valixnce:

^{Nostalgia: Everybody has that one dish that comes along with a side of nostalgia and a helpful serving of memories. What is that for your character? What are the memories, good or bad?}

<sup>He decided to stay at the small bed and breakfast a little more than he intended to. Usually, his routine called for an early departure followed by breakfast in the comfort of his home, but he remembered hearing about all the hype that surrounded the breakfast they served and he thought, why not? The pay for the room included it, so there was no reason not to peruse it. 

 When he stepped foot in the banquet place, his eyes trailed over the continental breakfast buffet they had set up and without another thought he had a plate and tray in hand and was piling everything. Banana, apple, yogurt, muffin, bread—jam. Rows upon rows of small pods of jams in every flavor marked the end of the buffet and he grinned, grabbing two different flavors and taking a seat. 

He started first with the apricot jam, one he favored as a child. It had been literal centuries since its cool, sugary stickiness overwhelmed his senses. Never would he forget the day he snuck to the back of the house where his mother left out a large pan of apricots sitting out in sun, drenched in sugar water. He was quiet, sneaky as he made his way to it, sticking one little finger into the mixture.

In that very moment his mother walked in.

“Leonard William Faraday!” she hissed, storming towards him, “How many times’ve I told you not to touch the jam until I’ve finished making it!”

Terrified, he wanted to run away, but his foot kicked the pan, causing his other foot to step on the rim of it and floop! 

A moment later Leo found himself on the ground, covered in apricots and sticky not-yet-jam substance. The pan rattled a short distance away. He froze, unable to comprehend what had just happened as he felt the goop dripping off him. Leo’s mother stood biting her lip before a small giggle bubbled out of her lips. Her face went stern, but Leo knew she was trying to hold in the laugh. He probably looked hideous. “M’sorry, m’really sorry, mum,” he said, wincing as he felt an apricot flop out of his hair into his lap. Sheepishly, he picked it up and popped it into his mouth, licking his fingers clean. “Tastes good at least? I’ll help you make a new one.”

She crouched next to him and picked up one of the apricots from his shoulder, taking a tentative bite from it. “You’re right,” she said, giving him a peck on the forehead, “but you taste even better.” Despite his messy state, he gave his mother a tight hug, and she gasped at the sticky fruit between them before pulling away and slapping him playfully on the head. “Let’s get washed up first and then you can help mum wipe the floors. We can think about going back to the market for more apricots after that.”
“Very well. Em…mum?”
“Yes, my love?”
“You’ve something…” he pointed to a small brooch his mother was wearing, but now it was completely concealed by a fat, drooping fruit. 
She lifted it off her shirt, her nose crinkled slightly, before throwing it back at his face. “Did you ‘ave to hug me, love? Of all times?” 

Leo laughed and tried to dodge the fruit, but it still hit him smack in the face. “M’sorry, m’sorry!” he squealed, running around as his mother pelted him with apricots, chasing him down to the stream. 

Leo smiled fondly at the memory as he chewed on the toast, the present world forgotten if only for a little while.</sup>