Cooking With Yukiko
By: M14Mouse
Summary: Yu teaches Yukiko how to cook. First step…boiling water. It is harder than it seems.
Disclaimer: Don't own them. This story is unbetaed.
Yukiko set the lap top on the counter next to stove.
"How is that?" She asked.
"Good. I can see you."
"Good. Now…uhhh…" She said as she looked around the kitchen.
"What did we talk about? What is our first step?" Yu said over the computer. The picture wasn't the best quality but he could see her. That kind made her nervous but Yu has been so patience with her.
Their first time was terrible. The poor noodles were so mushy that it stuck to the bottom of the bowl.
The next time, they tried making rice. It ended up with a mixture of uncooked rice to mushy rice. He said that he was kind of impressed and expressed that he never seen that happen before.
She didn't know if she should be proud or disappointed.
The third time, it was salad.
Easy, right?
Well…if she didn't add so much dressings to the salad, it would have been fine.
Honestly, she thought everyone liked a lot of dressing on their salads.
Then came smoothies.
Yu reminded her about the seeds.
Their chief reminded her about the seeds.
She still forgot the seeds.
She sighed.
At least no one choked on the seeds.
After that was no baked cookies.
….which she baked.
There was jello…pudding…
Every single time, there was some mistake. Something that she missed. Something that made it inedible.
Okay, the pudding was passable, and the others were so proud.
Even if it was a little on the soupy side.
Today, they were boiling water for boiled eggs. Simple enough, right?
A part of her was nervous. Will she overdo the eggs? Can you actually overdo…eggs? Maybe they will come out all runny. Maybe, she should call Yu and tell him not today.
"Yukiko…You can do this," Yu said calmly.
She looked at the computer then at pot.
"Ready?"
She nodded.
"Remember how to boil water?"
"Yes, fill the pot with three cups of water. Enough to cover the eggs."
"Correct. How many eggs are we boiling?"
"Five."
"No, Yukiko. What is the first rule of a cook?"
"Always taste what you make."
Yu smiled softly.
"Correct. So, how many?"
"Six."
"Good. Next step?"
"I put a lid on the pot and waited for it to boil."
"Correct. How do you know when it boiled?"
"When you see bubbles raising from the water?"
"Good. And?"
"Lots of bubbles come up from the water?"
Yu smiled.
"Right. Then?"
"You put the eggs in and boil them for ten minutes. So, what do you need to get started?"
"Pot, measure cup, timer, water, and eggs."
"Good. You have your instructions and supplies. You can do this, Yukiko."
She took a deep breathe and went to work. She gathered her supplies and set them on the counter. She set the pot on the stove. She measured the water into the cup. She followed each direction down to the T then set the timer for 10 minutes.
"Now what?"
"I wait…no…I can make the ice water bath for the eggs. I need a bowl, water, and some ice. Lots of ice!"
He smiled.
"Right. Good job."
She rushed over the sink and prepared her ice bath. She kept glancing over at the timer.
Eight minutes.
Six minutes.
"You know, I can see you," Yu said in amusement.
"I…I'm so nervous that I will miss it."
"You won't."
"Don't be so sure. Last time…"
"That is last time. This is this time. You're going to do this."
She laughed nervously.
"How is the inn?" He said.
"It is fine. We are refreshing some of rooms during the off season. It was something that I learned from my business classes. I heard many compliments about the new rooms from last season that I did it again. It is kind of fun and really freshen up the inn. Chie and Kanji has been helping. Kanji really has a good eye."
"He does."
"Oh, I have been making flower arrangements for our tables. It is kind of fun. It is hard to tell if I'm going it right. The tables always turn out nice."
"Business classes again?"
"No, I'm learning from our gardener. Then…"
Her timer started to go off.
"Oh!" She said as she rushed over to the eggs. She got an oven mitt from the counter and picked up the pot. Slowly, she made her way over to the sink and drain the hot water out of the pot. Once she got most of the hot water out, she moved the pot over to her ice water and poured the eggs in.
"Good job. Now, set your timer for how long again?" He said.
"Ten minutes."
"Good. Now you can prep your egg cup holders."
She paused. Yu said that he wanted the others to crack the eggs. He was afraid if she cracked them that she would be afraid to serve them.
He knew her too well.
She started her timer and went to work. She set up the egg cup holders on little plates and then set a little spoon on each plate. Once that was done, the timer went off. She took the eggs out of the cold water and set them in the egg cup holders. She took each one and put it on a serving tray.
She took a deep breathe and took the tray out to the others. They were sitting around a table. Nanako-chan was happily talking to her mother. Chie, Kanji, and her chief were having a talk about…animal crackers?
She set each plate in front of them and set the last one in an empty spot. She set down the track on a nearby table. She took her seat in the empty spot and stared at the egg.
"Alright! Lets dig in!" Kanji shouted.
"Lets! I bet that it is going to be de-licious!" Chie said.
"Yup! De-licious!" Nanako-chan said.
"Stop being so nervous, dear. I'm sure that it will be fine," Her mother said as she patted her lap.
"Agreed," her chief said.
She heard the familiar sound of cracking of eggs and mumbles.
"Hey, Yukiko…this egg is really good," Chie said.
She looked up from the table to see Chie munching on her egg.
"Good job, Sempai! This egg is awesome!" Kanji said with the egg in his mouth.
"You did a very good job, dear," her mother added.
"Well done, Yukiko. I would suggest do a little longer. Some of my shells was still stuck to my egg. Overall, well done." Her chief said.
She stared at everyone.
"You aren't lying?"
"Dude, you think that I would lie about this?" Kanji said.
"No, you wouldn't." She said with a laugh.
-P4P4P4-
She did refrain herself for a minute before rushing back into the kitchen. Yu was still on the monitor and look like playing on his phone.
"They loved it! My chief gave me ways to improve but I did it!" She said in excitement.
"See? I told you that it will fine," He said as he put down his phone.
She beamed.
"So, ready to try scrambled eggs?"
"Bring it."
End
A/N: So, my latest chapter of Catch-22 is off to the beta. I decided to dig through my many Persona one shots (I have about 5...ooppps) that has been sitting on my desktop for a couple of years (Yes, years). We don't have many friendship fics here in Persona land and that always make me sad since it is my jam. So, it is here. Read and review if you wish.