#Best Instant Soup Packets

[speedlimit15]

you see this young devil boy in the instant noodle aisle and you grab him. this is a request

[catboynutsack]

finding out I have ARFID as an adult really helped cement the fact that I was medically neglected and traumatized. Like obviously normal people don't go on hunger strikes when there's food in the house but my mother didn't care as long as I was quiet. After all, I was fat! I was well fed, clearly! I definitely wasn't surviving off of cereal when available bc that's the only safe food she'd allow in the house (and it would go fast and not be replenished, it was like. Once every four weeks to eight weeks as I got older and more disabled.) and permanently gained weight from the fucking high sugar and starvation cycle i grew up in <3

[sandsorghum]

synopsis: Higuruma makes *you* breakfast in bed for the first time

wc: 1.7k tags: fluffy! (unlike his eggs) . established relationship. romance.

a/n: inspired by @breekento's absolutely lovely photoset. a lil idyll, a smidge of indulgence. i couldn't help myself when he's so boyfriend-shaped [to the best of his abilities because...it's higuruma after all]

You were both supposed to be paying off some fairly massive sleep debts;and you hadn't even been incurring them in the usual fun ways.

The tradeoff of being slumber deprived to be a little depraved - ok, maybe more than a little - was hardly a dilemma for you and Higuruma; something you had figured out together early on in your relationship. Just one more way the two of you complemented each other, a pair of stubborn night owls turned lovebirds.

But work has been brutal; you're up to your neck in revisions to proposals for the sustainability bureau, and Higuruma's latest case had him building his defense strategy from scratch twice over now.

You can't remember the last time you shared a dinner that wasn't microwaveable. And pretty soon even the heaps of instant ramen packets were replaced by looming piles of onigiri wrappers, threatening to spill out of the bins - because fiddling with tiny sachets of powdered soup and rinsing out pots became too much of a luxury. So it was lots of take out, and very little making out.

You came to cherish the front doorstep to your apartments, a sacred altar where your bodies crossed each other in the morning bustle, swift as pedestrians, surrendering to serendipity; yet Cupid's best efforts could only conspire to the briefest, briskest brushes of your mouths before you hurried off towards your hectic jobs.

Evenings fared little better. Slouching past where he'd be collapsed on the couch at 2am, you'd drop a peck on his forehead when you could, if you had the strength to peel back the post-its with comments on penal code sections and the stacks of annotated alibis, gentle in your excavation of the mountainous documents, even as you know there's never any erosion of Higuruma's workaholism.

So you got good at deciphering the same crabbed handwriting on the fridge's notepad, mostly apologies and promises, before they dwindled down to hasty scratches of frowny emojis, blotting out dates on the calendar. All of it sincere, and all of it thwarted.

Weeks grated by like that, with their numbing addendums of cancelled grocery lists and rainchecks, strings of his snarky texts and your grumpy selfies becoming the lifeline of your relationship.

A month or maybe two, passed and finally, finally the pitches were accepted, as were the plea deals. Surely things could go back to normal now?

So, when you rolled over this morning anticipating a long overdue snuggle against Higuruma's chest, to instead find only a cold spot on his side of bed, the chagrin prickles through you so sharply it pierces through the groggy fog of sleep you still very much need.

"Hiro..." The pillows, absent of even his scent have the further audacity to muffle your grumble. But then you feel a slightly self-conscious chuckle roll honeywarm over your spine, and the dip of the bed as it welcomes the return of a weight that never should have left it at this hour.

"Sorry darling, I got hungry. Figured you might be too."

Your head creaks to the side, a warm scent wafting through the final defenses of your pillow fort. It's one you haven't smelled in a very, very long time.

"Masako's?"

Higuruma chuckles at the disbelief in your voice, still slumber-hoarse.

"That's right, made the pilgrimage all the way to Yoyogi. Just for you."

You hear the scrape of a knife and a rich, buttery aroma mingles with the morning air. Then you hear Higuruma's voice, dredged in huskiness from his drowsiness, drawling close to your ear. "So, forgive me yet?"

Your huff is already half buried in the pillow as you turn away from him and Higuruma sighs, wishing you'd at least treat him to your scowl. But he'll play along, after all it's been a while since the both of you could squander a morning on feigned pettiness.

"It's cute when you pretend to hold out on me," he muses, teasing his fingers through your locks before a heated palm comes to cup your cheek. "But the bagels are getting cold."

You can't help leaning into Higuruma's touch, purely instinctive, a vine supine toward its sun. But still you manage to mutter, "W'er s'posed to cuddle this mrngh."

You feel the grin in his voice long before it sneaks up to the corner of your lips. "We'll have the whole day to cuddle..."

Higuruma's aquiline nose dips down your neck, stopping just short of the spot he knows elicits a hitch in your breath. "Or not cuddle."

Drat him, and those nimble fingertips, just starting to skim beneath the hem of your shirt, summoning butterflies so swiftly you're uncertain if the swoop in your belly is from their innocently tickling antennae, or his digits' dexterous pretense of roaming your skin idly.

"For now, I'd like you to acknowledge the attempt I'm calling an omelette."

Now that has your eyes snapping open and jolting upright, shuffling around to stare at your partner who, for all his towering intellect, has never been able to distinguish a whisk from a sieve.

"You cooked? I didn't hear anything. What happened, were the batteries dead in the smoke alarm?"

"I'll have you know I actually replaced them recently."

Your skepticism retreats as you register Higuruma's mildly wounded expression. He turns to the side table, retrieving a breakfast tray and setting it before you. True, the yellow oblong by the perfectly browned discs is a little squat and misshapen, but it's distinctly missing the burnt, greasy odour you've come to reflexively associate with even his best attempts.

But this morning, you aren't even seeing any flecks of black. In fact, you start to notice the specks of green.

"Scallions?"

You raise the dish, squinting at the garnish, before lowering it to stare at Higuruma.

"Who are you and what have you done with my lover?"

"I guess I'm just some other man who's fallen for the charms of your terribly exacting egg standards," he deadpans, ruffling your hair and pressing a fork into your hand. "Now dear, if you'd be so kind as to make your judgment."

You take a sip of tea, made exactly how you like it (black, half a teaspoon of sugar, sans milk or creamer - maybe this man seated across from you isn't an impostor after all) and once you've washed down your bewilderment, set to properly tackling breakfast.

You take a breath, and let your fork cleave through the omelette. It cuts through cleanly, and doesn't wobble once on its way to your mouth.

It's...edible, you decide. Serviceable even, provided you were getting served at a road side gas station. But then you remember who cooked it, which practically makes it a 3 Michelin Star meal.

"It's good. Properly seasoned and everything." You smile, taking another bite.

"So how many dozens of eggs did you go through before you achieved this masterpiece?"

Higuruma shakes his head and huffs, casting his eyes heavenward. "Oh ye of little faith."

"In my defense, this is a novelty, Hiro. You've never spoiled me this way before."

You chuckle, tweaking his cheek, and his put-upon morose expression falters, as affection glimmers in his eyes instead.

"Three-quarters are still intact," he informs you, watching you sip your tea.

"Three quarters of the carton?" Your lip curls knowingly around the edge of your mug, and something stirs within Higuruma.

"Of the tray," he confesses, pulling your hand into his, starting to rub soft circles against your wrist.

"Couldn't be too cautious, hm?"

"I had Wikihow's assistance. And it's not my first time cooking eggs, you know."

You chew on the bagel for a quiet, contemplative moment.

"But the first time serving them?"

Your partner shrugs, but the way he averts his gaze for a moment tells you what you need to know. You squeeze his hand, and he looks back up at you.

"Thanks, Hiro. For making the morning special." You brush your forehead against his, savouring his happy hum reverberating against your cheeks as you put the tray off to the side.

