[Closed] Turkey Day Hijinks

[lol_dancess]

Title: Turkey Day Hijinks
Characters: Misono and Meisa (maybe Yesung?)
Location: Misono's and Yesung's apartment
Date/Month: Thursday, November 24th/noon-ish
Rating: PG
Warnings: None at the moment

Meisa was a lot later than she told Misono she would be. Stupid turkey, why you gotta be so big? She had spent... well... too much time trying to find a small

Comments

[lol_dancess]

The door flew open and Meisa found herself quickly wrapped up in Misono's warm embrace. She squeezed back, only letting go when Misono started pulling back. It felt good to be hugged and she didn't realize how much she needed one until that moment. This wasn't the first year she hadn't gone back home for Thanksgiving, but somehow she felt the homesickness a little more keenly than previous years.

Smiling brightly, she greeted, "Neesan! Happy Thanksgiving!" Something furry was rubbing around her ankles. "Hello Kitty von Catcat." She dropped down to pet the cat. "I've got cranberries as well as a bunch of other stuff. I saw a recipe for pumpkin cheese cake that looked really good so I have things for that." What else did she have? "And I've got potatoes for mashing and the turkey all in here." Meisa gestured to the spelled bag and stood up.

"Should we put the turkey into the oven? It's twenty pounds Neesan." Twenty pounds! "We're going to be eating turkey forever!" Maybe it was good that the holiday season only came around once a year. She looked around, expecting Yesung to be around. "Where's Yesung?"

[misono_soup]

Twenty pounds? Misono bounced on her toes and clapped. "Meisa-chan, you got a really BIG turkey!" It was going to take hours! "We've got to get it in now, because it takes almost five whole hours to roast! Yesung and I asked at the market." That was when Yesung had pointed out that they probably couldn't eat thirty pounds of turkey on their own, even with Kitty von Catcat helping.

At least it was a fresh turkey, not frozen, Misono thought as she rummaged freely in Meisa's magicked-up bag. They completely didn't have time to thaw a frozen, twenty pound turkey. She had the roasting pan already set up and waiting; Kitty von Catcat leapt up to the opposite counter to watch. "You're not supposed to be there," Misono scolded. "But it's a holiday so I will let is slide today." Fresh turkey was slippery and it was kind of splashy as it plopped into the pan. Considering, Misono reached into the hollowed out bird and retrieved a dripping mesh bag of internal organs. "And we can make gravy!" Since she already had a pot on the stove she simply plopped the giblets into it. That could be taken care of once the bird was in!

"We're going to make cheesecake? I like that stuff! With pumpkin is going to be really good, too. Pumpkin is suuuuuuuper good for--wait, American pumpkin, right? That's good for you too!" If different from Japanese pumpkin. "And since we've got time for things to cook I can show you how to make apple cider molasses and we can make apple-cider carrots with rosemary and if we have mashed potatoes we can roast the sweet ones and I'm going to teach you to make pie crust! So we can have cheesecake and pie! Maybe two pies!"

They were going to eat for forever. "We're going to have a lot of leftovers even if Yesung DOES eat a lot!" She was impressed and--oh!

"Yesung is in the living room." Under the coffee table. "He's still sleeping but we don't have to be quiet."

[lol_dancess]

"I wanted a thirteen, maybe fifteen, pound turkey, but there were none left. Five hours to roast, really? Thank goodness it isn't frozen." Meisa followed Misono to the kitchen and made her way to the sink to wash her hands. She turned around just in time to see Misono wrestle the bird on to the the pan and stick her hand in to it and pull out the giblets. "Gravy~" she sing-songed, coming up next to her sister, "I used drink that straight. No turkey, no mashed potatoes. Just the gravy."

Kitty von Catcat tried to stick her head into the pot of giblets. "No, no, Kitty von Catcat." She picked the cat off the counter and petted her, placing her on the kitchen floor. "Not yet." Meisa looked up at Misono then back at the cat, stage-whispering, "If you behave, I'll sneak you some food as it gets cooked. Neesan doesn't have to know."

