#Bruce and Sahuna RP

[candy-corps]

Late Night Snack

Sahuna written by @mygardenofmuses !

It was quiet in the flat. Everyone was sleeping or away, or, well lost. Only in the kitchen were dim lights burning now, while the chopping of a kitchen knife cut through the silence in small intervalls. Chop, chop, chop, chop ... Bruce made food. This happened often, but never just for him and never at this time. This night was different: Hunger pains had woken him up and comfortable as he was, resting with Jaal, forced him to get up eventually. He could always take the food and eat in bed, Bruce thought, as he added a pile of cut cherries to the bowl where banana, apple and grapes lay already. How he'd missed all the fruit while he was on Andromeda. Focused on his work, he noticed just late that someone got closer. Did he wake Damien? Bruce looked up.

Sahuna rubbed her eyes. She was very sleepy, and given the gravity difference between the two planets, she still put her hands on the wall for support. She blinked in surprise when she heard noises. Who could be cooking at these hours of the night? Jess had been kind enough to tell her than bat people like Bruce was often nocturnal, but she didn't expected she'd get to witness it. "H-Hello?"

No burglar. "Sahuna" Bruce recognized, his ears lowering again which had raised up in alert. "Why are you up?" he wondered. Jaal was sleepy. So she should be sleepy, too, right? Oh, how glad he was now that he had clothes on: they were not used to female guests and therefore quite free on the dressing code at night. But since it got a little chilly, Bruce wore a black dressing gown over his underwear. He fixed that up just to make sure and regret it a second later: his hands were still dirty from cutting. Bruce  headed to the sink to wash his hands - as much as he disliked it.

"I heard a noise and I thought I had to defend Jaal and you from a burglar..." She chuckled, rubbing her cheek.  "Jess told me batpeople are nocturnal. I guess this is daytime for you, uh?"

"Uhh, technically" Bruce affirmed, washing his hands. "There is no schedule right now. I sleep when Jaal does. And when we manage, we go out at night when the moon's out." Goodness, that sounded like he dragged Jaal out for no reason. "I ... need some moonlight now and then or my healing doesn't work. I also need, well, food" he added, pointing to the bowl before he turned off the tap and grabbed a kitchen towel to dry off his hands. "I was hungry so I got up to fetch some. That's all."

"Aw." Sahuna gave a look to all the ingredients. She picked up the knife and analised it. "What a small dagger. Something like this could come in handy in battle. Or cooking, which I think it is its main purpose." The Angaran woman turned to look at him. "Can I help somehow? Given I'm already here, and all, I am the guest, so I want to do my best to submit to the customs of Earth. Please tell me if there is anything I must do or avoid."

Ohh. No. Bruce' ears lowered. "There is nothing you gotta do" he assured, raising his hands defensively. "Just be yourself. I was actually about to be done." Folding his hands, Bruce looked at the bowl and then again to Sahuna. "But - Do you want something? Jaal likes fruit and almond milk."

"Almond milk?" Sahuna blinked in surprise. "Ryder mentioned it once but I never had a chance to drink it myself. Can I?", she requested, a hint of shyness in her voice.

Bruce actually smiled. "Of course." He walked over to the fridge, took the bottle Jaal stored the milk in. As he turned, he shut the door with his wing and fetched a mug from the cupboard for her. He filled it with just a little bit of milk. Sahuna should try it; not feel obligated to drink all too much when it was not to her liking. "I could warm this up for you. Warm milk is what you give people when they can't sleep" he explained as he passed her the mug.

"That is a lovely custom." Sahuna smiled and sat on one of the chairs. "I'd love to drink warm milk. It reminds me of a thing my father used to do for me when I was younger. He used to brew essence of najamuka and give it to me and the rest of my 25 siblings. We made a queue to get our cup and a good night kiss."

How cute. But 25 was too close to 27. Which was the number of all the kids that he couldn't have anytime soon. Bruce shook the thought off, but it took him a moment. "I'm sorry." Where were they? Milk! "Uh, I could add some spices, too." He turned to the shelf in question and grabbed vanilla, cinnamon, cocoa powder ... and just for the heck of it, chili flakes, too. He was curious how she'd react to these. "I hear that when it smells nice, it tends to taste good, too." He pushed the little closed jars over the counter, towards Sahuna.

"Thank you very much. You are very kind. Is there any protocol I must follow with this drink? Ryder told me that there's a drink called tea, that you have to sip it..." Sahuna struggled, but managed to raise her pinky. "And apparently it's important to drink it with this finger up. That is the "proper etiquette" to do so, and that some 'Queen of England'? would get mad if the tea gets spilt. Does this apply to almond milk too, or it is just the tea?"