"With this display of confidence, maybe you could even try tamagoyaki some time."

"Well, now that seems a tad ambitious-" Higuruma begins to equivocate but you shut him up with a kiss, tossing off the quilts and clambering into his lap, your appetite truly having been awakened at last.

He lets your hunger rush over him, falling backwards as his tongue greedily clambers towards yours, feeling a burden lift as your weight presses him back into bed, as your hips settle into their slow, needy grind against his. He kisses you, drinks you in more deeply, tasting the tannins of the tea he'd over-brewed while fussing with that dang omelette, but mingling with your scent and sweetness, it's nothing short of the most potent ambrosia. Higuruma groans, he's been parched of your taste and starved of your touch for weeks and weeks and he wants - needs you to drain him of these reservoirs of ache and desperation that have been suffocating him for so long.

Delirium and his desire floods through you, Higuruma's hands skittering everywhere, almost antsy enough to shred the fabric off of you. Higuruma nips urgently at your lips and you let his tongue, his limbs, his scent coil around you, entwined in his essence and embrace. His name spills from you in shallow gasps, pleading for a minor reprieve from the pleasure, but he persists, busying himself at your nape, suckling eagerly, flint-edged nose and canines planting tender bruises. It's only when you flinch slightly from the overstimulation of his roving mouth that he relents, reluctantly, tipping your head back to assess his efforts.

He likes what he sees; Your skin glowing in roses, dewy with his sweat and spit. Your famished gaze, devouring him as he devours you

"Maybe you should spend more time in the kitchen after all," you giggle, running your hands through his scalp, and you feel that burst of familiar wet heat as Higuruma quivers underneath you, a sodden spot growing and twitching against your core.

He presses his lips to you once more, his smirk both scalding and saccharine as he murmurs, "Never mind my rudimentary culinary skills darling, I'm going to spoil you in all the ways you already know, and then some."

@houseofsolisoccasum

[disasterbuck]

Hiii 💕💕💕

For the prompts: “did you eat today?”

-❤️🪐

bestIEEEEEEEEE omg I had no idea this fic was gonna turn out like this but I LOVE IT so THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PROMPT!!!! I really hope you like it too 🥰

did you eat today?

At the sound of a door opening and closing, Eddie stretched and rubbed at his eyes. He must've fallen asleep on the couch without realising it, as the room had grown dark around him. Pushing himself up, he turned around to see Buck toeing off his shoes beside the door.

"Hey," Buck said softly, smiling at him. "I just wanted to make sure you two were doing okay."

"Thanks," Eddie murmured, something warm unfurling in his chest.

Raising an eyebrow questioningly, Buck gestured at the light switch. Eddie nodded and Buck flicked it on.

"How's Chris?" Buck asked.

With a start, Eddie tensed and looked down the hallway. "I think he's okay, but I haven't checked on him in a while. I fell asleep," he explained, taking a step in the direction of his son's room.

But then Buck's hand was on his shoulder, holding him back.

"I'll check on him," Buck said, his head tilting to one side as he studied Eddie's face. "You look like you could use a break. Did you eat today?"

What a stupid question, Eddie thought to himself, a moment before realising he couldn't actually remember the last time he'd eaten anything. The morning had been a blur of stressing about Christopher and calling Bobby to say he wouldn't be able to come in to work, and then the rest of the day had been spent taking care of his son and making sure he got enough fluids into his system.

"Does coffee count?" Eddie asked with a wry grin.

Unimpressed, Buck gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Go have some water. I'll check on Chris and then whip up something for dinner."

Eddie watched him disappear down the hall to Christopher's room before sighing and making his way to the kitchen, turning lights on as he went. Obediently he got himself a glass of water, downing it almost in one go and then grimacing as his stomach rumbled hungrily.

Putting the empty glass down on the bench, he then followed the faint murmur of voices to Christopher's room and paused in the doorway with a smile.

Buck was sitting on the edge of the bed, one hand smoothing hair back from Christopher's face while the boy had his eyes closed. Without his glasses Chris looked a lot younger and Eddie felt a brief pang of nostalgia for all the years that had come and gone already.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Buck said quietly. "Your dad's done a good job of looking after you today, huh?"

"He always does," Chris mumbled sleepily.

Shifting forward, Buck brushed his lips against Chris' forehead – Eddie felt something settle in his soul, like a puzzle piece finally slotting into place.

"I love you. I'm gonna go make some dinner and maybe get you some soup or something. Does that sound good?" Getting a nod in response, Buck stood up and headed for the door, grinning when he saw Eddie. The two of them went back to the kitchen together and Buck immediately began pulling things out of cupboards so he could get started on dinner.

"You had some water?" he asked as Eddie pulled out a chair to sit down.

"Yeah."

Buck nodded approvingly and then asked, "Hey, do you have any instant soup?"

Eddie gestured to where he thought there might be some and Buck set to work rummaging through the cupboard. He made a small sound of triumph a moment later, holding up a single serve chicken noodle soup packet.

Eddie's eyes followed him as he moved around the kitchen like he belonged there, prepping the soup for Christopher and getting things together for their dinner as well. He didn't need to ask where anything was or if he was allowed to do this; he already knew.

Because he'd been practically living here for such a long time already. He was part of their family. Eddie trusted Christopher with him completely and had done for years. He was Eddie's best friend and closest confidante. The two of them were practically inseparable – demonstrated by the way they couldn't even go a day without seeing each other before Buck was letting himself in with his key to say hi.

Scraping his chair back across the floor, Eddie stood and made his way around the table to where Buck was scattering bocconcini onto two pizza bases. Buck glanced up automatically with a smile.

"Could you stop for a second?" Eddie asked, heart in his throat as he put a hand on Buck's arm.

"Are you okay?" Buck asked, his smile turning into a concerned frown as he brushed off his fingers and gave Eddie his full attention.

"Yeah," Eddie said, and despite his racing pulse his voice was strong. Sure. "I am."

Slipping his hands into Buck's food-stained ones, Eddie sank down onto one knee and revelled in the choked gasp that left Buck's mouth and the way his eyes went wider than he'd ever seen them before.

"Buck … Evan," Eddie said softly, smiling as he saw tears welling up in Buck's eyes. "Will you marry me?"

Speechless, Buck opened and shut his mouth in an impression of a fish as he searched for something to say. When Eddie raised an eyebrow he choked out, "Are you having a stroke? We're not… I mean, we haven't even…"

"I know what I'm asking," Eddie said steadily, giving a small nod of reassurance. "I want you in my life, Buck. Forever. I'm just sorry it's taken me so long to see what's right in front of me."

Blinking rapidly to keep his tears at bay, Buck squeezed Eddie's hands tightly. "Yes," he whispered, then cleared his throat and repeated louder, "Yes! Absolutely. A thousand times yes."

And then he was pulling Eddie up and into his arms, crushing their chests together in the most soul-healing hug of all time. Eddie let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding and buried his face in Buck's shoulder, lips pressed to warm skin.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, clinging to each other silently, until at last they drew back and looked into each others eyes. Buck's were still wet, and two tear tracks ran down his cheeks.

"I hope it goes without saying," Eddie murmured, lifting his hands to Buck's face and gently wiping his tears away with his thumbs. "That I love you."

"Yeah," Buck said with a grin, another tear getting caught in his eyelashes. "But it doesn't hurt to hear it. And Eddie, I love you too."

Leaning in so that their lips were almost touching, Eddie whispered, "I know you do," and then kissed him.

-

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[eggluverz]

hey~ fellow writer here!

