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etherealvoidechoes · 2 years

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Cooking and Bonding

Still feeling bleh and now I have a cold! So enjoy some writing.

Exploring some ideas for the future of “Hollowed Defiance”

No warnings needed I believe.

Approx. 5k

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It had been a few weeks since Asaru had been found. What a tumultuous day that was. It had been a few since he and Commander Reeves had re-bonded with the assistance of Geist. What a momentous event for XCOM, even more so for the Commander. How long they had been searching for her “other half” and managed to get to him — and current companions — before the Elders could.

And the event was all so tiring for the two of them. Having been separated for so long, and then the cause of their separation being rather violent, the entire process had left the two rather exhausted; the following recovery period wasn’t going as smoothly as they would have liked as Geist was rather insistent on training the two to make sure their bond would be stable and they would be in-sync. It was mind-numbingly annoying, but needed. Jynn and Asaru had picked up that their minds were fighting each other more than melding together, which led to more headaches. How Jynn wanted to strangle the Elders for the genetic editing They had done to her that had to be source of that new issue. And then Ea’Njall-Vai’miti was another problem. There was always something.

But Jynn and Asaru were slowly figuring out a solution to that problem. In a way, they had to get to “know” each other again through quick mind melding sessions, carefully monitored by a different Templar each session. How glad they were they were still stationed at the Templar’s main base of operations, so Navla wasn’t the one always doing to the work — with all the training she constantly did with the Commander, she needed a break.

Through those little mind melding sessions, they learned it could extend to other tasks that a faint hint of “muscle memory” for Asaru. Dismantling, cleaning, and reassembling guns. Figuring out a few alien puzzle-box like caches. Reading books. Listening to music. And the list slowly grew over time. And then there was cooking.

Oh, cooking hit some sort of strange sweet spot for the two. Possibly a mixture of the process of making a meal and then how good it would taste after all the hard work. And right now, Jynn wanted to cook. It was a great stress reliever for her and reminded her of some good home cooking she would never have again, but the memories would live on.

So she and him got to thinking. A little celebration for the boon XCOM had acquired was in order. And she had to give thanks to Geist and his Templars for their help and then the people Asaru had been hiding with throughout the years. If he never found more trustworthy people with hearts of gold and wills made out of iron, the Elders would have caught him long ago.

So after some planning and a lot of resource hunting and trading to acquire all the needed food, and a few other things, they got to cooking. The two quickly took over the kitchen in the Avenger. At first, Jynn let a few of the other cooks stay in the kitchen to assist her with making the meal, but eventually, one by one, she kicked them all out. She just wanted it to be her and Asaru.

It was a sight to behold. Just the two of them, separated, chatting as they flowed back and forth through the kitchen. It was a mess of pots and pans chattering and bubbling, several knives floating about via psionics and chopping up meats, vegetables, spoons stirring pots, and then the two making various kinds of dough and much more. Those blue psionics were freely flowing, wisps swirling through the air, wrapping around just about every single pot, pan, and cooking utensil.

There were some people watching the two people cooking show. Mainly attracted by the heavenly smells that were slowly traveling through the ship, and then the sight was a bonus.

And Bradford was one of them.

He was leaning on the frame of the doorway to the kitchen, arms crossed as he watched the order chaos go on. He still wasn’t sure what to make of the two’s bond. Yes, he was happy for Jynn, as this seemed to be one of the last pieces to correct her ailing health, but he still couldn’t help but have his doubts… his fears. This Asaru, an Ethereal jellyfish looking creature (he wouldn’t call him that to his face)… his form reminded him too much of how the Elders looked and then the two species could have been closely related. He quietly questioned how benevolent Asaru truly was and wasn’t just some parasite. He kept that last bit to himself, but had a feeling Jynn knew how he felt.

And then he and Jynn hadn’t been able to have their alone time since this whole re-bond happened. He was mildly miffed, as he was missing their heartfelt mind melding chats and cuddles, but understood why that had to be put on hold for the time being. Maybe he was a bit jealous? Not like he would want to admit that…

Though he had his suspicions towards Asaru, he couldn’t help but smile as he watched the two cooks and ramble on. It had been awhile since he heard her full-blown southern Cajun accent come out and then it, being off and on mixed with Japanese, was something else. Reminded him of listening to her and her brother chat and have their sibling spats. It was cute. Really, he just loved to hear it.

