Monday Night at Nell's

[mylandmyrules]

Nell was in the mood for comfort food today so she made a big pot of chicken and dumpling stew and a smaller pot of a veggie stew for the Detective if he should stop by. She also prepared a batch of sourdough rolls to pop in the oven so they'd be piping hot when it was time to eat. Then, with time to relax, she curled up on the chair by the gas fireplace with the cats and read her book.

Comments

[sword_chocobro]

Since bringing unique drinks pulled from the ever-changing shelves of Turtle & Canary had become a bit of thing for these nights at Nell's, Gladio mostly just made his selections based on what something looked like more than flavor or type, and with all the sunsets and sunrises they'd been enjoying together lately, this week's choice was no contest, really.

And so he was there,of course, with beverages, a kiss for Nell in greeting, and maybe an Ignis in tow fates willing.

[mylandmyrules]

"Looks like the sunset Saturday night," Nell said with a smile. After the kissing, of course. Things needed to follow a certain order, naturally. "Come in and make yourself comfortable. Tonight's all about being cozy."

[sword_chocobro]

Gladio couldn't help grinning as Nell managed to get his reasoning on tonight's drink choice without even the slightest provocation.

"You know," he mused, sounding just a little too surprised and impressed to be wholly convincing, as he lifted up the box and tilted his head thoughtfully at it, "now that you mention it, it does sorta look like that, doesn't it? I wouldn't know. My attention was definitely elsewhere that night."

He threw a wink over and was going to be pretty disappointed if that didn't get at least a little blush, an eyeroll, or a nudge.

"And that sounds good. I like cozy."

[mylandmyrules]

She laughed at she blushed a bit, then have him a little nudge. "Oh you."

Nell set the drinks on the counter to get a better kiss. "Cozy is wonderful. And I think the Detective is going to be here tonight. Oh, and did I tell you? Steven sent me a nice birthday text."

Had she thought to tell Gladio it was her birthday? Well, it wasn't exactly something that important, so she might not even realize she hasn't told him.

[sword_chocobro]

Hey, two out of three ain't bad!

"Birthday text?" Now, the curious tilt of Gladio's head was entirely genuine. "Did I miss your birthday?"

He was pretty sure Nell wouldn't be able to say when his was, either, so he didn't feel too bad about it, but it was definitely good to know that kind of thing for future reference.

And retroactive gifts. Ahem.

[mylandmyrules]

"Oh, well, I... Not exactly," she said. "We kind of celebrated on Saturday."

[sword_chocobro]

"It was Saturday?" Gladio asked, frowning slightly. Not so much for having missed something he'd reasonably had no way of really knowing, but more for the fact that he wasn't sure about 'doing what they would have normally done anyway' equating to 'celebrating.'

"Why didn't you say anything?" He smiled, though, lightly, to show that he wasn't bothered by it, just a little bemused. "I coulda brought you a cake or something."

[mylandmyrules]

"Mmmhmmm," Nell said. "The eleventh."

She smiled at him a little shortly. "Last year was the first time I ever actually celebrated a birthday," she said. "And Steven and the Detective and Lana came and... it was nice. It felt strange though, as if I was asking for presents or something."

She looked up and smiled at him. "And Steven said that I should do what made me happy for my birthday, so... I did. I wanted to be with you. To watch a movie and sit under the stars with you and sleep in your arms. That was what I most wanted to do. And you gave me just that. What else could I have asked for?"

[sword_chocobro]

To that, Gladio could only just grin back at Nell fondly for a moment, before reaching over to pull her into the kind of hug that also called for a gentle kiss on the top of her head, before he huffed out a laugh and answered her question with a slightly teasing, "A cake?"

And then, a well-timed beat later:

"Cup Noodle^TM?"

Maybe he was just thinking of his own birthday wishes...

[mylandmyrules]

She laughed. "I didn't need anything else. But if you tell me when your birthday is I'll make sure to have extra Cup Noodle and your favorite cake."

[sword_chocobro]

"Well, that's not really fair, now, is it?" Gladio challenged with an amused snort. "If I didn't get the chance to spoil you rotten for your birthday, then how come you should get to for mine, huh?"

Was his braim already trying to think of some good retroactive birthday spoiling, anyway? Maaaaybeee...

[mylandmyrules]

Nell laughed again. "You're free to spoil me some other time, I suppose," she said. "But I got exactly what I wanted on Saturday."

[sword_chocobro]

"Yeah," Gladio allowed, "but you can get whatever you want out of me on any given Saturday."

A beat.

"Any day that ends in Y, really," he had to admit.

[mylandmyrules]

Again with the laughter. "Aren't I the lucky one then," she said. "It's like my birthday any day I want!"

[sword_chocobro]

"Without even getting that much older, either," Gladio smirked. "Yeah, I'd say that's a pretty good deal. And how about this? You got the birthday you wanted to have last Saturday, how about you have the birthday I'd like to give you this Saturday?"

