synflux | [Open] 💥 March Boom

[It's not the first time he and Raidou have worked together (duh) but this was the first time the guy actively sought him out for help with something. All the other times had been... in the moment sort of things. Paired up during a fight or in training, meeting in the hallway while freezing, getting trapped in the damn elevator, getting somehow wrangled into assisting with food, going on a date cause of some damn app, and plenty of other things as well. Maybe this wasn't much different from those other times, but it felt different to him. Perhaps it's because Raidou asked for help and Bakugo... didn't immediately chuck it out the window or growl about being "roped" into another event. Who the hell knows.

But cooking's something the blonde doesn't mind doing, so long as it's because he wants to and isn't being forced to. And there aren't a bunch of annoying extras either messing up the kitchen "trying" to help the process, or hanging around wanting to mooch some kind of scrap or meal out of Bakugo's efforts. If all that sounds like he's had experience dealing with it... it's because he has. Living in a dorm with 19 other teenagers all going through their own hero training tended to make the kitchen a bit of an adventure. Between those who wanted to cook, those who could cook, those who'd rather order take out and splay it all over the kitchen, and those who had no business in the kitchen but insisted they get to help out regardless.

And that's not talking about grocery shopping day.

Bakugo actually hadn't asked Raidou "for what" when the summoner texted him for assistance and to meet in the kitchen. He just closed his textbook and got up. Mostly because the guy caught him right as he was planning to break anyways. Lucky Shashou. With a quick tug, he pops open the fridge, glancing inside before hearing the other boy coming into the kitchen proper. Bakugo's normal glaring red eyes and furrowed ashen brows are more relaxed right now, giving him a rare calm expression as he looks to Raidou's arrival.]

You already made sure we got everything?

[Going shopping hadn't been on the text request...]

[A self-sufficient summoner is one who can take care of himself, which includes knowing how to cook. It also doesn't hurt when you room with a detective who can't really be bothered with doing much of that himself. Baking, however, is something else entirely. Something he'd been interested in, but never had the time for in his past life.

Now was a good time to learn, and he even had good reason to learn it. When he enters the kitchen, he gives Bakugo a quick wave in greeting - not a bow like he has with people in the past. When Bakugo commented previously about him acclimating well, there definitely are signs of that here and there. In his other hand is a grocery bag.]

Thanks for coming. I stopped to pick up a few extra things, in case we didn't have any left in the kitchen.

[He hit up the store on his way home from school, grabbing some extra flour, sugar, cocoa, some decorative things for a cake like sprinkles and piping icing. Those are for later, though - tonight is a practice run.]

The kitchen should have the rest in the way of what we need, yeah?

[There's a difference between knowing how to cook a stew or put noodles over chopped up vegetables, and baking a delicacy for a special occasion. It's not like Bakugo knew how to do more than steam rice and fry an egg when he first started. But he took to cooking as well as he took to everything else, determined to succeed at doing "big adult" things even when he was a kid. Because his parents did it, and wouldn't the other kids be so impressed Bakugo could make amazing food? Fantastic rationale... Ego.

It served him well, even if he's horrible about lending that skill to other people. Raidou arches a brow at the summoner's greeting. A flash back to the more casual way they met up at the frozen pond to skate. Someone's really been easing up on that straight-laced persona Bakugo remembers all too well at the start of their keep here. It's not a bad thing either.]

How should I know; you never told me what we're making.

[Without knowing, he'd not been able to scour the kitchen for supplies, and then text Raidou what to pick up on the way back. So guess this is all on the summoner to know what to get and what's in store. He pulls a bottle of water from the fridge and shuts the door before going to lean against the counter.]

I'm not guessing.

[Surprise, LILITH's efforts to socialize this kid seem to be working. Maybe he'll never be outgoing and extroverted, or ever totally free of the lifestyle imprinted on him, but that's fine. Any normality is better than none.

While unbagging the ingredients, Raidou holds up the small box of cocoa for a moment before going back to the rest.]

