For Joan

[theodorelasso]

Continued from here.

(warnings: sexytimes. also, panic attacks, brutal violence, attempted murder, discussion of suicide and actual murder... )

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[formersurgeon]

She smiles at the kiss. "Ah," she says, picking up the spatula. "The happiest of mediums." She looks at the pan. "So...when do I flip the pancake?"

[theodorelasso]

"Ooh, we're that fresh, are we?" he asks excitedly, happy to teach Joan cooking stuff. "When you can see all of the batter has gotten sort of firm and isn't sloshing around anymore," he explains.

He finishes up all the prep, and then pours the first ladle into the pan. Which is definitely a little bit too hot, so he turns it down a bit. "Oof, okay, this one will probably not turn out great, so it's great for flipping practice." While they wait, he stands behind her, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head against hers.

[formersurgeon]

She smiles and leans back against him, resting her head against his in turn, settling her free hand on one of the arms wrapped around her. He's being so sweet and loving, and her heart is so full.

"I love you," she murmurs.

[theodorelasso]

"Love you too," he answers quietly, and turns his head a little to kiss her hair. Even just her presence is making this entire ordeal seem a lot more bearable, even occasionally enjoyable when he forgets about the circumstances, and he's so grateful for that.

"...Now's probably good," he says after a minute.

[formersurgeon]

She takes the handle of the pan in one hand and with the other works the spatula underneath the pancake. Then she flips it, and it only sort of comes apart. It's a little burnt from the pan having been too hot.

"That wasn't so bad," she says with a smile.

[theodorelasso]

"Nice!" Ted answers supportively, ever encouraging. "Hey, how about for the next one, I teach you how to flip it without the spatula? Eh?" He looks at her, enthusiastically expectant.

[formersurgeon]

She loves the praise, but the suggestion takes her by surprise and she blinks a little, laughing. "Really?" She shrugs. Why not? "Okay, what the hell? You're on, Lasso! Do you want to demonstrate first?"

[theodorelasso]

"Yeah, sure!" he answers, unwrapping himself from her and taking the pan from her. "You just push the pan away from you, and then pull it back sharply, and you let the curved edge do the work for you."

He demonstrates, fairly smoothly too, although it's a bit messy since the pancake is already coming apart a little bit. He then hands her back the pan. "Go on. This one's pretty burned, so it's a zero consequence situation."

[formersurgeon]

She watches him do it. "Mmm!" she hums as the pancake more or less flips over into the pan. "Impressive!" She takes the pan back and weighs it in her hand a little, feeling it out, before awkwardly trying the motion. The pancake crests the edge, but doesn't have enough momentum to flip. Instead it breaks in half, one half flopping back into the pan and the other falling on the stove.

"Oh that is tragic," she laughs.

[theodorelasso]

Ted laughs along with her, quickly grabbing the spatula to get it off the stove before it burns stuck to it, dropping it on a plate. A little undercooked on one side, and burnt on the other. Just perfect.

"Like I said - confidence, but not too much confidence. Here," he says, and steps behind her. He reaches around her, putting his hand on hers, and then shows her how to flip it a couple of times, while her hand is still on the handle, before letting go again. "Like that. Try flipping that piece a few times, you'll get the feel for it. Flick it a little bit up at the end, just not to much," he instructs encouragingly.

[formersurgeon]

There's a simple domestic intimacy to this, and as Joan moves with him as he helps her get a feel for flipping the pancake, she's struck by two realizations. The first is that he's coaching her, and it's amazing to be on the receiving end of his considerable talent. The second is that, in sharp defiance of their current circumstances, she cannot remember the last time she was this happy.

She flips the piece again and again, laughing at her failures, then gradually laughing at her successes as she starts to get the hang of it.

[theodorelasso]

"Heck yeah, look at you graduating from novice to pancake-flipping champion in minutes," Ted cheers on excitedly. "Alright, how about we actually continue cooking some of these, huh?" he suggests. He breaks a piece off the cooling half a pancake on the plate and pops it in his mouth. Mmm. Even slightly burnt, it's still pretty good.

[formersurgeon]

"Let's do it," she says enthusiastically, ready to take her pancake flipping to a higher level. She looks over at the batter bowl. "How much do you usually use per pancake?"

[theodorelasso]

"Well, I don't think 'usually' applies in this situation, cause apparently they're supposed to end up like this?" he says, holding up the empty box with the picture of some very thin pancakes. Most assuredly not the thick, fluffy American pancakes. "So I dunno, I guess we're just kind of winging it," he says, going to pour some more batter into the pan and just going with what seems an appropriate amount for pancakes that size and thickness.

[formersurgeon]

"Right. Winging it it is." She watches him pour another pancake-sized pool of batter onto the pan. "Do we flip it without the spatula the first time too?"

[theodorelasso]

"Eh, let's maybe play it cool, I think the only reason that one was okay to flip was because I made it too small, and, well, it was already kind of burnt," Ted answers, staring doubtfully at the pan. These things seem pretty big and floppy. "I'd like to be able to properly eat some of these." On that note, he breaks off another piece of the pancake to eat. Half the fun of cooking is getting to snack in the meantime.

[formersurgeon]

"Okay, do it the regular way, got it."

She waits, watching as the batter begins to solidify. Once it looks set she slides the spatula underneath it and flips it over. It stays together and is a perfect golden brown.

"Yes!" she exhales in victory.

[theodorelasso]

"Heck yeah!" Ted agrees, offering her up a high five. He is all about celebrating the tiny victories! Especially when they're food based.

[formersurgeon]

She gives him that high five enthusiastically. This is fun!

She waits for a few moments, then flips the pancake again, making sure the bottom is cooked. It's perfect.

[theodorelasso]

"Amazing," he says, grabbing another plate for this pristine pancake, holding it out so she can slide it on over. "You wanna share this one, as a celebratory first successful pancake?"

[formersurgeon]

"Sure," she says as she slides the pancake onto the plate. "Do we need silverware or do we just want to tear it apart and eat it with our hands?"

The latter sounds really appealing at the moment.

[theodorelasso]

"Well, apparently you're supposed to roll it up, so I think eating with our hands will work nice even if we stuff it full of jam," he answers, opening the jar of jam. Even having snacked a little, the pancake is looking really appetizing right now.

[formersurgeon]

"That sounds perfect," she says. She opens the silverware drawer to fetch a clean spoon and offers it to him.

[theodorelasso]

"Thank you," he says, accepting it and then hands her the ladle. "Here, you keep making them in the meantime." That way they can have a constant supple of pancakes while eating. He spreads jam over the pancake (hopefully not so much that it will drip terribly), then rolls it up, and cuts it in half in the middle just using the spoon.

When Joan has a moment in between ladling and cooking, he offers her up her half. "Here you go, sweetie."

[formersurgeon]

She makes another one in the time he takes to prepare the roll-up, sliding it on the plate as he offers her half, and calls her sweetie. She blinks, taken aback for a split second, then smiles. It's actually really nice.

"Thanks, honey," she says, trying that on for size as she accepts the roll-up.