Home Sweet Hideyhole [Tomomi/Cecil]

Cecil took no small amount of pleasure in the sudden rapture the ribs induced in Tomomi. Even if he didn't make them, just knowing he'd introduced someone to the bliss that these things were was enough for him.
As he finished off another, Cecil's head whipped round at the near choke from Tomomi, to which he smiled wryly. "I wasn't joking when I told you he'd make a feast. What Rydia mentioned probably isn't even half of what he's got lined up."
"Yuuuup." Rydia's fingers popped in and out of her mouth as she licked them clean. "No idea what he's already laid out, but I know there was crackling and wedges waiting to go out too. Barely going to be enough space on the table for us!" She laughs a little. "Even now, he's still cooking for more people than we still have around."
Cecil's eyes glance to the window for a moment, before taking another drink of lemonade. There's a little silence before he speaks up again. "...I'm not complaining."
Rydia notices, but doesn't push the point, simply addressing the pair on the sofa. "Dad'll probably call us over soon. I think he's done with most of the food at this point."

Rubbing at the back of his head with his clean hand, Tomomi stared dumbfounded at Cecil and Rydia. "That's... Wow..."

Looking down at his body and patting what would be a belly on someone that wasn't underweight, Tomomi shook his head. "I'm so glad I'm in the martial arts club... Otherwise I don't think I'd, well, ever be able to work this off... Um... If nothing else, I'm uh... Impressed? Although, I hope it's not impolite to say this, but... Also mildly terrified? Um... Food for just four people would look a lot, but, um... Two pizzas, ribs, wedges, crackling, and a crumble? I uh... I'm very impressed that he'd even be able to stay in a kitchen that long, or cook all of that and have it taste good?"

Mumbling under his breath, Tomomi added in less than a whisper. "I can barely cook microwave foods..."

The comment provokes suppressed laughter from the siblings.
"You...haven't seen anything yet."


Rydia's quick to shoot to her feet and through the kitchen door, leaving Tomomi and Cecil in the dust with a cry of "You snooze, you lose!"
Cecil just sighs and shakes his head on his part, rolling his eyes and finishing off his lemonade. "Well. Let's go get food, shall we?"
Gesturing Tomomi to follow, he stands and leads Tomomi through the kitchen to another room. A cocktail of mouthwatering odours permeates the air of the kitchen, several food stuffs lying about waiting for transfer or in the process of being cooked - both things Rydia mentioned, and ones she definitely didn't.
And then, in the room following, a long table meant for proper family meals lies, one little corner devoted to a stack of empty plates and the rest covered with a grand assortment of foodstuffs beyond what was described.

This isn't cooking for four.
This is cooking for fourteen.

Luneth stands by the table, watching the door with a smirk as the pair enter, and Cecil goes off eagerly to grab a plate and some of the wedges Rydia is determined to claim entirely for her own. "Well? Eat up. Just make sure to save some room for dessert."
His interest in Tomomi's reaction is not at all hidden.

Following Cecil and Rydia to the table, the very sight of it caused Tomomi's eyes to go wide in borderline shock. The amount of food was mind boggling, and Tomomi almost felt himself grow full just looking at it. It was a moment before Tomomi actually moved, grabbing a plate himself and moving to first get the pieces of food that Cecil and Rydia had not been after like vultures - the food easiest to get to without risk of losing a finer. Getting a sizable but not absurd selection of food on his plate, Tomomi paused, waiting for the others before looking to Luneth. "U-um... Thank you for the food!"

Taking some food from his plate, Tomomi first indulged himself to a slice of pizza, savouring a bite, before smiling. "You're a good cook! Um! Thanks again!"

And then, as delicately as a princess, Tomomi continued to eat, slowly enough that it was almost as if he was waiting for conversation... When in reality, he was just a slow eater.

A burst of hearty laughter is Luneth's response to Tomomi's shock as a grin sprouts across his face. "If you want to thank me, get eating. There's going to be nothing left for you if you let these two have their way."
"Hey! I'm not going to hog everything to myself before he can have any!"
"I am! It's all mine!"
"In your dreams!"

By the time the siblings were done, their plates were overflowing compared to Tomomi's modest acquisitions. During the process, Cecil would back off if Tomomi went for something while making sure he didn't take too much before his friend had the chance to grab however much he was after.
Rydia was vicious, however, and Cecil did not afford her the same courtesy. Their struggles for the morsels before them were a brutal dance, snatching things away moments before the other could seize them, and in a couple of cases, outright ripping them from the others' plate. Cecil's work was only added to by the effort of defending his own food and fending off his sister for long enough to make sure Tomomi had a chance to grab whatever he was after.

And through all this, despite the heaving plates, the total on the table hardly seemed to be dented - possibly even growing, as Luneth continued to take things out, occasionally grabbing a morsel for himself before he went back to ferry something else out...assuming he didn't come in eating the latest dish in the first place.
Being the one cooking everything gave you certain access privileges.

