Discontinued Private Sharing Is Caring

[Luthien]

　

 [ Alana  ]

　

Hey, you diving right now?​

　

’cause if you aren’t I made food​

　

Bulgogi with kimchi fried rice ​

　

Want some? ​

​

She placed her phone back on the counter after the last message was sent, One More Time blaring through the speakers as the blonde turned back to the task at hand. "Hot wok, cold oil~" She murmured as a drizzle of grapeseed oil coated the walls of the pan, before a considerable amount of white onion slices and thinly cut carrots followed shortly after.

A satisfying sizzle echoed in the kitchen as she hummed the tune of the song, the sturdy silicone spatula easily shifting the vegetables to ensure an even cooking on them all. It took only a few minutes before a small well was made in the center of them, before the welcoming fragrance of fresh garlic permeated the air as it came into contact with the hot surface.

Stir, stir, stir… okay, that looks good. The spatula made swift work of piling the veggies onto one side of the wok, opening enough surface space for the marinated and thin slices of beef to join in. Cooking them was quick and easy, bulgogi was a meal that required minimal effort for maximum flavor, and it only took a few minutes before it was time to add the sauce in.

@Alana

 

[Vashti]

She stared blankly at the message for a moment, jaw ajar.

When they had first met, Valeria had not known just how bad Alana was in the kitchen. For the better part of her childhood, both parents made sure that she had good nutrition, or at the very least during the hard times, they kept food on the table. What they neglected to do was teach her how to do so for herself. At least, in the most important way.

See, Alana never learned to cook. She had been a hard worker when she had a job, until she found a job that made it so that she never had to work hard again. After that, all of the meals were paid for and there were no thoughts or questions involved. Until the past year, when she went on a full blown budget to keep herself from having to think about an income. Now she subsisted entirely on ramen from the packet.

It was in a discussion about product that she confided the truth about her diet to the Puerto Rican woman, and while Valeria was by no means against the noodle dish, she had been vehement that there was ramen, and there was RAMEN. After her friend cooked the "proper" version for her, the cheap knockoff never tasted quite as good again.

Ah, to be blissfully ignorant.

Alas, it was not to be. The messages on her cell phone flickered into view one after the other, and Alana was beside herself. Every time Valeria introduced a new dish, she was hesitant to tell her the truth. She grew up in a lower middle class home, and by all accounts she was a B A S I C W H I T E B I T C H

Some of the flavors of the Orient, or even Latin heritage type meals were spiced just a touch more than her delicate palate was used to. Things like turmeric or saffron in any normal amount were still more than she was raised to enjoy. A little salt, a little pepper, maybe some ketchup...?

Undeniably however, the food that her friend cooked was always better than what she had been raised on. It was better than fast food, and at times, it was better than... well... anything. So- even if it took her several days to stomach all of it due to her own overwhelmed taste buds, she always made sure nothing went to waste.

But she'd never had Bulgogi, and she'd definitely never had kimchi.

"What is that?" she murmured, thumb dashing across the touch screen rapidly, swiping over the internet browser, keying in letters, searching up the names of the various things that were clearly not English. Bulgogi... Kimchi...

Kimchi...

"...is it like sauerkraut, but Asian??"

Oh, poor, sweet girl.

She flipped back to the message and started typing up a response.

　

 [ Valeria <3 ]

　

Awww, you're so sweet! If you're already making enough and it's no trouble, I'd love to try it! Thank you so much for thinking of me!​

​

 

[Luthien]

"This looks perfect~" She couldn’t help the smile that pulled her lips as the aroma tickled her nose, the wok quickly pulled away from the open flame as Valeria carefully deposited the freshly made bulgogi into a container to rest. A piece of paper towel was grabbed next and deftly held between the long bamboo chopsticks she’d been using, cleaning up anything that remained before the wok was placed back on the gas stove—just as the familiar ding! of a new message chimed from her phone.

　

 [ Alana  ]

Awww, you're so sweet! If you're already making enough and it's no trouble, I'd love to try it! Thank you so much for thinking of me!

　

　

I never learned to properly cook for just one, so there’s plenty to go around ​

　

I’ll be done in a bit so drop in whenever~​

　

You know where the spare key is ​

​

It had been fun to discover that one of her ingame friends also lived in Michigan, just a couple of houses down from her too! That had been quite the surprise if the blonde was honest, though a welcomed one—having Alana over once in a while reminded Valeria of better days, back when this home had more than one inhabitant living inside.

Besides, food always tastes better with good company around.

"Oh-oh-oh orange~ Oh-oh-oh orange~" She sang along to the lyrics of Orange Trees as the wok finished preheating once more, though the typical drizzle of oil didn’t follow—it wouldn’t be required considering the amount of chorizo the latina dumped into the wok next. The sausage casings had been removed beforehand, allowing the meat to cook evenly as she occasionally stirred it with the silicone spatula.

