#no but really the arms are killing me they were really cooking with those sui pattern tattoo things

[yakourinka]

this man is so attractive and for what

[killerandhealerqueen]

If you're still taking writing prompts about TSOMD… maybe Sui Zhou teaching Tang Fan a family dish or something? Like one of those "only family and beloved ones" things? (Bonus points for Dong'er)

I hope you liked this!  I changed it up a little bit, but I think it just makes it a bit more special.  

It was close to dinner time and Sui Zhou was about to start making dinner when Tang Fan hesitantly approached him.

“Guang Chuan…” he started, making Sui Zhou raise an eyebrow.

“Hmm?” he replied.  Tang Fan was quiet before he looked Sui Zhou in the eyes.

“Do you mind if I make dinner tonight?” he asked.  Sui Zhou frowned and unintentionally made a face; he remembered the last time that Tang Fan tried to cook and it was a disaster.  Tang Fan noticed the look on his face and let out a soft laugh.

“I know, I know I can’t cook but please…just let me do it this time.  I won’t ask to use the kitchen after this” he begged.  Sui Zhou was quiet before he sighed.

“Fine, but I’m going to stay and supervise, just so that you don’t kill Dong’er” he murmured.  Tang Fan chuckled before he nodded and rolled up his sleeves, getting to work.  He first took a piece of pork belly and ran it skin side down on a hot wok to remove the skin.  The fact that he even knew how to do that surprised Sui Zhou, and he immediately added that image and fact to the “Tang Fan surprised me” list, which was slowly growing as he spent more and more time with Tang Fan.  However, he shook himself out of it and continued to watch as Tang Fan took the pork belly and placed it on the chopping board, picking up Sui Zhou’s butcher knife.  

“Guang Chuan, can you fill the wok with water?” he asked, glancing over at Sui Zhou.  Sui Zhou blinked before he nodded and made sure to clean the wok with a slightly damp towel before he filled up the wok with water.  While Sui Zhou watched the water, waiting for it to boil, Tang Fan chopped the pork belly into small chunks before chopping up a few slices of ginger and green onions.

“Is the water ready, Guang Chuan?” he asked.  Sui Zhou hummed and Tang Fan smiled, grabbing the chopping board before bringing it over to the wok.  He then slid the pork, ginger slices, and green onions into the boiling water, par boiling the meat before scooping it out with a wicker scoop, placing it to the side.  He then scooped out the water and placed the par boiled meat into the wok before putting in some rock sugar, peppercorns, chili peppers, (not too much, Dong’er wasn’t a huge fan of spices), a few bay leaves, more ginger slices, and a green onion knot.  Once all the spices were placed into the wok, he poured in about a tablespoon of dark soy sauce over the meat and spices before filling up the wok with just enough water to cover the meat.  He then took the lid of the wok and covered it, waiting for the meal to come together.  While he waited, Sui Zhou looked over at Tang Fan and raised an eyebrow.

“I thought you couldn’t cook” he stated.  Tang Fan laughed softly.

“Ah…I can’t, usually, but this is the one dish that I remember from memory.  It was my mother’s favorite dish and I begged her to teach me.  When she died…” he started before he paused, tears coming to his eyes.  Sui Zhou was quiet and just crossed his arms; Tang Fan usually listened to his past, so he could do the same for him.

“…I had jie learn the recipe.  We practiced and practiced until I could practically recite the recipe from memory.  So…it’s really the only thing I know how to cook” Tang Fan finished.  Sui Zhou hummed before he tilted his head at Tang Fan.

“Would you like to learn another recipe?” he asked.  Tang Fan looked at him with wide eyes before he nodded.  Sui Zhou smiled before he cleaned off the chopping board and cleaned his knife before pulling out three large fishes.  Tang Fan’s eyes widened and he tilted his head as he stepped closer to Sui Zhou.

“What is this dish called?” he asked.  

“Sour Papaya Fish.  One of my friends in the army was from Yunnan and this was one of his favorite dishes.  Whenever we could get fish and ingredients, he would always make this dish for us” Sui Zhou explained.  Tang Fan’s eyes widened as he watched Sui Zhou take the whole, gutted fish and whack seven slits into the spin, making sure to keep the body still intact before chopping off the head.  After the chopped off the heads and put the bodies aside, he grabbed a small piece of ginger and smashed it with the side of the butcher’s knife to release the juices before chopping up the ginger into really fine pieces.  Once the ginger was chopped small, he put the pieces into a small bowl and filled it with liquor.  

