To sweep me off to do something I haven't done? That's what you want to do? It's your birthday. [So shouldn't they be focusing on something that Taichi hasn't done? But there's something very nice about Taichi saying that and Hikaru doesn't exactly understand why but he isn't going to question it too much. Like all feelings he has.]
[It still doesn't make sense to Hikaru but he's also not going to argue it. If that's what Taichi wants then that's what he wants and it's nice. That Taichi wants to share moments with him. It feels good to know somebody wants to do that.]
Nope. Neither. Pretty sure Tono's wanted to go to karaoke at some point. I can snowboard and ski, though.
It could be fun to have Tono embarrass himself...you'll come, too, right? [By now, any plans that Hikaru makes, he plans on inviting Taichi along. It's been quickly decided that he likes spending time with Taichi so he will invite Taichi everywhere.]
If it isn't fun then you'll get punished. [He grins but it's an empty threat. Even Hikaru wouldn't be too mean to somebody on their birthday.]
[Hikaru's not too concerned about skateboarding. It isn't so much that he's athletically gifted but really, he assumes it's kind of like snowboarding.
But he won't be so mean as to punish Taichi on an empty stomach and he had been the one to offer food. Even if that food is a greasy food stall and Hikaru had only seen it from a distance but up close, it really doesn't look like quality. At least not the quality Hikaru expects and he is definitely looking judgmental at the food truck, concerned. If there has ever been a time that Hikaru very much looked like a snooty rich boy, it's probably right now if he never has before.]
I don't even know what you ask for in a place like this...
[The last time he had to order food at a commoner place, he was told he was asking for too much so he's not sure what is worse. Not knowing what to ask for or asking for something they can't give him.]
[ It's a food stand!!! And Taichi is kind of astonished that Hikaru appears unfamiliar. In the same way that someone Hikaru knows might stare at commoner staples with wonder, Taichi's bewilderment is focused on Hikaru. A real live rich person.. he's like an alien in his own way. ]
You're like a rare occurrence sometimes, Hikaru...
[ After another moment of staring in awe, Taichi grins though.]
Since you're a beginner, let's start you off easy. Do you like spicy or sour more?
[ Taichi already knows he wants something greasy, but he'll narrow down some options for Hikaru and then ask the guy to make it in sections so Hikaru can taste different styles. ]
You can take a bite of mine too, but you're probably not gonna be able to handle it. It's max level junk food!
[Hikaru stares back, completely perplexed because even if he knows that being as rich as he is is rare, he's not used to being the one to stand out like that. Is this how Haruhi feels, he wonders...
Besides is greasy junk food an experience he wants to be experienced in anyway? Not really but he also knows that Taichi enjoys this stuff so he's trying to share something his friend likes.]
Spicy. [Usually him and Kaoru just try to eat as spicy as possible just because but it is better than sour. Still, though, he wonders what Taichi's order will be like. Looking at the toppings list, it seems like it offers everything. Who knew fruit could go on something like this? ]
[ He turns to the person manning the cart and orders for both of them. ]
It's his first time, so let's do one dog that's half-plain with a side of ketchup and mustard, the other half chili and cheese. Then a second one that's the spicy jalapeno wiener with pico de gallo and guac, the other half should be fried bell peppers and pickled ghost peppers.
[ Now Hikaru can try those 4 kinds.. ] Then for mine, I want one spicy all-beef dog with jalapenos and cheese sauce on the cheddar crusted bun, and one okonomiyaki dog.
[ Which is a hot dog with cabbage and onion, okonomiyaki sauce, kewpie mayo, red pickled ginger, and nori strips. ] I like spicy too. You can taste mine too. There's all kinds of stuff you can do with hot dogs.
[That is a lot of food. Like Hikaru can eat a lot if he wants but that's also a lot of unhealthy food.
His poor stomach...
But he can't help but tease Taichi.]
Like swallow them. [He grins because he doesn't mean any harm.] But this is a lot of food. Still practicing for an eating contest? [It's so Hikaru can try different kinds and maybe he should have stopped him. Hikaru is still positive he won't like any of them.
Although the chili one has him curious. Only because he has never heard of such a thing before. That he wants to try.]