Do you have some modern/college au Dan Heng x F! Reader head-canons? Your writing literally fixes my writer's block tysm!!!! Maybe once I get my life together we can be writing friends :)

🩵🩵🩵

dan heng college au headcanons

PAIRING. dan heng x f!reader

GENRE. modern au, college au, fluff

SOF'S NOTE. HI HI FELLOW WRITER :3 ty for the req i hope u enjoy these random college hc's hehe + i hope u can get thru ur writers block soon 🥺 and we can be friends even if ur not in a writing phase rn !! i def don't mind, new friends are always welcome 🩵🩵

dan heng seems quiet, but he is definitely not shy

he joins a few clubs that he has sincere interests in and attends the meetings pretty regularly 

he mets you in one of them 

you’re paired together for an awkward club bonding activity but somehow hit it off

from there you hang out on-campus together

study sessions in the library, late night fast food runs, early morning cafe meetings… you easily become a big part of his life and he enjoys every moment of it 

he is not much of a party person, but he will go with you if you ask

the frat bros try to get him to rush but he isn’t interested in joining (he has enough on his plate as is)

when he’s at a party with you, he holds your drink and watches over it when you go to the bathroom

if you ever look uncomfortable with a guy trying to dance with you, dan heng is there by your side in an instant

he has 100% had to pretend to be your boyfriend to get persistent men off your back

one night you ask “what if you really were my boyfriend?” 

dan heng wonders if you’re asking sincerely or as a joke, but you just smile and giggle instead of elaborating 

dan heng is a diligent student and enjoys his studies 

however he will get sidetracked during study sessions by going down random, semi-related rabbit holes instead of the actual topic at hand

dan heng is an avid proponent for office hours

he will go whenever he has questions or ideas 

he offers to go with you if you get too nervous to go alone

he walks you to the professor’s office and waits outside for you to finish, giving you a small pep talk and gentle squeeze on your arm to calm your nerves 

dan heng is supportive and sweet and everything you’d want in a bf :3

during stressful times when it feels like everything in the world has piled up (projects are due, exams are coming, group presentations are scheduled), he feels like he can come to you for comfort

you’re both drowning in work but at least it’s together <3 and you always remind him to take breaks when he needs

once, when he was really swamped with work and extracurriculars, he became too stressed and got sick 

you make him a care package with some medicine, cough drops, tissues, tea packets, honey, and a little teddy bear to keep him company

you come over to make him soup even though he says not to bc he doesn’t want to get you sick

you wear a mask and come over anyway, not wanting your best friend to be alone while he’s both stressed and sick

“don’t forget to take care of yourself,” you say worriedly, wiping the sweat of his forehead with a cool cloth and serving him some soup in bed (you’re in college so the soup is just chicken flavored ramen with egg added, but it’s the thought that counts)

dan heng realizes how grateful he is that he has you

in his sick and dazed stupor he says he wants to be your boyfriend and kisses your cheek

you ask if he really means it

dan heng’s eyes widen when he realizes what he just said but he didn’t take it back. he meant it, after all 

“yes, i mean it. will you be my girlfriend?”

you get so excited you nod and kiss him, forgetting he’s sick

you catch his cold the next day but easily decide it was worth it :3 

[sassypotatoe1]

Survival guide for the adhd/depressed/autistic newly established office worker:

Brought to you by a depressed adhd autistic who took 10 months to adjust to office life after starting to work their first full time job.

Food:

We all have trouble with food, no denying it, so how do you manage it? Well there's a couple of ways depending on your individual needs.

If you're like me and you will end up just not eating if you don't have food immediately accessible, keep a snack drawer. Empty an entire drawer in your desk, buy a combination of healthy and less nutritious snack food that's shelf stable in bulk. I typically get a bunch of packets of like two types of potato chips/crisps, a bunch of single serving packets of salted peanuts, single serving packets of dried fruit flakes because the solid dried fruit are a sensory nightmare, and a bag of lollipops. By 10ish when I need my first snack I pop a lollipop, and if I didn't pack lunch I have access to fiber, protein, fat and carbs.

I also sniffed around for a couple of months to find the best deal on safe food takeout, ie a meal that's filling, relatively balanced, cheap and fits my texture and taste sensitivities. When it gets too expensive I find another one. Once a week I allow myself to get that if I didn't pack lunch so I don't end up spending all my money on takeout but still get to eat well enough.

If you're concerned about overeating or eating less nutritious food, get nutritious safe food options. They're typically a bit more expensive and a bit less shelf stable, I keep instant soup with freeze dried veggies in my drawer in the winter, and I have a tub of ensure to make shakes if I feel I'm missing out on some nutrients. Focus more on dried fruits, pretzels, nuts, instant food with veggies and nutrient loaded fruit juice. Get ensure if you can afford it. In a limited way it can act as a nutritious meal replacement, but I mean limited as in once or twice a week. Do not replace all your meals with a nutrition shake.

When you buy fresh produce, process it immediately before it goes into the fridge/freezer. Don't let that head of lettuce wilt and rot. Pull it apart, wash it off, put what you're not using immediately in a ziploc in the freezer if it freezes, and put the rest open in the produce section of your fridge. Not only will it already be ready to use when you use it, if it's not in a bag or container where the moisture is trapped it remains fresh for longer. That or if you can afford it buy pre-processed produce, divide it into serving portions, freeze what can be frozen.

Buy. Ready. Made. Meals. I know microwave dinners are the butt of the depression joke but they're literally life-saving, because when I was really struggling with my depression and ARFID microwave dinners were my only source of nutrition for a while and it literally kept me from actually dying. Do not be ashamed to meet your needs.

Stimming:

Keep some of your fidget toys or stimming items at your desk. I keep my tangle and fidget cube there so I don't pick my eyebrows to hell and back. It doesn't always work but it's better than nothing. Keep chewing gum in your car. Chewing tricks your brain into thinking you're eating, which tells your sympathetic nervous system that you're safe. It helps you focus better on driving and keeps you a bit calmer making your reaction times faster and less impulsive.

Reminders:

Keep a pad of sticky notes on your desk, preferably a neon color, and all the pens you own that you don't care about losing. Set a reminder on your phone calendar, your computer calendar, your email calendar, on a sticky note on your wall, and in your physical diary. No chance of forgetting something if you do that, because you can't miss all of them.

Take some time to figure out your grocery list. What do you typically need in a month? Make a printout of that grocery list and keep it on your fridge and your phone, along with a monthly or weekly calendar reminder to go grocery shopping. Before you head out check what you still have plenty of and preemptively check it off on your phone list so you don't accidentally buy too much of something.

Keep a "what's in my fridge" log on your fridge. It makes you more aware of what's in there, how long it's been in there, and whether you should throw it out or eat it or leave it. Keep a chart of how long foods hold in the fridge beside that log. The log lists what is in the fridge, when it went into the fridge, when the product seal was broken, and the expiry date of the product. No more moldy fridge food.

Miscellaneous:

Assign care tasks to another task that's already a regular habit. Keep your morning meds by the kettle, and make taking out a dose part of the process of making your morning coffee. Pick a task you do daily at work, usually in the morning, and assign wearing your glasses to that task. I need my glasses to proofread the print dummies because the font isn't very friendly, so I accidentally got into the habit of making putting on my glasses part of the proofreading process. Brushing teeth is part of makeup. Showering is part of getting dressed. It's easier to complete these tasks if I don't view them as seperate tasks, but rather as steps in a different task that comes more naturally to me.

I keep sticky notes and pens in my car, as well as in my purse when I use it, so I can make notes of things when I need to. Car care notes go on stickies when I notice the need, then I'm reminded of it every time I'm in the car. I typically don't even have to read the note, I see that there is one and usually remember what it was about. This helps me remember what I need to do to maintain my car, because I have gotten in an accident and forgotten about it and drove around with a warped front fender for a month. I currently have a sticky note to get my tire pressure checked when I go home from work tonight on my dash.

