Characters: Chosen Undead/Dragon Slayer Ornstein
Word Count: 4.702
Summary: Tempest and Ornstein visit a new restaurant which serves yakitori and Tempest is getting set on trying his own version at home.
(Author's note: My life is still busy, but at least I started to find a little time to write again. Please don't expect regular updates, I just write when I have time and on the fic I feel most inspired for. The last few days, that has been this fluff fic that is simply about my OC x Canon ship eating and cooking together in a modern AU. Yes, it is super self indulgent, but I have fun writing it, and I hope anyone who enjoyed the food scenes in Storm is getting a kick out of this fic existing.
I chose yakitori because I wanted Tempest to try some cooking that he isn't used too, but actually, I wanted to write this scene at the beginning where they gorge themselves in the restaurant. I had lots of fun writing the small banter and the references to Storm in here, I hope you guys enjoy it as well.)
"Ornstein, there's a new restaurant that just opened up. Let's go and try it out."
As usual, Tempest came inside through the door and started to talk right away while Ornstein had been chilling with a book on the couch. Now he put the book to the side and sat himself up.
"Are you checking out the competition?", he asked.
"That too, but mostly…"
Tempest held a flier in front of Ornstein and once Ornstein saw what the restaurant served, his curiosity was piqued as well.
"Yakitori, hm? Asian restaurants are good for me because they normally don't serve anything with milk…"
"Yes, exactly.", Tempest beamed, the adorable smile that had always let Ornstein's heart melt during their previous life. He would never be able to say no to that smile.
"So I wanted to go there, not only to check out the competition but also because it is a restaurant where you can safely eat and I don't have to explain to the staff that you can't eat dairy."
Ornstein's face flushed a bit. It was true, he had trouble telling people about his lactose intolerance, especially if he was not wearing his uniform. Ornstein knew that it was just his brain being unreasonable, but this therapist had explained his anxiety disorder to him, so he knew he just sometimes couldn't help it. It was a good thing that the little Storm was the absolute opposite of him personalitywise and would go and tell the staff that Ornstein asked for no pickles like in the meme that Tempest had once shown him. It sometimes looked ridiculous, because Tempest was such a small fry and Ornstein was almost two metres tall.
"Then it is settled.", Tempest said, taking Ornstein's lack of a no as a yes, what it was, "Let's go."
"Wait, little Storm, let us get ready first.", Ornstein murmured. Tempest always would just rush out of the house without preparation. He would forget even the most basic things. One time he had run out without his wallet, one time he had forgotten an umbrella even though it had looked heavily like rain and one time he had forgotten to use the bathroom beforehand and Ornstein didn't want to be reminded of that day.
"Right, you are right, as always.", Tempest said, "Habits die hard."
"At least this time you aren't running headlong into danger. You are not unable to die anymore, little Storm.", Ornstein said, finally getting up from the couch and getting his belongings together, slowly, so that Tempest could sort out what he needed to do before he left.
"The amount of times I end up in the hospital show me that I still haven't learned too much.", Tempest said, heading for the bathroom. Ornstein had to roll his eyes. It was indeed true that Tempest got hurt all the time, either because he had tripped and fell, ran in front of a car or tried to run after a robber and got shot. In fact, the first one was how Ornstein and Tempest had figured out about their shared past in another life.
Around ten minutes later, the both of them were in Ornstein's car and drove to the new place. It wasn't too far away, but far enough that walking there would be troublesome.
"It is good that you are the gay who can drive and I am the gay who can cook.", Tempest said on the passenger's suit.
"Can you only talk in memes?", Ornstein groaned. Tempest had no driver's license and with his proneness to accidents that was a good thing, but it also meant that he had time to look at his phone during drives (he didn't get the concept of motion sickness) and used it to surf the internet.
"Come on, Ornstein, that meme is so true for us.", Tempest half complained, half giggled, "You burn every meal and I am sure I would drive a car against the next best wall if I tried."
"I hate that you are right.", Ornstein grumbled, but secretly smiled. The little Storm always managed him to show his soft side.
They were at the restaurant after a short drive and having arrived there, Ornstein was a bit surprised to see that they actually did some live cooking. The skewers were grilled on a large plate in the middle of the room. It made the restaurant smell very good, but it also was a bit hot.
"Oh woah, that makes figuring out how they prepare it a little easier.", Tempest said, taking a seat pretty close to the grill and staring at the employees. Ornstein joined him, feeling a bit awkward. At least Tempest only looked excited and not as if he was trying to crush their business.
"You could stare a little less, you know.", Ornstein still scolded him in a quiet whisper.