Chocolate cake. I've never really done any baking... ah, ever, really. I'd like to practice some, and I thought that might be a good starting point.

[He leaves the icing and decorations in the bag - those are for his next effort at this.]

Seems like you can buy a lot of things in the store premade, boxes of mix and jars of icing... But I wanted to know how to do it myself, if that's alright.

[Bakugo's still not fond of LILITH's attempts to bring Outsider behavior into one area or another as they see fit, from encouraging people to "play nice" together or trying to get them to talk a certain way. Though Raidou's relaxing out of his tense attitude is his business. Bakugo's not chalking that up to LILITH's efforts. Stubborn.

He heads over to the counter to look at the ingredients Raidou's setting out, arching a brow at the cocoa box. Only to give the guy a speculative look at the answer. Cake isn't something people just... whip up normally. There's usually a reason.

Though Raidou's right in that it's not the worst place to start learning how to bake.]

Tch, made from scratch tastes better anyways. [Premade shit is for saving time. They have plenty of time here.] What're you gonna do with it when you're done?

[He begins opening cabinets to procure a few bowls. One for the dry ingredients, one for the wet, the larger one being for incorporating the two. As for the question, making a test cake is fine, but is he going to leave it in the common room or actually take it somewhere?]

Ah, well, this one will be just for practice. I'll leave it for anyone visiting the cafeteria to try if it turns out well.

[He knows pre-heating the oven is a thing that needs to be done, so he'll take a look at that while getting out pans as well. So he's intentionally turned from Bakugo when he adds more to that.]

Then later I'll try it myself. It's, ah... It's Itadori's birthday soon.

[That makes sense. Bakugo just wanted to make sure the cake wasn't going to waste due to being an experiment. Not that he thinks Raidou would ever waste food; the guy's pretty damn responsible from what he knows.

It's the other part that gets him to pause. Itadori's birthday?]

Gari Head?

[Bakugo frowns. Obviously Yuji has a birthday. No one's really that open about when birthdays are. Bakugo avoids his like the plague because people make such a load of crap over it.

But Yuji's not like that. The guy would probably love it if people celebrated his birthday, even if he'd grin and say it wasn't necessary while getting all pink in the face over it.]

And you wanna make his by yourself.

[That's what Bakugo's brain puts together.]

[Raidou continues to busy himself at the counter, back to Bakugo, because his own face is turning red, and he knows it. He nods.]

Mm-hmm.

[He's quiet for a moment again, before he tacks on an addendum.]

It's for the party on Saturday, ah, sso don't say anything, alright?

[Yuji didn't want to make a big deal out of his birthday, and Raidou wanted to respect that, but also do something nice. So, a cake it is, one that will be decorated with no mention of a name or that it's for a birthday. A compromise.]

[Of course someone as selfless as that doesn't want to make a big deal out of it. Bakugo still thinks Yuji would enjoy it if/when it happens regardless. If Yuji's like Deku, he'd be flustered people remembered and did anything for his birthday, but would be touched they did regardless. That's what people who like their friends are like. Goobers.

He pushes the thought to the side, listening to Raidou dropping the extra information. A party on Saturday, huh. Don't make a big deal, but surprise party regardless. Hilarious. Then again, Yuji's made friends with people who'd want to throw him a party regardless of the guy's embarrassment. Bakugo had more than enough experience with that with his classmates.

Though it does leave a question.]

Is it a private party?

[If Raidou just wants to make the cake himself... that leads some thought to this being a personal thing.]

No. Ah, sort of. For the younger people only. No adults. So I wanted to invite you to that.

[Now that the equipment is all ready, he turns to Bakugo now, leaning back against the counter. Time to act casual.]

It's a sakura viewing party, though. Itadori's birthday just happens to be close, so, ah... I wanted to make something. But, it's not a birthday party, alright? Bring some snacks, invite the others and wear your yukata. Saturday afternoon.

