Current Events > Teen Titans CYOA: Romance Resurrected Part 20

(+) Yeah! (+)

A

"Um, so," you speak up, "Rumiko, do you have anything more you have to do before returning home?"

"Eto ne... <Hmm...> Oh! I should bring souvenirs home."

"Oh, yes, that's a definite," you say. "You should definitely bring home some Ghirardelli chocolate, toy cable car or something with cable cars, and maybe even just a hat or shirt."

"Arigato, Rorek," Rumiko says. "Well, this is good-bye for now."

"Good-bye for now, Rumiko-san," you say as you shake her hand.

Rumiko heads out and you go back to cooking, but Raven frowns at you while chewing more egg.

"What?" you ask her while dicing tomato.

"Nothing," she says.

"Don't say that," you say. "It's obviously not nothing with that pout."

"It's not a pout," Raven says.

"If you say so," you say as you hand the tomato off for putting in a salad.

Raven still stares you down a moment before she scoops up rice. She chews that rice and swallows it down, then huffs and pouts again.

"Why'd you make her the chicken wings and not something like this?" she asks.

"I had a feeling this was the issue," you mutter under your breath.

You put aside the knife and cutting board to lean against the counter.

"You said you didn't want to copy Rumiko and have the same meal, yes?" you ask her.

"Well, yeah," she says.

"So I made you the donburi," you say. "I didn't make Rumiko the donburi, mostly because I didn't think of it. But also because Rumiko has stuff like donburi all the time. And to Rumiko's point, donburi is a smaller meal, but that's because you're basically taking a lunch break. You need to get going if something comes up. But Rumiko is on vacation, so she can take her time and have her fill."

"Oh. Well, that all does make sense. Sorry for thinking you were favoring her."

"No, that's alright," you say. "If you want, I can spoil you later."

"Oh?" Raven says with a curious smirk. "How so?"

"I could make you something even more special than those chicken wings for dinner," you say. "As well as dessert, too."

"Really? And what would that be?"

A) Calamari Ripieni
B) Butter Pilaf Inarizushi
C) Tosa Wagyu Sukiyaki

C

B

B

"Butter Pilaf Inarizushi."

"Hmm... Another Japanese dish?" she asks.

"Well, I feel it's an underappreciated genre of cuisine here in the Bay Area," you say. "What with Chinatown not too far from here, and Mexican influences from the south. But you'll like this. 'Inarizushi' is 'brown bag sushi,' using fried tofu skin as a wrapper around sushi rice."

"Oh... That does sound interesting. What else is in it?"

"Some fried shrimp, some diced chicken, which is also fried, some apple butter and some Bchamel, or 'white sauce.'"

"Okay, that's pretty good," she says. "I'll have that for dinner."

"Alright," you say. "And don't worry about the bill, I'll take care of it."

"Thanks," Raven says.

Raven finishes up her donburi, Sibbie takes the bowl and Raven takes her leave. You then realize you mentioned dessert but didn't discuss what it'd be. You'll just surprise Raven with...

A) Bunuelos
B) Gingerbread Cookie Truffles
C) Cranberry Orange Cream Trifle

A

A

B

Up

A

Bunuelos. They're known as "beaver tails" in Canada, they're simply flat fried dough pieces covered in cinnamon sugar. You have plenty of all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, ground cinnamon and frying oil, you could even put those on the menu.

You continue on through the afternoon and break out the ingredients for the inarizushi and the bunuelos.

For the inarizushi, you start with making the pilaf. You mix a teaspoon of granulated consomme, two-thirds of a teaspoon of salt, some pepper and water. You melt a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan, mince and saute a fourth of an onion, and cut chicken thigh meat into one centimeter cubes.

Once the onions are translucent, you add 150 grams of seafood mix and then the chicken to saute. You add the uncooked rice and mix it all together until everything is covered in butter. From there, you throw in the mix of consomme, salt and pepper and cook it until it boils. You reduce the heat and cover the pan to let it simmer for 15 minutes.

During this time, you make the inarizushi pockets. You rinse the tofu skins in hot water, cut them in half and open them, then throw them into a mix of soy sauce, sugar, mirin and dashi stock. You heat that pot to get it to boil and reduce in the next 15 minutes. You go back to the covered pan, turn the heat off completely, and let it steam for another 10 minutes. You add a second tablespoon of butter and mix that in now.

