I Up My Boyfriend Game With The Help Of My F̶a̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ Bother Figures [closed post]

[summerdude]

Magnus shows up to the kitchen earlier than the agreed-upon time, since he's actually really excited to fold tamales (and learn how to prep the individual components thereof) with a couple of his favorite people. When he gets there, he remembers having to teach Galahad about hand-washing, and thinks about the fact that both Sagramore and Lan Wangji are from old-timey places. When they arrive, they'll find him scrubbing down the countertops, making sure they have a clean workspace.

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[summerdude]

"It sure is," Magnus agrees, emphatically. It may come as a surprise, since he's Outside Guy, but he really does get squeamish about dirt. Also, even though food poisoning probably can't affect him anymore -- it certainly hasn't in the past nine years -- he doesn't want other people to get sick. "You look a lot taller than the last time I saw you, Hanguang-jun."

[lightbearinglord]

"You appear to be shorter, from where I am standing," Lan Wangji counters. He awoke the morning after that day with a thousand things for which to be freshly grateful, his usual height along them.

[summerdude]

"I guess this means you're not like a little sister to me anymore," Magnus says, with mock solemnity.

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji's eyebrows, somewhat predictably, twitch just the smallest amount. "I will try to endure it." In preparation for their planned activities, he pulls his usual strips of cloth from his qiankun pouch in order to bind up his sleeves. Since this will be an involved project, he also reaches up, releases his topknot, and then pulls all of his hair, and the ends of his forehead ribbon, into a ponytail to ensure it all stays out of the way.

[summerdude]

Magnus watches, fascinated, before realizing that putting his hair back is probably a good idea. He pulls a scunchie out of his pocket and pulls his hair, which has been getting pretty long from Alex's last cut, back into a messy little... something. Then he washes his hands and rinses out the rag he's been using to wipe down the counters. "So," he says. "Where do we start?"

[lightbearinglord]

"What filling would you like? Or would you prefer to make several varieties?" If they need it, Lan Wangji does have his trusty Mexican cookbook stowed in that same qiankun pouch, but he also made an effort to reread and subsequently memorize the recipe this morning.

[sagramore]

Sagramore lopes into the kitchen at that exact moment, looking mildly harried but overall pleased to see them. "I'm here! Sorry about that, I lost track of time, we're building a still. Well, we're doing preliminary work on building a still. Anyway, I'm here."

[summerdude]

"A still what?" Magnus asks, and cracks up at his own joke. When his laughter subsides, he tells Lan Wangji, "We should definitely do green chile and cheese, and a meat one -- maybe chicken or pork? -- and a sweet one. At minimum."

[lightbearinglord]

None of this joke lands for Lan Wangji, thanks to the translation aspect at play, so he politely waits out Magnus' laughter, then, equally polite, bows in greeting to Sagramore. "Would you prefer chicken or pork?" he asks him. He will not be eating either, so he has no particular preference.

[sagramore]

Sagramore, on the other hand, does laugh. "Oh, pork, probably. What about the sweet one?" He'd meant to look at a Mexican cookbook, but had not, so he doesn't really know what the options are.

[summerdude]

"Oh, pretty much any fruit works," Magnus says. "Um, unless it's too complicated to make two different kinds of masa?" He looks at Lan Wangji, uncertainly. He knows that eating the variety is probably worth it, but he's only ever stepped in during the stuffing-and-folding portion of the preparation.

[lightbearinglord]

As he tightens his ponytail, Lan Wangji considers. Pork is Wei Ying's favorite meat, so that seems like a sensible choice. "The pork filling will take some time. Making two kinds of masa will fill that time." He crosses to the sink to clean his own hands before they begin.

[sagramore]

"I've got plenty of time. Laertes has Szari for the whole afternoon in exchange for not having to make supper." Laertes has also gone over the handwashing thing, so Sagramore dutifully waits for Lan Wangji to finish before he follows suit.

[summerdude]

"Awesome." Magnus glances between both guys, and smiles to himself. He's kind of bummed Laertes couldn't make it, but he's pretty sure he's in for an awesome afternoon. "I've read a lot of recipes but trying to envision the steps is still, like, all Greek to me," he says, and then wrinkles his nose. Annabeth has taught him at least ten words in ancient Greek. "All... Hindi to me."

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji tosses a quick, fond glance toward Magnus. "I learned to cook more than Cloud Recesses food for Wei Ying. I began by observing the cooks at his favorite restaurant and asking them several questions." By this he means that hands-on experience will likely do Magnus wonders. Out of the fridge, he retrieves a reasonable quantity of pork shoulder, which he sets on the counter as he goes in search of a cleaver.

[sagramore]

"If you want me to be useful, just let me know what part you want me to do. Laertes likes a mise en place." He's hoping the mansion will translate that, actually.

[summerdude]

"Yeah, Hanguang-jun, put us to work!"

[lightbearinglord]

Let's just imagine that the mansion does something to translate the meaning of the phrase, at least. Lan Wangji nods and surveys his helpers. "We will need a head of garlic, an onion, bay leaves, and several spices. Cumin, salt, pepper, and paprika. Once the meat is cooking, we will begin work on the sauce."

[sagramore]

"At your word, my lord," with one of his playful bows; then he's off to raid the spice cabinet.

[summerdude]

And so Magnus goes to retrieve the onion and garlic, which he deposits on the countertop.

[lightbearinglord]

"The onion must be cut into large pieces and the garlic peeled." Presuming that they will divide the tasks as they see fit, Lan Wangji, who has found a cleaver and a cutting board, starts to tidily chop the pork shoulder into its own large pieces.

[sagramore]

"Garlic or onion?" to Magnus.

[summerdude]

Magnus's knife skills are still pretty limited to murdering people with them. He wants to improve them, but for now -- "I'll take the garlic," he says, starting to separate out the cloves.

[lightbearinglord]

With two considerably more talkative people around, Lan Wangji lapses into peaceful silence. He finds a large pot, scrapes the pieces of pork into it, pours in a couple of cups of water, and begins measuring out the various spices fetched by Sagramore. He does, however, pause to watch Magnus for a moment, then takes one of garlic cloves and his knife and demonstrates to him how to brace the blade against a clove and give it a single blow with the heel of his palm to peel it easily.

[sagramore]

Sagramore is pretty good at mincing things, he does it for Laertes all the time. He raises his eyebrows at the garlic smash, making internal notes.