dango shenanigans

“That is too much water. Add more flour.”

Dan’s voice cut through the air, decisive and final as a blade. Yuzu yawned, but did as he was told, working more rice flour into the mixture. 

He could feel Dan roll his eyes, but the other bun just stepped up to the table to bat Yuzu’s hands away. “No, this is the proper motion for making the dough.”

Yuzu leaned back, happy to watch Dan’s hands expertly shape the purple mass of ube, rice flour, and water into perfect balls. “Mmmph, don’t really see what you’re doing different, but looks great.”

Dan pressed his lips into a thin line, and huffed. “Pay closer attention. Clearly, I use my wrist to guide the larger motions, and my fingers to make minute adjustments as I go.”

“Daaaannn, c’mon, it’s his first time making dango,” Shibani said from the pile of pillows in the back. Yuzu glanced over his shoulder as the petite bun emerged, rubbing his eyes and yawning. “I… I think he’s doing an okay job!”

“Shibani, you haven’t even been watching,” Dan deadpanned, pulling away to wipe his hands. The purple stain lingered, but Yuzu expected it to stay for a long time.

“Thank you though,” Yuzu said with a warm smile at Shibani, who leaned against Dan’s shoulder to watch. Dan’s scowl deepened, but tellingly, he didn’t pull away.

“Hmmph. Yuzu, fill the pot beside the stove with water and boil it. I expect you already know how to boil water, yes?”

“I dunno, I don’t usually have to boil the folks that come to my bathhouse. Much as they joke ‘bout wantin’ that, it’s a bit frowned upon.”

Shibani started giggling as Dan muttered something unkind under his breath. Yuzu just let him be though— he’d given him enough of a hard time for now. Instead, he filled the pot with water as instructed, and set it on the stovetop. He flipped it on, then wandered back over to Shibani and Dan. 

“Here, Yuzu. Finish shaping the rest of them, and do it properly this time,” Dan said, stepping to one side and sweeping an arm toward the unshaped soon-to-be-dango.

“I’ll try my best,” Yuzu said as he began working the dough, this time trying to mimic what Dan had been doing earlier. It seemed to be going well, too— Dan watched with a critical eye before turning to busy himself in another part of the kitchen.

Shibani, however, was happy to lean against the counter and watch Yuzu work, stifling a yawn. “You’re not letting him get to you, yeah?” he whispered, rubbing his eyes again.

“Nah, honestly, it’s kinda cute to see him huff and puff,” Yuzu snorted, not bothering to quiet himself.

“I heard that.”

Shibani nearly doubled over in laughter, and Yuzu turned back to finish shaping the last of the dango. The ube in it stained his skin purple, running to pink where enough water lingered. Yuzu’s dango wasn’t nearly as perfect as Dan’s, but— it didn’t have to be. He was sure they disagreed on that, but that was fine. 

“If you are quite finished over there, the water is boiling.”

“Just about,” Yuzu drawled, but began gathering the dango balls onto a large plate, Shibani helping with a few. He shot him a smile, then carried the uncooked ube dango over to Dan.

Dan just pointed at the boiling water. “Only a few at a time. Do not splash me.”

Yuzu rolled his eyes fondly, but dropped a few dango into the water, carefully as he could. “I wasn’t planning on it.”

“Hmm.”

Yuzu ignored the grunt, just watched the dango sink to the bottom. “How do we know when they're done?”

“They will float back up when it’s almost time. Leave them to boil for another two minutes, then take them out. Rinse, repeat— it is exceedingly simple.”

“Understood! Nice pun, by the way.”

Dan didn’t deign to reply, instead beginning to tidy up the kitchen while Yuzu kept an eye on the pot. Soon enough, however, the dango began to pop back up to the water’s surface, bobbing between the bubbles like it was a rave. “Two minutes after they rise, yeah?”

“Yes,” said Dan, though he was a little distracted by trying to kick Shibani out of the kitchen so he could finish cleaning. “Shibani, would you just—”

“Can I have some dango when it’s done?” Shibani asked instead, looking up at Dan with what must’ve been an impressive pair of Impup eyes, because Yuzu watched his willpower visibly crumble to dust.

“…Yes. You may.”

“Eeeeee thank yooouu! I’ll head back to my nap corner then,” Shibani said, giving Dan a big hug before skipping back out.

There was a beat of silence, then Dan spoke again— “Not a word.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything,” said Yuzu, but his smile was knowing enough to say the rest.

“Just… take out the dango already. It has likely been in the water too long, you must pay more attention.”

Yuzu smiled to himself, but fished out the dango one at a time. They had turned an even more vivid shade of purple from their time in the hot water, and he was content to admire their color for awhile before Dan interrupted by shoving a handful of dango sticks into his free hand. “Finish the work you have started.”

“As you wish,” Yuzu said, and did as Dan asked. Soon, the two of them had a full plate of ube dango, and Yuzu set the plate down so Dan could put the glaze on. 

His handiwork with it was masterful, and Yuzu was glad he hadn’t bothered to make him do it instead. “And… there. Once it cools we may eat some of it, though we must set one aside for Shibani.”

Yuzu hummed his agreement, and Dan smacked his hand away when he tried to pick one up before it finished cooling.

Dan couldn’t be this watchful forever though… and Yuzu was patient.