That smile slipped away for a moment, a sigh slipped out. He hoped Charles was still alive. He didn’t want Jynn to live with the pain of losing her entire family, like he had. It took forever for him to come to terms with that.

“You gonna mope and be jealous, or are you going to go in there and talk?” That all too familiar deep voice of Corvo tickled his ear. Bradford closed his eyes tightly. His fists matching his eyes. He wanted to punch him, but stayed his hands.

“Manuke! Lay off him, Corvo.” Takamura said, followed by a loud smack to Corvo’s back. One of the few senior staff that knew Jynn and Bradford were testing the waters with dating.

Opening his eyes, he glanced over his shoulder. They narrowed in response to seeing that devilish grin on his friend’s face, despite Takamura smacking his back. He gave a slight eye-roll and a quick nod to Takamura. He appreciated his defense. “I’m fine where I am.”

“Sure about that, lover boy?”

“Corvo…” A low growl slipped out. To think he thought the teasing would have stopped when he and Jynn had started dating. In truth, it only got worse. At least Corvo had the decency to keep the whole thing private, per the two’s requests. He had to hold back a snort when he heard Takamura let off a stream of expletives in Japanese. He understood some, as Takamura (and Jynn) was still teaching him. Just a lot of curses about Corvo not knowing when to let things be left alone and then jabs at Corvo’s shiny bald head.

Corvo straightened himself back up, crossing his arms. “You got to talk to her and him. Gotta stop beating around the bush, unless,” he paused that grin, growing wider, “you don’t want things to work out.”

“Corvo… if you don—“

“Ah! Shay!” Corvo let out a loud yelp. Several people laughed seeing the tall, bulky man freeze up as his wife had a firm grip on his ear. “That’s my sensitive ear! Sensitive!”

“Come on, honey!” She yanked on his ear several times, ignoring his pleas, pulling him away. “We have training we need to do with the locals before dinner!”

“Thanks, Shay.” Bradford smiled, quite happy he didn’t need to punch him. He could always count on her to keep him in check… unless she felt like joining in on the teasing. Thankfully, that was rare.

He then turned his attention back to Jynn and Asaru. The two didn’t even notice the minor commotion that happened. She was busy stirring the roux, telling Asaru what color they were looking for — somewhere around cinnamon — before adding the vegetables, and he was attentively looking over her shoulder and nodding along, whilst stirring the other pots with their shared psionics.

“And then for the tempura… can you handle the Chryssalid? I remember you being allergic to shellfish. Or was it just made you sick? Or was it religious reasons?” Asaru asked, tapping his fingers together, trying to remember some details of her past.

Jynn shook her head. “Wasn’t allergic, shellfish and some other stuff nev’ really agreed with my system. And kinda religious, somethang my dad adopted from one of his brothers.” She shuttered. “Though the Elders oh so ‘lovingly’ fixed that, I think my brain still reflexively treats it like the plague.”

“Interesting.” He cocked his head to the side. “How ‘kind’ of them. Kind of Maker from what I can tell from you disjointed memories when you were under his care.”

“Tch, right?” She let out a dry laugh. “Though Maker is… interesting. Why my immune system wasn’t totally shot, though I question how genuine he is until we meet ‘officially’.” She mumbled. They had sparse contact with this “good” Elder through one of his many contacts. So far, it seemed like he was on the Resistance’s side. “Anyway, gonna have Childs and Takamura handle anything with them Chryssalids for the tempura once we nearly don with everythang else. Though you can work on them bugs if ya wish ta.”

“I think I may double check the meat. Make sure there’s no hidden surprises.” He glanced over to a pile of the pinkish meat and cracked blue carapaces. “I remember the last time you were poisoned by their venom.”

“Don’ remind me of that!” She shook her head. “Don nearly wrangled Beckart’s neck. Bakayarou…”

That made Asaru laugh, remembering the details of those days all too well.

