IC Inbox - Duplicity

[caycay]

You've reached Cay-Cay! Feeling Cray-Cray?
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[goldencharms]

i've been cooking!! i want u to try some of mine this time!!

[ after all, he'd judged Cater's food before, and it was delicious. It felt right to return the favor at least a little. ]

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[caycay]

omg in that case I'll bring a big appetite 😋

[Dressed in comfortable clothes, Cater's over shortly thereafter, knocking on the door. He's all smiles when Kalim opens it.]

Hey! It smells great, from here. What're you making?

[goldencharms]

[ Kalim looks truly relieved-- he did not want to have to eat alone, not when everyone is just ??? gone? ]

I wanted to try chicken tagine!!

[ nothing sweet, so Cater is safe from Kalim making him something that has tons of sugar.... unless he tries the tea ]

Come in, come in!

[ before the fog gets them ]

[caycay]

Oh man, nice!

[He sure lucked out--Silver's cooking was great, of course, but variety was the spice of life. Hurrying inside, he starts toward the kitchen. It hasn't escaped his mind that Kalim said that he had something he wanted to talk about, but no reason to rush things.]

Need any help with anything? I don't mind rolling up my sleeves.

[goldencharms]

Oh! There's a harissa sauce I haven't tried making yet!

[ he says eagerly, shutting the door behind Cater and following him. The kitchen is warm, and ... well...

a little bit of a disaster zone. Kalim wasn't quite practiced at mise en place yet. so multiple cutting boards and knives are out where he'd cut meat and veggies. spice containers are all over the counters.

you know, the usual rookie mistakes. ]

[caycay]

[Oh, boy. This was a sight to behold. He supposes he can't be too surprised, seeing as Kalim was someone who typically didn't cook for himself. This was all gonna be a mess to clean up, but hey, Cater wasn't about to walk back his offer to help.]

Alrighty--you're the top chef, today. Just point me where you want me, and I'll take a crack at it.

[And he might subtly clean things up as he works, too.]</small

[goldencharms]

Let's see, let's see... Parsley, jalapeño... Where were they again...??

[ he's thinking, and trying to find where he placed those two ingredients. give him a minute...

Wait, is he forgetting something?

either way, enjoy the disorganized process, since he doesn't really have anyone to guide or help him on this journey. but at least he's trying so very, very hard. ]

[caycay]

[Well, if there was one thing that Cater was good at, it was going with the flow. He helps as much as he can, redirecting Kalim when needed and doing his best to fetch different ingredients when his friend loses track. And, of course, he keeps up idle conversation through the whole process--occasionally stopping to take a picture of the cooking process and both of them getting messy.]

All right! I think we're cooking! LOL. What're your thoughts? Feeling good about it?

[goldencharms]

Yeah!!

[ even removing the pot from the oven, it still smells alright? like, decent. so, regardless of how scatterbrained he is, he's definitely taking it seriously and trying.

which is probably a small mercy for this particular household. ]

I think it smells about right, so hopefully it tastes good too!

[caycay]

Oh, let me get some pics before we start plating.

[And, of course, he will take just as many pictures of his plate once he's filled it. But there was something special about a fresh-out-of-the-oven moment. Cater make sure to snap a few different angles before fetching the plates from a cupboard.

Really, without Lilia there to sabotage them, it couldn't be too bad. It really did smell amazing, too.]

Everything tastes better when you make it with friends, so this is going to be off the charts.

[goldencharms]

Yeah!

Oh, oh, how would you plate it? I remember seeing your potato galette and it looked so cool!

Presentation's a key part of food prep too, right?

[ can you feel the nervous excitement vibrating off of him. kalim has never been happier not being rich. ]

[caycay]

You bet it is! Plating, like, totes puts it all on a new level. Hm, with this dish, I think this is how I'd do it.

[He considers the food carefully before using utensils to place the chicken as elegantly as possible on his plate, then shows it to Kalim for inspection.]

