2010-04-30 - The Fourth Meal

JOHNNY DOMINO IS HOME!

Actually he's on the Minerva, but close enough.

The operation in deep space was some sort of crawling horror that never slept, constantly haunting Johnny with the tentacles of torment. Whether it was the fact he was a million miles away from home, or surrounded by Klingons, or just acting like a little brat, the Agent had a rough acclimation period. Thankfully, by the end of the journey, the Agent had grown somewhat numb and desensitized to the experience, heralding a new era of calm and prosperity.

Except without the prosperity part.

Now that he is back home, the whole experience feels like a surreal dream. Having returned to the Minerva, Domino prawled the halls for a bit, rediscovering the place and hugging the walls in random bursts of happiness. Everything was in its place, just the way the young man left it.

Gosh, he missed the people and the smells and the sights and the sounds and the knowledge that he was FUCKING HOME, YEEAAAAH!! But perhaps one the things he missed most was the food. Having to sustain himself for weeks on Zentradi slop and various industrialized food substitutes, Johnny Domino ached for something juicy and delicious to sink his teeth into. His commanding officers, no strangers to such isolated missions and the 'food' one must endure on them, understood Domino's feelings on the matter completely.

Which is why, as a reward for a job well-done, the Agent has been give one-time permission to actually bring non-military food aboard. No longer was he to sneak his delicacies out of sight, oh no. For today, Johnny Domino lives like a king!

Sitting cross-legged on the floor of his quarters, Domino is busily cooking. A small camping stove stands in front of him, a wide-brimmed pan hiding a lively flame from view. Bits and pieces of vegetables and condiments sizzle in this pan while Domino holds the handle, stirring and prodding the food with a spatula.

Next to Johnny is a small chopping board and a knife, as well as vegetable refuse, piled neatly on top of the Agent's discarded vest. Indeed, Domino is currently shirtless, giving very clear view of the bandages encircling his chest, and the dark bruises adorning his neck. There's also a burger sticking out of Johnny's mouth.

Still mostly wrapped in paper, the edible part is held between the Agent's teeth. Every once in a while Domino would let go of the pan and spatula and grab the burger, devouring large chunks with a vengeance.

"AUM! NUM! GLMPH, NYUM NYUM NYUM! GRMPHH MMMM!!"

Then he'd stick the burger back between his teeth and return to cooking... whatever the hell it is he is cooking. Some sort of stir fry mutant, no doubt, perhaps the long lost cousin of the kimchi.

Rei Ayanami returned to the Minerva this morning. While Johnny Domino confronted the crawling horrors of the void without, Rei tended to those within. Her face has largely healed -- after her visit to Leo last night (and another meaningful encounter), she went to the infirmary, and space-age medicine was able to provide some quick cure-alls. There's no point in wearing them anymore, she decided. They're not a badge of honor.

Since arriving home on the Minerva, Rei has found -- gifts. Some of them found her on the Shirogane, but she managed to arrive home to find yet more waiting for her. All signed with that little heart and that little 'EB.' Rei doesn't really know how to feel. So she went to the gymnasium and followed the workout pattern Coach Takaya's set out for her. The routine is still grueling, but it's beginning to become comforting, in its way. By the time it's over, Rei is too tired to think deeply. Especially about the fact that the space mission came in last night. And yet--

Rei makes her way back to her quarters. Out of the Top Squadron uniform and into the shower -- and then, when she's clean and dry, she looks at the presents that have been given to her. The decorations. The origami paper that she's already burning through (around eighty or ninety cranes sit on various flat surfaces in her room). The 'HUG ME' penguin she left on her bed. It makes her think of--

And that's why Rei Ayanami is ringing Johnny Domino's buzzer. Her face still seemed pretty puffy after the medical treatments, so she used the beauty products she'd procured from the A-LAWS PX (at a rather nasty markup for what aren't exactly high-quality goods, but... well, it's not like Rei spends much money on anything else) and, after an extensive series of trial and error experiments, managed to make herself look -- presentable. Actually kind of nice. Certainly, the fact that she's wearing make-up at all changes her features. She seems more human. Of course, offsetting this is another bizarre change in Rei's appearance -- she's dressed in her Junior Excellen uniform, with the micro-skirt and Fun Duster.