"Why? It looks fascinating." Tempest replied and kept staring, only stopping once a waitress gave them a menu.
Ornstein asked himself why they had a menu for a place that specialized in only one dish, but quickly figured out that the skewers, while fundamentally having poultry on them, could have different toppings in them as well, like scallions or mushrooms and a few more things.
Ornstein wanted to try them all. He always loved to try new tastes. It was impossible for him to say that he had a favourite food, because how could he know if he didn't try every food in the world first?
He ordered seven skewers with seven different toppings. The little Storm ordered around four of them, also with different toppings.
"You are hungry, huh?", Tempest commented on Ornstein's rather big order.
"...I am simply too interested in the different tastes.", Ornstein said and then added, "Also, you know if we had taken Artorias, he would have ordered twelve."
"And then complain that he still is hungry.", Tempest grinned, "When you told me has a black hole for a stomach, I didn't believe you at first, and then I saw him eat."
"Some things never change, even after reincarnation.", Ornstein said, joining Tempest at watching how the yakitori got grilled. It turned out that they could see how the Yakitori got put together and grilled, but they also used an already prepared sauce and Ornstein could see a little displeasure on Tempest's face.
"Of course they have a secret sauce, of course.", he murmured to himself but then his face lit up again. If they had a secret sauce, he could use his taste and smell to find out what it was made of. That could be a fun challenge.
Their yakitori was prepared soon enough and once the plates with them were in front of the couple, both of them savoured the smell for a while, for completely different reasons. Ornstein just wanted to savour the smell of his food before he ate it, to get the full experience while Tempest was sniffing it in an attempt to figure out the ingredients.
"Garlic, for sure...", he murmured, "And sesame... but we can kinda see the seeds on the skewers. There must be some alcohol in it, but without tasting, I won't be able to determine which..."
Ornstein left Tempest to his musings and picked up the first yakitori skewer to taste and... he felt like he was in heaven. It tasted amazing. The grilled meat was soft and simply seemed to vanish on his tongue. The roasted sesame seeds gave the dish a really nice touch and the sauce... the sauce was the best part. It had such a rich taste. He could clearly taste the garlic, but it wasn't ruining the dish at all, simply enhancing it.
"This tastes amazing.", Ornstein said and as he looked up from his plate at the little Storm, he was looking at the ceiling with a dreamy expression and full cheeks.
"This must be what it feels like to die and go to heaven.", Tempest murmured once he swallowed and then let the rest of the skewer vanish (minus the inedible wooden stick). Both he and Ornstein then enjoyed their meal, letting the other taste from the ingredients they hadn't chosen and once they had finished eating, they ordered a second round.
Needless to say, the both of them were rather full and their wallets a lot thinner once they left the restaurant.
"Alright, I decided.", Tempest said as they went to Ornstein's car, "I will learn how to cook those."
"Do you want them to serve in the Hurricane?", Ornstein asked as he searched for his car keys, a bit worried if he would be able to drive while he felt like he was entering a food coma, "Your kitchen seems to be more centered around western dishes."
"No, as you said, it wouldn't fit with the theme of the restaurant and besides, if someone wanted to eat yakitori, they would simply come here.", Tempest answered, "I want to be able to cook those for ourselves without having to pay a small fortune for them."
Ornstein had to agree that it had been quite expensive. Of course the quality had been worth it, but he would not be able to eat there weekly without feeling a big dent in his wallet, and had Ornstein tended to eat at restaurants before he met Tempest, because his own cooking skills were basically non-existent.
"Which means I need to go to the asian supermarket, because I need some eastern ingredients for the sauce.", Tempest said once Ornstein finally had unlocked the car and both of them had been seated into it, Tempest on the co-driver seat and Ornstein on the driver's seat, glad that their home wasn't that far away from the restaurant.
"This has to wait until tomorrow, it is late and I don't think I can move anymore once I put myself on the couch.", Ornstein said.
"Same.", Tempest replied, "I ate so much, I probably won't need food for twenty-four hours."
The next day Ornstein had a day off and the Hurricane had a day of rest, so the both of them went into town. First Tempest entered a normal supermarket and bought some fresh garlic, some ginger, some scallions and quite a bit of chicken fillet. As usual, Ornstein was carrying the bag for him, even though it wasn't very heavy. It just looked very awkward if a tall man like him would let a small guy like Tempest carry any bags, and besides, he wanted to be useful to the little Storm, after all, it was Tempest who made sure he could eat an awesome meal each day.
