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WHO: Tristan & Tonbokiri
WHERE: Tristan’s place in Bluo
WHEN: Sometime after the event, maybe 21st-ish?
WHAT: What’s sadder than one man eating cake alone during Christmas?
WARNINGS: Nothing…probably.

Given that Tristan is its only occupant, hardly any effort had been put into livening up his little house in Bluo with some holiday decorations. A warm fire in the hearth is also notably absent, as are any scrap of fruit or flower which might have brightened the place up with some welcoming shade of festive color.

There is only the strange, festive cake, sitting conspicuously in the parlor amid this dreary backdrop, as Tristan opens the door to admit Tonbokiri inside with a look of apology.

“Of course it is no trouble at all, my friend,” he was saying, “I only wish that I had made this place more suitable for receiving visitors.”

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Tonbokiri says the customary phrase pardoning his intrusion as he crosses the threshold, and he pauses. Perhaps it is a bit cheerless, except for that cake that his eye lingers on for a moment more than anything else. But more than that, it is cold with no fire on.

"Do not worry upon it, Archer-dono. I came unannounced, after all." Stepping a little further inside, he rests his spear against the wall by the door. "Perhaps you do not spend much time here?"

Tristan sighs at the question, the weight of it reminding him of how hollow this house feels.

“Not as much, since…” Shaking his head—“I trouble you with affairs of no consequence, my friend. Pray, have a seat, and tell me your woes.”

'Since'? Well, if he lost a roommate, Tonbokiri understands what that is like. So he does not pursue that line of conversation.

Instead, he pauses by the offered chair and blinks roundly at Archer. His woes? Is it that clear that he has something on his mind...? Or perhaps, Archer simply knows that everyone has woes.

"I did not mean to come here to trouble you with-- my 'affairs of no consequence.'" He grins a little at the turn of phrase, meaning to be lighthearted. "But if you are offering... May I start a fire for you, then? Such a conversation may take a while."

He smiles a little at the response, at the way Tonbokiri turns his words back at him. It’s plain enough that the both of them have much on their minds.

“You may. There is kindling enough.” Gesturing toward the fireplace. “And we might need to boil down some snow as well, though I’m afraid I have little else to offer you, beyond…” He motions toward the cake with a somewhat resigned expression, as if that thing and not Tonbokiri is imposing itself upon him.

Which isn’t far from the truth, come to think of it.

He smiles to himself as he busies himself at the hearth. You need a woman like Maribelle-dono living with you, Archer. Then the house will be always warm and there will always be hot water on the stove... 'or else'.

Tonbokiri follows the gesture towards the cake, wondering at Archer's expression.

"Is the cake not fully coloured? I once received an 'award' from the town, but the inside was still ash-like." That would certainly explain Archer's seeming reluctance towards eating it, to his mind.

If only he did have someone like her around in his life…but Nero was the closest approximate, and she was…not an easy person to deal with, at least to him.

But all that hardly matters at the moment, when she is presumably relaxing in a nice warm home with the lively company of their mutual friend, instead of this hollow shack which feels so much like that cake Tonbokiri had just described.

“It seems fine enough,” he replies, though that expression of his says anything but. “I simply do not know what to do with it.”

(That's all right. Maribelle is not easy to deal with, either.)

He looks up from the small fire he's started, nearly dropping a log on the kindling in surprise.

"What to do with it? Eat it, of course! ... Although, I can understand how a whole cake for one person might seem a bit much."

It would be too forward of him to volunteer himself to help eat it though...

“But it is far better to share it between friends.” Tristan certainly has no problem volunteering his visitor for the task. He can only hope that it is not ashen inside—he hadn’t really thought to check it for himself. After all, the presence of a cake within this household is vexing enough.

“That is, if you do not mind rendering me this small assistance. I am not even sure if you are fond of sweets.”

It is confusing to Tonbokiri, how there still seems to be an air of frustration around Archer-dono, even as he so freely and politely speaks about the cake. Could it be he hates sweets that much?

When invited to eat though, he can't help his expression brightening although he tries to remain modest.