As Rydia pored over the table for the last couple of things to fill her plate, Cecil grabbed a chair and sat down, tucking into some sort of skewer. "I take it back. I take it all back. We're going to be good for the week at this rate."
"As if!" Rydia looked over, briefly distracted from the prior diversion that was eating directly from the table. "Two days, tops!" She grabs a couple last things and plops down into another chair, hooking it in with her leg and sitting herself down with the same motion. "Letting this go uneaten for any longer would be a crime."
She tucks into her plate with an orgasmic moan, her brother looking at her with a little smile and a raised eyebrow. "Don't you think you're exaggerating?"
"No."
Cecil laughs, turning his attention to Tomomi. "Got any favourites so far?"

Laughing and smiling, Tomomi shook his head with a wedge shoved in his mouth like a chipmunk. Finishing the mouthful, he quickly gave his response. "Sorry! Sorry! I am not a very fast eater!"

As the two mounds of food that were Rydia and Cecil's plates began to dwindle with alarming speed, Tomomi picked up a skewer on his plate and began eating it, listening to the back and forth between Cecil and Rydia with a smile. The sight of his best friend laughing, eating, and having a good time? It was what Tomomi would describe as pure if he wasn't chowing down.

As Cecil posed the question, Tomomi thought for a moment, not replying instantly. Of course, one of these reasons for not instantly replying was not because he was just thinking, but also because he wanted to finish his skewer. As the final bit of meat on the skewer was gone, Tomomi put a finger to his chin in thought, before shrugging. "Um... I'd say that I quite like..."

Looking over the piles of food before him, Tomomi stood up, reaching over to grab a handful of wedges and placing them on his plate. "Um, probably these?" He simply said with a smile, before once more becoming a chipmunk, shoving a wedge whole into his gob.

The look Rydia gave Tomomi as he seized more of the wedges could have put a hole through a foot of steel.
Those were hers.
Cecil sighs and rolls his eyes as his younger sister subsequently starts piling on as many wedges as she can keep from tumbling off the plate. "Looks like you're going to be competing with my sister then. Those things are basically a drug hit for her."
The fistful of wedges the girl was inhaling did not refute this. It looked like they barely had chance to hit her tongue before they flew down her throat. "Don't be stupid. These are soooo much better than drugs could ever be."
Cecil lets out a snort of laughter, pausing so he doesn't end up with pizza in his lungs. "See? So addicted to those wedges that she can't accept that the ribs are so much better."
"You take that back!"
It's all Cecil can do not to spill the contents of his plate everywhere as he doubles over with laughter, Rydia staring him down with a furious pout.

Laughing, Tomomi jokingly shook a fist of wedges at Rydia. "I will not lose to the wedge competition!" he declared, a legitimate smile upon his face and completely plastered there as he then put the fist back down on his plate, and began eating the wedges one at a time. The back and forth between Cecil and Rydia. The sibling rivalry was something that, as an only child, Tomomi couldn't help but find hilarious. Taking a sip of his drink, Tomomi turned to face Luneth, letting out a light exhalation before speaking. "Anyways um... You are a very good chef! I'm very impressed!" He declared, popping a wedge into his mouth and giving Luneth a thumbs up, his face almost reminiscent of a chipmunk preparing for the winter.

Finishing off more of the wedges, and then eating another rib, Tomomi sighed. "Um... Cecil..." Tomomi began, waiting for Cecil's attention before continuing. "Thank you for inviting me over and being a friend!"

Luneth's setting down a last couple of drink bottles as Tomomi sends compliments his way, and with a little time to spare, he opts to start on a modest more plate of his own. "What can I say? I didn't get my job due to my roguish good looks...the first time, anyway."
A wink and a chuckle go Tomomi's way, and he moves on, biting into a portion of the crackling with a distinct crunch.

Cecil's laughter is dying down as Tomomi pulls his attention, and with the following words, soon comes to a grinding halt. No words form for a while as a lost expression develops on his face, no idea what to say, and unfamiliar with the sentiment. He laughs awkwardly and scratches at his head without really thinking, struggling to speak as he started to look uncomfortable. "I...it's nothing. Really." It was all he could say in front of anyone else.
His discomfort didn't go unnoticed, as his father shot a quick glance to Tomomi, and gestured his head to Cecil. His attention turns to Cecil from there, a little smirk wiping away the seriousness of his expression. "You know, I knew you always loved the rib sauce, but I didn't think you'd want it in your hair."
Cecil freezes and moves the hand away from his head, noting the sauce on each finger that now covers it a little less completely before.
The sound of groaning soon mixes with the snickering of his sister.

The sudden silence and awkwardness of Cecil's response made Tomomi really regret mentioning it. But, at the same time... It was good to learn that Cecil wasn't comfortable with stuff like that. As a note for his future meet ups with Cecil, he now knew not to bring it up. Still, thankfully it seemed Mr Luneth seemed to know how to move on through that, cutting the tension like a hot knife through butter, at least for the moment.

Oh, that reminded him.

"Ah! Um! I know it's a... Uh... Bit late to ask but... Um... I don't actually know any of your surnames. I know it's not really important, it's just a thought that crossed my mind and, well... Um..."

