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]

"There was a reason, though." Magnus is increasingly certain about this. There's something niggling at the back of his mind, something important. Something he experienced. He scratches the back of his neck, just underneath his hairline, yet again, frowning. "We -- me and Sagramore, we tested it in the hall."

[sagramore]

"We tested it," he repeats slowly. It doesn't wake anything in him.

[lightbearinglord]

The future sauce is simmering properly now. Lan Wangji spares it a single glance. "What did you test?"

[summerdude]

"Something." If Magnus sounds frustrated, it's because he can't remember. And he'd made a mental note and everything! He'd -- he'd told people. "You know, the thing Aornis^* can--"

He breaks off. He's touching the back of his neck again. He withdraws his hand and frowns at it, willing it to reveal its secrets.

*Piiiiiing

[sagramore]

"Easy, easy. Let's keep going, perhaps you'll remember when you're not trying to remember."

[lightbearinglord]

"If you told me something important about Aornis¹, I would not have forgotten." About that, Lan Wangji is confident.² Sagramore is likely right, however, about letting Magnus settle for the time being. He finds a pair of cooking chopsticks with which to stir the chiles.

¹Presumably, at this point, Aornis is turning her ping phone to Do Not Disturb.
²This would usually be true! Unfortunately, as you probably already know...

[summerdude]

"No, I definitely did though," Magnus says, with a huff of a breath, but he nods at the suggestion that they table it rather than trying to force the issue. He sighs again, and then goes over to watch what Lan Wangji is doing. "Dude, that already smells so good."

[sagramore]

"It does smell good." He's washing dishes; it's a chore Laertes doesn't particularly enjoy, and he's gotten used to doing it by default.

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji gives Sagramore a grateful little glance, not that he'll be looking to see it. "We will see how it tastes." Given the smell, he will not be surprised if he winds up embarrassing himself with his poor spice tolerance when the time comes for them to sample it. "I will require your expertise with that blender shortly."

[summerdude]

"Yep, I'm ready when you are!" Magnus is trying very hard to focus on the conversation at hand and not just worry at whatever it is he can't fully remember.

[sagramore]

"Oh, tell me when, I do want to see this."

[lightbearinglord]

For better or worse, they managed to pass the majority of the necessary time in discussing whatever it is that Magnus does or does not remember about Aornis. A very short time later, Lan Wangji prods at one of the chiles with the tip of a chopstick and determines that it is adequately softened. "Now," he says to Magnus, and hefts the pot in his hand.

[summerdude]

"Okay," says Magnus. He pops out the little plastic cap in the blender cover -- one of the few things he remembers from his childhood blender adventures is that they can explode if there's hot stuff in there without ventilation -- and gestures for Lan Wangji to pour the sauce into the container. "Um, I'm going to need, like, a dish towel or whatever."

[sagramore]

"Say no more." In a moment he has produced one.

[lightbearinglord]

With great care, Lan Wangji pours the contents of his pot into the body of the blender. The final bits must be coaxed out with the tip of a chopstick. Once that is completed, he extinguishes the burner with a little gesture, sets the pot aside, and stands back to observe Magnus, the blender master.

[summerdude]

"Okay," says Magnus. With a little flourish, he puts the lid on the blender, sans its cap, and then covers the lid with the cloth. "Are you guys watching closely?" He glances between them, ensuring their eyes are on him, and then he presses the power button. "Ta-da!"

(He's hamming it up, but he is genuinely thrilled to have a little bit of knowledge to share with these guys, even if it's as basic as using a blender.)

[sagramore]

"Christ!" Sagramore says, taken slightly off-guard by the level of noise. "Remarkable what they've come up with since our time," to Lan Wangji.

[lightbearinglord]

The noise is, in fact, impressively unpleasant. Wei Ying would be scrambling to cover Lan Wangji's ears for him if he were present to hear this. He meets Sagramore's eye with a slightly grim little nod, then does add, as he sees the speed with which the ingredients within are becoming pulverized, "Efficient."

[summerdude]

Magnus grins at them. "The buttons are different settings," he explains, loudly. "You should hear these puppies grinding ice." Or maybe they shouldn't? They both look a little shell-shocked.

[sagramore]

Yeah, probably pass on that one, Magnus. "Impressive."

[lightbearinglord]

In an effort to be polite, Lan Wangji does not say aloud how little he would enjoy such an experience. He waits silently for Magnus to be finished.

[summerdude]

Magnus looks at Lan Wangji. "How blended does it need to be? Completely?"

[sagramore]

Lan Wangji really is the de facto head chef here, but Sagramore has brought his reading glasses anyway, just in case they were needed, and he pulls them out of his breast pocket and puts them on to check the recipe.

[lightbearinglord]

"Completely," Lan Wangji confirms. Seeing what Sagramore is doing, he fetches his cookbook out of his qiankun pouch and offers it to him. The page for this recipe is marked with that dried peony bookmark he often uses. It would be in his copy of Emma, but that volume has undergone some trials and tribulations recently.

[summerdude]

Magnus turns the blender up for a minute, giving it a good shake to make sure everything gets mixed up. Then he stops it, opens the lid, and grabs a spoon to stir the sauce. "Like this?" he asks, frowning, turning to show it to Sagramore and Lan Wangji. "Or another minute?"