Third Floor Common Room; Monday Morning [10/21].

[howareyanow]

At some point last week, Wayne had been making some notes about some of the regionally inspired breakfasts they'd been having to carry on over to his own Monday Morning Breakfasts, but, really, when all was said and done, when he actually got to making breakfast that morning, he decided, fuck, all that was gonna do was make him him miss the place. Not necessarily miss bein' on vacation, he didn't really do well with idleness and vacations and things like that, but he had enjoyed the trip, and decided maybe getting back to the more traditional stuff could be in order jus' to sort of set up the idea that it was back to the old usual grind again.

So there were pancakes and eggs and bacon and what have you as per usual, and that was all well and dandy, but then there was the whole issue with the coffee, and the fact that what Wayne got when he brewed up a pot was less of life-giving bean juice and more midnight matinee horror show. Because what he got was definitely a pot of what was absolutely fake blood (because real blood didn't really look like that).

He sniffed it, made a face, and poured the whole pot right down the sink and rinsed it out (and the sink, too, lest it look like he was up to something decidedly not breakfast related around here), and tried again. Same thing. Dumped that, figgured mebbe the third time's a charm, but no such luck. Which left him to narrow his eyes at the coffee maker, squinting at it accusingly.

"Now, look here, bud," he said, fully aware that he was standing there, talking to a kitchen appliance, "if you've got a problem with coffee this morning, then you've got a problem with me, an' I suggest you let that one marinate!"

This island had put them through a lot of terrible things, sure but no coffee on a Monday morning after a vacation? Fuck a duck, that was just a whole new level of cruelty that Wayne almost couldn't stand to contemplate.

[[ My schedule's a bit wonky this week, so a bit of SP on my end, more'n likeleh, but open breakfast is definitely open! ]]

Comments

[chirpchirpchirp]

"Wait, who's marinating?"

See Vette. See Vette poke her head curiously into the common room, blinking. She didn't smell the usual coffee, but the familiar scents of bacon and eggs and sausage and pancakes were still in the air, so she'd been mostly sure Wayne was in there...

But the coffee?

"Morning, Wayne," she added, once she was sure it was still him. "How are ya now?"

[howareyanow]

There was a bit of a hesitation, as Wayne needed a moment to weigh out whether his sense of propriety was stronger than his desire to not be disingenuous.

Propriety won out, as always, but it was by little more than C-hair of a thin margin.

"Good," he drawled, "n'you?"

They could get to the marinatin' after their Ps'n'Qs.

[chirpchirpchirp]

"Oh, not so bad," Vette replied, thus sealing the holy breakfast covenant. Or... something. She offered him a sunny Monday morning smile anyway, meandering her way over to inspect the breakfast offerings.

And side-eyeing that coffee pot something fierce.

"Did someone run through all the grounds while we were on vacation and not buy more?"

[howareyanow]

"Oh," said Wayne, and sounding particularleh cross about it, too, "there's grounds enough. Beans, too, fer that matter! But the coffee maker's actin' a bit squirrelly this mornin', Vette. Go on," he nodded at the machine vaguely, as if he couldn't bear to bring himself to actually look it in the eyes right now, "try'n make yerself a pot, you'll see what I mean."

[bookbeltof_love]

"Gooooooooooooooood moooooooooooooooooorning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

One guess who was bouncing on in and, well, no one really needed more guesses than that, right?

[howareyanow]

And anyone who needed more than one guess had clearleh been eatin' too much sugar cereal.

"Nina!" Wayne's usual bark of greeting was a little rough around the edges, thanks to a particular deprivation of caffeine at the moment. "How are ya now?"

[bookbeltof_love]

"I'm great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she said, since Nina didn't need sugar or caffeine to function like she'd eaten all the sugar cereal.

Nina did frown at little, though, since his greeting was kind of—

"Are you, like, okay?????????????????????"

[howareyanow]

Wayne grumbled a little, frowning particularly hard at the pan while he flipped the pancake on it, then huffed out what sounded almost like a sigh. "Coffee maker's actin' squirrel--"

He started, then stopped, with a glance over toward where he was pretty sure he heard one of those note-writin' radio squirrels squeaking a bit in objection to that particular term, and he grunted and tried again.

"The coffee maker's off," he amended, with the tone of a man who couldn't help taking it a bit personally when something didn't work the way it should, and who found it particularleh offensive when that something that wasn't working involved his coffee.

[handystand]

"I really miss the sea air," Okuyasu said, wandering into the common room as he sleepily stretched his arms out. "But then again, smelling your cooking is pretty nice too!"

