Monday Night with Nell and Gladio

[mylandmyrules]

Nell had decided on lasagna for dinner - one extra large one with meat and a smaller one without. She made up a garlic spread for the bread, that Gladio could slather on her bread before they heated it up for serving, and a large salad. That plus the usual snacks and desserts should be more than enough for anyolne who might stop by.

Once everything was set and the lasagna ready to pop in the over she had some time to put her feet up by the fireplace and snuggle with the cats and/or Gladio if he was there. Though if he growled against her neck she might just have to drag him off to the bedroom.

Comments

[sword_chocobro]

Well, now, that would just potentially make things a little awkward for their guests and also run the risk of being interrupted at a very inopportune time! Although at least if Gladio did end up having to answer the door without a shirt on, no one who knew him would think much of that.

But since he really didn't care for not getting to finish something he'd started, any neck growling was definitely being held off until after everyone left. But there would be kisses that might also be tempting fate, especially once he got back from his usual day of training, checking in at the gym, hitting up his class, and then hitting up the grocery store, which really needed to stop having deals on cozy stuff, because they probably didn't need new towels or bathrobes, but you put an idea like that into his head...

And, of course, if they were having lasagna tonight, he had to go with some nice Italian soda for his beverage du jour.

[chef_chocobro]

Typically, Ignis did try to challenge himself to make something vegan in general for the gatherings at Nell's (and, well, Gladio's now, too, as well), but this week, he was making an exception, because while he could potentially whip up a dairy-free version of his chocotorta cake, he felt that would greatly diminish the spirit of the inspiration.

And though it was clearly unintentional, it did strike him as rather amusing when he realized what Nell had made that evening, that they'd both be leaning heavily into layered dishes.

Because sometimes, it really did not take much to amuse him, contrary, probably, to popular belief.

[mylandmyrules]

Nell would end up nicely pink and a bit flustered when their guests arrived and would be eager to have some growling once they'd gone home. For now though, she'd barely managed to get the lasagna into the oven on time and now needed Gladio to work on the garlic bread for her.

Though, if they got a bit distracted here and there, well... what could they do?

"Just slather the garlic sauce on each slice and then we'll heat them up."

[mylandmyrules]

"Oh Ignis!" A pink and cheerful Nell greeted him at the door. And if her shirt and hair were a bit disheveled, well, at least they were mostly straightened. "That is amazing! I can't wait to try it after dinner."

And there were surely enough gluten free desserts for the Detective and Steven should they stop by.

[sword_chocobro]

"Slather, huh?" asked Gladio, with a lift of his eyebrow and a knife prepped in one hand with the sauce in the other. "Is that a technical term?"

But if she wanted slathered, Nell was going to get slathered. He was going to slather that bread with all the slather in him.

Once again, though, he just couldn't help feeling like what he needed was just a bigger knife.

[chef_chocobro]

Well, to Nell's benefit, at least Ignis was the last person to notice her disheveled hair or clothing, although it was interesting, wasn't it, how such things could sometimes manage to be translated into one's words, too. Well. Perhaps not the words themselves, but rather just in how they were said...

So there was a small hint of a grin on Ignis' face as he ducked his head a little in greeting. "It will make for an excellent dessert, especially with maybe a little coffee served with it. I know you tend to lean more toward tea, but it's a very coffee-forward treat."

Which was another reason why he absolutely could not have made anything else that evening.

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana wasn't going to say anything about their hostess's disheveled appearance, her countenance calm and serene...and maaaaybe just a hint of dimples if one looked closely enough.

"Hello dear," she said to Nell, like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. "And how are you this fine evening?"

[mylandmyrules]

"Absolutely," Nell said with a grin. "Technnical as they come."

And if he wanted to bring in a bigger knife he was welcome to do so!

"No sense in skimping on the garlic for garlic bread." And since they'd both be eating it there wouldn't be a garlic issue later.

[hashtag_chocobro]

Prompto didn't bring drinks or some fancy dessert, but he did bring a baby and some invitations!

As usual, he didn't know how long they'd be there at Nell's tonight, but he was really warming up to the idea of getting the chance to go hang out with everyone, even if this week was going to be loaded with opportunities between Ignis' party and Noctra's. But after last week? He felt like they all deserved a lot of good time and good food and good company.

Plus, he was saving himself on some postage by delivering a few invitations in person tonight, and, besides, based on Friday's texts with Liz, Noctra not only had a cute new dress to show off, but also a new best friend.

[mylandmyrules]

"Oh, I like my coffee too, she assured him. "So I can definitely make up a pot to go with dessert."

Tea was a wonderful drink, but she definitely needed coffee to get her going in the morning.

[mylandmyrules]

"I'm quite well," Nell said with a smile that was only slightly flustered and maybe a tinge satisfied. "I'm eager to have some lasagna. It's smelling wonderful!"

[mylandmyrules]

"Welcome," Nell said with a smile. "Hopsitality and safety to you while you're here. And doesn't Noctra look adorable! Who's your new friend sweetheart?"

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana certainly had no idea where those emotions could have come from, of course. Likely some kind of kitchen mishap successfully handled.

She knew she quite enjoyed a bit of successful handling herself. Ahem. Culinarily speaking, of course.

"Indeed," she said, her smile existing for the commentary on dinner and dinner only. "I can only assume it tastes better than it smells, of course."

[deathsmajesty]

"Trying to show up my party, are you?" Liliana teased, opening up her invitation and reading it aloud. Not for anybody's personal benefit or anything, just to prove she did sometimes read mail immediately.

"What is a puppy bowl?"

