Open/Closed Prompts

[perfectdistance]

Who ⬤ Nero and you
What ⬤ Open and closed starters
When ⬤ September
Where ⬤ Various
Content Warnings ⬤ Sex in at least one thread


I. Substory #3 Drifter Grifter

[He looks tiredly at the list of crimes of this grifter and for a moment he wonders if Bradley's out there stealing again? He's probably stealing, but is this specifically Bradley or just some idiot he doesn't have to care about?]

Okay, so what did this guy look like? Did he even have any information or was he just dining and dashing?

[Are there, for some reason, giant windows in your bathrooms? How is this guy getting out so easily?]

II. City of Rain, before hours
[Now more than Ever Nero's grateful to have his shop. An oasis of calm in the middle of the din of Jigokuchou. Of course, the quiet rule doesn't come into effect until the shop actually opens. Sometimes it is nice to be able to talk to his employees without having to write everything down on paper.

He has been cooking a little earlier than usual, but that might be because of the new hire. Bradley? Just somebody from home. At least it's very normal for Nero not to say much about himself.

He does send out a text to everyone who works there.]

Breakfast on Friday at 10 if you want to come early.

Tell me what you want.

III. Wildcard
[Give me another prompt or contact me via discord or PM.]

Comments

[inspiteful]

[ Sometimes he has very simple breakfast desires. ]

Hmmm...mushrooms, onions and herbs, please.

[perfectdistance]

Sure thing.

[He'll pull those out and start mixing the filling together.]

What's your name? I'm Nero.

[inspiteful]

[ He'll be sitting and waiting patiently. ]

You can call me Skylark. And, uhm...sorry for coming in so early.

[perfectdistance]

No worries. Not like I put a sign up that said employees only.

[He hums softly to himself as he cooks it up.]

Unless you want a job? [It's mostly a joke, but if he wants it Nero can arrange for it.]

[inspiteful]

...I guess that depends on what you're looking for?

[ It'd be nice to have a steady job and not just run odd jobs for people. Hopefully it'd contribute more to the apartment too. ]

[perfectdistance]

I could use another cook or a somebody to run deliveries.

[An omelet doesn't take too much time to cook, so it's done and nicely plated for him. It's delicious.

He also gets a glass of water.]

[inspiteful]

I can do either of those.

[ He lights up when the food is served however, and puts his hands together on a gesture of gratitude. ]

Thank you for the meal!

[ Time to dig in! ]

[perfectdistance]

You're welcome. [Oh, great! It's harder to find cooks than people who are willing to walk around.]

You're here early, I'll teach you the appetizers when you're done.

[inspiteful]

[ Oh, does that mean he'll be a cook? Well...he does enjoy cooking (and even finds it relaxing), and learning to cook more things would be useful. If he can share more food with people, that'd be nice.

He digs in to the omelette and... ]

It's so good...

[perfectdistance]

I've had a lot of practice.

[It's one of Riquet's favorite foods too.]

[inspiteful]

I'm glad I came here, then.

[ Hmm, this seems like the sort of place Hizen or Kazuma might like when they're not feeling too sociable, actually? ]

[perfectdistance]

[Fufufu. He can be proud of that.]

Any chef would be glad to hear that.

[inspiteful]

[ Hm? That's a pretty nice smile. ]

How long have you been a chef?

[perfectdistance]

[Nero can be so cute, if only he smiled more often]

Since I was old enough to be near a fire.

[The real answer is centuries, but he's not giving that out for free.]

[inspiteful]

[ Lark can tell that this is an answer that doesn't actually tell him anything meaningful, but...if this is the same Nero that Cain mentioned before, then it's not really his place to poke about it too much (at least not yet). ]

I see...

[perfectdistance]

[Some people don't like talking about themselves, and Nero is those people.]

When did you learn how to cook?

[inspiteful]

Uhm...while I was growing up, really. I helped out in the kitchen a lot.

[ Since obviously, everyone in the pavilion needed to eat, and sometimes patrons wanted snacks. ]

[perfectdistance]

One of the best times to learn.

[Easier to retain information when you start young.]

[inspiteful]

It's been really useful, and cooking is relaxing. At least one of my roommates can cook, but I end up doing it a lot since I'm usually home earlier.

[ And he basically volunteers to do it anyway. Give him a moment, he's gonna finish up this omelette. ]

[perfectdistance]

[ He nods approvingly. Cooking is good, but sometimes it's nice to be able to share the chores around.

For now, he starts de-veining the shrimp. ]

[inspiteful]

[ Once he's done, he picks up the plate and the utensils. ]

Where should I put these?

[perfectdistance]

Here, there's a sink and washer in the back. Wash up and we'll get started.

[He'll walk him over to the door that opens up to the kitchen, the sink is just about right next to it.]

[inspiteful]

[ Thank you! He gets to washing up the dishes with a pretty practiced hand, humming to himself. ]

[perfectdistance]

How often have you worked with shrimp and oysters?

[inspiteful]

Plenty of shrimp, but not so much oysters.

[ They were pretty expensive, for starters, and weren't on the menu at the pavillion. He's only had oysters on special occasions. ]