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Patrick O'Ryan had been extremely busy. Work always was but ever since Halloween actually he had been running around helping out with friends. Everything from running errands, to helping cook, to decorations. He just really couldn't say no when it came to someone asking for some help so he had been looking forward to the date night he and Fiona had planned. A night with just the two of them. A nice dinner, maybe some dancing or window shopping or anything really. He liked spending time with her. She was normal! She was steady and kind and oh so normal. In this city of strangeness and insanity finding the time to just be average seemed like a luxury.

His phone buzzed just as he was heading out, a quick check of the screen had him turning back around even as he typed back.

[Text to Fiona: No worries. We can order takeout and watch movies. You grab the food, I'll grab the wine.]

He wasn't much of a wine drinker, or a drinker at all, but he had taken to keeping a bottle or two on hand for situations like these, that and they made handy hostess gifts when necessary. So it didn't take him long at all to tuck a new bottle under his arm and head out once more, glancing at the snow that had started to fall even as he slipped into his car. Eating in might not be a bad idea anyway he mentally said as watched the flurries coming down harder every passing second. His phone buzzed for a second time just as he was pulling out, Siri quickly relayed the message. His return text was a bit garbled, Siri wasn't very good at dictation, but its meaning was clear.

[Text to Fiona: Udder stool be there soon]

The house was actually a better choice since it was a little bit closer to his apartment then her flat and the speed at which the snow was falling really had Pat wondering just how much accumulating snow they would be seeing. It took him a bit longer then it would have on a dry clear day but not by too terribly much. Before the hour had even passed he was standing in the snow on Fiona's front steps, snow accumulating in his hair and on his jacket shoulders. He gave the doorbell a quick push and started to stomp off the snow from his shoes as he waited for her to answer, he definitely didn't want to track water all over her new house.

Pat didn't really have a chance to do much more then loose the shoe snow when the front door opened and Fiona stood there looking all cozy and cute. Like she was in one of those Hallmark movies where the leading lady was snuggling with a good book and a glass of wine while snow was falling softly outside. They had at least two things in common, the leading lady and the snow except theirs was more like a storm then a drift.

"Hey pretty lady." He was willingly pulled into a kiss. As they both pulled back from the kiss Pat smiled at her. "And I have the wine." He held out the bottle as he carefully slipped out of his jacket revealing his own 'date night' apparel, a soft gray sweater, a red collar peeking out of the neckline, paired with his ever present jeans and boots. Mindful of the new floors Pat quickly kicked his shoes off, leaving them on the mat, "Don't want to track snow all over the place. It looks great by the way." He glanced around, admiring the work that had gone into the house.

Pat smirked over at her, waggling his brows in a overly dramatic moment, "Well it was either this or the dress the guys at the firehouse picked out." He was only half serious. Once the guys at the house knew he was going out on a date tonight they practically beat each other in the rush to shove funny, embarrassing, and downright girly outfits at him. As if Pat would ever wear them. Only time anyone could get him in a skirt, outside of a kilt or specific cosplays, was when he lost a bet with his younger cousin. She played to win... and had a mean a** streak too. She had the pictures to prove it. "It was a real contender. All frilly and red with some white fur trimming the edges. Very Chrismas meets Victoria's Secret. I went with this because I didn't want you to get jealous." He teased her, his eyes sparkling with mirth and a little bit more as he watched her going and coming from the coffee table. Staying in wasn't such a bad idea at all.

"Any particular Christmas movie? It makes sense, after all it is the month for Holly Jolly songs, decorations, outfits, and movies" The idea of them snuggled up together on the couch, a old movie playing while a fire crackled in the hearth and twinkle lights adding a festive feel had Pat's mind veer towards a more personal activity. With gentle fingers under her chin he tilted her face up just a hair more before slowly coming in for a kiss. He wanted to give her a chance to pull away, to say 'no kisses right now' even if he didn't really want her to, it was up to her. "Either or, though I can't promise I won't want to try to get you to terry a bit in one of the rooms." He murmured softly just a fraction of an inch from claiming her lips in a kiss.

"I'll bring it next time." He promised as they got closer and closer. Pat pulled her in, his arms easily circling her waist even as he murmured, "It's a Wonderful Life," right before they kissed. The classic holiday film was a perfect title for that moment. A beautiful woman in his arms, happily kissing him, her fingers buried in his hair, and a night of more kissing likely. What could go wrong.

He reluctantly let her pull back, he didn't really want the kiss to end but apparently oxygen is needed to live so the kiss was broken. "Oh alright, if we must," he gently teased her as he let her go. "What did you order anyway? The roads weren't the best when I got here, if they don't show up soon it might not be-" Pat was cut off when the lights flickered a bit but remained on. He had a rather pensive look on his face as he studied the lights. "Fiona, call up the delivery place. If the guy is on the road see if you can get a ETA, if not then tell them to stay there. If your lights are flickering the weather is worse then I thought and it's not safe to be driving."

Trying to break any tension that might have formed he glanced at Fiona and waggled his brows, "I would be might honored ifn I could make us dinner. That is you will let a rapskallion into your kitchen." With a laugh, a bit forced but a laugh none the less, he backed up far enough to do an exaggerated bow. "This nitwit has been known to make a mighty fine meal. One fit for a bunch of bums atleast." He always seemed to get the meal rotation at the firehouse at least so he knew that he could whip something up for them, he just hoped that the power really didn't go out since that would make things pretty dicey.

