something is eating at adriah.
inunaki can tell, from the way he sighs once every ten minutes, eyes glassy and distant. he doesn't speak much japanese either, staying close to their english-speaking teammates and relying on their assistant coach/unofficial translator. he isn't usually the first to leave, but nowadays, he is, often without saying goodbye, too.
hinata is first to ask. "hey, adriah," he says, kneeling beside him during a water break. inunaki eavesdrops, squirting water into his mouth. "is everything okay? you seem quieter than usual."
adriah gives him a small smile. "i'm fine. just feeling a bit homesick, i guess." oh, inunaki wouldn't have expected that.
"aw, is there some kind of holiday going on, or is it just in general?"
"in general. i dunno, it comes and goes, and playing volleyball is usually enough to forget about it, but..." he shrugs. "i've lived here for so long already, you'd think i'd have shaken it off already."
"being homesick isn't easy to get rid of," inunaki pipes up, joining them with his bottle in hand. "but you know what will? eating some banging ass food. what are you craving?"
coach blows his whistle to resume practice, the athletes lowering towels and water bottles, jogging back to the court. adriah does the same, but not without mumbling, "poutine."
the crown jewel of canadian cuisine, a dish so elusive outside of canada that even if you find it, nine times out of ten, it'll be awful and overpriced. inunaki had only tried it once while at a canadian pub in atlanta, and let's just say he wasn't impressed.
but it could possibly alleviate adriah's homesickness, well...he'll do his damn best to deliver.
adriah is first to leave practice again, so inunaki capitalizes on the opportunity to gather his teammates' attention in the locker room, hands together for a sharp clap. "all right, boys," he announces. "we're now commencing operation: make poutine for adriah."
confused looks jump from teammate to teammate. "what's that?" bokuto asks.
"a very canadian dish," meian answers. barnes is scrolling through his phone to find a picture to show to him. hinata and miya also look. "is that why he's been so quiet recently?"
"he's homesick and craving poutine," inunaki confirms. "we can hit two birds with one stone by making this for him."
sakusa is skeptical – but honestly, when is he not? "i don't think the ingredients will be easy to find."
"there's a shop that sells north american goods downtown," barnes says. "we can probably find everything there."
"maybe, but do we know how to make it?"
heads turn toward inunaki, who shrugs. "it's fries, cheese, and gravy. how hard can it be?"
meian's singular dry chuckle sends a shiver down his spine. "oh, i think we'll find out very shortly."
it shouldn't take so long to assemble all the ingredients, but it does.
first, the fries. these were easiest because barnes, all-american family man, brought an air fryer with him from america, and frequently makes restaurant-worthy fries for his kids. he agrees to do the same for the poutine.
second, the gravy. inunaki has never made gravy before, and googling somehow brought him to curry, which is definitely not the same. he finds a recipe online and takes a trip to the international market to find cans of beef and chicken broth and ask about cheese curds.
it’s because of the damn cheese curds that delays him. apparently, they aren’t available anywhere except from some guy in okinawa. he orders a shit ton and throws in a cheese set to go with wine because some days, you just really need cheese with wine.
finally, it’s time to cook. hinata and miya take adriah out to a retro arcade while barnes brings his air fryer over to cook in the shared house kitchen. bokuto insists on getting decorations, dragging sakusa out to donki. meian is on a quest to find ketchup chips.
“i’ve never seen ketchup chips anywhere but canada,” barnes remarks while peeling potatoes.
"i've seen tomato-flavored stuff, but it doesn't hit the same," inunaki agrees.
gravy takes the longest to make, especially since it's the quintessential part of poutine, aside from the cheese curds. inunaki is competent in the kitchen, but he wants to make this perfect, meticulous with his measurements, so not to burn it. "how're the fries?" he asks over his shoulder.
"coming along well. don't worry about me, just do what you need to do."
bokuto and sakusa return with red and white streamers and balloons. "check this out!" bokuto exclaims showing them a terribly tacky headband with maple leaves on springs. "sakkun said the canadian flag has a maple leaf, so we got it!"
the scent of gravy and fries soon blanket the air. inunaki grabs a handful to put in a bowl, adds some cheese curds, then drizzles gravy on top. the heat melts the cheese, bit by bit, and when he pulls fry from the stack, a long strand of melted cheese clings to it. his teeth crunches on the fry, gently moistened by the gravy, saltiness enhanced by the cheese. "holy shit."
barnes pops another fry, eyes widening with every bite. bokuto is about to take one too, but sakusa glares at him to wash his hands. they return from the sink, bokuto reaching for the longest fry, sakusa picking a shorter one. both their eyes light up. “woah,” bokuto says, grinning. “i think adriah will like this a lot.”
meian returns not with ketchup chips but a bottle of authentic maple syrup, as advertised on the maple leaf-shaped bottle. “do we use it to pour over the fries?” bokuto asks, tilting his head to the side.
“please do not tarnish the holiness that is poutine,” inunaki says, snatching the bottle from him. he examines the amber liquid through the glass. “what is adriah supposed to use this for?”
“pancakes?” meian suggests. “i heard hinata’s pancakes are legendary.”
they hastily clean up and put up the decorations, gathering in the kitchen mere minutes before the door of the shared house opens, miya announcing their return. “ooh, it smells good in here!” hinata calls excitedly, bouncing into view. adriah follows slowly, head raised to examine the decorations, teammates standing in front of the kitchen island.
“we made poutine!” inunaki takes his plate out from behind him, heaped with fries and cheese curds, steam rising from the hot gravy. “you said you were feeling homesick, so i thought this would help.”
adriah blinks rapidly, rooted in place, until miya nudges him forward. he stumbles, mumbling under his breath as he takes the plate and fork, spearing a fry and cheese curd. it’s slightly melted from the heat, squeaking as he bites into it. the air is heavy as they watch him chew and then swallow. his eyes lower to the plate. “shion, you really…”
“oh, yeah. it does.” he lifts his head, tears at the corners of his eyes. “it really does.”
the team cheers. barnes gestures for everyone to grab a plate to serve themselves, and bokuto passes off the headband to inunaki, something gleaming in his eye. inunaki roll his eyes in response, but takes it anyway, turning to adriah. “hey.”
he slides the headband on adriah’s head, suppresses a smile at how ridiculous he looks. “there. now you can eat your poutine in style.”
“great.” adriah’s chuckle is weak, forking another mouthful. “thanks, man. you didn’t have to do this.”
“nope, but i did it anyway.” and honestly, he wouldn’t mind doing it again and again, over and over, if only to see him smile.
