about anything into them and have a pleasant time.

Still, that's cheating. He thinks it's cheating, anyway. He ought to put in a little more effort into it. What else is there?

Kaarage is hard to deny as a good option, at least in his book, and Tan lingers on that page for maybe his own desires over anything else. He can't help it, he really can't. There's just so many good memories attached to kaarage.. Times spent as a youth, feasting on it during little festivals in his hometown, or nights out with his coworkers when he came to Insomnia. He can even remember making bentos of them for Ignis when big events would happen in his childhood. He would never have said that they'd match up to whatever cooking that the prince could have, or what Jared helped make back in the Amicitia home... But he likes to think they were alright. Certainly, Ignis seemed happy to bring them with him as a child.

Still... Tan leans back, tapping his lip. Is Cor a kaarage type of man? It'd be more than easy enough to make, Tan is positive of that, but not everyone is into this sort of chicken preparation... Would it be too oily for someone like Cor? Even if he balanced it out with the rice and side dishes?

Hm. He'll have to keep that in mind. Maybe put it on the metaphorical shelf while he looks through everything else.

At least there are a lot of different options on the equally metaphorical plate. For example, tamagoyaki - another childhood favorite of his nephew's. By far, it wouldn't be a main dish, but it would be perfect fine for something to the side, wouldn't it? Yeah, he thinks maybe this would be a good option for a bento. Even if not now, maybe sometime in the future. Tan nods in satisfaction at this decision, and keeps going on.

If tamagoyaki is a nice side dish, it would have to be a side dish to a different main star than a ground chicken bowl. Scrambled eggs with food like that would be more than enough egg in that one. Although... Hm. "That's an awful lot of protein for one bento," he murmurs aloud to himself, finger moving along his chin. He would really have to work to balance it out properly. The rice is hardly in question, but what else could he put in there? If it came down to it, he supposes he would simply have to include an additional box with something else to it. Ground chicken, scrambled eggs, rice... Maybe he could add in some spinach with soy sauce? A little bit of a kick to get through the flavors of the rice and scrambled eggs. Or would something even brighter be for the best? Like a salad... Does Cor like chrysanthemums? Tan has to admit that he's never asked.

Well, if nothing else, it is a nice solid idea to simply workshop. If nothing else, he thinks he has something good going there. Better than spicy garlic chicken, he's pretty sure. If he's a fan of the more classic Lucian dishes, then Tan isn't particularly confident in him being a big fan of bold flavors like that one. Not right now, anyway, at a shallow glance at things. Something to do more research into later. Maybe.... He could always ask Gladio at a later date. Yes, that's what he'll do.

It takes a few more perusing through his cookbook before he feels confident in his future bento preparations. At least, he feels a little more certain in his direction than he was before all of this. So, when he finally gets up one morning a little earlier than normal to make lunch for the day ahead... He already has an idea of what he's going to do.

Well, he had an idea of what to do the night before, which is wholly why he had to make part of the bento then. "I have to admit that it's been a while since I've done pre-cooking," he admits dryly on speaker phone with his nephew. "I'm feeling a touch domestic, doing all of this again. Still, I am glad that you reminded me that it's best to freeze this sort of thing ahead of time." He moves one hand away from where he's mixing in everything together, shaking it a touch. Sauteed onions, beef, egg, and breadcrumbs all together make for quite a messy sensation on one's hand.

A low laughter sound over the speakers, and he feels a little bit of happiness in his chest. Just a smidgen. It's always good to hear Ignis. "Well, the recipe DOES make up to thirty little pieces, you know. I highly doubt that even with the two of you that you'll be able to eat all of that in one bento... or fit it all in one bento, for that matter."

Some beansprouts get added to the mix. "Oh, you never know. Maybe he has a hearty appetite. These things happen, apparently."

"Do they?"

They might; he has absolutely no idea in truth. What Tan is a bit more certain of is the rest of the bento, made in the morning: some nice white rice with bright pops of green peas mixed in there neatly, plus some spinach with soy sauce to match both the coloring of meat and peas alike plus that bite of flavor that will help cut through any blandness. And to finish things off... simmered kabocha. A little bit of sweetness, to stand apart from everything else.

And all of that separated into two different bentos, both of them elegantly carved with perfect preservation aspects to them, so that there's no need to worry about lunch until it's finally time to eat.

Well. That is what he wants to think. And yet as he wraps them up to take to work, Tan can't help but worry in the back of his brain. It's been so long... and while he knows enough about Cor's tastes to know that he prefers classic Lucian food, well, that's still a rather broad category of food. Even all the notes he mentally took during their time on the cruise isn't enough to really make anything certain.