[His face is still a little red, but an idea strikes him that will hopefully distract from any further questions on the previous subject.]

Ah, I met your friend Midoriya. You should invite him.

No adult? Heh, is that in revenge for the adults all going drinking at the bar and banning the kids?

[Technically Bakugo is one of those "kids" but damn if he's going to admit that. Knowing he has an invite is nice and allays some of that piqued brow earlier.

Ah, so Raidou's just combining Yuji's party with the event already going on. Not a birthday party, but snacks and invitations are to go out, plus cake. It all makes sense... though now Bakugo's eyeing just how red Raidou's face is.]

Why the hell are you so-

[His grumbled question gets cut off when Raidou plunges ahead with another comment of his own. Right, he's going to come back to that in a second.]

Tch, Deku. How'd you two meet up? [Yeah, Midoriya would need to get an invite. He's too polite to just crash a party of someone he doesn't know.]

Mm. Would you believe I got trapped in an elevator again? [He shakes his head.] I'm sticking to the stairs from now on.

[The two sat on the floor and talked kaiju battle plans. Very on brand.

That's a pretty rude nickname even by Bakugo standards, though, and he furrows his brow at it.

No matter, there's baking to be done.]

So. What's a good thing for a beginner to try out?

Yes. [Said without a trace of sarcasm. Raidou can be a creature of habit so walking into the elevator for his normal ride up or down would be done without a thought. Right? Especially since the power cut was only an hour... though now that Raidou confirmed it happened multiple times, that's more concerning.] Good. Consider it exercise until they get this shit fixed.

[It makes him wonder what Midoriya and Raidou talked about, but that's something between them.

As for the nickname... wow that's a lot of history and reclaiming behind it. Brace yourself if you ask, Raidou.]

Basic white. But you're not going basic for a birthday cake.

[Raidou wanted to start out chocolate.]

It doesn't have to be a birthday cake necessarily. Just a cake.

[While he has no baking experience, Raidou knows his way around a kitchen enough that maybe he doesn't need to start at the basest base level.]

But, I'll take your recommendation. And I'll keep notes so I can recreate it again later.

[He'd prefer to write it down, but with paper in short supply, he can manage to do it with his implant. It's one nice thing about the implants, your hands free to work while you read the recipe.]

I suppose it doesn't have to be chocolate, but... [He shrugs. There's cocoa if they need it. the icing can always be chocolate.]

Hmph. You should make a snowball cake.

[Bakugo isn't going to start him out with "this is oil" and "this is flour" but there's still a fair bit of knowledge to go into when making a cake. That said, he also trusts Raidou to know how to follow directions to the letter, so no worries of that.

It takes a few seconds for him to do a search online and find what he's looking for. If the cake's going to Yuji, it should be fun and tasty. He doesn't think Raidou will mess up the recipe.]

Here.

[Bakugo would also prefer to write it on paper, but that's a bit of a commodity right now, so he also sends Raidou the link to the site if he needs a refresher.]

Think you can handle that?

[Chocolate. Pink. Fluffy. Sweet. Dorky.]

Edited 2024-03-15 01:15 (UTC)

[Raidou takes one look at it and grins a little. It's a little ridiculous, but in an endearing sort of way.]

Probably. It's very, ah, pink. [Though he can see why it would put Bakugo in mind of Yuji.] Do you think he'd like it? [A silly question since Yuji would like anything anyone made him, Raidou especially.]

[A little ridiculous is the point of it. Bakugo almost pops the guy in the back of his head for pointing out it's pink.]

Unless you have food coloring, it's gonna be white. [Though if Raidou's going to make this again, he's got time to plan. Besides, buying a bag of coconut flakes and a bottle of food coloring isn't difficult. And no, Bakugo's not going to suggest they fine-grate-then-sweeten their own coconut... Way too much work for something like that.]

Of course he'll like it. The guy's a marshmallow. [A marshmallow wrapped up in fucking tough cut jerky, but you know. Bakugo pulls all the dry ingredients over.] We'll go with a lighter texture.

