[ he slides the chips over to junpei so he can have his pre-lunch snack if he wants to, before launching into an explanation — peeling and chopping onions, grating garlic and ginger, sautéing them all, adding cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms. the tomatoes make him launch into a surprisingly passionate speech about how you should never use canned tomatoes in a real curry (something his mom drilled into him) — then it's time to add yoghurt, more spices and the chicken.

and he can’t help but feel a little self-conscious at times about whether all this is really all that interesting, but junpei did ask, so... he keeps explaining every step, offering little details about how his mom would make the dish, how she used a specific combination of spices that had been used in the family for generations; little things to fill in the silence between his chopping and stirring.

when the curry is finally simmering under the lid, charles steps back with an exhale. ]

Right, now we just let it be for a tick. Though, hold on, [ he grabs a spoon, lifts the lid and scoops up some of the curry. ]

I can still adjust the flavour, so, taste test it for me, yeah?

[ instead of handing junpei the spoon, he'll just reach over to hold it for him. ]