After a few minutes she carefully packed the meat onto the farside of the pan, tilting the wok towards her to allow the oil to pool into the side before adding the sliced white parts of a few green onions—followed a few minutes later by a generous amount of homemade kimchi. The spatula continued to mix and stir, combining all of the ingredients and their flavors together.

It was impossible to mistake the iconic intro of GODS that Spotify’s DJ had decided to transition into next, the blonde happily humming away to the song as a bowl of day old rice was added next. "And they’re singing your praises, la-la-laaa~ Screaming your name out lo-lo-loud~" The sizzling sounds of the wok were drowned out by the music and her own voice, before a pinch of MSG and sugar were followed by a very light drizzle of kimchi juice into the pan.

Alana had never voiced out any complaints when it came to the various dishes and cuisine she was introduced to by the blonde, but Valeria had always been an observant one. Small modifications were something Val was more than happy to do if it meant her friend would enjoy the food she was making… besides, she could always turn the flavor dial higher once Alana’s tastebuds were properly trained.

@Alana

 

[Vashti]

"Beggars can't be choosers" was a concept that stuck around during her youth, until she was finally able to strike off on her own and make the money that allowed her to enjoy the freedom to choose things for herself. Because of her humble beginnings, when food was offered, much like how Val mentioned that she never learned how to cook for one, Alana had never learned to say that things weren't exactly to her taste. Whenever her friend brought food, it would be something new and exciting, and while several of the dishes hadn't hit it out of the park, mostly she found the Puerto Rican woman's cultured cuisine to be fantastic.

Looking up kimchi, though, she had to say it appeared that it might rank among those few outliers. She nervously stepped out the front door and had a look around, though the neighborhood was never busy. When she caught the glance of an old woman, she was relieved there was only a smile and a wave. It was never the young, sleazy sort of men who used to frequent her page and send her the kind of messages that would have brought shame to their mothers. That's why she had picked this place. Decently removed from the larger, more internet cultured society of big cities, the chances that people would recognize her were slim.

She felt safer here than she ever had living in New York.

With a soft smile and wave of her own, Alana made her way down the street toward Valeria's house, looking once over both shoulders before she knelt to grab the spare key. She opened the door, and raising her voice, called out "Hey Val, I'm here!"

They were both women of discretion who came from similar lines of work. When either of them entered the other's house, they announced themselves, and they always locked the door behind them. That way neither of them was ever surprised, and both of them felt safe and secure. Placing the key on the countertop as she approached the kitchen, she smiled warmly at her friend.

She noted the musical choice, though she wasn't exactly the gamer girl type herself and thus couldn't place the origin of the music or the name of the band. They were on many of the same wavelengths, but Alana had definitely grown up a "Real American Girl." At times, her lack of culture was astounding.

"Another song I don't know," she laughed. It was a game and an inside joke between the two of them, "how many songs does Alana not know"? "You're always teaching me about new things. I have to find something you've never done for a change!"

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

The familiar voice of Alana drifted towards the kitchen just as the latest song in her Spotify finished, the blonde taking a moment to lower the volume to a level that allowed ease of conversation before she called back. "You know where to find me~" It didn’t take long before the familiar clink of metal against the countertop reached her ears, the spare key placed to the side as usual as the redhead joined Valeria.

"Hope your hungry," A cheeky grin was given to her friend as the blonde opened her fridge to retrieve a cool tupperware with day-old rice. "Should be done in the next five minutes or so."

She took a moment to break up any major clumps before the rice was added to the growing collection inside the wok, and the combined efforts of the heat and her spatula quickly finished any remaining stragglers as the rice sizzled away. They were pushed aside to make enough space for the eggs, the beaten mixture added carefully before they were scrambled to a fluffy finish.

"Guess so~" A soft chuckle escaped as Val shook her head softly, she’d lost count by now of the many songs that Alana didn’t know whenever she’d visited the blonde’s home. "That one’s called GODS by NewJeans, it was LoL’s anthem for the 2023 World Championship."

When it came to the game Valeria outright hated playing it. Occasionally enough time would pass by that she’d forget just how utterly frustrating it could be, though it only took a night of queuing up with randos—and the headaches that promptly followed—for the blonde to quickly swear off the game for at least another year or two.

"Not as fun to play imo, but they definitely go all out for the tournaments every year." She still enjoyed taking time out to sit down and watch the matches live, and despite the cesspool of players that LoL seemed to draw in there was no denying the production team threw out amazing bangers throughout the years.

The extra weight certainly presented a challenge, but the blonde kept her grip tight and steady on the handle before a few expertly timed flicks of her wrist combined the contents inside. "Mind getting the plates, Lani? Almost done over here~" A splash of soy sauce was added along the edges of the wok along with some necessary seasonings and, after a few more tosses, the high flame underneath was finally shut off as the meal was completed.

@Alana