All right. Coulda used some hot sauce though, or fresh bell peppers.

[He can't help but smile at that, can't hide how pleased he is whenever he gets a compliment from Hardison. There's no point in even trying to play it off, he's genuinely happy when the people he cares about most enjoy the stuff he makes. Of course, he didn't expect Hardison to be here to taste this particular meal, but he always does his best in every aspect of his life, even with limited ingredients.

Except with what Hardison says next wipes the smile off his face.]

What the hell?

[Seriously, what the hell? How is that even possible? He's already seen the impossible here, but this is like, existential horror levels of impossible. Hinky is the nicest word for it.]

You're kiddin' me. That's impossible.

[But he trails off with the word impossible, because the impossible is real, here. There's an awful cold chill deep in his gut that makes him want to fight the whole town and tell it to stop doing this. He can't protect Hardison when the whole damn place is like this, he can't even protect himself.]

This place sucks.