Once steaming is done, you divide the pilaf into portions and roll them up into balls. Each pilaf ball gets an inarizushi pocket and you fold it closed. You then make the mochi white sauce, taking boiled soy milk, diced kiri-mochi, salt, pepper, and a few different Italian cheeses, mixing and melting them together, and then that's all drizzled on top of the inarizuchi. Lastly, you place the inarizuchi under a broiler for 10 minutes, so that the cheese is even more melted and golden brown.

Then for the bunuelos, you hand mix the flour, the baking powder and salt in a large bowl, then add warm water and four tablespoons of vegetable oil, then use a fork to mix it into a dough. That dough goes to the kneading board and you work on it for about 10 minutes to get the dough smooth and elastic. You roll it back up into a ball and put it in another bowl, then cover with a cloth towel to rest for 30 minutes.

In those 30 minutes, you help put together other meals, such as more chicken egg tempura dons. It seems seeing Raven enjoy it got people talking, so they wanted to try it for themselves.

The half hour passes, you bring the dough back out and divide it into eight pieces. Each piece becomes a ball, and you lightly flour the kneading board before using a rolling pin to flatten the dough balls out to about 10 inches wide.

You get frying oil to boil at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, fry a couple bunuelos at a time, only a minute or so each, making sure to flip them over so that both sides get golden brown. After that, you strain away excess oil and plate the bunuelos before dusting with cinnamon and sugar. Chocolate ganache is offered on the side to give another flavor profile.

You end up making a quite a few batches of bunuelos to make sure you get it just right, but they do seem to be a hit.

When Raven returns, it ends up being a very busy part of the dinner rush.

A) Wave her over to the bar
B) Join her in the VIP seating

B)

B

B

You bring a plate of inarizushi and a plate of bunuelos to the VIP section and Raven finds her way to you. You set the plates down on a table and Raven takes a seat.

"You didn't tell me anything about personal service," Raven says with a smirk.

"Well, I didn't want you thinking I was spoiling you," you joke back. "And I forgot to bring up dessert earlier, so I hope you don't mind bunuelos."

"So," Raven says as she looks at them, "they're like pancakes?"

"Perhaps a cross between a pancake and funnel cake," you say. "It's mostly fried dough."

Raven picks up the fork and knife to cut into the inarizushi. She looks at the cheese stretching and at the stuffing inside glisten. She then pops that portion into her mouth and enjoys how the cheese and the tofu wrapping goes with the shrimp and chicken inside.

"It's juicier than I expected when you said it was brown bag sushi," she says.

"Well, it is technically a meal found at food stalls for festivals and fairs, but the modifications to the recipe I learned make it a very high quality take on 'fast food.'"

"The Magical Melting Pot is definitely living up to its name," Raven says. "In the same place, you've got Japanese carnival food, a Mexican dessert, and then over there, you've got what? Some kind of squid pasta?"

"Calamari Ripieni," you say.

"Right, so Italian," she says, "and at that same table, the other person is having a chicken fried steak, which is American style."

"I appreciate you saying this," you say, "but I'm not sure what's so amazing about it."

"But it is amazing," she says with a chuckle. "You're amazing at food."

"Well, thank you for saying that," you say.

Raven eats up and admittedly, you get a bit hungry.

A) Go back to work
B) Take a dinner break

A.

B

B

"I think I'll be taking a quick break to eat now," you say as you get up.

"Oh, okay," Raven says. "Make sure to bring back an extra napkin. This white sauce is messy but in a good way."

"Oh, uh, I was actually going to sneak my meal in the back," you say. "It isn't really polite of chefs to be eating in front of their patrons."

"But you're also the owner of the place," she says. "Can't you sit out here with me?"

"I don't think that'd be any better," you say. "I can spoil you all I want, but I shouldn't spoil myself."

"Alright," she says. "Enjoy your meal in private."

"Thank you," you say before you hurry back to the kitchen.

"Sibbie," you say as she passes by. "An extra napkin for Ms. Raven if you could."

"Yes, Chef," she says.

You get back into the kitchen and are surprised to see the surprised looks from your team.

"Getting back to work already, Chef?" Emile asks.

"No, I was just going to have my dinner break," you say. "I'll just grab a plate of bunuelos."

"Really?" Emile says. "I can plate you some of the inarizushi to have with Raven."

"Oh, no, I was already telling Raven that I was going to eat in the back like usual."

"What? Didn't we just talk about this earlier today? You can spend time with your fiance if you want."

"Are you sure?" you say. "I'm trying not to be a spoiled boss-slash-owner here."

"Oh, you have nothing to worry about that," Danita says. "We've all worked at places with bosses who've been way more spoiled."