What do you think? Really takes it from homecooked meal to restaurant specialty, huh?

[goldencharms]

Wow... I bet even Jamil would be impressed.

[ he grins, and then extends a clean fork to Cater ]

Here, try it!! Oh, but after we get a picture!

[caycay]

[As soon as Cater has determined that he's taken enough pictures, he accepts the fork and cuts himself a healthy bite. His face lights up as the flavors hit his tongue, and he positively beams at Kalim.]

OMG--Kalim, it's amazeballs! Totes worth all the effort! We make one hell of a team, dude.

[goldencharms]

You really think so?!

[ the earnest joy on his face, he's not bothering to hide any of it. To be told he cooked something good, when mostly he's gotten "not bads" to just being told to stay out of the way entirely is gonna be something he remembers for a lot longer than Cater probably intends with the compliment. ]

This is great!! Thanks so much for your help, Cater!! I feel like I'll do even better next time!

[caycay]

Yeah, man! I know you will! And, hey, if you ever need a taste tester, you know where to find me.

[Just, you know, don't feed him anything that Lilia's also put a helping hand in. In any case, he takes his plate over to the table and takes a seat. He'll wait for Kalim to have a chance to sit down and start eating, too, before he brings up what the other teen had said in his text.]

So, you said you wanted to talk about something?

[goldencharms]

[ he joins him, so relieved to not be eating lunch alone now. And he's quite cheerful about it, until Cater mentions what he'd said.

Oh, right.

He'd gotten so excited about cooking that he'd completely forgotten about it. And he looks unexpectedly embarrassed, flustered even. ]

Oh yeah. I needed to tell you something happened. Um...

[ he should just say it, right? ]

[caycay]

[Cater hadn't been thinking too hard about it, but Kalim's change in expression makes him pause. He'll finish the bite he's taking before he puts his fork down, giving the other boy his undivided attention.]

Sure, go for it.

[goldencharms]

...

[ deep inhale, and: ]

I slept with Rayne. I'm sorry!!

[caycay]

[And that was pretty much the last thing that Cater was expecting Kalim to say. He's clearly shocked, but...not offended. Actually, he doesn't look upset at all, more just taken aback.]

Oh, uh, okay.

[Wait, actually. His expression turns a little concerned.]

He didn't hurt you, did he?

[goldencharms]

[ kalim, for his part, feels immediately better. That's off his chest, and he doesn't feel like it's an uncomfortable secret... the last thing he wants to do is ruin things for Cater and Rayne. ]

Nothing too bad.

[ he says with a light shrug ]

I don't know what things are like between you both, and I didn't want to hide that from you...

[caycay]

Okay, good.

[He knew just how rough Rayne could get--sometimes unintentionally. Sometimes too intentionally. If Kalim said things were fine, well...Cater didn't really want more details, so he had to trust him on that.]

We're in Duplicity, so...having sex with anyone is just kind of on the table at all times. Like, just look at the weather we're having right now. Just going outside for too long makes you want to get busy.

[And that wasn't putting Cater's job into consideration.]

[goldencharms]

Yeah, but things are different for certain people, right??

[ he looks at him very sincerely ]

Just because it's normal here doesn't mean it doesn't matter to you. And I care a lot about you! I'd feel too guilty otherwise.

[ maybe that wasn't explaining it right... or maybe he's overthinking it. ]

[caycay]

[It was Kalim, so there was absolutely no reason for Cater to be surprised. And yet, here he was, feeling frozen under the absolute sincerity being directed at him. Just how much did Kalim care, anyway? It couldn't have been any more than he cared about anyone else in his life.

He gives a slight laugh.]

Well, no harm done, because it doesn't matter to me at all! If you two want to do it again, as far as I'm concerned that's between the two of you and none of my business.

[goldencharms]

Mm...

Okay.

[ he still feels a little doubtful, and maybe that shows up in his face. but he'll take another bite of lunch instead.

It's not like he's never seen this style of relationship before, so... maybe he was just overthinking it. ]