[mylandmyrules]

"What would you -" Nell started then stopped. "Yes. If I'll be with you, yes, whatever you'd like will be wonderful."

She trusted him. She didn't need to know specifics to agree.

[sword_chocobro]

"You're gonna love it," Gladio promised, smile and tone softening a little with that start-and-stop of a question that tumbled into such a firm decision to just trust him, and, since that kind of thing shouldn't go unrewarded, the next kiss he bent down to give her fell on her lips this time.

And his own lips didn't move too far away, either, when he offered, "And it's April 2nd."

[mylandmyrules]

How he made the gift of his birthdate such an intimate, practically sensual thing, Nell had no idea. But he did. And she shivered delightedly, leaning up to kiss him again. "I know I'll love it. How could I not?"

[chef_chocobro]

And, indeed, it did appear that Ignis had, in fact, been coaxed over to make an appearance that evening, and, since it had been a bit since he'd made it over, he had been looking forward to challenging himself in the kitchen to whip up something vegan and savory that could potentially be useful for other recipes at the diner in the future.

[mylandmyrules]

"Ooh, those smell delicious, Ignis," Nell said. "Oh, and you know, you're welcome to bring Liliana along sometime if you'd like."

[chef_chocobro]

And here Ignis was feeling quite proud of his ability this last week, to go about life without his attention so laser-focused on that particular topic (or, more accurately, pretending to), and here he was being confronted with it almost immediately through the door. So congratulations, Nell, you've accomplished a rare thing indeed: upon a particularly close inspection, one might have made a good case for a hint of a blush-like flush appearing briefly against his cheeks.

It seemed to mostly clear away, though, along with the clearing of his throat. He gave a small nod, and a smile to match.

"Perhaps I'll have to pass along the invitation to her, then," he said. "Thank you. And here's to hoping they taste as good as they smell. I've been considering experimenting with various ways of making plant-based variations of meats without leaning on the very processed meat alternatives available in the stores. This one uses sweet potato and tofu...I figure if we get Gladio scarfing down his fair share of them, then I will have succeeded, but if not, it may be back to the drawing board, I'm afraid."

[mylandmyrules]

Nell raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure Gladio eating a lot of something is quite the recommendation," she said with a grin.

She was amused and intrigued by the slight blush. "I could always invite her if you'd prefer," she offered.

[chef_chocobro]

"Well, no," Ignis allowed, "he may not be as staunchly opposed to consuming more vegetables no matter what form they may come in as some might,"--Noct--"but he'd also no doubt be the first to tell you about how much more satisfying he finds real meat to be, so if there's barely a complaint about missing it or a significant comparrison, then I'll consider it a success.

"And I've no doubt," he added, almost aggressive in its cool casualness, "she'll be pleased for the consideration, no matter who is offering the invitation."

[mylandmyrules]

"True," Nell said. "I must admit that I don't understand choosing not to eat meat myself, so I see what you mean about minimal complaining."

She was quietly amused by his response, but didn't say anything except, "I'm sure she would."

[pocketpretzels]

And lo, there was also a Watts! Bearing, as was tradition, cinnamon rolls.

[mylandmyrules]

"Welcome, Detective," Nell said cheerfully. "It's good to see you."

[pocketpretzels]

“You as well, Ms. Ingram,” Watts said, stepping in to the apartment with a twirl, hat ending up… well, wherever it ended up as he took it off and hung it somewhere. “It has been a while.”

[mylandmyrules]

And wherever it ended up eventually she'd collect it and set it on it's peg. "It's nice to see you whenever you're free," Nell said. "Doesn't need to be every week. You're always welcome."

[pocketpretzels]

“Thank you,” Watts acknowledged. “And many happy returns, as well. Slightly belated.”

[mylandmyrules]

"Oh, yes, thank you," Nell said. "I decided just to have a quiet afternoon and evening with Gladio. It was just perfect."

[pocketpretzels]

“How wonderful,” Watts said with a smile. “I’m glad you were able to spend the day as you liked.”

[mylandmyrules]

Nell nodded. "That's what Steven told me last year. That I should do what made me happy on my birthday. So I did."

[pocketpretzels]

"It's a good piece of advice," Watts said with a fond smile.

One he'd tried to follow, this past summer, although fate had had other ideas.

[mylandmyrules]

"I thought so," Nell said with a smile. "So how have you been, Detective? It had been a while as you said."

[pocketpretzels]

“I’ve been well. Keeping to myself, for the most part,” he told her. “Yourself?” he asked, with a not so subtle glance in Gladio’s direction.

[mylandmyrules]

She caught his glance and laughed. "I'm doing very well. Spending a large amount of time with Gladio and more than happy with that. I'm very happy indeed "

[pocketpretzels]

"I am pleased to hear that," Watts told her. "Oh! I should let you know, Steven will be stopping by your shop tomorrow to drop off your birthday gift."

[mylandmyrules]

"Oh goodness," Nell said. "He didn't need to get me anything! But thank you for telling me."