Too late to do much about that now. All he can do is take the bento with him, and then be sure to heed the alarm on his phone when lunch time comes calling.

At least with Cor, it's always fairly easy to know where he's going to hang about if he's not been sent out on a mission past the Wall. Always training, always going over missions with Crownsguard and Glaives alike, and so all that Tan need do is head down to those areas. At least he likes to think he's not wholly strange to see there... Not with how he's come down before to visit Ignis, or, more recently, Gladio or Ravus or Noctis or Prompto. It's just not often that he's gone straight to where Cor is overseeing some of the newer recruits with a sharp eye. "A word, if I could, Marshal?"

Due to everything about them, it was always practically a given that the two of them would prefer to have their lunch separate away from all other people, and, fortunately, Cor has a nice little office he seems to rarely use. A man of the field, and such. Still, formalities are what they are, and so he has an office. Fortunate, really. It means that there is a place where the two of them can sit down, and eat lunch in peace.

Tan isn't particularly sure what to say in occasions like this. A part of him feels like he should know, of course. Being decent with people is the whole reason behind his job. If he can't manage that much, well.. Then it's sure embarrassing, if not worse. However, ever since the cruise, a part of him feels almost sort of clumsy.

Still, that's no excuse. "Hopefully it passes muster," he says, setting down the cloth-clad parcels down on top of Cor's desk. It doesn't escape his notice that it is extremely clean, almost barren. Well, all the most important information that would really need his attention is no doubt hidden away somewhere. Classified documents, and all that. For 'The Immortal', that's the only thing that would be passed into his hands. "It has been some time since I've cooked things like this, so do try to go easy on me, Marshal."

Really, almost rather than going easy, Cor's eyebrows actually move up a touch when he undoes the little cloth knot at top. "Lacquer... I didn't think you would bring something so fancy to a simple lunch meeting."

"I suppose they are a tad over the top, aren't they?"

"I wouldn't describe this sort of bright red decoration to be anything less."

Tan smiles. That's true. They are rather fancy just by being lacquer enough, but the designs done into them, all pretty brilliant red and striking blacks, really go the extra distance. "Well, they were passed along to me by my family when I made the rather stubborn and behemoth-headed decision to come out here to Insomnia. My grandmother always said that it was vanity and fear that kept people from using nice things. Thus, we should use them while we had the time to enjoy them. I almost feel a touch bad, having not touched them all this time... At the very least, the last time they were used was when Ignis used to live with me. So I decided to honor my forebearers, and break this out of the cupboards. I'm glad to say that I still kept fine care of them." Ah... He crosses his arms, head tilted to the side. "I hope they're not too luxurious for your tastes. That didn't occur to me until only now."

Carefully smoothing out the cloth that the box stands upon, Cor looks down at the sleek wood. "No. This is fine. They look well cared for."

"Thank you." And before he forgets... Bending down, Tan pulls out a pair of thermos. "Ah, and because I thought it might suit your tastes... Some green tea. Hopefully it clears up anything too fatty in the boxes."

And yet there seems to be no complaints about the little beansprout burgers that he's packed into the boxes. Nor the rice. Nor the kabocha. Nor the spinach. It all is eaten without any complaint towards his cooking abilities, he's very pleased to say.

Good. He hasn't completely disgraced the Scientia family name, or, worse, embarrassed his nephew with any terrible cooking skills. "It isn't as though I've gone into this sort of thing near professionally like my nephew has, with his fervor for cooking," he says mildly at some point as the two of them sit together, having eaten in comfortable quiet and a little bit of conversation. "However, I am quite pleased that this turned out well enough."

With a sip of tea to rest along his tongue, Cor just sits there for a moment. His eyes aren't exactly closed, but... If Tan isn't wrong, then it nearly seems as though he's almost comfortably at peace. Maybe. Or maybe he's simply delirious from getting up far too early for his liking. "I was going to say... It's clear to see where Ignis got his interest from."

"Ha. Now that is flattery I wasn't expecting to hear anytime soon." Smiling a little bit, Tan goes back to his own meal. "He outdid me a long time ago, however, even all the way back when he was still a bit of a child. I just had to practice to make sure he could eat well."

And, he guesses... Now he's helping make sure Cor eats well too.

Not a turn he would ever have expected his life to take.

Still... He thinks it might be going alright? Maybe? At least when Cor looks at him all serious, and tells him that the meal was good. That's.... nice?

It's really nice.

Tan has a feeling he's going to be doing a lot of internal reflection upon getting off work today.