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“Mrs Cooper, I don't really know why I am here.”, Tempest's hand was in the air during home economics or more specifically the cooking class portion of it, “I have grown up in a restaurant. IF anyone knows about cooking in this class, it's me.”
“Tempest? You are correct... there must have been a mistake. Let's see if I can find another task for you...”, Mrs Cooper said, frowning at a piece of paper and then she said, “Ah yes, you could help the student who struggles the most in this class, Leo. He's in the last row, near the window. Would you kindly help him out?”
“Alright.”, Tempest said. He didn't know who that Leo was, but they also had home economics with the parallel class, and because Tempest always had to help out in the restaurant after school, he didn't manage to make a lot of friends outside of his own class.
Tempest shouldered his school bag and went to find the aforementioned Leo. Last row near the window, right? Once Tempest was at the right place, he spoke before he even looked: “Hey, I am Tempest. Are you Leo? I shall help you out.” Tempest then looked a bit closer at Leo and gasped, that was the tallest boy he had ever seen. “Are you sure you are seventeen?!”
“I... I was about to ask you the same thing...”, Leo said, his voice was surprisingly soft and timid for such a huge boy.
“Hey, I am short, that doesn't mean I am young.”, Tempest retorted, very used to these kinds of comments, “Anyway, so you are Leo, yes?”
Leo nodded and then said: “Um.. please call me Ornstein. Just Ornstein. I don't really like... my first name...”
“Okay, if it's your wish.”, Tempest said, “I am Tempest and you can just call me Tempest. No need for another name. I am fine with Tempest.”
Leo, no, Ornstein nodded and stepped a bit to the side so that Tempest could step in front of the stove. Tempest took a little time to look more closely at Ornstein. He actually was really pretty. His skin was rather pale with a few freckles, he had huge eyes and his hair was from a bright red colour, almost looking like blood. It fell in waves down his shoulders, or it would have, if he wouldn't have kept it in a ponytail. Tempest had never seen a boy having hair that long before.
“Wow, it's like a river of blood.” The sentence slipped out of Tempest's mouth before he could stop it and he saw Ornstein recoil a bit.
“I... I know it is unusual...”
“Hey, don't worry, I think it's pretty. Better than my weird colour. It can't decide if it wants to be red or brown and it isn't auburn either. I always say my hair colour is rust. Anyway, I have come to help you out, so let's start before the teacher gets mad at us chatting. What are you struggling with?”
Ornstein averted his gaze or more, he hadn't looked once at Tempest's eyes so far. He also fidgeted with his hands and Tempest had the impression that he was a very nervous person, maybe that was why he had never seen him despite his size. People like that usually were good at blending into the background.
“E... everything...”, Ornstein whispered.
“Everything?”, Tempest asked, raising one brow in confusion. “You struggle with everything cooking?”
Ornstein nodded, gazing firmly on the ground.
“Well, in order to help you, I first need to know what you can do.”, Tempest said, “So would you show me how you would prepare the recipe we should cook today? I believe it's beef stew... Ah yes, the recipe is written on the blackboard.”
Ornstein hesitated a bit and then nodded another time. “You probably... won't like the result.”, he said and then got to work.
Tempest had expected a lot. At the most, he had expected someone who had a little bit of trouble getting a tasty meal on the table, but what was happening in front of him was nothing short but a kitchen nightmare. He had planned to only watch and correct mistakes later, but Tempest couldn't help, he had to comment if he saw a meal getting butchered like this right in front of him.
“Ornstein, you need to cut everything into even pieces or it won't be cooked at the same time.”
“Ornstein, did you just confuse salt with sugar?!”
“Ornstein, you have to turn down the heat and stir the mixture or everything will get stuck in the pot.”
“That isn't wine that you are adding, it's vinegar.”
“You added too much garlic!”
“What are you doing with the yogurt?!”
“Please let me at the stove!”
Upon the last request, Ornstein had stepped to the side and Tempest tried to salvage what still was to salvage, but he had to admit that it probably was the worst meal in the whole class. It might be.. somewhat edible, but it surely wasn't good. Of course Mrs Cooper didn't have a good reaction to it.
“Oh, Leo, that is just awful. It seems a little... less awful than usual, but it is still awful.” She looked at Tempest and her gaze just said: “Weren't you supposed to help him?”
