Title: Scars of Friendship
Chapter: 4.5/50
Comments: Interlude. Sorry it's not a 'real' chapter but hopefully the subject matter will make up for it.
Interlude: Nibel Stew
"Ah! No! Um... Not like that!" Cloud flustered, quickly putting his hand on Sephiroth's arm to prevent the further massacre of the poor unsuspecting vegetables. He had forgotten that Sephiroth had no idea about cooking whatsoever and would need more guidance than 'chop these for me'.
Sephiroth looked down at him with a small smile. The smile that said 'sorry I'm such a dork when it comes to these things'. Well, to Cloud it said that. To everyone else it would have looked like Sephiroth's ordinary face, just perhaps a little bit less strained.
"I don't need these to be sliced so thinly. It should be haphazard and rough. Big chunks," Cloud explained, showing Sephiroth by cutting up some carrots quickly and roughly. Sephiroth nodded.
"You're being too methodical. Haven't you ever cooked before?" Cloud asked, scooping the carrot slices away from Sephiroth who began to cut the rest with a determined expression on his face.
"Not... stew. The food I cook tends to be more... precise..." he replied. Cloud thought about that. He remembered checking Sephiroth's pantry and cookery books when he'd first moved in. There had been a lot of books on haute cuisine that looked like they'd never been opened, and then one book that had clearly been leafed through a lot, dog-eared as it was. It had read simply, rather like a children's recipe book, and definitely gave precise instructions.
"Stew is something you cook by instinct. You throw everything into a big pot. Whatever you feel like eating at the time and then just leave it until everything is cooked. It's not a science," he said. Sephiroth looked down at his chopped carrots.
"It's a real mother's meal," Cloud continued, stirring the stock and prodding the raw vegetables in it to get them to settle. He was aware that the sound of the knife hitting the chopping board had stopped. He glanced over his shoulder.
Sephiroth was still staring down at the carrots. His knife was paused just above the vegetable and he was staring at it intently. Cloud put down the wooden spoon and walked toward him, gently taking his arm. Sephiroth didn't look up.
"I have never had a meal cooked by a 'mother' Cloud," Sephiroth said slowly. "Perhaps that is why I don't get this way of cooking."
Cloud remained silent for a long time. He found himself staring down at the carrots as well. Something as simple as helping a parent prepare a meal... Sephiroth hadn't experienced it. Wouldn't experience it.
"Sephiroth..." Cloud began but Sephiroth lowered the knife.
"Perhaps you should call me when it's ready," the SOLDIER said and Cloud watched him stalk out of the kitchen. He sighed, picking up the knife and placing it in the sick.
"Let's order takeout!"