Standing back up, Meisa grinned. "I won't really, if you say it'll make her sick, but then this way Kitty von Catcat won't come up on the counter while we cook. We'll have to trade it off for her circling our ankles for food." It had worked with her sister's cat. She wondered if it would work with this one.

"American pumpkin," she confirmed, "I got the recipe from a friend at school. It's really good!" Going over to the bag, she rustled around and found the potatoes. "I only bought 5 pounds of potatoes... That's more than enough for three people right?" There were plenty of other things they were going to make that would compensate for the lack of mashed potatoes. Not that five pounds of mash potatoes was really lacking.

"He must be really tired," Meisa said, speaking of Yesung as she found the pumpkin cheesecake recipe. She intended to start the cheesecake right away so that it had time to chill before they sat down to eat. "I've never made pie crust before, actually, I've never really made pie. What kind of pie are we going to make?"

They really were going to eat forever. "Do you think Nino would like to come over for some dinner once we finish? I wanted to ask him, but I didn't know how to reach him." She had considered asking Jun if he wanted to join her for Thanksgiving, but thought that it would be rude of her to invite someone Misono didn't know.

[misono_soup]

"Yup, about five hours! That's okay, though! We've got time! And we can eat lunch now if you want!" Yesung would probably stay unconscious. It would be okay--he needed more sleep than food right now. She was going to ignore drinking gravy entirely. It was good but not THAT good. "Kitty von Catcat is allowed treats," is what she said instead. "She can have turkey and gravy and stuff because it's a special day. A little bit won't hurt her."

She crouched down and looked at Kitty von Catcat's upturned face. "Oi, you can't go getting underfoot a bunch, okay? I'll step all over you, you know!" She waited for Kitty von Catcat to meow. Which she didn't. "On your own head," she told the cat. "And don't you go crying to Yesung if I do."

Back upright she nodded as she listened to Meisa talk. "That's more than enough for even five people and I've got sweet potatoes, too. Which we can roast or mash or top with marshmallows or make into a pie." Pie! "Pies! We can make all kinds! I have a lot of recipes! When I first learned Thanksgiving I did a lot of reading!" Not that she'd been able to read much. "Well, I made Genuemon-san read to me and then when I could read on my own I did it myself but that was after him, mostly. So we can make apple pie or sweet potato pie or pumpkin--but if we're making pumpkin cheesecake then we maybe shouldn't. And we can make cranberry apple or cranberry pear or pear tarts because those are like pies, or lemon tarts because I like lemon, or pecan pie or walnut-maple pie or chocolate pie. But not cherry pie because that's a summer pie."

Meisa had NEVER made pie? "But you've never made one, huh? I'll teach you all about it! It's not hard! The secret is the butter being frozen and not over-doing with the rolling pin." She nodded authoritatively, already dragging out all the things they'd need to make pies of all sorts as well as anything else she could think of for Thanksgiving. They'd have to discuss stuffing but that could wait.

That could wait. "Yesung is working hard right now. It's his busiest time aside from the really, really hot days of summer and sometimes election time. He's all right, just tired out. And..." she smiled at Meisa. "Kazunari knows he's invited all the time. I don't know if he's remembered today but he might. And he can come if he wants, he knows. If you want, we can go look for him. Even to bring him food after, if you don't want to go before."

But it was possible that Kazunari wouldn't want to come or be found. She'd trust her instincts when the time came.

"I like a crowd!" she chirped. "Yesung maybe doesn't but he needs to meet more people. So I'm always happy to have people especially if they're people I like or that I might like!" She could have asked Aiba, now that she thought on it. Or Sho. Or even Wolf-san!

