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“Hello?”
“Ah, hello, Asa, I hope I haven’t woken you.”
“Oh, Rose! No, you haven’t. I’ve been up for an hour or so already.”
“Are you free this evening as well?”
“Yeah, I don’t— wait, ‘as well’?”
“Yes, my evening is open. And as a man of my word, I haven’t forgotten our arrangement.”
“Oh! Oh yeah, the cooking at your house, right? Absolutely. I’ll gather the ingredients so I can cook them fresh there. You’ll love the recipe I picked since I know you like seafood.”
“I have more than enough faith you’ll be able to produce something delicious.”
“Aww… thank you.”
Sure enough, at around the 7 PM hour, a Corviknight taxi landed in front of Asa’s house, with Rose waiting inside. She carried two grocery bags with her.
“Hi…!” Asa stepped into the taxi to sit next to Rose. “Want to hear about the food I have planned for tonight?”
“Of course; what is it?”
“It’s this seafood dish from Kalos called ‘Poissoroy en papillote’. It’s pretty simple, but it’s tasty. I went to the Hulbury fish market to get the Seaking meat… get them from the source; that’s how you know they’re fresh. That was the first thing I did after I got off the phone so it would be the freshest.”
“I don’t believe I’ve had anything that sounded like that; what does it look like?”
“It’s a fillet with vegetables, herbs and lemon steamed in an envelope of parchment paper. Sometimes sauce gets smeared on the fillet; sometimes not.”
“Ah, no, that isn’t on the menu at the Captain’s Table restaurant. I’m surprised, considering what all is. Perhaps the recipe never took off outside of Kalos?”
“Probably not.” As the two conversed, the taxi began its descent. Asa looked out the window, then did a double-take… they were landing in front of a huge, modern-looking mansion. “Oh my gosh…”
“Home sweet home.” Rose smiled.
Asa’s jaw dropped. “This place is gorgeous! I really get to cook here?!”
“I can’t imagine your apartment’s kitchen would allow much room.”
“Well yeah, truth be told the ‘dining table’ is very small… usually I use the coffee table to eat on in front of the TV but… holy cow… Rose, this is such an honor…”
The taxi fully touched down, and the two of them exited and walked to the front door. Asa couldn’t stop herself from gawking, and it wasn’t helped as Rose opened the door. As they entered the foyer, a group of Minccinos and Cinccinos dashed towards them, gathering around him to dust off his shoes.
“Hello there,” Rose cooed, kneeling down to pet them. “Well done today, as usual. We have a guest for dinner.” He gestured towards Asa, cuing the group to shift their attention to her. They sniffed at her boots, then suddenly began pulling at the laces.
“W-whoa! Why are you guys trying to take my shoes off?”
“They want to clean them,” Rose explained.
“I wasn’t going to take another step in a house like this with my shoes on anyway.” Asa bent down to untie her boots, and as soon as they were off her feet, the Minccinos and Cinccinos got right to work cleaning them.
“These little ones are actually in charge of housekeeping,” Rose said. “They make sure the house is clean, and in return, they get a place to sleep, play, and food to eat.”
“I can see that; they’re very thorough.” Asa looked around. “It’s so beautiful in here…”
“Here, the kitchen is this way.” Rose beckoned her to follow him. As they entered the kitchen, Asa inhaled through her nose, smelling the lingering scent of spices in the air.
“Wow, it’s so aromatic in here…”
“When I cook for myself, I like to cook food that reminds me of my hometown. Brings a feeling of nostalgia.”
“Oh really; what’s your favorite?”
“Mutton biryani. I use Dubwool meat I get from the Turffield butcher, and make flatbread to go with it. It’s really quite delicious.”
“If it tastes as good as this kitchen smells, I believe you.”
“I’ll help you get set up.” Rose set out a cutting board, baking sheet and kitchen tools for her, while Asa began unpacking the food and brought out the recipe card. “Does the oven need to be preheated?”