That's all I have but TL:DR allow yourself to meet your needs without shame, no matter how strange or childish they seem, and find loopholes to your behavior for the best outcome for your health, safety and productivity. Like I said in the intro it took me 10 months to figure out these, so don't be afraid to take the time to figure out what works for you. It'll be absolutely worth it.

[transactinides]

i'm super bad at cooking and never know where to start because every recipe out there asks for ingredients i simply don't have at home so do you perhaps know what basic ones would be good to stock up on? like eggs and stuff...especially when it comes to spices i have no idea what is okay to use

Haii o/ very honored that you sent me an ask, and ofc I’ll do my best to help! This reply got a bit out of hand so. Long text under the cut. Behold. Feel free to reach out in asks or dms or whatever with any future questions (@ everyone tbh).

Food is, of course, very subjective, so my idea of a perfect list of foods to keep a stock of will not be universal, but I hope this will, at least, give you some ideas if anything. 

First of all, I usually mentally break down my typical weekday recipe into vaguely carbs source - protein source - veggies, buy a couple of options for each category and just switch them around for variety. My standard set is

rice / pasta (usually spaghetti re:shapes) / glass noodles

eggs / chicken / tofu / bacon

random pack of frozen vegetables, bell peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers, leafy greens. garlic and onions too

I have an option of making egg fried rice with chopped up bacon and added frozen vegetables one day, then blending the leftover vegetables with bell peppers and tomatoes to use as pasta sauce with chicken and spaghetti the next day, then branching out and making eggplant tofu stir fry with glass noodles, then using whatever eggplant tofu stir fry i had left as rice balls filling and making myself a quick vegetable salad on the side… And all those things are easy to make and don’t need much fussing around. 

Other options to consider would be potatoes (you can roast them with whatever, boil, fry, etc), buckwheat (my wife doesn’t like it otherwise I’d use it more often), kidney beans and chickpeas for your carbs*; fish and meat for your proteins (those are. a bit too expensive for me usually); carrots, cabbage, leeks etc. 

The list looks long, but, again, you just need to pick out a couple of things from each group and throw shit in a pan so to speak. And a lot of them are easily soup-able (boiling water chicken potatoes carrots rice? boom soup. etc), which is another easy base recipe to exploit.

Now to the matter of spices. Salt and pepper are obvious enough, but a good thing to look for are, especially if you are just getting into cooking, spice blends. Something something French Herbs™ something something Taco Seasoning™ something something Seven Spice™ something something Garam Masala™. There’s a lot of different ones, but they are, essentially, a formed flavor profile in themselves, so you don’t need to worry about mixing spices and herbs that might not go well together, and by paying attention to contents you can learn for yourself what individual seasonings are commonly used together.

Also, everyone, hold your judgement real quick and trust me with this, but ooh I always save leftover flavor packets from instant ramen and reuse them in other dishes. Egg fried rice just doesn’t taste right without suspicious red powder courtesy of shin ramen… It’s probably MSG my beloved or something…

While I’m at it, bouillon cubes are handy to have, you can use them for soups, crumble them up in other recipes. Adding one to the water you’re cooking rice in is a great hack at making it more flavourful.

In general, while I do actually have way too much spices (and keep buying more… very excited about my newly acquired dried tarragon…), the ones I’d advise to have for an average person would be:

Salt (ideally both coarse grain and fine grain, but fine grain only serves you just right)

black pepper (both in a mill/grinder and peppercorns), red pepper flakes

paprika, garlic powder, ginger powder

bay leaves, dried oregano, basil, thyme, dill, cinnamon, coriander, cardamon, cumin, turmeric, sumak....

I really got a bit carried away by the end, but. You don't actually need to buy all of them and at the same time, just start with whatever couple of things you'd need for whatever you are cooking and let your collection build up over time, since spices aren't something you need to buy often anyway 👍

Other things I think it’s nice to have in stock in your kitchen would be flour and baking powder, vinegar (distilled vinegar, rice vinegar… I like to have balsamic vinegar too but it’s so expensive it’s ridiculous ngl), soy sauce, cooking oil of your choice (I use sunflower oil, olive oil and sesame oil), panko or breadcrumbs, starch (i have potato starch, cornstarch and tapioka starch, I would suggest just getting cornstarch at first).

* going to clarify here that while beans are often brought up as a source of protein, most are rich in complex carbs, excluding edamame and green beans for example. And since I mostly often cook beans with meat, they check out my daily carbs in my head.

[windandwater]

I've seen endless posts and ideas about stuff you can add to instant ramen to make it a little bit more of a meal and yes add an egg and whatever vegetables but the number one thing I've found that improved the flavor. is to buy a bottle of sweet soy sauce for rice. and when you're done cooking just add it on top. I like to drain most of the the broth because I want noodles more than I want soup but it just blends well with those shitty seasoning packets.

this tastes the best with soy sauce flavor ramen but I can vouch for chicken ramen too. honestly that sweet soy sauce is the best thing I've ever found at H Mart. it goes on everything.

[inchling-prince]

@kyokittymeow’s new fic post about Acronix being sick reminded me that I’ve got sick time twins headcanons that I’ve never posted.

Obviously they do their best to care for each other while ill no matter how unbearable to be around they are. (Krux is grouchy and doesn’t think he has time to take it easy and Acronix is whiny and lazy) but also neither one of them are particularly nurturing by nature so they aren’t always very good at it. Krux is an enforcer of taking horrible cough syrups, and is a big believer in letting the fever run high to fight an infection instead of using a fever reducer. Provider of soup and mandator of bed rest.

Acronix does his best with comfort measures, cool rag on the forehead, and will keep Krux company, but is abysmal in the kitchen. The only soup Krux is getting is broth made from instant noodle packets and he’s lucky if it’s not the spicy kind.

In the end, they both always wind up sick together camped out on the couch with blankets and tissues alternating between bickering about whose fault it is that they’re both sick and napping.

[iucemon]

I am a genius (bought instant miso soup powder packets on sale, used some to season burgers, literally the best I've ever made at home)

[fcukfodmap]

Low-FODMAP Gluten-free Tamales

The teen got all excited about making tamales because we had some at the Ren Fest -- look, I know: super period-authentic -- but they really aren't available here in the town we live in. (One thing I miss about living in a bigger city is the variety of ethnic food available. I was just waxing rhapsodic over this one Ukrainian deli, sigh.)

I'm a white person from Minnesota, so I have very little experience making Mesoamerican food other than Tim Walz-style Mexican-themed hotdish. This is my disclaimer that nothing about this is authentic. But I'm always game to try things, so the kid and I waded in. Turned out just fine! To the recipe!

Low-FODMAP Gluten-free Tamales

3/4 c quick grits, not instant

1 c boiling water

3/4 c masa harina

20ish large dried corn husks

1 stick lactose free butter

1 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 c shredded cheese

2 tbsp minced pickled jalapenos

1 c shredded cooked chicken or pork

Put grits in a bowl, whisk in boiling water, and let sit for about 10 minutes until the water is absorbed. Stir in the corn masa to form a dough, cover, and let cool until room temp, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring 2 quarts of water to boil in a large pot, stir in the corn husks, cover, and simmer until soft and pliant, about 10 minutes. (You could also use this time to cook either the chicken or the pork for the filling. I used ground pork here because I'm lazy.)

Process the dough, corn kernels, butter, sugar, baking powder and salt in a food processor until the mixture is light and fluffy, about a minute.

Toss together the meat, cheese, and jalapenos in a small bowl. Working one at a time, spoon in about a 1/4 cup of the dough into the center of the husk. Press a tbsp or so of the meat and cheese mixture into the center of the dough, then roll using the husk so the filling is surrounded. Fold the sides over, then the bottom up. Rip strips off a corn husk to tie around the tamale to hold it together.