Don't ask her what she was picturing, Prompto, it will only make you cry.

[pocketpretzels]

Watts? There at the usual time, with a tray of cinnamon rolls in hand.

“Good evening, Ms. Ingram,” he greeted, his hat, also as per usual, ending up dangling off something not meant to be a hat rack.

[hashtag_chocobro]

One of Noctra's hands was clutching the little chicken plush to her mouth while the other was lifted to open-and-close at Nell in her version of a wave, her big blue eyes just staring at her the whole time before she managed to mumble out response.

"'ot albabo," she said. "'Ickah!"

"Awww," said Prompto, who really couldn't help melting over his kid sometimes, even in the presence of other people, and he gave her a little kiss on her forehead. "That's right, Noctra! It's not a chocobo! It's a chicken.

"At least," he added, leaning toward Nell with one hand over Noctra's closest ear as he lowered his voice into a whisper, "I think that's what she said?"

It's not like she was about to correct him if he was wrong, though, right?

"But thanks, Nell. How's it going? Smells great in here, by the way." He took a moment to breathe it in. "Garlicky!"

But you know what? Sure, it was zombies and angels and daemons last week, but you weren't going to hear Prompto complaining about a little extra protection against vampires while he was here!

[hashtag_chocobro]

Oh, noooooooooooo.

The reading of the invitation outloud did lift Prompto's eyebrows a little, with a faint grin as he glanced over toward nobody who might have personally benefited from such an action, and then grinned more directly at Liliana. "Hey, man," he said, "no shade to Iggy or anything, but mine features an adorable baby and cute puppies running around like they're playing a sport, so you were already coming in at a disadvantage. But, that's what the puppy bowl is. You see, every year, there's this big game called the Super Bowl, it's football, I don't really care about it that much, but, in conjunction with that, there's the Puppy Bowl, and it's literally one of my absolute favorite things about this world ever. It's where they get together a bunch of shelter dogs, put them on teams, and have them 'play'" his grin grew even more as he lifted his hands to put extra emphasis on the finger quotes there, "football! It's literally the cutest thing ever, and I've always held a party for it, even before we got stuck in Eos, and it just so happens to be really close to Noctra's birthday this year, so it's perfect for her birthday party! You guys gotta come!"

Well, he figured Ignis would regardless, but it would be nice if Liliana came, too! Especially since, you know, she was hopefully getting a nice break from all that daemon hunting and angel slaying or whatever?

[chef_chocobro]

"I'd certainly be willing to help take care of that, as well," Ignis offered, "since we're already putting you out as host."

And while he didn't doubt Nell's coffee making abilities in the slightest, he could hardly pass up an opportunity to be exceptionally particular about preparation when it presented itself.

[deathsmajesty]

Angel slaying was more a perk than anything else. You saw them, Prompto! They'd picked fights with her for no reason. Ugh.

Also, her eyebrow raised as he made the very bold claim that babies and puppies somehow made a party better, but he had gotten whacked in the head or whatever with a shovel, so he was understandably somewhat addled.

"We're going to be in Argentina that day," she said, musing over the invitation, and then glanced back at Ignis. She would have no compunction skipping a party held in honor of a child, especially one who was barely making formative memories, but Noctra was Ignis' niece by every metric but blood and when had that mattered to anyone who wasn't a sangromancer? Or a vampire? (There was an impressive overlap between the two categories anyway.) "We'll have to confer, of course, but I'm sure he'll be amenable with us portaling back for a few hours."

[sword_chocobro]

Thankfully, Gladio treasured his greatsword and his Genji blade (and respected the Marshall) far too much to start busting those out for kitchen prep, but maybe he should consider getting a smaller, kitchen-specific broad sword one of these days....

"I'm pretty sure there's someone out there," he trusted that she'd know who, "who might say something about how there actually can be some sense to it, but I think I'm with you on this one."

[hashtag_chocobro]

Look, Prompto loved the guy (and didn't even have any issues with saying it, let alone just typing it!), but if given the choice between Ignis and adorable puppies running around a tiny football field, there was really no contest. Adding his daughter into the mix just made it a wash. But at least, if it did come down to that, they'd both leave pretty happy with their respective opinions on that!

"Argentina?" Prompto frowned, now feeling a little worried (and maybe a touch upset) that Ignis might have planned something when he knew Noctra's birthday was coming up. "What for?"

And then, the worry and frown both deepened as he wondered, "More daemon stuff?"

Look, he had a daemon for a brother-in-law-by-every-metric-but-blood, and he lived in New Jersey, so don't tell him there couldn't be weird daemon stuff going on down in Argentina, too!

[flamesburned]

Liz was also looking forward to the evening and being able to spend sometime hanging out at Nell’s with Prompto and Noctra.

[deathsmajesty]

Sure, but why would Liliana care about other people's demon problems?

"His birthday present," Liliana explained and she had no idea when Noctra's birthday was, Prompto. "We're going to a resort in Argentina for the weekend. It's a vineyard and you can actually make your own small batch of wine for them to process, bottle, and ship to you eventually. Oh. And fly-fishing of course."

Which Ignis had been vehemently opposed to, which was why she was now including it every chance she got. She was such a delight.

"I sprang the idea on him last night."

[mylandmyrules]

"Aww... such a sweet chicken," Nell said, waving back at Noctra.

She smiled over at Prompto. "Lasagna and garlic bread," she said, "With a salad, of course, and some snacks and desserts."

[mylandmyrules]

"Good evening," Detective," Nell said as she cheerfully rescued his hat and placed it on its peg. Did Watts ever notice that it had been moved? Nell was guessing he didn't. "Its good tb see you today."