AriaStarstone - Today at 11:29 AM
Seren was sitting comfortably in the kitchen, two plates set up with towels over them to keep them warm. She'd waited, honestly, to cook until she'd gotten the text from him that he was going to be done soon.

She'd made burgers, and fries, something she hadn't made in awhile. She hoped they would be something he was in the mood for. She was quietly reading her latest astronomy book, curled up in the chair in a way that really seemed like someone of her height shouldn't be able to manage... She'd managed the cat like feat of squeezing herself into a space she was too big for.
Pao - Today at 12:09 PM
Pod duty ended a little later than he would have liked, but he did shoot her that text to let her know that he was gonna be a little later than planned. Still, a half hour wasn't too bad, and once he was all done he hurried over to the kitchen and carefully opened the doors this time so he didn't accidentally knock her flat on her a** again.

The scent of burgers was in the air as soon as he opened those doors though, and his more or less whatever expression brightened sighnificantly. When his eyes landed on Seren (because they were on the plates first--priorities, clearly) he gave her a smile and closed the doors behind him before stalking over.

"Sorry, you wait long?"
AriaStarstone - Today at 12:18 PM
She looked up at the doors opening, her eyes distant and hazy from being lost in her book. Her almost dreamy expression landed on him, and it shifted from that to a warm, bright smile of welcome. "Rhys! Hey. Not too long, the food should still be hot. I just brought my book in case." She unfolded herself, making her page with a ribbon she'd turned into a bookmark, and sat up, stretching her back out so that it popped a few times.

"I'm sorry your pod duty went long on you, though. Pod duty, UGH. What happened, some idiot show up late for shift, or a last minute hatching?" She used the term she had first used the night she met him in a joking tone, to make it clear she did remember the proper term.
Pao - Today at 12:43 PM
He was maybe a little curious about the dreamy look she had on when she first looked up but just pocketed it again. It was amusing though, and the little huff he did when he saw it said as much. Rhys got the to table and took a seat in front of one of the plates, chuckling at her use of the word before shrugging as he recalled the incident.

"Something beeped when it wasn't supposed to so we all had to stay back and go over the whole shift in case something happened." He snorted. "Nothing happened, the thing just ********' ran out of batteries and was tellin' us to replace 'em."
AriaStarstone - Today at 12:48 PM
She was curious about his huff, unsure what was so amusing. She hadn't made any jokes or anything, so it was odd. But not so odd that it worried her, so she just gave him a bemused look.

"For ******** sake. A damn battery? They need a better way to check that s**t. Ugh, lame. I'm sorry. It's done now, though, so eat." She, for once, beat him to the punch, picking up a few fries and popping them in her mouth with a happy sound.
Pao - Today at 1:23 PM
It wasn't long before he joined her, popping a fry before carefully picking up the burger and taking a bite. He did that groaning thing again, but only very briefly because he had fries to distract him. After a couple of bites he washed it down with some water and shrugged.

"Late, but I know, right? A half hour for a ********' battery."

Still, it wasn't the worst of things and this meal and her company were definitely helping, so he kept on eating to forget about the lot of it.
AriaStarstone - Today at 1:28 PM
She smiled a little, and tried to ignore the groaning that he made, though she found herself shifting in her chair a bit. Those noises were... distracting. He kept doing it around her, too, and it wasn't fair. It was a good thing she'd never found anything that made her foodgasm, or she might attempt a little revenge at some point.

Wait, chocolate cake. Maybe... chocolate cake... If she could get good raspberry preserves...

She focused on eating, though, her eyes half closed, keeping an eye on him as she ate. She loved seeing him enjoy the food she made. It made her feel warm, and happy inside.
Pao - Today at 1:39 PM
He was done in maybe record time, as far as the food she made him was concerned. A good burger was surprisingly hard to come by on the island (not really) so when he found one he enjoyed, he enjoyed it by just scarfing it down. He sat back and worked on what was left of his fries though, occasionally sipping his water.