Bradford held back a snort as he listened to the two. He definitely would never forget those days at the Old Base. Especially the day when Jynn was half coherent and yelling at Beckert. Just yelling his ear off, cursing it off really, in like three different languages. Those treatments and meds the doctors gave her made her quite high and took her a long time to come down from it. She nearly bit him when he had to pull her away from Beckert. She was ready to kill him with her bare hands.

He shook his head before taking in a deep breath and sharply exhaling.

“Try not to get cut by the knives.” Takamura joked, noticing the change in his demeanor. “They may chase you out with them.” He even made a few shooing movements, wiggling his fingers.

“Ha, ha, ha.” He rolled his eyes. “I’ll try.”

Shaking this head again, Bradford steadied his thoughts. “Need to start somewhere…” He mumbled before taking a step inside. Not before knocking on the nearby metal counter a few times. A few of Asaru’s tentacles perked up. “Is it alright if I come int?”

“As long as you don’ get in the way, you can come right on in, cher.” Jynn responded, barely looking over at him.

But Asaru looked at him, even waved a hand and a few of those tentacles. “Greetings, John.”

“Actually,” she snapped her fingers a few times, “could use a hand to roll out some pie crust. Remember how to do that, cowboy?”

“Oh, you’re letting him come in, but kicked me and the others out?” Childs poked his head through the kitchen window; that red bandana on his head flapped about. Though he sounded upset, the huge smile on his face said otherwise. “I bet I can roll out a mean crust compared to Johnny.”

“Childs, hush up.” Jynn only shook her head.

“What? It be the truth, o’ Commander.” All the “anger” in his voice slipped away as he started laughing. “More of a homegrown southern boy than him!”

“Keep talking and a pan will be coming your way, Childs.” Takamura pinched his nose, shaking his head.

“Like to see her try to nail me.”

“You’re asking for trouble, bruv.” Memento chimed in. She just happened to be passing by to drop of some vegetables the a Commander had requested.

“Hush up, boy.” Jynn waved a spoon at him. And then a few pans floating about rattled.

“Childs…” Bradford just rolled his eyes. He was not going to save him.

“Hi.” Bradford nodded towards Asaru, carefully eying those tentacles as he came closer. A few times, he had to dodge a few floating utensils and bowls full of food flying around. “I remember how to roll out the crust. Helped ma and her sisters a few times with cooking… well…” he paused and grumbled under his breath. “More like forcefully roped into helping.” He shook his head. “So, how’s the cooking going?”

“Splendid!” Jynn hummed. She tapped the wooden spoon she was using to stir the roux against the rim of the pot a few times before setting it down. Her attention then shifted to stirring a pan full of chicken frying and then another with some duck. “Crust is in the fridge. Same with the marble rolling pin. You can roll it out there.” She then pointed to some open space.

“Quite well. A bit chaotic, but well.” Asaru added. There was upbeat cheeriness in his voice.

“I see. And will get it.” He nodded before heading to the fridge. “So,” Bradford glanced around, trying to make some sense of the chaos as he grabbed the items from the fridge, “making your classic gumbo and…?”

“A few more southern homegrown meals.” Jynn looked at him with a big smile. There was a twinkle in her eye. “Know you miss that taste.”

He chuckled, nodding. “I do.” Opening the fridge, greeting his eyes were several pale brown soccer ball sized crusts wrapped in plastic. “Uh,” he glanced over to her, “how much crust do you need?”

“Hm…” She tapped her lip. “Start with four. Need the base and top crusts and the bits I let cook with the peaches.”

“Alrighty.” He grabbed four of the crust balls and made his way over to the free space she had pointed out earlier. Setting those down, he took a step closer to her and leaned over. “And I do love when you cook. Looking forward to everything.” Just a quick whisper. It made her snicker.

”So got sum collards going, makin’ sum biscuits, frying sum okra, white rice…” She rattled off several other dishes. “And then there’s Warren and other folk grilln’ up more meats outside. And think some people are doing sum runs to get sum desserts to top this all off. Besides, I’m making sum peach cobbler.”

“And then we’re also making some Japanese dishes.” Asaru added. Soon he raised his lower arms and counted off his fingers. “Making both Soba and Udon for some bone broth bowls, have some fish to do tempura with besides the Chryssalid meat, and more rice.” He laughed at that.

