[PRP] Some Cozy s**t [FINISHED]

[Daisicle]

Dai

Quite some time had passed since Sven and Alborada had officially become a "thing," and he had to admit that it'd seemed to have brought a bit of color into his life. He hated to 'owe one' to anyone, but without Mena setting the two of them up, there was little chance they'd have noticed each other or otherwise taken a chance on a date. For that, he was grateful to his colleague.

At the moment, he was busy prepping vegetables for their at-home dinner date. He'd been quick to latch onto the fact that she enjoyed food, and he was good at making said food, so most of their dates had at least had some eating component to it. The plan was some dinner, maybe a walk, maybe some cuddling. Whatever she wanted, really. He'd be happy either way

Mene

Alba arrived at Sven's alcove right on time, and knocked three times on the door. They'd been growing more comfortable with each other, learning each other's quirks and preferences, but they hadn't yet gotten to the point where she felt comfortable walking into his home without knocking. Perhaps one day. She carried some folded fabric over one arm and tucked against her stomach. It was a gift; she'd taken up quilting recently as a hobby and had made him a bed runner--a decorative blanket that covered the foot of the bed only. It would add a little warmth, perhaps, but mostly it was for being pretty. She'd made it in alternating squares in colors she knew he liked, and the short ends had a bit of fringe to finish them. She was proud of her handiwork, as always, and excited to give it to Sven.

 

[Daisicle]

Dai

Sven'd had quite a bit of introspection as he prepared, but alas, various circumstances caused it to be lost by the time Alba's knocks reverberated in his alcove to announce her arrival.

He set his knife down onto the counter and rushed on over to let her in in a smile. "Good timing - I'm just finishing the preparations."

Mene

Alba greeted him with a kiss on the cheek, which had become customary for them shortly after becoming "official". "Wonderful," she responded. "When you're finished I have something for you."

Dai

Sven returned the kiss in kind before closing the door behind her. "That so?" He looked a bit more closely at her before adding on, "Is it the blanket you're carrying?" How romantic was he, pointing it out like that.

He returned to the kitchen area to finish the preparations and glanced back over. "Feel free to help yourself to some drink, or you can come help cook instead if you want." He didnt often invite her to help, but there were exceptions to anything

Mene

"Yes, it is," she agreed, draping it over the back of a chair and then tugging at one side slightly to straighten it out. Her eyebrows went up at the suggestion that she help. "You don't usually ask me to help," she observed. "Would you like me to help, or were you being polite?" Truthfully she had 0 intuition for cooking or food preparation, which is why she always went to the common dining area. Her alcove didn't even have a kitchen area (she'd opted for a larger bath area with a soaking tub instead). She could, however, take instruction, and she was trying to figure out if Sven was trying to make a romantic overture here. She had a brief fantasy of him standing behind her, his hands on hers, but waved it away. That wasn't really his style.

Dai

"Huh, looks pretty." He noted as he started cutting the last of the vegetables and then shrugged. "Bit of both I guess? I'm finishing up the preparations here, so, being a bit blunt, there won't be much left that you could ruin." He wasn't lying either. Tonight was a simple vegetable and potato hash - 80% of the work was just cutting the produce, which he was about to finish up.

 

[Daisicle]

Mene

"That's a relief," joked Alba, although there was a thick vein of truth there. "So what can I help with?" she asked, approaching the counter space and observing what he was doing and what was already done.

Dai

He was just finishing up the cutting as he responded. "If you could get the fire going for the stove, that'd be great. Then we'll add some oil to one of the pans and heat it up, and lastly cook the vegetables on it." Simple enough. He'd normally use animal fat instead of oil, but he'd been avoiding it more recently for obvious reasons.

 

[Daisicle]

Mene

Get a fire going? That Alba could do. She sincerely hoped, however, that he didn't expect her to do the rest of it. "Sounds good!" she agreed cheerfully. Alba knelt in front of the stove and started making a fire. When she finished, she closed the grate and stood up, brushing her knees off. "There," she said proudly, gesturing to her handiwork.

Dai

Meanwhile, Sven finished up the preparations, even including adding the oil to the pan. He thanked her as he set it atop the stove and began to wait it to heat up. "Would you like to give the cooking a try?"

Mene

Alba's cheeks flushed a little. "Well, I'll need a lot of coaching, but sure," she responded.

Dai

"Coaching? All you do is cook the vegetables on the pan. That's it." Seemed rather straightforward to him

 

[Daisicle]

Mene

A nervous chuckle escaped her lips. "You make it sound so easy." She moved toward the stove and peered into the pan. "Should I stir them while they cook? For how long? And how do I know when they're finished?" She gave him an apologetic look and shrug.

Dai

Sven nodded. "It shouldn't sound easy - it just is." Obvious statement of fact there. "Once the oil is hot, you add the vegetables, then let them cook. You don't need to constantly stir - it's not milk - but on occasion if they look like they need it. They're finished when they're soft but not overcooked. You can try a piece to test." He nodded once more, proud of his explanation. "If you'd like, I can add some eggs at the end once the vegetables are finished."

 

[Daisicle]

Mene

Alba was grateful for instructions, even if some parts were sort of vague. She supposed for Sven this was more of an art than a technical skill, and so she'd try her best. "Eggs sound great," she agreed at the end of his explanation.

Alba followed Sven's instructions as best she could, and the vegetables that resulted were totally edible, tasty even, and she'd only burned a few bits. Her face radiated with the sort of pride that only came from having success at something one wasn't confident with.

Dai

Sven did just that, waiting until Alba had taken her creation off the stove before adding a dash more oil and a few eggs. They were a curious new sort that had recently begun circulating laid by something called a "chicken," but he'd found them to be rather tasty.

And two for each of them went right on top of the portioned out hash.

He took a bite of the vegetables and, after a pause, he nodded once. "We can work with this."

Mene

It took a bit of willful misinterpreting to turn that last comment into a compliment, but Alba was going to take it. "Thanks," she responded cheerfully. "Guess I'm a real chef now," she teased.

Dai

Sven glanced up and reiterated, "We'll work on it," before gesturing for her to come on and start eating.

Following the meal, an enjoyable time of bantering and talking over average food, Sven graciously received the blanket Alba had brought over as a gift. They enjoyed the rest of the evening slowly and with some wine, and when it came time for her to leave the next morning, it has been time well spent.