"I do not mind in the least, Archer-dono." Given the gradual process of restoring colour to foods, he misses being able to freely eat sweet things very much, actually. "Thank you. I'll be happy to share your cake with you."

With the fire now started, he turns his attention to another matter that has been on his mind. A matter that is made even more relevant by what the man just said.

"I apologize if this seems a strange question, but if I may ask… When did you start regarding me as a friend?”

He’d turned around intending to fish out some dusty utensils from the kitchen before Tonbokiri stops him with that query. To this, Tristan turns back with a smile.

“Why, ever since you challenged me to that fight.” There’s a touch of amusement in his reply as the cake lies forgotten for the moment, in favor of the considerably more pleasant thought of his having been yelled at at the time.

“Was I mistaken in reading your intentions?”

"Ah... That's a bit embarrassing..." In more ways than one. "I do not normally make friends by fighting them first. Actually... it is only recently that I have made 'friends' at all."

He hovers by a chair for a moment before sitting down and continuing, "I have many that I regard as comrades. I was certainly not lacking for companionship at Honmaru. However..." How had Midoriya-dono put it? "I'd not had a friendship outside of those I was already comrades with."

He then quickly holds up his hands reassuringly. "Although it was not my express intention at that time, I am very glad that you regard me as a friend, Archer-dono. And it would be my pleasure to call you friend in return."

“And I am honored that you would choose me out of the many men of valor who had gathered that day.”

After all, there were many others who could’ve put up a better fight than Tristan had back then, but he doesn’t really care to dwell on it either. Fate is fate, after all. If this friendship is also the design of Fate, well…

He’d best not think too hard on that, actually. Instead, he quickly sets about to obtain the necessary plates and utensils for their impromptu snack. There’s even a pot of snowmelt bubbling away on that fire Tonbokiri had made, as Tristan finally settles down on a chair opposite him.

"As am I. Perhaps it was fated -- at least, not everything that happens in life is coincidence, I think."

Relaxing a little, Tonbokiri can turn his attention to the cake. "I must say, this cake looks delicious, at least. What kinds of food do you like the best, Archer-dono?"

(Conversation starters, brought to you by Mutsunokami-dono.)

Smooth. It takes Tristan a moment to register that question, before gazing thoughtfully at his own slice of cake.

He can’t help but chuckle. “I don’t know that I’ve thought much about it. But if I had to choose…it would be fish pie, perhaps.”

"A fish pie?" Tonbokiri mentally trips over that one, trying to imagine it.

"I'm sorry, I've not tried anything like that, I think. Out of curiosity though, did you have a particularly strong impression of the first food you ate after gaining the body you have now?"

Tristan gets the impression that there’s more to this conversation than just the food. He cocks his head to the side, idly poking at his slice of cake as he considers that oddly specific question.

“No, I don’t think so…” Then again, being a Servant meant that he had little need to eat. That might have played a factor, though now he isn’t sure. But, after all, that question makes sense, given that they both aren’t human. But whereas Tonbokiri had been an object prior to this…

“I already knew what it was like to live and breathe and eat as a human before I was summoned into this form.”

"Ah- Ahh. Yes, I suppose so. You were a man before this, as well. I apologize, Archer-dono, for asking such strange things of you today."

He picks up his fork and finally takes a piece of his slice of cake.

"Thank you for this food."

What kind of cake it is? He's a little excited to find out - it looks unfamiliar but good. And fully coloured, thank goodness.

“They are not strange at all.” He knows what strange questions are like, after having had so many adventures with Master already. Like, for example, whether or not people die if they are killed.

He pecks away at his own slice, tasting ginger, candied oranges, and warm spices that were practically unheard of in his time. Spices which are now so abundant—at least at headquarters—and which he now misses, because this world seems so much bigger and yet so much more hollow compared to a relatively small facility somewhere in the middle of Antarctica.

“But I sense that these questions were not the object of your visit, either.”

This cake. Is. Tremendously delicious!
It is full of unusual flavours, although he can recognize the orange and ginger. And maybe something... something he's tasted once before, but in a completely different food.

He's casting his mind about trying to put a finger on it, but he snaps back to attention when Archer speaks again, and his comment makes him swallow hurriedly.

