helland_damnation | TFLN and Continuations, bitches!

“Same building you got arrested on? No way! That’s like the parkour black list.” Minoru shook his head. “Building next to it? Maybe. But not the same one. That’s just asking for trouble.”

It’s one thing to claim you didn’t know you were trespassing or that climbing wasn’t allowed there. But once it’s pretty obvious you do know? The police aren’t generally lenient a second time. And that’s usually the difference between a fine and a court date. (This part was second-hand knowledge. Minoru hadn’t actually ended up in court for his parkour antics, but he had heard many stories of traceurs who did and why.)

If given the option, he’d hop in shotgun with Tom.

“At least wear shoes that are good for climbing in. That was really dicey up there! You get your heels stuck like that again, and they’ll have to bring in the rescue crews back for sure.”

The alternative was falling, but no one was going to say that.

Joe was upset that he'd caused so much trouble and that Aarne had been worried the whole time. Surely, his Fin would understand that he was trying to climb up to the top and he'd make it ok? Or not. Shit. He pulled Aarne into a hug and then kissed his lips.

"Sorry for worrying you, peachy ass. I was going to reach the top until those ass cracks ruined it for me."

Pouting, he looked at Tom and offered a little wave. It was good Stardust's old man was around when he was otherwise him and Minoru would be spending some of the tour stuck inside a jail cell. That would suck big time. He listened to the parkourist and nodded.

"So---another building? There are plenty to go around! I could try the next tallest in the city. That might work. Different shoes? Maybe climbing shoes like yours? Those could work."

Maybe he'd get some pointers from Minoru since he was the expert here.

Aarne was just happy Joe was back on the ground even if he would have been up there with them in a blink of an eye had he the option.

"Ziggy mentioned his brother climbs on wheels." That caused Aarne stress to think about but that had to be some climbing skill.

"Maybe you should try something shorter to practice, sweetie?" Aarne tells the bassist. "Practice before another tall one?"

Tom watched this unfolding and the moment he realized Aarne was being the reasonable one he wanted to facepalm. The madness would never end. Instead of engaging, he walked around the other side of the car and got in the driver's seat to wait for the others to climb in too.

The madness would likely never end, no. As he hopped in the front seat next to Tom, Minoru agreed with the drummer wholeheartedly.

“You were good for a solid ten, but wore yourself out too quickly. And the longer it takes, the more tired anyone is going to get.” Minoru would soon hear those words from the announcers during his Stage 3 run, but for now, they applied more to Joe.

“Anything past the third story is basically the lethal zone. You can’t afford to make mistakes past that.” He insisted, a voice of experience more than a voice of reason. “And no, I have no clue how Jack does it in skates. I had a hard enough time wearing those on solid ground!”

"His brother climbs on wheels? Fuck! How does he do that? I couldn't even climb in my best heeled boots. Shit. That's some skill, babe. Maybe I should pick something shorter. You can climb with me and once we get to the top we can moon everyone down below."

That sounded like a plan to Joe. Of course it did. Would he be high and drunk too? Probably. Since when wasn't the bassist high and drunk? He went to grab an arm around Minoru and pulling the parkourist close to himself and Aarne, laughing at the whole thing.

"Thanks for rescuing me, mate. I didn't want to be a fucking pancake if I fell. You did me a favour. How about me and peachy ass here buy you some drinks or something?"

Joe owed Minoru for saving his life pretty much.

Aarne nodded and agreed with Minoru. "I think your drummer's boy toy can too. I heard Jack say he was better at climbing." It seemed impossible to the drummer but people had skills. He could drum forever and they could climb.

"I want to climb with you." Aarne mentions while more or less climbing into Joe's lap, likely the same kind of thing Minoru would get from Ziggy when they returned to the hotel.

The drummer perked up though and smiled. "I could cook for you, whatever you want."

Not everyone knew that Aarne was working at being a chef when he wasn't on stage or being crazy with Joe.

While Minoru would love to just agree with the musicians and immediately jump into another climbing session with both of them, being arrested for (technically) the second time in this world had him a little more wary.

“At least wait until you’re in a different city.” He suggested. Sure, nothing probably got as big or as awesome as New York City, but there were still skyscrapers in other downtowns. And lots of smaller cities had buildings that were onky 10-15 stories. “But not Houston. Trust me on that one.”

Jack and Ziggy’s Space Center adventure ended with Minoru busted for parkour in structures far less cool than a skyscraper. Tom likely remembered how that night went.

He laughed, knowing that some of the band members probably had full suites at their current hotel, “hey, as long as we don’t have to break into a kitchen, I’m down for that.”

"Then, next time I do climb you can climb with me, babe! It'll be more fun that way."

Joe looked to Minoru and pouted a little. Another city? Really? But they were on tour in New York and he didn't want to wait until they were touring another city. Boring! The parkourist had a point though. Now that he'd been shot by the media and all this went down---perhaps another city would be a better bet.

