On the Simmer

[Haven]

Niki was hard at work making her specialty, sure it was stereotypical, but it was damn delicious and she didn't make it often. She had become inspired to be a bit more motherly since the incident earlier and she wanted to make her famous rice and beans. Comfort food never knew comfort till it tasted her rice and beans and it was best if she cooked it a bit early and it had time to simmer and then cool. There was something in the reheating of it that made it all the more yummy and stick to your innards.

There was more than enough leftover from the cookout and all the chicken and ribs were going in her pot. Actually she was making three pots, all of varying spiciness. There was the nuclear paint peeling hot pot, which had mostly the meat from the ribs with some chicken. Then there was her medium hot, sizzle your tongue on the side, pot that was a fifty fifty blend of chicken and ribs. Finally her pot of rice and beans for the tender mouthed which was mostly chicken meat.

Ah, she remembered the way she had learned from so many years ago and each time she made the dish she smiled. It was on of the happy times in her life. A foster home that was filled with love, for a time, but she didn't let her mind wander o when it turned bad.. because it always turned bad. She really like the lady whose house it was and even though she was hard on her because she was Puerto Rican too, Niki liked the challenge. She was responsible to take care of the younger kids and she had to cook the meals. This one was her favorite.

As she stirred slowly as she readied the pots for the rice. She liked to get all her liquids going first and then get the beans in there too and bring it all up to a boil before she added in the rice. Oh, and the secret to her rice was something she guarded closely, who knew it was borrowed from sushi preparation, certainly not Niki herself. The touch of this, and the dash of that were never written down but she knew what she needed to put in there a little brown sugar some capers and the varied spices, some cheats here and there but a traditional finish, if a bit sweet and savory, was her aim.

To aid in the complexity and the texture of it all she had to get the coconut oil in there, but to give it the proper nose of a rough tropical cookout she got the plantains out and sliced them up. In a skillet she set the coconut oil to a medium low and got ready to fry the plantains up. The kitchen smelled of a delightful meal in the works and Niki was singing slightly under her breath as her hips and feet swayed around under her to the tune in her head. It was a while before dinner, but by the time everyone got a whiff of her cooking they'd come running, so the fried plantains should hold them off for a bit.

[Onyx]

The enticing and beckoning smells that wafted from the kitchen into the rec room quickly became too much for Jasper to ignore as he abandoned the television program and strolled into the kitchen. "Ah it smells vonderful in here," he said taking a deep breath of the smells as a lazy and hungry grin cross his face. The grin only widened when he saw Nikki dancing around in the kitchen. "Food and a free dance I see. Jou vill make some man very happy one day."

He took a seat at the counter and looked around at all the food cooking. Jasper hadn't even been hungry until he got a whiff of all the smells from here, but his mouth salivated at the smells, ones he was certainly not familiar with coming from in here. Not to say that no one ever cooked anything wonderful, as he nearly proposed to Sky the day she made ribs with her special sweet glaze, but nothing like this that was for certain. "I have been here for four months now und I have never seen jou cook. Vhat's the occasion?" Jasper asked raising his eyebrows at the latina. "A velcome home dinner for jour friend? I knew zhere was a sweetheart under all zhat." There was a teasing smirk on his face as he said it, tickled to see her looking so domesticated like she was cooking a big meal for a big family.

It was all in jest though, as he couldn't care less why exactly she was cooking, though he wouldn't mind waiting on the meal to share it with the Temptress that consumed his thoughts, if it was indeed for her. Really he was just tickled by the idea of Nikki of all people, cooking for someone other than herself. "If jou are in need of a taste tester, I am very villing," Jasper added while taking another breath of the heavenly aromas in the kitchen.

[Haven]

"Hmmm, thanks wingless! But it's not quite ready just yet." Niki smirked at Jasper. "But here ya go, sink yer teeth inta this if you wanna nibble on somethin." She slid a small plate piled high with fried plantains out on the table in front of him. She knew people liked them different ways, so some were smashed flat and crispy like banana chips while others were plump and un-smashed, with an almost creamy doughy center, but all of them were done just right with that caramelized crust to them and not a single one burnt. At least not any she would serve to anyone. She choked those down herself to spare anyone the bitter burnt taste.

