Sweet Brother of Mine

[Bo Jones]

"Pretty much," Bo drawled, still keeping the humor going. He was already moving to start mixing food together, and he knew that they were pretty close to actually finishing the prep for the dish. He'd be letting things set in the sauce for a while, and he could shoot the shit with Rhett while they cleaned up around the kitchen and all.

Assuming Rhett actually finished the onions, that is. Bo chuckled as he watched his brother butcher a few. The cook was already moving around and finishing the rest of the prep, figuring that Rhett could handle that last bit while he did. Get the rice soaking, get some sauces about, do some initial tasting.

"'bout the only way I can," Bo said, flicking the sauce again. "Finish up those last two an' drop them here," he tapped a large bowl containing the peppers and some spices. "'bout done with this, then it's cleanup time," and he had a nigh mischievous smirk to give his brother then.

[Rhett Jones]

”Well bless your picky lil’ heart.” Rhett snorted, but still had the smile on his face. Although he could hardly keep it up while he was eating, so he dropped it. One plate disposed of and a few destroyed onions (but not nearly as many as he’d expect, Rhett would report proudly) later, and Rhett was actually helping to make the next meal. While shooting the shit with his brother the whole while, of course.

“Ain’t you clever.” Rhett responded dryly. Although he didn’t question his brother’s orders as he finished up the final two. He’d be proud to announce that his assistance hadn’t resulted in complete disaster. However, the day wasn’t over just yet, and Rhett saw the gleam in his brother’s eyes. Not to mention that mischievous little smirk he sported. “Cleanup time, huh?” Rhett repeated, mirroring the younger Jones’ expression but with an arched brow.

“Why’ve I got the feelin’ this is gonna make me regret my offer to help ya?” He voiced while dumping the pieces he’d cut into the bowl Bo had indicated. Trouble was in the air; Rhett could feel it. Maybe not the bad kind, but definitely something.

[Bo Jones]

Again, Bo mostly ignored his brother's protests. He was fairly certain that if he'd stomped his way through Rhett's work, the older brother would be the one giving him shit instead. So it was just a matter of taking it now.

The onions were done, and Bo tossed them and the peppers in the mixture, pausing only for a moment to correct some of Rhett's more egregious mistakes. Soon the entire mixture would be marinating in preparation for tonight. Not too long before he started getting into the actual cooking process, but that would come later.

'Yes, really," Bo said, nearly drawling the words. "You know where the broom is," he was already reaching for a rag. "Since you dragged half the damn forest in with you, you can sweep it up. Then maybe I'll let you off the hook," he gave Rhett a wink as he started wiping away the worst of the messes.

[Rhett Jones]

Rhett wasn’t so surprised his brother had to stop and fix some of his mistakes. Like he said, he wasn’t as handy around the kitchen as Bo was. Unless of course they were making any sort of pastry; cake especially. maybe that could serve as Rhett’s second option. If the school wasn’t paying well enough he could try his hand at setting up a bakery. It was something to consider at the very least.

“I was only addin' to the interior design.” Rhett shot back with a grin. He did indeed know where the broom was since this wasn’t the first (nor last) time he’d dragged his work in with him. “Lovely as the kitchen is, it could use a lil’ more green. Or brown an’ red in this case.” Sarcastic as he was, Rhett got to work on cleaning up what followed his entrance. He might play but he’d fix what he’d wrought.

“So how’s my lil’ brother doin’ these days really?” Rhett asked somewhere in the midst of his sweeping. Bo was his brother after all, and the whole reason he was even at the school in the first place. A question or two about the younger Jones’ going-ons was expected. “Other than cookin’ up a storm in ‘ere."

[Bo Jones]

Bo just snorted at Rhett's design comments. Neither of them knew the first thing about decorating, beyond maybe putting up some decorations for the holidays, and even that mostly became a matter of doing whatever their mother or some other wiser person told them. You only had to take a look at their shared dorm room to get a good view of that.

"Doin' jus' fine," Bo offered, chuckling. "An' that's the truth. Got the steady gig goin' here, an' I'm already lookin' into takin' some real cookin' classes an' all. Might have to drive a ways to get some really good ones, but I should be able to get enough. Heck, we're in one of the best places in the country to get trained."