“What is that for?” Tang Fan asked, raising an eyebrow.  Sui Zhou smiled.

“It’s to marinate the fish with” he explained as he gently mixed the ginger and liquor together before placing it onto a cheese cloth, which he then held over the fish, gently squeezing it so that the liquor and ginger juice was poured onto the fish.  After he poured the liquor/juice mixture onto the fish, he sprinkled salt onto it and massaged it for a few seconds before he took a towel and wiped his hands.

“We have to marinate it for thirty minutes” he explained.  Tang Fan smiled.

“That’s just enough time to make one more dish” he declared.  Sui Zhou raised an eyebrow.

“You know another dish?” he asked.  Tang Fan nodded.

“My sister actually showed me how to make it” he explained.  Sui Zhou frowned.

“And you said you didn’t know how to cook” he scolded.  Tang Fan’s eyes widened.

“And I don’t!  It’s just that these I have memorized and…well…they’re important to me…so I had to practice them…it took me years to master them until they tasted like the dishes my mother and sister made” he explained, face falling.  Sui Zhou was quiet before he sighed and crossed his arms.

“What dish do you want to make?” he asked.  Tang Fan looked at him and grinned.

“It’s a dessert that I think Dong’er will really like” he explained.  Sui Zhou raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t think I’ve ever made a dessert before” he mused.  Tang Fan grinned.

“I can teach it to you, don’t worry” he assured as he walked over to one of the shelves and grabbed down a small bag, making Sui Zhou raise an eyebrow.

“That wasn’t in my kitchen before, where did it come from?” he asked.  Tang Fan looked over at him and smiled.

“I had jie bring it to me when she and Lao Pei came to visit a while ago.  I hid it in here, waiting for a day to use it.  Now I finally get to use it” he declared.  Sui Zhou frowned.

“What is it?” he asked.  

“Pine Tree Pollen” Tang Fan replied.  Sui Zhou raised an eyebrow as Tang Fan looked at him.

“Can you get the red bean powder, please?” he asked.  Sui Zhou nodded and walked over to one of the other shelves and grabbed the jar of red bean powder, walking back over to Tang Fan, handing it to him.  Tang Fan took the jar and thanked him before he grabbed a small piece of brown sugar and cut it into small pieces, putting it into a separate bowl.  He then walked over to the second wok that Sui Zhou had and poured it into the water, stirring it with a ladle for a moment before he took a step back and waited for it to bowl.  While he waited for it to boil, he walked over to his braised pork belly and checked on it, grinning as he stared at it.  

“Guang Chuan!” he called out, making Sui Zhou look over at him.  Tang Fan motioned to him excitedly for him to cover over, which he did, eyes widening when he saw the pork belly that Tang Fan made.

“Wow” he murmured.  Tang Fan grinned as he pulled out his chopstick and picked up a piece, holding it out for Sui Zhou to try.  Sui Zhou was hesitant, but Tang Fan just pushed the piece of meat closer to his mouth, making him sigh before he opened his mouth, allowing Tang Fan to feed him.  He then chewed the piece of meat, surprise filling his face when he found that the meat was actually really delicious.

“Good?” Tang Fan asked.  Sui Zhou looked at him and nodded.  Tang Fan grinned, just as he heard the brown sugar and water mixture boiling.

“Oh shit” he whispered, rushing over to the wok.

