German Chocolate Cake. Sushi. Weird Combo. (KQ)

This date was kind of awesome. No, it was more than kind of awesome, it was super awesome. They were going to have a picnic, in the middle of a hedge maze. All around them the green walls rose, obscuring the rest of the grounds from view, apparently you could get away from everyone without going far from home.

Down the different pathways they went, and Kealey trusted that he knew where he was going. The maze was huge, Kealey made a note to herself to find who was responsible for it and let them know what a wonderful job they’d done, the walls looked nearly solid, and shaded the pathways. It was almost like being in a different world. The basket swung loosely as they walked, and Kealey couldn’t help but be curious about what kinds of food there was inside.

She’d worn khaki capris and a simple blue tank top with a v-neck and spaghetti straps, it was cool in the shade of the maze, but it was still summer and Kealey didn‘t want to get over warm. Soon enough they emerged from the corridors into the more open, flat, center of the maze. All around them were walls of green and it was quiet, in more than one way. The Mansion was out of Kealey‘s range, and she was almost surprised at the lack of emotions, had it been so long since she‘d been anywhere remotely secluded? Shin’s emotions were there, but they were almost second nature now, and it was more comfortable than Kealey had been in quite some time. This was going to be excellent.

Watching as Shin spread out the blanket, Kealey waited until everything was set, then sank to the ground cross-legged and watched as the food began to emerge from the basket. There was cake, which looked fantastic, and a myriad of other things. There was rice, and chopsticks, and vegetables, and some other things that Kealey simply wasn’t sure about. Surely Shin knew what he was doing though…and he seemed pleased with himself.

Kealey smiled back and shook her head.

”I haven’t.” she said, ”But there’s a first time for everything, right? That cake sure looks good, did you make it too?”

”You know what else? We’re far enough away from the Mansion that it’s out of my range. It’s just me and you.”

Kealey nodded when Shin pointed out how “cake-ish” the German Chocolate cake looked. Of course Shin had gotten the recipe from Aurum, who else would have something like this at hand to simply give out? It really did look like Shin had done a good job with the baking though. Kealey knew cake…and this cake looked good. ”It looks awesome…one of those things that makes you want to eat dessert first.”

Shin said she wouldn’t be disappointed, and Kealey grinned, ”I didn’t think I would be.” she said. ”You said it would be good.” Shin said something was missing, and Kealey’s eyes narrowed as she tried to repeat the word, ”U..ume…boshi? What’s that?” Whatever it was, Shin missed it, Kealey could feel that in his emotions as he thought.

He was happy that it was just the two of them, and Kealey nodded her head in agreement. ”It’s always nice when that happens…rare as it may be.” she said, then picked up the packaged chopsticks that Shin had laid on the blanket next to the rest of the food.

”So, how does this work?” she said, ”Do lessons come with the food?”

So it appeared that dessert-first would not be the order of the day. It was an unspoken decision that Kealey didn’t dare challenge, they were going to have sushi. Truth be told, she was pretty excited about the whole thing. Considering how seemingly secluded they were in the maze, it would be a good opportunity for her to decide she actually liked the stuff instead of having input from everyone else around. The cake could wait, it wasn’t going anywhere.

Shin was surprised that she didn’t know what the Japanese fruit was and she tilted her head slightly to the side as she listened to his explanation. Salty and…sour. The blond made a slight face, honestly the combination sounded like it would be a little rough on the palate. ”I guess I’m going to have to take your word for it if they’re not obtainable here.” she said, then snapped her fingers, ”Darn…it sounds so tasty too.”

A chopsticks demonstration came next, and Kealey watched Shin closely, pulling apart her own set and fumbling slightly to get them set right in her fingers. It was not as easy as her teacher made it look. Shin picked something up from one of the containers with ease, and Kealey attempted to follow suit, succeeding only in shooting a little piece of food into the grass a few feet away. She ‘heh’d’ a little embarrassedly. ”Tricky little thing aren’t they?” she said, trying again and managing marginal success when her food item merely fell right back where she’d gotten it from. This was going to take some practice, but something Shin had said stuck in Kealey’s mind.

”So you really were Abyss?” she said, in response to Shin’s comment about strength. ”Not one of the brothers?” It made a difference, and Kealey was curious. ”I still can’t get over what a shock that must have been. Those guys feel things so strongly…”

As she struggled with her chopsticks, Kealey could feel the sympathy from Shin. ”Now don’t you start feeling sorry for me…” she said, dismissing the urge to wag the chopsticks at him in an admonishing way, ”I defeated a zombie horde…I can use chopsticks.”

Easier said than done. A few moment’s more work had Kealey concentrating on the use of the utensils as hard as she’d concentrated on anything for a long time. Her eyes were locked on her target and she bit her bottom lip as she struggled to work the two pieces in tandem. Success! Kealey took a bite.

