inbox.text / audio / video / action / ringtone❝ Hello, you have reached Ushiromiya Lion. I apologize for missing your call.
Please leave a message, and I'll reply as soon as I can. Thank you. ❞code credit
[Normally, this would be the part where he made some kind of excuse or an attempt at deflection and then dig his heels in and attempt to sink with the ship up to the point where got red truthed out of all his excuses.
Unfortunately, he's been caught rather red-handed here, so Shinji just kind of. Continues to stand there frozen for a minute, before he shrugs a shoulder and looks off to the side, rubbing at his neck. Ironically, turning to look away reveals a smudge of flour on his cheek.]
I, uh. ...Yeah. [Truly a scintillating exchange.] Passes the time and shit, s'whatever.
[ Aw, he's embarrassed. Whether it's over baking itself, or just being caught, they don't know, but it's honestly kind of adorable. For someone so grumpy, he sure is easy to read. ]
Ah, I'm glad. [ He's trying to play it off, but they Know. Stress Baker 1, meet Stress Baker 2. ] I was beginning to worry that you didn't let yourself have any hobbies at all.
[ ...Okay so they couldn't resist a bit of gentle teasing, but look. It wouldn't surprise them if he just refused to do anything for fun whatsoever. ]
Though I'm a little jealous, I must admit. I haven't been able to find the time to practice recently myself. [ Lion that's because you keep throwing yourself into the library. Lion please. ]
[hdu lion, he is not adorable he is a bad scary man grr argh!!!
He huffs slightly at the teasing, and they're honestly rewarded by a faint dusting of pink at the edges of his ears where they're not buried by his shaggy mess of hair.]
T-tch....everyone has hobbies. We're just busy most of the time.
[Wait shit that's implying that he does this often. He hecked up!!! Shinji tries to shove his hands in his pockets, but he's still wearing the oven mitts so that looks even more ridiculous....he yanks them back out of his pockets almost angrily, and he's about to toss them off and FLEE LIKE THE WIND before he remembers he needs to actually. Take the muffins out of the oven.
And sloooowly, as if he's some kind of stop-motion animation in real life, he turns toward the offending appliance and opens it, allowing the delicious baking smell to waft out as he removes the tray.
...
....
......]
...........I got some leftover batter. If you want.
[ Sorry, Shinji, they've seen way scarier. He don't rate. A+ for effort though.
Whatever they might say on downtime or the lack thereof is lost in the wake of watching him run through idle animations by accident, and they're so, so glad for the years of tutoring in the art of keeping a straight face at all times because laughter would likely just be the thing that makes him Outright Die. Even if they want to- not out of malice, but just. It's such a drastic change from how he normally acts. In a good way.
... That does smell nice, though, dang. ]
I- ah, only if you don't mind me intruding? The company would be nice, as would the practice.
[ There's a little bit of a chuckle creeping into their voice, but hopefully it comes across as warm. ]
But I can come back another time if you'd prefer the silence instead. [ Fair is fair. People cope differently. ]
[The thing is. Shinji does prefer to be alone when he's in a brooding mood like he has been. It's easier than being around people, who try to be comforting, when he doesn't tend to believe he deserves any such thing.
There's an uncomfortable feeling, too, that runs down his spine at the comment about how company would be nice, because his kneejerk reaction is still that he's unpleasant to be around and they should find someone better if that's what they're after. But he can't actually bring himself to say it, because the irony is he's trapped himself in his own dumbass awkwardness, where being asked to be left alone to stress-bake in peace is about a thousand times more embarrassing than having been caught baking in the first place.]
[ Welp. On one hand, they're not completely oblivious - Shinji wants to be alone, but doesn't want to say it. The correct, tactful thing to do would be to allow him the out, leave, and find something else to do in a way that doesn't bother him.
On the other- ]
Thank you. I'll try not to get in your way, Shinji-san.
[ -Lion has far, far too much practice under their belt by now to be deterred by someone being sullen in their general direction. They're a professional worrier, specialised in dealing with Tall Grumpy Bastards. He'll just have to try harder to throw them off if that's truly what he wants.
It's not long before they've re-adjusted their ponytail into a loose bun, with their bangs tucked away - look, they're not expecting anyone to actually eat these, but food safety is important - and hands washed. Oh, and the ring gets... safely tucked away too, because if it survived everything else only to become Surprise Muffin Filling, they would actually, legitimately die.
Step one done, even if there's probably no spare aprons around. Oh well. ]
... Though I will have to bother you for where the batter is, if you don't mind. [ oops. ]
[It's weirdly awkward, sharing this particular kind of space. He's known Lion for a while now, and though he's generally comfortable around them (inasmuch as he's comfortable with anyone), there's something more -- intimate? about showing them this side of him. He couldn't explain why; they're not even the first person to know about it, or the second, because he's a terrible liar and often gets caught in his own bullshit when he ends up cooking for people, or he blurts out something about cooking when he's flustered or distracted for other reasons.
Lion asking for the batter shakes him out of that awkward mental loop of not really knowing what to do with their presence. He moves automatically for the bowl he set aside; it's obvious from how neat the area still is despite the muffinpalooza he's created that Shinji is not an amateur indulging a passing whim. Things have been measured out precisely, and whatever he's not using is put away.]
Here. It's uh, basic chocolate-flavored. You wanna add anything? There's nuts in the cabinet over there, and there should be dried fruit in the one below it.