Rei Ayanami has dressed up for Johnny Domino. Mastery condition achieved.

Johnny Domino alternates between burger and cooking a few more times before his door makes that annoying buzzing sound every ship ever seems to be equipped with. The Agent freezes in mid-chew.

OH GOD THEY WERE HERE TO STEAL HIS FOOD.

In the blink of an eye, the remains of the burger are gobbled up without a goddamn trace. The only sign there ever was a burger to begin with are the wrappings, now discarded atop the pile of vegetable refuse, and Domino's breath, now smelling of cheap junkfood.

Lowering the flame of the camping stove, Johnny stands up. A slight grimace accompanies this motion, his ribs making the faintest of protests. "Coming, coming," he calls out, carefully walking around the pan, scaling his litter, and stepping up to the door.

The familiar fwooshing sound of rubber sliding against metal is heard, accompanied by the whinny of mechanical joints working inside the wall. Rei will be immediately engulfed by the thick scent of something extra super delicious being cooked as the Agent's quarters are suddenly ventilated, allowing the air to circulate freely.

But the scent of food isn't the only thing Rei will be engulfed with. Because the moment Johnny Domino recognizes Ayanami, he lets out a happy, "Rei!", and proceeds to hug the girl.

Johnny Domino is hugging Rei without a shirt. Another Mastery condition achieved.

Rei barely has time to register the smell of the stir-fry when she's /violently assaulted/ with /hugs and affection/. As Domino's bare arms close around her, Rei briefly stiffens, shoulders tensing in surprise. She doesn't even have time to get a word out -- a noise starts and then dies in her throat, sort of a muted squeak, like the Agent was hugging a toy.

After a moment, Rei's own arms awkwardly come up and loosely close around Johnny's waist. It's a tentative, hesitant counter-hug; if Johnny didn't know better, he might suspect she has extraordinarily little experience with this sort of thing. (But then, maybe she just never hugged Leo much. It'd explain a lot.)

And so the hug continues in silence for a few long moments, the door open, flooding the hall with the smell of delicious contraband. It's only after this warming period that Rei's hug becomes something closer to real -- she reaffirms her grip, squeezing the Agent's waist with arms that seems stronger than anyone would guess the girl could be.

And then she pulls back. Rei brushes her hair out of her eyes -- her bangs are still long, messy. "I'm glad you returned safely," Rei says. It's her usual monotone, but...

Johnny Domino is content. In fact, he is both content /and/ pleased.

Not only was he home, not only did he have food, but Rei Ayanami was still the same lifeless doll she was when he left! ..which.. is to say, uh. Johnny isn't happy she's a lifeless doll, of course. It's a bit disconcerting, actually. But he IS rather happy that the girl didn't break or anything while he was away.

Domino was going to check up on Ayanami right after stuffing himself silly -- thus proving that Rei ranks just below food on the Agent's scale, a great honor, really it is -- as he wanted to make sure Excellen hasn't failed him for the last time. But now Rei was here of her own accord...

Rei returns the hug at about the same time Johnny realizes that, yes, Rei really IS here of her own accord. He didn't have to go chase after her like usual. Holy shit!

Johnny Domino is now content, pleased, AND gratified beyond belief.

Releasing the girl and taking a step back, the Agent looks Ayanami up and down. There's a lopsided smile on his face as he takes the time to look the First Child over in greater scrutiny. In turn, Rei is given the opportunity to study Domino and observe the ravages of his mission.

"I'm glad I returned safely too," he responds, blue eyes peering at the girl's clothes before moving up to her face.

"Hmm," Johnny says, smile widening. "There's something different about you." There really is. Domino raises his hand, tapping a finger on his lips in a show of contemplation. Whether the Agent figures out just what it is that is different about Rei is left unclear, however. While the sparkle in Domino's eyes doesn't disappear, the Agent does not actually point out anything about the girl's appearance.