Bo smirked at that, before giving another slight flourish as he finished his current cleaning, taking a step back and looking over the work. it looked pretty close to perfect, which was enough for a mid-point cleaning. He looked over at his brother, hoping that Rhett had made at least some progress.

"Still workin' on yer end? An' should I bug you 'bout your love life? Seems to be enough appealin' coworkers around here." He had to grin at that. Bo knew most of them, after all.

[Rhett Jones]

Yeah neither of the Jones brothers were very good at decorating.

Rhett nodded along as his brother got to talking. It was nice to hear he was excited about cooking. Really, Rhett had no doubts about Bo becoming a master chef. Though he wasn’t any sort of food critic, everything his brother produced tasted amazing. “Glad to hear it.” He really was. “Wouldn’t that be somethin’ if ya became some high an’ mighty chef in some fancy schmancy restaurant? You’d give me a family discount, right?’ Rhett asked with a flash of pearly whites. He was being cheeky again and he knew it.

Meanwhile, in the cleaning department; Rhett actually managed to make some headway with his mess. Like he said, it was only a few bits and pieces of leaves and dirt. When the snow would finally settle is when things could get ugly. If he didn’t manage to pick up some mud, he’d at least carrying in some water. Maybe a snowball or two to shove down his brother’s shirt while he was at it.

“Yea- Wait my love life?” Rhett’s head snapped up at the question. The fact his brother was grinning only made things worse. Playing it off with a roll of his eyes, Rhett got back to work. “I think the closest thing to a ‘love life’ I’ve got right now is with the leaves. By the time winter really blows in, it’ll be the snow.” To be honest Rhett’s love life wasn’t really all that. Probably because he made friends first, got stuck in the friend zone, and then found content with that. Romance wasn't his strongest suit. “An’ what ‘bout you then huh? Like ya said; plenty o’ appealin’ coworkers ‘round here. An’ you’re young enough you could catch some o' the college kids’ eyes, and it wouldn’t be creepy as all hell."

[Bo Jones]

"I'm already a chef at a high falutin' major school an' all," Bo drawled. He had to chuckle a little at that. He could understand why some people might think that he had a bad position or made crappy food or something along those lines, but those people probably hadn't ever seen Bellefonte or tasted a bit of what Bo could make. He already did pretty decent; decent enough to be hired by what was definitely a high end institution, and he was still very much in training.

But yeah, cleaning, getting things together, and then awkward questioning. Bo had to grin as Rhett stumbled. The look on his face was worth the teasing and the retribution that Bo was almost positive would be following. "Yeah, but I ain't 'bout to start spittin' out little baby Joneses," he pointed out. "An' I bet you could get somewhere with, uh," he snapped some fingers, "the cute redhead. Kinda bubbly, does a lotta holiday--Bell, I think? That one. Or maybe the really uptight brunette."

Bo found a seat, nearly collapsing into it, scratching at his stubble a little. "Haven't had too much time to go lookin', between school an' work an' all," he gestured at the food around them. "Plus, gets a bit awkward flirtin' with another guy. Guess it's jus' bit o' home clingin', but I still can't quite just go up an' start..." he waved his hand, sure that Rhett could fill in the blank.

[Rhett Jones]

”Yea', yea’.” Rhett drawled with a roll of his eyes. Not that he really doubted Bo at all, but he wasn’t about to praise Bo for it. His brother already knew he was good, so he didn’t need any help from Rhett.

So instead it was back to cleaning. Until, that is, Bo had to open his trap about his love life. When Rhett stumbled, he stumbled hard. His brother knew it and Rhett had no doubt that he was enjoying every second of this. Rhett turned his head back over to Bo again and scowled lightly. There was no harshness in it though. “What’re you, some sorta datin’ service?” He asked jokingly. The scowl left his face and he got back to cleaning. At least he would get a few more seconds to gather himself. “I think I know who you’re talkin’ about. I barely know her, Bo. ’Sides, ain’t she older than me? An’ I’ve got no idea who else you’re referencin’.”