[ Taichi's stomach is a garbage and it is his birthday. There is no holding back. ]
Hehe.. like swallowing them. [ He sounds a little sheepish, remembering his faux-pas with that... then forgetting about it as he smells the hot dogs starting to get cooked. ]
Hmm, yours sound good though, maybe I'll swallow some of your wiener too.. [ His tummy makes a little grumbling sound in agreement... ]
[Hikaru blinks because did he just hear that? Did Taichi just hear that? Didn't they just talk about that? He laughs and shakes his head, dying as he leans on Taichi for support.]
I can't believe you! After you sounded so sheepish, you tell me you want to swallow my...[He cuts himself off and sighs like one does after you have a good laugh, still chuckling a little.] You're crazy. [But it isn't admonishing or anything. If anything, it sounds affectionate. Hikaru likes this side of Taichi. In a world where you really have to play a role, Hikaru isn't used to people like Taichi. Somebody that just wholly shows themselves like this. It's nice. It's refreshing.]
[He'd been laughing still at Taichi when he went up to go pay but the dating comment doesn't escape his notice as he freezes for a moment until the worker coughs, repeating the total. Hikaru nods, blushing a little and pays. They thought they were dating but they were guys and it isn't like Hikaru doesn't know men can date. Men do date. He just never had the idea for himself. Do him and Taichi look like that? They were just friends, right? It wasn't like they were acting romantic.
This place was just weird, he tells himself as decides to promptly forget about it. Ignore the rush of feeling he feels deep in his gut as he gets Taichi to help him carry the food.]
Geesh, this is a lot. [Hikaru laughs because he's just gonna act like he didn't hear that at all.]
[ Taichi looks a little embarrassed, but doesn't say anything. Hikaru already told him he's never even had a crush, so there's no way he'd be interested in Taichi. He doesn't even have to think about his own end of that possibility, since he dismisses himself as an option. ]
Don't worry, I'll eat anything you can't finish! My stomach is steel!
[ ..Though they should find somewhere to sit, since it is a lot to carry even if Taichi can eat too much easily. ]
[He's still feeling a bit flustered as he guides Taichi to some tables just a little bit away and once they sit down, he tries to think about anything else other than the fact somebody thought they looked like some couple.
And really, when he looks at the array of hot dogs in front of him, he's unable to look at anything else because seriously this is a lot of food and none of it looks appetizing to Hikaru.]
[ Taichi looks like he's trying not to drool. It smells so good, he's so ready to eat... in fact as soon as he sits down, he picks up one of his and takes a bit bite of it, looking positively ecstatic. ]
Try the one with the red and yellow first.
[ He doesn't know if rich people know what ketchup and mustard are, so he will indicate by colors. ]
[Taichi loves it but that's unsurprising. At least he does, though, this was for him.
Hikaru picks up the ketchup and mustard one, staring at it. ] Why is the mustard so bright...? [He's used to his fancier ones and he studies it for a moment before taking a cautious bite as he slowly chews. It's not disgusting but it's not good according to Hikaru's standards. He doesn't even bother to hide this either.
When he's done with one bite, he places it back down.] It wasn't the worst? The bagel bites were way worse.
It's yellow mustard. It costs ¥60 a bottle back home, so it's the most common. You're probably used to the gourmet mustard that's like ¥500 a bottle, right?
[ Just because it says gourmet, he thinks it's gourmet. :')
Well, everyone has stuff they don't like though. Taichi will balk at Chinese chives, for example. ]
Hm.. .try the chili or one of the spicy ones? The pico is fresh and fried veggies are awesome.
Wait...that's it? [Hikaru doesn't even buy groceries at home. Nor do his parents.] I mean, I don't really know what things cost. House staff does that but...seriously that's all you pay? [He takes another bite, frowns, and says:] Yeah, tastes about that much. [He's a rich snob. But he does take the other end to try the chili one. This time he mostly looks confused as he chews.]
What kind of cheese is this? It tastes...[Not like cheese?]
Well, I don't anymore. It's all in the budget Sakyo-nii gives to Director-sensei and Omi-kun at Mankai, and Omi-kun cooks in bulk batches for everyone so we get bulk-buy deals a lot and I don't know how much that comes out to. I usually just help carry the groceries home. Oh, but here I just order food and ask for extra packets. I have a whole drawer of sauce packets at home.
[ He grins proudly. ] Cheese sauce! It's like a liquid form of cheese, it goes really good on nachos too.
[Hikaru does understand budgets although he doesn't understand a personal budget. A grocery budget? What even is that? This is a world he knows nothing of. Bulk-buying is only something he's ever heard stories about. But maybe Taichi needs condiments as gifts? If he's taking sauce packets home...