Asa looked at the card. “Yeah, 400 degrees.”
“I hope you don’t mind if I watch.”
“Heck, I don’t mind an audience as I cook. In fact I like it.” As Asa unwrapped the package of Seaking meat, about fifteen seconds later she heard the sound of paws tapping across the floor. Rose’s Perrserker had smelled the fish and stood extremely close to Asa’s feet. “Oh hi!”
Perrserker meowed up at her, pawing at her pants leg.
“Yes, hello, I’m Rose’s f—” Asa winced as Perrserker suddenly began climbing up her leg. “Hey! Ouch! Rose, what do I do?!”
“Oh dear. She smelled it.” Rose’s eyebrows crinkled. “She can eat raw fish, so it’s okay if you give her a small piece to satisfy her.”
“Okay, good.” Asa cut off a small piece off the end of the meat and handed it to Perrserker, then got to work cutting off fillet-sized pieces. “Again, I can’t thank you enough for this opportunity, Rose. I can’t tell you how honored I am that—” She was cut off when Perrserker began yowling for more. She cleared her throat. “…That you invited me to cook dinner for you. It—” Yowl. “…It was hard to pick a recipe but I know your—” Yowl. “…Your favorite restaurant was that seafood restaurant in Hulbury so I—” Yowl. Asa’s eyebrows crinkled and looked down at her. “What do you want now? Do you want the meat I’m not gonna use?” She rolled her eyes as Perrserker had understood what she said and nodded. “Okay. Fine. I’ll cut it into small pieces so you don’t choke.”
Rose couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s been a while since she’s had it raw. I always order a small side of fish to bring home to her when I go to the Captain’s Table, though there they cook it.” He stood up and walked over to the cabinet, opening it to reveal a shelf full of small jars of what looked like chunky baby food, and set out eight of them.
“What are those?” Asa asked as she diced up the leftover meat.
“It’s the Minccinos’ and Cinccinos’ dinner time.” Rose kneeled down and emptied the jars into eight separate small bowls spread out along a soft mat, then clinked two of the jars together. Within seconds, there was a stampeding of tiny feet across the floor, followed by loud chewing noises as they began eating. “Oh by the way, Perrserker’s dish is over there, if you need a place to put the fish pieces.” He pointed to a dish that was sitting on a tiny table, with a small pink cushion as a ‘chair’.
“Aw, that’s cute.” Asa placed the meat into the dish for her, then as she ate, Asa returned to work. “…Actually, Rose, I do have one part you could help me with, if that’s all right.”
“Oh, what would that be?”
“Can you cut out two large heart shapes from the parchment paper, please? It’s what the fish and vegetables will be placed in.”
“Certainly. There are some scissors in the study; I’ll be right back.” As Rose headed out, Asa couldn’t help but feel her heart flutter a bit as she moved onto cutting the asparagus and lemons. She’d never truly seen what Rose was like in his personal life. But seeing the level of kindness he was showing not just her, but to the Pokemon in his care let her know that his philanthropism wasn’t just a front for the public. She smiled and sighed happily.
“Found them!” Rose returned with the scissors. She noticed that he’d removed his grey jacket and vest, along with his tie. Asa’s eyes widened a bit, but she cleared her throat, trying not to hold her gaze to the point it was obvious.
As he took out two pieces of parchment paper and folded them in half, Asa placed the fillet on it, then traced with her fingernail where to cut it. “Just big enough so everything would fit in there.”
Rose nodded, then cut out the heart shapes. “Fit in? How so?”
“I’ll show you.” After laying another sheet of parchment paper on the baking sheet, Asa placed one of the hearts on it, then placed the asparagus, fish, lemon and herbs in the center of one half. She folded it over and proceeded to fold it shut into a pouch. “Like that…”
“Can I try?” Rose asked.
“Oh- sure! Sure, absolutely!” Asa watched as Rose arranged the food in the second parchment pouch, then folded it shut. “Yes, that’s it…!”