Tempest gazed back at her, silently saying: “I had no clue that was what I had to work with.”
However, he looked at Ornstein then. He looked... ashamed. Sad. And really devastated.
“It's no use...”, he sighed, “I just can't cook.”
Technically, Tempest could have walked away right there and then, but something about the boy stirred something inside of him. Maybe it was the way he stood there so defeated. It felt like he only needed one more chance.
“Hey, are you free this afternoon?”, Tempest asked, “I normally have to help out at my family's restaurant, but it is closed this afternoon.”
Ornstein put his gaze on Tempest, murmuring: “Yes, I am free, but... why are you asking?”
“Because I want to show you how to cook a beef stew.”, Tempest said, “I am the best chef in the class. I am sure if you learn from me, your cooking skills will vastly improve. What do you say, do you want to go to the supermarket with me and then we go to my place and cook together?”
“...If I am continuing like this, I will fail this class, so alright.”, Ornstein said, “...But why are you doing this? You barely know me...”
Tempest shrugged. He didn't really know. It felt a bit dumb to not say anything however, so he added: “Because I don't think you are a bad person.”
“Th-thanks...”, Ornstein said, “You are nice...”
The two of them agreed to meet up after school and once the last period of the day was over, Tempest found Ornstein standing at the school gates. He had his fingers laced into each other and looked quite nervous.
“I don't bite.”, Tempest approached him with a smile, startling Ornstein. For such a tall boy, he sure was very timid. “Are you ready to go?”
Ornstein nodded, following Tempest. He wasn't saying a word while they walked to the supermarket and Tempest slowly found the silence between them uncomfortable.
“Say Ornstein, do you have a hobby?”, he asked, an attempt at some small-talk and wanting to learn more about him, “Anything you like to do in your free time?”
“Huh? Um, er, I... I like to do parkour...”, Ornstein's voice was far too small and demure for such a cool thing.
“Really?! You run around and jump from roof to roof and stuff?!”, Tempest's eyes practically sparkled at the thought, “I wish I could do that, but I am so accident prone, I sometimes manage to fall over with both my feet on the ground. I can only do parkour in video games. You have to show me your parkour one day, please.”
“R-really?”, Ornstein asked, “You... you want to... hang out with me...?”
“Sure, why not?”, Tempest said, “As long as I find time of course, I am often busy. Hmmm.. is there anything else you like to do?”
“...Drawing...”, Ornstein said. Again, Tempest's eyes glistened.
“That is so cool. Can I see some of your drawings? Not now, of course, we want to cook, but maybe you can bring them to school?”
“...You really are... interested in me..?”, Ornstein's voice sounded far too coy and almost a little sad when he said that.
“Of course. I love getting to meet new people. I meet so many people in our restaurant, but I barely have been able to meet other students at school. I am glad we can talk like this, Ornstein.”, Tempest had a big smile on his face.
“I... I am sorry...”, Ornstein murmured, “I am not used to this...”
They arrived at the supermarket and Tempest got a basket. Ornstein wordlessly took it from him. When Tempest opened his mouth to protest he realized that it would look really offensive if Ornstein would let the tiny Tempest carry the groceries, so Tempest shut his mouth, even though he knew he was stronger than he looked. Besides, even though he had only known Ornstein for a few hours, it was clear that he was rather shy and quiet.
“Alright, so ingredients for beef stew.”, Tempest said, “Beef of course and then we need vegetables, carrots, onions and the like. And some milk.”
“No milk please.”, Ornstein said.
“Don't you like milk?”, Tempest asked, “Even though you look like you didn't skip drinking your milk for the last seventeen years?”
Ornstein shook his head. “No.. it's... I am... lactose intolerant...” The last two words seemed to get smaller and smaller when Ornstein spoke them, Tempest was barely able to hear them.
“Oh, don't worry, then we'll use a substitute.”, Tempest said, “I can't let you have an upset stomach.”
The vegetable section was first and Tempest went through it, laying various vegetables into the basket. He couldn't resist explaining a bit about it.
“The good thing with beef stew is that you can use pretty much every vegetable you'd like. It kind of is everything in a pot and often people would use their leftovers for it. Of course it should be vegetables and not something like fruit.”
“Why not fruit?”, Ornstein asked, carefully holding the basket with both hands.
Oh, he really was bad at cooking when he asked that.
