011 | my star has left me (to take the bitter pill)

[mortal_son]

[ AUDIO ] | [ Backdated to Monday afternoon ]

Uh, there -

[ There's some shuffling sound, like he's setting the phone up somewhere, still. ]

Right. So.

... I ain't good at this, either the talkin or the - well.

But just writin it seemed ... not enough, and. All of you are probably sick of seein my face, so.

[ There's a brief pause, before he goes on. He sounds very, very tired, but his voice is nonetheless serious, and firm. ]

I frightened the hell outta a lot of you.

I said a lot of stuff, some of it to some people I don't even know.

And, it's complicated, but I can say that - while it wasn't all me, it was a part of me. So, yeah, I ain't gonna pretend it isn't my fault.

I'm sorry.

[ He swallows. ]

I am sorry.

I'm not gonna. Just sit around feelin guilty, though. Not -

[ Coughs. ]

- Yeah. So.

Up to you if you take this seriously.

But let me know if I can make it up to you.

[ And then the audio is turned off. ]

Comments

[ Audio | Private ]

[mortal_son]

[ Absently: ] I should check it out sometime.

Uh.

[ Thinks for a moment. He knows what he'd like, but. Hesitates. It's not a secret secret, per se. He just didn't want people bugging him about it if they knew.

But, new beginnings and all that.

Plus, she'd been so nice and helpful and.

And it's not like he had a bullshit reputation to try to protect, here.

Finally, admits, sounding a little shy: ]

... I could use some interestin-looking cookbooks.

[ Audio | Private ]

[clevermind]

[Belle's lips tug into a smile.]

I'd be happy to find you some. I've experimented with a few different cookbooks myself. They have recipes from many different worlds.

[She doesn't know many men who like to cook. It's cute.]

Do you have a favorite type of food?

[ Audio | Private ]

[mortal_son]

... Huh.

[ He hadn't even considered the fact other worlds would have other cuisine. But, of course they would. It certainly caught his interest. Shinjiro was certainly intrigued by foreign food to begin with, and this would be even more facinating. ]

... It depends what I'm in the mood for, I guess.

I like to try stuff that's different when I can, though.

[ He shrugs, even if it's unseen by Belle, but admits: ] Not that I got a ton of chances.

[ Audio | Private ]

[clevermind]

I think that this world is a perfect opportunity to try.

[It's exciting with so many worlds and cultures mixing together.]

I am from France and most of what I know is French cuisine. I don't mind showing you if you'd like to come over and cook with me. [Belle is very domesticated.] Since my arrival I've read a lot of cookbooks about cakes and sweets. Sugar is very expensive so I've been trying a few of those recipes while I'm here.

[ Audio | Private ]

[mortal_son]

...

[ There's a long pause, as Shinjiro weighs his embarrassment over people - especially someone he didn't know that well - knowing that he could cook, and cook well -

- against his interest in getting to cook with somebody who maybe knew what they were doing. It actually sounded like it could be fun? And hadn't it been a while since he'd done something just for the sake of fun, on purpose?

Plus, Belle didn't seem to have a mean-spirited bone in her body. So. ]

... Yeah.

Let's do this.

I'd like to see some of those recipes.

[ Audio | Private ]

[clevermind]

[Belle doesn't think that there is anything for him to be embarrassed about.]

Let me know when you're feeling up to visitors.

I'll see if I can find any other good books in the mean time.

[ Audio | Private ]

[mortal_son]

Thanks.

[ There is clear gratitude in his tone, and it's not just for the books, either. ]