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The words don't land anywhere close to where Tidus wanted them to. Roland continues unaffected, the adult in the room, while Tidus's actions continue to be misconstrued. And Tidus can only allow it for as far as they're spoken out loud; the hand on Roland's hip, the butter beginning to lightly sizzle and grease the pan it's been placed in.

He speaks up as soon as he hears it, before it can go any further.

"--I was making a dick joke! It was always a dick joke!"

He speaks loudly, just to be clear; to try and get through, that note of desperation not yet gone. This isn't how he wants to hear Roland be. This isn't what he wanted to happen.

"I'm not gonna make fun of you just 'cause you messed up some ingredients. I wasn't-- that wasn't the point of it. I just knew you'd remember if Inigo brought it up!"

His head hangs, and what else is there he can say? Except for the obvious.

"I was a jerk, so just go ahead and call me a jerk. I played a trick and messed up, alright? I'm sorry."

This is.

So dumb.

So dumb that Inigo isn't even getting distracted with any dramatic reactions towards Tidus's reveal that he was using Inigo for a dick joke of all things, towards his father of all people. No, that can wait. Or just be ignored. Because Inigo really feels his hands itching way too much to not get involved with this huge mess. Because he can't really stand here and watch this trainwreck unfold otherwise, not with how Roland only seems to retreat further into his own thoughts, not with how actually guilty Tidus looks.

So he steps forward, grabbing Roland's panless hand into his own, and then one of Tidus's hands into his other hand. Squeezing both of those hands, as if demanding both of their attention.

"Listen."

Listen to him. Does Inigo need to be the adult here?

"Roland, so what if you're not a perfect cook? There are plenty of other things you can do, and can do super well! Not to mention that you did fine that time when we cooked together-- and cooking without instructions is something you can learn, so there's no need to feel so bad about it! Knowing you, you'll be able to learn it in no time." Inigo shakes his head. "And like Tidus said, he's not even making fun of you for it! You know Tidus. You know what he's like. He's even saying sorry, so you're just going to make him feel worse if you're going to keep feeling bad over it!"

His gaze shifts over towards Tidus.

"And you shouldn't be so hard on yourself either. I mean-- It's a good thing to say sorry." Especially since Roland seems so weirdly upset compared to the usual. "But you didn't mean anything bad by it! You were just trying to have fun, and it did seem like you two were having fun together, so of course you'd get lost in it. It's not like you knew Roland would feel bad."

Inigo is quiet for a moment, but then exhales. A looong breath.

"I'm not just going to stand here and watch you both feel bad when you've got nothing to feel bad about! You're both fine!"

You're both fine.

Roland is a rationale person. He knows that everything is fine now, which is why he's definitely not still tweaking with the fire, lowering it as the misshapen final pancake rests in a sheen of buttery grease before a plate can be put to serve it in. It's also why he's only looking at the hand holding his own, and at the two who seem to be in contrasting moods; with Tidus's apology and admission of the entire thing being the dick joke Roland already knew about, and Inigo taking a page out of the adulting book to reconcile the miscommunication.

But he supposes that apart from the non-issue of cracking jokes about performance issues and flipping of food in pans, Roland's frown remains in place and grows only slightly deeper in his realization that it's not the joke that made him react the way that he did. It's hard to place, as foreign as it is.

Maybe some clarity is shed when he smiles tightly, shaking his head. He doesn't let go of Inigo's hand, and he lets go of the pan at last.

"Yeah. It's fine. I'm sorry, it was a funny joke." Not really, but he'll say what he has to, the aforementioned adult, the guy who doesn't quite understand embarrassment in its full spectrum of color.

"Tidus just didn't want to eat the pancake." There it was. "So I figured...Hm. Anyway. I'm okay. Let's serve this up and you can just taste a bit of it before I eat the rest."

Cool, say the dick joke was a funny joke and make it all the worse for it, great! It's not like Tidus doesn't already feel like an unfunny loser right here, especially with how Inigo is standing there holding one of his hands, speaking to the pair of them like some primary school teacher. Guuuuhhhh.