That's fine. We can just work on the cake part, that's probably the more difficult part.

[He'll pick up those other ingredients tomorrow. For now, they're all ready to go here.]

He is, isn't he. [A marshmallow for sure. Raidou stands aside him, opening up various packages and setting things aide, generally trying to be helpful without getting in the way. He's there to listen.]

Have you made this kind often before?

You mix shit in a bowl; that's not difficult at all.

[Bakugo instructs Raidou on gathering the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, then measuring out the needed portions following the directions.]

Something like it when I was younger. Once. [He indicates the measuring cup with flower in it.] Make sure you don't pack things unless the recipe says too. You'll fuck up the ratio.

[Just scoop it or pour it from the bag of flour and tap lightly on the measuring cup once or twice to settle the top. Then use a flat surface (Bakugo uses the handle of the spoon) to level the top with a sweep across the cup.

It's a minute or so before...]

You like him, don't you.

[as expect, Raidou follows all instructions dutifully, making internal notes as they go along. He's already learning things! This is good.

When Bakugo drops that question, though, Raidou stops dead in his motion to hand a measuring cup over. His face reddens, and he looks away, embarrassed. However, he's not so obtuse that he doesn't know how obvious it must be.

If this were back home, he'd be able to keep it better under wraps. Maybe if Yuji didn't feel similarly, too. But everything here has been so different.

After a moment, he smiles a little, nodding shyly.]

[Bakugo already knew the answer the moment he asked the question. Raidou's expression doesn't do anything to combat the result either. The way his body freezes, face flushes crimson, gaze averted. For someone who keeps his emotions in check, this one's basically screaming the answer from the rooftop. He's certainly loosened up since he first arrived...

But despite knowing the answer, it doesn't make the result any easier to handle. Bakugo goes silent as well, slowly revolving the dry ingredients in the bowl. His silence, however, is different from Raidou's. No red face, no embarrassed freeze, eyes focused on the swirling mixture of flour and sugar.

It takes a while before he responds.]

I see.

[That's all. Which may or may not be telling in itself.]

You leveled it well. Go ahead and dump it in.

[Everything has been so different for him since arriving here, life as someone not a summoner when that's all he's ever known. There's a part of his brain he can't turn off that is constantly telling him that he shouldn't be making friends - allies, sure, but that's different - and he certainly shouldn't be doing... well, whatever thing he and Yuji have going on that the two have been too nervous to define.

Summoners live to serve their citizens. Summoners live to defeat evil. Relationships of any kind will sway emotion and impede decisions. But he's not a summoner anymore, is he.

He doesn't like the silence from Bakugo, his face becoming concerned, confused. He can barely figure out his own emotions, let alone another's, even with someone frequently obvious with theirs as Bakugo. Is he mad? No - if he was mad, he'd yell. So what is this?

He says nothing, doing as instructed, his eyes on Bakugo like the answer might suddenly present itself.]

[Anyone with half a brain and some knowledge about the three boys and their interactions would quickly figure out what just occurred between these two. Mercifully Raidou doesn't ask about Bakugo's reaction and Bakugo immediately shuts down anything further in his own feelings to avoid dragging this out more than it should. After all, it's rare he actually gives a shit about people... personally. The fact he does about Raidou and Yuji prompt a difficult, but quick realization, and thus decision, now.

Life's got a way of forcing Bakugo to mature quickly and accept what happened.

Once the flour hits the other three ingredients, he gives the mixture a quick stir with the whisk. Then lifts his head, squares his shoulders, and focuses his eyes on the task at hand. Moving on. They have a cake to make.]

Get the bowl and butter you set out earlier. You're gonna grease and flour dust that now. [If Raidou needs instruction on how to do that, that's forthcoming.] Then we'll move onto the wet ingredients.

[That silence won't last long. This sort of reaction is so unusual for Bakugo that not even Raidou can stay quiet about it.