“Can you plate the pork belly please?” he asked, glancing over at Sui Zhou before he grabbed the red bean powder and a small scoop, slowly sprinkling in red bean powder as he continuously stirred the sugar water mixture.  He continued to sprinkle in red bean powder until the mixture started to look like paste and once the paste was the consistency he wanted, he stirred it a little bit more before grabbing a wooden mold and filling it with the red bean paste.  After filling the mold, he carefully pressed the paste down so that everything was uniform and neat before taking the mold back over to where the pine tree pollen was.  He then took out a few scoops of the pollen and poured it into a bowl, before grabbing the jar of honey off the shelf and bringing it over to his station, pouring some of it into a bowl of cold water.  He then mixed the two together before pouring the cold honey water into the pollen, making sure that everything was mixed and that there were no lumps or clumps.  After everything was mixed, he carefully poured the pollen mixture over the red bean paste, waiting for it to coagulate before sprinkling toasted sesame seeds on top.  As he was putting the sesame seeds on top, Sui Zhou finished plating Tang Fan’s braised pork belly, making sure to have a large serving of rice because while Tang Fan made a lot, once they actually started eating, he knew it would be gone, since it was actually really good.  After he finished plating, he cleaned out the wok before grabbing three sour papayas, which he made sure to wash well.  He then sliced them into thin slices, making sure that there were no seeds in the slices, since the slices weren’t edible.  Once the papayas were sliced, he chopped up chilis (not too many, he wanted Dong’er to enjoy it and not complain about it being too spicy), garlic, coriander, and shallots.  He then grabbed the fish and the papayas, bringing them over to the cleaned wok, placing a scoop of lard into the wok and letting it melt before throwing in some ginger slices.  Once the ginger slices were frying, he threw in the fish heads, waiting for them to get some color on them before he filled the wok with clean water.  After the “soup” was brought to a boil, he threw in a green onion knot and the papaya slices before slicing up some bean curd, putting that in the soup as well.  He then carefully placed the fish bodies into the bubbling soup, letting everything cook as he sprinkled salt and five spice powder.  He let the soup bubble for a few minutes, just to make sure that the fish was cooked through before he carefully removed the fish bodies and heads from the soup, placing them in a large bowl before ladling the rest of the soup into the bowl.  He then took the chopped chilies, coriander, shallots, and garlic and placed some spicy sauce, Sichuan pepper, and fermented bean curd into the bowl before pouring soy sauce and a few ladles of the soup broth into the bowl.  He mixed the contents of the bowl together, creating a spicy dipping sauce that he and tang Fan could enjoy and if Dong’er wanted to try it, she was more than welcome to.  Once his sauce was done, he looked over at Tang Fan to see him carefully measuring and cutting out perfect square cakes, plating them on a dish.

“Tada!” he declared, looking back at Sui Zhou, grinning.  Sui Zhou smiled fondly before he picked up his dish and the dipping sauce, Tang Fan picking up the rice bowl and braised pork belly.  They then brought the dishes into the dining room, where Dong’er was waiting patiently, and placed them down before sitting down, the three of them digging in.  Dong’er immediately went for the braised pork belly first, eyes lighting up as she ate it.

“Wah, Sui da-ge, this is really good!” she exclaimed, looking at Sui Zhou, who just smiled and shook his head.

“I didn’t make it.  Tang Fan did” he replied, motioning to Tang Fan, who was just about to dip a piece of the fish into the spicy sauce.  He looked up with wide eyes before he smiled slightly and went back to eating, letting out a happy hum as he ate the fish.

“Guang Chuan, this is really good.  Your buddy really knew how to cook” he praised, looking at Sui Zhou, who just smiled slightly and nodded.

“He did” he agreed as Dong’er waved her hand.

“Wait a minute, Tang da-ge, you made the pork belly?!  I thought you couldn’t cook!” she exclaimed, looking at Tang Fan in shock.  Tang Fan laughed.

“I usually can’t, but this is the one thing that I actually can” he replied.  Dong’er shook her head before she went back to eating the braised pork belly.

“It’s so good…I can’t believe you made this” she murmured.  Tang Fan laughed again.

“I know, Guang Chuan was shocked too” he teased, gently nudging Sui Zhou.  Sui Zhou huffed and looked away, a small blush on his cheek.  Tang Fan chuckled as he popped one of his own pork belly cubes into his mouth, a happy smile on his face.  Sui Zhou glanced over at him and smiled slightly; he liked seeing Tang Fan happy when he ate…it made him happy too.  

“Oh!” Tang Fan exclaimed, quickly standing to his feet.  Dong’er looked up at him in confusion, as did Sui Zhou before he remembered the cakes that Tang Fan made.

“I almost forgot!” Tang Fan continued before he rushed out of the dining room, heading back to the kitchen.  Dong’er frowned and looked over at Sui Zhou.

“Sui da-ge, what did he forget?” she asked.  Sui Zhou just smiled.

“You’ll see” he replied as Tang Fan came out of the kitchen, carrying the tray of cakes.  Dong’er eyes widened as Tang Fan set the tray down before her, smiling fondly.

“Try it.  I made it with you in mind” he explained.  Dong’er looked at him in shock before she reached out and took a cake, taking a bite of it.  Tang Fan and Sui Zhou waited in anticipation for Dong’er to say something, both men watching as their…fuck it, Dong’er was practically their daughter, they might as well start calling her that…their daughter continued to chew the cake before she looked at Tang Fan, a big smile on her face.

“Tang da-ge…it’s so good!” she exclaimed.  Tang Fan let out a breath of relief as Dong’er took another bite of her cake, doing a little happy dance as she chewed.  Sui Zhou and Tang Fan chuckled as they each took a cake, enjoying the dessert as well.