Whatever, the dumb dick joke isn't really the important part here. It's that way that Roland still seems to retreat into being the upstanding adult of the room, and Tidus doesn't know what to do or how to react to that. As if anything he says is going to be the overreaction, but so what?

"It was a joke," he's pleading anyway, he's asking you once more. More of a groan this time, as if he's not sure he'll ever get through to Roland. "'Course I was gonna eat the pancakes. You're just gonna give me one? I haven't eaten all morning. I had to deal with Inigo dropping on me and now this!"

He waves his free hand at the other guy. He's only going to get a bite out of one pancake after everything his morning's been?? Hello??

Maybe if some people here weren't being dumb, he wouldn't have to pull out the kindergarten aide act!

Though he's not sure it's helping much. There's still-- still something to Roland. Tidus's mood is a lot easier to read here, but Inigo can feel something radiating off the older guy that he can't quite place as easily, nor does he have any idea about what may serve best to help ward it off.

"Come on, Roland! If that's the whole problem, we'll just tie Tidus to a chair and stuff him full of pancakes!" Not that Tidus didn't already say he wants to eat it, but maybe this is just revenge for Tidus saying Inigo dropped on him-- though that's.. actually not far from the truth...

But it's just not the way he'd prefer to put it, thanks!

Inigo lets go of their hands.

"Are you really that worried we wouldn't want to eat what you make?"

If by now Roland's mood hasn't yet lifted fully from where it was when dick jokes began, it's to no fault of either of the twin teens now flanking him on either side. The batter is quietly dripping from the rim of the bowl and the pan continues to cool the more he pauses and slows in the process.

Are you really that worried we wouldn't want to eat what you make?

Though his face paints a different look, with characteristic stoic and straight-edged lines masking over a youthful profile, it's the look behind his eyes that shines the opposite of uncaring. The shrug in his shoulder, once like a simple twitch, adds to such an effect. And what he says afterwards seals the deal.

"Yes."

Nothing else follows, but his actions speak louder volumes as the fire is re-lit and the pan is back on the stove. The bowl of batter returns to his non-dominant hand and the process of making pancakes begins anew with the sizzle of butter against the pan. At least he's not throwing it away as he had intended, already hearing Tidus's plea and replying with nothing but one word, and going about the duty of feeding hungry people even if he knows deep down they're not going to enjoy it.

Or at least, they'll make a show of not enjoying it. That might be better than actually hearing and seeing it from the two of them, affecting him deeper than he realizes.

He's got to wait - that's where Tidus is in this. His pleas are falling on deaf ears, and for the frustration he's feeling, Tidus can't solely put that on Roland. This was his dumb joke - a dumb joke that Tidus never figured Roland would take any part of it serious. But he has, so that's what he's got to deal with, right? Intent doesn't really matter as much as the shipwreck in front of you.

"Give me a full plate, and we'll all sit down." There, two people can play at the decided act, Tidus's arms folded, standing awkwardly to a side and giving Roland room as he twists on his heel, faces off to some other part of the kitchen. What's there to do than wait? As the pancakes soften from batter to a soft, thin cake.

But a thought does occur, and he glances back to both of them.

"I'll look for some honey."

There's bound to be a bottle around here, huh? Or he can go into the stores to look if he has to. Probably easier. (Probably safer.)

Two people can play at the decided act.

But three can't, apparently. Maybe it's just that it comes less natural to Inigo - after all, even when he's masking his true feelings, it always comes with dumb dramatics, with large bombastic acts. But there's Roland's one-word response and that weird look in his eye, and then there's Tidus's obvious discomfort with the situation, and yet both of them are acting like this and Inigo hates it.

Especially since he's been trying here! So hard! He got unknowingly dragged into this dumb joke, and he didn't mind trying to play cleanup if it would mean Roland and Tidus would start feeling better, but that's not happening. Inigo tried so much, and yet the other two still obviously aren't doing great.

The childish part of him is halfway to the point of just wanting to storm off and leave these two to their own dumb problems, but Inigo is well aware there's no way he could do that without feeling guilty, if Roland's whole problem is being worried they wouldn't eat his food.