"So," he said after putting his cup down. "I mean, I said I would so I got you a little something. Wanna swing by and pick it up? It was supposed to go straight to your door but some mix-up...whatever." He obviously sounded a little irritated by it still.
AriaStarstone - Today at 1:43 PM
She was swallowing the last of her fries, with a bit over half her burger left when he spoke. She looked up, surprised, at him. She had almost forgotten his promise, but having it brought back up... Despite not expecting anything, despite not understanding the way he felt about this, the notion that he HAD a present for her left her with a look of child-like excitement and happiness on her face.

"I... yes! Thank you. Let me finish up..." She beamed happily at him, possibly the brightest smile she'd ever given anyone in her life, and then began to work on her burger with a serious focus, still bright faced with happiness.

For the moment, all thoughts of revenge had fallen away.
Pao - Today at 1:56 PM
The irritation was gone when she suddenly beamed at him, such a smile he couldn't imagine she'd ever give unless there was really, really good reason. "Guess I did good," he said, smiling to himself as he took another sip of water. Watching her eat at the pace she was doing was pretty surprising too (and more amusing), and he made sure to nudge her glass of water towards her to remind her to not choke.

He popped his fries slowly and waited for her to finish her food patiently, stuck in his head a little bit. He was busy imagining her various reactions, mostly wondering if she'd smile at him like that again.
AriaStarstone - Today at 1:59 PM
She blinked at the water, and winked at him to indicate she'd noticed it, and finished soon, before drinking the water down. She set the cup down with a happy sigh, and stood up, gathering the dishes to go wash them. The sooner washed, the sooner they could leave. She moved with a bouncy, happy step, lost in her curiousity as to what it could be and the pure joy of 'he got me a gift! This is amazing!'

She had the dishes sparkling in no time flat, in fact, and then turned to face him, still bright faced. "Ready to go?"
Pao - Today at 2:03 PM
The wink nearly had him drop his cup, but he snapped out of it fast enough so that didn't happen. And the rest of the time in the kitchen she was moving a lot faster and a lot bouncier than normal...it was good but kind of freaking him out. And amusing him at the same time. He watched her curiously from where he sat when she asked if he was ready.

"Uh, yeah," he chuckled and got up, moving toward the door and opening it. "Let's go."
AriaStarstone - Today at 2:08 PM
She didn't realize how much of an effect her excitedness had on him. She was just super happy, and so she walked to the door, sliding out it. She waited for him to join her, before heading down the path to the dorms, her step still eager and bouncy. She was humming a soft tune, too.

She did, however, remember to wait at the door, despite being so excited.
Pao - Today at 2:13 PM
It wasn't often that she was actually ahead of him whenever they walked together--height difference and all that--so this time around it was a little strange that she was walking ahead. Possibly fortuitous for some reasons, but he kept those thoughts at bay and just followed along, smiling and taking bigger strides to catch up quickly when he saw that she was waiting by the door.

"Something good happen?" he asked with a smirk as he let her in first then shut the door to keep the rain out. He paused to shake the rain off of his own coat before heading toward the stairs.
AriaStarstone - Today at 2:14 PM
She laughed up at him, and his question, shaking her own coat off. "I can't help it. Presents are... Rare." She didn't say more, avoiding anything that would spoil her mood. At the stairs, though, she paused, side eyed him, and then muttered "******** it. I've been wanting to do this..." And hopped her a** up on the banister, and slid the whole way down, laughing the whole way.
Pao - Today at 2:19 PM
From the top of the stairs she could probably hear him straight out busting a gut, and when he finally caught up to her he was smiling wide and rather goofy. When his eyes fell on her he was laughing all over again, and he slung his arm over her shoulder again and kept her close this time.

"Still ********' surprising me, what the helll," he said after he managed to calm down. "I think presents might be less rare for you going forward, just sayin'."
AriaStarstone - Today at 2:25 PM
She blushed, hearing him laugh, but not at all offended. His arm on her shoulder made her smile again, and she happily stayed at his side. She liked being there.

"What can I say? I'd never had a chance before. Finally can, so I took it. Perfect mood for it." His comment about then being less rare earned him a smile of wonder and joy, as they moved towards his door.
Pao - Today at 4:44 PM
He considered her reasoning and gave a small nod, smiling still as they went. It wasn't long before they made it to his door and he had to let her go to get his key, unlocking and opening it to let her in first.