"Maybe we should climb once we get to our next tour city. Then, we can climb and moon everyone down below, peachy."

This sounded like a plan. As for Aarne cooking? This sounded fun too. Joe always wondered what the Fin's cooking skills were like so maybe Minoru could join them all after he finished doing his light rigging for the night. Pulling Aarne close, Joe kissed the Fin on the cheek and giggled, feeling the high from earlier on slowly subside from his system. Glancing at Stardust's old man, Joe knew he owed him one for coming out and paying the bail.

"Thanks for busting us out, Tom."

The bassist giggled and pecked Tom on the cheek quickly before going back to his Fin.

"They're rockstars." Tom interjected. "They're going to get seen no matter where the climb."

That was probably the truth, one that Aarne understood all too well. The question from Minoru got Tom laughing. "Aarne always has a kitchen and tries to placate me, in the middle of the night, with homemade sweets after he and Joe have been a holy terror."

Aarne couldn't deny any of this and simply buried his face into Joe giggling. He totally tried to bribe Tom sometimes. "I'll climb with you anywhere."

He was then peeking from Joe's chest to look at Minoru in the front. "What do you want me to cook?"

It was less about not being seen and more about not running into the exact same cops twice.

“Is there anything that’s your speciality?” He asked. Tom mentioned sweets, and he’d definitely be down for that. He figured Joe, too, would likely have some favorites. “I’m a vegetarian, so nothing with meat in it, please.”

Eggs and dairy were cool, though. He wasn’t vegan, just vegetarian.

"Saami foods." Aarne mentioned before he hears the vegetarian part. His eyes open wider as he sits up. "There are no Saami vegetarians, not in the families that still live in the wilds."

Being a vegetarian was confusing when he first came across it in southern cultures. It was a bit of a culture shock even now. "Uh..."

Aarne bit his lip while trying to think of something. "OH... I could make Jåbmå and berries." But that was a dessert. Suddenly, Aarne starts laughing. "Even some of our desserts have blood and meat."

Oh, this was going to be a challenge but Aarne wasn't deterred at all.

“None?” Minoru asked while he thought about it. It immediately made sense. “Huh…”

Anyone living off the land had to rely on what was there, of course. Were he raised in that type of environment, he probably wouldn’t have seen an issue with eating meat at all. He would have been willing to take that life and appreciate the sacrifice the animal had made for his survival, which was the essence of what drew Minoru to being a vegetarian in the first place.

“What’s Jabma?” The word was really unfamiliar on his tongue. He wondered if Joe had ever had it before.

"I enjoy meat and love eating big steaks and juicy things."

He wiggled his eyebrows at his Fin and stuck his tongue out. Of course if Minoru was vegetarian that meant that Aarne would have to lay off the meat and pick vegetables instead. Jabma? Now, the Brit was equally curious as to what sort of Saami delicacy they were about to be treated to once Aarne got into the kitchen.

"I'm not much of a cook but I can do basic stuff. Does spaghetti hoops and toast count?"

Because Joe loved those.

"Jåbmå is a dessert stew that's sour and sweet made with sorrel, deer milk, sugar, berries and sometimes spices." He leaned into Joe and shrugs. "I can makes you something else, sweetie."

Aarne rolled his eyes scoffing because he was a bit of a food snob. "We're going to get you off the shit food soon enough."

As they drove away from the police station and back to the hotel, Minoru felt a lot better. With all the talk of food, he smiled. “Okay, that does sound pretty good.”

The mix of sour and sweet made him think of ume daifuku and other similar Japanese sweets. They were always a good compromise between one twin with a sweet tooth and one twin who loved things tart and bitter.

“Isamu’s better at the traditional dishes, but I can make a mean curry.”

Both of the twins knew their way around the kitchen, and prepared most of their own meals. Minoru tended to make a lot of poke bowls and stir frys. They were simple, but tasty, and vegetables went with basically everything.

"I'd like to try anything you make, babe. Because you've made it. That's the special part. I know I'm a shit chef but I can assist in the kitchen! A helpful kitchen porter maybe dressed in just an apron with nothing underneath. The naked chef!"

Joe giggling at his own joke, knowing Minoru probably didn't want to hear the dirty side of this. Nor Tom. He had caused enough trouble with the whole nearly getting himself killed falling from a great height thing. Yeah that.

"Isamu sounds like a good cook too, mate. Do you Japanese blokes eat a lot of noodles and stuff? I like those."

Because Joe could make noodles from a packet. He wasn't a total dead loss.

"I don't have reindeer milk but I think it will be good." Aarne comments and then shrugs. "I have to learn the non-traditional dishes."

It was the difference between growing up in your own culture and surrounded by a blended or different culture. Either way everyone had something to learn. "I'll have to teach you before I get old and you start trying to get me breakfast in bed."

He's teasing but it's sweet and loving. Then he has another idea. "You know... Vars, Tom, Robert, I think Hunter, and Gloria all are good cooks too. We could have Rock and Roll cooking competitions."