So he'll stick around. Letting Tidus go find some honey, if he wants. Inigo knows his bro doesn't like just standing around idly while waiting, after all.

But as for Roland, after that remark.. He can prevent the childish part of him from wanting to storm off, but he can't fully hold it back enough to keep a few words from slipping out.

"I can't believe you'd have that little faith in me."

There's something genuinely hurt in the words, in the tone. Because it is upsetting. Shouldn't Roland know him better by now? Shouldn't he know even Tidus better than that by now? Even if Tidus goofs around, or even if Inigo is being dumb and overdramatic about things - they'd never reject Roland. Or even his food, if he wanted them to eat it so badly.

"I have the utmost faith in both of you."

What certainty of upset comes from Inigo, Roland meets with a conviction of his own. It's quiet, like the rest of his actions as his hands continue to pour, butter, flip. And despite how Inigo sounds, it seems Roland is unable to relent; not when the words hit him hard, or when Tidus escapes for a time. It's neither of their faults anyway. His inability to do a basic thing like this, well. Who knew he would feel a certain way about it? He certainly didn't. Maybe it isn't too late to learn about oneself after all.

Maybe he could get Senku to teach him how to nail this...Redeem himself in their eyes.

"I'm mostly doubting myself." Roland chuckles dryly. He admits this freely now, but it isn't without great difficulty. He's doubted a lot of things before, with far bigger issues on the line, but he can't remember when he's actually said it out loud. The two of them combined bring something else out of him, and at this point, he doesn't wonder or question it. More than this, Roland decides that it's better Inigo understands thru action. He faces him with the same, almost embarrassed smile on his face while the spatula carefully pushes the plate towards him. A few pancakes, misshapen as they are, rest on the porcelain already.

"Here. Why don't you try it for yourself? I promise you'll get it."

He might need that honey from Tidus's quick trip to the stores sooner rather than later. Thankfully, his cooking is almost finished. The silver lining is that he managed to add more sugar this time, purely by accident.

Someone doesn't know how teen-adult relationships actually works and it shows.

The honey is far from difficult to find in the storeroom (thanks, ingredient of the month!!), but Tidus takes a moment later to search out some of the chocolate inside his arms band, in one of the few bags he's been collecting up for the job (of keeping his hamerspace organised). Otherwise, he's not going to dally too long - it'll make things weirder, or seem like there's a problem when, whatever, there isn't, right? This is fine.

So he returns to the kitchen with a jar and a bar of something wrapped in thin cloth, raising up both one after the other as he walks and talks with a voice raised.

"Got some! I got some chocolate too, if you want it."

Which he offers with his eyes on Roland more.

Hey, if it shows, then do something about it!

Because Inigo doesn't know what to do. He's really on the edge of desperation here. There are a lot of situations he does know how to do something about, but he's already run through all of the usual techniques here. What is he supposed to do when he's done all of that and Roland is still as unresponsive as before? For all the lack of a fatherly relationship Inigo has had back home, he's just had an absence rather than any stone wall.

He's not sure if he should even eat the pancakes while Roland is acting like this?! What if it just makes him act like this even more. What if Inigo reacts the wrong way - whatever the wrong way here is, he doesn't even know!

So rather than moving to do anything, or saying anything, he's just staring at Tidus with huge puppy eyes. Bro, you fix it? Please, bro? He doesn't know what to do, and he really doesn't want to start crying here!

He's already finishing up when the chocolate is offered and a gaze is met in the middle - knowingly, the olive branch repurposed in a different package - before Roland's attentions are tugged back to Inigo's pause to take the plate he's already asking him to hold. The distinct lack of action there pulls his eyes up, that pleading look on shining eyes that he knows are close to tears.

Maybe its the combination of the two; the pouch Roland should take and the meaning of it, plus Inigo's failed attempt to get him to relent.

