(D3, LE, Murato's) Something Sweet

[Kitsu Murato]

When she reaches for her cup, it is empty. "Ah, my apologies," he says shaking his head. "I completely forgot." He stands up and moves to an iron teapot off to the side. But rather than bring the tea pot, he opens the top and reaches in among the steam to pull out a pair of bottles. Returning to the table and setting one to the side before pouring from the other.

"I'm certainly no great aficionado, but this is a Junmaishu. They said it was best served heated. And as long as I'm not at an official function, I slurp. My uncle used to tell me that spooning was not for soup," he grinned mischievously at that last comment.

[Kuni Yasu]

Yasu grins to see the sake...she seems to be keeping a fairly steady amount of alcohol in her system today. "I'm familiar with the type. We see a lot of sake in Crab lands. It'll be nice with this," she indicates the soup. "It's really good, by the way. The noodles are so soft I feel like they're almost dissolving on my tongue, and I asked about drinking the broth, because it really shouldn't be wasted."

She watches as he pours, but pauses, with a slightly confused tilt to her head as she reaches for the cup. "What else is spooning for then?" It may not be a term she's heard used in other contexts.

[Kitsu Murato]

After he finished pouring he offered up a small toast. "Kampai!" And then drinks, before setting down the cup.

"I never waste a good broth. Part of the pleasure of this dish is finishing it off and getting those last little bits of noodle and onion," he says with a smile, before taking up the bowl and going with the drinking method rather than using a spoon.

When she asks about spooning, he was finishing off his broth and a bit came out of his nose with the sudden attempt to force the laugh from coming out. Well timed, Kuni-san. He sets the bowl down and wipes his face.

"Either you are messing with me or you have been done a disservice with a lack of pillow books," he says with a soft smile. His look searched for any hints that she had been messing with him, but he held back any further laughter not wanting to make her uncomfortable if she truly didn't know.

[Kuni Yasu]

If she's feigning her concern as he snorts soup out his nose, or surprise as he asks if she's messing with him, she's doing an exceptionally good job of it. She sets her cup down and her palms to the table, glancing down with a small shake of her head. "I guess that second one. My frivolous reading is usually poetry. I'm not *unaware* of pillow books or the kind of plots they're made of. So I'm guessing that was the kind of teasing that relies on some innuendo?" There's a small, embarrassed smile. "Sorry to make you explain the joke, they're usually not as funny that way, I know."

[Kitsu Murato]

"Well, this one could be entertaining. Hand me your spoon?" he asks. Assuming she does so, he uses hers and his to pantomime the explanation.

"It's more of an intimate thing than anything else. A specific manner of cuddling. One individual, called the big spoon, holds the other individual, the little spoon, while lying beside each other. The big spoon against the little spoon's back. They fit together just like this how the spoons go together."

His explanation was given in a gentle tone, not meant to make her feel embarrassed.

"Pretty innocent compared to many other things one might find in some pillow books," he reassures her. "Maybe if you feel comfortable enough with someone you might suggest it just to see if you find it comfortable."

He honestly wasn't suggesting anything, but he also wasn't saying he had no interest. For now, he allowed for a change of subject if she would be more comfortable, by refilling cups and setting a small cloth on the table that had something inside. Then he took a drink.

[Kuni Yasu]

She hands over her spoon and sips her own sake as he explains, nodding at how well the term fits. "Never called it that, but it's comforting, and as you say, rather innocent. Sort of thing you do with kids having nightmares to get them back to sleep, easy to see it as an adult intimacy too." Chuckling as she sets her cup down for him to fill, she adds, "imagine your uncle meant it that last way."

Looking to the cloth-covered something, she asks, "And what's this then?"

[Kitsu Murato]

"This is desert," he says. "It's not a rare thing, but I do hope it's something you will enjoy. We could make a game of it if you are interested. If you close your eyes, I can cut a small bite for you then see if you can guess the flavor."

[Kuni Yasu]

Yasu glances at the unfinished bits of dinner, but nods with an amused smile. "Since my moms aren't here, I don't *really* have to finish everything before desert." As her eyes close, however, there's a small stiffening of her shoulders as imagined voices of ancestors in her head chide her for her closed eyes, in a closed room, with someone she's known for all of three days. She hadn't expected such a simple, silly thing to feel oddly vulnerable, and she anchors herself a bit with one hand on the table.

"Oh, is your spirit watching?" She's asks quietly, more to hear his voice while she cant' see than out of a pressing care for the answer.

[Kitsu Murato]

"I think he fled in embarrassment," Murato says with some levity in his tone. He could see the apprehension in her body language and hoped it might ease her.

He unwrapped the fruit and went about preparing it. "We may both be Kitsu, but we have very different levels of comfort with intimacy."

The first one was relatively easy, having removed the pit from a cherry by slicing it in half.

"Open?" he prompted. And if she complied he would gently pass the fruit between her lips.

[Kuni Yasu]

"Of the two of you, I don't think I'd have guessed the spirit to be the one getting embarrassed easy." There's a small smile before she complies with his prompt, calmly letting him pass the cherry between brightly-painted lips. The small voice of apprehension stilled in surprise as how intimate simply offering food has become with the simplest movement of her eyelids. She pauses a moment to feel the small fruit on her tongue, the mostly intact flesh leaving it tasting mostly of the water it had been washed in. It isn't until she bites it, releasing the unmistakable sweet-tart juices that she can offer a guess.

A guess that will wait until after she has a chance to savor the small bit of fruit. Eyes still closed, her lips lift in a smile as she enjoys the rare treat. "That one is definitely a cherry. Haven't had one in over a year, but that's definitely what it is." Her hands shift to rest in her lap. "Should I open my eyes then?"