Warnings: Talks about a certain Dutch winterfood that looks like shit but damn, does it hit the spot on cold/rainy days. And it tastes absolutely ahmaaayzhiiing! :D

Prompt 2: Food

"Is my spoon supposed to be able to stand up straight?"

"Yes it does."

"And you're sure it's supposed to look like... uhm... eh..."

"I know it kinda looks like someone puked into the bowl, but it's supposed to look like that. Trust me."

"Eww, Johan! Do you have to say it like that?!"

Matthew was already hesitant about the whole thing, but he definitely wasn't going to try it now. He reluctantly eyed the so called 'soup' in the bowl again. It was a thick, green stew made of split peas, filled with little pieces of smoked sausage and bacon. It was served with a few slices of rye bread on the side, which also had strips of smoked bacon on top of them. To be honest it didn't smell bad, but it just looked so... well... okay, it really does look like someone puked into the bowl. Yuck.

Johan couldn't help but smile a little when he saw Matthew shudder. He stood up from his seat and walked towards Matt, bending forward a bit to look into his eyes.

"You know I wouldn't let you try it if I wasn't absolutely sure you would like it, right?"

"I know," he said with a sigh. He looked up from his bowl, locking eyes with Johan. His seagreen eyes were a lot more pleasant to look at, especially when they would light up in anticipation. He looked so happy and eager, almost like a puppy. Puppy Johan, d'aww...

"Your cheeks are starting to match your hoodie, Matt. Penny for your thougts?" Johan said, trying not to laugh. Matt just looked away, trying to hide his blush while cursing his overactive imagination under his breath. 'Oh, screw it!' he thought. He straightened his back, grabbed his spoon, filled it up with plenty of the green goo, closed his eyes, said a quick prayer and shoved the spoon in his mouth.

It tasted... pretty good, actually. It had a porridge-like structure, but it was also chewy and crispy thanks to the sausage and bacon. After savoring this newfound taste for a bit he swallowed it down and opened his eyes. Johan was standing next to him, that eager look still in his eyes.

"Well?" He asked.

"Well," Matthew started before grabbing a slice of bread and taking a bite out of it. After washing it down with some water he turned his attention to Johan again. "That was absolutely amazing." He said with a smile. Johan smiled back.

"I told you so. Have a little more faith in my cooking, will you?"

"Hey, you yourself said it looked like someone barfed, remember?"

"I never said Dutch cuisine was easy on the eyes. It's meant to be comfortfood." He replied.

"Doesn't mean that you can't dress it up a bit," he said with a wink. Johan rolled his eyes at that. "I keep forgetting that Francis spoiled you with his over the top cooking."

"Maybe, haha. But your cooking sure did hit the spot though."

He grabbed his spoon again and continued his meal. Johan looked on in amazement when Matthew asked for a second and even third bowl. When they were done eating (4-2 in favor of Matthew) and cleaned the dishes Johan wanted to grab some dessert, but after seeing him sprawled out on the couch he decided against it. The poor guy was carefully rubbing his slightly bulging stomach. Johan made his way to the couch, carefully lifting Matthews head a bit so he could sit down himself. After he was settled he put Matthews head on his lap, stroking his hair.

"Why did you let me eat so much? I think I'm gonna throw up." he whined.

"I did want to stop you, but I was seriously afraid that you'd eat me along with the soup." He said with a smile as he continued playing with Matt's hair.

"Good point. You'll make me some more tomorrow, right?"

"And here I thought you couldn't even stand the thought of it anymore."

"I'm willing to suck it up for food that good."

"You're starting to sound like an addict, Matt. Maybe I should reconsider on making you some Hete Bliksem tomorrow."

"Hayteh what now?"

"Two parts potato, one part sour apples, one part sweet apples or pears and one part onions, served with blood sausage. Variations include adding either ham or bacon into the mix."

"Holy crap that sounds amazing. I want that. And the soup too."

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh! And that pudding like dessert that isn't really pudding! Vla, right? That too."

"Hoo boy. Nice going, Johan. You've created a monster."

A/N: And then they spent the rest of the night on the couch, with Matt asking for more food to try out and Johan trying to talk him out of it. But of course he can't say no to Matt, so he made all that and then the two of them couldn't move for a few hours.

The soup is called erwtensoep or snert. For more info and pics, Google pea soup. Wikipedia has an entire section on the stuff in English. And I tried to find an English site about vla too, but the closest thing I got was that it apparently resembles custard. But it's not custard. Dammit, how to explain. It's just vla. It's also amazing. Try it if you're ever visiting here. You won't regret it. Scouts honor.

Enough promoting Dutch food. Hope you enjoyed this story, and as always, reviews are very much appreciated :D.