But what's left to relent to when the pancakes are more or less, finished cooking, and if he scrapes the bottom of the bowl, he might just have enough for a pancake with chocolate in it? The stoicism that feels permanent suddenly lifts, though its a gradual change, slow like its trying to find footing again. Eventually however, Roland smiles, long enough to figure out what he wants to do. With the chocolate, and the pancakes he's asking Inigo to try.

"Here," He says, grabbing two spoons, the closest to his reach. One is used to cut into a pancake, scooped up and held to his lips. The other is nudged towards Inigo. "I'll take a bite with you. Cheers." And there he goes, not even waiting, just eating it to taste, knowing fully what to expect. The only surprise when his brows raise is that the extra sugar did just enough to make the pancake halfway decent...if not a as dry as the deserts of the second world. Meanwhile, he's nodding to Tidus, his hand open for the pouch of chocolate.

He only speaks as soon as his mouth is clear. "...Thanks. Guess a little extra wouldn't hurt." At least he doesn't sound so sardonic. "They probably need it anyhow. Heh."

The final pancake seems different somehow. There's more effort to make a shape out of it - a face, with long vertical lines sprouting from what is safe to assume, is the head. Roland's concentrating too, like this could help redeem things. What mystical pancake art is he making today? Looks like it's up to his focus for now.

--Why?? Why is he getting looked at with that face by Inigo?! The slow realisation showing in his brow, as it comes together more and more to meet in the middle to a display of incredulity, confusion. What does he expect him to do?! And he gives as subtle of a tip of his head towards Roland, as if it was more of an involuntarily twitch. It's up to him, not Tidus!

But the chocolate is deposited into the waiting hand when offered, Tidus perhaps feeling snubbed that he wasn't offered a bite of the pancake with the two of them. And he might sulk and live with that, except who do you think he is? So stubbornly he takes the spoon that Roland had just used and declares, "Well I'm having some too!", directing Inigo, "Keep a hold of the plate" so he can pour out a small drizzle of the honey on the side.

...or use the spoon he now has, seeing as that's just way easier. Whatever Inigo, let Roland do whatever he's doing back there with the chocolate. It's pancake time already for them!

Yet another moment of communication confusion between the teenagers over here. Or maybe it's just Inigo setting too high expectations for Tidus. Because the other always seems to know how to handle Roland much better - at the very least when it comes to putting his foot down, anyway. Inigo is so weak, he just can't do it. He can only hope to reach out to Roland, and if the other doesn't reach back, then he's all out of plans.

And while there is some reaching happening on Roland's part right now (or so.. Inigo thinks.. it's so hard to read, after all), he still kind of feels like shrinking, too uncomfortable in the mood that has been created here in the carriage.

So rather than saying anything, Inigo decides to just focus on eating with the spoon Roland handed to him. He patiently waits for Tidus to be ready with the honey.. though he doesn't seem to think of using the honey himself yet, completely ignoring it there on the side in favour of just breaking off a piece of pancake with his spoon and scooping it into his mouth.

.. Apparently they're not that bad after all? Or Inigo just has really, really low standards after having to get by for a long while with whatever he could manage to find to eat, because there's no reaction on his part at all. He's just regularly eating it over here, as if he's eating any random thing.

Still not speaking up though. Someone sure has been startled into silence over here at their first encounter of Parent-Teenager-Disconnect, apparently.

Said Guy only offers a throwaway look to Tidus's nabbing of his spoon, but otherwise remains steadfast in the task of the final pancake. The Special One. The Pancake to End all Pancakes. Despite the thick silence that drapes over the three of them, Roland remains focused on the art he's trying to form, scraping the very bottom of the bowl until it's licked clean of batter and two spoons are grabbed willy-nilly to try and shape...something. Drops of chocolate pieces sprinkled on the wet side; then the spatula resumes its place in his right hand, the pancake flipped with some assistance.

He crosses his arms, stares at the pan for a good moment, until he turns to the both of them with a similar look across his face, one he wore earlier. Worried, or searching for some sense of doing a good job. Roland takes the handle of the pan and slides the entire thing down into a separate plate.

With both hands as if presenting to a judge, he hides the budding nerves beneath a well-crafted facade of calm. Tidus and Inigo need only to look once to see the...interesting shapes the pancake has taken the form of. On one half, there is a clear attempt to make the long ears and whiskers of what seems to be a type of rabbit. On the other half, as if a hybrid creature, is a similar effort to mimic the expressions of an aggressive looking feline, snout and eyes made of chocolate for both faces.

"...Does it look like them?" Roland says, shifting one hand to hold the plate for inspection, the other rubbing at his nape. "I don't have photographic memory, and I've only heard them from you two, but..."

The Taguel and the Ronso.

"Gah. Sorry. Maybe with a photo as reference, I'll make them look better next time."

Roland can be making fifty more pancakes for all Tidus will pay any attention to, cutting into the pancake with the edge of his spoon, wiping some of the leftover honey onto the main body of the sweet breakfast treat before he scoops up his bite. No, nevermind, this is the sweet treat; a honey overload bursting over his tastebuds, the sponge of the pancake only there as a guest. Tidusimmediately wishes he'd used a clean spoon, but then decides it's not so bad as his tongue adjusts the flavours in his mouth.

Clearly, he just needs to cut a larger amount of the pancake next, which he starts doing. But he's not ignoring of his breakfast mate, eyes flickering over and seeing that Inigo hasn't touched the honey, pointing to it with his own utensil.

"Try it with some of that. Just put some on your spoon..."

He doesn't need to lead Inigo through each step of the process, does he? Deciding to stop there, see if he'll go for it. Where he is, Tidus doesn't catch any looks from Roland from where he is, and it's only with the call for their verdict that he turns around, taking the few steps to see what exactly Roland is talking about.

...

...

???????????????????????

What is this morphed hybrid... wait, is this for Inigo? Nudging Inigo with an elbow, hey does it look like them???

Tidus's helpful suggestion seems to go ignored. If Roland was so worried about them eating his pancakes, then Inigo isn't going to absolutely coat them in honey in order to hide their taste, okay. He's going to eat them like this. As is. In silence.

.. or, well, that silence may actually be broken. Because Inigo doesn't miss the way Roland calls out to them, nor the way Tidus immediately saunters off to go take a look. Inigo follows, a bit more reluctant, and still chewing a little on his pancake as he stares at Roland's.. unique creations.

If he'd stay silent now, it'd only make Roland retreat more all over again, huh. Or.. probably? Inigo still isn't too sure how to read this side of the guy, but it seems like this task is up to him here, considering how baffled Tidus looks.

"It's a little cuter than Taguel usually look," Inigo points out, apparently more on the same wavelength when it comes to these ideas as Roland. (Really, it's the context that helps him realise, Roland saying he heard about it from them.) "But of course I recognize it!" Inigo sucks in a breath, and musters up everything he's got to try and smile at Roland. A last attempt at encouragement. "Are you trying to get more creative, father?"

But Inigo knows he never told Roland about something looking.. kind of.. cat-like..? So Inigo nudges Tidus right back with an elbow. That one's for you, dude!! Come on!!

Ding ding ding. Ten points to Inigo, but also -

Roland rubs the back of his neck, setting the plate down and hurriedly turning off everything else behind him. Stove, spatula, and soiled bowl all stacked nicely for cleanup later. He returns with his own set of utensils; a fork and a knife because he seems incapable of freestyling when he's already this conscious of his work. It helps at least that one of the twin teens understood his intention, even if it was through context.

"It's called pancake art." He supplements for Inigo, turning it around by the bottom of the plate. The side with the botched Ronso reaches Tidus for his review. "I've only ever made small shapes and circles with them. Like mice." A beat. "I wasn't sure how this would turn out but, well." He hums strangely, almost like a mix of a cough and a clearing of his throat at the same time. "Thanks. I'm glad it sort of resembles them, at least." Or the taguel does; how about that Ronso face, Tidus??? Is that your friend who can jump super high, higher than he can?

His joins them eventually, where they're settled as the first stack rests, being consumed little by little. Maybe this batch wasn't as horrible as the one he made before? Only his taste buds will tell. He's only slightly restless, masking it with his turn to remember something that feels essential to their breakfast, but really it's an excuse to gather his calm once more.