When all of the tamales are assembled, fit a large soup pot with a steamer basket, fill with water up to the basket, and bring to a boil. Fill the pot with the tamale packets with the folded side down and the open side up. Cover and steam for 1 hour, checking to make sure the water doesn't boil off, until the filling no longer sticks to the husks.

Of course, it took us a half dozen -- I made a double batch -- to get the hang of it, but it's not as hard to do as it looks. I could have used more of the minced jalapenos in this recipe, but otherwise the tamales were good. I also couldn't find a steamer basket so punted with this jury rigged contraption made out of tin foil. It was fine. Oh, and the original recipe called for 1/4 c butter and 1/4 c lard, but I forgot to get lard.

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure how low-FODMAP this recipe is, though I am sure it's gluten free. Corn can be problematic because of fructans. Corn flour is fine in a decent sized portion -- 2/3 cup -- and both grits and kernel corn are as well. The issue becomes putting all three in the same dish: you could get a FODMAP stacking effect. All the other ingredients are low FODMAP. So I would be judicious with portion size unless you know specifically how fructans affect you. That probably ends up being 2-3 tamales in a sitting.

Everyone liked the tamales and we have hella leftovers, which is great for next week. I don't think I'd make these again just on a random Tuesday, but I can see cranking out a bunch for a party or something. Which is probably why they're associated with weddings and Christmas. In fact, I remarked while we were cooking that the process reminded me of making plum pudding for Christmas: all the putzing and steaming. Glad it worked out.

Disclaimer: I am no dietician. I'm doing my best to minimize FODMAPS in my diet, but it's possible for me to be misinformed or mistaken about various ingredients.

[girlintheredapron]

😩

I failed you guys

I made a crockpot roast with mashed potatoes and didn’t take a pic of it!!

Get your meat. Husband picked out a London broil for us on sale.

Stick it in your crockpot

Add in ONE can of cream of mushroom soup, NO ADDITIONAL WATER. Add in ONE packet of onion soup mix. Both of those go on top.

Root vegetables optional. Carrots and/or potatoes. It doesn’t need more onion. Turnips are a maybe. Nothing that grows above ground for this. Those can be a separate side dish though.

Cover and cook on high four hours or low 6-8 hours. The soup melts and the meat relaxes juices and together with the onion soup mix makes the best gravy.

I used the instant mashed potatoes, don’t come at me. Husband likes them and I figure if the roast was too tough for him he could eat more of the mashed potatoes.

[mobilis-in-mobili]

How to make literally perfect Instant Ramen Noodles in an Electric Kettle cause uni dorms are sometimes really fucking shitty as to what they let you take inside

This. This may probably be my magnum opus. Trust me, this thing takes less than 10 minutes, costs under a dollar and is so, so fucking worth it. Practically almost no effort whatsoever, and it's better than the stuff you get off of the stove sometimes. No, you don't have to sit around and keep stirring at the pot in hopes that it'll taste better. You can literally half ass this through an episode of Seinfeld and it'll still work out better than anything you could imagine.

The thing about dorm room ramen is that it's always too runny, mostly overcooked, and at best, a half assed excuse at a shitty meal. The trick with this is to treat it like pasta. The actual pasta and sauces are dealt with separately, and then combined in a final stage with spices where they come together to create something greater than the sum of their parts. That, tragically, is so often ignored when it comes to this it kind of hurts.

Stuff you'll need

An electric kettle, preferably slightly wide - mouthed (sucks to be you if you're American)

The cheapest pack of instant ramen you can find, just not the cup stuff. I used the single unit pack of Top Ramen, but anything's fine, so long as the flavour pack's included.

A small packet of instant soup, the sort that you can drink just by chucking it into hot water. Whatever flavour floats your boat works, really. If unsure, go with Mixed Vegetable. Hot and Sour makes for a mean cup, though.

A pack of crisps (Or chips, as our "we threw tea off the harbour into cold water so that's how we drink it now" friends like to refer to them.) Salt and Vinegar or Cream and Onion will do nicely.

Kay, now what?

Chuck about a glass and a half of water into the kettle, and turn it on. Once the water's at a boil, the thermostat goes off, shutting it down. At that point, get the ramen into the kettle. Break it into two if the kettle's mouth is too small. It's ideal to put it in at this stage, cause that means you get 1.5 heatings as opposed to 2, giving you the perfect thickness needed, cause these do need to be ran through again.

Wait until the water stops bubbling fully (but still hot enough to burn your fingertips off) and you can notice the noodles start to dissociate. If you're unsure, you can always poke a fork in and see how it's acting up. If it's still stiff, give it some more time.

Decant the starchy water from within the kettle now through the spout (Seriously, such a big fucking perk of using a kettle. What other induction - based heating device has a built in colander.) Half a glass first into (big brain moment) a glass, the rest into a bowl. Throw away the water in the glass. You won't need that.

Empty out the flavour and soup packets into the bowl, and stir constantly with a fork for about a minute or so. Do not put them into the kettle beforehand, I cannot emphasise this enough. Make sure there are no clumps being formed at the bottom, cause they usually do, and it's way easier to break them apart with a fork than a spoon.

Pour the contents of the bowl into the kettle with the noodles already present, and this time, heat it all up until the thermostat goes off. And now, open up the lid to let out as much steam as it can. This reduces the amount of water present considerably, and results in a more thicker soup, which is always a challenge with electric kettles.

Wait until it all stops bubbling, and then first decant the soup into the bowl with the spout, and then the noodles after. This is the only correct way to pour them out, btw. Opinions stating otherwise are wrong. Salt and pepper can be added as per taste, but I didn't really find either necessary.

Crumble up some crisps up on top of the noodles. Thank me later.

Seriously, it needs to be talked about as to how fucking considerate ramen is. Dead easy to whip up, cleaning up is a joke, and after you're done downing the noodles, you get some seriously amazing soup to down it with. And in this case, it's a lot better.

And as they say, Osteoporosis.

[strvingangell]

okay so I made a list of like, rules and things I wanna stick to when I'm back at college. idk if it's helpful for others but I'll post it either way

AT HOME:

- clean whenever something needs doing

- go on walks everyday (if you can)

- paint and keep nails done

- don't eat certain foods unless literally forced to at home.

- keep distracted with script writing, film reviews, college work, genshin

- Say you'd rather have something else to eat, or have a migrane or feel sick if parents try and make you eat

AT COLLEGE:

- chew gum during classes and focus to keep yourself distracted

- smoke during lunches and drink monster ultra's

- if eating that day, bring cup soup minestrone and ask to use the college kettles (soup is 65 - 85 calories per packet). or bring a bouillon cube and use the kettle

- wear a crop top under your normal shirt so you can body check in the mirror and remind yourself why you're doing this

- bring toothbrush + toothpaste to brush teeth during lunch

- wear lip gloss so I eat less

- always eat w my left hand

DAILY ROUTINE:

- On morning, drink diet coke, brush teeth, take tablets (birth controll, metabolism tablets, vitamins, iron tablets) and walk to college if the weather's okay. tumblr is your morning newspaper 🙏🙏

- First lessons, drink coke during break and change gum. drink water throughout the day

- smoke and drink monster ultra/diet coke during lunch, only really eat if I've brought soup w me

- body check in the mirror after lunch and do afternoon lessons

- walk home if it's light enough, or go to gym

- do homework and catch up on course work

- watch supersize vrs superskinny or something like that while eating dinner, if eating that day

- focus on skin care and other things like that to stay distracted, pick out an outfit for the next day, face care and shower, things like that

- drink a glass of water before bed

FOODS TO AVOID: Dont eat these unless legit forced to by family

- bread

- pasta

- crisps

- cereals

- bananas

- sandwiches

- cakes or pastries like that

- honey baked meats

- cows milk (it's usually harder to get almond milk in my house so I'll try my best)