Why is he proud of liquid cheese???] It doesn't taste anything like cheese! [He takes another bite.] I don't even know what I am tasting...[But he isn't offended just really, really confused.]
[ Hikaru should probably worry about what he's eating all the time that he's got an entire drawer of sauce packets, honestly. He makes a huge mess whenever he cooks, so if he can't stick it in the microwave he's mostly just eating out so he doesn't have to clean up after himself. It's entirely possible that without Omi and Sakyo (or like, his real mom and dad instead of the people he calls mom and dad) that he's lost about 10 years off his lifespan just from awful eating habits. ]
It's made from hm... [ Taichi has to slow down here for a second. Sorry, he's really awful with non-Japanese words. ] Veru.. Veruvetto..ta.. Veruveruveruto.. Veruv..iitaa? [ That one sounds right, even if Taichi still looks confused at what he's saying. ]
[Hikaru needs to get this boy on a better diet. Or at least refine his palate just a little. For his own sake.
Also so Hikaru isn't stuck eating trash the whole time but also for Taichi's health.]
Yeah, I have no idea what you're talking about. [Hikaru sucks at foreign language and he isn't going to know what some fake cheese is. He places the chili hot dog down because nope, didn't like it. So it's onto the green pepper and pickled ghost pepper. He takes a bite and actually this one isn't too bad. It's better than the other ones. The look on his face is surprised.] This isn't horrible. [It's not good but he can at least eat this one as he grabs a bottle of water he bought and the water he sticks his tongue out at.] That water is, though. [It's not his fancy filtered water :(]
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I'm trying to be all thoughtful and everything.
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[ A truly unique gift... ]
Have you done karaoke? Skateboarded?
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Nope. Neither. Pretty sure Tono's wanted to go to karaoke at some point. I can snowboard and ski, though.
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[ He doesn't want to invite himself but he sure wants Hikaru to invite him... so he'll just hint that he would like that. ]
Do you want me to teach you to skateboard? It'll be fun, I promise. We can board slowly holding hands once you learn the basics!
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If it isn't fun then you'll get punished. [He grins but it's an empty threat. Even Hikaru wouldn't be too mean to somebody on their birthday.]
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[ Taichi smiles at the invite, happy he got it. ]
If you like roller coasters, you'll like skateboarding. It takes practice though since it's like a free-form coaster with no seatbelts.
[ Well, that's one way to describe it. ] Let's eat first though, hehe. Don't punish me on an empty stomach~
[ They're probably almost there. ]
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But he won't be so mean as to punish Taichi on an empty stomach and he had been the one to offer food. Even if that food is a greasy food stall and Hikaru had only seen it from a distance but up close, it really doesn't look like quality. At least not the quality Hikaru expects and he is definitely looking judgmental at the food truck, concerned. If there has ever been a time that Hikaru very much looked like a snooty rich boy, it's probably right now if he never has before.]
I don't even know what you ask for in a place like this...
[The last time he had to order food at a commoner place, he was told he was asking for too much so he's not sure what is worse. Not knowing what to ask for or asking for something they can't give him.]
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You're like a rare occurrence sometimes, Hikaru...
[ After another moment of staring in awe, Taichi grins though.]
Since you're a beginner, let's start you off easy. Do you like spicy or sour more?
[ Taichi already knows he wants something greasy, but he'll narrow down some options for Hikaru and then ask the guy to make it in sections so Hikaru can taste different styles. ]
You can take a bite of mine too, but you're probably not gonna be able to handle it. It's max level junk food!
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Besides is greasy junk food an experience he wants to be experienced in anyway? Not really but he also knows that Taichi enjoys this stuff so he's trying to share something his friend likes.]
Spicy. [Usually him and Kaoru just try to eat as spicy as possible just because but it is better than sour. Still, though, he wonders what Taichi's order will be like. Looking at the toppings list, it seems like it offers everything. Who knew fruit could go on something like this? ]
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[ He turns to the person manning the cart and orders for both of them. ]
It's his first time, so let's do one dog that's half-plain with a side of ketchup and mustard, the other half chili and cheese. Then a second one that's the spicy jalapeno wiener with pico de gallo and guac, the other half should be fried bell peppers and pickled ghost peppers.
[ Now Hikaru can try those 4 kinds.. ] Then for mine, I want one spicy all-beef dog with jalapenos and cheese sauce on the cheddar crusted bun, and one okonomiyaki dog.