"It's just the tea" Bruce promised. Then, thinking of it: "No, it's - it's nothing. No one will get mad, and no one would mind." Well, maybe the Queen of England. "I certainly won't" he assured. Damn, Sahuna ... "Just ... act naturally" Bruce requested. He took a glance at the fruit bowl, picked a pear from it and showed it Sahuna. "Tell me if that's friend- or love-shaped, for example." He truly wasn't sure and didn't want Jaal to get offended when he offered him some.

"I am not sure if I know how to 'act naturally'. Everything back home is regulated by protocols, so when I travel first thing I do is to ask about those. I don't want to disrespectful by accident." She explained and smiled. "You are a kind soul, Bruce. I like that of you." She looked down at the fruit and giggled. "Jaal told you about the friend-shaped and the love shaped fruits too?" She inquired. "That was one of the first things his real father taught him. He loved Jaal so much. Always did things so carefully." She brought a hand to her chest. "I miss him."

So that was where Jaal got it from. Bruce had to wonder how he looked like when he was young. "He died in the war, right?" Bruce guessed. He placed the pear on the table and twirled it a bit.

"Yeah. He was on the regular day at work when our enemies attacked. Some of his friends told me he died shielding some of the youngest coworkers." Sahuna smiled weakly. "He was so peaceful, and kind. He didn't deserve to die like that."

So he was no soldier. "Yeah" Bruce agreed. "I'm sorry." He didn't mean to wake bad memories; he'd just been so curious. Figuring Sahuna should like almond milk well enough, Bruce filled the mug up with the liquid. "I'll warm that up for you" he announced. Sahuna didn't smell the spices, but they could be always added later.

"Yes, please. I'd like that very much." Sahuna handed him the mug. "Maybe you can add those... species too?"

"Yeah, but ... which?" Bruce wondered. "All together will be weird" he warned. "You could smell, or ... maybe try to see what you like. wait ... " He opened a drawer and took out a teaspoon, then gave it to her. "Maye try a little, little bit. And be careful with this," He pointed to the chili one. "It's hot for me. I dunno if it's good for you, though. Our taste buds are different."

"Jaal told me that hot things in this planet are actually sweet for us. I'll try that." She picked up the chili, then added a spoonful of it to her mug. "I love sweet drinks." She commented, mixing it all.

This ... better work. "Alright" Bruce said, watching, with some horror, as Sahuna stirred the mixture. "Then let's try that." Once she stopped stirring, he took the mug and put it in the microwave, which started to hum as he turned it on. You could see the mug circle within; illuminated by the microwave's light. Another sting of pain let Bruce remember why he was in the kitchen in the first place. He took a glance at the bowl with the cut fruit in it, and, after consideration, opened one of the lower drawers - stuffed with candy. He'd sprinkle homemade marshmallows on it and then add some honey, too.

Sahuna was looking at the mug, fascinated by the movement of the microwave. "I've heard of these... microweeebs... a long time ago. But this ie the first time I see one."

"A microwave?" Bruce figured, looking at it. "Yeah, they're great. Remind me to make you popcorn before we go ... " back to Andromeda. Bruce flinched at the mere thought of it. Wasn't there something they could do to .... procrastinate on that ... - ? "Didn't you want to see Fawn?" Bruce remembered, looking back at Sahuna and adding more and more sweets to the bowl on the side.

"Yes, that!" Sahuna clapped her hands. "And thanks. I'd love to see her, but it's in the middle of the night, I don't want to bother her parents."

"I was rather thinking of, uh, tomorrow" Bruce replied. He took the bottle with honey and squeezed some on his 'fruit' bowl. And then some. And then some ...

"What are you doing with that bottle?" She asked curiosly. The microwave dinged and Sahuna took out her mug.

"Careful with that" Bruce warned. He didn't want Sahuna to burn her hands on the hot mug. "It's just honey. It's sticky, so it comes in a special container." Caught now, Bruce stopped to add honey. As he stirred everything, all was still coated, though. It was fine.

"Can I try a bit of honey? Jaal told me to be careful with it, that is very spicy." Sahuna put down the mug on the table.

"Honey's my favorite. Well, next to ... a few other things." Blood, definitely blood. But he didn't have to say that out loud, had he. "It's sweet for me. And it tastes different, depending where it's from and what kind of flowers were blooming at the time it was made. This is from the Netherlands; a place with tons of flowers. It's really, really good. I think." Bruce dripped a few drops on the spoon Sahuna's been using. Chances were low she'd like it much, but he was still hopeful.