"Me? A sweetheart? Naaah, I think you got me mixed up with someone who cares. I just got tired of eatin garbage. I gave up dumpster divin years ago." She winked at her German friend over her shoulder and threw another batch of plantains in the oil. "But I got a guy I make pretty happy, least I think I do. Ain't seen him since last night though so hey who knows, right? And I bet that bunch wont be back from Boston till long after lights out. Hell I wouldn't if I were them. Skip all the nonsense, ya know?"

She wanted to make sure no rice was sticking, extremely large batches in each of the huge pots were known to stick, so she took her wooden spoon and went from the mildest to the hottest in that order stirring. As each lid lifted, for only the briefest of moments as breaking the rule about never uncovering a pot of cooking rice was tantamount to a hanging offense, Niki stirred as quick as she could before moving on to the next one. The steam wafting up filled the room and the aroma billowed out of the kitchen even further. "But I promise since you were here first you can have the first taste. Okay?" The grin on her face lit her devilish features and sparked a twinkle in her eye.

[Onyx]

"Zhe first taste? Ah Niki, a girl after my own heart vith those words," Jasper said with a wink, munching on the plantains happily. He had no problem free loading food, being that he was a terrible cook and was perhaps one of the few people in the world that could burn a salad. Never had he tried Niki's cooking before, but he followed his nose down here. Unfortunately, he knew he would not be the only one that would find their way into the kitchen from the smells now wafting throughout the house, so he planned to use the time with just the two of them to his advantage.

Steely blue eyes locked on her as he rolled the plantains around in his mouth, watching her stir the pots carefully. "So zhere is no reason zhat jou made three pots of food? Jou never cook for ozhers, so do not tell me zhere is no reason jou just started to randomly cook for everyone," Jasper said pointing a plantain at her with a knowing look on his face. It was a rare day for many the day that Niki of all people did something nice for people she didn't like, and no one could hold it against him for questioning this odd and out of character situation. Not that Jasper was complaining of course, he never complained when free food was involved.

[Haven]

"Hey, maybe it's punishment for venting on miss frigid and bustin up her face? Ever think of that? Or who knows maybe I'm poisoning everybody or somethin, right? Why do you think I'm doin it?" She looked over at him with his plantain with a nibble off of it pointed at her.

The smugish look on his face, like he already knew something but wanted her to say it out loud was too much. She wanted to scream, but instead she just choked back a laugh in the back of her throat. It sounded like it was almost a snarl, but it wasn't. "That look on your face- it's just so eww! So what!?! What's the big deal? FINE! Look, so I had this startling revelaaaation or whatever you wanna call it Jasper."

"You heard that boom, right..?.. and I was there and it was like we all kinda pulled together and I was a part of it all- in a good way. I didn't cause it.. I helped. In the midsts of it all I looked around and I realized I was.. I am ..one of you. I'm not an outcast anymore, sure I mean yes I'm not a joiner- you know that, but I'm not all alone in the world." She finally took a breath "and I have friends."

She scowled at him for a moment. "More than just two or three friends, even if you say people think less of me for that whole Frostbite thing, which I still don't get- or care.." she rolled her eyes "so I wanted to do THIS." She waved an arm to display the steaming pots behind her on the stove. "It's true I have missed Aideen, a TON.. and I would LOVE to delight my Ian's tastebuds" a smirk curled one corner of her mouth at the thought of his tongue and what he could do with it, then she shook her head to clear the image, boyfriend fantasies and cooking just left one with burnt up food and itches that needed scratching. "But" she cleared her throat gently "I wanted to do it for the rest of em. So promise me you wont say anything to them about why, alright?"

[Onyx]

A smug smile came on Jasper's face, as it often did when he got what he wanted. In this case he knew very well what she was up to, he was after all, her friend and far from slow. Sometimes with Niki though, it was like pulling teeth to get her to own up to any bit of her feelings. She was one of the toughest shells to crack that he had ever come across. Personally, Jasper had a feeling that had they not formed a mutual friendship of some sort, he'd never get anything out of her.

