Cooking Lessons

“Cora, are you paying any attention?” Monroe tapped on the counter in front of Cora, voice giving away his annoyance. “Come now, I agreed to teach you, but you have to quit nodding off and getting distracted.” He sighed softly as the smaller bun gained a sheepish look. “Look, I want to help, but you need to help me help you, got it?”

Cora nodded quickly, giving a timid smile. “Sorry, Monroe…” Cora rested his cheek against his hand. “I guess I'm just tired.” He glanced down at the counter he was sat at, the usually boisterous and energetic bun seemingly lost in thought, almost somber. 

Monroe furrowed his brow, annoyance replacing itself with concern in moments, but he tried to brush away the urge to question his sudden low energy demeanor, choosing to proceed with his little one student class. “Well… Come on, maybe a more hands on approach will wake you up.” He motioned him away from the island he was sat at and over to the rest of the kitchen where he had things strewn about (albeit neatly) and ready to go. “We're making twice baked potatoes, lentil loaf, and fresh sorbet… Any qualms with the array?” He looked at Cora, nodding in approval when he shook his head. “Good, now let us begin. Start washing those potatoes, I'm going to put these berries in the freezer for our sorbet and rinse the lentils.” Monroe quickly rinsed the various berries and placed the bowl full in the freezer, grabbing a strainer to rinse off the lentils, occasionally glancing over to see how Cora was doing with the potatoes. “Good, good, now dry them off and I'll prepare sheets of tin foil.” Monroe moved fluidly throughout the kitchen, clearly very comfortable in the space, spending as much time as he could cooking and experimenting with recipes had made the room almost more like home than the actual rest of his home. He loved cooking. 

“What now, Monroe?” Cora looked up at him after placing the washed potatoes on a paper towel. He'd asked Monroe for cooking advice after his partner Limin had asked about moving in. He wanted to be able to cook dinners for the two of them, but he had absolutely no idea what he was doing. Most of his own meals consisted of microwave meals, canned soup, and takeout, with snack cakes, chips, and energy drinks being added in when he needed snacks or quick sugar. The closest he got to cooking most of the time was boxed meals that required adding water or making things like salad or sandwiches, though he did consider his grilled cheeses to be a work of culinary art…before he tasted Monroe's cooking. THAT was true culinary art. Anything the man made was simply exquisite, why he worked for the church instead of pursuing a career in the culinary arts was beyond Cora's understanding. 

“Ah- hand them here.” Monroe made quick work about the kitchen, allowing Cora to assist with anything he didn't think the other bun could possibly catastrophically get wrong (which, to his credit, was anything that didn't involve measurements, heating, or sharp objects), making sure to thoroughly explain every step and why it was done in the manner it was. He regularly looked over to study Cora's reactions, making sure he seemed to be absorbing the information. Pleased that he seemed attentive and understanding, Monroe stepped back, having placed both the tray of potatoes and the loaf pan of lentil mix into the oven. “Now then, we get to take a break while those cook.”

Cora nodded at him, following him into Monroe's oddly lavish gothic living room, tilting his head at a little hand painted sign that said “Home Sweet Lair”. He took a seat on the large black leather couch that Monroe motioned to and fidgeted a bit while Monroe stepped back into the kitchen to grab refreshments - after all he was still a guest. “Monroe… what's with all of the pictures of Loafkis?”

“Hmm? Oh. I've fostered plenty of the little creatures for Hutch. Apparently it's common for buns to buy them as gifts around all sinners day and they get abandoned or returned in influx. So, I offered to help and keep a few for a bit when he gets an influx.” Monroe returned, offering some fruity fizzy drink to Cora while he himself took a swig from a glass of scotch. Despite his original strongest sin being Pride, Monroe found himself steering far away from it as he aged, finding himself too tired to care too much for any form of vanity. He took very little pride in his work as well, honestly not caring much for the church work, as most of it was an excuse to stay near the subject of his desire anyhow. Instead, he found himself indulging far more in lust, and even more so in alcohol - which he supposed leaned towards gluttony, though that was neither here nor there. 

“Oh! I've never owned an imp.”