He shot his roommate a big smile.

[howareyanow]

That big smile was getting met with a seriously squinting side-eye.

"We live on an island in the sea, big shoots," Wayne pointed out.

[handystand]

"It's not the same," Okuyasu said, shaking his head. "It's cold and stuff. And there aren't any turtles. Not the same sort of air at all."

He eyed the coffee pot.

"...what's wrong with the coffee?"

[bookbeltof_love]

"You could, like, go stand on the beach??????????????????????" Nina said helpfully. "It's not, like, the same but it might help???????????????????????"

A beat.

"Good moooooooooooooorning, Okuyasu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[handystand]

"But it's chilly out there!" Okuyasu said with a bit of harrumph. "Mainly I just wanted to say something nice about how the food smelled. I was trying to be nice. I don't miss the vacation that much."

He totally did.

"And good morning to you too!"

[lilac_eyed_lieutenant]

Unaware of any particular issues with other preferred morning beverages, Tisarwat made it up to the third floor for the usual breakfast, eager to get started on getting things back into the swing of the regular routine.

"Good morning, everyone," she said as she came in, as usual, with her flask on the ready. "Would anyone like some tea?"

[howareyanow]

And before Tisarwat even had a chance to finish that question, there was Wayne, putting out his puppy mug with the usual "I'd have some tea," only it was definitely a bit more aggressively eager on account of what was going on with the coffee just then.

[lilac_eyed_lieutenant]

Tisarwat was used to this response from Wayne, but he was hardly ever so...quick on it. She blinked a little in surprise, and then again as she realized that the mug was actually clean for a change, no coffee residue clinging to it, and she smiled a little, pleased that maybe there was hope for him yet.

Dutifully, feeling quite pleased by the turn of events and blissfully ignorant of any other reasons for it, she poured the tea. "And how are you today, Wayne? Did you enjoy the school trip?"

[bookbeltof_love]

"I'd love tea, Tisarwat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Nina chirped, even as she took a moment to wriggle her hands into her pink, pink gloves.

(She'd had them in a pocket.)

"Do you, like, want me to kick Wayne out of the kitchen to make you something????????????????"

Because she'd do it. And yes, she was saying that loud enough for Wayne to grumble about too.

[lilac_eyed_lieutenant]

Tisarwat had to smile a little as Nina put on her gloves (not only because they were gloves, either, because they were just so...so...pink and she kind of loved them, even if they were ridiculous.

"You might not have to," she said, and, even though she lowered her head as if to whisper to Nina, she also definitely said it loud enough for Wayne to hear, "if only Wayne would just put on some gloves hers--"

[handystand]

"Oh, Tisarwat!" Okuyasu said quickly turning his back to her when he saw her. After a moment of activity, he turned around with a big smile and a pair of gloves on.

"Hope you're feeling better now that we're back on the island."

[lilac_eyed_lieutenant]

The whole thing with turning around did seem a little dramatic, but Tisarwat did appreciate having to avoid the awkwardness that came along with watching someone actually putting their gloves on. She always wasn't sure why he'd turned around in the first place, so it was a pleasant surprise when she noticed what was different and she had to laugh.

Her expression was faintly beaming, both for the fact that he'd actually done it and that, just as she'd suspected, how much a difference a pair of gloves could make, because he looked so nice and civilized and handsome now that he was actually properly dressed.

She wouldn't mention it, though, because that would be impolite. Not any more than a small, pleased, approving nod of her head.

"My stomach certainly is," she remarked, "thank you. And how are you, Okuyasu? Would you like some tea?"

Maybe by now, she might even be able to bring some of her nicer cups for those among her friends that were so readily adapting to being properly civilized around here!

[scoffs_at_tradition]

Shuri was there with a cup of not-coffee from her room and a tablet that she was using to add notes to. "Okay, so the coffee isn't just my room, then," she said. "I'm keeping track for science."

Nerd.

[howareyanow]

Big nerd. But that's what Wayne appreciated about her.

"Definitely not jus' the coffee in yer room," Wayne assured her with a disconsolate sort of grumble before his tone went into the...mostly usual call of, "Shuri. How are ya now?"

[scoffs_at_tradition]

"Muy bien, gracias," Shuri said, grinning. "Though I'd be bien-er if I didn't have to drink tea this morning. I don't really love rooibos."

[bookbeltof_love]

“Shuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuri!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Nina beamed in greeting. “The blood curse got your coffee too????????????”

[scoffs_at_tradition]

"It did!" Shuri said. "So annoying."

She lowered her voice. "And I might have screamed when I saw it the first time. Perhaps. A bit."