"Did I not explain vhat the loudmouths und sensitive ones around here are saying earlier?" he asked knowingly while munching on the plantains. "I thought it vas clear, if not a bit crazy on zheir part. Vhat I do wish though, is getting anyone to willingly eat food jou made vithout zhem zhinking zhat jou poisoned it or did somezhing to it." Jasper laughed slightly and went back to munching on the plantains. He was learning very quickly how addictive they were, and damn it all if he wasn't thoroughly enjoying himself. "Not zhat I am complaining, more for me!" he added with a smirk.

His gaze drifted to the window, hearing some kind of commotion of people going on outside. Ah he held the hope that the cause of such commotion would be the one in particular that never strayed far from his mind. He was anxious to see her, but at the same time dreading it as well. No longer could he live with his silence in the matters of the heart, and as much as he was bursting to let all know, he feared what would come of it all. "Are jou sure zhey vill not be back till later?" he asked, still looking out the window thoughtfully.

[Haven]

"Well, if they don't show till late then I guess that'll be a lesson learned huh? In fact isn't it in your precious book? He who hesitates is lost or some crap?" Niki stuck her tongue out a little at him as her body whipped around and she did her little salsa dance step before turning back and flipping the plantains so they wouldn't get burnt.

Getting another plate ready and putting some paper towel down to soak up the excess oil she grabbed the frying pan and shook it a bit to keep the sweet frying fruit from sticking. "When it comes to my food, hey if they don't wanna eat it thats fine, but I know there'll be a couple of em that will. I'll do you a little wager, just for fun let's guess on who will and who wont."

She grinned at him over her shoulder before pulling the next batch of plantains out and looking at the oil. It was good and ready to be added to her beans and rice, there was just enough char in it to add to the rustic flavor of her dishes, so -very carefully- she added it to the three different pots.. just enough in each to make it just right. "I know you and Ian'll try it, and Kevin. Yeah, and Maddy for sure. Sky might too.. OH and I think Ivy will since even if it was poisoned she'd be able to handle it. Least I think she would.." A look came over her face then, one of trying to remember something. She wasn't sure if Ivy just made poison or could metabolize it too, but then she shrugged not really caring since it was all in fun.

"And as much meat as I put in here the wolf twins wont be able to resist it, so that's two more for my side. Who do you think will turn their noses up to it?" She knew who the obvious choices would be for Jasper's 'team' but she was curious who he thought didn't trust her enough to turn down her cooking. It would be good to get some intell on who he saw as haters. The German, it was true, wasn't quite as keen an observer as his team mate k'8 but he was no slouch when it came to getting a 'read' on people and she wanted his take on it all. It was after all he who had made her take a serious look at how she was being perceived, so she wanted to see what he'd say.

[Onyx]

"For someone so smart, jou don't have zhe best perception. Und jou make fun of me for not knowing zhe name of TV shows after vatching zhem over und over again," Jasper teased with a smirk. He may not exactly be the most popular guy in school, but he knew enough of his classmates to be able to discern their attitudes quite nicely. "Lurai, as far as she has gotten in zhe sense zhat she doesn't run around naked anymore, still has a grudge against jou for zhe Brotherhood attack. I'd be surprised if she'd even be tempted, though vith zhat smell she just might be." He took another deep breath to take in the spicy and savory smell in the kitchen. The smell was only making him hungrier and the plantains were barely satisfying compared to what he smelled.

"Riker, ah zhat could go either way. I honestly never heard him say anything in regards to jou, be it good or bad, but he has a very... different scale jou could say how he judges people. More primitive, vith standards even I have a hard time understanding," Jasper said taking another handful of plantains and thinking about it now. He knew few people on his team were fond of his friend, if any at all now that he thought about it. It was interesting as he had yet to see anyone other than himself who didn't like Ian, and he and Niki were often together. "Jou are not as popular as jour boyfriend vith people it seems," He stated out loud, just telling her as it was and as it seemed.

He didn't know anyone on the Paragons that had any particular like or fondness toward her, and he knew that team fairly well. Lian he knew didn't care for Niki at all, Jasper often throwing her a warning glare or telling her to shut up when she would comment about her in front of him. Though he hadn't really thought about it before, it was interesting to see now how indeed him and Niki were perhaps a bit more different in their manners towards people than he thought.