Before Bakugo can finish that last sentence, Raidou cuts him off, his usual bluntness getting in the way.]

You don't-- [His voice softens even more than usual. It's not anger or confusion, but something like disappointment.] You don't have to help, if you don't want to.

[Look, this is a first for him so it's not like he's got the practice for handling it either! But he's also not about to dwell on it when the event's already happened. Bakugo finds himself cut off and turns the stink eye on Raidou for interrupting him. They're both blunt, but usually they don't interrupt... mostly because Raidou's never been garrulous enough to prompt it.

The soft protest (and disappointment) rub him wrong immediately.]

Haa?! I said I'd teach you and I'm gonna teach you! [He never once said he was bailing!] If I didn't want to, I wouldn't be here.

I know, but... [Raidou looks unsure, though he knows what Bakugo is saying is true about being here. No one can tell him what to do. Still...

He suddenly felt bad in a way he can't articulate, that he doesn't quite understand.]

Please don't feel obligated on my behalf. [When in doubt, default to politeness.]

Tch. [Raidou at least caught onto the momentary dip, so that's what's bothering him. Bakugo, unfortunately, is not someone to talk about those kinds of feelings. He'd rather process them on his own. Unless they're absolutely forced out of him.

Better to focus on the cake and move forward.] I'm not obligated! You think I'd help just anyone cook?

[Which... may admit a few things regarding his relationship with the summoner.]

... No. If you're sure, then.

[He slides over the next cup of ingredients to Bakugo wordlessly, concern still on his face as he peers at him from under his hat brim. Subtle as any other emotion of his, but there. Raidou can barely sort out his own feelings on a good day, and trying to puzzle out a person as forthcoming with theirs as Bakugo was somehow even more difficult.

After another beat, he quietly adds to his previous statement.]

I do really appreciate your help. You've always been very helpful to me.

[Bakugo accepts the ingredient passed over and with a quick dump, upends it into the mixture. That's the last part, so he passes the bowl back to Raidou, along with the whisk.]

Beat it up.

[Technically you do that for the wet ingredients, but Bakugo's going to get started on those in succession while Raidou focuses on incorporating the dry ingredients together.]

Hmph. It's not like it sucks being around you.

[Translation: Bakugo likes being with Raidou.

First the cocoa powder into the water to mix together, then while that sits, butter and sugar into a saucepan to melt and combine. He doesn't do it silently though, talking Raidou through the measurements and rational for doing it in tandem.]

[He follows the instructions, but that remark does help put a bit of a smile back on Raidou.]

It doesn't suck being around you, either.

[Not a way he'd ever phrase that normally, but sometimes it's too fun to tease Bakugo a bit.]

Che. I'm great to be around and you know it.

[When he wants to be... being around. Dry ingredients combined, cocoa liquid resting, and now the sugar and butter melting, it's coming together well.]

You're gonna need to butter and flour that bowl, Shashou, unless you want it to stick.

[he says nothing to that, just a knowing smile on his face. Raidou knows he's not the world's most scintillating company, so he's figuring the feeling is mutual.

But he better pay more attention to what he's doing. Baking seems to have more steps compared to cooking, and if you get them wrong, you're in trouble.]

--Ah, of course. Sorry.

[The fact Raidou's not the most scintillating company makes him among Bakugo's preferred company. Loud, hyper, eager, excited, talkative, obnoxious, all things the blonde gets ticked about in his company. (Which is a wonder why most of the people in his class who hang around him ARE those kinds of people.) Raidou's good company.

When he's not moping.

Yeah, baking does require more attention than cooking some times. Can't just chuck something in a pot, put it to boil, and leave. Once Raidou's got the bowl, Bakugo nods towards the butter.]

You can use your hand. [Washed, of course.] Make sure the bowl's coated up to the edges. [Then sprinkle flour over the surface, rotate the bowl while tapping it to get it all over the butter, and dump the rest out.

Should make a novice feel very... chef.]

[Open] 💥 March Boom

💥 for Raidou

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