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 Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 7:06 pm
"Birthday party?" Toby asked. He straightened and shook his head with a grin, "No, I don't do birthday parties. Usually I go out to dinner with friends, maybe drink a bit." He hadn't had an actual party since before his transformation. No presents, no cake, just friends and food. He was happy with that. Really he'd forgotten it was so soon.
"You didn't make this with me last time, did you? Come here."
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 7:12 pm
"Yes," Maia said, "I have a present for you and I want to bake you a cake. It can be just you me and Dari, if you like. Early in the day, then you can still go out with friends." She smiled at him. "See? I've got it all worked out."
She moved closer to him. "Nah, you made this when we cleaned the house," she said, smiling at the memory.
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 7:18 pm
"Well you're invited to come out to dinner too!" Toby insisted. It wasn't like his loved ones didn't get to come when he went to eat with good friends. "Thank you for the thought." It made him feel a little warm and fuzzy actually. He hadn't had a girl in his life on a birthday since Carolyn, not unless Dari counted.
"Okay. I'm going to teach you my mom's biscuit recipe. We're from the South, you know. I grew up in South Carolina, then we moved to Massachusetts when I was sixteen. I like to think I've still got a little Southern Boy in me." He said the last sentence with a pronounced Southern accent.
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 7:26 pm
"I'm still making you a cake," Maia said, smiling at him. "I'll come to dinner then."
His mom's recipe. Well, he'd said this meal was special to him. That was why she'd suggested it. She kissed his cheek. "You do. When you're being eaten by selkie-sharks at the lake." His accent had come out then, too. "I like that bit," She added. "What do we need for the recipe?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 7:32 pm
"The accent?" Toby asked, "Really? Usually it's just good to make people laugh, but it's my native tongue. Okay, we need...flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, butter, milk...and shortening, why the hell not. I think I have some." He started getting out the tools they needed, trusting Maia to know how to mix dry ingredients without the wet or damp first.
"So. what does this all mean?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 7:38 pm
"It's nice. It's a part of you." Maia seemed surprised that people would laugh at it. "Like gaelic's a part of me." She started getting the ingredients he listed, getting most of it out of the cupboard and waiting on the milk and butter. She looked to Toby.
"What's what mean?" She asked.
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 7:44 pm
"All of this," he said, gesturing around them, "You coming home, mutual attraction... us. What does it mean?" He paused, held up a hand and decide to reword his thoughts. "I mean what do you want it to mean? What do you want from this?"
He began to measure the flour into a bowl, then offered Maia some measuring spoons. "Quarter teaspoon soda, three and a half teaspoons powder, almost one of salt."
It was two conversations all at once, and he wouldn't trade it for the world.
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 7:53 pm
Ah. The big question of the day. "Well," she paused, moving closer to him. "I think it means that we'll be happy. We're together now," She smiled up at him. "Remember when I first met you and I told you we were going on a date? Well. We're going on a date." She started measuring things out as instructed. "More than one." Was it too soon to tell him she loved him? She didn't want to ruin this, it was new and beautiful. It felt delicate.
"What do you want from all this?" she asked, turning the question back on him.
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 8:18 pm
Toby laughed and pointed at Maia.
"I stand by the fact that that was not a date," he said, beginning to measure out the wet ingredients and their fatty counterparts. "I do think we've been on dates before, though. It feels like we have. This doesn't feel like a beginning."
He began to mash the butter and shortening into the dry ingredients with his fingers. Pastry cutters only did so much.
"Well. I definitely have feelings for you." More than that, but maybe it was too soon? "I'd like to be your boyfriend, if you'll have my stupid, stubborn a**."
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 8:28 pm
"The carnival," Maia said, musingly. That'd felt like a date. "The lake." She smiled at him. "We've been dating for a while now."
Boyfriend. She stopped what she was doing and turned to hug him. "You're not stupid," She insisted. Stubborn, yes. But then, so was she. "That makes me your girlfriend." She was positively beaming at him. "What do we need for the gravy?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 8:31 pm
Toby grinned at Maia's sudden pause and her hug. His hands were too much of a mess to return the hug, but he did raise up into it to press against her just a bit. "Yes, that does."
Gravy? OH. Food. Right. They were cooking.
"Sausage, milk, flour, seasonings. It's very simple. You can do it to taste."
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 8:37 pm
"You can tell Dari when he gets home," Maia smirked at him. Dari would be so pleased with himself. She'd have to get him a bag of marshmallows when they went shopping.
Maia looked in the cupboard for seasonings, they already had the flour out. "Do we have sausage?" she asked, opening the fridge and peering in.
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 8:46 pm
"We should," Toby said. It was a quick cook-up usually, it didn't remind him of Maia too much. At least that had been the thought. Ah, it was already back to "we." He liked that.
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 9:09 pm
After eating, after the wash-up, Toby had suggested a movie. Of course his intention wasn't actually to find entertainment but to enjoy his time with Maia. He had plopped down on the couch and opened his arms, inviting Maia to take whatever station she liked, and he grinned when she ended up in his lap. He rested his chin on her shoulder while they chose a movie, so casual, laughing like it had been before Maia had ever admitted her affections. It was back to normal, but with the fantastic addition of openly becoming a couple. Toby kept his arms around her, leaning in close, occasionally smooching the top of an ear or simply pressing his cheek against her to feel her close.
He was noticing odd things he hadn't seen before. Her shoulders, for example. Her neck. The pattern of her freckles. Mostly, though, it was the solidity of her and her warmth. He almost felt tears coming again, happy ones this time. Oh, he had missed this. This was what life was about.
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 9:16 pm
Toby pressed against her, not having to worry about selkie love or keeping emotions secret, this was the happiest Maia had ever been. It was perfect; in a way they were back to the way they'd been before she'd left, but so much better.
She wasn't paying much attention to the movie, to be honest. Her eyes kept trying to spot Toby.
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