Challenge Accepted by [livejournal.com profile] domesticadvs for <user site="livejournal.

Mar. 18th, 2015 11:07 pm
[identity profile] springflingmod.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] spn_springfling
Title: Challenge Accepted

Pairing: Dean and Sam, gen

Rating: G

Any warnings: None



--



The average episode of Chopped runs for forty-two minutes without commercials. It takes Sam and Dean two hours to get through the first episode of Chopped they watch together.



Dean starts watching by himself one Saturday morning when they’re between hunts, and his passionate shouting at the screen eventually draws Sam in.



They start watching together a few episodes into the first season. Dean pauses while the contestants are cooking to explain the premise to Sam. “So there are three rounds, right? Appetizer, entree, dessert. Each round has a few ingredients that have to be incorporated into the dish in one way or another.”



“Okay?” Sam says, clearly not getting the incredible implications. “That doesn’t sound particularly difficult.”



“Yeah, well, it’s all timed, too, so they have to rush to get everything plated before the clock runs out. And it’s not like you can just--” Dean gestures vaguely-- “toss everything on the plate. You’re supposed to transform the ingredients.”



“Yeah, right,” Sam says. He sounds unimpressed, but he sits down next to Dean at the table nonetheless, watching as the contestants are introduced.



They make it all the way through the cooking phase for the appetizer round before Dean pauses again. It turns out Dean has about a thousand things he would have done differently. “First of all, no goddamn salads,” he says. Sam raises an eyebrow. “What? Serving the judges a salad during the appetizer round is just...Look, it’s just not something anyone should do, all right? Trust me on this.” Dean runs through a whole slew of possible dishes he could have made based around crab meat, mushrooms, grapefruit, and bran cereal, all of them sounding delicious and none of them involving iceberg lettuce.



“Wow,” Sam says. “I’m actually kind of impressed.”



“Did you forget all those years I spent cooking for you or what? Pretty sure I made about a hundred unique versions of mac and cheese. Not to mention the magic I could work with canned goods and a few spices.” Dean shrugs nonchalantly before pressing play.



The marathon goes a little faster with each new episode, when Sam and Dean start talking over what they quickly realize is rather useless narration. About halfway through the season, Sam pipes up during one of the appetizer rounds. “Another fucking salad? C’mon.”



Dean looks delighted. “I told you.”



By the halfway point, Sam and Dean have both developed a hatred for truffle oil. Contestants inevitably insist on incorporating it into their dishes, always to ill effect. The fifth time it happens, Sam rolls his eyes dramatically, throwing his hands in the air. “Oh my god,” he half yells at the screen, “not the truffle oil again. The judges are going to hate it! Have you even watched this show?”



They become increasingly judgmental as the marathon continues. Sam appreciates the artistry that goes into plating the dishes, but Dean cares more about the flavor, lamenting that he can’t taste the dishes himself and is instead forced to rely on the sparse comments made by the judges.



What really pisses Dean off, though, is that sometimes the contestants will use garnishes you can’t eat. “First of all,” he explains, “it’s fuckin’ wasteful. And second, it’s just pointless.”



Even Sam is on board with that, shaking his head at contestants using plain lettuce or parsley or rosemary in a desperate attempt to add interest to their dishes. “Not even I would eat that,” Sam admits. What bothers him even more, though, is when contestants use non-basket ingredients as the focal point of a dish or fail to transform ingredients at all, just tossing them on like an afterthought. “Seriously?” Sam says at one point. “You’re going to just throw the caramel candies straight onto the plate? Wow. Way to miss literally the entire point of the show.”



There’s a brief reprieve when they reach episode nine, where the appetizer ingredients are boxed mac and cheese, artichokes, and tilapia. “I would fucking rock this round,” Dean says. Sam nods his agreement.



They’re quickly back to their constant commentary after that, though. The contestants who are executive chefs tend to annoy Dean the most. Granted, not all of them are bad, but some obviously feel they’re entitled to be jerks to everyone else on the show, as if working at some fancy restaurant gives them free reign to constantly berate the other contestants, condescendingly reference their classical training at every available opportunity, and talk back to the judges.



Sam understands Dean’s annoyance, but what bothers him more are the melodramatic characterizations of the contestants. He refuses to believe these people really exist as they’re portrayed on the show, seemingly reduced to one key personality trait or motivation -- they’re bold, or they’re doing this to prove themselves, or they’re doing it for a dead relative, or they want the money so they can finally pursue their dream. Not that any of those things are invalid, but Sam has met so many people during the course of his life that he knows people can never be boiled down to one thing. People are hugely complex, and the idea that they’re forced into these narratives for the sake of entertainment offends him to his very core.