"Ah. I'll get us milk."

Taguel? A taguel...? --ohhhh, a taguel, which luckily only takes a second for Tidus to remember. Somewhere in his memories the comparison to a rabbit taking over, and that now the word he remembers better. Look, is it his fault there's a rabbit he sees around sometimes??

But that leads him to realise where Roland was going with the other side too, which was...an attempt. An attempt not so offensive that Tidus won't pipe up, say before Roland can scurry off for that milk:

"Next time you need blue food dye! I've never seen an unblue Ronso -- 'least, most of them are. If you wanna spend the day making pancakes," he goes on, a sly note and the hint of a grin, "to perfect them, I won't say no to eating them after you're done."

A beat. "I'll eat Inigo's friends too."

Hey? Hey??

"Oh, you are so lucky Yarne isn't actually there. He would have believed you and screamed your head off."

Inigo can imagine it so, so vividly. Even though it's been a long while by now since he's last seen the others from back home, their mannerisms are completely ingrained in his mind. Yarne shrieking about Tidus making him go extinct just by eating some pancake version of him.. That's exactly what that guy would do, isn't it.

Also, wow, Inigo totally notices that attempt on Roland's part to sneak off. That so isn't happening. And thankfully Inigo has his own little way of preventing it - by reaching out and grabbing Roland's hand. So he'll have to shrug Inigo off if he wants to leave, and he can't do that, right? Can he??

He's also just eating another bite of pancakes. Hey, might as well while they're here..

"Also," said with his mouth absolutely full, apparently more talkative now the other two seem in a relatively better mood, "I totally can't believe that Tidus just suggested throwing paint on the food."

The single braincell must be in Tidus's custody right now.

Wow, aren't they just hitting him with all the things that will make him stay instead of running to get a carton of milk!

For one thing, he's already staring at Inigo speaking with a full mouth, which is the first thing Roland addresses with a very quiet yet stern 'don't talk when you're chewing,' before he moves on to pointing at Tidus with a determined look on his face. Did he just receive a mission? Who knows? Maybe this is what counts as one.

"You read my mind," he says, already allowing Inigo to keep him rooted on the spot. Whether or not he realizes he's being kept there is anyone's guess. "I'm going to perfect this pancake thing if it's the last thing I do. The only way to do that, as with all things that involve skill-based output, is through hard work and practice. That would be appreciated, so that we don't waste food."

And since that's being discussed already, with the current plate of pancakes being devoured before him and what Tidus points out; Roland meets Inigo's eye too and nods at him with a similar mood. "What color are taguel usually? Is Yarne blue too? I can get food colors. They're just edible paint you can use to make food a different color, they don't affect taste."

What was he going to get again? Something for the pancakes...? Oh, it's a lost cause given he's staring at the half-eaten stack like something is clicking in his mind's eye. Are they actually...not gagging on his cooking...?

do you want tidus to gag, roland. tidus can easily gag if you want him to.

But Tidus isn't because he has manners, despite the belief of his two companions. Though it's Inigo for once who's getting the manners talk - earning a smarmy 'uh oh' from Tidus in the instance it comes out. Instead of remarking on the far more important suggestion that all of Inigo's friends (from home) are overly dramatic.

"Now you've really got Roland going." Or was it actually his suggestion doing this? Still, Tidus is elbowing Inigo like this is his fault -- a good fault. "Roland can teach you a few things about food. You never seen a colourful cake? Guess there's no reason to if it's just the train you've been stuck on," Tidus reasons in his own talking.

When did they ever get the chance otherwise to see more flashy, decorated food? Tidus begins takes a side of Ronso cheek from the pancake that's been presented - or starts to, but then starts his spoon over to the taguel, remarking, "I'll eat this Yarne guy."

As he said: It's time to eat Inigo's friends first.

Inigo is clearly, totally, obviously not a daddy's boy.