"You can tell so easily." He gives a slightly abashed smile. "In that case, I can only apologize if it felt like I was taking overlong to get to the point."

Setting down his fork for the moment (too bad), he continues in all seriousness, "Simply put, at Honmaru there are no women. Therefore, I have had... some trouble associating with the women here. Because of my inexperience, I say and do things that often get misunderstood. You are a well experienced and reasonable man, and so I thought to entreat you for your advice, should you be willing."

The spices of the Orient really are something else…Tristan wonders if he’d perhaps been too hasty to reply to that earlier query after all. He might not have found the first time he’d tasted food all that special, but tasting food that would have been unheard of in his time was another thing entirely.

Yet he sets that issue aside for the time being, content to merely give Tonbokiri a nod of encouragement and smile a knowing smile.

“It is well that you have come to me for advice, my friend. There are many women where I lived.” Such is the nature of the gacha, after all. “But I wonder at how you might have been misunderstood. Do you perhaps desire the attentions of a certain woman?”

For a wonder, Tonbokiri's answer is entirely calm, "No, that's not it--" and then he picks up on what Archer might have been implying there. He raises a hand to quickly gesture that statement away, his face warming for a moment. "No, not like that at all. We are in the midst of an important and dangerous task, being in Chroma. Even if there were a woman I was interested in, this is not the time for that."

Lowering his hand he nods his head slightly. "I can give you some examples about the misunderstandings, if that will help.

"Recently, Maya-dono approached me, asking to spend the night. She was exhausted because her ghost housemates did not allow her to rest well. So of course, I offered that she could use my bed for as long as she liked." He shakes his head over the memory.

"Of course, I meant for her to borrow my bed, not share my bed with me. But somehow, she felt that that was what I implied."

Tonbokiri picks up his fork again, cutting a bit off his slice of cake, but he doesn't eat it yet. He's simply avoiding looking at Archer-dono for a moment.

"Perhaps the most awkward incident was with Maya-dono as well, so ... at least she has some understanding of my shortcomings, and what I mean. But if I were to say the same words to another woman, I do not think I would be forgiven so easily."

How very responsible of him. Even in a cozy small-town setting with relatively easy (at least to Tristan) threats Tonbokiri still retains his soldier’s mindset. It seems that his romantic inclinations are only that—inclinations and nothing more. Not that that’s a bad thing, but…it definitely adds a new perspective to how he perceives Tonbokiri approaches things.

So Tristan regards him without expression, without judgment. He can understand the difficulties of that fish-out-of-water feeling all too well—because human nature aside, culture must play a factor as well. When Tonbokiri finishes, he only smiles at that. Yes, he approves—Maya would be patient of these things, the awkwardness notwithstanding.

“The problem is simple, I think—you are a very straightforward man, Tonbokiri. And humans rarely are.”

Tonbokiri nabs a bite of cake while Archer is speaking, and chewing gives him a moment to think over that statement.

"Mm... So, although there are many personalities among the swords, we are not entirely human. Therefore ... it would make sense that there will be places of disconnect when it comes to relating with humans." He gives an apologetic smile, "Even with you, Archer-dono. I nearly missed that small innuendo earlier, didn't I."

He takes another bite of cake, giving him another moment to reflect on this, and for Archer to say if he's on the right track or not.

He actually chuckles at that—a light sound that’s there and gone again.

“But you are learning. I wouldn’t worry.” It’s not like he’s much better at the whole relating to people thing sometimes. One of the villagers, it seems, believes that Tristan is hitting on him for some reason. He’s not sure why.

“And I don’t believe that anyone here would fault you for it.”

Ohho? Did he amuse you, Archer-dono?

Although the man's words are reassuring, Tonbokiri shakes his head.

"It is true, most of the people here are very kind and forgiving. But I still do not wish to offend anyone or create misunderstandings, especially if it can be avoided."

Maybe, just a little, he better understands Muramasa's nonchalance towards how people view him. It does give a certain freedom, doesn't it. But Tonbokiri will always be himself. Which is to say, he still worries.

"Is there anything further you can recommend?"

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