Sam and Dean get so caught up in marathoning the episodes, thoroughly enjoying them in spite of all their flaws, that they make it through the entirety of the first season without even registering the fact that over ten hours have passed and they haven’t eaten the entire time. It’s nearly midnight by the time they finish, and they’re hit with the sudden realization they were supposed to do the grocery shopping today.



When they make their way to the kitchen, all they can find is a single container of key lime yogurt, a sad-looking bag of wilted green beans, a half-eaten package of rainbow sour belt candy, and a few slices of sharp cheddar.



Sam looks dismayed, but Dean surveys the ingredients with a grin.



“Basically spent the entire day preparing for this,” he says. “Challenge accepted.”


Date: 2015-03-19 07:22 am (UTC)
frozen_delight: (sammy smile)
From: [personal profile] frozen_delight
This was cute and funny.

Date: 2015-03-19 07:32 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] marciaelena.livejournal.com
LOL, cute. It's nice to see them having a break of all the angst and the monsters they deal with on a daily basis.

Date: 2015-03-19 11:07 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] troll-la-la.livejournal.com
Love the boys watching TV obsessively, and this seems like just the kind of thing that Dean would want to take on (if he was an actual contestant what would they make of him!)

Date: 2015-03-19 11:43 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sophiap.livejournal.com
Awwww.... I'm a sucker for any reference to Dean's cooking skills. Also, I can so see them reacting JUST this way while marathoning Chopped.

Date: 2015-03-19 12:40 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jennytork.livejournal.com
*punches the air with a whoop and dances* THANK YOU!!!!

This was JUST what I needed after the week I've had so far!! THANK YOU for a perfect story at the perfect time!

Date: 2015-04-02 04:31 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] domesticadvs.livejournal.com
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the inspiration to write something happy and fun :)

Date: 2015-03-19 01:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] road-rhythm.livejournal.com
There’s a brief reprieve when they reach episode nine, where the appetizer ingredients are boxed mac and cheese, artichokes, and tilapia. “I would fucking rock this round,” Dean says. Sam nods his agreement.

Oh, man, I needed those warm-fuzzies. Great fill, fun and angst-free and in-character.

Date: 2015-03-19 05:01 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] madebyme-x.livejournal.com
Light, sweet and funny! This hit the spot perfectly, I love a good slice of life fic. Thank you for brightening my day!! :)

Date: 2015-03-19 05:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cydsa.livejournal.com
I loved every word

Date: 2015-03-19 09:38 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lysanatt.livejournal.com
Heh, I was reading this in between watching Hell's Kitchen and doing the dishes. I might appreciate it for the cooking theme alone, but no matter what, I loved the domestic scenes. Great look into their relationship.

Date: 2015-03-20 03:01 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] deirdre-c.livejournal.com
Ha! Super cute domestic!boys! :)

Date: 2015-03-21 05:57 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] somersault-j.livejournal.com
ROFL This was awesome!! Loved how invested they BOTH got!! Loved it :D

Date: 2015-03-21 08:12 pm (UTC)
sillie: (BigBang2010AmriaDean)
From: [personal profile] sillie
Hahaha, that was awesome. Love them watching tv together and yelling at the screen. Also, Dean's totally gonna rock that challenge. :')

Date: 2015-03-23 02:31 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tifaching.livejournal.com
Gahhhh, SO GOOD! Dean cooking is such a kink of mine and he and Sam getting so into this show is a fantastically in character thing for them to do.

Date: 2015-03-23 09:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fiercelynormal.livejournal.com
Chopped: Supernatural Edition. Perfect!

Date: 2015-03-24 01:35 am (UTC)
colls: (SPN Dean_nomnomnom)
From: [personal profile] colls
This is a perfect slice of life story! I love it when they get some down time and the cooking references and TV marathon was inspired.

Date: 2015-03-24 04:16 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] blackrabbit42.livejournal.com
I can totally see how Dean would love Chopped. This makes me happy, thinking of them watching and shouting at the tv.

Date: 2015-03-27 09:23 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] theymp.livejournal.com
Nicely done. Never heard of this show, but I do get sucked into these cookery competition type things - I love the idea that Dean would be so into this and Sam ends up being pulled into it too. And I totally agree with Sam's assessment of the focus on the 'backstory'

Date: 2015-03-30 05:33 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] glovered.livejournal.com
I love Chopped! This was so cute :3
Page generated Jul. 13th, 2025 10:04 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios