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Picking up the Pieces (With BlueAmbient)

"Considering my track record, no." he admitted, not at all ashamed to admit he was not an ideal cook. Tell him who to kill and how to do it and he can get it done, but in the kitchen? He was a disaster waiting to happen. As the card was passed to him he glanced at the ingredients with a frown. All he had to do was just follow the instructions. As long as he had exact instructions he was fine.

Maverick took out the measuring cups and whatnot and began measuring out the exact amounts of each ingredient that was listed. "No, I haven't. It's not like I have a kitchen in my car, and if I did I wouldn't have a car anymore." he answered as he finished pouring all the ingredients into the bowl. Next he just mixed it all up nice and good and set it on the counter.

"I'll never forget the embarrassment of fucking up that soup." he mentioned out of nowhere, recalling how he ended up banned from using the kitchen back when they were at base. Jerry who was the cook at the time swore up and down that he would regret ever walking in there again, and it was an incident that caused enough playful commotion even if it was at his own detriment.
 
Mason laughs awkwardly at the reminder that Maverick had been living in his car. He shakes his head, pulling the plate of thawed chicken from the microwave. "What soup?" It takes Mason a moment to realize Maverick is taking about their war days again. "Oh, you mean back in the military. Yeah, I remember that. I spent some of my off time in the kitchens there, but most of my cooking I learned growing up. A lot of these recipes came from family, though I don't really have much family I still talk to.."

Mason frowns as he fetches a large pan, setting it on the stove and pouring some olive oil in. He works at slicing the chicken breasts into square chunks while the pan heats. Once the oil is sizzling lightly, Mason adds the chicken, stirring it around. His mind has wandered, and he's staring down into the pan absently.
 
"That chicken soup that I spiced to oblivion when I was sick. Not only did I kill the soup, I even burned it." he replied. It hadn't been time for any meals and he was stubborn so he decided to make it himself. That was his mistake and he owned it. He never stepped foot in the kitchen since then, but maybe now would be a good time to think about trying again. Someday.

After hearing Mason trail off about his family he leaned back against the island counter top with frown. Things went quiet, and he suspected it was the end of that statement that was the cause. "You uh...still have me, right?" he blurted, parroting what Mason had told himself only days ago. Even though Maverick lacked a family, Mason claimed that the military was like their family, and if not that, then he at least had Mason.
 
Mason blinks, coming back to reality at Maverick's voice. He turns his head to look at the shorter man, a smile on his face. "Thanks, Maverick. I really appreciate that." Mason refocuses on making food, stirring the chicken once more before turning it down a bit, letting the meat brown. "How's the sauce coming? Did you find all the needed items?"

Mason walks over to the mixing bowl, dipping a finger in. Not as spicy as normal, but that was what he intended by telling Maverick to only use half the main spice. "Not too spicy, it should be okay for your stomach. A few more minutes and we can add it to the pan. What sort of veggies do you want?"
 
"Yeah, I found it all. I think it's ok?" Maverick replied, not having thought to actually test the sauce until now. He tried it at around the same time Mason did and nodded in agreement. "Hmm, corn maybe?" he suggested thoughtfully.

As soon as Mason put the sauce into the pan he took the bowl and began washing it as he didn't have much else to do in the meantime, but when that was done he watched how Mason handled the chicken in the pan. Once he figured things were mostly done he retrieved the dishes and utensils necessary for the meal and set them on the counter for when Mason was ready to serve them. The meal smelled quite good from where he stood and he couldn't wait to try it.
 
Mason nods, moving to the freezer to get a bag of corn. "Sorry, not corn cobs, so this will have to do." He adds some to a pot, filling it with water and setting it to high on the stove. Then he retrieves another pot and half fills it with water, setting that to boil as well. After giving the chicken and sauce a stir, Mason fetches the rice from the pantry. It's a couple minutes before the pot of just water boils, then Mason adds the rice and turns that burner low.

Mason enjoys the peaceful quiet companionship while he stirs the chicken periodically, watching the corn and rice cook. Once everything is finished, he turns off all three burners and steps away to pull out hot pot pads. "Here, Mav, set these on the island counter, I'll move the posts over." Once everything is moved, Mason adds scoops to the pots and the pan. "Alright, dig in."
 
