Ariia Starstone
It did not take too long to get him properly moisturized, and soon she was helping him get dressed, before dressing properly herself. Once that was done, she considered the situation. "Alright. It'll be awhile before Dai arrives. Do you want to go down and have breakfast, then go out to enjoy the snowfall, since we don't know when it will end? It do you want to wait for Dai?"

She figured once they were downstairs, that was where they'd stay until after dinner, to avoid having to go back to and down. They were the only ones staying at the house today, even those who had chosen not to go home for the holidays were going other places to celebrate with friends or local family... And as such it was fine to take over the living room until pretty late.

iits_ p a o
"Downstairs," he said after a minute of thought. "But before that, I wanted to give you your present before Dai gets here." He was already starting to get up, and once he got up he made his way over to his nightstand. Opening the drawer, he pulled out a small box, wrapped in shiny silver paper that had a small bow that sort of matched the blue in her eyes. He took a seat on the bed at that point, a little winded with the effort, and looked over at her.

"Not that I mind him being around but I figured I could save him from a bit of the PDA..." He chuckled at that, and held out the present for her. "It's just a little something, but I thought you'd like it."

Ariia Starstone
"Alright..." She said, pausing and waiting, watching him move with some concern. She wasn't going to interfere, but she worried every moment, because he looked like it was so hard on him. She hated seeing him push himself this hard, but she understood, too.

When he sat down, she came over to join him, and gently accepted the box, as she listened. His words earned him a cheek kiss, then she opened up the package, pulling out the packet about the membership to the Planetarium first. It was set up for a couple, so they could even go together, and her expression was filled with delight. She gave a quick glance over the information, before setting it aside to do a more thorough reading later. She pulled out the small box next, and opened it to find the lovely little necklace with a star motif pendant and her delight grew. She immediately put it on, before leaning over to give him a BIG thank you kiss. "I love them, babe! It's amazing. I look forwards to dates at the Planetarium with you. Maybe once you're healed enough that going out isn't too hard we can go!"

After a few more happy kisses, she gently pulled away and went to get his gift. She handed him the box, knowing he would find a handmade book of recipes, the ones he has always expressed interest in her teaching him, and a Photobook of a lot of the photos they had taken together over the years.

iits_ p a o
He watched her open up her present with a small, maybe even nervous smile, though the nerves eased as soon as he saw her reaction. His smile broadened, and he very happily returned the kiss. "Glad to hear it," he said, laughing lightly, then nodded at her suggestion. "And I'm looking forward to it."

He returned each and every kiss until she pulled away, and he suddenly found himself wanting to spend the rest of the morning just...cuddled up and spending time with her like this. It'd been a long time since he'd been able to do something like that for her. For them...

He took the box she offered and blinked at it, a little surprised but also excited. Not that he didn't think she got him anything, but more because he thought she'd give it to him later. This made more sense, of course, so he got to work opening it up to reveal his gifts.

There was a childlike excitement in his expression as he took the two books, flipping through them while smiling particularly brightly. Eventually he looked back to her and his expression softened to a more loving one, and he leaned in for a kiss. "Thank you, baby," he said when he eventually pulled away. "I love 'em, and I love you. Can't wait to officially learn how to cook these things, and to add to the photo album in the future."

Ariia Starstone
She was happy to hear he was looking forwards to a Planetarium date or three in the future too. She already was half planning where to go for a meal before or after, and what kind of shows they might want to see.

She settled down next to him as he unwrapped the package, on the side with the uninjured arm, and snuggled gently up to him, before resting her chin softly on his shoulder, watching him looking through them. His expression made her lips curve up into a warm, loving smile, happy to see that excitement on his face.

She shifted when he did, giving in to his desire for a kiss more than happily. His reply made her eyes glitter happily. "Love you too. You're so welcome. I hope you enjoy learning all of this with me." She leaned back and tilted her head thoughtfully. "Do you want to go downstairs, get sme breakfast, then get enough stuff put on that we can go outside for a bit?"

iits_ p a o
"Yeah, let's go," he said, leaning in for one more kiss before neatly setting his present aside and putting the work in to get up. With Seren's help it was, of course, easier, faster, and not to mention safer. He naturally got downstairs and settled at the breakfast bar (he insisted, because he wanted to be nearby while she cooked) with her help, and before she could get away he stole another little kiss, smiling the whole time.

"Mm...do we have ingredients for banana-nutella pancakes, love?" he asked, giving her a broad smile from where he sat. "Or did you have other plans for breakfast?"

Ariia Starstone
"Mmm we do. In fact, I have a bowl of crepe batter in the fridge, love, that I prepped before we picked you up yesterday." She never forgot her man's favorite foods, and she knew he loved crepes even more than standard pancakes.

She pressed a kiss to his cheek, before she got the bananas out of the cupboard, and set them aside to cut when the pancakes, alongside the jar of nutella. She then grabbed the pans she preferred for crepes (she liked to cook two at a time, to get done quicker) and set them to heat.