- cheese

- chocolates

- chips

SAFE FOODS: Make sure you always have some of these stocked

- rice cakes

- apples

- soup - mostly minestrone cup soup

- ryvita

- cucumber

- stir fry

- tuna

- instant coffee

- green tea / wl tea

- ice

EXTRAS

- drink 2l of water every day

- 10k steps every day

- fast at least twice a week

- metabolism day once a month for now

- eat for other people, not yourself

- take photos of everything you eat / start filming for an ed vlog

by wl tea I mean this tea I picked up from an Asian Market that is marketed as tea that makes you skinny. idk if it works but it works like a laxative so it's still useful

[adlamu]

here are some things that i have learned in the last ehhh 10yrs of living alone (more or less):

best before = it is at its best until a particular date but is still safe/edible for another 28 days after that date (ie: roughly a month).

use by = it is very unsafe and very, very unwise to eat/drink that thing after the date on the packaging. you will get sick. trust me.

three options for bread keeping: i. keep it in an air-tight container (such as a bread bin), ii. keep half out and the other half in the freezer (and defrost it later), or iii. keep the bread in the fridge at all times - if it's white spots on the crust only, cut the crust off and toast the bread, if it's Green spots, it's been out longer than 2 months and you should throw it away.

bottom shelf is where you'll find the cheapest stuff, usually (can be top, but is usually bottom because the BrandsTM have to be in direct eyeline - ie: the middle).

don't trust a can? sniff test. don't trust the milk? sniff test. if it smells bad in Any way, throw it out.

sugar is fine, it doesn't go off, only throw it out if it Somehow has bugs in it.

salt is the same as above (i've had the same salt pot since 2017, it's fine).

don't buy 8p potato salad - you will absolutely regret it.

if you aren't going to eat a whole thing of something, bung it in the freezer - depending on what it is, it can last anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months (but once you defrost it, you Have to eat it immediately).

put green bananas in direct sunlight so they ripen and then put the yellow bananas in the fridge (this will slow down spottiness process & prevent fruit flies).

if, for some reason, you have noodle seasoning packets laying around, you can use them to enhance whatever vegetable/meat-based meal you are making (it's basically stock).

if you are hungry (and i mean you are in Pain from hunger) you will end up making a meal out of whatever the fuck you have and/or eat something directly out of its container - this is fine, you're eating something and that is more than enough but also: only eat custard, rice pudding, tuna, and stuff like spam out of the can, if it's like chicken or whatever don't do that, you will get sick.

if in doubt: washing up liquid is good for cleaning p much everything (not the bathroom... just use basic bleach for that if you don't have fancy schmancy stuff).

tap water is usually fine (in the case that it is not, buy a HUGE 3L bottle of water).

a bottle of cordial lasts longer than a carton of orange juice (it's not watertok bs, believe me. ribena? godsend. vimto? godsend.).

weetabix/weetbix/wheat bisks is your best bet for cheap cereal - you add a lil sugar for flavour, maybe some fruit, and you can eat it Both hot and cold.

backpacks are best for carrying heavy objects like bottles, save the totes & reusable bags for lighter stuff if you can.

an electric kettle is your best friend - you can use it for (instant) coffee, tea, hot chocolate, instant ramen/pot noodle, instant soup, anything that is 'instant', use the kettle and you will have Something to fill your belly up.

don't overthink stuff - meal prep if you want but don't overthink it, especially if you're living by yourself - you don't wanna plan a whole roast dinner when it's just you, so get enough stuff for 1 person.

yes the cheap stuff is literally the same as the brand stuff (i get it if you're nd and you can only have Certain foods but this is more for the nts), it's not a conspiracy (fuck you shane dawson and your classist fuckery), it's the same stuff because it's made in the same place, usually.

if you're worried about prices, use a calculator on your phone and then you can put back whatever is making your basket/trolley overbudget BEFORE you get to the checkout.

i don't care what tiktok moms or whatever the fuck are saying, you do not need that super expensive brand thing - it's usually got less portions and doesn't last anywhere near as long as you think it does. just because it tastes good doesn't mean it's gonna last you the week/month.

if you can buy it frozen, do so - it's usually cheaper and lasts far, far longer.

ASK FOR HELP. I KNOW YOU ARE PRIDEFUL AND AFRAID OF THE STIGMA BUT ASK FOR HELP IF YOU NEED TO BUY GROCERIES. IT IS OKAY TO ASK. IT IS OKAY TO GO TO THE FOOD BANK AND ASK FOR HELP. IT IS OKAY TO ASK SOMEONE (FRIEND/FAMILY MEMBER/SOMEONE YOU TRUST) FOR HELP WHEN YOU NEED IT.

[kidney9-9]

Inside Jokes and the Consequences that Follow - Chapter 2

Hi! Hope you enjoy this next chapter to the series. A few more characters from BSD are introduced here and it explains the dynamic of the team. Thank you for reading :)

Chapter 2: Iced Tea and the Tragedy of Higuchi's Sneaking Skills

Masterlist

Akutagawa Ryunosuke x fem!Reader x Higuchi Ichiyo Warnings: Cursing, snooping, mention of a bad relationship Word Count: 4.2k

Based on how Akutagawa was very actively avoiding Higuchi the next day, she assumed that it went horribly on how she and you got along. Everything went swell after you invited Higuchi to sit down and join them, you even taught her how to play the game with Akutagawa’s help.

The three of you instantly went into game mode once everyone was completely ready and knew how to play – it reminded Higuchi of how she and Akutagawa plan out different attacks with the team, and how there were different things to be aware of while planning and working out things in the team.

Akutagawa didn’t think so at all.

He woke up with a deeper frown than usual this morning because of how much fun he had the day before. He didn’t like that you got along with Higuchi so much for a few reasons. One was because he felt special having only you as a friend and he kind of thought you were the same, having him as your only close friend.

But he knew that maybe you saw him as just a regular friend instead because of how distant he could be. During the early years of the friendship, he ghosted you for like two weeks and then popped up out of nowhere with a text saying, “get online dumbass”. But that’s what friends are like for him. And then he remembered the time he made you buy thirty packets of instant miso soup because he overheard Dazai saying he enjoyed being offered miso whenever he visited someone’s house (and Dazai then never visited Akutagawa after that).

But besides that, you could have refused him. You could have said, “No I’m not buying you so many packets of instant miso.” And then walk away, but you didn’t. You actually bought all that miso because Akutagawa couldn’t at the time since he was being taught by Dazai at the time, that he needed to learn how to get things without using money or credit cards. He lied to you of course, he said he was extremely poor and that he needed food to survive, but he confessed like a year after that.

He thought you must’ve seen him as a good or even great friend, almost like a best friend, because he did after you helped him so much, no matter how obvious his lies were or how mean he could be.

But then he watched as you and Higuchi got along so much better than you and he did in the early years of friendship. He remembered calling you a bitch the first time he met you, and you slapped him across the face and told him to step on Legos.

And then you meet Higuchi, and it goes so well!

No way, he did not want to share you with her. And he didn’t want you to know anything about his work. If Higuchi slipped somehow that your inside joke about him being a powerful assassin was actually true, then you probably would ghost him completely.

And he’s seen your attempts of ghosting other people and he knew that if you ghosted him, he would never be able to talk to you again. You once changed your mailing address and your last name to ghost an ex-boyfriend who tried to reach out and say sorry about how he ended things.

That’s a bit insane in Akutagawa’s mind.

So, imagine how you’d ghost him after lying to you for so many years, it would be horrible. Oh, and if you and Higuchi became friends and left him in the dust? Fuck that, he is too petty to let anything like that happen. And what if you were to date her? That would be so bad – mixing his social life with work life. Not that he had much of a social life, but still, he knew that would be a terrible cocktail.