[ Which is a hot dog with cabbage and onion, okonomiyaki sauce, kewpie mayo, red pickled ginger, and nori strips. ] I like spicy too. You can taste mine too. There's all kinds of stuff you can do with hot dogs.
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His poor stomach...
But he can't help but tease Taichi.]
Like swallow them. [He grins because he doesn't mean any harm.] But this is a lot of food. Still practicing for an eating contest? [It's so Hikaru can try different kinds and maybe he should have stopped him. Hikaru is still positive he won't like any of them.
Although the chili one has him curious. Only because he has never heard of such a thing before. That he wants to try.]
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Hehe.. like swallowing them. [ He sounds a little sheepish, remembering his faux-pas with that... then forgetting about it as he smells the hot dogs starting to get cooked. ]
Hmm, yours sound good though, maybe I'll swallow some of your wiener too.. [ His tummy makes a little grumbling sound in agreement... ]
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I can't believe you! After you sounded so sheepish, you tell me you want to swallow my...[He cuts himself off and sighs like one does after you have a good laugh, still chuckling a little.] You're crazy. [But it isn't admonishing or anything. If anything, it sounds affectionate. Hikaru likes this side of Taichi. In a world where you really have to play a role, Hikaru isn't used to people like Taichi. Somebody that just wholly shows themselves like this. It's nice. It's refreshing.]
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I didn't mean--! Hikaruuuu!
[ The shopkeep comes back with their hot dogs in little paper trays and a stack of napkins, chuckling at the two of them.
"What a cute couple," they comment as they give Hikaru the total and ask if they want anything to drink. ]
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This place was just weird, he tells himself as decides to promptly forget about it. Ignore the rush of feeling he feels deep in his gut as he gets Taichi to help him carry the food.]
Geesh, this is a lot. [Hikaru laughs because he's just gonna act like he didn't hear that at all.]
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Don't worry, I'll eat anything you can't finish! My stomach is steel!
[ ..Though they should find somewhere to sit, since it is a lot to carry even if Taichi can eat too much easily. ]
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And really, when he looks at the array of hot dogs in front of him, he's unable to look at anything else because seriously this is a lot of food and none of it looks appetizing to Hikaru.]
Where do I even start...
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[ Taichi looks like he's trying not to drool. It smells so good, he's so ready to eat... in fact as soon as he sits down, he picks up one of his and takes a bit bite of it, looking positively ecstatic. ]
Try the one with the red and yellow first.
[ He doesn't know if rich people know what ketchup and mustard are, so he will indicate by colors. ]
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Hikaru picks up the ketchup and mustard one, staring at it.
] Why is the mustard so bright...? [He's used to his fancier ones and he studies it for a moment before taking a cautious bite as he slowly chews. It's not disgusting but it's not good according to Hikaru's standards. He doesn't even bother to hide this either.
When he's done with one bite, he places it back down.] It wasn't the worst? The bagel bites were way worse.
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[ Just because it says gourmet, he thinks it's gourmet. :')
Well, everyone has stuff they don't like though. Taichi will balk at Chinese chives, for example. ]
Hm.. .try the chili or one of the spicy ones? The pico is fresh and fried veggies are awesome.
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What kind of cheese is this? It tastes...[Not like cheese?]
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[ He grins proudly. ] Cheese sauce! It's like a liquid form of cheese, it goes really good on nachos too.
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Why is he proud of liquid cheese???] It doesn't taste anything like cheese! [He takes another bite.] I don't even know what I am tasting...[But he isn't offended just really, really confused.]
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It's made from hm... [ Taichi has to slow down here for a second. Sorry, he's really awful with non-Japanese words. ] Veru.. Veruvetto..ta.. Veruveruveruto.. Veruv..iitaa? [ That one sounds right, even if Taichi still looks confused at what he's saying. ]
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Also so Hikaru isn't stuck eating trash the whole time but also for Taichi's health.]
Yeah, I have no idea what you're talking about. [Hikaru sucks at foreign language and he isn't going to know what some fake cheese is. He places the chili hot dog down because nope, didn't like it. So it's onto the green pepper and pickled ghost pepper. He takes a bite and actually this one isn't too bad. It's better than the other ones. The look on his face is surprised.] This isn't horrible. [It's not good but he can at least eat this one as he grabs a bottle of water he bought and the water he sticks his tongue out at.] That water is, though. [It's not his fancy filtered water :(]
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