Coughing slightly and taking a swig of lemonade, the boy continued. "Oh, um, mine's Jōmyaku! I know it's not really important... Oh wait... I said that already... Um... I just thought it'd be a bit of a conversation topic?... Never mind, back to the wedges..."

And with that, Tomomi took another bunch of wedges in awkward clumsiness.

As Cecil puts his plate back down, looking at his sauce-covered fingers with anguish, Luneth picks up the slack in his place while the man's daughter continues to revel in Cecil's misery. He walks over and gives Tomomi a quick pat on shoulder, smiling warmly. "Just relax and enjoy the food. It might be a little different from what you're used to, but you've nothing to worry about from us...probably. I make no promises about my daughter."
As the girl in question protests once more, he chuckles to himself as he starts to go back to the table. "Welcome to the Erinforth household, Mr. Jōmyaku. Our home is yours."

Cecil shakes his head and looks over to his friend. "I need to get this out of my hair sooner rather than later. I'll try not to be too long." With a nod to Tomomi, Cecil exits the room, letting out a long groan once he's on the other side of the door.
It's not even a minute before Rydia's sidling up to Cecil's abandoned plate, giving Tomomi a meaningful look, gesturing to the plate as she starts to remove choice items from it to add to her own. Luneth doesn't bat an eyelid during the whole process, simply rolling his eyes with a smile and continuing to eat.

Tomomi let out a bit of a calm laugh to himself as he was now formally welcomed into the house, as if feeling safe and secure for the first time in a while. Which was probably true, given how quick Tomomi was to getting stressed, or freaking out. Or stressfully freaking out. Still, as Cecil got up and gave Tomomi a nod, the Japanese boy waved and smiled in return.

The brief silence was awkward, however it was quickly broken in Tomomi's mind by Rydia leaning over and stealing food from Cecil's plate. Tomomi found himself just burst into a giggling fit, borderline choking on a wedge at first before snapping himself out of it. "I'll uh... I'll just... Keep that a secret..." He quickly chimed, before finishing his lemonade to help his now slightly sore throat.

Luneth bursts out laughing at the comment, gesturing over to the event in question with a roll in hand. "I wouldn't worry about that. It'll be a secret for about as long as he takes to check his plate." Sure enough, it's not hard to see why - Rydia is basically using Cecil's plate as her own at this point, pulling from it before her own. "Take notes, Tomomi. This is what'll happen to yours if you're not careful."
Rydia lounges back in her stolen place, devouring choice stolen morsels with a wide grin. "Hey, if he wanted to eat his food, he wouldn't have gotten sauce in his hair. He left in and now it's allll mine!"

Several minutes pass amicably. Partway through, Rydia decides enough is enough and decides to leave the devastated platter in peace, and a few minutes after Luneth stops back into the kitchen with his plate atop a few others that have been emptied. An intimidating amount remain behind though, thankfully for Cecil as he walks back in with damp hair - and upon seeing his plate, an unimpressed look. He sends an exaggerated scowl to his sister, the girl looking for all the world like that cat that caught the canary. "So how long until your next crazy dieting phase after making off with so much of my food?"
Utterly unphased, Rydia continues her consumption, making a show of popping one of the last remaining wedges in her mouth. "I'll be fine. This doesn't count. I'll burn this all off in no time anyway."
Cecil nods as he refills his plate a little, before glancing over to Tomomi with a deadpan expression and holding up three fingers. "I give it three days, tops."

Luneth opens the door, and a burst of delectable scents wash into the room as we waves people over to the kitchen. "Dessert's up! Get it while you can!"
Both crumple and pie sit atop the counter, waiting, begging to be eaten.

As Cecil returned, Tomomi had just polished off his plate which mostly consisted of the wedges. The little banter between Cecil and Rydia resuming was funny enough to Tomomi, but what Tomomi found funnier than that was Cecil's silent aside after the fact. Still, there was no denying that the boy was beginning to feel full, so used to small cheap meals that a feast like this went beyond what his stomach could comprehend.

But, Luneth's return from the kitchen that brought with it the wafting aroma of luxury desserts managed to cause a miraculous return into Tomomi's appetite, the boy licking his lips, before he himself moved to help himself to the delicacies, before stopping in front of them, and allowing Rydia and Cecil to help themselves first out of manners. "Um... You two can go ahead first... Although uh... Rydia, please leave some for me..."

Rydia barely gets the chance to stutter forward before two sets of pointed looks go her way, one stern, one accusing. Luneth is the first to break away his gaze, the brief look more than enough to stop his daughter while he sets the record straight. "This is your welcome, Tomomi. You ought to be the one to enjoy it first...without being afraid my daughter will leave you without anything for yourself. Now, what would you like? If you want it, we have cream, and custard should be ready at any moment."

Cecil currently stands on defence, gesturing to Tomomi that the sentiment is agreed with as he makes to ensure that Rydia doesn't try anything.
The girl in question is visibly annoyed by it.