He heard before he saw his brother flop onto a nearby chair. Rhett finished up with his own task before he stole a seat nearby his brother. Now Rhett couldn't say he knew much about flirting with another guy, but he could imagine the difficulty. Especially coming from their kind of family. “Can’t say I’ve got much experience in that department, but i reckon I can imagine what you’re talkin’ ‘bout.” Rhett said with a grin. It settled down to a smile while he slapped his brother lightly on the arm good-naturedly. “You’re a good kid though. An’ clever enough to fool others into thinkin’ you’ve got some charm.” He added with a tease. “I’m sure you’ll find somebody."

[Bo Jones]

Bo smirked at the mention of dating service. "Jus' one of the charms of my people," he drawled, tempted to add a slight chuckle at the end there. He ended up pausing to scratch his stubble a little instead. "Nothin' wrong with goin' older. Jus' means they know a bit more than you."

Which nearly had Bo chuckling. He knew it was slightly different for them, some of that whole old school Southern stuff still clinging onto the both of them. It was part of why he often felt like if anyone should be the older in his own partnership it should be him. Of course, it probably didn't help that this put him in a position to try and date some of the younger students here, the barley legals and all, which made Bo feel a little awkward just thinking about, let alone delving into.

Bo shook his head at his brother's obvious attempt at cheering him up. "I ain't too old jus' yet. 'sides, ain't it the rule that the older brother's gotta be the one married off first?"

[Rhett Jones]

Rhett snorted and shook his head. He didn’t know whether his brother was joking around or being serious. With Bo, it might be half and half. “Might be nothin’ wrong, but the fact remains I hardly know her. ‘sides, you now I ain’t all ‘bout romancin’.” It was basically true; Rhett hardly chased after romance. It wasn’t for lack of desire, but mainly because he got comfortable just staying as friends. That and opening up about his attraction to someone (or finding out about their attraction to him) usually left him a flustered mess. Rhett hated feeling like he could never get his footing around someone else.

“Now who in the hay said you had to get married?” Rhett returned with a frown. He would definitely encourage his brother to try dating some others, but marriage? If his little brother suddenly turned up with that idea, Rhett would’ve demanded to meet this so-and-so first. He was an accepting big brother, but he’d be damned if he didn’t get to say his piece about the other his brother got involved with. Whether or not it made any difference.

“‘sides, that’s a stupid tradition. What if I’d ended up not preferrin’ anyone? Y’all’d’ve been waitin’ an eternity.” Rhett pointed out before waving the notion off with a gesture. “As the eldest, I’m declarin’ that rule null an’ void. An’ ain’t no one ‘round here that can stop me."

[Bo Jones]

"Should give it a shot," Bo offered, adding a slight shrug. He didn't exactly want to push his brother or anything but, well, who didn't want to see their siblings happy at the end of the day? Plus, Bo knew full well that Rhett would make someone very happy. Maybe he should just ride right over his brothers protests and try and set him up with someone. He just had to figure out which one would be best...

...or maybe go for all of them.

"Pretty sure my people fought for it for a while," Bo drawled, referring to marriage. He smiled all the while, knowing that it wasn't altogether too likely. Not that he was avoiding it: if he found the right guy, then he didn't see any reason why they couldn't after all. Bo kept right on smiling as he walked over to the fridge, rummaging around until he found the soda, pulling out a Coke to drink as he took his seat, his attention divided between Rhett, the soda, and the still marinating food.

"Don't reckon anyone will try,' Bo drawled back. "Still, you oughta get out. Try an' see a few people. Date an' stuff," he shrugged, not sure how else to put it. He pulled the tab on the soda, taking a swig. "'sides, we know you want a girl that can shoot fireballs at yer head when ya screw up."

[Rhett Jones]

”We’ll see.” Was all Rhett responded with. Maybe one day he’d actually get off his rear and try finding someone. That likely wasn’t going to happen any time soon, but he could be surprised. Especially if Bo had it in his head to start trying his hand at fixing up the older Jones with someone (a particular redhead or not).