“Because fruits have a natural sour- or sweetness to them. They normally should play the main role in their dish instead of the side role. A dish should be composed around the fruit. Besides, most fruits are more suited for desserts, a beef stew is supposed to be hearty though. I guess you could add some fruit for extra flavour, but generally you want to cook a beef stew with vegetables. Got it?”
“G-got it...”, Ornstein nodded. They went to the dairy section next and Tempest walked right past all the different cartons of milk and stood in front of the vegan section.
“Here are all kinds of milk substitutes.”, he said, “They can be made from soy or almond or oat. I personally am a fan of oat milk. It has a very nice taste to it and almost tastes like regular milk. And of course you won't get an upset stomach if you drink it or put it in a dish, so it's perfect.”
Tempest grabbed one carton of oak milk and added it to the basket. “The beef is last. Let's get it.”
At the beef section, Tempest looked at the butcher meat like usual. That was always what they would buy for the restaurant, but Ornstein paled a bit when he looked at the price tags.
“U-um... Tem.. Tempest...”, he said.
“Yes, what is it, Ornstein?”, Tempest asked.
“The... the beef... is a bit too expensive... I don't have that... much... allowance...”
“Oh, I am sorry, I had no clue your parents weren't able to-”, Tempest started and got surprised when Ornstein cut him off.
“I am living in an orphanage.”
“Oh... I am sorry...”, Tempest said, feeling utterly helpless. What should he even say about a situation like that?
“Don't be... I am a foundling...”, Ornstein said, shutting Tempest right up.
“Oh... okay.”, Tempest said, “As long as you are happy... So, let's look at the cheaper beef.”
While Tempest looked at the labels of the meat for the price and gazed at its quality, Ornstein spoke. He almost started Tempest by doing it.
“And... and you..?”, he asked, “You mentioned... your family has a... restaurant?”
“Oh yes, that is true.”, Tempest answered, “My parents established it together. But now it's only me and my mom. My dad fell down the stairs one day and died, had his neck snapped in half. I inherited his proneness for accidents, so now my mom gets a heart attack each time I am on the stairs.”
“I am sorry...”, Ornstein said.
“Don't be.”, Tempest said, “I was really small when it happened. Honestly, it was harder for my mom, I guess. Ah, here, we should use this beef.” The beef wandered into the basket and the two fell into silence again, though Tempest found it a lot more comfortable than earlier.
On their way to Tempest's home however, he found another question for Ornstein.
“Say, why don't you want to be called Leo? Why do you want to be called by your last name?”
“Because...”, Ornstein started, fell over his words and had to start over again, “Because I don't feel like a lion...”
“Hey, I am named Tempest but that doesn't mean I have to be a storm.”, Tempest said.
“But... you are like a storm...”, Ornstein said, “I have... a deep respect for you...”
“You what?! I am just a tiny chef that talks too much.”, Tempest said, “That is far away from a great and powerful storm. And hey, even though you don't feel like a lion, you kinda look like one. With your long red hair and your slender, tall body. You are really pretty, you know.”
Once Tempest was done with his word vomit, Ornstein's face flushed very very red. Tempest noticed at this moment that he actually had no clue if Ornstein was into guys. Most people around Tempest weren't gay, but judging from Ornstein's reaction, Tempest had the feeling he was.
“Th-thank you...”, Ornstein said, averting his gaze to the ground and not looking up until they were at Tempest's home.
“And here we are.”, Tempest twirled around, hoping that Ornstein would gaze at the restaurant. It was his and his mother's pride and joy after all. The shy boy was indeed looking up, but averted his gaze right away again.
Tempest frowned for a fraction of a second, and then decided that he could brag about the restaurant later. “It's closed today like I said.”, he said, “But we have our apartment on the second floor. Let's go inside.”
“O-okay...”, Ornstein murmured, now holding the bags he had carried over his shoulder earlier in front of him. He used both of his hands and it looked like he wanted to vanish behind them, which of course didn't work, he was far too tall.
Tempest skipped up the steps, turning around to watch Ornstein ascending them slowly and calculated. Well, he was holding a lot of stuff after all. Tempest thought that it was cute how Ornstein's ponytail still swayed with each step.
Once Ornstein was near him, Tempest opened the door. “Be careful not to hit your head, as tall as you are.”, he said, “You must be almost 190 centimetres.”