Tom glanced back in the mirror at the two in the back just shaking his head. All he could imagine wasa bunch of drunks fighting over the kitchen and Viktor starting a fire.

“Sometimes. Can’t say I’ve ever tried to make Grandma Mikoto’s famous tonkatsu ramen, and I never will, But Isamu has, and he claims it’s 93% as good as her’s. You guys would probably like it a lot.”

The old secret family recipe was for a pork-based soup. Even the broth by itself wasn’t vegetarian. Unfortunately, it was something he had to eat at least once when he visited, whether he wanted to or not. Grandma Mikoto took great offense if he didn’t.

Honestly, the thought of throwing ‘the naked chef’ into a kitchen with her and watching chaos erupt did cross his mind. But he had too much respect for his elders to actually do it.

"Grandma Mikoto? Is she your grannie, Minoru? She sounds cute and a good cook. My nan used to bake me a cake for when we used to go around on my birthday. We had the whole family over at my grandparents and it was fun."

Joe wanted to tell Aarne and his friends about more of his living back in the UK because sharing was fun! Also, all this talk about cooking and food was causing the Brit to become hungry. With all the booze he drank his stomach often craved food as well as drink.

"Hunter in the kitchen? I can see him wearing a leopard print apron and being a total glam chef. Viktor though? He'll burn the fucking kitchen down."

The bassist wasn't wrong.

"Stardust made Ramen for us once." Aarne pipes up. "He says Tom makes even better noodles."

Tom can only sigh about the Fin trying to drag him into this. Thankfully, the drummer starts giggling and forgets about Tom.

"He does. We lived with him in Sweden and he would wear frilly leopard print aprons." Maybe it wasn't always but Aarne could recall at least one instance. "Vars could keep him from burning it down. He's a decent cook to from living with his wife."

Aarne said it and then instantly clammed up in anger. He hated thinking about her. "I'll cook when we get back."

They weren't far from the hotel so, they could soon.

“Well, cute’s not exactly the word I’d use to describe her.”

Feisty might work. Or stubborn. This was an old widow still called her town by its pre-Municipality name, did things the old-fashioned way and took no beef about anything from anyone. She also fed a lot of cats. (Honestly, she and Mr. Newton could probably be the best of friends. Mikoto could probably use a pen pal.)

“But I can vouch for Ziggy’s ramen! And Tom! You should totally…”

He stopped, his voice trailing off. “Actually… I think I’d better wait for a night where you aren’t bailing us out of trouble to ask you to make yours sometime.”

After all, they were the ones that owed Tom right now, not the other way around.

"Stardust made you ramen? Aw, I'd love to try Japanese food. Or more of it anyway."

At the remark about Hunter wearing a frilly apron the bassist giggled and knew full well that the singer would. He was a glam queen and loved wearing bright, garish clothes at times. The blond drummer loved seeing his Swedish lover in kinky outfits. Everyone knew this.

"You'll cook when we get back to the hotel, babe? Fuck yeah!"

Joe was excited at this idea after the whole climbing scenario that went to shit. Tom having to bail them both out after the bassist got his boot stuck and nearly fell to his death. That part wasn't good. Then the pig cops pissed him and Minoru off. Or, more Joe.

"Put Viktor and Ronno in a kitchen together and you'll end up with a smoking room with everything on fire and blown up."

That got the Brit giggling.

"I'll cook sometime." Tom gives in with a sigh. "Another time when I have a chance to go to a market."

Tom wasn't about to cook in a place like New York City without taking a day to hit the markets for fresh foods and a chance to be more clear headed.

Aarne shakes his head. "I've never tried to make Japanese food. I should learn."

Tom was listening and shook his head. "Why don't we find you somewhere legal to climb?"

Surely there had to be somewhere that wasn't going to be a media and police storm. Though he is interrupted by Aarne laughing. "Ronno almost set fire with a toaster or something. Viktor would watch things burn and drink."

“Ziggy’s ramen was fantastic!” He gushed, leaving off the thought that some of the ingredients might have been from another planet. “Some Japanese food is pretty complicated, but not all of it. Maybe sometime when you’re on a break from touring, you can come over to our place and we’ll cook something traditional.”

He’d have to check with Isamu, but he was pretty sure his brother wouldn’t mind hosting a little dinner party. No one was going to need to be bailed out of jail after that, after all. Or so, he hoped.

“Not sure if rock climbing gyms are a thing in your world, but in mine they leave a lot to be desired.” He added.

"It was fucking legal! At least it was last time I looked. Where does it say you can't climb wherever you want? I'm sure you agree with me on this one, Minoru? You climb wherever you want don't you? It's a free fucking country."

Joe didn't get the part where climbing on people's property is illegal. Also, the safety aspect totally went over his head. Of course. He just wanted to get to the top to moon everyone down below and give a giant middle finger to the cops.

"Rock climbing gyms? Never tried one. If they are shit then I'm not climbing up one. How about climbing a real mountain next time? That could be fun."

Oh god, Joe. No.