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[sortileges]

"--a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Is that it? How do I tur--"

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I hate you both

[psycholawgy]

[ she pokes at her earring, soon realising that there's nothing dangling by her right ear. she just looks stupid tapping at something invisible, then. oops. she lowers her arms after that. force of habit. ]

This? Dinner?

[ she'll start guessing. though don't count on her to guess the right thing because of her overactive imagination. ]

not you too ........ [cryingcat]

[sortileges]

[ He almost misses that she says anything, actually. His eyes follow the movement of her hand, almost mesmerized for a moment because he gets what is missing right now.

A second later he blinks, looks at her confused. Dinner? What? ]

Dinner?

[ Right. Dinner. ]

Yes, dinner. ...This.

[psycholawgy]

[ then don't mind if she takes off her shoes and takes a seat on the mat daintily. she probably should have chosen something better to wear if she had known about this "picnic" of sorts, but ah... she didn't. now she's going to sit down awkwardly so the skirt doesn't accidentally show anything. this is what happens when you dress to impress... ]

I feel like I should be the one surprising you... [ especially after the whole flamines thing. she could have at least told merlin to keep his card, but nope. she was just so in the moment and wanted to get as much information that she didn't think how it would affect merlin.

but he seems fine with it? and he doesn't seem mad at her, which is more than she could have ever asked for. ]

So I hope you'll like dinner.

[ she looks up at him and smiles, eager to show him what's inside the bag. (just a lot of thermal containers tbh.) ]

[sortileges]

Well I'm sure whatever you have in that bag is going to end up being a surprise in itself. [ He waits until she's settled before he kicks off his own boots and shifts to sit down near her. ]

Besides, it isn't as though I had money back home either. [ He shrugs. ] Rent is free for me still at the moment anyway, so it's just food I really have to worry about.

[ He nods towards the bag. ]

What did you make?

[psycholawgy]

[ she takes out one container at a time and opens each as she says what's inside. ]

Salad Niçoise, Parsleyed potatoes, and mushroom glazed pork chops.

[ they definitely don't look like the bento boxes she's made so far. the food tonight looks vastly different! ]

[sortileges]

[ They really don't. He looks at the box, then back to her as if she's crazy. It looks way more impressive than he'd expected. ]

Did you lose your mind back there?

[ He reaches out for the closest, lifting it up to smell it. She said she was still learning before, and he could even taste the improvements in the bento boxes she keeps making but this... Just how much effort did she put into this...?

It's heart warming really, because it shows how guilty she felt about the credits even if he'd willingly put his card down too. She didn't even have to ask. ]

How much time did you even spend preparing this?

[psycholawgy]

[ um... way to make her unsure now. ]

No? I just wanted to- [ impress you? make you glad? ah...

she covers her mouth as she coughs softly. ] Nevermind.

Anyway, it didn't take that long, actually. [ just the whole afternoon! ] It was easy to make since I followed a cookbook for all of these.

[sortileges]

[ Well it was clearly going too well. He glances up when she says that, stopping half way through. ]

You're kidding, right? There's no way these didn't take a while. [ He reaches out for a fork that he left in his bag to the side, passing her one as well. ]

Can I...? [ He indicates down, at least being nice enough to ask for permission when he's clearly trying to avoid making too much washing up by bringing out plates as well. Rude. ]

[psycholawgy]

Oh! [ she perks up at the question and nods, even pushing the containers closer to merlin's side. ] Yes, of course.

[ she readies her fork, but she'll let merlin try the food first. it's not the best meal ever, but she's been learning how to cook, so it's at least decent!

and now, for the verdict... don't kill her too much with your opinion, merl. ]

[sortileges]

[ It's a higher level than he expected, at least that's the first thought in his mind as soon as he shoves a decent sized helping of the pork into his mouth. He places the container down onto the ground between them as he chews, and at first he purposely looks concerned.

Yes, he's actually attempting to make her worry a little before he gives his real opinion. He starts with: ] Have you actually taste tested this?

[ His face is entirely straight for a whole five seconds before it splits into a grin. He even pushes his fork in for another piece, but this time it isn't for him. He holds it out for Athena instead. ] 'Cause if you haven't, you really need to try this. Here.