They then entered the asian store in town where Tempest went to buy soy sauce, sesame oil, some sesame seeds, shiitake mushrooms and tofu. Then, he stood in front of the alcohol rack and seemed to wrack his brain for a bit. In the end, he decided to buy a bottle of mirin and a bottle of sake. Ornstein wasn't able to hold his liquor very well, so he had no clue what they tasted like and was rather glad that any alcohol evaporated during cooking.
"I should have the rest at home.", Tempest said as they went to the register.
"Shall I buy the alcohol?", Ornstein asked, "Or do you have your ID ready?"
"Hopefully I am not asked for it this time.", Tempest let out a sigh. Because of how small he was, people often thought he was still a teenager and would only sell alcohol to him once he provided an ID that told them he was indeed twenty-five years old.
"Don't tell me you hope you won't be asked because Asians are normally smaller.", Ornstein said, "You are caucasian and a pretty obvious one." Tempest had rusty red hair, pale skin and big shiny blue eyes. He could not conceal his ethnicity, even if he tried to.
"Let me have this, Ornstein, one day I won't be asked for my ID.", Tempest grumbled. As they stood at the register, Ornstein wondered if they looked like a couple or more like siblings to people... though they didn't look very similar, their size difference probably made them look a lot less like they were similar in age... though Ornstein was thirty-two and therefore seven years older than Tempest, so the sibling theory might work... especially because Ornstein didn't know his parents, but he was pretty sure that Tempest's mother had told him if they had been secretly siblings or something.
He was brought out of his confusing thoughts by Tempest being asked for his ID. Ornstein simply gave him the "I told you so" look with Tempest rolling his eyes at him. He looked cute even when he pouted. Ornstein just couldn't get enough of his boyfriend's adorable face.
Once the purchase was into a bag, Ornstein took it and the two of them headed back home. Tempest had a swing in his step, he clearly was eager to try out the recipe. Once they arrived back home, Ornstein helped unload the bags and then he sat at the table and did what he had loved to do in a different life already.
Watching the little Storm cook.
Tempest started with the sauce. It made sense, Ornstein supposed, because it probably would need some time to simmer. However, it surprised him that Tempest hadn't pulled up a recipe.
"Aren't you following a recipe this time?", he asked, curious at what Tempest was trying to do.
"No, I actually want to try and recreate the restaurant sauce on my own.", Tempest said, "I know it will be a challenge, but please bear with me. I want to challenge my skills as a chef."
Ornstein simply nodded to Tempest's words and then watched. Tempest started with preparing the ginger and the garlic. As usual, he used the trick with the knife to squash the garlic clove. He had learned that it was not only easier to chop up, but also that the aroma would be better through the action.
Next Tempest put a pan on the stove and filled it with a little sesame oil. Once it was hot, ginger and garlic wandered into the pan, filling the kitchen with a smell that made their eyes water. Ornstein quickly went to open the window wide.
"The neighbours will wonder about my cooking adventures again.", Tempest grinned, "I also wish it would smell less extreme, but that won't be an issue anymore once I put the rest of the sauce in it. However-"
Tempest looked at the prepared ingredients. Soy sauce, mirin and sake.
"I don't know the mixing ratio of these things, so I have to experiment... I think I will try the same amount of sake and mirin first and a little more soy sauce."
Ornstein watched as Tempest added the mentioned ingredients, stirred them and the put the pot on the pan.
"And while we wait, I can prepare the ingredients for the skewers.", Tempest said and got the chicken fillet, the scallions, the tofu and the shiitake mushrooms out.
"Shall I help you?", Ornstein asked. He might have been a disaster in the kitchen, but he could cut some ingredients."
"It's fine, I have plenty of time while the sauce boils away.", Tempest muttered, getting out a big knife for the meat and a small knife for the vegetables. Was tofu a vegetable? Ornstein knew that it wasn't made of meat, but...
"By the way, what is tofu?", Ornstein asked, "All I know is how it tastes and that it is vegetarian, but not how it is made.. like, a block like this isn't growing on a plant, I suppose."
"Of course not.", Tempest laughed a little, "Tofu is made out of soybeans. They are rather rich in protein, so it can be used perfectly as a meat substitute. There are a lot of things that you can make out of soybeans actually. The soy sauce is also based on them. And there is milk made out of soybeans. Honestly, I don't think there is anything you can't make with them."
"Quite fascinating.", Ornstein muttered. He should ask Tempest if he was able to cook tofu himself because he was really interested in the process. Or he could watch a video on Youtube. Nah, he would prefer to watch the little Storm cook.
The meat was cut in stripes, then the scallions followed. The tofu was soon diced up in little squares and Tempest prepared the mushrooms by carving a little pattern in them. It looked quite adorable.