“American Southern and Japanese cuisine together… interesting.” Bradford rubbed his chin as he listened to the two. They were making a lot, and he heard that Warren and the others had a lot of grilling going on outside, and were looking forward to some ribs. Looks like it was a going to be a feast.

“The gumbo may be the last thang to be finished.” Jynn said, as she was stirring the roux again. “Otherwise, all is going swimmingly.”

“Mhm.”

Before rolling out the crust, Bradford washed his hands — though he had to navigate the chaos of constantly moving items. He only got smacked twice in the face, and Asaru and Jynn quickly apologized. With clean hands, he went about rolling out the crust and throwing back some fun jabs at Childs would be giving some commentary on “how he was doing it wrong” and “how he could do so much better.” Takamura’s insults in Japanese just added to the fun. Even Jynn joined in and got Takamura choking on his own laughter with whatever she was slinging at Childs. Asaru made comments he hadn’t heard such vulgar things since she chewed out Beckart, uncooperative military officials, and some Council members.

“Really need to brush up on what I know. And continue those lessons with Jynn… and then Takamura and Cerci.” Bradford mumbled to himself as Takamura was wheezing from laughing so hard and partially translating what Jynn said to Childs who feigned being hurt by her words. He could pick out a word or two here and there and boy, was it bad, but he couldn’t follow along fully.

Time passed. Several meals had finished cooking and Jynn beckoned Childs and some other staff to start taking them out and to where everyone would be gathering for the feast. A way to shut him up for awhile but he promised to be back and continue their “lovely bickering.” Jynn also “allowed’ Takamura and a few others to come back in and get started on the tempura.

Bradford had finished rolling out the crust and had been promoted to cooking the peaches. He was diligently stirring the pot, mixing in the spices and milk; one eye was watching the timer set. He made sure to not get in anyone’s way as food was being taken out. As most of the dishes left the room, there were fewer utensils and foods floating around.

“Hey, Taka!” Jynn called out to him. “Come on over here and try this.” Still working on the gumbo, she was dishing out some of that hearty dish into a small bowl with some rice.

“Oh, I’m a guinea pig, onee-sama?” The man joked as he fixed his salt and pepper hair slipping in front of his face, smearing some flour onto it. Jynn just rolled her eyes, lightly scolding him in a joking manner in Japanese. He just grinned, came over, and took the bowl.

“And John…” She was dishing out another small bowl. “Try this and me what it’s missing.” She handed off to him. “Cher.” She whispered.

“Yes, ma’am.” Setting down the spoon he was working with, he happily took the bowl; scooping out a hearty spoonful to give it a taste. It had been a few months since she had made the dish last, but it was delectable as ever. All the flavors were just right and the duck, ah it had been ages since he had some with fresh duck in it. Such a rich flavor.

“Everything tastes great!” He said in-between bites. “And is there okra in this?” He spotted a few chopped pieced of the familiar vegetable.

“Yes’em.” She nodded. “Been a long while since I’ve don that. So,” she looked at him, “don’ need to add anythang? Salt? Pepper? More broth?”

“No, no.” He shook his head quickly. “Everything good!” He gave a thumbs up.

“Taka?” She looked over to him.

He was in the middle of eating another spoonful, but managed to give a thumbs up. “It is good. All flavors all well balanced, but I could swear I saw you add fish into this.”

Jynn tapped three different pots that were boiling away. “It’s in this one, didn’ wanna add fish to all of ‘em. Give a little varie-tay”

“Ah.” He nodded. “Smart. Now,” he walked over and lowered his bowl near the one of the pots she tapped. “Can I try the ones with fish now?”

Jynn chuckled. She happily obliged.

As more food finished cooking and was being moved out once again, the kitchen was nearly empty once more — same as the mess hall. Cobblers in the oven, Bradford was cleaning the dishes.

Humming to himself, his mind was dwelling on current events and somewhat listening to Jynn and Asaru chat as they finished up the last set of dishes. His mind pondered on what to talk about. Well, he knew what he wanted to talk about, but just wasn’t sure how to spit it out. He didn’t want to offend the two, especially Jynn.

