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Noah poked Al in the ribs again, laughing, and went to find him a shirt, giving in. There was a basket of clean laundry, and after a few moments of searching a clean (if slightly wrinkly) shirt was flung at Al.

Noah smiled. "You gave me that, but you can wear it today, it's clean," he said.

Noah hesitated, his lips parting just a little as he thought about how to answer that question. He could just say yes and leave it at that, but that didn't really cover it, not with full honesty. He didn't want to lie to Al about what Al had been like before - he didn't want to lie to Al at all, actually, and he was doing pretty good on that one, he thought. Lying about things was a good way to strain a relationship. Even if Al didn't remember, Noah would know.

"I'm a huge a** nerd," he said after a moment. "You too, but you didn't really -- like people to know that. I don't think it's anything bad," he added defensively.

Noah made a face at Al, relieved and annoyed all at once. He'd always kind of wished that Al wouldn't be so embarrassed about his nerdier interests, but now that that wish seemed to have been granted, he wasn't sure what to think. Al was still himself, but running up against the starker differences in his behavior was always jarring. It was a reminder that something had happened to him while he was missing, something that nobody really still understood.

He was pretty okay with the relaxed flirting, though. Al liked him and wasn't afraid to show it, even if they'd stepped back on other intimacies; the touching and open flirting helped, reassured Noah that he was still wanted. "Yeah well, is that why you try to annoy me," he retorted.

Noah looped his arm around Al's waist, used to the possessiveness and not resisting it. It embarrassed him sometimes still, but he liked it, too. He was okay with being known as part of a pair.

There weren't a lot of people in the halls, and only a couple of people in the kitchen at this time of day; dinner preparations would kick into gear in a couple of hours, but for now it was between major mealtimes and thus there were only the dishwashers finishing up. Noah slipped out from under Al's arm t o go to one of the big coolers to look for fruit.

Noah rummaged through the cooler for butter and eggs, and avoided looking straight at the bottle of maraschino cherries someone had stowed in the back. It was too red, too liquidy, and he had quickly learned to avoid anything that might remind him of things that he'd ... seen. Breaking down and curling up in a hyperventilating ball in public was embarrassing, although he'd seen it happen to other hunters now and then, and he was grateful that the most common reaction was to leave a person alone to get through it.

For now, the offending object was easy enough to ignore. He got out the eggs and butter he'd been looking for, and produced three apples out of a bag in the fruit bin. "Is three enough?" he asked Al. "Or did you need four?"

Noah dug out four apples and set them on the counter beside the butter and eggs. "Books? Like what kind of - cookbooks?" he asked, giving Al a curious glance. It had apparently not yet occurred to him that recipes might be among the things Al had forgotten.

"Oh," Noah said, his thought processes visible on his face as he realized what that meant and why, chagrin and embarrassment at having asked for something Al couldn't do now. "Um, okay, I'm sure there's something around, or on the intranet? I'll look." He hesitated, then scooted forward to kiss Al's cheek, sheepish. Then he started opening cabinets, checking the areas with the pots and pans and other kitchen tools first.