“Right then… how long in the oven?”
“Let’s do 15 minutes. The fish and asparagus will be cooked all the way then.”
Rose placed the baking sheet in the oven, then set the timer. “Here, let’s sit down on the couch together while we wait.” He gestured to one of the couches in the living room, and let out a relaxed sigh as Asa joined him. “It’s so nice for just one night to be able to turn my pager off, and have an uninterrupted personal meeting.” He let out a small laugh. “I don’t get these often.”
“I’ll bet not; Oleana seems like she runs you ragged.”
“Never a quiet moment.” Rose nodded. “But enough about that… tell me more about the food in Kalos.”
“So there are four different restaurants in Lumiose City… and I’m talking like five-star restaurants. The food is unbelievable, but very expensive. Heck, at one of them, you can get a six course meal but the price is astronomical.” Asa laughed a bit as Rose’s eyes seemed to light up. “What?”
“Six course meal? That sounds like the most amazing restaurant experience… The food must be exquisite if it costs as much as you say it does.”
“It’s beyond exquisite. I can’t even begin to describe the flavor. I only got to eat there once but oh my gosh. Out of all the regions I’ve been to… Kalos has the best food.”
“You seem very knowledgable about food.” Rose said. “You’re familiar with other region’s local cuisines and you can cook them yourself. Do you cook like this at home too?” He raised an eyebrow as she suddenly grimaced.
“N-no, I don’t…” Asa looked embarrassed. “I’m not gonna lie; when it’s just me eating, it’s usually something like noodles boiled in broth with canned vegetables or meat added to it…”
“Ah. Well, that’s understandable. You have a long day at work; so you don’t really have the time or energy to be able to cook something.”
“I just cook like this if I know people are going to be joining me. But most of the time my cooking is not this glamorous. …Heck, I’m not that glamorous myself, as you saw when you came over to return the keychain. That’s why I’m so shocked you invited me of all people to your home to cook a meal.”
Rose went silent for a while, then gently placed a hand on her shoulder. “Asa… I wasn’t drawn to you because you’re ‘glamorous’. I was drawn to you because you’re unique. How you live or how you look is not a concern to me. What matters is that you’re amazing in your own special ways. I look forward to meeting you because you always have something interesting to tell me.” He took her hand in his. “That’s what I like about you.”
Asa’s eyes widened. “R-really?” She felt as if she would cry as Rose nodded. “Thank you…” She wanted to hug him, but opted to put her other hand on top of his. “That means a lot coming from you.”
“And I do mean every word.”
A few moments later, the oven timer went off, and the two of them went back into the kitchen. Rose set out two plates at the dining table while Asa pulled the tray out of the oven. “Now you get to see where the parchment pouches come into play.” She placed the pouches on the plates. “Watch…” She gently tore open the top of the pouch, and steam escaped, revealing the cooked fish and vegetables within.
“Ohh, that’s a steaming method! I see…” Rose looked intrigued. “Very interesting.” The two of them sat down to eat, and Asa watched as he took a bite. After tasting it, he smiled and nodded. “That’s delicious. The fish is done all the way through… the asparagus isn’t undercooked… this is really good.”
“Thank you so much. I’m so glad you like it.” Asa smiled back, then the two continued eating, while she indulged more about the cuisine of other regions upon his request.
It was about 11 PM when they parted ways, with Rose telling Asa to text him to let him know she’d gotten back to Hammerlocke safely. Just before Asa stepped onto the Corviknight taxi, Rose approached her. “The next time I make mutton biryani, I promise, I’ll remember to make an extra serving just for you.”
“Really? Aw…” Asa smiled. “I’d love that. Thank you so much.”
“And thank you for coming to cook.” Rose responded. “Let me know when you get home. I want to make sure you’ve gotten back safely.”
“Anytime. I will.” Asa stepped on. “Bye, Rose! Take care!” She leaned back as the taxi took off, smiling almost dreamily, feeling like she’d had the best evening of her life.