count yourself in

RONIN

THE DARK STAR

"Suit yourself." Ronin smiles, and if he's a little surprised by the sudden backtracking, it doesn't show on his face. No, he's more interested in finding out what Locke is capable of cooking and absolutely not thinking about any of the other soldiers calling him daddy. He has nothing against that sort of thing, but not when their focus is on the kitchens.

Laughing as he speaks again, this time about food, Ronin nods his head. "That sounds good. I can't promise I'll be able to make it as well as you to, but I'll do my best. And you would be correct - the way to a man's heart is definitely through his stomach. This man, anyway." And he's not afraid to admit it, either.

Patting his stomach as if to say no sickness here, he happily sneaks into the kitchens with his new recruit - they're empty right now, though that won't necessarily be the case for long. "Find anything good?" Ronin grins, moving to open up more cupboards to see what he can find. "I'll be your second in command today. Lead the way."

now don’t you lose hope

I swear I never dream that we’re alone

I swear I still believe but I don’t know

LOCKE

Driving faster in my car
Falling farther from just what we are

He's glad for the change of focus honestly. He hasn't sorted out his feelings for the Madam and he hates that he has them at all. It's confusing and he thought being away would help but it's really not. Maybe one day he'll get up the courage to talk to someone about it, for now he's got food to cook.

He keeps rifling through the cabinets, huffing softly. "Nothing too interesting actually. But I think I can whip something up. Just know this isn't the fullest extent of my capabilities.." He pulls out some things and sets them on the counter, head tilted to one side as he tries to figure out exactly what he wants to make. "Think you can crack the eggs for me? Going to make a stir fry I think." He's not sure if he's supposed to actually be worried about getting caught. Ronin is with him after all.

He starts to cut up some of the veggies, pausing to look at Ronin. "Y'know, if we were gonna fight with knives, I'd be the best solider you had. Not sure how.. swords and stuff is going to work." He's never had the steadiest hand. It's fine when he's cutting up food, maybe less so when he's cutting up a person.

Smoke a cigarette and lie some more
These conversations kill

RONIN

THE DARK STAR

"Doesn't surprise me. I imagine we could get more than basic fare if we asked for it, but... no one has ever asked," Ronin says with a lopsided smile. "Let me know if you want to make your home in the kitchen and we'll go from there. I can get you ingredients if you need them, put it that way." He continues to rifle through the cupboards, stepping back only when Locke requests his help, and he nods and moves up beside the other man.

"I think I can handle that without fucking it up," he says - if there's one thing Ronin can make, it's pancakes, so his egg-cracking is pretty good, honestly. A stir fry has his stomach already rumbling, so he doesn't bother to punctuate it with any further compliments or noises of anticipation.

Raising his eyebrows and glancing across to observe Locke's knife skills, Ronin flashes him a smile. "Well," he says, "we aren't going to try and put you in any boxes here. Everyone has their own style, and especially when it comes to fighting alongside your dragon, you need to work the way you both feel most comfortable. So if that's knives, let's focus on knives."

now don’t you lose hope

I swear I never dream that we’re alone

I swear I still believe but I don’t know

LOCKE

Driving faster in my car
Falling farther from just what we are

The idea of living in the kitchen is both amusing and kind of horrible at the same time. "Let me see how the beds are in the barracks and I'll get back to you. Don't mind having some things added but I can just bring my own stuff. Don't plan on feeding everyone every day. Would cut into my training time too much."

But they finish up the stir fry and some how manage to destroy the entire kitchen in the process. Locke's not sure when flour got pulled out but it's everywhere. Oh well. As long as no one notices they're in there, they don't have to clean it up. Two pair sit down to eat and chat or something. It was good. After that Ronin showed Locke to his room and Locke put his bag away and now he's officially in Stormbreak, yay!


-FIN-

Smoke a cigarette and lie some more
These conversations kill