"I like flowers. They're beautiful." Sahuna smiled and licked carefully the bit of honey. Her eyes went wide right away. "Oh my stars! This is hot, hot, super hot!"

Oh, too bad ... ! "You should try some milk" Bruce suggested. He heard that drinking water was of no use to get rid of the taste of something hot again. "I'm sorry" he apologized. Sure she asked for it, but he should have known better.

"It's OK, I asked for it, hahahaha!" Sahuna laughed and picked up the warm mug. She drank a good sip, and her expression relaxed right away. "Mmmmh oh myyyy... this is heavenly. I haven't tasted anything so sweet in a long time."

Ah. So hot ans sweet were simply reversed, was all. "I'm glad you like it" Bruce gave back, smiling. Now, cooking for Jaal should be a whole lot easier. "You know ... Angaran 'sweets' taste hot for me. I can't eat them. So ... Angaran food was hard" he had her know. Bruce took his bowl and ate a bite from it. This, yes, was very sweet, and very good. The first sweet dish he had in three days!

"Oh you poor thing... I had no idea. And here I was trying to give you sweet foods and... they were spicy for you. I'm so  sorry." Sahuna bit her bottom lip,  then looked down at her mug. "We've got a lot to learn from each other."

"It's alright." Bruce waved it off. "Jaal took care of me. He stole all the food in the fridge and I liked some of it." The blood, yes, and the algae sticks.

"I noticed. I had to go shopping." The woman chuckled, then she drank another sip. "I should go back to bed. This drink is making me very sleepy."

Bruce nodded. He picked his bowl up since there was no use to eat here once Sahuna got going. "It's still a few hours until the sun will go up. I'll go keep Jaal company" he announced.

"That's a great plan. He doesn't like to sleep alone." Sahuna smiled and walked to the door. "Thanks for everything, Bruce. Good night."

"Good night." Bruce lifted a wing to wave her goodbye; his hands being busy holding bowl and spoon. He felt sorry for Sahuna. He had someone to return to now, but he still remembered vividly what it was like to wake up without. He dimmed the lights even more and then went to return to their room; eating a mouthful of fruit now and then.

[candy-corps]

Late Night Snack

Sahuna written by @mygardenofmuses​ ^-^

It was quiet in the flat. Everyone was sleeping or away, or, well lost. Only in the kitchen were dim lights burning now, while the chopping of a kitchen knife cut through the silence in small intervalls. Chop, chop, chop, chop ... Bruce made food. This happened often, but never just for him and never at this time. This night was different: Hunger pains had woken him up and comfortable as he was, resting with Jaal, forced him to get up eventually. He could always take the food and eat in bed, Bruce thought, as he added a pile of cut cherries to the bowl where banana, apple and grapes lay already. How he'd missed all the fruit while he was on Andromeda. Focused on his work, he noticed just late that someone got closer. Did he wake Damien? Bruce looked up.

Sahuna rubbed her eyes. She was very sleepy, and given the gravity difference between the two planets, she still put her hands on the wall for support. She blinked in surprise when she heard noises. Who could be cooking at these hours of the night? Jess had been kind enough to tell her than bat people like Bruce was often nocturnal, but she didn't expected she'd get to witness it. "H-Hello?"

No burglar. "Sahuna" Bruce recognized, his ears lowering again which had raised up in alert. "Why are you up?" he wondered. Jaal was sleepy. So she should be sleepy, too, right? Oh, how glad he was now that he had clothes on: they were not used to female guests and therefore quite free on the dressing code at night. But since it got a little chilly, Bruce wore a black dressing gown over his underwear. He fixed that up just to make sure and regret it a second later: his hands were still dirty from cutting. Bruce  headed to the sink to wash his hands - as much as he disliked it.

"I heard a noise and I thought I had to defend Jaal and you from a burglar..." She chuckled, rubbing her cheek.  "Jess told me batpeople are nocturnal. I guess this is daytime for you, uh?"

"Uhh, technically" Bruce affirmed, washing his hands. "There is no schedule right now. I sleep when Jaal does. And when we manage, we go out at night when the moon's out." Goodness, that sounded like he dragged Jaal out for no reason. "I ... need some moonlight now and then or my healing doesn't work. I also need, well, food" he added, pointing to the bowl before he turned off the tap and grabbed a kitchen towel to dry off his hands. "I was hungry so I got up to fetch some. That's all."

