-Secret Base Cafe-

Remus’ tail wagged and he tried getting onto the couch as well, having to be hoisted up by Bigby so the pup could curl up in Yuna’s lap. Bigby nodded appreciatively and took a seat on the floor, his usual favorite.

“I spend so much time around the man, it’s hard not to absorb at least some of his tendencies,” The wolf said and nodded, standing up and helping her with taking things to the kitchen. He then went upstairs with Yuna, to the living space of the loft where everything was calm and peaceful as always. Charlie the cat was snoozing away in the Chair and Remus came bounding after them, barking and getting a look from the tired Maine Coon.

“Well of course; once we have something like that happen to us, it’s hard not to think about it happening again,” Bigby told her and stretched some, “Take it from someone who spent centuries as a monster; it’s easier to be in the darkness than it is to live in the light. And even harder yet when there are people who remember when you WERE the darkness, the bogeyman in the night. It’s not an irrational fear if there’s cause for it; it’s just a part of life. But if you don’t see it as defining you, then you shouldn’t let it. As RJ might say, be who you feel is your true self, not what others say or expect of you.”

Yuna laughed. “RJ-sensei isn’t here, yet I’m still learning lessons from him,” she said in amusement. “Ne, ne. Let’s go upstairs to the loft. That’d be more comfortable, right?” 

It was Bigby’s turn to drink broth while Yuna spoke, listening to her talk about her experience.

He knew nothing of Makai Knights or their armors; he didn’t know what a Lost Soul Beast was or what it was like to become one. But he knew hunger. He knew hunger better than anyone, insatiable, unending, deep hunger. He knew the need to feed and devour, to try to fill the whole, to lose oneself in it. He knew the tempting to give in; he knew that.

Finishing he set his bowl as well and looked at her. “You returned though, that’s the important thing. You returned and you’re here, speaking to me, eating ramen and relaxing. We have all suffered moments similar to that but what matters is not the past but the present. And you survived and returned to yourself so you could be here instead of wherever you were before.”

She nodded. “Right.” Slumping a bit in her seat, Yuna sighed. “I try not to dwell on it often. I haven’t come close to that ever since, but the question of ‘what if?’ always lingers in the back of my mind regardless.” 

“Your record of increased efficiency and better temperament have been large deterrents against it,” Hakuba added. 

He gave her an awkward sort of smile. “It wasn’t all bad; I was the Big Bad Wolf after all, it’s what I did. Though I’ll admit I much prefer the life I live now.” Family, friends, safety, acceptance. Bigby looked at her as she spoke and shook his head. “No, you haven’t. I’m willing to listen though, if you want to talk about it. I might not be as good at things like this as RJ or Merrick or Tsuki but I can try.”

Yuna took a moment to set her chopsticks down, picking up the bowl and drinking the broth. It’d turned out pretty well! Setting it back down, she had a content smile on her face as she listened to Bigby. It went away pretty quickly though as her memories trailed backwards. 

“It was...a few years ago, I believe. It was...shortly after I met you all, I want to say.” 

“As I recall, that would be correct,” Hakuba added. 

“Thank you, Hakuba,” Yuna said, reaching up to tap the enchanted earring.

“Makai Knight armor has a time limit it can be used for. 99.9 seconds. Otherwise, the user starts to lose their sense of humanity, and they get turned into a Lost Soul Beast. One time...I was so angry at who I was fighting, I let it run over. I still remember it pretty vividly...the transformation was so painful, and all I could feel was my own anger. But...with it came this just...insatiable hunger.” 

“I can definitely agree with that,” He said and continued to eat, “There was a time when I didn’t eat like this, cooked foods or with utensils at all. Back in the old days i just…ate.” He ate everything and everyone he came across, with no care. Until things turned bad and he ended up here….

thatothercosplayer‌:

bewarethewolfarmy‌:

Bigby nodded. “Well it looks to me like you learned a lot from your parents’ ramen shop though.”

He joined her in eating, trying his best to use the chopsticks to do so. He was very awkward about it though and kept almost dropping them; the wolf kept trying though, not wanting to give up. And the ramen really was delicious.

She nodded. “I had to start working there once I was old enough, so learning the trade came with it.” 

Giggling a bit at his expense, she took a moment to show Bigby how to properly hold and handle his chopsticks. “Like this. See?” 

Bigby felt a bit embarrassed as she had to show him how best to use the chopsticks. But wasn’t about to say no to help. “Thank you. I’m not very good at delicate things admittedly.”