Which is why, the very instant Roland tells him to not talk while he's chewing, Inigo immediately closes his mouth and finishes chewing and swallowing the bite of pancakes he's got in his mouth first before saying anything else. Because he's totally not a daddy's boy who doesn't want to disappoint his father even in the slightest. Nope siree.

And when he does open his mouth, it's to do the typical thing.

Whine at Tidus.

"Wait-- stop making it sound weird!" He's even batting with a hand at that spoon, like Inigo is protecting this pancake version of his friend from back home from Tidus's weird Taguel-eating tendencies.

It's only momentary batting though. Because Inigo then looks over to speak to Roland, and he's distracted enough by it that Tidus can take all the bites of bunny-shaped pancakes he wants.

"And no, of course he's not blue! Taguel are brown, just like most rabbits." Inigo may be giving them a slightly skewed idea of what Taguel really look like, considering they're not exactly cute, tiny cuddly bunnies... "Though a darker brown than these pancakes."

"A darker brown...Well, I can just cook the pancake a little longer then. You don't need special food coloring for that, I guess."

Just like that, the milk errand is totally forgotten. Roland's knife and fork dig into - unironically - the taguel side of the pancake, taking a chunk of that long ear off and he eats it tentatively at first. They're crowding each other, he realizes, with one of his shoulders across Inigo's and the other underneath Tidus's forearm, but it's not something he minds or tries to overly correct anyway. The more important thing here is that when he chews slowly, dry as the pancake may be, it isn't terrible. It might be the additional chocolate peppered in last minute, or maybe, pure dumb luck that his extra teaspoon of sugar did precisely what it's supposed to. Add flavor.

Still. There's a lot left for him to change. It goes down rough, barely able to swallow it without the added honey to soften the spongey texture, and now without milk to chug it down. He extracts himself from the twin teen fold for now to face away, polite to clear his throat away from them as they continue to eat. Or not eat the rabbit people, in Inigo's case. He could be interested in some sweet, sweet revenge by eating the Ronso too.

"If I ever get good enough, we could even bake a rainbow cake. Every layer is a different color so when you cut into it, it looks like you're eating rainbows." He coughs lightly, but otherwise has his faculties returned to him. He shakes his head, though; "We really need milk, hold on. That's not going down without a fight."

But Inigo (or Tidus!) need not worry. His trip to run and get milk isn't one that delays him at all, returning immediately with three clean cups and a bottle out of the Stores. He pours them each a serving, adding under his breath, "I told you, it's not that good," but said more as a peaceful acceptance of matters he can't control versus pouting or reacting violently to the fact. Plus, he goes in for another chunk off that taguel too, this time, slicing into the other ear.

"...Aren't most rabbits white?"

This is what Tidus has to speak up to - not Inigo's whining about him, since that's just a part of life, but this new information that not all rabbits are the same snowflake colouring he's seen up to this point. What the heck?? Brown rabbits? Get outta here.

He doesn't hasn't stopped nibbling at Inigo's taguel friend either, though he's taking small bites that hopefully won't give Roland the wrong impression. Nothing to do with the taste, since they're decent for what they are, the honey helping for the dryness - but you know, he's got to see how long it will take for Inigo to complain. ...if he will.

But before that - Tidus has some complaining of his own to do, it turns out. A point he could leave well alone, but he won't: turning to Roland with his spoon raised pointing his way, mouth tugged into a disapproving slant.

"That's the last bad word about your pancakes I wanna hear, you got it? They're fine! We'll get you a cookbook for pancakes, cakes, whatever you want - and if you wanna say anything bad about any of 'em, you've gotta say one good thing! That's the only way I'll allow it! That's how you improve!"

He's putting his foot down!! Sure, this entire disaster of a situation started because of him, but he'll go for bossy before he'll let the guilt start eating at him again to hear any mumbled criticisms. Tidus bumps his shoulder as he faces back to the plate, forgetting his attempts at devouring Inigo's pal for going at his own. Goodbye, Ronso chin: it's time for Tidus's maw.

"I can't make faces outta my pancakes."

Huff! (Chomp!)

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i figured we can probably wrap this one here?