“Exactly 190...”, Ornstein admitted, and then added, “But... but my friend is even taller than me.”
“There is someone even taller than you?!”, Tempest's eyes sparkled, “And I stopped growing three years ago... forever 150 centimetres...”
“Well... at least nobody asks you to get stuff off the high shelf in the supermarket?”, Ornstein said.
Tempest stared at him for a second and then fell into a fit of giggles. “Oh, that was a good one.” He didn't get that Ornstein had meant this 100 % seriously and not as a joke.
“Alright, we are in.”, Tempest said, “Let me show you around, but first let's put the ingredients into the kitchen.”
Ornstein nodded, following Tempest. In the kitchen, Tempest's mom was present and she looked up with a warm smile once she noticed her son standing there: “Hello Sunshine. Oh, have you brought a friend today?”
“Yes, that is Ornstein.”, Tempest said, cheeks a tiny bit flushed because of the nickname, though that was nothing against Ornstein. His cheeks looked as red as his hair and he hastily bowed in front of Tempest's mom, making his ponytail whip around.
“My, you are tall.”, Tempest's mom said, never losing her smile, “What have you boys planned?”
“Actually, I want to help him with cooking a stew.”, Tempest said, “That is why we came into the kitchen first. Ornstein, please lay our purchase down, then let me show you around.”
Ornstein shyly laid the bags down, glancing at Tempest's mom and then moving backwards out of the kitchen. Tempest waited for him with a big smile.
“It's nothing special, but it's ours.”, he said, “Here is our living room, we often hang around here and watch stuff together and sometimes Mom watches me when I play video games. She likes to do it when she irons the laundry for example. The couch is really comfortable, I have fallen asleep on it while reading in the past.”
Ornstein didn't say anything, but that was to be expected in the meantime, so Tempest just moved on. “Mom has her own room and it's this door.”, Tempest pointed at it, “She would appreciate if you don't go into it. She's keeping a shrine for Dad in there too.”
Ornstein nodded and Tempest went to the next door, opening it, revealing a small bathroom. “Our bathroom. Just tell me if you need to use it, but now you already know where it is.”
Ornstein seemed to turn very red again and Tempest wondered what he had said this time, but shrugged and moved on, opening the door to his own room.
“And my room! There isn't that much in there, I know. I have my bed, a CD player and a laptop, but it isn't gaming ready in the slightest, so I always play games on consoles. Also my desk, that is where I am doing my school work. Oh and please don't mind the posters, I like to put the bands up where I think the members are hot.”
Of course the room was plastered with only male celebrities. Tempest didn't think he should be ashamed about his orientation. His mom had always been very supportive of him and often teased him about when he would bring back a boyfriend.
Huh, strange that she hadn't done that with Ornstein. Maybe she had noticed how nervous he had been.
“Alright, that was it. If you are ready, let's get back to the kitchen and start cooking, hmmm?”
Ornstein gave a singly tiny nod.
“Fantastic.”, Tempest led Ornstein back to the kitchen and washed his hands, then put an apron on. His mom had moved to the living room in the meantime, watching some soap opera. Tempest moved to the side so that Ornstein could wash his hands.
“Hmm... I don't have an apron your size...”, he said.
“...I brought the one I wore at school...”, Ornstein pulled it out of his school bag and put it on. Tempest hadn't noticed it earlier, but he looked so out of place in this thing. He looked more like a soldier that would belong on a battlefield with his size and his muscles, though Tempest wondered if such a shy soldier would even survive in a war. Well, it was a good thing that there wasn't any war going on and all they had to fight was the recipe.
“Alright, then let's start.”, Tempest said, getting two cutting boards and two knives out of the cabinet, putting them on the sideboard, then he went to the bags and got two large onions out, handing one to Ornstein.
“We are starting with cutting the onions. You probably are aware of how tear inducing they can be, so let me tell you a trick...”, Tempest went to a small potted plant at the window board and plucked a few leaves, “Put these fresh basil leaves in your nose, breathe through your mouth and you won't be reduced to a mess of tears.”
Ornstein took the leaves and inspected them while Tempest already stuffed his leaves in his nose. “They smell good...”, Ornstein murmured.
“Yeah, that is the idea.”, Tempest laughed, waiting until Ornstein had put the leaves in his nose as well. He was a bit reluctant at first, but complied once he saw Tempest with them in his nose.