Bigby nodded. “Well it looks to me like you learned a lot from your parents’ ramen shop though.”

He joined her in eating, trying his best to use the chopsticks to do so. He was very awkward about it though and kept almost dropping them; the wolf kept trying though, not wanting to give up. And the ramen really was delicious.

She nodded. “I had to start working there once I was old enough, so learning the trade came with it.” 

Remus looked delighted and barked as he caught the meat in his mouth, taking his prize to the corner of the room and happily chewing at it.

Bigby watched as Yuna got everything put together, thinking how impressive it really was how some people could cook like this. As a wild beast he had mainly never needed to cook but life among humans, and humanoids, made him aware of the wonders of food preparation. And it always made the old wolf’s mouth water.

He took the chopsticks gladly. “Thank you, it looks delicious, wolf cub.”

Yuna smiled. “Thank you, Bigby-tou-san. My parents owned a ramen shop, so making this is like second nature to me. That said...I haven’t made this in a long time. It feels good, honestly.” 

Snapping her chopsticks in half, she clapped her hands together and bowed her head. “Itadakimasu!” 

Remus barked happily as Yuna petted him and Bigby smiled some, always happy when people treated the pup with kindness. It wasn’t easy being a runt after all.

As she asked about the chicken he nodded. “That should be fine, Yuna.”

As she was cutting up the chicken and pulling out the bones, Yuna briefly cut off a spare strip of meat and tossed it to Remus. “There you go, little one,” she said. 

She hummed, putting on a pot as she started on the broth. Looking over at Bigby’s cutting board, she nodded. “That’ll do just nicely,” she said. 

After getting some mushrooms and cutting slits in the top of them, she began adding things one at a time. The green onions got set aside until the broth was done, and then they were sprinkled in as garnish. 

Bigby was using the big knife to cut the vegetables, mainly because he found it harder than Tsuki to cut them with one of the smaller knives. Personally he thought he was doing a pretty good job even if some of them come out a bit uneven. The important thing was that it was food made together with Yuna, someone who he liked to see and spend time with.

There were the sounds of soft padding of footsteps and a small runt of a dog came wandering in. It sniffed around and scampered over to Bigby, pawing at him and whining. He looked down and smiled. “Remus, behave, this isn’t for puppies.”

Yuna looked down. “Ah, there you are, little one.” She briefly reached down to give Remus an affectionate pat. “I was wondering where you were,” she said. “If you behave I might have something for you.” 

Years ago it might have been an issue. But RJ forced everyone to cook on occasion and while he was no master chef he could at least handle cutting things.

He nodded and went to grab the ingredients she mentioned as well as a knife. “I should be fine doing that.”

Yuna set about making the noodles. What? You expect me to describe that? Get out of here, that should be all you need. It’s very involved. 

As she worked, she idly hummed to herself. 

“You seem in quite the good mood,” her earring spoke. 

thatothercosplayer‌:

bewarethewolfarmy‌:

Bigby smiled and after unlocking the door walked inside with her. It was uncommonly quiet but he wasn’t terribly worried. It was nice having some peace after some madness elsewhere. “What to eat though…”

The store being so quiet was….eerie. Yuna was so used to there being something going on. “Hmm…well, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind a break from pizza,” she said. “I could probably whip together some ramen…though, I’d have to make the noodles from scratch. Would that be okay?” 

Bigby turned to look at her and smiled. “Sure sounds tasty. I’ll help out however you need, just tell me what you need me to do.”

Bigby smiled and after unlocking the door walked inside with her. It was uncommonly quiet but he wasn’t terribly worried. It was nice having some peace after some madness elsewhere. “What to eat though…”

thatothercosplayer‌:

bewarethewolfarmy‌:

He chuckled as she moved to hug him and wrapped his arms around her to pick her up and hug her tight. “Well that would explain why it took me a while to find it. I’m glad you dropped by though; it’s always good to see you.”

“Eep!” Yuna let out. She hadn’t been expecting to get picked up and hugged, but she didn’t resist. Bigby was nice and warm, and his big bear wolf hug was very comforting. “It’s good to see you too! It’s been so long, I really missed everyone.”

He set her down after a moment and nodded. “They have missed you too I’m sure. Come on inside, I’ve been away from home too long myself and I could use something to eat.”

“Un!” Yuna took a moment to hold his hand, digging her fingers between his. Bigby’s hands were much bigger in comparison to hers- her hands were smaller and much daintier compared to his larger, more rugged hands.