“Again, so impatient.” Miyaki shook her head, looking both ways before grabbing his hand and tugging him across the street, forgetting to let go afterwards. “She’s right here. If she’s in tonight.” She pushed open the door to a small restaurant, the little chime above the door sounding off with a sound like that of birds in the morning.
Jin chuckled, and followed after her. He looked around the restaurant curiously, then directed his attention to Miyaki again so that he could know what to do or where to go.
“Levia?” Miyaki called, waving at a few different Fae as she dragged Jin through the restaurant towards the kitchen. It was fairly empty inside, a family in the corner and a couple huddled together and talking quietly at a table in the middle of the room. A woman poked her head out the kitchen door, wrinkled face pulling into a bright grin at the sight of Miyaki.
“Miya! Welcome back! Hurry, hurry in here, I need you to cut this tomato while I plate this dish.” Miyaki snorted, mouthing an apology at Jin and tugging him into the kitchen. “And tell your boy toy to introduce himself and make himself useful.”
Jin looked affronted. "Boy toy?" he demanded, cocking an eyebrow at the woman. "I'm not her boy toy!" he crossed his arms, drawing up to his full height and peering down at the woman with slightly narrowed eyes.
Miyaki let out a full laugh then, the sound light, musical, and absolutely finding this hilarious as she made her way to a cutting board, beginning on cutting a tomato.
Levia arched an eyebrow, placing her hands on her hips and looking up at him. She was a few inches shorter than Miyaki, who was tiny by Fae standards, making her even tinier. After a moment, she grinned, waving him off and moving to the counter. "You've got back bone. Good. But I still do not know your name, or why you're out with my little Miya."
Jin sighed. "My name is Jin, High Lord of the Night Court, thank you very much." he replied almost crabbily. "And I'm out with her because she said you were the only one who could possibly make Night Court food around here."
Levia tossed a look over to Miyaki, speaking in the Dawn Fae tongue and making the Half Fae laugh. "Ah, Night Court food. Hard recipes to make with the ingredients commonly sold around here. Lucky for you, I have everything necessary. Give me a dish and I will make it for you."
"I told you." Miyaki said, casting a soft smile over at Jin as she finished with the tomato. Good with knives, apparently. "If anyone can, it's Levia." She walked past him to deliver the diced tomato chunks, pausing to speak quietly to Jin before continuing on her way. "Don't mind her. She has a peculiar sense of humor, but means well."
Jin nodded a little. "Hm. Can you do Lason?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at Levia. He looked over at Miyaki. "Yes, you did say so. You just neglected to inform me that I would be accused of being your boy toy, of all things."
"My apologies, Majesty." Miyaki teased lightly, eyes sparkling as she shook her head.
"Lason? Easy. One of my favorite dishes to make. Miya, you brought a man who knows his food." Levia said happily, clapping her hands together and handing a tray of plates to Miyaki. "Jin, you will help me grab the rice. Heavy bags are not good for my back. Miya, please bring that to the lovely couple out there."
Jin wrinkled his nose at Miyaki. "I don't think that's a sincere apology." he remarked. He looked at Levia, and nodded. "Of course. Show me the way." he replied, folding his hands behind his back. His wavy black hair stuck out from his head in a messy, unkempt way.
"Of course it isn't!" Miyaki called, disappearing with the tray balanced expertly on her hand before he could respond. She'd worked here, when she was younger, part timed as a waitress and just helped out, earning some money that she could actually call her own.
"Right this way." Levia instructed, motioning for Jin to follow her. They entered a storage room, and she propped the door open with a little wood block and flicked on a light. "I have a few questions for you, boy." She said, pointing to a sack of rice three shelves up from the ground.
Jin sighed, and grabbed the bag of rice. "Of course you do. Ask away, though answers are not a guarantee." He replied, shouldering the bag and looking at the older woman. He shifted slightly.