While they did that, she got the batter out, and set it next to the stove, before giving him a loving smile. "If I cut the bananas and open the jar, do you feel you can fill your crepes when I put them on the plate?"

iits_ p a o
He looked surprised, then impressed, and then excited and grateful. "You know me so well, love," he said, grinning.

His eyes lit up between the prospect of one of his favorite breakfasts and the kiss to his cheek. That childlike excitement was back, a side of him that very rarely surfaced because he had, for the longest time, always taken care of himself and was general self-sufficient. Seren, however, was always able to bring it out of him since she always seemed to know exactly how to take care of him.

He always felt like he was luckiest man in the world whenever he thought about everything that she did for him. By comparison...

The thought came often, but he shoved it aside in favor of focusing on only good things today. Hurt as he was, he was still here. Seren was still here with him, and their small family was coming together to celebrate the holidays. He didn't want to damper the mood if he could help it.

"I think I can manage that," came his reply, and he moved the fingers on his bad arm in tandem with his good arm, mimicking the gestures he thought might be necessary for filling crepes with the toppings in question.

Ariia Starstone
She loved to see that childlike excitement whenever she managed to coax it out of him. With their mutually terrible pasts, she knew how rare it was to get that feeling for either of them. And as such, it felt like a joy and a treasure to get that from him.

Especially since it reminded her of how much he meant to her, how much he had made her life better. Of how she had been able to learn to let someone in again...

She watched his actions for a moment, trying not to giggle, and just grabbed out a knife, chopping up the bananas and putting them on a plate, with a fork, where he could reach it, and opening up the nutella, and carefully resting a butter knife where he could access it.

When all that was done, she put two plates where she could dish up the crepes when she finished cooking them, and got started. It took about a minute per crepe, and she started them at about a 30 second off set to make sure she had more control in the situation.

iits_ p a o
Being given a task to focus on did wonders for him, and Nate did his absolute best to prep the crepes as they came out. With only one fully usable hand, it was slower and trickier work than he could have imagined, but he managed in the end, to decently fill each crepe, splitting the stack evenly between two plates. They weren't pretty, but they'd taste good just the same.

"Anything else I can do to help?" he offered when he finally looked up from his task, looking particularly pleased with himself.

Ariia Starstone
When she has gotten the last crepe off the pans, she carefully put the bowl is the sink, and filled it with water to soak, while the pans filled to the side, before she began prepping coffee, knowing her man always needed coffee. When he spoke, she turned and smiled at him. "Just keep being gorgeous and patient. Just getting the coffee, love." She pulled out the mug she had gotten for him here, plus her own that she used just for coffee, then paused. "Do you want to stay at the breakfast bar or move to the table to eat?"

iits_ p a o
He laughed lightly at her words and gave a little nod, choosing then to spend the time watching her move about the kitchen. "Bar should be fine, so I don't have to get up again," he said, eyes now on his arm in a cast. It wasn't much work but his hands were tired, and he worried that his grip might fail him. He didn't say anything, though, nor did it show on his face.

Ariia Starstone
"Alright! Sounds good, love of my life." She grabbed the pot and moved it and the mugs over to the counter. She poured him his coffee black, as she knew he preferred, then doctored her own cup then added the coffee. She finished by getting the utensils, then settled in on the stool next to him, before leaning over to kiss his cheek.

"Love you, baby. And you did an amazing job of being gorgeous, as always."

iits_ p a o
When he next glanced up she was on her way over to him, and he smiled and watched contentedly as she got settled. The cheek kiss got a grin out of him, as did her words. "That all I'm good for right now," he said, obviously joking, "being gorgeous?"

He leaned in for a proper kiss. "What about for kisses?"

Ariia Starstone
"Mmmm hardly... You're also good for hugs, snuggles, making me smile..." She paused when he leaned in, and smiled more, leaning in too, and gives him the kiss he was angling for. After a moment, she pulled back, smiling so warmly at him. "And yes, for kisses, as well as lovely sleep, and conversations, and making our boy excited and happy."

She handed him his utensils, and gave him another little kiss. "And so much more to me."

iits_ p a o
Laughter bubbled up out of him again, and he happily returned the kiss and gave a little nod of his head. "Good," was all he could think to say in reply, then quickly added, "thank you, love. For making breakfast. It looks delicious, as always."

He gave her a wide grin before turning his focus to the food. Eating with just one-hand wasn't too difficult, though unlike how he usually was with his favorite crepes he wasn't exactly able to inhale them. Which...was probably a good thing. Given he'd have problems with exercising for several weeks, he probably couldn't afford to be as lax with his food as he normally was.

It was a concern for after the holidays, though, so he put off such thoughts and focused on having breakfast with Seren.


Aria - 1152; Pao - 1045
Backdating to Christmas 2022.