He didn't much mind whether the corn was frozen or not. When all was said and done it would be just fine, and he set everything on the counter as Mason instructed so he could safely place the pots in their places. He grabbed something to drink from the fridge and asked if Mason wanted anything as well, then sat at his spot and started eating.

By all means it was an excellent meal, but he also had to admit the bar was pretty damn low given what he had been eating before moving in. "This is pretty good. I guess if you just follow a set of instructions to the letter everything works out." he murmured between bites. His serving was of course slightly smaller for now.

Given the time he suspected that Mason would be leaving at some point here, though he wasn't sure what he would do in the meantime. "So how long is this job going to take you?" he asked curiously. "You're just basically keeping an eye on the party and throwing out troublemakers, right? Isn't that going to be boring?" He supposed whether or not it was boring was largely unimportant since it was work. He honestly wouldn't mind keeping Mason company if it was indeed going to be a boring job, as it wasn't like there was a whole hell of a lot to do here at the house.
 
Mason chuckles at Maverick's compliment to the meal. He sits beside Maverick, dishing up a larger portion for himself. When Maverick asks about the job, Mason shrugs. "Mm, I think it runs six hours? And yeah, pretty much just making sure things don't get out of hand, helping out when people get too rough, too pushy, or don't obey the rules of consent. Things like this rarely go smoothly, so I wouldn't exactly call it boring.

Maverick digs into his food, occasionally looking up to watch Maverick eat. Mostly, he's making sure the man gets enough. When he's finished, Maverick packs up the leftovers and rinses the dishes, then leaves them in the sink. "I have to go change, but then I'm heading out. Are you staying here, or..?" He trails off, as if he almost wants Maverick to come along. Though at the same time, he's worried someone might try taking advantage of him when Mason isn't looking. Maverick isn't exactly big buff guy anymore.
 
"Sounds like you'll have your work cut out for you." Maverick replied. "Hopefully people can behave though." Mostly for Mason's sake, but he wasn't too worried on that front. Mason was much stronger than he was after all, and the man was quite a fighter. More so than himself in the physical department, but what Maverick lacked in brute strength he more than made up for in agility.

Since Mason seemed content to clear the table he remained seated until Mason spoke up once again. "I don't mind coming along and keeping you company. It beats sitting around here all evening." he answered. He almost wondered if he might seem out of place in such an environment given the way he dressed, but it wasn't like he cared. He never saw the need to dress up for such things, not that he could.
 
Mason smiles slightly, but he's trying to hold back his nervousness. He nods, then rubs his hands together. "Okay, that's good- I mean, that's fine. Let me just go and change, and we'll go." Mason lets out a rushed breath, then hurries away up the stairs. Jeez, he's flustered suddenly. Probably because he's essentially taking Maverick to watching him play security at what is basically a sex party.. Mason ruffles his hair, then shakes his head to clear his thoughts, muttering to himself. "Just get ready, Mason. Stop overthinking."

Ten minutes later, Mason comes down the stairs dressed in all black. Dress shirt with sleeves rolled to the elbows under a leather corset vest, tight leather pants with more flexible cotton/spandex fabric panels from the groin down his inner thighs to his knees, knee-high, thick-soled leather combat boots, and fingerless leather gloves. Mason rubs the back of his neck as he reaches the bottom of the stairs. "There's uh, kind of a dress code for staff. They also give me a bright orange armband when I get there."
 
As he waited downstairs he at the very least got his shoes and his jacket on so he would be ready to go at a moments notice. It took not much time at all so he ended up leaning against one of the walls with his arms crossed as he waited. When Mason finally did come down he glanced at him and found his eyes temporarily drawn to the man and the outfit he was wearing. Maverick really was going to be out of place with his casual getup, but it was of no real concern...hopefully.

Oddly the man seemed a bit nervous about his outfit, or at least embarrassed? Maverick couldn't really parse why that was as Mason looked quite good in what he was wearing. "I wasn't really expecting that but given the sort of event this is, it makes perfect sense to dress the part to blend in. Unlike myself." Maverick stated as he pushed himself away from the wall he was currently leaning upon.

Once they were ready he headed out to the vehicle to get seated so they could be on their way, though he was inwardly somewhat nervous about the whole thing. It definitely seemed like a much more social sort of event, something he wasn't really accustomed to.
 
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