[lol_dancess]

Was Meisa hungry enough to eat lunch? She decided yes, besides it was probably better to eat a little now and not be picking at the food they were going to make. Dinner would taste so much better that way anyway. Well. Maybe she'd sneak a sip at the gravy. It was one of those childhood quirks that stuck around long after thinking it had been outgrown. She was still a sucker for really good gravy.

Kitty von Catcat meowed once and plopped herself down on top of Meisa's feet, probably thinking that Meisa was the better bet to get scraps from. Giggling, Meisa bent down, picked the cat up slightly, and scooted her feet out from under the cat. "I won't be able to move around if you're on my feet," she said. "How will you get scraps then, I wonder?"

"Papa was the cook during Thanksgiving," she told Misono as she stood up. It was the one holiday where absolutely no Asian food was allowed on the dinner table - rice, of course, was the exception. "But he always bought pies from a family friend. So I've never really got to bake pie before. A lemon tart sounds delicious, it'd taste refreshing and balance the flavors I think." Meisa watched Misono pull out all the kitchen equipment they would need. "Baking first and then the actual dinner dishes?"

A crowd. They would definitely need a crowd to help them finish all the food they were about to make.

[misono_soup]

Misono hummed as she sorted through things--dinner things here, pie things there, stuff for everything in the middle. And lunch things. "Your papa cooked? That's nice! First Papa could cook, too! First Mama had a weak body after Sister was born so sometimes he took care of us more." She could remember the way he'd leaned over her and Misono, teaching them by feel how to stir the rice and test the leaf-fire sweet potatoes. "It's nice, right? Yesung, he has trouble making toast. I think that's kind of cute, though!"

But that was neither here nor there! "Anyhow, we can make lunch and I think we should have something light since dinner will be big. You want to make fox-udon?" She would let Meisa pick what to have for lunch. "You can look and see what we've got and pick what to have for lunch, you know. You're the little sister so it's your choice!" She smiled at her, feeling warm and happy.

"Meanwhile, I'm going to measure out for pies. I think the lemon tart and the cheesecake and an apple pie would be good, right? Pies are easy once you get used to it. The main things are have all the liquids and the butter cold and don't work it too much because that makes it tough. I can show you how to roll the crust up on the pin to put it in the pan--only that's just the apple pie because the tart has shortbread crust. But anyhow! It's easy! I need the grater to shred the butter, that way I only have toss it through with the fork instead of working it in by hand. And we're starting now," she went on, remembering Meisa's question, "because we have to refrigerate the dough a few times between steps so that it can settle. And after they bake you have to let them sit for a little bit, too. But we don't need to bake them right away, that can wait. I just want to get it all prepped."

Really, the only thing that needed to be done right away was the turkey--they had five hours to do everything else. "This is going to be a relaxing day for cooking," Misono said thoughtfully. "Lots to do but plenty of time!"

Kitty von Catcat jumped into a pot that Misono had set on a chair earlier. "Oh! Thank you for the reminder!" She had to start reducing the apple cider if she was going to make apple-cider syrup for using on the carrots later. "Meisa-chan, I'm super, super glad you're here for Thanksgiving! It's nice to cook with you."

[lol_dancess]

Thanksgiving was really the only meal that Papa ever cooked. Ask him for anything else and he'd serve up spam musubi. Which, now that Meisa thought about it, she hadn't had in a long time. "Do you have spam and nori by any chance, Neesan? I've got a craving for spam musubi. I can make lunch while you measure out stuff and then help with the baking and other stuff!"

Deciding to look in the pantry, she rooted around, finding the nori easily, but not the spam. Meisa pulled her head out and smiled fondly at Misono. "Thanks for having me over. I love being around family for the holidays." In her mind Misono was family and someone she was very thankful for.

[misono_soup]

"We've always got nori even though Yesung doesn't like it very much! Spam..." She tipped her head to the side, mentally taking inventory. "Yeah! There's Spam! We bought a few cans a while ago because of this thing on the show and I think we only used one of them!" It was in one of the cupboards--Meisa would find it if she kept looking.