"Aw." Sahuna gave a look to all the ingredients. She picked up the knife and analised it. "What a small dagger. Something like this could come in handy in battle. Or cooking, which I think it is its main purpose." The Angaran woman turned to look at him. "Can I help somehow? Given I'm already here, and all, I am the guest, so I want to do my best to submit to the customs of Earth. Please tell me if there is anything I must do or avoid."

Ohh. No. Bruce' ears lowered. "There is nothing you gotta do" he assured, raising his hands defensively. "Just be yourself. I was actually about to be done." Folding his hands, Bruce looked at the bowl and then again to Sahuna. "But - Do you want something? Jaal likes fruit and almond milk."

"Almond milk?" Sahuna blinked in surprise. "Ryder mentioned it once but I never had a chance to drink it myself. Can I?", she requested, a hint of shyness in her voice.

Bruce actually smiled. "Of course." He walked over to the fridge, took the bottle Jaal stored the milk in. As he turned, he shut the door with his wing and fetched a mug from the cupboard for her. He filled it with just a little bit of milk. Sahuna should try it; not feel obligated to drink all too much when it was not to her liking. "I could warm this up for you. Warm milk is what you give people when they can't sleep" he explained as he passed her the mug.

"That is a lovely custom." Sahuna smiled and sat on one of the chairs. "I'd love to drink warm milk. It reminds me of a thing my father used to do for me when I was younger. He used to brew essence of najamuka and give it to me and the rest of my 25 siblings. We made a queue to get our cup and a good night kiss."

How cute. But 25 was too close to 27. Which was the number of all the kids that he couldn't have anytime soon. Bruce shook the thought off, but it took him a moment. "I'm sorry." Where were they? Milk! "Uh, I could add some spices, too." He turned to the shelf in question and grabbed vanilla, cinnamon, cocoa powder ... and just for the heck of it, chili flakes, too. He was curious how she'd react to these. "I hear that when it smells nice, it tends to taste good, too." He pushed the little closed jars over the counter, towards Sahuna.

"Thank you very much. You are very kind. Is there any protocol I must follow with this drink? Ryder told me that there's a drink called tea, that you have to sip it..." Sahuna struggled, but managed to raise her pinky. "And apparently it's important to drink it with this finger up. That is the "proper etiquette" to do so, and that some 'Queen of England'? would get mad if the tea gets spilt. Does this apply to almond milk too, or it is just the tea?"

"It's just the tea" Bruce promised. Then, thinking of it: "No, it's - it's nothing. No one will get mad, and no one would mind." Well, maybe the Queen of England. "I certainly won't" he assured. Damn, Sahuna ... "Just ... act naturally" Bruce requested. He took a glance at the fruit bowl, picked a pear from it and showed it Sahuna. "Tell me if that's friend- or love-shaped, for example." He truly wasn't sure and didn't want Jaal to get offended when he offered him some.

"I am not sure if I know how to 'act naturally'. Everything back home is regulated by protocols, so when I travel first thing I do is to ask about those. I don't want to disrespectful by accident." She explained and smiled. "You are a kind soul, Bruce. I like that of you." She looked down at the fruit and giggled. "Jaal told you about the friend-shaped and the love shaped fruits too?" She inquired. "That was one of the first things his real father taught him. He loved Jaal so much. Always did things so carefully." She brought a hand to her chest. "I miss him."

So that was where Jaal got it from. Bruce had to wonder how he looked like when he was young. "He died in the war, right?" Bruce guessed. He placed the pear on the table and twirled it a bit.

"Yeah. He was on the regular day at work when our enemies attacked. Some of his friends told me he died shielding some of the youngest coworkers." Sahuna smiled weakly. "He was so peaceful, and kind. He didn't deserve to die like that."

So he was no soldier. "Yeah" Bruce agreed. "I'm sorry." He didn't mean to wake bad memories; he'd just been so curious. Figuring Sahuna should like almond milk well enough, Bruce filled the mug up with the liquid. "I'll warm that up for you" he announced. Sahuna didn't smell the spices, but they could be always added later.

"Yes, please. I'd like that very much." Sahuna handed him the mug. "Maybe you can add those... specias too?"

"Yeah, but ... which?" Bruce wondered. "All together will be weird" he warned. "You could smell, or ... maybe try to see what you like. wait ... " He opened a drawer and took out a teaspoon, then gave it to her. "Maye try a little, little bit. And be careful with this," He pointed to the chili one. "It's hot for me. I dunno if it's good for you, though. Our taste buds are different."