[psycholawgy]

[ hopefully merlin likes athena's face when she's absolutely tense, because her expression doesn't change until the food is offered to her. and she moves closer to take a bite off the fork, then moves back to her original spot.

she's silent and demure as she chews, but once she's done, she explodes. ]

I'm going to get you for teasing me so much, I swear! [ she says as she shoves some salad in his mouth. EAT IT, jerk. ]

[sortileges]

[ Why would he like her tense face (though it is a little funny... sorry to say). He waits for her to finish before intending to take more, especially as it was his fork he had been using anyway.

Only then he's about to protest that she really didn't need to do anything ...............






then he's choking on salad. ]

[psycholawgy]

[ YEAH!!! CHOKE!! you deserve it, jerk!!!

this is not a gagtag.

at the very least, she's very alert and ready to get the water in case he truly is choking... ]

[sortileges]

[ What kind of tag is this?????

He even clutches at the front of his shirt for a moment, finally hacking up a leaf that got lodged from the salad and managed to get stuck down his throat. He just gives her a look before he flops back on the blanket, staring up at the sky. ]

Remind me never to trust you with a fork again.

[psycholawgy]

[ she sets down the containers and crosses her arms. ]

Your fault!

[ a pause, though, as she shifts in her seat until she's next to merlin. then she looks at him curiously, blocking his view of the sky. ]

What's the surprise for, anyway?

[sortileges]

[ He's still having to catch his breath from choking, so when she leans over just enough to block the sky and he has to look at her, it feels like he'll never get his breath back again. ]

It was just... [ He turns his head a little, pushing up onto one of his elbows. He even gives a little shrug. ] an apology too. I haven't given you the proper surprise yet though.

[ He points to the food. ] It's after this, if you'll stop trying to kill me with it, anyway.

[psycholawgy]

[ she moves to back away and give him space, but she's still looking at him. ]

I don't know what you have to apologise for, but alright. I might get impatient, though.

[ by which she means... you better eat now. :E she'll just eat some salad since it's a pretty heavy one with chicken bits, anyway. ]

[sortileges]

[ He tilts his head to look at her properly. ]

Maybe I'll just take my time... [ He's seriously trying to not grin about this. Jerk. A true jerk. ] I wouldn't want to get indigestion.

[psycholawgy]

[ her eyes narrow and she just gives him an unimpressed look. THIS JERK!!! ]

Fine! Take your time. I didn't want a surprise, anyway.

[ sudden tsun... ]

[sortileges]

[ Yeah, this jerk you apparently tried to impress. ]

Oh of course you didn't.

[ He pushes himself up, reaching to taste a bit of the potato one next. Despite saying he was going to take his time, he actually doesn't.

...He's hungry. ]

This is good, too.

[psycholawgy]

Yay! [ she practically jumps at the praise, and the smile she wears is so big. ] I really am getting better!

Maybe I can start making desserts, too!

[sortileges]

[ While she's excited over the praise, he reaches out to take more of the pork, definitely not wasting a single bit of it.

How is he still a noodle... no one knows. ] Practice does make perfect.

[ He really should finish eating before talking though... gross. It's when he finishes that he asks a question in return. ]

What type will you try first?

[psycholawgy]

I've made cookies before, [ and they didn't taste very good... ] so I'm probably going to go back to cookies and biscuits. Especially since they go so well with tea.

[ and she loves tea. ]

But I want to be able to make a cake someday!

[ she's so enthusiastic about desserts. ]

[sortileges]

Doesn't everything go with tea? [ ...british................ ] Except bathwater... I wouldn't recommend that.

[ Well, there's a story. ]

Keep practising. [ He reaches over and steals a piece of the chicken from the salad she's eating from. ] And I'm sure you'll get there.

[psycholawgy]

...

[ she slowly lowers the container she's eating from, as well as her fork because... ?????? what the fuck. who would take tea with bathwater? merlin, what kind of life do you live? ]

I'm sure I will, don't worry. And no bathwater for me... you weirdo.

[ yeah, she said it. ]