"Jou are more of a loner zhen me! I know have comfort vhen I start thinking zhat I need to get out more often. So as I said," the smirk on Jasper's face was wide as he took another handful of plantains. "More food for me! Maybe jour not hated by all, as I do not know yet, but I think zhat it is a safe bet jou made a big dinner zhat I vill happily live off for several days." He looked at the pots of food hungrily and felt rather proud of himself for that moment.

[Haven]

"Hey you Nazi-wanna-be son of-a-bitch, you sayin I'm dense? I ain't dense you toeheaded cocksucker, I KNOW I'm hated. I give a shit man, this is all friggin bullshit anyway. I'm tired of playin nice, allfreakinready I'm tired of it! Look! I do this for everybody and if they eat it fine if not they can shove it up their collective ass for all I care. F'ck it man!" Her face a snarl at the end of the 'game' they were playing, not liking that she had lost. Not liking that he had used the simple facts of her situation and her relative position in the school to dispel any delusions she might have had that she was liked by any, save a few.

Her frustration with everything was coming up now. Dug out from under the thin coat of happy emotion that had coated it like a weak sickly veneer yellowing with age. It was cracking and the underling anger she had stifled for some time was bubbling like the three huge pots on the stove. With a note of defiance in her exhale she huffed as she turned of the three burners. The meal was just about done cooking, it only had to sit untouched for another ten minutes or so to let the grains of rice absorb the steam and swell to their full plumpness.

"It ain't gonna be ready for another ten minutes so enjoy it or choke on it. I'm outta here. Thanks for settin me straight wingless, ya really are a good friend.. ya shithead!" She took the last plate of plantains and slid it down on the table past him on her way out of the kitchen. There was only one place she wanted to go and one guy she wanted to see, and he had a room full of injured asshats laying around so she just took a walk out the back of the school. Passing through the cafeteria she saw Riker and Lurai and just barely glanced over at them. She didn't need any confirmation on how little she was liked but the way the two of them were so close felt like a twisting knife in her gut. In her rage she forgot that twins were, by definition, close and she just wished Aideen would get home soon since Ian was doing his own thing. She never clung to him like some other sorry ass girls she'd known did to their boyfriends, she respected his space. It wasn't really a good time for her to be around anyone actually. She knew that. Something was eating at her, something deep, she couldn't put her finger on it but she felt it.

[Katana]

At the other door to the kitchen, Katana heard Haven shouting and storming out. And people think I'm crazy, she thought, shaking her head. You are. You're trying to suck up to that bitch. It was true, Katana had been looking for Haven all afternoon. Granted she hadn't been looking rather hard as she had no idea what she was going to say but she'd been looking for her nonetheless.

She needed to find out where she stood and what was expected of her. She knew that she hadn't exactly changed anybody's minds about her today when after the other students were hurt she stood around stunned and unsure of herself being completely useless while everybody else helped. Should I go after her?, she thought. The older girl was kind of crazy but Katana didn't hate her and she could very much sympathize with being hated. Maybe she could help her and that had to be worth a few points.

But she decided not to do it. She was hungry and to be honest she didn't care that much, and it probably would blow up in her face anyway. Putting on her usual steely look, she stormed into the kitchen slamming the door behind her hard. "Don't worry," she said icily to Jasper. "I'm not going to ruin it. I'm just grabbing some cereal and then I'll split." The food smelled amazing outside and looked even better now but Katana wasn't going to touch it unless she had an explicit invitation from Haven.

That and she was defensive around Jasper. She could let her tough girl attitude down around Ivy and Ricki, and was working hard to let it down around the other Acolytes so they would accept her but Jasper was an enemy. She had many enemies at the school but he was one of the few she hated. She never could forgive him for his role in Riker's attack on Alex. Giving him another icy glare, she reached into the cabinet for the cereal only to find it wasn't there. To be honest she didn't like cereal that much and couldn't quite remember where it was. "Ah, well, didn't want it anyway," she grumbled. "What's with the spread?"