“Tang da-ge” Dong’er started, making Tang Fan raise an eyebrow at her.

“Hmm?” he replied.  Dong’er held up the cake.

“Will you teach me how to make this?” she asked.  Tang Fan smiled fondly and nodded.

“Of course I will” he replied before he looked over at Sui Zhou.

“Only if Guang Chuan supervises” he stated.  Sui Zhou chuffed before he nodded.

“Mm” he agreed.  Tang Fan grinned and Dong’er smiled, making Sui Zhou chuckle softly.  He loved these little family dinners.  Sure, the larger ones were fun as well, with lots of laughter and noise, but there was something about the three of them enjoying a good home cooked meal and each other’s company that he wouldn’t trade for the world.

[lechangelin]

Flashback: Allison and Dimitri

Allison and Dimitri ( @delightfulredeyes​) meet just after her mother died, and his family was killed.

Allison took a deep breath as she heard the trickle of the Truyère river as she stepped out of the home her and her dad had been staying in. Even just listening to that every morning was bringing her back to herself, bit by bit. She smiled softly as she stepped back inside, smelling the fresh bread that had been set out for her. Her dad was out in the main town, meeting with some of the other hunters, which left her alone with the owner of the house - a retired hunter from another family. She picked up the bread, and smiled. 

"Je vais explorer la montagne aujourd'hui, Madame." ("I will explore the mountain today, ma'am.") She explained, grabbing her jacket. The woman refused to let her leave without her bow and arrow, and with a smile and a roll of her eyes, she took her weapons, heading off. 

The forest around the bottom of the mountain was beautiful and peaceful, and Allison took her time, enjoying the peace and quiet to reflect. To be herself. Her silence was interrupted hearing a howl of pain though and her eyes shot wide, rushing to find the source. 

 "Assez!" ("Enough!") She snapped, pulling her bow taut, seeing a werewolf harrassing someone who was lying on the ground. "Vous êtes un imbécile d'être ici." ("You are a fool being here."), she said, glaring at the werewolf. The town was crawling with hunters, plenty living close to the birthplace of the Maid of Geuvadan out of respect. She didn't want to kill them, hoping her words were enough to scare them away, that she could get to the other.

Dimitri was on the ground, as an omega and without the strength of his pack he was weaker. Hearing someone shouting in French he laid there until the other wolf ran with his tail tucked metaphorically. Blood matted his hair to his face, dripping down the side of it and soaking his shirt. "Je suis désolé, j'essayais juste de rentrer à la maison. J'étudie à proximité, je me promène dans la campagne après les cours." (I'm sorry, I was just trying to get home. I'm studying nearby, I go for walks through the countryside after class.) He whimpered.

Allison stood her ground until the wolf snarled at her, glaring and running in the opposite direction. She'd warn her father and the others about a possible pack in the mountains as soon as she got back. Right now, she needed to get the other down to the house, and get him cleaned up. She frowned at his words, shushing him gently, stroking his hair back. "Shh shh.... Tu vas bien maintenant." ("You are okay now") She murmured. She heard a slight twang to his French, and she kept talking to him, trying to reassure him, keep him awake. "Tu est Americain? Tu as un accent." ("Are you American? You have an accent.")

"Oui, je viens de San Francisco. J'étudie à l'étranger.." (Yes, I am from San Francisco. I'm studying abroad) He admitted, wincing a bit. It would take him awhile to heal as an omega. "Pardonnez-moi, j'espère que cela ne vous a pas fait peur." (Forgive me, I hope that didn't scare you.)

"I've seen worse." She said, checking over his wounds, figuring slipping into their mother tongue would be easier for him to focus on. "What happened? And can you stand?" She asked. "I'm staying in the cabin by the river, do you think you can walk down there?"

"I was walking home and...I must have offended him." He lied, shrugging his shoulders. He didn't feel keen on admitting the wolf had targetted him because it could sense his status as an omega more than likely, sensed that he was more vulnerable because of his grief. "I can walk."

"Sometimes you don't need an excuse with a werewolf." She muttered, shouldering her things, and putting an arm around him, supporting him down the path towards the cabin. "So what's your name?" She asked, trying to fill the awkward silence

"You must either be a friend or a hunter." He murmured, walking with her towards the cabin. "I'm Dimitri, Dimitri Roman."

"Can't I be both?" She said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm Allison Argent."

"You can be both, as long as you don't mind me being a wolf." He mumbled, holding out his hand. "Good to meet you."

