It's my first time. Be gentle...

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael looked from the bowl to the mess around the room, trying to figure out how in the world they had managed to make something so small and simple into such a disaster. Granted, he personally hadn't been responsible for the mess, but he hadn't been able to fix it, either. The mess of noodles in the bowl didn't even look worth the effort of making them, much less the trouble Adara had went through.

[Adara Snow]

Adara took the bowl and glass from Dare gratefully. The contents might not have looked so appealing if she hadn't been so famished, but she reminded herself that Emilian liked them, so she would say nothing bad about the ramen. She thanked Dare, looked apologetically at Michael, since she was the one who had dragged him into the mess, then left the kitchen, intent only on rejoining Emilian. She could clean up her mess later, though the details of how did not make it past her anticipation of eating something.

magikal05.proboards46.com/index.cgi?board=jbedroom&action=display&thread=3551&page=11#70991

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare waited until the door closed behind Adara before turning to lean back against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. "So, do you want to tell me what's wrong?" he asked, his voice tense. He wasn't sure if he wanted to comfort Michael or knock some sense into him at this point.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"What? Look at how easy that was! I was getting so frustrated over those damned noodles and all I had to do was flip a switch?" His own voice was tense with leftover frustration. Michael didn't care to mention how Dare had come in and fixed everything, making it seem like anyone with half a brain knew how to do it. He ran a hand through his hair and looked away from Dare, around the room at the mess.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"And how were you supposed to know?" Dare asked tersely. "What happened to you don't know how I've lived, the same as I don't know how you have? What happened to you being so cool with me not knowing a damn thing about Pureblood stuff because you didn't know a damn thing about Muggle stuff?" Dare uncrossed his arms to pick up one of the discarded packages of ramen. "Muggle stuff. Right here, Michael. And as for the stove, again, how the hell were you supposed to know?"

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael looked around, anywhere but at Dare, remaining silent. He still didn't think that knowing all about the circle Michael had grown up in and how to fix a little package of food could compare, but he didn't say it. Just like he refused to point out how Dare had made it sound like everyone should know. He crossed his arms uncomfortably over his chest, tucking in his shoulders as he focused on a counter top.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael was obviously still upset, but he hadn't given Dare any fuel to go off of, so Dare tossed the ramen back onto the counter and recrossed his arms, then took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He gave himself a moment to think about Michael's words and his own before trying again. "Listen, I can understand it giving you trouble. Yeah, it looks easy, but only because I knew what to do. Flying looks easy too, but if no one's ever told you to grip the broom, you're going to fall off. Yeah, all you had to do was flip a switch, but if you'd turned it up too high, you could've caught the kitchen on fire. It's something you've got to learn, like everything else." He didn't know what else to say, so he didn't say anything more, but leaned back against the counter beside the stove, arms crossed, head down, and stared down at a trail of damp packaging at his feet.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael leaned back against the wall, watching Dare for a minute before looking down again. Dare made sense, and Michael knew it, though it didn't help his mood very much. He was silent for a few more moments before sighing, "I just felt so stupid." Especially when Dare had said that it was supposed to be a given. But Michael really didn't want to blame it on Dare, however much it seemed like he was trying to, so he left it at that.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare looked up, sighing as he unfolded himself and gestured hopefully for Michael to come closer. "You're not stupid," he assured him. "If you were, I'd have gotten bored of you a long time ago. Come on, stop beating yourself up. It was your first time, and from the sound of things, Adara was already so lost I'd have had a hard time finding a pot." Tell me what to say to make this right! Dare had forgotten all about his supposed to be a given comment, and so the only problem he knew about was Michael's frustration with not having figured it out on his own.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael looked up and unfolded his own arms, reaching up to rub his neck over the spot Dare had given him the evening before absently. He came up to Dare, but didn't reach out for him, feeling extremely awkward after how he had acted. "I'm sorry, I just get so frustrated and..." he trailed off, shaking his head and looking away. He was calmed down enough, though he still had a bitter glint in his eyes whenever he glanced over towards the stove.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's eyes softened at Michael's unconscious gesture, the motion of his hand against his neck helping Dare release the last of his own frustration with the associated memories. "It's okay," he said, slipping his arms lightly around Michael's waist. "Sh~ happens, right?" That wasn't going to be nearly enough and Dare knew it, but it was worth saying. "If it'll help, I'll show you how to make something better than ramen, and you can say you know how to cook. Or you can go see how Adara and Emilian are doing, and we can pretend this didn't happen." Dare dipped his head, trying to catch Michael's eyes from behind the curtain of his hair. "What do you say?"

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael made a face at the thought of trying to cook and dropped his arms to Dare's, messing with the edges of his sleeves. He shook his head slightly, to move the hair from his eyes, and looked up at Dare. "Think I can handle any more of this?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Though, he figured, if Dare were there to help him, it wouldn't be nearly as frustrating. The idea of staying in there with him was much preferable to going back to Emilian and Adara, so Michael was willing, even if they didn't end up cooking.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's lips quirked. "Okay, we don't have to do it now, but the option's there, all right?" Dare leaned closer to Michael for a moment, nuzzling lightly against him, then resting his forehead against Michael's. "Another time, maybe," he said. He let himself relax for a moment, then sighed again and lifted his head to glance around at the mess. "You don't know any cleaning spells, do you?" he asked. Judging by Adara's complete lack of concern over the mess, either she knew some awesome ones, or, more likely, she didn't realize what a monumental task it was.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael agreed with the another time. He was willing to try and learn, but he couldn't stand anymore for the moment. He cringed inwardly when he shook his head in answer to Dare's question. "Not for anything like this," he said, looking around. "If you know some and can show me I can help, though." Learning a new spell wouldn't be any problem, he had always been good with his wand, and it normally didn't take him long to learn a new one.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"Thank God," Dare said. He didn't waste any time, but brought out his wand and showed Michael a couple good general cleaning spells. Before long, the kitchen was back to rights, and Dare leaned back against the counter again with a heavy breath. "I feel like I ought to take pity and cook them something so she doesn't come in here and do it again," he said. "Ramen can get old real fast."