[Diesel]

"Na babe, I'm serious, my ma was so proud of me when I told her I learned how to do laundry and stuff that she sent me a whole box of her famous triple chocolate backward dough cookies and my Walker, Texas Ranger box set," Ian's voice traveled into the kitchen as he led Liv down there after their stop at the laundry room to drop off Liv's cloths so she didn't have to carry them around everywhere. He was having fun with her though, and finding quickly that she was fun to tease. "Like the first time I did my laundry though, I kinda used too much of the detergent. But I had a lotta clothes and stuff and they were mad grimy so I figured that half a box of that powder stuff would be good. Well uh..." He looked at Liv sheepishly. "It was a little more than enough. Man was I never more glad to have Blondie as a friend than I was then. I still owe her for that."

Arm around the smaller girl and leading her around, he stopped in front of the kitchen and took a deep breath of that smell, his mouth salivating already. "Oh MAN It smells amazing in there, come on Liv babe, I want some!" Leading her in the kitchen, he half expected to see Sky cooking up a storm. He was a little surprised though that instead of the usual cooks in the school he saw Jasper scowling as he dug into some kinda chips and Katana of all people in the same room together. "Uhh... hey guys. What's up?" Ian said looking really confused on why the two of them of all people would be in the same room together.

"Oh yea this is Liv, she got here like yesterday or something. She plays the drums man." He beamed at the thought since no one played drums at the school except for those on Rockband. "Ok first thing is first," he went to the fridge and rummaged through the freezer for a moment until he found the tray of the frozen juice pops that he inhaled every other weekend or so cause they were addicting. "Here ya go babe, one frozen apple juice pop comin' up!" Ian took out one, handing it to her with a big grin.

"My ma used to always give us one when we got our lip busted. Jimmy got it more cause that kid always got into fights, but my ma is like a hippie kinda lady and totally believes that the nutrients or something in organic apple juice is like a miracle thing for bruises on the mouth. Theres gotta be somethin' to it though, cause Jimmy's lip always healed mad quick," he said and took one for himself before putting the tray back and looking at the pots of food. "Say uh, you think we're allowed to have some yet?" He opened the pot and nearly melted at the sight of rice and beans and meat and the smell of the spice... "Oh man, oh... aw screw it I'm having some."

[Rhetoric]

It was impossible for Liv to listen to Ian and not have a big, dumb smile on her face. She hadn’t stopped laughing since they’d left the girls’ dorm and the mental image of him doing battle against an out of control washing machine and suds broke her down into delighted giggles. “Walker…pfft.” She grinned and followed him into the kitchen, her smile wholly devilish. “Forget it. Duncan MacLeod would whomp C.D. Walker any day of the week.” She couldn’t not tease him, it was too much fun and Ian was a good sport. “That would be an awesome fight, though. The roundhouse kick vs the katana. Ranger vs. Immortal. I’d watch.”

Her spirits were significantly improved as Liv accepted her juice pop from Ian and went to sit next to Jasper. “Hey… you.” Heather might have just told her his name, but it had already escaped from her mind, doomed to join other forgotten tidbits like the Pythagorean theorem and everything she had ever learned in Girl Scouts before she’d been kicked out. She nodded to the bitchy looking chick that was giving Jasper the stink eye and smirked. Liv nudged the cranky German with her foot and tilted her head toward the other girl, eyebrow quirked in question.

Liv worked on her juice pop and rolled her eyes as Ian let steam out of one of the big pots on the stove. The aroma of spice and awesome grew heavier in the kitchen and Liv pulled her frozen treat out of her mouth with a small POP. “Why not just climb in there and eat your way out?” She asked, beaming over at Ian. “It smells fantastic, though. Did you make all this?” Liv directed her question at the other girl. She looked familiar, but Liv couldn’t place her. One of the many she’d passed yesterday while Nightcrawler introduced her in the rec room, she was sure. Her nose wrinkled as she grinned wickedly at Jasper. “Or was it you? You have an apron on under all that charming irritation?”

[Onyx]

The scowl on Jasper's face deepened since he was now in the same room of an alleged girl with the survival instincts of a lemming and a brain to match and a brainless oaf with, <Ah he has a new fan girl. Well how convenient for him. What Niki sees in him I will never know,> he thought with a roll of his eyes. "Jes, that's me I often cook for everyone. Just vait until jou try my apple pie und beef stroganoff," he said sarcastically pushing away the plate of plantains and getting up to get himself a bowl. He had forgotten for that moment that Niki was never good with facing the harsh cold truth, at least when it came to herself. Now she was gone and he was left with the two people he really wanted nothing to do with.