“Onions.”, Tempest said, “You have to peel them first and then I will show you how to cut them into cubes, or in culinary terms, dice them. Onions are the backbone of many dishes, they will help carry the taste of the other ingredient, even though they are really smelly raw. There will be almost no meat dish that will be prepared without onions.”
Tempest peeled the onion and then helped Ornstein to peel his, then moved his knife over it and showed Ornstein the correct way to cut it. “You can think about it like it is a math lesson.”, Tempest explained, “First halfs, then quarters, then eights and once it is small enough, stripes vertically and horizontally, then you have cubes.”
Tempest removed the knife from his onion and showed a perfectly diced onion. Ornstein presented his and it was.... not perfect, but a lot better than what he had seen back at school.
“Yes, this is good.”, Tempest said, “And now we prepare the rest of the vegetables in a similar manner.”
Carrots, mushrooms, squash and eggplants got diced and soon they had a mountain of vegetables ready. Ornstein got a bit better with cutting at the end, the eggplant cubes almost all had the same size. Tempest put them into bowls, the onions extra, the other ones all together and got the meat out.
“And now we cut the meat.”, Tempest put the beef on his cutting board and instructed Ornstein to do the same. Ornstein stared at the small vegetable knife and looked at Tempest unsurly.
“Oh, of course, we can't use this tiny knife.”, Tempest went to a drawer and got two large knives out. Ornstein recoiled a bit when he saw them, “Hah, they look scary, huh?”, he grinned, “They are just for cutting meat, that is all.”
He handed Ornstein one of the knives and went back to his position.
Ornstein stood there for a moment before slowly moving to his position.
“Alright, so let me show you how to cut the meat.”, Tempest said, holding it with his left and then cutting through it with his right as if the meat would be butter, “Huh, for cheap meat this is good quality...”, he murmured to himself.
He could hear Ornstein cut his own meat until there was a pained sound and once he turned around, Ornstein was holding his left hand, blood dripping down one of his fingers.
“Ah, oh no, let me get you a band-aid.”, Tempest waved his arms around in a little panic and then dashed to the bathroom to get some band-aids. He should have surmised that Ornstein might cut himself, as bad as a cook he was, but why hadn't he cut himself with the vegetable knife then?
Tempest came back with the whole box of band-aids and when he returned to the kitchen, he saw Ornstein standing at the sink, holding the cut under cold water.
“Y-your mom told me to do this...”, he murmured.
“Oh, of course, I should have told you that as well.”, Tempest said, emptying the band-aids package on the sideboard, grabbing for one that felt the right size for Ornstein's finger. He grabbed a tissue and said: “Please give me your finger.”
Ornstein shut the tap off and presented his finger to Tempest, his mouth a thin line. Tempest did dry the finger, tainting the tissue with blood in the process and put the band-aid on the wound. “There, it should stop bleeding soon now.”, he said, grinning and looking at Ornstein directly. For a change, Ornstein didn't avert his gaze right away, but stared at Tempest. His eyes were of a vibrant green colour, matching his red hair beautifully. Tempest couldn't help but stare at him in awe. He was not only tall, he was also beautiful.
Though, it started to feel strange that Ornstein was staring at him so much.
“Do I have something in my face?”, Tempest raised his hand to wipe at his cheeks. Cooking often was a messy affair and it wouldn't surprise him if he had meat juice somewhere.
Ornstein shook his head instantly, making his ponytail fly around with each movement of his head. “Y-your nose...”, Ornstein said, “Is it okay...?”
“My- oh!”, Tempest clapped his hand, “Oh, that happened when I was waiting tables and fell and found it more important to save the food instead of protecting my face. I broke my nose and since then it has been crooked like that. Don't worry, that was a few years ago, it doesn't hurt anymore.”
“Ah... good...”, Ornstein said, almost whispered, moving back to the cutting board.
“Say Ornstein, why haven't you cut yourself with the small knife?”, Tempest wanted to know.
“...Too small...”, Ornstein said, “It only nicked my skin a bit. My hands are rough.”
“I should have taken better care once I handed you the large knife.”, Tempest said, “Do you really want to continue?”
Ornstein nodded, already taking the knife back in hand. “It's only a cut.”