“Something on your mind?” Asaru asked.

“Hm?” Bradford looked up, only to nearly jump out of his skin and drop a sponge. It was Asaru. In front of his face. Far too close for comfort and then this bulbous tentacles were all around him. “A little close there, buddy…”

“Sorry.” He shifted back slightly, retracting his tentacles, until there was a decent gap between the two. “Again, is something on your mind? I can sense some troubled thoughts.”

Bradford’s brow twitched when he heard that. Was this alien probing his mind without permission? He hated when their psions did that. “No, I’m fine.”

“Mhm.” He nodded, but there was just a hint of doubt in it.

Slowly, the alien floated back over to Jynn and helped her check on the cobblers. Opening the oven let out a heavenly smell of peaches and mixed spices. The crusts were nearly golden, and the liquid was popping.

Bradford shook his head again, body shuddering for a moment. “Really do not want those tentacles touching me… again.” He muttered under his breath. It had happened once, sometime after they found Asaru, and he didn’t like the weird energy spark that coursed through his body. Something about old bonds or some weird psionic nonsense. He doubted there was some old bond there, he was never bonded to the alien from what he could remember.

Just as he was drifting back to his thoughts, his eyes twitched, and pupils shrank. A few pricks to his mind until something sharp finally pierced it.

“She’s been wanting to talk about it.” It was Asaru. “About me. Our bond. I know you feel hesitant around me.”

Bradford’s brow twitched. His eyes fell onto Asaru. The alien wasn’t looking at him and was conversing with Jynn. “Really?” Reflexively he spoke out loud, some anger laced his words. How much he hated intrusive telepathy.

“Shhh…” Another thought from the alien pierced his mind. At the same time, Asaru raised a hand to his face and made the accompanying gesture, and another hand tapped the side of his head. Looks like he wanted to keep their conversation entirely in the mind.

Bradford let out several grumbles as his eyes narrowed on the alien. A moment later, he rubbed his face. How glad he was that Jynn didn’t notice his mild outburst. “Talk.”

“Sorry.” He gave a quick apology. “As I was saying, she’s unsure how to brooch the subject since this changes everything. I’ve been trying to gently nudge her, but have had no success.”

“I feel as if that’s an understatement.”

“It… is.” He could agree with that. “I just don’t want to come in between you two. She truly cares for you, and I can sense the same within you. You’ve both been an anchor for each other through these tumultuous tides of war.”

“Hm.” Bradford closed his eyes as he thought for a moment. So, Jynn was in the same boat as him… trying to figure out how to talk about the whole thing.

A sigh slipped out. “Let me finish this.” He turned his attention back to the dishes. With fervent speed, he scrubbed them all down in record time. Once done, he made his way over to the two, cautiously eying those tendrils, as always. Jynn now humming along as she pulled out the cobblers one by one and set them on the counter and Asaru was reminiscing about some old crew members and some things Geist and the others psions had done back then.

A quick glance over his shoulder. The mess hall was practically empty. Looking back at her, hesitantly he raised a hand and lightly touched her shoulder.

“Hey, hun.”

“Hm?” She glanced at him. “Yes?”

“So…” He gestured a thumb towards Asaru. “Wanna… finally talk about your ethereal friend? And… us?”

One of the pan filled cobblers slipped from her fingers and nearly hit the floor. Thankfully, with some quick thinking, Asaru caught it with some psionics and carefully placed it with the others.

“Uh, Jynn?” Bradford hesitantly touched her. “You alright?”

Jynn’s brow twitched for but a moment before she closed her eyes tight. Oven-mitt covered hands soon covered her face and rubbed it.

“Ohhejustdon’broughtituptoyoudidn’he?” Words quickly slurred together like a rushing river under her breath.

“Jynn, we don’t have to take about it right now.”

“No, it’s—“ She bit her tongue before shaking her head. Dropping one hand, the other started to rub her temple. “We do need to talk about it, just… I don’ even know where to start!”

“Hey, hey, breathe.” He tightened his grip on her when she felt her shudder. “We don’t have to talk now. It can be later.”