“I know that. Jus’ sayin’ that if you suddenly get it in your head to get married, then ya better introduce me to this boy before ya go through with it! I’d be awfully offended.” Rhett said, holding a hand to his heart (a little dramatically). He wasn’t lying though; he would get offended a tad if he never got introduced to the one Bo fancied. He was already offended enough that Bo didn’t bring Rhett back a soda too! “Hey! Some host you are!” He protested with a snort, getting up from his seat to get his own drink.

“Firebal- What kind ‘o gals do ya see me with, Bo?!” Rhett asked, glancing back with mock horror. “I ain’t lookin’ to get my butt burnt off! Hell, I ain’t lookin’ for anythin’ right now.” Which (apparently) was something of an issue for his brother. Although Rhett still had his suspicions that this might all be for teasing’s sake. Still, he sighed as he returned to his seat with his Coke in hand. “Tell ya what,” he started, pulling the tab, “how’s about we make a deal. I’ll actually give some effort if you do. We’ll both take some risks with it, since I’ve got no idea how to go about this an’ neither do you it sounds like."

[Bo Jones]

Bo snorted. "Like I wouldn't end up introducin' any fiances to the entire family," or as many of them as would be interested in meeting one of Bo's paramours, given his sexuality and his current position and all. The thought put the Southern chef in a slightly dark mood, and he glowered a little while his brother went up to get a drink, nearly giving him the side eye.

Even teasing about fireballs didn't quite alleviate Bo's mood entirely. "Could use a fire under yer ass," he insisted, taking a sip and leaning back on a counter to get a better look at everything. He was a cook in a kitchen: just sitting and relaxing made him twitchy and nervous.

"I'm already headin' out from time to time," Bo said, looking back at his brother. "But I'm willin' to go ahead an 'take some risks. Y'know," he grinned, leaning forward, "we should make a bet. Got to get us some dates to the next fancy party or somethin'. There's usually some kinda winter or Christmas ball," he raised his brows then, holding up his soda in an almost challenge to his brother now.

[Rhett Jones]

”You better.” Rhett answered, though he could feel more than see the effects of the statement. They both had their issues with the whole business of the family. It reminded Rhett too easily of that fact that yes, his family had basically fallen apart. His own mode was slightly disturbed, and he was glad he wasn’t facing Bo anymore to see how he grit his teeth. he was frustrated at a number of things because of that, but he didn’t want to let that out. He was the older brother, after all. He had some things to uphold.

“Ya sure that ain’t just the cook in ya talkin’?” Rhett returned, turning back around. By then he’d managed to get his expression under control. Bo, on the other hand, still showed some of his darkness from the previous topic. Which only made Rhett all the more determined to get as far away from the subject as possible. For both of their sakes.

Fortunately the bet served exactly that purpose. “A ball, huh?” Rhett repeated, scratching his chin as he took a swig. They’d happened before, but Rhett had never really attended. Why would he? He was only one of the groundskeepers and he didn’t really see why he should go without a date. Sure he’d stopped in once or twice but only if Bo had gone. Even then he’d only stopped by for a few minutes so it was as if h’d never been there in the first place. This would be the first time he’d actually go. "I reckon I can agree to that.” Rhett answered with a smirk. Then he leaned forward and arched a brow. “But what’s the catch?"

[Bo Jones]

Was it just the cook in Bo talking? He shrugged, not entirely certain himself when it comes down to it. That and there was that momentary darkness that took a little while to get shaken off. The bit about the ball seemed to be more or less doing the trick for right now. He watched his brother closely while Rhett worked his way through it.

"Yeah, you can sign on ta be a chaperone or take a date or somethin'. They usually open 'em up," Bo said, nodding. He'd been to more than his share of Bellefonte parties after all. The bit about catches had Bo leaning back, taking a sip of his drink and contemplating. "I guess we could set some kinda wager. Mebbe..." he paused, scratching his own chin, "whoever don't show up with a date's gotta be the one to try an' call the parents for Christmas."

Since going back home was still off the table, at least for the time being. Bo did at least try to contact them during the major holidays. So far... there hadn't been much in the way of success. At all.