"Jaal told me that hot things in this planet are actually sweet for us. I'll try that." She picked up the chili, then added a spoonful of it to her mug. "I love sweet drinks." She commented, mixing it all.

This ... better work. "Alright" Bruce said, watching, with some horror, as Sahuna stirred the mixture. "Then let's try that." Once she stopped stirring, he took the mug and put it in the microwave, which started to hum as he turned it on. You could see the mug circle within; illuminated by the microwave's light. Another sting of pain let Bruce remember why he was in the kitchen in the first place. He took a glance at the bowl with the cut fruit in it, and, after consideration, opened one of the lower drawers - stuffed with candy. He'd sprinkle homemade marshmallows on it and then add some honey, too.

Sahuna was looking at the mug, fascinated by the movement of the microwave. "I've heard of these... microweeebs... a long time ago. But this ie the first time I see one."

"A microwave?" Bruce figured, looking at it. "Yeah, they're great. Remind me to make you popcorn before we go ... " back to Andromeda. Bruce flinched at the mere thought of it. Wasn't there something they could do to .... procrastinate on that ... - ? "Didn't you want to see Fawn?" Bruce remembered, looking back at Sahuna and adding more and more sweets to the bowl on the side.

"Yes, that!" Sahuna clapped her hands. "And thanks. I'd love to see her, but it's in the middle of the night, I don't want to bother her parents."

"I was rather thinking of, uh, tomorrow" Bruce replied. He took the bottle with honey and squeezed some on his 'fruit' bowl. And then some. And then some ...

"What are you doing with that bottle?" She asked curiosly. The microwave dinged and Sahuna took out her mug.

"Careful with that" Bruce warned. He didn't want Sahuna to burn her hands on the hot mug. "It's just honey. It's sticky, so it comes in a special container." Caught now, Bruce stopped to add honey. As he stirred everything, all was still coated, though. It was fine.

"Can I try a bit of honey? Jaal told me to be careful with it, that is very spicy." Sahuna put down the mug on the table.

"Honey's my favorite. Well, next to ... a few other things." Blood, definitely blood. But he didn't have to say that out loud, had he. "It's sweet for me. And it tastes different, depending where it's from and what kind of flowers were blooming at the time it was made. This is from the Netherlands; a place with tons of flowers. It's really, really good. I think." Bruce dripped a few drops on the spoon Sahuna's been using. Chances were low she'd like it much, but he was still hopeful.

"I like flowers. They're beautiful." Sahuna smiled and licked carefully the bit of honey. Her eyes went wide right away. "Oh my stars! This is hot, hot, super hot!"

Oh, too bad ... ! "You should try some milk" Bruce suggested. He heard that drinking water was of no use to get rid of the taste of something hot again. "I'm sorry" he apologized. Sure she asked for it, but he should have known better.

"It's OK, I asked for it, hahahaha!" Sahuna laughed and picked up the warm mug. She drank a good sip, and her expression relaxed right away. "Mmmmh oh myyyy... this is heavenly. I haven't tasted anything so sweet in a long time."

Ah. So hot ans sweet were simply reversed, was all. "I'm glad you like it" Bruce gave back, smiling. Now, cooking for Jaal should be a whole lot easier. "You know ... Angaran 'sweets' taste hot for me. I can't eat them. So ... Angaran food was hard" he had her know. Bruce took his bowl and ate a bite from it. This, yes, was very sweet, and very good. The first sweet dish he had in three days!

"Oh you poor thing... I had no idea. And here I was trying to give you sweet foods and... they were spicy for you. I'm so  sorry." Sahuna bit her bottom lip,  then looked down at her mug. "We've got a lot to learn from each other."

"It's alright." Bruce waved it off. "Jaal took care of me. He stole all the food in the fridge and I liked some of it." The blood, yes, and the algae sticks.

"I noticed. I had to go shopping." The woman chuckled, then she drank another sip. "I should go back to bed. This drink is making me very sleepy."

Bruce nodded. He picked his bowl up since there was no use to eat here once Sahuna got going. "It's still a few hours until the sun will go up. I'll go keep Jaal company" he announced.

"That's a great plan. He doesn't like to sleep alone." Sahuna smiled and walked to the door. "Thanks for everything, Bruce. Good night."

"Good night." Bruce lifted a wing to wave her goodbye; his hands being busy holding bowl and spoon. He felt sorry for Sahuna. He had someone to return to now, but he still remembered vividly what it was like to wake up without. He dimmed the lights even more and then went to return to their room; eating a mouthful of fruit now and then.