Trooper Station, Friday

[pocketpretzels]

Watts had slept better last night than he had the few nights previously, now that he fully acknowledged what had been bothering him. Although better did not mean entirely uninterrupted.

So it was that he was at his desk, rubbing sleep from the corner of his eyes and listening to the Troopers debate about- recipes? Possibly.

"No, you have to put the meat in before the salt. If you do it the other way around it ruins the whole dish."

"Okay, and if I want to make a stew?"

"Then you put the mushrooms in first. Obviously."

"Oh, obviously."

Comments

[hasaknightjob]

Steven came by a little earlier than his usual. Still in the realm of lunch, but earlier. He paused long enough to hear the conversation and, determining that it was about meat dishes, moved on as he didn't have much to contribute on the topic.

Steven gave a light knock on the doorframe to Llewellyn's office. "Hello, you."

[pocketpretzels]

Watts, who had definitely been dozing off at his desk, chin in hand, startled awake. Wide-eyed, he looked up at Steven.

“Hello, you.” And then: “Is it lunch time already, then?”

[hasaknightjob]

"Close enough," Steven said. He came in to the office and closed the door behind him. "Hope it's all right I'm a bit early? Some of the food needed to be served straightaway, you see."

Or maybe Steven had gotten there early in case Llewellyn was still dealing with an extra need for company. One of those.

[pocketpretzels]

“I’ve no complaints about extra time spent with you,” Watts said with a smile.

Except of course when he worried it might impinge on Marc’s time.

[hasaknightjob]

Which was one of the many reasons Steven loved him.

He gestured to indicate coming around the desk to give Llewellyn a hello kiss. "May I?"

[pocketpretzels]

“Please do,” Watts said, not quite making grabby hands but close.

[hasaknightjob]

Steven put the bag with lunch down on the desk, then leaned in to give Llewellyn a good and proper kiss.

[pocketpretzels]

“You do give the best greetings,” Watts said happily.

[hasaknightjob]

"I have the best person to greet," Steven replied with a smile. "Shall I get our lunch out?"

[pocketpretzels]

“I don’t know,” Watts pretended to think about it. “I might need another kiss like that first.”

[hasaknightjob]

"Oh, well, if you insist," Steven said. He leaned in and gave a much longer kiss this time, cupping the side of Llewellyn's face with one hand as he did.

[pocketpretzels]

“I do insist, absolutely,” Watts replied happily.

[hasaknightjob]

Steven gave him a few more kisses for good measure. "How's that?"

[pocketpretzels]

“That should keep me satiated for a while,” Watts informed him.

Though probably not all the way through lunch.

[hasaknightjob]

"You let me know if that changes," Steven said, giving him a warm look. He stood up. "Shall I get our lunch out then?"

[pocketpretzels]

Watts nodded. “I am both hungry and curious.” Which was his default state, sure, details.

[hasaknightjob]

"Right," Steven said. He opened up the bag, eager to show off his hard work...

And then his face fell. "Oh dear."

[pocketpretzels]

“What?” Watts said, concerned. “What happened, darling?”

[hasaknightjob]

"It was so much prettier when I left home," Steven said. He began to unpack the food, which included bruschetta with slices of Llewellyn's bread, tofu with pizzaiola sauce with extra bread (Llewellyn's again, of course) to sop up the sauce with, and a peanut butter caramel dip with strawberries and other fruits to use with it.

However, as the plastic containers were see through, it was evident how a fair amount of the bruschetta toppings had tumbled off the bread into the container, the sauce on the tofu was spread around in a soup like mess, and the dip... well the dip would be harder to tell without having encountered it before but Steven could see it wasn't as fluffy as it had been when he'd finished making it.

Steven took it all in, disappointment evident on his face.

[pocketpretzels]

“Oh darling,” Watts said sympathetically as he took in the sight of those containers. “I’m sorry the walk over made a mess of things. Although I’m certain it will still all taste wonderful.”

[hasaknightjob]

"I wish I'd taken a picture before I came over," Steven said. He started to serve the bruschetta, using forks to try to scoop the toppings back onto the bread. "I mean - not that they looked as good as they did on the websites where I got the recipes, but I thought I did a fair job."

[pocketpretzels]

“Nothing ever looks quite as picturesque as it does on the Google,” Watts said. “I wonder if- transporting the toppings separately and then assembling them upon arrival might work?” he mused. “If you wished to try making similar dishes in the future, that is.”

[hasaknightjob]

"That's an idea, yeah," Steven said, after he tried to picture it. "You make up the toppings separate, so don't think there'd be any harm keeping them in their own container on the way over."

Steven beamed at Llewellyn. "Someone's clever. You."

[pocketpretzels]

“I don’t care for events that cause the expression that crossed your face as you opened up the bag,” Watts told him. “So if I can think of any way to prevent that in the future…”

[hasaknightjob]

That was going to earn Llewellyn another kiss. "I wanted it to be extra nice for you, is all. Because you've been having a time of it. Something that looked like it came from a restaurant."

Even when the food looked its best it in no way resembled something that came from a restaurant. But Steven had tried at least.