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[risorto]

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[silvercrusader]

I just like hearing it said, that's all.

[Which is true, albeit something that holds a little more weight now with Bruno.]

I gotta fight to hear that Kakyoin likes me, so it's kind of a triumph when anyone</> says it.

[risorto]

Maybe that's why he does it. It keeps you from taking it for granted.

[silvercrusader]

He could risk a little more of me taking it for granted.

[Just saying. But he's not actually all that sore over it, so instead:]

Oye. What's your favorite color?

[risorto]

My favorite color? [Because what a sudden change in topic.] Blue. Why do you ask?

[silvercrusader]

I'm gonna go get paint tomorrow. Gold, for me, and now blue, for you.

[A beat, and then:]

That, and . . . I was talking to Kakyoin a while ago about getting to know people. When I first got here, I could tell you a ton about how he fought, but I didn't even know the guy's favorite food. So I like asking about stupid stuff like that.

[risorto]

Pasta al nero di seppia, porcini mushrooms, and baked scallops. [A beat before he adds with a small smile,] Before you ask.

[So Bruno doesn't think it's all that stupid.]

[silvercrusader]

[Another good thing to remember. Miles Davis, baked scallops, mushrooms and a kind of pasta he's definitely going to have to look up.]

I dunno if you're allowed to have three favorites, Bruno, that's kind of cheating.

[But if they're going to play that game:]

Pot au fe, for me, if we're talking supper-- I've made it here before, it's that one that's kind of like carrots and potatoes and beef. Or profiteroles, if we're talking dessert.

[risorto]

[He almost points out that he's Italian, which gives him the full right to have three favorites, but he refrains from it this time. If Polnareff decides to comment that he's too particular on his coffee later though...]

[Bruno shakes his head a little.]

I've never had much of a sweet tooth.

[silvercrusader]

They're tiny, you gotta try at least one. Just once. For me.

[Besides, even those without a sweet tooth (which is fairly unimaginable, but whatever) probably enjoy it.]

Once I figure out how to make them. Or Holly takes pity on me and makes them for me after I try and they explode on me, whichever.

[risorto]

[Bruno raises an eyebrow.]

Not as confident in the kitchen as you are building a boat?

[silvercrusader]

If I fuck up on the boat, all I have to do is pull out the nail or whatever. Baking is still . . .

[He gestures vaguely above his head.]

You think you did everything right and then you put it in and suddenly it all goes to shit and Christ only knows why.

[risorto]

[Bruno huffs a short laugh.]

Baking is very precise...

[And with the exception of Silver Chariot, there's not too much about Polnareff's that particularly careful. Though it's not a criticism. If anything, Bruno's a little fond of it.]

[silvercrusader]

I was telling Fugo, right, and all of a sudden it's I won't eat your food until you learn to measure better and maybe it's awful and baking needs precise measurement, you can't just wing it, so does cooking--

[The nerve! The absolute insult of it all! Polnareff shakes his head, so disappointed. Kids these days.]

Anyway, some stuff turns out okay. I can do a chocolate cake like nobody's business.

[risorto]

[Bruno smiles a little wider at the mention of Fugo. He's not surprised. Honestly, when Bruno's cooking by himself, he tends to go more by taste rather than exact measurements of what's needed. But whenever Fugo helped — which was always frequently because in some ways, it was a thing for the two of them to do together since the others were far more invested in licking spoons and bowls than they ever were actually contributing to cooking — he'd pull out the measuring cups and spoons and keep everything exact.]

Just chocolate? Not just cake in general?

[silvercrusader]

I could probably do a vanilla cake just as well, but if you're going to eat cake, what's the point of it being the world's blandest flavor?

[A beat, and then he sits up on his elbows, eyes narrowed.]

Don't tell me that's your favorite flavor or something.

[risorto]

[Bruno gives him a bland look in return with a small shrug.]

What if it is?

[It's not. But what if?]

[silvercrusader]

[THE BIGGEST SIGH, as he flops back onto his bed with a bounce.]

For you, I'll let it slide. Only for you, though, so don't spread that around.

[Which isn't a flirtatious comment by any means, but it's certainly teasing. He's aware of that even as he says it. Too much teasing, he knows, and suddenly he will be flirting, that's just the way of it, and if he starts flirting it won't end well at all.]

[risorto]

[It's not that difficult for Bruno to maintain a straight face. So, he gives nothing as far as whether or not it's actually his favorite flavor.]

So I would be an exception?

[silvercrusader]

Special, you might call it.

[risorto]

[Bruno hums thoughtfully (special, huh?) and is quiet a moment. Then:]

Well, fortunately you won't have to make it because vanilla's not my favorite.

[silvercrusader]

Thank god.

[Is there a need for such an emphatic exclamation? Yes.]

So what is your favorite? And what was that, some kinda friendship test to see if I'd still stick around if you loved vanilla?

[risorto]

[Whether or not there's a need is debatable, but there's a flicker of a smile again.]

Red velvet, and of course it was a test. Besides swearing, food's how an Italian shows they care.

[silvercrusader]

[He's learning any number of things about Bruno tonight.]

So, what, I'm gonna find a cake outside my door with vaffanculo written in icing on top one of these days?

[That pronunciation is sure something else, man.]

[risorto]

[Bruno clicks his tongue just once as though actually disappointed.]

If I'm going to the trouble of making you a cake to tell you vaffanculo, I'd at least address it to you.

Vaffanculo, [he says, gesturing with one hand that it's the top line before moving it down for the second,] Faccia come il Culo.

[silvercrusader]

[Oh, wow, he wasn't even close with how to pronounce it. Fuckin Italian vowels, man, who even decided that was a decent way to mouth a word? But at least now he knows. As for the rest of that: Polnareff points an accusing finger at Bruno, eyes narrowed.]

I'm gonna go ahead and assume that's something like amazing boat partner or legendary builder or even that guy I knew in the future but now have gotten to know better now, what a great friend he is, truly my life would be less without him in it.