Inside she would notice that he'd put the half-wall made of boxes back in place, and that on top of one of those boxes was a much smaller box. It was still sealed and looked like it had a rough go during delivery.
AriaStarstone - Today at 4:48 PM
She walked in, and glanced around, noting the box wall, and the smaller box. She eyed it and said "Right. Note to self, do not get anything delivered here that is _fragile." She didn't grab it, making no assumptions about it being whatever it was, and turned to face Rhys curiously.
Pao - Today at 4:56 PM
"Yeah," he snorted as he brushed past her and grabbed the box. The label was very faded but still readable if one tried. Rhys hadn't, of course, but gladly handed it over assuming it was the right box.

"Here ya go. Hope you like 'em, I think you'd look really good in 'em."
AriaStarstone - Today at 5:02 PM
Seren beamed up at him, and managed to work the tape open, leaning back against the Not-Box wall, before popping the lid open. She hadn't paid attention to the label either, and just trusted it to be fine.

She looked inside and then her eyes went wide. Very wide. Her cheeks went red. She closed the box, examined the label, then said, in a strangled tone "I think they sent you the wrong item, Rhys." She didn't know what else to do, but handed it to him, staring very carefully at the wall.
Pao - Today at 5:10 PM
He sat carefully on the box-wall, watching her as she worked past the tape and into the contents of the box. The sudden red that her face turned confused him, even more so when she handed him back the box.

"What, did you n--" he stopped when looked inside the box, and then the label to properly read it. It wasn't his name in the sender's information, and it wasn't Seren's name in the recipient's information. He paused and stared for a momrent, then casually closed the box back up.

"Yeah, wrong box." Because no, he would not order a thong for her. At least not right now...though he tucked that thought away, too.
AriaStarstone - Today at 5:14 PM
"Um." She scratched the back of her head, still staring red faced at the wall. "Perhaps you should contact whoever you ordered it from, and get things fixed. If you want, I can put that in my room, so if anyone comes over, like Joy, you don't have to worry about them accidentally finding a box with... lady's undergarments in it sitting in your room. Once you know what to do regarding fixing their mix up, I can return it then?" Her words were flat-honest, clearly thinking about how awkward it would be if some one DID.

She wasn't going to admit that part of her wanted to wear it... and have him accidentally see. No. That was not a thought for dealing with.
Pao - Today at 5:21 PM
Most of what she said was registering and he moved to pass the box to her before taking it back, very careful not to meet her eye. "No, I think it should be fine. Joy wouldn't randomly...open boxes...right?" She wouldn't, and if it wasn't something like that he would have not minded at all either way.

He dropped the box on the box-wall and cleared his throat. "So...I'll text you when I get the right one?"
AriaStarstone - Today at 5:26 PM
She blinked a little and nodded. "Ah yeah. Yeah that would be best. Um." She scratched her head again, and then, despite the redness on her face and the awkwardness of the situation, she gave him a sweet smile. "Not your fault, after all. I appreciate the fact that you did get me something, even if an idiot ******** up along the way."
Pao - Today at 5:29 PM
Rhys had glanced her way around the time she smiled and couldn't help smiling back. The shade of red on her cheeks coupled with that smile was pretty disarming, and what she said only added to that effect.

"Thanks. Hopefully won't happen next time. s**t..."
AriaStarstone - Today at 5:34 PM
"Yeah. I doubt it, especially if you harrass them hard enough." She tried to put a light spin on it. "At least they sent it in a celestial pattern?" She sighed, realizing it was probably awkward but shrugged again. "I think... I'm gonna head home, k? Need to rewrap my brain around reality after that sudden ******** - Today at 5:42 PM
He actually hadn't thought about the fact that the pattern was still fitting, so when he did he felt his ears burning a bit hotter. At her suggestion to leave he nodded and moved toward the door, again brushing against her as he went.

"I'll text you, like I sai--yeah."
AriaStarstone - Today at 5:43 PM
She shivered a little, when he brushed against her, and hoped he didn't notice. Once he opened the door, she gave him a small, sweet smile, then headed out the door and to her rooms.

That had been surprisingly awkward.