Work Text:
Jiaoqiu sniffed.
"Needs more spice." He stated. "Give it a few more shakes, Moze."
Moze wrinkled his nose. "It's going to taste like a literal flame. Do you want to lose your tastebuds as well as your eyesight, Jiaoqiu?"
"Add more spice, Moze."
Hoolay's grand escape was behind them. The Wardance had concluded. The delegations had returned home.
And Jiaoqiu was blind.
That didn't stop him from being his usual petty self. Currently, he had taken to having Moze be his hands (there had been a very memorable dinner where the salt was definitely far too much, thanks to an especially loose cover on the shaker and Moze didn't trust Jiaoqiu near such things as measuring ingredients after that). And at the moment he was trying to make the roast fowl spicier.
Feixiao, who swore her tastebuds became more agitated since Jiaoqiu went blind, had begged Moze to please spare them too much torture. While Jiaoqiu's cooking was exceptional, there was also only so much heat she could take in one sitting. Whoever was controlling the weather on the Yaoqing really needed to get their act together and turn down the temperature.
"A couple more shakes."
"The whole dish is redder than blood."
"Hmmm..::doesn't smell spicy enough. Keep going."
"Jiaoqiu-"
"Your blood preasaure's rising. Who's the chef and doctor here?" Jiaoqiu asked innocently.
Moze narrowed his eyes. "Seems like you're trying to break your medical oaths." He still shook the spice bottle a few more times. "Good enough?"
Jiaoqiu inhaled. "Perfect. Do call Feixiao for me please, and then we can have a nice meal together."
"Bossy," Moze muttered, bit lwt a small smile creep onto his face as he left to call the Genersl. Jiaoqiu let out a yawn and stretched out, tilting his face in the direction he knew the sky was, paat the blanket of darkness behind his eyelids.
It didn't take long for the General to appear. Moze had only stepped out of the room long enought to call her on her phone before wandering back to his spot at the dinner table.
Jiaoqiu sat up when Feixiao clearwd hw rthroat.
"So." A beat. Jiaoqiu's ears twitched, waiting. "What kind or fowl did you get to get this lovely red color?"
Moze scoffed. "The kind he makes me go out to get from the butcher's. Fresh."
"You could have said no," Jiaoqiu reminded him. "I gave you an out."
"Well i'm sure it tasted lovely anyways," Feixiao said. And then, right after taking a bite, she began to cough violently.
"Oh my Aeons-" she groans through gapss. "That's hot! Jiaoqiu, what did you put in there? I'm banning it from the palace!"
But Jiaoqiu only smiled and took a bite of the food place in front of him. Some secrets were ones that would easily be found out, and others..and he'd nevwr put anything in it anyways. That was Moze.
His secrets were his to keep. Where he got his spiciest spices from he was certainly not be telling Feixiao.
He had a feeling she would empty his cupboards if she knew.