Luke's Diner; Tuesday [06/04].

[chef_chocobro]

If there were any marked and clear benefit to a recent fishing trip, it just that it always reminded Ignis that, for as much of a waste of time as it seemed, there was a lot of inspiration in cooking with fish, and while he didn't know quite where he'd go with it when he arrived at Luke's that morning, an old familiar recipeh seemed just the thing once he discovered some very nice fresh salmon that had arrived just a little bit before he himself did.

So there were a few moments to figure out how to create a through-line for all his specials, a snap of his fingers, and then he started to get to work.

Today's Specials

Nebula Salmon Teriyaki with Pineapple Fried Rice
Teriyaki Tofu Sandwich with Sesame Sweet Potato Fries
Black Sesame Peanut Butter Macarons with Summer Berry Jam

Luke's is open!

Comments

[deathsmajesty]

Either Liliana had started getting used to mornings or she had simply decided that she was not going to allow mornings to rob her of her rightful panache, so today she was once again sweeping into Luke's as though she owned the place.

"Good morning, my darling," she said, gliding to the counter. "I know precisely what I wish for brunch today."

[chef_chocobro]

For the briefest of moments, Ignis thought to cheekily guess cat lasagna.

"Oh?" he said, instead (and here people thought he had no sense of self-preservation!), with that tiny smile of his filled with an incredible amount of fondness and amusement for its size, as he leaned a little on the counter, pulled closer by her presence and the sound of her voice. "Is that so? Well, then, elucidate for me, my beloved, and I shall make it so, posthaste."

[deathsmajesty]

Of course he had self-preservation! There currently weren't any grenades around for him to launch himself upon.

She reached the counter and leaned in herself catching his mouth for a lingering kiss of greeting. "There," she said with satisfaction once she was inclined to pull away. "Several more of those should tide me over quite well, I believe."

[chef_chocobro]

"I don't believe there are words," said Ignis, after that rather beautifully succinct response, "to express quite how deeply I regret to inform you that I don't believe that would quite past muster for a nutritionally sustainable meal."

Of course, the smirk on his face would make anyone question these allegedly fathomless depths of regret, but, hopefully, the hand that made its way to Liliana's cheek had done well to keep her from pulling away so much that he couldn't bury such incriminating evidence with another kiss.

[deathsmajesty]

"Are you trying to tell me that I cannot exist on love alone?" Liliana scoffed with a smirk of her own, the second time they were forced by cruel necessity to come up for air. "The French would disagree. Vivre d'amour et d'eau fraîche - to live upon love and fresh water."

[chef_chocobro]

"Mmm." Behind his smirk, Ignis' hum was skeptical and thoughtful. "Lofty words no doubt uttered over glasses of wine and an amuse-bouche. I've feasted on far too much French fare to be convinced that the minds that concocted confit and crepes, cassoulet and croissants would be as truly satisfied with merely d'amour et d'eau fraîche as they may claim.

"This is, however," he added, with a much lighter kiss, "giving me an idea for a recipeh, if you would be willing to indulge me, 'Iana, by allowing me to supplement this newfound diet with some actual food."

[deathsmajesty]

"I suppose," Liliana said, "but only because I know that doing so gives you joy." She sniffed. "I resent Luke's for not allowing my my proper place on a nearby counter to watch you work."

Like a little gargoyle. A little food-stealing gargoyle.

[chef_chocobro]

"What, and then ruin the surprise?"

Ignis could hardly say 'spoil her appetite' with all that food stealing, because he knew from experience that they was rarely a problem.

[deathsmajesty]

"What is the value of surprises when weighed against an extra few minutes with you, love?" Liliana murmured, far too quietly for anyone else but him to hear.

[chef_chocobro]

The wry retort at the tip of Ignis' tongue faltered before it could even escape his lips at that quiet murmur, and there was something very quiet in the soft smile that replaced it as well.

Then, there was a moment. A reconsideration, a reconfiguring,a restructuring of something in his mind before he said anything else.

"I suppose," he promised, voice matching hers, "we could make space enough for you in the kitchen, if you'd like. However..."

A pause, to help add weight to the caveat.

"You must be mindful to not interrupt the flow of work. It's not like at home, when the kitchen is entirely my own space. Here, I am just another piece in a well-honed machine,one that will go off the rails rather quickly should an unexpected wrench be thrown into it."

[deathsmajesty]

"And I am, even at my best, something of an unexpected wrench," Liliana said with a low laugh. "Perhaps the kitchen would be better served did I just wait and come bother you tonight in your rightful domain. So you needn't spend thought space wondering what I might be planning to get up to."

[chef_chocobro]

"Or perhaps," Ignis countered, and this time, it was the retort slipping out after all, just delayed and slightly morphed to suit the direction of the conversation, and with a faint little smirk to go along with it, "you've just now realized that with that machine may come actual eyes to catch what you might be planning to get up to. Although," there was a soft breath of a laugh of his own, "No, that can't be it.
There's no doubt you would barely even care..."

[deathsmajesty]

"It is hurtful to think I would behave any differently with eyes on me as not," Liliana scoffed. Especially watchers that she didn't particularly care about and Ignis' three underlings fellow employees fell under that umbrella. "Besides, I doubt you're quite as...distractable...as you are at home." A cool finger slid down his throat. "Nor is there a breakfast nook to eventually dine in."