She paused, staring at him. "What? You're a werewolf?" At least he was being honest. But...  She was literally about to take a wolf into the home of a hunter

"An omega if it helps, I woke up as one. My entire pack is gone." He said sadly, looking away.

She frowned, biting her lip. Yeah.... She couldn't just leave him here. "You have got to swear to me you will keep your mouth shut about being a wolf when we get inside." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. This could only happen to her, of course

"I will." He promised, "I usually don't go around telling people, I was born one."

"You shouldn't go around living and studying close to a hunter pilgrimage site then." She said, raising an eyebrow at him. She relaxed as she saw the cabin coming into view, Mme Pritchard the owner driving away, which meant the house would be empty for a few hours.

“Didn’t really realize I was, not like there’s a sign and I’ve mostly kept to myself.” He laughed weakly.

"Well we don't exactly announce these things." She shrugged, finally getting him into the cabin. "I'll show you to the spare bedroom... You need anything else?"

"And it's there that we share similarities." He murmured with a smile, once they were inside he nodded, "A shower?"

She pointed him towards it, smiling lightly. At least if he showered, she wouldn't have to explain all the blood to her dad when he got home. As he showered, she headed to the kitchen to cook them some lunch - she wasn't great, but she could at least make a croque monsieur. When he headed back out, she held the plate up for him. "How's the healing?"

Coming out with a loose white shirt on and a pair of boxers he smiled, "It's coming along..he wasn't an alpha but he belonged to a pack so he was stronger than me. I lost my pack so I'll take a while to heal. But it's getting there."

She sighed, nodding. "You do realise I'm going to have to tell my dad about that pack, right? I'll... say you got attacked, but I won't tell him what you are. He'd never let you rest up here otherwise."

"I understand, I won't tell him." He murmured.

She sat down beside him on the couch, biting her lip. "My... mom... got turned. And she couldn't.... stay." She said, the words feeling like lead weights on her chest."He wouldn't be ready to handle a werewolf around, omega or not."

"I'm sorry..." He murmured as he looked over at her, "I understand, my mother used to me stories about humans who would get turned. She said that the wolf didn't feel right to some of them, that they'd choose the alternative instead." He murmured. "She knew someone like that." It hurt to talk about his mother, thinking about what her last moments must have been like. "My pack was killed, my mother was the alpha. I woke up an omega and I...I called home, a family friend answered. Told me that wolves had come and slaughtered the entire pack. Leaving only the humans alive."

She looked down at her lap, not even being able to imagine what it would feel like. To wake up to... noone one day. "... Least they kept the humans alive." She muttered, sighing.

"Yeah, they felt no threat from them. Killing them didn't benefit them. Kiling my family, got them the alpha status they desired." He growled, shaking his head.

"Dimitri...." She frowned, putting a hand on his arm. "You have to let it go. I.... I know it's hard but... but you're grieving. Hurting people, even if you think they're to blame... It isn't going to change things."

"You don't understand, humans don't understand." He whispered, tears in his eyes. "I have to call someone, my son is at home."

"I tried to kill the Alpha that bit her. I tried to kill his entire pack." She snapped. "And guess what? Hurting them didn't bring her back." She softened a little, hearing he had a son. "Yeah... okay."

"I'm sorry." He said softly, standing up and walking away. He grabbed a phone and pulled it to his ear, he dialed a number and spoke briefly with someone in French, letting them know he'd be later than planned.

She tried not to listen in on the conversation, but she couldn't help herself. After he was done, she shrugged a shoulder. "I can... drive you to go and get him, if you want?"

"You can do that?" He asked, looking over at her.

"Wouldn't want him to miss you too much, right?" She said, smiling sadly. "Plus, I don't want you getting attacked again. It's no trouble."

"Yeah, you're right about that. Alright, lets go." He murmured as he walked towards her.

She offered him a light hug, before getting into the car. Maybe helping this one wolf would help her guilt over all the hurt she'd caused at home. ".... I'm going to make a deal with you. And you have to promise to keep it."

"What kind of a deal?" He asked, looking over at her as they got into the car.

"You and your son.... You can stay here. Where it's safer, and you can heal, and be protected. But... you can't go after those wolves. The ones that killed your family."

"You're asking me to let them go."

"I'm asking you to let them go for your own sake." She frowned. "They killed your family, you kill them... What if someone from their family comes after you? Then someone goes after them? It's never going to stop unless someone stops it. It doesn't help."

"They took something important, how do I just forget that?"

"You... You focus on you. Focus on your son. On what's important."

"Okay...I can do that."