“That's the spirit. I certainly had worse injuries.”, Tempest grinned, “Like the broken nose. Or the time I broke my toe when I ran my foot into the cabinet door. And of course I once got a door slammed against my face and had a big laceration on my head and they had to stitch the wound.”
Ornstein had stopped cutting and just stared at Tempest with wide eyes.
“Oh, don't worry, I am fine.”, Tempest said, “I would say my mom had more grief with these injuries, because I am giving her a heart attack each time they happen. I promise, I won't fall down the stairs and break my neck like it happened with my dad.”
“You are quite the little storm, aren't you...”
Tempest turned his head to stare at Ornstein because he was sure that he had to have misheard. “What did you just say?”, he asked.
“I, ah...”, Ornstein's face turned visibly red in about two seconds, “Oh dear, please forget I said that.”
“I never had a nickname!”, Tempest practically jumped, “To tell the truth, I don't have many friends because I am always working in the restaurant. And the ones who give me nicknames are mean because I am small.”
“I... I actually don't have many friends either...”, Ornstein murmured, his knife slowly cutting the meat, “As a child, I was... quiet. I had trouble speaking to others and I often got... bullied. Then I grew. People... don't mess with me anymore, but now they are... afraid. I think I was... thirteen when I made my first friend...”
“Oh, I see...”, Tempest said, not sure what to say until Ornstein had disclosed so much about his past, “I would be happy to be your friend as well, Ornstein. And of course I would love to meet your friend.”
“...He would like you.”, Ornstein had a small smile on his face, “He likes everything that is tiny and cute. Ah-”, Ornstein's face was right back to being red and now Tempest felt himself flush too. That hadn't been said in a derogatory manner, it had felt genuine.
“Oh, thank you...”, Tempest said, but it got drowned because Ornstein hastily kept talking.
“And he bakes and he is really good and he also is a good cook, but I can't go to his house to learn because he has dogs and I am afraid of dogs and if you go there, you shouldn't be afraid of dogs, we normally meet somewhere else so that I don't get a panic attack. He's even taller than me however, so you might need a stool to look at his face and he will make you eat his cookies, but they are worth it and he always smiles and is the nicest person I have ever met and-”
Ornstein had to stop and catch his breath. Tempest was impressed, that had been the most words he had said without stuttering or searching for them at once.
“I am done with the meat.”, Ornstein said and showed Tempest his work.
“Introduce me to your friend tomorrow.”, Tempest smiled and looked at the meat, “That looks okay.. let's move to the hearth.”
Ornstein seemed to be more than happy to change the subject and followed Tempest, who put two similar pots on the hearth. He then got all the ingredients and fetched a bottle of oil.
“Oil, not vinegar.”, he cheerfully said, “We are going to roast the meat first and then slowly add the other ingredients until we have a stock to make the sauce out of.”
Ornstein nodded, eyes on Tempest's hands, absorbing every little movement of them, copying them, even though he was more clumsy.
“You look like you have so much fun...”, Ornstein said once the oil was in the pot and they waited for it to heat up.
“Hm, I learned how to cook once I was old enough to hold a knife. I might have been four or five.”, Tempest mused, “And I always loved it. You said you like to draw, right? Well, for me cooking a dish is art. I love to see all the raw ingredients come together and form something new, something that couldn't have happened if they stayed on their own. I am an artist and the result of my art piece is a new taste.”
“That was... very lyrical...”, Ornstein said, holding his hand over the oil to feel the temperature, retracting it instantly.
“Are you sensitive to heat?”, Tempest asked. His own sensitivity to heat was nearly gone after years of standing in the kitchen. He could take things in his hands that would burn other people.
Ornstein nodded and added: “I am not that good with the heat or fire...”
“I can give you gloves, if you like.”, Tempest said but Ornstein shook his head.
“It's okay... I can take it.”
“If you say so.”, Tempest shrugged and checked the temperature, determining that it was hot enough, “Let's put the meat in now and fry it.”
The meat pieces landed in the pots at the same time and started to sizzle. Not long after, a nice smell went through the kitchen.
“That is always the best part of cooking.”, Tempest said, moving the meat with a spatula, “You have to roast the meat from all sides, if you just leave it be, it will burn from one side and be raw from the other side.”
Ornstein nodded and moved his meat as well. Once Tempest was satisfied with the meat, he instructed Ornstein to put in the onions next.
“That is one of my favourite parts.”, he said. Soon, the smell of the onions added to the meat and the kitchen smelled even more delicious.