"Your wish is my command." Pat joked as he stood up straight and clicked his sock clad heels like he was some general, or butler. Chinese would have been good if the weather had been better and if they were pretty close then it was still possible the driver wasn't out yet. It would have been fun to try to feed her with chopsticks, or for them to have a chopstick fight over a dumpling or something, but this weather wasn't anything to mess around with. As Fiona dialed the number for the Chinese place he nodded and made his way to the really well designed kitchen, all jovality falling from his face the moment he was away from Fiona's view.

He poked in more than just her fridge, he went through every cabinet and drawer as well. She definitely had enough to cook with but she didn't have a junk drawer yet. At Least not in the kitchen. With a frustrated sigh Pat glanced out the window and noticed something really worrisome. The glass seemed to have a bit of film on it. Some kind of build up. As he got closer he realized what it was. It was ice. Ice was building up on the window. If it really was ice then Pat prayed the Chinese driver hadn't left yet since that meant the roads were deadly not just dangerous.

The lights flickered again as he was heading back to Fiona, "You have candles? I was looking for a junk drawer but couldn't seem to find it. Eating by candle light would be so romantic right?" His suggestion was twofold. Yes candlelight would set a mood he was more than willing to capitalize on but it would also give them much needed light and warmth if the power went out. "Any word on the driver? You have more than enough for me to muddle my way through a meal if he hasn't set out yet." He paused a moment, mentally debating if he should worry her or not before adding in a serious voice, "It's starting to ice up. Driving isn't safe and honestly... Power isn't guaranteed so if you have the supplies it might be best to atleast get it someplace where we can get our hands on it if it's needed." He didn't want to worry her but he also didn't want them to have to scramble for light, blankets, or food.

Pat just smiled, tempted to return the nose kiss with a full kiss of his own but he didn't, he let her pull away and happily holding her hand, they had all night anyway. Sadly he gently tugged her to a stop when she started to pull them both towards her room, he brought their linked fingers to his lips and gave them a quick kiss before explaining, "Fiona you get the candles and if you can, get the fireplace going. I'll start the food. If I follow you right now, in there, well we might get distracted." He shrugged and smiled sadly even as the lights flickered again. Had it been a normal night he would have gladly let her lead him anywhere she wanted but they could lose power at any point and he really didn't want to leave her scrambling for warmth, light, and food. So with a sigh he let her hand go and started to turn back towards the kitchen before pausing and kissing her.

He didn't really think about it before he kissing her. He just really wanted to. He wished that he didn't have to think about the immediate future, that he couldn't just follow her to get the candles. He didn't mind the cooking so much but the knowledge that he needed to try to make something fast and easy because at any point the power would go out and cooking over a fire was a serious pain in the a**. If it wasn't for the storm he would have gladly cooked a complicated, delicious meal, at least as best as he could. Pat's cooking repertoire was large simple dinners that dozens of guys ate. Now he was wishing that he had actually practiced making things more fancy if only for moments like this. When he pulled away from the kiss he lingered just a little longer, "I don't want to but I really should start."

God how he wanted to follow her. How he wanted her to convince him to ‘do something stupid’ but Pat was ever the pragmatic one. First deal with the pressing issues then dally over the more… carnal desires. With a soft sigh Pat nodded and turned away to head back to the kitchen, already planning a simple meal from the ingredients he spotted earlier. Baked chicken breast over spaghetti and red sauce with garlic bread and salad. Over all a simple yet well rounded meal, even better since it would be simple to either eat cold or reheat over a fire. As he strode into the kitchen he pulled off the sweater, leaving him in the simple red polo, not wanting to make a mess of it and left it hanging on the back of a chair. First the sauce. The guys got jared crap but for Fiona, he would make it from the beginning… well mostly.


Once he had everything gathered, the oven preheating, and a pot to fit it all in he started, muttering to himself as he measured everything out, “tomato sauce... tomato paste… seasoning... parsley... garlic powder…” He faded off as he added the last few ‘first step’ ingredients, quickly stirring to combine and while he waited for it simmer he turned to the onion that he needed to get chopped and cooked. Technically it would be made with ground beef but Pat didn’t spot any, he saw the chicken breast and decided to change it up. With the onion going in the small sauce pan and the base of the sauce slowly heating he turned to the chicken. “Um,” Not entirely sure now he did a quick search on the phone and soon was following the instructions he found, “Olive oil… Sea salt.” Pat looked at the bottle of himalayan salt that he had found and shrugged. It wasn’t like there was much difference. He had no idea what Creole seasoning, or even if Fiona had it, was but since it was to taste he just used the Italian seasoning from the sauce. And that was it, simple! That went into the oven to cook as he added the finished onions to the sauce along with water, leaving it all to simmer.


Moving as fast as he could Pat moved on to the next thing all the while humming Ten Minutes Ago from Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella. He didn’t realize he was doing it at all or he wouldn’t be. He never realized that he tended to hum musicals as he worked on simple things like cooking or sewing or when he was hiking.

((the sauce, the chicken, and garlic bread))