”Yum!” she said, wondering if the reason the Japanese used chopsticks was for the feeling of accomplishment that came with managing to take a bite.

Shin confirmed Kealey’s suspicions about the time he’d spent as an Abyss…rather the Abyss. He offered to tell the story, despite the fact that it was apparently long, and Kealey went to work on getting another bite. It was easier this time.

”Tell me everything you want.” she said with a smile, ”I’m in no hurry. Besides, I know some of the Abysuss….Abyssi…whatever…and I’m curious what it was like.”

Kealey listened aptly as Shin started his story, pleased that he’d stopped feeling sorry for her lack of proficiency in chopsticks. Learning things on her own had always brought Kealey unparalleled satisfaction, and this was no exception. As she figured things out, it became easier and easier to eat and the blond got more and more proud of herself. Shin’s story was definitely interesting and Kealey was torn between the urge to laugh at some parts and gape at others. The whole concept was still completely mind blowing to Kealey and again she tried to figure out what it would be like to end up in someone else’s body.

”It sounds like you handled things alright once you figured them out. Did you end up finding yourself? How did you get back to your right body?” she said, one question flowing into another as Kealey’s curiosity on the subject boiled over.

”Again I say, you should be glad you ended up switched with Abyss himself. Some of the other brothers aren’t nearly as even keeled.”

A moment’s more thought on the subject and something occurred to Kealey, something she’d been curious about since their meeting with Luke in the hallway of the mansion.

”So what kind of trouble did Abyss get you in? Besides hitting on random females and permanent body art, that is. Speaking of which…” Kealey trailed off there, looking across the picnic blanket expectantly.

Kealey shook her head as she took another bite of sushi, then set her chopsticks down. ’You seem to get shot at a lot Shin. I’m not sure I like that very much. No matter what kind of body you’re in.” It was true, the idea of someone taking shots at her boyfriend…with bullets was just unpleasant.

”Partial amnesia too, huh? The whole thing is so strange, and you weren’t the only one. I wonder what the common factor is. Sam never thought it would be a good idea to look into this? What if it happens again.” Kealey shook her head, ”I’ve been trying and I can’t even imagine what it would be like to wake up in a different body. I don’t know what I’d do with myself.” Shin felt…weird about the whole thing, of that Kealey was sure. It was an uncomfortable topic though, and she was glad he felt comfortable talking about it with her.

Shin wasn’t sure when Kealey pointed out that he was lucky he was Abyss and she rose an eyebrow, ”If Venus had ended up in your body…chances are tattoos would have been the last of your worries when you got your body back. He’s…a bit of a lech. Then there’s Mars…he’s a very intense fellow, I think he might have started snapping limbs off if I hadn’t relented the time I met him.” Kealey paused to think, then nodded her head, ”Yes. Abyss was definitely the one you wanted to switch with…though I’m going to have to have words with him for breaking your arm…even if everything healed alright. That was rather irresponsible, how did it happen?”

Shin was playing innocent, and Kealey rose an eyebrow in his direction and grinned, ”You know that doesn’t work on me. Tell me about the tattoo.” He wanted blunt. Well, he got it.

”Why can’t your thing be…getting feathers thrown at you or something…” Kealey said, then smiled ruefully and heaved an overdramatic sigh, ”I know, I know…occupational hazard. Just make sure it stays that way.” she added, smile turning slightly more serious. It was true, in Shin’s line of work, there was going to be danger. Kealey stopped for a moment…that was her line of work now too. At least when she wasn’t in school. Yeah, one of the occupational hazards was definitely being shot at.

Shin went on with his story, though, and Kealey had to nod his head at the wisdom of staying close to someone he trusted when everything had gone wrong. ”When things like that happen, the smartest thing you can do is stick with someone you trust undoubtedly. I’d stick with you too.” Kealey took a moment to muse over the thought, ”I wonder what it would be like to be someone else though…even if it was only for a little bit.”

Apparently the broken arm hadn’t happened when Shin was body-switched with Abyss…apparently that had been before. Shin had been at that big fight…the one Kealey had seen part of on TV when she was still staying at Jacen’s. He’d been there too. ”I saw some of that on TV…” Kealey said, it didn’t look like fun." I’m glad Luke ended up alright…and you, of course.”

Shin wanted to know how she knew Venus and Mars and Abyss and it was Kealey’s turn to hmmm thoughtfully. ”That would mean it’s my turn to put on story time…and it’s not the prettiest story ever.” she warned. It wasn’t…certain parts would most definitely be awkward to say the least.

Speaking of awkward, Shin didn’t seem to want to be completely forthcoming about his tattoo and Kealey tilted her head and peered at him. Did he really want her to guess. ”I’m just going to leave it to my imagination, since you don’t seem to want to say.” she said with a sly grin, ”and I’ve got a pretty good imagination.”