"Ooookay, now I should be able to taste the sauce and see if it is right.", Tempest said while he washed his hands and then went to the pan. He got a spoon, put it into the sauce and then grimaced.
"Oh no no no, that is not it.", he coughed out, "That is far too much sake and the soy sauce comes out too strong. I have to start over."
The sauce went into the trash can. Ornstein gave it a wistful look, because even though Tempest said it had tasted wrong, he still would have liked to try it. Sometimes weird tastes were exactly what he craved. He just couldn't let Tempest see when he ate pickles on liver sausage spread. Tempest always made such a horrified face when Ornstein combined weird food items. That hadn't changed at all from their time in Lordran.
"At least this time neither of us has to fight horrible skeleton beasts.", Ornstein muttered to himself, watching as Tempest cleaned out the pan to start over.
"Alright, so less sake and soy sauce... the mirin felt fine. Let's try this again.", Tempest said to himself as garlic and ginger again engulfed the kitchen in their extreme smell. After a short while, Tempest added a little sake, a lot of mirin and a lot of soy sauce. Then, Tempest sat himself at the table with the wooden skewers.
"You can help me put the ingredients on the skewers.", Tempest said, "I was thinking of chicken, scallion, mushroom, tofu, but you can also get creative. If you want a tofu and scallion skewer only, that is possible."
"That actually sounds fun.", Ornstein agreed, picking up one of the skewers and then eying the ingredients, thinking of how he could combine them.
The both of them talked about various things while the skewers were prepared. Tempest mostly stayed to his initial idea, it must have been the restaurant chef in him, but Ornstein tried all kinds of combinations. However, he wanted to at least have some meat on all of them, so he made sure to always skewer at least one piece of meat. He made some skewers like Tempest, but also some with only meat and scallions, some that had tofu and mushrooms added and some that were only meat and mushrooms or only meat and tofu. He also made a pure meat stick, thinking that Artorias would prefer that one for sure, if he would have been with them. Tempest actually added a few vegetable only skewers, probably thinking of the non-existent vegetarians in their kitchen.
Ornstein got a bit lost in the task, so he barely noticed once Tempest got up to taste the sauce. His face was a little lost in thought.
"It tastes... similar, but not quite right.", he said, "Can you come taste it too, Ornstein?"
"What? Oh, sure.", Ornstein said as he registered that Tempest had talked to him. As he tasted the sauce, he understood immediately Tempest's issue with it, however, unlike the little Storm, he had a good idea what was missing.
"The sauce in the restaurant was sweeter."
"Sugar! Of course!", Tempest pretty much dropped the ladle as he ran to organize some sugar, "Sugar is not used that much in western cooking outside of desserts, so I wasn't even thinking of adding it."
The sugar landed in the sauce and Tempest stirred the mixture until Ornstein couldn't see the sugar at all anymore. Tempest then tried the sauce again and gave it a thumbs up.
"Not the same as in the restaurant, but it comes close. I mean, they have more experience. The most important thing is that it tastes good, I suppose."
"You actually would like that it tastes the same, right?", Ornstein said, knowing Tempest too well and his pride in his cooking abilities.
"Yes...", Tempest admitted, "But I can't expect to be perfect during my first try."
"I prefer your taste anyway.", Ornstein said, "Because I know you always prepare the food with love."
"D'awww, Ornstein, it is so cute when you are sappy like that. Especially because your old self wouldn't have said anything like that. It always was like 'But I don't say that because I like you' and stuff, you were soooo tsundere."
"I will regret looking this word up, right?", Ornstein groaned.
"Yes.", Tempest grinned and then he lowered the temperature of the stove to let the sauce simmer.
"What is the next step?", Ornstein asked, "Do we just wait?"
"Yes and no.", Tempest said, "We can prepare the grill already."
"You are really wanting this to be authentic, huh?"
"Well, yes, but also, meat tastes differently if grilled. You don't get the same taste out of meat if you prepare it in a pan and because we don't have those fancy grill plates of the restaurant, our little portable grill has to do."
Tempest checked on the sauce, stirred it a bit and then went outside on the balcony. Ornstein followed him, watching as he prepared the small grill. He kept a healthy distance however.
"You know, little Storm, since I got my memories back from before, fire has been... difficult again.", he admitted, "I can't shoot lighting anymore obviously, but I still feel nervous around it and my adrenaline spikes. I think I could start to fight the grill if I would try to light it myself."
"That certainly would be a strange sight.", Tempest said, "Especially because the grill can't fight back, but don't worry, I am managing it. I have no trouble with flames at all for the obvious reason of me having stood in a kitchen as early as I can remember. You just get used to fire and heat. As you are probably getting used to blood and violence in your job."