If you were to be friends with both of them though… still he was paranoid that it wouldn’t go so well. And then he thought about Dazai. Yeah, Dazai would know how to deal with this. He was friends with two people, right? But now one of them is dead and the other is working for the government. That wasn’t so great.

Then his thoughts wondered to Chuuya, but then stopped because he didn’t know if Chuuya really had friends, kind of like how he was. You were his only true friend, and then Higuchi was also a friend but only because of work.

And he assumed he would call the rest of the team his friends if he was forced to. He wouldn’t go out of his way and say, “I’m meeting with friends.” He would very much rather say, “I’m meeting with coworkers.”

But completely besides that, he did not want you and Higuchi to meet again without him being there. He wanted to supervise to make sure everything and everyone was ok. Higuchi kind of jumps the gun when there’s action and will instantly pull out a gun if she sees anything that she considers wrong or an enemy. And you… you kind of go crazy at any point.

He didn’t understand that part of you, but he enjoyed it. Since he didn’t partake in being “crazy” like you, he liked to watch from the sidelines and make sure you’re ok and all. For example, you two went window shopping and he insisted that he needed to wear a disguise for the “inside joke” to be funnier and you instantly took it a step further.

You told him that it would be funny if you acted like he was trying to kill you at random times in public.

He didn’t like that kind of attention in public because that’s something he’s actually done before with many other people, and most times it ended just fine but there were times he would get caught, and there would be unnecessary bloodshed.

He did it anyway, and it was fucking crazy. You screamed “Killer!” and directed multiple people to him, and he would try to act like he wasn’t an actual assassin with an extremely violent ability, but at the same time act as he was a “killer” that was chasing you.

And that other time, you wore a ballgown to the grocery store with him. That was one of the hardest times for him being in public, because people stare and sometimes ask questions. And he isn’t that fond of other people doing such things.

You insisted that he needed some happiness and craziness in his life, so you did such things. It did make him happy at the end of the day but scared that at some point you would go too far, and he’d accidently reveal his actual job.

He stopped thinking about it so much once he was in the shared team office, waiting for Chuuya to arrive and brief them on what needed to be done. It was just him currently in the room since he was about thirty minutes early. He liked being extra early to scope everything out and make sure everything was safe, and also mostly because he was anxious of being late.

“Akutagawa?” A voice called out, unsurely. He turned around gazing to the person who called his name. It was Tachihara, holding a tray of iced teas and biscuits.

“Oh yes, hello.” He greeted back, before looking back to where he was before, which was straight ahead to the elevator. Tachihara almost shivered at the stare, wondering what was wrong with him.

Tachihara was very observant when it came to his teammates. He was usually the first to notice when something was wrong, but he never spoke up about it because he didn’t really want to deal with the consequences. Such as today and now, with how Akutagawa glared ahead of him, towards the elevator, where the other teammates would come from.

“Want some tea?” He tried to cool Akutagawa down from his glare, but he didn’t budge. Tachihara quietly nodded to himself and placed the tray down on the table before walking over to another connecting room in the office.

Once he was in the other room, he tugged out his phone from his pocket, wanting to text Higuchi. He typed a few words before sending, “where the fuck are you? meeting starts soon, and your lover is already here”.

Usually, Tachihara was a nice and gentle guy, but when it came to talking with other teammates (other than Akutagawa), he was an asshole. He loved teasing the shit out of Higuchi about her old crush on Akutagawa, since there was barely anything to like about the guy because he’s always so grumpy. And Higuchi would insist that they were not lovers, thinking that Tachihara seriously thought they were together.

Instead of her usual “ok coming!” text, she sent, “alright, see you when the meeting starts”. Tachihara’s eyes widened, mouth gasping as he started to imagine the drama that might have or could have been happening without him knowing.

Her and Akutagawa, actually together? No… something else for sure.

He didn’t know what, but he stuck inside the connecting room until everyone else was here for the meeting, and then he slid onto one of the chairs in the corner and watched.

Chuuya arrived with a simple grin to his face, and Akutagawa hated that. It always meant that there was not much work to be done, equaling to Akutagawa and Higuchi having to sit together in the office with the rest of the team and fill out some paperwork.

Usually, the paperwork would take an hour and a half at most, but Chuuya added on that it was going to be a lot more than normal.

“I’m taking a vacation day off to go visit a new winery that’s opening today. I just came here to give you the heads up and that you’ll need to fill some more things out in the paperwork, and if it needs my signature, just send it over to my email and I’ll do it later.” He blabbered, smiling at the thought of the winery.

“Can you bring me with you?” Hirotsu added, and then laughed quietly to himself, unaware of the extra tension in the room today.

It was so visible to Tachihara, he was shaking in excitement. He loved this drama, whatever it was, he was there for it. The way Higuchi was forced to sit farther away from Akutagawa was simply incredible, and it looked like Akutagawa wasn’t even listening to the conversation at all.

Higuchi was looking at him more than normal today too.

“Are there any questions? Let’s finish up this meeting soon.” Chuuya concluded, scooting his chair out so he could leave.

“Can I do my work from home today sir?” Akutagawa instantly asked and everyone’s eyes were drawn to him. That was a strange request, coming from him. Usually, people were encouraged to work in the offices but yes, they could go home if they’d like, especially if they weren’t feeling good.

Chuuya furrowed his eyebrows concerned for Akutagawa, shifting in his seat as he leaned over and cupped his head. “You don’t have a fever.” Chuuya mumbled as Akutagawa moped to himself. He just didn’t want to be here because he was still processing what was happening or what happened with you and Higuchi.

“I think I should work from home today.” He explained shortly, looking around the room. His sister shook her head, concerned for him as well. She didn’t speak up, knowing that she could talk to him one-on-one later today, probably at home.

“Why?” Higuchi was the one to ask, forgetting the professional tone and Tachihara “oohed” in the back, giggling to himself.

“I don’t answer to you.” He instantly shot back, rolling his eyes at Higuchi so openly. She preened back into her chair with a sad look, but he didn’t care. He just needed the time to think to himself, without her or anyone else around him. And he’d probably be done with the paperwork sooner than later.

“That was uncalled for…” Chuuya mumbled now picking up on the tension. “Yes, you may work from home.” He added, finishing up the meeting for good. He didn’t want to stick around in there if there was something going on. He just really wanted to go to that new winery.

He got up from his chair, staring down at Akutagawa oddly for a moment and then said a brief, “Goodbye! I’ll share some wine later.” And then left through the elevator.

Akutagawa nodded to him while everyone else said their goodbyes and he sighed quietly, picking up a few of the sheets of paper that Chuuya left behind. Most of the work was on laptops, but some were in paper to seem more legitimate.

Higuchi continued to stare back to Akutagawa softly, as she hoped that everything was ok. She really was confused as to why he was so insistent on avoiding her to the point he’d rather work from home. She just wanted things to be ok, and maybe see both you and Akutagawa outside of work again sometime.

It was so fun to watch and be included with the two of them, it made her feel so happy. Especially with how friendly and flirty you were, she felt like she had needed that time with friends. She hadn’t seen Akutagawa so openly happy like that either before, and now he was sulky, and it confused her.

She wanted to ask him for your number as well!

She was upset that she wasn’t able to get it when she met you, but she assumed that Akutagawa would give her your number and that maybe he’d give you hers as well. And she hadn’t been on a date in so long… even though she mostly convinced herself that you were being just very friendly, she hoped that sometime you two could go out for a little, maybe have a dinner together and see where things end up.

The last time Higuchi was on a date, was with one of the workers here and they weren’t exactly the best pair. Higuchi was always worrying that the girl she was seeing was going out with other people, and yeah, that was true, but the girl would say that it was just a one-time thing, and that Higuchi was the one she really cared about. It made Higuchi feel sick thinking about it since she had such a different attitude and was so serious about dating her, while the girl didn’t seem to really care.