“Perhaps tonight would work?” Asaru butted in. “Once all the festivities are over?”

“You stay out of—“

“No, no, no.” She shook her head. “Tonight be good. Would be best to get to talkin’ about this soon.”

“You sure?” There was a hint of concern in his voice. “I don’t want to push this if you don’t want to talk about it.”

“Cher.” She laughed, a nervous one at that. “It’s gotta be don sometime soon.” Shuffling slightly, she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “Gotta be don sometime soon if this… date’n is gonna work out.”

His eyes widened for a moment before he closed them tightly. She had a point. So far, things had been going fine with a few rough spots, but this really changed things. “Right, right.”

A hand went up and gently ruffled her short hair. Heh. That was growing back nicely. “So…” He paused, his voice trailing off, silently questioning if he should even say what was on his mind. “What is it like… being bonded to him?”“Really, it’s kinda hard to explain.”

She tried her best to do so with Asaru’s input here and there. In a way, they were giving him a sneak peek for the conversations they would have later.

Though their lives were intertwined once more, she still felt the same. She felt like herself. Mostly. Now she was always aware of another presence within and around her, as Asaru no longer had to hide himself. His thoughts and emotions were always present, but their minds were truly separate unless they felt like they needed to “become one” in thought and actions. It was almost a deeper version of a mild meld she would occasionally do with Bradford, though this one also involved the body.

“And don’ let me get started on them memories.” She shook her head.

“Apologies, we still have a great amount to sift through.” Asaru said.

Memories. Most weren’t hers — and those were still a mess as they were slowly coming back. The memories were Asaru’s and his many previous hosts. Lots of information to dig through and digest. Some helpful and many unpleasant.

“I have a feeling tonight will be… interesting.” Bradford was slowly digesting what they had told him. The slightly offhanded comparison to their little mind meld sessions helped clear up some confusion in his mind. “Think we may need lots of snacks.” He grinned.

“And lots of ice.” A little sigh slipped out of Jynn’s lips. She felt like she was going to get a headache trying to explain more later. “And maybe some alcohol.” She mumbled under her breath.

“Uh-uh,” he shook his head, “no drinking per Geist’s and doctor’s orders. And I don’t need to be smelling the stuff.” He had been doing pretty well at avoiding tasting the drink after another mess up, not entirely of his own volition.

“Right…” She grumbled. “Want a buzz at least… if that is even still possible for me…”

“Eventually, hon. ~” He sung a little, rustling her hair some more. A little smile appeared on her face.

“I do hope some concerns were cleared up.” Asaru said as he floated around the two. “Though I expect you have more questions.”

“Oh, I do.”

“I hope we can answer them all sufficiently.” He sounded like he was looking forward to the talk. Those tentacles of his were twitching. “Now,” his head shifted over to the counter, those pipping hot cobblers were sitting on, “I think the others are waiting for this dessert to arrive.”

“Oh! Right!” Jynn knew how some were really looking forward to it. She squeezed Bradford once more before pulling away. And then she threw a pair of oven-mitts at him and told him to grab a few as she grabbed some and levitated a few. Bradford, barely fazed at taking a pair of mitts to the face, questioned why she wasn’t using her psionics to take them all out.

“Don’ need to raise too many eyes. Some crew are still uneasy with Asaru and whatnot.”

“Right.”

Something he couldn’t believe he forgot. That was a new point of contention on an ever-growing, never ending list for many and knew it would continue to be a headache in the long run. At least a majority could keep their mouths shut as this information didn’t need to reach the Elders anytime soon.

With oven-mitts slipped on, Bradford grabbed a few cobblers and the two were off. Asaru merged back with Jynn as they left with the deserts in hand to join the festivities outside.

The feast and evening festivities went on well and everyone had a good time enjoying each other and the home-cooked meals.

Jynn, Asaru, and Bradford shifted their long awaited talk to another day as they were exhausted after everything was over. But they would eventually have the talk and it would ease their troubled thoughts.

#writings #xcom #xcom 2 #//Un’vo no’vala toa ma #I am southern born and will happily gush about several dishes my family cooks #peach cobbler is my specialty #Fic: Hollowed Defiance #Ship: Breaking Protocol

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