Because she liked cooking and because today was Thanksgiving, Misono went right to measuring and, with the back of her mind, began grating frozen butter. "Thank you for coming! I love being around family!" Full stop! She'd have hugged Meisa but her hands were full. "I want a hug but I'm all hands-full! Go hug Yesung!" Meisa hugging Yesung would be almost like her hugging Meisa!

[lol_dancess]

Meisa didn't doubt that Misono would have nori in her pantry. If she didn't, Meisa would be beyond surprised. Nori was a staple in the pantry, or at least she thought so. Opening another cupboard, she found the spam staring at her straight in the face. "Found it!" One can or two? There was her, Misono, and potentially Yesung should he wake up and feel hungry. And Kitty von Catcat. Deciding to make more, just incase, she took two cans out, opening them both and checking to see if there was cooked rice available. It looked to be enough, but, "Neesan, do you mind if I use the rice already cooked for the musubi?"

She needed to pee. Maybe she should go before getting distracted by cooking. "I'll be right back. I'll hug Yesung on the way back from the bathroom." Meisa looked down at the cat. "No sneaking spam. I'll give you a piece when I get back."

On her way back to the kitchen, she looked for Yesung in the living room. Weird. Didn't Misono say he was there? Peering around curiously, she was about to go back to the kitchen and ask where he was when she noticed feet. From underneath the coffee table. Huh? Meisa bent down to see Yesung peacefully sleeping then made her way to the kitchen with a quizzical look on her face. "Why is Yesung underneath the coffee table?"

[misono_soup]

"Go ahead and use whatever you need!" Misono trilled as she moved around her kitchen. "I want to watch you make this stuff!" she added. She liked to learn new things to make and maybe Yesung would like this and she could get more healthy nori down him. As long as he didn't know it was there.

Kitty von Catcat meowed at her. "No, she said no for now. You get meat when she comes back. And don't you beg, Kitty von Catcat, that's rude and beneath you and already you're getting a lot of treats today." She could hear Meisa coming back and then pause. And pause and pause.

Oh! "I couldn't get him to his bed and I couldn't lift him to the couch and he was taking up a lot of room on the floor so we put the coffee table over him to make more room. He's a big guy." He totally was. That was part of why she loved him so much--he was tall! "Did you hug him? It's okay to move the table to get at him!"

The cat meowed again and Misono gave her a tasking look. "What did I say about that being beneath you?" She looked at Meisa. "I'm going to ignore Kitty von Catcat for being rude, okay? You can sneak her treats if you like, though." She turned her back on the cat. "Also, also, I forgot to start the cider reducing again." She set up the pot with a quick rinse and turned it to a simmer. "Okay, okay, when are you going to make your thing? I want to watch!"

[lol_dancess]

"Ah, oookay." Meisa didn't understand exactly why the coffee table needed to be over Yesung, but well. "I'll just give him a hug when he wakes up." She didn't want to inadvertently wake him up. It always scared her when people started when got woken up. Best just to let them wake up naturally. "I'll get started on the spam musubi. It's not difficult."

Kitty von Catcat meowed and Meisa chuckled as Misono gave the cat a light scolding. Winking at the cat, she smiled when she got permission to sneak treats. "Got it." The cat followed her to the counter, weaving between her feet as she tore the nori into strips. "Hold on, hold on." Finally opening the can of spam, she began cutting slices, saving a bit for Kitty von Catcat. She snapped and charmed the piece of spam to hover in front of the cat. "There you go. Nibble on that while I finish making lunch."

Without the cat underfoot, she was able to finish the spam musubi in no time, using the open spot on the stove to lightly fry the spam and molding the rice the way she learned how to growing up. As Meisa finished wrapping the last nori strip around the rice and spam, she looked over to where Misono was. "Lunch is ready Neesan~"

[misono_soup]

Misono nodded. "Hug him later is always a good idea too!" she said. It was obvious that Meisa didn't understand her reasoning with the coffee table but that was all right--Meisa didn't live with her and Yesung. If she did, she'd have probably understood.