Instead, he does something he probably wouldn't have done for anyone else on this ship, except perhaps Sarah or Shiro.

"I just made some food. Would you like some? Genuine vegetables from Earth!" None of this vending machine food crap.

"Is there?" Rei replies when Johnny notes that there's something different about her. She doesn't register any reaction beyond that, although her hands fold in front of her lap and tilt her head obeisantly. This is, of course, a bit of a front. Rei Ayanami refuses to let slip what she's thinking: that he /noticed/, he really /noticed/.

Rei forces herself to take a breath lest she betray excitement.

She examines Johnny as he examines her, but offers no comment; perhaps Rei is simply being polite about Johnny's shirtlessness. Then again, with what she's wearing, she really has no place to judge anyone for showing skin. When the offer is made, Rei turns her head up, to make eye contact with Johnny Domino. She is wearing unprofessionally but nonetheless tastefully applied eyeliner. It brings out the unnerving shade of red in her irises. "I would enjoy that," Rei says, walking into the room and letting the door whisk shut behind her. "Thank you."

Rei stands off to one side rather than make herself at home -- clearly, she needs to be invited to do such a thing, and even then, consider who this is: how comfortable can she /ever/ make herself? "Excellen Browning visited me while you were away," Rei notes, as flatly as if she were reporting that a lightbulb had gone out in the hall. "She said that you sent her."

Johnny Domino turns around, scales his litter, walks around the pan, and crouches. Another grimace appears when he does so, his ribs refusing to cut the Agent some slack. Seriously, if anyone ever decides that smashing against a Zentradi computer console wouldn't cause any physical harm, Domino would have a few choice words for them.

Turning the fire off, Johnny tilts the pan around, poking the vegetables around. Hm, hm, hm. He did not actually bring any plates with him, or even utensils. The young man, not imagining himself SHARING his food with anyone, simply planned on eating his meal with the spatula, straight from the pan. /Like a barbarian/.

But now... hm.

Weighing a number of strategic possibilities, Johnny Domino neglects to invite Rei to make herself at home. Perhaps he is used to Ayanami's aloof behavior, and allows her to be what she chooses to be. Perhaps he is too high on the rush of happiness at everything that the notion of inviting her to feel at home slips his mind. Or perhaps he is just a douche. Who can say.

Still considering how to go about sharing his genuine vegetables with the First Child, Domino freezes when at last Rei mentions Excellen. His eyes widen, suddenly staring right through the pan. Excellen told Rei he had sent her? Oh god.

"What... /else/ did Excellen say?"

Carefully, very very carefully, Domino begins dividing the food into two piles, still staring through the pan as he awaits the answer.

"She commented on my clothing," Rei says. There's other stuff -- like a long, emotional hug that outpaces the awkwardness of the embrace that just occurred by leaps and bounds. But Rei doesn't report on any of that. Nor does she offer to share /what/ comments Excellen had about her clothes.

But this is Rei Ayanami. Who could be mean to her?

Aside from probably everyone.

Rei takes a few tentative steps toward where Johnny sits and fiddles with the food. She carefully kneels -- extremely carefully, because that skirt is seriously short -- and sits on her knees, legs pressed together, hands in her lap. Rei may not be a very selfconscious person, but she's not oblivious to /everything/. Sitting across from Johnny, she patiently waits for him to finish whatever his plan is.

But she also continues speaking: "Excellen has also been leaving me gifts," Rei notes. "Are they from you?"

Johnny relaxes when Rei reports what else Excellen said. Sure, it seemed like a good idea at the time to ask Excellen to look out for Rei, and Domino was relieved when his fake big sister agreed to do it. But now that he's back home and the entire grueling ordeal of the Secret Mission is behind him, Domino is gripped by the fear that Excellen, being Excellen, may have said /things/, as Excellens are wont to do.

Things that, in turn, would have forced Johnny to suffer through the /consequences/.

But as was noted, Johnny relaxes. It didn't sound like Excellen said anything embarrassing, or disastrous, or embarrassingly disastrous. At least, that's the impression Domino gets from Rei, and he accepts it without question.

--unless the reason Excellen hasn't said anything embarrassing is because she decided ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS, GEH!