And that was about two years ago, and Higuchi hasn’t gone out with anyone since. She hasn’t even had any random hook ups or one-night stands. It was a bit irritating and with you appearing at Akutagawa’s, it felt like suddenly there was a possibility that she can start dating again and maybe go on a date with you.

She didn’t like feeling so desperate about dating – because she really would rather be friends after having so many bad experiences with dating and crushes. Her crush on Akutagawa lasted so long but it ended because she finally realized he wouldn’t try anything with her because they work together. And after yesterday, it seemed like at least they could be better friends with each other without breaking any social life and work boundaries.

And even if he treated her like shit at work here, she felt ok with it, which was a bit upsetting when she thought about that, if it meant they could be better friends.

“So, is anyone going to go after him with some soup and a get well soon card? Cause that was so weird.” Tachihara spoke up, breaking Higuchi out of her thinking. He was looking at her expectantly, but she just shrugged after a moment.

“I might.” She responded shortly, not wanting to add anything else. She was still confused about it all, maybe it was best to give him space or maybe he really did wake up feeling a bit sick and needing to rest.

She hadn’t even thought at the second option before now, and it scared her thinking that he could be sick. The last time he was sick, he ended up with an infection that led to him staying in the hospital for a week and it really worried her.

It got her to overthinking about yesterday, trying to remember what he ate and such. By the time she recalled everything, she sighed, thinking that maybe he was just super tired because he usually doesn’t talk that much. Or maybe he had a sore throat? She came to both conclusions and also convinced herself that he was truly avoiding her because of something that happened that she can’t remember of yesterday.

Maybe he was just embarrassed for her being embarrassing? But she doubted it. He has seen her in such worse states than that, it wouldn’t make sense.

“I think Gin should go talk with him.” Tachihara exclaimed, gazing to her as she rolled her eyes to him. Gin had sensed that maybe she could go talk to her brother to see what was wrong, but she knew there was not much to calm him down. He also would probably hide whatever was bothering him and she could see that it was affecting Higuchi as well, so she decided to sit and wait, to see what happens next.

It just looked like a weird petty argument that could have happened in the morning or yesterday, when Gin was out. She had been gone the whole day but once she got home yesterday, Akutagawa told her how Chuuya and Higuchi had to stop by briefly. Either way, she didn’t want to bug her brother.

“Oh wait, he forgot his bag.” Higuchi spotted, glancing under his usual seat to see the bag. It was just a small black bag, probably holding his keys and whatnots. Everyone stared as she got up and took the bag in her hand.

“Yeah, you should probably go give it to him.” Tachihara charmed in and she rolled her eyes at his talking. She should, she was his assistant of course, but she still hesitated a few moments, knowing that Akutagawa wouldn’t thank her or possibly even acknowledge her.

“Fine, I’ll go.” She reasoned with herself out loud, nodding a brief “See you soon!” to everyone in the room as she hopped into the elevator.

Standing in the elevator, she gazed at the bag in her hands, sighing loudly. “Why would he forget something like this?” She wondered but her thoughts went back to yesterday again and she felt a bit upset about how he was acting now.

Knowing him, he would already be halfway to his shared apartment, probably cursing silently at anyone in his way. She pulled out her phone to message him before putting it back in her pocket, realizing that his phone was in the bag she was carrying.

Feeling curious, she unzipped his bag to glance inside to see his belongings. She knew she shouldn’t be snooping, but there was a justified reason she felt could back her. She thought that since he knew so much about her (and didn’t seem to care), she could also learn more about him. It wasn’t as if she was snooping on what type of underwear he has or anything super shocking.

“Ugh, why does he keep so many receipts in here, so lazy.” She complained out loud, pushing through all the papers. When she felt her hand touch his phone, she dug it out of his bag, contemplating on if she should look at what was on the lock screen.

She had no clue what his password was today – he changed it every week, and last week when he needed her help to call Chuuya, he told her a super long complicated password that she couldn’t remember. She thought that was unnecessary but then she also realized, that yeah, she would have looked through his phone if she was able to (and if she were able to last year, she would have done it without a second of hesitation).

She wanted to cringe when she remembered that around last year, when she still had a crush on him and had looked up exactly what phone case he had wrapped on this phone. Ugh, it was annoying that she had done so much to learn more about him because she liked him after all that time. But besides that, she bought an extra phone case, the same model as his, just in case he dropped his phone during a fight and offer it to him as a sweet gift.

“Excuse me?” She heard a familiar voice once the elevator doors opened. Oh shit, she thought, oh no… this is one of the worst things to happen at a workplace – being caught snooping through someone’s things.

Fuck.

“Oh hi, I just – well, I was uh, I wanted to give the bag to you, since you left it in the office and well, I kind of wanted to check up on you to make sure you’re okay and all that.” She stumbled through her words, gasping almost as more shock poured through her as Akutagawa furrowed his eyebrows, shaking his head.

“You’re weird and annoying.” He responded after a moment, adding on, “Why do you think you can search through my things?” The way he worded that question stung through her ears, almost making her flinch at his tone.

He didn’t ask “Why are you searching through my things?” He asked something along the lines of why does she (and only her specifically), did she think she could do that. Oh fuck, she wanted to just disappear and act like this wasn’t happening, but it was really happening now.

“Umm, I was looking for a Band-Aid.” Her reply was short and breathy, the one sign that gave her away to lying. Akutagawa looked even more uninterested at her, scoffing at the audacity. After being so open and vulnerable, this is what happens to him? He only let Higuchi meet you, thinking that it would be very brief and end the rumors circulating around the Port Mafia that he was lonely.

Yes, he knew he was lonely, but at least he was lonely with you, a very dear friend to him. And Higuchi was something like a friend, but again, he only really saw her as a work friend, but he did trust her enough to let you two see each other yesterday.

“And you found a Band-Aid? Or are you searching on my phone for where you can find a Band-Aid?” He was incredibly irritated – and then snatched his bag and phone from her, causing her to jump slightly. She was starting to shake and shiver nervously at being caught for snooping and lying.

“Hey, I don’t even know your password, how would I be searching on your phone?” She laughed nervously, gazing at everything except for him. He had the urge to activate his ability to scare her into telling the truth, but then realized it wouldn’t really help much and that he should still trust her since she’s been there for him many times.

But he was still curious as to why she needed to look through his bag and pick out his phone.

“So, why?” He asked quietly, leaning in closer to face her, as he stepped into the elevator to stop it from moving. Higuchi gulped as she looked down at her feet, trying her best not to freak out anymore but it was so hard, it would be easier to confess something!

So, she did, instantly.

“I wanted Y/n’s number!” She blurted causing him to jerk back at the sudden loudness of her voice. He frowned at the answer, cursing in his head as he realized what might happen now if he were to give your number to her.

He could picture it so clearly! You and Higuchi standing so close together, abandoning him completely, just like a few other people did in his life – but he didn’t think about it so dramatically and he almost got nauseas thinking Higuchi could steal you from him.

“No.” He replied, spinning around as he tucked his phone into his bag and then walked off as quickly as possible. Higuchi stared after him, tilting her head almost at what he did, baffled to the max. The way he stalked away with a mad purpose made her come to a surprising conclusion that maybe Akutagawa had certain feelings for you, that Higuchi had as well.

Right? That would be the only possible logical explanation as to why he acted like that. She was surprised he didn’t try to rip the elevator in half, or at least one of the benches that lined the walls of the elevator.

Higuchi stared at his back as the elevator closed and went to another floor. She stayed in the elevator, frozen as she thought about what happened with Akutagawa and you, and how she might have messed something up by being invasive. She kept quiet as more people filled the elevator and she spent a good ten minutes, riding the elevator to wonder about the situation before she went back to the team to work.