But that wasn't so important as watching Meisa make lunch. It looked simple enough--it was onigiri, more or less--and it smelled all right and Kitty von Catcat certainly seemed to enjoy the magically hovering meat. And since it kind of hovered away from them, it kept Kitty out from underfoot. AND entertained her. Misono giggled as she watched the cat try to paw the food down. Then, since her hands were free from the pie crust, she hugged Meisa from the side. "Thanks for making lunch, little sister~~~" she sang, giving her a squeeze. "Let's go eat in the living room! Yesung won't mind if we use the coffee table for a table-table!"

He'd maybe even wake up for food! "This is a good Thanksgiving," she said happily, setting the dough in the refrigerator with no hands. "I keep saying that but it keeps being totally true!"

[lol_dancess]

"It's no problem. If you say Yesung won't mind, I'll bring the plate out then." Meisa leaned into the hug, feeling content. Even if they didn't make everything they said they were going to make, this was already a good Thanksgiving for her and she was glad that Misono thought the same. "C'mon, Kitty von Catcat, let's go sit at the coffee table."

She managed to spell the floating piece of spam to follow her as she went out of the kitchen, giggling when the cat tried to pounce and bring it down.

"Oh! Drinks!" Pausing at the door, Meisa looked back to where Misono was. The bit of spam continued it's merry little way to the living room with Kitty von Catcat following and trying to bring it down. "Do you have iced tea?"

[misono_soup]

Humming Misono began to bounce toward the living room. She stopped in the doorway however. "Tea? Yes!" She turned and got the tea started, watching as things began to sort themselves out. Still. Just in case she went back and grabbed a soda for Yesung.

"Hey, hey, speaking of things I have and things that people don't mind, I met a guy you know!" She pushed Yesung's arm aside and gestured for Meisa to sit. Then she shoved his leg out of her own way and plopped down on the floor. "I did! Can you guess? He's very pretty and he's kind of very mannered and--" and his heart didn't beat "--and I met him at Come Again!"

[lol_dancess]

"Someone I know?" Meisa murmured to herself as she made her way to the coffee table. At Come Again? Someone pretty and mannered? Jun maybe, but he didn't seem the sort to frequent sex shops. At least, not to her knowledge. She watched in slight apprehension as Misono flung Yesung's limbs around, waiting for him to wake up in annoyance. When he didn't, she settled herself next to Misono and set lunch before them. "I have no clue," she said, "Nino and Sho are the only ones I know who have been to Come Again."

Something distracted her. Out of the corner of her eye, Kitty von Catcat was setting up to pounce on the piece of spam that had settled on hovering near Yesung's foot. Meisa wondered if he'd wake up if the cat jumped on his foot and slightly wanted to see what would happen if Kitty did pounce. Misono had said he was tired though, so she took pity and sent the piece of meat further away for Kitty von Catcat to play with.

"Who did you meet at Come Again Neesan?" she asked, turning her attention back and murmuring a quiet 'itadakimasu' as she grabbed a spam musubi for herself.

[misono_soup]

"Yeah! But it's not Kazunari-kun or Sho-kun!" Misono picked up a musubi and considered it. "Itadakimasu!" she said, taking a bite. It was...well, it was pretty all right, given Misono's feelings for Spam after Yesung's show about it. She hummed around her bite, watching Kitty von Catcat pounce away after her meat. She patted Yesung's leg--their cat was being super cute and he was missing it!

But then she snapped to attention at Meisa's question. "I should make you guess," she grinned. "I should but I won't at all. It was the guy from the shampoo commercials that Yesung and I like so much! He came in to use my phone and he was kind of shirty with me a little bit but I think that's because he has manners and I wasn't a very good shopkeeper because I was distracted from showing C--but anyhow, anyhow, I met that guy! Your Jun!"