Katana was just an over-emotional imbecile as far as he was concerned. He should have blasted her the other day when he had the chance since she couldn't seem to mind her own business. "Vhy jou even try talking to me, I don't know but please stop. Jour voice is making me envy zhe deaf," Jasper said icily, not even looking at Katana as he opened one of the pot and scooped up a generous portion of the delicious concoction into his bowl. He really had no desire to talk to any of them, though he could live with the new girl since she had yet to make herself look like a complete moron in his eyes.

"Jou can thank jour girlfriend for zhe meal by zhe way. I vas surprised jou weren't over here drooling over her shoulder," Jasper retorted as he grabbed a jar of salsa from the fridge and went back to his seat to eat his dinner, since it was nearing dinner time anyways. He dug right in without hesitation and took that first blissful bite. <I will seriously have to compliment Niki when she cools off. Who knew she could cook? Thank God for that.> He looked over at the new girl and smirked slightly seeing her face. "I see jou had a good first day," Jasper said holding back a snicker.

[Glitch]

Walking up from the med lab, Dante had come up with the intention of getting some grub. He spent the last couple of hours being entertained by Sky and Chase driving Beast insane in the med lab. The two of them made the worst patients he'd ever seen, but hey it was all entertainment for him. He had a good morning of entertainment as far as he was concerned, and now with the smell that hit him when he got off the elevator made him follow his stomach to get some dinner.

Dante barely looked at the people in the kitchen while walking in, brushing past the dark haired girl and grabbing a plate. He didn't care if it was anyone's food or not; it was there, he was hungry and he was taking it, end of story. Taking a big helping on to the plate, he placed it on the counter and grabbed a for and a bottle of soda from the fridge. He moved to grab a bar stool, for the first time since he got in noticing the new girl on his team as he sat on the stool next to her. Dante's eyes narrowed as he looked her over, noting that she was wearing a really expensive looking sweatsuit. 'The damn thing's probably worth more than any of my shit. Another rich prep, figures.'

His eyes flickered for a moment to her busted lip, but he didn't linger or comment. It wasn't any of his business and he didn't plan to make it his business. "You just gonna change up your look on a daily basis huh? Did a little birdie give you some advice Princess?" he said in a low voice with a smirk on his face as he dug into what he knew instantly was a classic Spanish dish. His neighbor was Colombian and he had something similar to this before. It was damn good.

[Diesel]

"HEY!" Ian said stopping himself in the process of scooping up the delicious dish of rice and beans and meat, glaring at Liv playfully. "Walker is a legend, and McLeod is a damn fairytale. No one can have him for a hero cause there is no way he can be real, but Walker is THE MAN!" He pointed his spoon at her for emphasis and gave her a wide eyed look of conviction before breaking out into a grin. "Here Liv lemme grab you a bowl. I didn't see you at lunch so I'm guessing you're hungry," he said scooping her up a generous helping as well.

"Jasper bro, you know you ain't keeping the salsa to yourself man, so not cool," he said going to grab some forks and spoons after setting Liv's bowl down in front of her and then going to grab the hot sauce that he had joint custody with Sky and Chase. They pooled their money together to get the hottest hot sauce they could find on the internet and had it delivered. "Man I love it spicy, it's like the best. Any of you guys want?" He was totally oblivious to any ill feelings toward him from anyone.

He poured the hot sauce all over the rice and beans, and then scooped maybe half of the large jar of salsa into the mix, feasting with his eyes before he really got into it. The first bite was pure bliss; his eyes rolled back and he had that 'OH GOD YES' look on his face as he rolled around the ridiculous spicy concoction in mouth. "Oh man... ooooOOOooooh man. Niki made this? She cooks? What the hell? WHY DIDN'T SHE MAKE THIS BEFORE?" Ian had a feral look in his eye for a minute and then dug into the food, promising himself to send Niki a dozen red roses or get her like jewelry or something. The meal was seriously amazing.