The Agent looks up at Rei when she asks about the gifts. He seems rather jarred. "W-wha? I... no. They're not, uh." Johnny narrows his eyes. "Did she... sign my /name/ on these gifts? Because I have absolutely nothing to do with them!"

Excellen is still the worst fake big sister ever, gnarf!!

"It's probably, you know... just her way of looking out for you. Excellen is Excellen like that."

With these vehement denials in place, Johnny finishes pushing the food around. Satisfied that the piles are as equal as they can get, Domino hands both spatula and pan to Rei. "Pick a side," he says. "Careful, it's hot."

Remember the cake? Remember how Johnny couldn't give up his claim to the first bite, and stole a piece of Rei's slice for himself? This time he doesn't do anything of the sort, actually letting Ayanami have her share first.

"Oh," Rei replies, when Johnny adamantly denies any involvement in Excellen's gifts. She's mostly successful at hiding her disappointment. "No, she's been signing her own name..." Rei doesn't comment on Excellen being Excellen like that. It's still very kind of her, but Rei...

Well, Rei will have to decide later whether or not she appreciates that kindness any less now that she knows that Johnny doesn't have anything to do with it. It's something she can pick through later in her own time. For now, she'll focus on what's right here in front of her.

Rei watches Johnny manipulate the food until he's satisfied -- and then offers it toward her. She starts to make a noise, but once more, it doesn't really emerge. There's a pause before she carefully accepts the pan, and then the spatula. She looks down at the vegetables, then up at Johnny, watching his face. Rei doesn't seem particularly, you know, scared or anything, but there's a hesitation on her part, as if the choice was more difficult than simply deciding which side of the pan she wanted. Eventually, Rei picks the one closer to her, digging in and scooping as much as she can with the spatula. Apparently, with no plates to be seen, Rei has the same idea as Johnny. She doesn't get all of 'her' side -- not even close -- but then, she's careful not to overload the spatula and risk making a mess.

And then Rei carefully hands the pan back to Johnny. "Thank you," she says, quietly.

With any other person, Johnny Domino would have snapped at least twice already. Granted, the Happy Hormones currently saturating Domino's brain are responsible in part to the Agent's enduring patience... but only in part. The rest is all Ayanami.

Watching the girl stare at the food, then at him, then at the food again, Johnny can't help but find the entire display cute. A cuteness that borders on the sad, what with how hesitant -- dare we say baffled? -- the girl appears to be.

'Just like a poor puppy', thinks the Agent. A poor puppy in nice clothes and make up.

This does not stop a hint of disappointment from inching into Domino's face when he sees the small amount Rei ultimately claims for herself. After all the hard work he put into dividing the meal! Hmph.

"You're welcome," he says as he reclaims the pan. Not able to stop himself, he further adds, "There's more where that came from, if you like it."

But enough talk. There's food to be eaten. Johnny looks down, wriggles his fingers, and grabs a piece of vegetable. /Like a barbarian/.

This is followed by the Agent making happy little kid noises as he eats. Nyum!

Rei, having claimed her share, watches Johnny with his. When he affirms that there is more for her, should she want it, she simply nods her acknowledgment of such, without breaking her stare. Then she waits for the Agent to eat -- it'd be rude to go first, even if she's not entirely sure why. As Johnny delights in his cooking, Rei eats less like a kid and more like a bird, using her fingers to carefully pick out small pinches and bring them to her mouth. She chews quietly and thoroughly. It's not that she's not enjoying the food, but just further symptoms of the medical condition known as 'being Rei.'

Rei doesn't attempt conversation. She also doesn't stare at Johnny while he eats. She doesn't want to put him ill at ease -- and the fact is, Rei doesn't particularly /want/ to talk right now. She stares at a randomly chosen point -- the camping equipment Johnny was heating the pan with -- and keeps her eyes there, listening to the Agent's enthusiastic eating as she methodically eats from the spatula. Surprisingly, she doesn't spill any of it -- she's that good, apparently.