"Well, only if you all think that's okay," you say.

A) Have Inarizushi
B) Have Calamari Ripieni
C) Have Chicken Fried Steak

C

bump

C

C

"I'll whip myself up a Chicken Fried Steak."

"Do you want peas or green beans?" Verdinelli asks.

"I'll have green beans, thank you."

You take one of the hammered-thin steaks, bread it in the flour, dip it in egg wash, then bread it again. Then, instead of deep frying the steak, you spoon the hot oil onto the steak with a ladle, and after a few rounds, you flip the steak over to spoon oil onto that side.

Another efficient move of making the chicken fried steak is to use the drippings in the pan as part of the gravy's recipe. That is then poured onto the steak once you've plated it with the white rice and green beans.

You also have a glass of apple juice to go with this meal as you carefully make your back to Raven, much to her surprise.

"What happened to sitting in the back where no one will see you?" she smirks.

"My team said it was understandable as you're my fiancee. But we won't make a habit of it."

"Uh-huh," she says, still smirking.

You begin eating your meal, and Raven is already about halfway done. You don't rush, though, you don't want to get hiccups or a stomach ache. But Raven is patient and waits for you to be almost finished before moving on to dessert.

"Mmm, nice and light," she says. "And I like the cinnamon."

"The chocolate ganache is good, too," you say as you have a piece and dip it.

Raven also tries it, and she nods in agreement.

As dessert starts to wrap up, you consider where the two of you are spending the night.

A) Raven stays over at your place
B) You stay over at the tower again
C) You two sleep separately for tonight

B

C

RANDOMIZE!

C

"I know it's a bit of a shame," you say, "but how about we spend the night apart this time."

"Aww," she says.

"I know, I know," you say. "But it'll just be tonight so I don't have another mishap like this morning."

"Okay, okay," she says. "I'll just have to see you tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow for sure," you say.

The two of you finish up, you take care of the plates, and of course will take care of the bill. Raven leaves on her own while you return to work.

"So you're seeing her after work?" Harper asks with a smirk.

"No, not tonight," you say. "We're behaving ourselves."

"Oh, okay," Harper says. "Slowing it down because of the busy holidays."

"A bit of that," you say. "I also don't want to distract her from her work."

"Right, because superheroes have it so hard," Harper says.

"Uh, they risk their lives for the rest of us," Verdinelli says.

"Yeah, but they're pretty capable," Harper says. "But honestly, they have it better than we do. It's not like they have taxes to pay, right? How do they even get money anyway?"

"She's not being a gold digger, is she?" Danita asks you.

"No, no, no," you say. "She didn't even know I had money when we met."

"Then how'd you impress her in the first place?" she asks.

"It turns out she read a book my, uh, great-great-great grandfather wrote. It's certainly more 'greats' than that, but she's a sucker for old English literature. As in the 'Ye Olde' English."

The group chuckles and work continues on. Closing time comes, everything is cleaned up and money is taken to the bank to be deposited. After that, you make your way back home and turn in for the night.

The days pass and the holidays approach, which means your family's visit to California is approaching. It's agreed that you'll pick them up in...

A) The morning
B) The evening

A.

A

A

bump, got rly busy again

and again, unfortunately. I will do much better to get this finally updated tomorrow.

A

The morning. It works out for the best, as they'll have more time to rest after the long trip, and can join your for both lunch and dinner.

Additionally, you agree to them arriving on the 21st, so the family will have plenty of time to see the city before you have to worry about the holiday festivities.

You make sure to go to sleep early the night before, and then get up very early to drive your car to Jump City Airport. You have a nice big sign with "NULL" on it as you wait at the gate. First out are your sisters, and they spot you. They call to the rest of the family and everyone hurries over.

"Hello, hello," you say as you hug your mother and father, then your grandparents.

"Where's Raven?" your mother asks.

"Am I not enough?" you joke.

"Oh, come on," she says. "Our future daughter-in-law should be here to greet us."

"Well, her job is rather important," you say. "I didn't want her to feel bad about having to run off if something came up. And if nothing comes up, we can always meet her for a meal."

"Alright, alright," she says. "So do you have room for everyone or will we need to rent a car?"

"Unfortunately, yes, you will need to rent a car," you say. "I can take up to four of you."

"Okay, let's see what the rental companies have," your father says.

You help with the luggage as the family moves on. From there, your father walks up to the counter of the Hertz car rental. He looks through the catalog of cars they have available. After consulting with your mother and grandparents, father rents the...