“Isn't it wild how something that stinks so much while raw can smell so good when being cooked?”
Ornstein nodded, taking in the smell. “You.. you are right...”, he said.
“And now we add the other ingredients.”, Tempest dumped his bowl of vegetables into the pot and looked at Ornstein, waiting for him to do the same. The vegetables soon added to the smell and there was enough liquid for the sauce of the stew to be made.
“Watch me.”, Tempest said and with a few slick movements and the bought almond milk, the beef stew took form. Tempest helped Ornstein with his sauce and soon the both of them stood at the hearth, occasionally stirring the mixture.
“It's not a magic spell.”, Tempest said, “Cooking is something you can learn like any other skill.”
“You still make it look very easy...”, Ornstein murmured.
“Because I did it for over ten years already.”, Tempest retorted, “When you would try to teach me parkour, I probably also wouldn't be able to do it right away.”
“...I don't think you should do parkour.”, Ornstein said after a little hesitation, “I don't want your mother to grieve the loss of her little storm.”
“Awww.”, Tempest said, both happy at the nickname and being disappointed that Ornstein wouldn't teach him.
After around an hour the beef stews were done and Tempest got bowls. He filled one with Ornstein's stew and the other with his own.
“Let's try yours first.”, Tempest said, dunking a spoon in it and letting the taste wash over him, “Not bad. Not perfect, but not bad for sure.”
“R-really?”, Ornstein said, unsurely dunking his own spoon inside of the dish, closing his eyes when he tasted. Once the stew had hit his tongue, he opened his eyes and said: “It's edible. It's even... good.”
“See, everyone can learn how to cook.”, Tempest said, then sampled his stew, “Oh yes, that is what I expect from a dish of mine. Only the best quality for our customers.”
When Ornstein stared, he pushed the bowl towards him: “Oh, please taste it, I love seeing people eat my stuff. It's the best part of being a chef.”
Ornstein tasted the stew and once the first spoon was in his mouth, his eyes widened and he took a second, and a third. A fourth. A fifth. Before Tempest could even properly react, Ornstein had finished the whole bowl.
“So... how did you like it?”, Tempest asked.
“It was... magnificent.”, Ornstein had a dreamy look on his face, “That was the best stew I've ever eaten and Artorias is quite a good chef. Oh, I wish I could eat a dish like that every single day.”
“You can, just come into the Hurricane.”, Tempest smiled.
“I mean, I wish I could eat it every single day and not have to pay for it.”, Ornstein said.
“Well, in that case, you have to marry me.”, Tempest said, jokingly, but Ornstein's widened eyes and his red face told him that he hadn't taken it as a joke.
“It.. it was a joke. We are only seventeen.”, Tempest reassured him quickly, “Besides, we just met today, but... we can be friends, right? I think we should be friends. I like you, Ornstein.”
Even so, Tempest felt a bit disappointed. The thought of marrying Ornstein was very appealing for some reason, but he knew that it was far too early for any thoughts of this kind.
“I... I like you too, little... little Storm.”, Ornstein said, “Will you cook another dish for me?”
“Of course.”, Tempest nodded, “Whatever you want. And you will have to tell me how you like it. With your utmost honesty. How else will I improve as a chef?”
“Well... then I request peas in apple sauce.”, Ornstein said.
“You WHAT?!”, Tempest poked at his ear with his finger, he clearly had misheard, but Ornstein chuckled.
“It was a joke.”, he said.
“Thank the lords...”, Tempest murmured, “Who would eat something disgusting like THAT?!”
Tempest couldn't see Ornstein's expression, which soured for the fraction of a second, but easened out again soon.
“In that case, I would like to have salmon in a herbal crust with dumplings and an egg salad.”, he said, “Can you make this?”
“Of course.”, Tempest beamed, “I already look forward to it.”
“Me too.”, Ornstein said, “I hope I can eat many more of your dishes.”
“I will be happy to make them.”, Tempest beamed, “Come, let's get your beef stew to the school. Mrs Cooper should still be there. I am sure she will have to give you a better grade now.”
Ornstein nodded and soon the both of them were off.
Tempest was happy because he had made a new friend. Little did he know that this new friend would turn out to be the love of his life.
Ornstein would get his wish fulfilled eating Tempest's cooking every single day of his life.