But the food's gone before Rei really realizes it. She presses her fingers down, and only feels the uncomfortable warmth of the metal spatula, slick from cooking oils. "--ah," she says, the first real vocalization she's made since the meal began. Then she looks up, toward Johnny, with the questing eyes of an orphan seeking more porridge.

Briefly, her gaze ticks down to the pan, to see if he ate it all.

Johnny Domino, not as well-versed in the art of polite dining as Rei is, nevertheless echoes the girl's silence. No attempt at a conversation is made, nor does the Agent do anything else to spoil this moment.

Except for the fact that he's eating with his fingers and making silly noises. But other than that, he's practically a gentleman.

His blue eyes do focus on Ayanami a few times at first. No doubt the yound man is making sure she is, in fact, eating. Then, after the third glance thrown at Rei, the Agent becomes too invested in his own cooking to care. The girl is pecking at her food, and that's good enough for him, and oh god the food tastes sooo gooood after weeks of eating canned space-spam.

Rei may not be able to see it, as she's busy staring elsewhere, but there is a certain art to the way Domino eats his food. How he begins by thinning the pile from the top, then moves to the sides - taking a bit from the left, then a bit from the right, then from the left again. Every so often he'd stop ravaging the main dish in order to pick up tiny flecks and pieces he spots in the pan, pressing his finger against them and letting them stick to his skin for easy transport.

When Rei emits a sound, Domino snaps out of his feeding trance, looking up at the girl while sucking on the tip of his forefinger. "Mm?"

He blinks before glancing down at the pan. His own share of the food is gone. Rei's share looks suspiciously smaller than before. Decidedly thinned at the top, and missing some substance from the left and right sides. The Agent's eyes grow wide, cheeks reddening.

Oops!

Bashful -- and still with his finger in his mouth -- the young man hands the pan back to Rei.

There's a brief, awkward pause as Rei sees that Johnny's eaten some of her half. It's not that Rei staked too much of a claim, mind -- she's not exactly the territorial type, especially when it comes to things like food. It's certainly better than 'velveeta and rice' -- even /Rei/ is starting to get sick of that -- but she's not enough of a gourmand to place food high up on her priorities list.

That said, she /does/ look like she's been eating better. The outfit gives ample opportunity to see how healthy she looks, vampiric pallor aside.

Rei looks from Johnny, with his finger in his mouth, to the pan, then back, then back again. Finally, her red eyes roll up to meet his -- and she can't help herself. She reacts.

Rei smiles.

It's not a big one, but by the standards of the girl's usual permanent melancholy, she might as well be grinning more broadly than Yazan Gable after blowing up an orphanage. But it goes further than that -- the small smile manifests, and then Rei laughs. Just barely. Just enough to be heard. It's such a tiny, delicate sound. "It's okay," Rei says, the laugh gone, the tiny smile staying. She leans forward, and carefully takes about half of what's left of her share.

"You can have the rest," Rei says, slowly and gently bringing her second portion back toward herself, hand underneath the spatula to catch anything that falls (and yet, nothing does). "I don't mind."

Johnny's finger continues roosting between his lips - he completely forgot it was there. His mind went blank the moment Rei smiled, the mental void persisting all the way through her laughter -- /her laughter/!

If not for the fact Domino was already sitting on the floor, he would've come crashing down like a house of cards.

He has no clue what happened to Rei while he was out in space (did something happen?). He can't say whether this reaction was his doing, or if other people have started being nice to Rei (are there any other people?). For a moment he isn't even sure if what he is experiencing is real (did he die in deep space and this was his final dream?). But there's one thing Johnny does know about Rei's reaction with growing certainty:

He likes it.

The Agent smiles back at the girl. It's an infectious gesture, and Domino is smiling before he even registers it. His lips stretch wide, elation painting every corner of his face. A soundless exhalation of air is produced as Johnny attempts to overcome the jolt of pure joy that travels through his entire body.

As he accepts the pan for the final time, all the young man can produce is an emotional "Thank you!"

Thank you for the food. Thank you for the smile. Thank you for the laughter. Thank you, Rei Ayanami.

This is the best welcome back home Johnny Domino could have hoped for.