A) Cadillac Escalade
B) Mazda 3
C) Subaru Outback

A

A)

A

Cadillac Escalade.

"Now we'll have plenty of room for everyone," he says.

You follow everyone out to the parking lot and the Escalade is brought around. You help load the luggage into the boot/trunk while your grandparents and sisters get into the back seats. Mother is of course up front with father driving, and you hurry to get back to your car. You find your way back to the lot and lead them out of the airport and to your home.

As agreed, your sisters can use the guest room, so you help dig their things out of the trunk. You show your family around the house and your sisters put their thing in the room. With only one bed, they decide who gets which side, then they rejoin the rest of you in the living room.

"Alright," father says, "let's get going to our hotel. We have a 10 AM check-in."

"Do you really have to get going?" Rebecca says.

"It's not even nine yet," Roselind says.

"But it'll take time to find the place," mother explains, "and we don't want to rush getting there."

"What about breakfast?" you ask. "Or did you eat on your layover in Boston?"

"Well, we could have an early lunch," grandmother says. "Or brunch, I suppose."

"No, Dad has a point to get going now," you say. "Even though the holidays are approaching, traffic can still be a bother. But are you sure you can find it on your own?"

"I have the address," he says matter-of-factly.

A) Let your father find the way
B) Go with them anyway

A.

B

A... but follow behind discreetly

A

A

"Alright, alright," you say. "But if you do get lost, just call me, I can give you directions."

"Will do," he says.

You see your parents and grandparents to the door and see them out. You make sure to pat your father on the shoulder to put a tracer spell on him, in case you have to go find him. He and the others go to the Escalade and drive off.

"Okay," you say as you close the door. "So how are you two feeling after that trip?"

"A little tired," Rebecca says as she lounges on the couch.

"But we'll be fine." Roselind says as she forces Rebecca to sit up so she can also sit on the couch.

"What do you feel like having for lunch?" you ask. "Or brunch, whichever it ends up being."

"We're fine with whatever," Rebecca says.

"We're not picky," Roselind says.

"I'd argue against that, but I don't want to take advantage of you two while you're tired," you say.

They both stick their tongues out at you before Roselind picks up the TV remote. They channel surf while you consider your options.

A) Brunch here at the house
B) Brunch at your restaurant

A

bump

A.

bump, got busy again

A

"We can just have brunch here at the house," you say. "It'll be easier for Dad to drive back the way he came from the hotel."

Your sisters giggle while you text your mother to let her know. You then go to the kitchen to see what you've got.

There's plenty of milk and orange juice to drink. You have plenty of eggs, potatoes, bacon, various fruits, as well as onions and peppers.

"Ah, yes, that should work," you say as you gather those up.

You also bring out your baking sheets and some wax paper liners while preheating the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. You dice up the potatoes, melt some unsalted butter, then put the potatoes in a bowl to toss with the butter and some spices: Paprika, black pepper, garlic powder and salt.

You put the seasoned potatoes on the baking sheet, bake them in the oven for 20 minutes, making sure to rotate them halfway through. While that time passes, you dice and sautee red bell peppers, green bell peppers, cayenne peppers and onions.

You get the bacon cooking in a separate pan, you scramble up the eggs, and then bring out the potatoes when the timer dings. You mix the potatoes in with the various peppers and move that all aside to cook the eggs.

You call Raven as you finish preparing the meal. She takes a moment to pick up.

"Hey, Rorek," she says. "A little busy right now."

You hear lasers firing and definitely some pinging off a magic forcefield.

"Oh, sorry," you say. "Then you'll probably miss brunch."

"You're already eating?" she asks.

"No, my parents are on the way back from checking in at their hotel," you say. "My sisters are here at the house, though."

"I'll try and stop by later then," she says. "Say hi for me."

"Of course," you say. "See you later. Bye."

"Bye," she says.

You hang up and prepare a few plates for your sisters. They sit at the dining room table, and the Escalade pulls up a few minutes later. You answer the door and escort them to the dining room. You prepare more plates, and you sit at the head of the table, your parents on one side, grandparents on the other, and sisters across from each other.

"This is delicious," your grandmother says. "Well done, Rory."

"Thank you," you say.

"So what's the plan for today?" your father asks.

"Well, I wasn't sure," you say. "I just talked with Raven on the phone. She's a little busy fighting a villain somewhere in town, but she said she'd try to stop by later. Until then, I'm not sure. Baseball season is over, and it's too late to get tickets to an American football game."

A) Suggest going to the park
B) Suggest going to a museum