Levi looked over his bed, taking in the room and then taking in his hunger. He hadn't eaten in a while. Maybe he could wander around the mansion and… And do nothing. He needed to punish himself, and this seemed like a convenient way to do it. That didn't mean he couldn't try and fins the kitchen though.
He walked through the halls until he finally found the kitchen, only to find that Eerie was there. Did he need some help? Did he not know how to cook? "Do you want me to cook something for you?"
Eerie started when he heard Levi speak. He hadn’t heard the other approaching. He looked at him.
“Oh, no, I’m just not hungry.” He tried to cover his start with a laugh, but it was humorless and empty.
Levi tilted his head. Sure he wasn't. Levi knew insincerity when he heard it if only because half the words tumbling out of his mouth were lies or coverups. Eerie seemed so… unmotivated. Maybe if he spun it in a way that would make Eerie think he wanted to do something, Eerie would be happier. How to do that, though… That was the real question. "Can you cook something with me?"
Eeire’s eyes flashed somewhat. Levi didn’t seem like the type of person to ask this type of question, considering how dismayed he seemed whenever Eerie asked him what he wanted to do.
“Er… sure. I guess I could.”
Levi gave Eerie a tentative grin. He did it! Eerie was… not a pile of sadness anymore. "Is there anything you'd like to eat? I know a bunch of recipes." He searched through the cabinets, taking in all the ingredients that were available. This place seemed pretty fully stocked, so anything was possible.
Eerie grinned back dully. He liked Levi’s grin, though, so that woke him up a bit.
“Not really. Whatever’s fine.” He shifted his weight around, squeezing his arms tigher around himself. He still wanted that hug.
Levi thought over everything he knew how to cook, deciding something simple would probably be best. Maybe some stir-fry? Yeah, that would be nice. Eerie could chop veggies and stuff while Levi did the actual cooking and frying. Once he turned from the cabinets, he realized Eerie was kind of hugging himself. Was he still cold? "What's wrong?"
Eerie glanced up at Levi from the ground. He had almost zoned out again. “What so you mean? Nothing’s wrong.” He shifted his arms a little and squeezed tighter. He felt oddly lonely standing there, hugging himself.
"You're…" He mimed hugging himself, walking up to Eerie. "What's wrong?" Was he lonely? Cold? Were his clothes not warm enough? Levi had a jacket he could lend Eerie if his husband wanted it.
Eerie ducked his head slightly as his husband walked over. “Nothing…. nothing!s wrong. I’m okay.” He squeezed himself a little tighter. Was he just lonely? No, that didn’t make sense, Levi was standing right there…
Eerie clearly wasn't going to say what was wrong, so Levi decided to turn his thoughts to cooking. "Okay. Let's make some food. Is stir-fry okay?" Cooking was fun, hopefully it would let Eerie take his mind off whatever was bothering him.
Eerie gave a tiny nod and wandered after him over to the counter. “I’ve never had stir-fry. What is it?”
"It's a bunch of vegetables and stuff cooked in a salty sauce." Levi opened the refrigerator and grabbed some veggies he thought would taste good. He set them out on the counter, grabbing a pan he could fry everything in. "Can you find a cutting board?"
Eerie blinked a couple times, watching Levi collect things from around the kitchen. The quick movements made his head reel slightly but he started looking for a cutting board. Soon he found one above the refridgerator, and set it down carefully.
Levi passed Eerie some carrots. There was a knife block beside the fridge, so he figured Eerie would be fine. "Can you chop these?" He grabbed some oil from the pantry and drizzled it in the pan. He heated the stove and gently shook it, spreading the oil evenly.
Eerie looked around and grabbed one of the chopping knives. He started to chop the carrot, then paused.
“How do you want me to chop this?” He looked up at Levi slowly.
"Not too thick but not too thin either." That was a shitty explanation. He walked over and gently placed his hands over Eerie's. He began chopping the carrot slowly, hoping Eerie could pick up on what he was supposed to be doing. "Like this, got it?"
Eerie let Levi chop a few and soon he understood. He nodded. “Okay. That makes sense.” Levi hovering behind him with their hands together made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He shook it off and grinned slightly.
"Okay, good." Levi stepped away to grab some garlic from the fridge and added it to the pan. The recipe he new used chicken, but he couldn't find any. He could probably substitute mushrooms, right? "Once you're done with the carrots, pass them to me and start chopping mushrooms."
Eerie nodded. He wasn’t sure how to chop mushrooms, but he could ask if he needed to. He soon finished with the carrots and pushed them into a pile on the board.
“There. I’m ready for the mushroom.”
Levi grabbed mushrooms and some broccoli from the fridge, adding some onions because he figured it would improve the flavor. "Here. I'm going to find a cutting board and help out." He looked on top of the fridge for a few seconds, grabbing another cutting board and a knife and setting to work on the broccoli.
Eerie grabbed the mushroom and poked at it for a few moments. He rolled it to its side, trying to chop off the stem, but he wasn’t asserting enough power, so it just rolled away. Eerie grabbed it and tried again; the same thing happened.
Levi finished with his broccoli and bit off a laugh when he saw Eerie struggling with the mushroom. "You need to cut it in half. Like this." He grabbed Eerie's hands again, wondering briefly if this was weird. Probably, but Eerie didn't seem to mind so he kept at it. It was the best way he knew to teach Eerie.
Eerie watched intently when Levi showed him how to cut it. He smiled a little.
“Sorry I don’t know how to chop anything. Cooking’s not really my thing.” He scooped the mushroom into a pile.
Levi shrugged. "Why would you? You're a prince." He stepped away from Eerie and moved onto chopping the onions. He sliced them into thin strips, squinting when his eyes began to water. He blinked a couple times, wiping at his eyes when he stopped being able to see. Fucking onions. They were lucky they tasted so good or nobody would touch them.