"Bring it back out into the kitchen." Levia said, waving for him to follow her again. "I would hope you would give me these answers, considering they involve the safety of someone close to me. How did you meet Miya? Just up in the palace? What are your intentions with her? And just how far, exactly, have you gotten in reaching those goals? I want her safe, you hear? She has been through too much in a short span of time."
Jin followed her. "Oh. I met her in the palace, yes. My intentions are…there are a few, and I am not sure which you mean. I don't know. And yes, I'll keep her safe as much as I can." He replied honestly, ducking her questions a little.
"Well, you answered the other question with that last answer." Levia said, after a moment of scrutinizing him carefully. Her lips pulled up into a smile, and she patted his shoulder before motioning to a place on the counter. "Right there. I'll ignore your lackluster answers, for that sake. One last one, and then I'll ease off of you, and we can get started on the food. Do you plan on Mating her, or does she not even know that you share the Bond?" That, was a bit of a startling question so suddenly. Most people didn't see the Bonds, had no clue they were there until after they'd been Marked.
Jin nodded. He set the bag down, and blinked in surprise at the last question. He ran a hand through his black curls, looking at Levia after a moment. His silver eyes were focused and slightly narrowed as he studied her. "She doesn't know. As for my intentions in… Mating…I don't know yet. I was going to see what happens. I don't think she likes me in that way, in any case." He shrugged slightly.
Levia barked a laugh at that, as though privy to some knowledge he was unaware of. She moved around the kitchen as she talked, gathering bowls and pans and measuring out ingredients with a chaotic sort of efficiency. "Mmm, just you wait. The way she smiles at you, she will be head over heels soon enough. Just be careful. Now, I need olive oil in that pan with the blue handle, for the vegetables."
Jin cleared his throat softly. "I highly doubt that, but alright." he nodded, and picked up the olive oil. "Wait, you want me to put the oil in?" he asked, surprised. "I uh…I can't cook."
"I would be willing to bet that you just were not taught. Am I wrong?" Levia tutted as she bustled over, motioning for him to pour. "I will tell you when to stop. And you will learn here tonight, even if you never touch a stove again."
"Well…" Jin blinked, then shrugged. "Fine, I guess." he slowly poured the oil in, watching her for a signal to stop. He stopped when she said to, setting the oil down and frowning a little.
“See? It is not that scary. Now, come learn how to cut vegetables.” Levia tugged him gently over to the cutting boards, and began teaching him how to handle the knife and cut the vegetables.
When Miyaki returned, she really hadn’t expected to see the High Lord of the Night Court learning how to cut celery, and yet, here she was. The sight brought a strangely fond smile to her face, and she leaned against the doorway to watch them, playing with the small wrapped box the couple out in the seating room had given her as an early birthday present.
Jin listened carefully to Levia, his eyebrows raised a little as he worked, his attention completely focused on the vegetables.
Miyaki wasn't sure where the warm feeling in her chest was coming from, a little too preoccupied to connect it to her growing feelings in regards to Jin, and the sight in front of her being kind of adorable.
"Ah, good, Miya. You have returned. Here, continue helping him while I start cooking the rice. You are much better with the knives anyway." Levia instructed, causing Miyaki to laugh and make her way over to stand beside Jin, just a bit closer than necessary.
"Of course I'm not. I'm just flashier with them, is all."
Jin glanced over at Miyaki, raising his eyebrows. "So. What now?" he asked, silvery eyes flashing slightly as he looked at her.
"Well, you relaxed your grip a bit and it slipped, so we'll start with fixing that really quick." Miyaki said, flashing a smile up at him before looking back down at his hand as she adjusted his fingers. There, again, was that strange tingly feeling she always got when their skin connected. "There. Now, we're gonna move onto the carrots, which you're gonna cut different. They're actually easier than celery." Instead of just showing him how to cut it on her own cutting board, she moved his hand so he was holding the knife at an angle, before gently slicing the carrot. "See?"