"Don't forget puke.", Ornstein added, "We often are called to take care of drunkards who are throwing a ruckus somewhere."
"Oh yes, I know them.", Tempest murmured, "But please let's talk about something more pleasant than regurgitated food."
"Hey, you learned some more elegant words.", Ornstein smiled.
"I can't let you sit on zonular forever.", Tempest rolled his eyes. He finished preparing the grill, lighting the coals, only having to wait for it to get hot. That would take around the same time as the sauce being finished.
"Let's go inside and try the sauce again.", Tempest suggested.
Ornstein agreed and followed him back inside. The sauce already smelled pretty good. Tempest was the first to taste it and then he wordlessly gave the same spoon to Ornstein.
"It's good.", Ornstein said once he had tasted the sauce, "It doesn't taste off or anything. It tastes different from the restaurant but that has to be normal, it is your first time after all."
"I wish it could taste a little bit closer.", Tempest sighed, "Though it probably is better if I put my own spin on it... otherwise I would just copy them."
"You have enough experience in cooking to succeed, I am sure of it.", Ornstein rubbed Tempest's shoulder, "Besides, you have the experience of two lifetimes now."
"I suppose I do...", Tempest grinned at him and then stirred the sauce a bit before deciding that it was done. He removed the pan from the stove and picked up a brush. "Time to marinate the skewers!"
Ornstein was actually allowed to help with this part. As a hobbyist painter, he knew how to hold a brush and putting sauce on meat skewers was not that different from putting paint on an easel. Ornstein wondered if he maybe should try painting the food that Tempest prepared, that sounded like a nice and fun challenge. He wondered if he could portray it as appetizing as the real food looked like.
Once all the skewers were prepared, they went outside where the grill had heated up in the meantime. Tempest raised the temperature on the grill (which was done by letting more air into it, it was pretty fascinating) and then put the skewers on, who started to sizzle and smell awesome after a few seconds.
"If only the clean-up wouldn't be such a mess we could grill more often.", Tempest said as he made sure to flip the skewers with some pincers. Ornstein still stayed behind, not wanting to get too close to the fire in the grill.
One by one, the skewers landed on a prepared plate next to the grill. Sometimes Tempest put a bit more sauce on them, sometimes they seemed to be fine. What he always did with the finished ones was putting sesame seeds on them. As long as some meat was on the skewer, there were a few vegetable only ones after all.
The actual grilling part was over a lot sooner than the sauce had needed to cook. Because of the nature of the skewers, they just didn't need long to grill. The skewers now sat on their plate and smelled delicious. Ornstein could feel his mouth water.
"And now we just have to eat them.", Tempest brought the skewers back inside with a joyous smile where the two of them sat down at the table after Ornstein had brought two extra plates on which they could put their yakitori.
Ornstein took one of the ones Tempest had made first, the one with all ingredients on it. The vegetables and the tofu were good, but he really wanted to know how the meat tasted, so he bit into it and...
...he wasn't quite in heaven this time. But he was at a nice place. Maybe a warm beach where the waves were playing around his ankles. He was lying in the shade of a palm tree and didn't have to care for anything in the world, he could just relax and he could do that for hours upon hours, maybe taking a little nap while the warmth of the sun washed over him. He didn't even have to worry about getting sunburned, because this version of him just didn't have his sensitive skin...
Yes, that was what it tasted like. Like a relaxing vacation where he didn't have to do anything. Ornstein decided that he liked that taste.
"I don't know...", Tempest instead said, looking at his own creation, "It doesn't feel right. I thought I would be able to cook it better..."
Ah, artists, always being their own worst critics. Ornstein was the same with his paintings. Tempest might not swing a paintbrush and bring pictures to life, but his paintbrush was a ladle and his paint was fresh ingredients. His art was only finished once someone ate it and didn't leave a single piece on the plate.
"Little Storm, your yakitori makes me feel like I am on the most relaxing vacation.", Ornstein said, "They might not have the same mind-boggling taste as the ones in the restaurant, but they are your cooking and your taste and that means a lot more to me than anything else. If you would give me the choice of eating in a luxury restaurant without having to pay for the rest of my life or only eating your cooking for the rest of my life, I would choose you."
Tempest broke out into a smile. "Thank you, Ornstein.", he said, "Truly, from the bottom of my heart. And even though I have cooked for so many people, you are and will forever be my favourite person to cook for."
(Author's note: If you have some ideas for recipes that Tempest could try, feel free to suggest them to me in the comments. Thank you very much.)