The Magpie Emporium, Thursday (11/2)

[drumsticksandd20s]

The Halloween decorations were down and packed away; even the roving bouncy dice around the shop now stuck to a more generally autumnal palette, though whether they were just swapping out with each other or actually changing color Steph couldn't say. Actually, she preferred not to guess just because it was a fun little mystery.

As for Steph, she looked a lot more effortlessly cheerful than she had in a little while, now that the worst part of her year was behind her. She couldn't say why one of the games she was restocking today kept making her think of Chloe, though. Blackwell hadn't been anything like that.

[OOC: Open, though will definitely be slow as people inevitably make me headdesk repeatedly today.]

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[pocketpretzels]

And lo, at some point late-ish in the morning there was a Watts, tote bag slung over one shoulder, ducking in to the shop.

“Morning, Steph,” he greeted, as his hat was deposited on to the usual tentacle.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Hey, Llewellyn," Steph returned,
shelving one more game before heading over. "How's it going? Did you catch any of our most recent round of weirdness?"

[pocketpretzels]

Watts grimaced. “A bit of it,” he admitted. “Steven and I were on holiday in Peru and returned mid-week. It was— disconcerting.”

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph made a pained noise, though it was comically underscored by Saffron, asleep in the background, rolling over and grumbling aloud.

"Did you wonder if you got dumped into a weird bad alternate dimension? Because you wouldn't exactly be wrong if you did."

[pocketpretzels]

Watts nodded. “Thankfully our house was unchanged, if a bit confused. That certainly helped assure us we were in fact in the right place.”

Even if he’d then spent the rest of the week stress baking.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Your house was," Steph began in a confused tone before stopping and shaking her head. "Right. Yeah, this place was fine, but the rest of it? Horrible. Was Peru awesome?"

[pocketpretzels]

“It was fantastic,” Watts said. The fallout post-trip was a bit more complicated, of course, but they were dealing with that. “I’m only sorry that between that and- the strangeness of the prior week, that I was not able to come visit you sooner.” And by visit he clearly meant check up on, since he knew October was a difficult time for her.

[drumsticksandd20s]

And that got him a profoundly grateful look and a smile.

"The upside to all the strangeness is that at least it distracted me plenty," Steph said wryly. "I really appreciate the thought, though."

[pocketpretzels]

Watts set the tote bag down on the counter and pulled out a container of pumpkin sugar cookies. “Steven and I made these last night,” he said, holding it out for her to take. “I thought you might care for some.”

[drumsticksandd20s]

"I am always down for some of your baking," Steph told him as she eagerly reached out to take the cookies. "This didn't happen to be a stress baking thing this time, did it?"

[pocketpretzels]

"Str- ah, no," Watts shook his head. "You are looking at the results of... 'Date Night'," he said, a slight blush tinging his cheeks.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"That's disgustingly adorable," Steph said with an indulgent grin. "And the rest of us get to benefit from it too, so I'd call that a win all around."

She started to work the lid of the container open so she could get at a cookie and paused.

"Impressed you made it all the way through the recipe, and didn't burn the cookies, I gotta say."

[pocketpretzels]

“Well,” Watts said, still blushing. “Midnight can shut the oven off by itself. That’s- come in quite handy any number of times.”

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn," Steph said, smothering most of her snicker behind her hand. Well, behind the cookie she was nibbling on with what appeared to be relish. "You could totally put labels that say Baked With Love on the treats you give people, and it'd be true on several levels."

Steph. No.

[pocketpretzels]

"Stephanie!"

Look at that, Steph, you startled him to the point where he used your full first name.

"Er. Apologies," he managed, eyes going wide.

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph broke down into uncontrollable laughter for a moment before she got herself back under control, waving her cookie-free hand.

"Sorry. Sorry. Couldn't help myself," she said, with one last inelegant little snort. "It's not a bad thing, though, to be clear. Besides, even on a totally innocent level, it's not wrong. You really enjoy baking."

[pocketpretzels]

"You're not wrong," Watts conceded. "It's a very soothing pastime."

Also very enjoyable for other reasons when he had an assistant in the kitchen.

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph spread her hands as if to say See?

She fell silent for the space of a couple more bites of the cookie -- clearly enjoying it -- before adding more seriously, and even a touch vehemently, "It makes you happy. And you fucking deserve that."

[pocketpretzels]

"I- oh. Well. Thank you, Steph," Watts said, visibly touched. "That means a lot to hear you say."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"I mean it," Steph replied, gesturing emphatically at him with the remainder of her cookie. "And I'll remind you any time, if you ever doubt that."

Didn't mean she was great at doing it for herself, but that was a fairly common human tendency, wasn't it?