Monroe broke himself away from his thoughts to watch Cora crack open the drink and take a hearty swig, nodding slightly. “You should consider getting one. I have a Candyl at the moment as my companion, but I've yet to meet an imp I wouldn't welcome in my home.”

Cora hummed in thought a moment, speaking before he could actually consider his words, “You're nowhere near as uptight and weird as people make you out to be.”

Monroe tensed immediately, averting his gaze to his glass before quickly knocking the rest of it back. “Is… Is that so?” He felt his chest tighten slightly and slowly took a deep breath, trying to will away his sudden anxiety. “And what exactly are they saying about me for you to say that?”

Cora's expression dropped, realizing what he'd said, and he grinned sheepishly, gathering his thoughts and figuring out a way to express them that wouldn't stress out the taller bun more. “Ah… Not much. You just um… well you avoid people a lot, even in the church, and um, you do have a kinda, dark? Vibe? And no one ever sees you in casual clothes or at any events or anything. So I guess people just think you're um… a weird shut in? Eheh..” He looked up at the black haired man's face, anxiously trying to gauge his reaction, suddenly deeply regretting his choice of words, even more so when Monroe spun on his heel and left the room. He hung his head in shame, feeling guilty for making him feel bad when he had literally invited him into his home to teach him. He sadly sipped his drink, slumping down into the couch, only looking up when he heard the soft sound of hooves against the floor. 

“I… Suppose I do present myself in a rather unappealing and unapproachable way.” Monroe leaned against the doorframe, having removed his robes in exchange for a far more comfortable looking flowy black silk shirt tucked into high rise black shorts. “Though I'll admit I have little interest in interacting with church goers that don't directly seek me out.” He chuckled softly, a smile appearing on his face for the first time since Cora arrived, and if Cora really thought about it… probably the first time he'd ever personally seen. “But my work at the church has less to do with devotion to demons and more to do with devotion to… Oh, nevermind me. We should check on the loaf.” Monroe quickly made his way back to the kitchen, motioning Cora to follow. “Once we've glazed it, it only needs a little longer.” He looked at the smaller blue haired bun, brow furrowing as he watched him poking a thermometer into all the bundled up potatoes instead of following his directions of checking one. “If one isn't ready, they all likely aren't, Cora.”

Cora ignored him, poking the last one. “But what if one is? It could burn.”

“Ah- no, no that's not very likely. Even if one was ready to come out, it likely wouldn't overcook within the time that it took the rest of them. That's why you simply check the biggest one, when it's done, they're all definitely done.” He tilted his head slightly, taking in the genuine anxiety Cora was displaying over something as simple as potentially overcooking a single potato. 

“Ah.. Alright, if you say so, I trust you.” Cora stepped back, letting Monroe put the glazed loaf back in and close the oven. 

“Cora, are you al–”

Cora cut him off with a chipper voice, “We aren't talking about your issues, so we aren't talking about mine.”

Monroe's eyebrows shot up and he spoke again, a bit taken aback, “I suppose that's fair. In that case, would you like to join me for a game of chess while we wait?” He took in the blank expression he received and sighed. “Checkers?”

Cora nodded enthusiastically, so the two sat at the table and played until Monroe needed to take out the finished loaf and the potatoes. He showed him how to make the filling to rebake the potatoes with to make twice baked potatoes and put the tray back in the oven, grabbing the berries from the freezer and blending them until somewhat smooth, placing the mix back in the freezer so it'd be more solid when it was time to serve. They had enough time for about half a game before he retrieved the fully finished potatoes and made up plates for the two of them with the potatoes, loaf, and some homemade bread he'd made the day prior, setting the plates on the table next to their respective stash of won checker pieces. 

“Go ahead and taste our hard work.” Monroe nodded towards the plate, making quick work of his own meal (and securing another of Cora's pieces). 

After working up an appetite running around the kitchen with Monroe most of the day, Cora was more than eager to chow down, happily commenting on how excellent of a cook Monroe was, not even hesitating to request to come back and learn more (and maybe be allowed more hands on roles this time), which Monroe nodded to. 

“Of course. I don't have much company, so… Consider yourself welcome anytime, Cora.”

Perhaps this was the start to a somewhat unlikely friendship.