[ Saying they're surprised by the careful order of the borrowed kitchen would likely sound like an insult, so they don't verbalise the thought. But they do make note of it, quietly, in the midst of tying up their hair and generally trying to not be a nuisance - not so much because they're alarmed, but because they're trying to get better about understanding the people around them. You can learn a lot from someone's habits. And Shinji is someone worth understanding, even if he's incredibly prickly and would, probably, rather they don't bother.
They almost feel a bit embarrassed themself, truth be told. It's certainly important to him, and while baking is one of their fonder passtimes, it's just that- a hobby they can pick up and put down without much thought. But there's a lot to unpack there, regarding their whole damn life, so let's... not, for now. ]
Chocolate is fine by me, though I might add some of those nuts just to be different.
[ Variety is the spice of... something something. Also they totally don't have a sweet tooth, shut up. ]
... Though it just occurred to me that it might be a little different then I'm used to. [ Surely muffins can't have changed that much in... however long a gap is between 1986 and whenever he's from, ontop of the possibly-medieval possibly-futuristic cookware. Oops. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Unfortunately, he's been caught rather red-handed here, so Shinji just kind of. Continues to stand there frozen for a minute, before he shrugs a shoulder and looks off to the side, rubbing at his neck. Ironically, turning to look away reveals a smudge of flour on his cheek.]
I, uh. ...Yeah. [Truly a scintillating exchange.] Passes the time and shit, s'whatever.
no subject
Ah, I'm glad. [ He's trying to play it off, but they Know. Stress Baker 1, meet Stress Baker 2. ] I was beginning to worry that you didn't let yourself have any hobbies at all.
[ ...Okay so they couldn't resist a bit of gentle teasing, but look. It wouldn't surprise them if he just refused to do anything for fun whatsoever. ]
Though I'm a little jealous, I must admit. I haven't been able to find the time to practice recently myself. [ Lion that's because you keep throwing yourself into the library. Lion please. ]
no subject
He huffs slightly at the teasing, and they're honestly rewarded by a faint dusting of pink at the edges of his ears where they're not buried by his shaggy mess of hair.]
T-tch....everyone has hobbies. We're just busy most of the time.
[Wait shit that's implying that he does this often. He hecked up!!! Shinji tries to shove his hands in his pockets, but he's still wearing the oven mitts so that looks even more ridiculous....he yanks them back out of his pockets almost angrily, and he's about to toss them off and FLEE LIKE THE WIND before he remembers he needs to actually. Take the muffins out of the oven.
And sloooowly, as if he's some kind of stop-motion animation in real life, he turns toward the offending appliance and opens it, allowing the delicious baking smell to waft out as he removes the tray.
...
....
......]
...........I got some leftover batter. If you want.
no subject
Whatever they might say on downtime or the lack thereof is lost in the wake of watching him run through idle animations by accident, and they're so, so glad for the years of tutoring in the art of keeping a straight face at all times because laughter would likely just be the thing that makes him Outright Die. Even if they want to- not out of malice, but just. It's such a drastic change from how he normally acts. In a good way.
... That does smell nice, though, dang. ]
I- ah, only if you don't mind me intruding? The company would be nice, as would the practice.
[ There's a little bit of a chuckle creeping into their voice, but hopefully it comes across as warm. ]
But I can come back another time if you'd prefer the silence instead. [ Fair is fair. People cope differently. ]
no subject
There's an uncomfortable feeling, too, that runs down his spine at the comment about how company would be nice, because his kneejerk reaction is still that he's unpleasant to be around and they should find someone better if that's what they're after. But he can't actually bring himself to say it, because the irony is he's trapped himself in his own dumbass awkwardness, where being asked to be left alone to stress-bake in peace is about a thousand times more embarrassing than having been caught baking in the first place.]
...It's fine. Do whatever you want.
[Sorry for the thugdere up in here, Lion.]
no subject
On the other- ]
Thank you. I'll try not to get in your way, Shinji-san.
[ -Lion has far, far too much practice under their belt by now to be deterred by someone being sullen in their general direction. They're a professional worrier, specialised in dealing with Tall Grumpy Bastards. He'll just have to try harder to throw them off if that's truly what he wants.
It's not long before they've re-adjusted their ponytail into a loose bun, with their bangs tucked away - look, they're not expecting anyone to actually eat these, but food safety is important - and hands washed. Oh, and the ring gets... safely tucked away too, because if it survived everything else only to become Surprise Muffin Filling, they would actually, legitimately die.
Step one done, even if there's probably no spare aprons around. Oh well. ]
... Though I will have to bother you for where the batter is, if you don't mind. [ oops. ]
no subject
Lion asking for the batter shakes him out of that awkward mental loop of not really knowing what to do with their presence. He moves automatically for the bowl he set aside; it's obvious from how neat the area still is despite the muffinpalooza he's created that Shinji is not an amateur indulging a passing whim. Things have been measured out precisely, and whatever he's not using is put away.]
Here. It's uh, basic chocolate-flavored. You wanna add anything? There's nuts in the cabinet over there, and there should be dried fruit in the one below it.
no subject
They almost feel a bit embarrassed themself, truth be told. It's certainly important to him, and while baking is one of their fonder passtimes, it's just that- a hobby they can pick up and put down without much thought. But there's a lot to unpack there, regarding their whole damn life, so let's... not, for now. ]
Chocolate is fine by me, though I might add some of those nuts just to be different.
[ Variety is the spice of... something something. Also they totally don't have a sweet tooth, shut up. ]
... Though it just occurred to me that it might be a little different then I'm used to. [ Surely muffins can't have changed that much in... however long a gap is between 1986 and whenever he's from, ontop of the possibly-medieval possibly-futuristic cookware. Oops. ]