Characters of a Minor Sort (jesschars) wrote in btvsal, @ 2010-08-28 21:58:00 |
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Current location: | Gabriel's Apartment |
Current mood: | hungry |
Entry tags: | gabriel burgess, kayla barnes, place: la |
Dinner
Who: Gabriel and Kayla
Where: Gabriel's Apartment
When: Friday Evening, 8/28
After he had done a training session with Kayla that afternoon, Gabriel had headed home and, after changing into a pair of shorts (yes, he did own ONE pair) and a t-shirt (it was hot, OK?), he had decided to start cooking himself some dinner and possibly finish up the night with a book when he heard a knock at the door. He hadn't been expecting anyone, so he was a little surprised. After turning off the burner to make sure that he didn't light his apartment on fire, he walked to the door and answered it, surprised to see Kayla on the other end. "Kayla?" he asked. "Is everything OK?"
"Everything's okay," she assured him with a sad smile. She took in his appearance with a raised eyebrow, but said nothing about it for now. "Just... Kinda occurred to me that I don't want to go home right now." Home being on her brother's couch, and to be honest, he wasn't very happy with her at the moment. He had liked Deanna. "And since you're the only person that I know that doesn't want to hurt me, I figured..."
"I'm not sure why anyone would want to hurt you," he said, stepping aside so that she could come in. Still, that was his feelings about her. He had actually been curious about her living situation since her break up with her girlfriend, but hadn't wanted to impose upon her with his questions. Maybe tonight was the night to ask. "Have you eaten yet?"
"No," she murmured as she stepped in, running her fingers through her short hair out of habit. "Don't feel like you have to feed me, though," she added.
"I don't mind," he said to her, shutting and locking the door behind him. "I tend to cook more than I eat, anyway." He actually didn't eat a lot at all. Maybe it was due to his non-human heritage.
"Smells good at least," she replied, and bless her, she really DID try not to comment on his outfit. It didn't last long, obviously. "Is it laundry day, or something?" She smirked.
He snorted as he headed back to the kitchen. "I happen to find it very hot and muggy outside," he said. "Not everyone can walk around in jeans and feel comfortable all the time."
She chuckled as she followed him into the kitchen, trying to stay out of his way as much as possible. "I guess if you're not native, it takes a bit of getting used to."
He was actually cooking a roast and some vegetables, so there would be plenty for Kayla to have. "Well, I'm certainly not even a native to this country, much less this city, so I think I fall under the phrase *still getting used to,*"
She smiled and leaned back against the kitchen counter, honestly surprised that he went to such effort to cook for himself. She didn't. Especially lately. "I have faith that you'll acclimatize soon enough."
He chuckled. "Maybe...we'll just have to see on that." As for why he cooked so well for himself? Some people liked to eat real food, instead of over processed stuff.
"I'm sorry to impose on you like this. I hope you didn't have an exciting evening planned," she said, actually managing one of her cheeky smiles. Something told her he didn't have a date, given his outfit. Although the thought of him going out in shorts almost made her laugh.
He shook his head. "I had nothing planned, so don't worry about it." Frankly, he didn't know many people outside of his 'work' and wouldn't know what to do with most of them.
"Okay," she murmured, actually hopping up onto the kitchen counter this time to get more comfortable. "I'm sure we can think of something to do."
He shook his head. "I'm typically happy to be at home at night," he told her. "I don't lead that exciting of a life when I'm on my own."
"I try to keep busy," she replied, swinging her feet a little. Obviously she didn't have work tonight, but... the question was: was coming here her last resort, or first?
He actually didn't really mind if it was either one. "Just didn't have much else to do tonight?" he asked with a slight smile.
"No," she admitted with a chuckle. "But it's kinda nice to see how you live. Although I have to say that I'm really against you joining the village people," she teased, poking her tongue out at him.
He arched an eyebrow at her. "The village people?" OK, she had managed to confuse him a little. Most of the 'older generation' of Watchers were a little bit sheltered, OK?
She laughed. "They're gay icons from the 70's that did music in the 70s dressed up in outfits. There was an Indian, a police officer... a cowboy... I'm sure you see where I'm going with this."
"But I'm not gay." Yeah, right over his head, here. "So, I suppose I am not planning on joining them any time soon."
"No. Actually, I'm pretty sure one of them's straight and married... but that's not the point," she laughed and shook her head. "Don't worry. I'm just in a silly mood."
He tilted his head at her slightly. "I can tell." He turned toward the stove and took the vegetables off so that they wouldn't burn. "The roast should be done in about twenty minutes."
"You don't approve?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, before nodding about dinner. "Do you want me to do anything?"
He smiled. "It's fine," he said to her. "And everything's almost done, so don't worry about it." He turned the stove off and looked back toward her. "Are you sure that everything is OK?"
"Well, I should do the dishes then. It's only fair," she replied. She considered his question and nodded, "I'm fine. Why do you ask? Apart from the impromptu visit, obviously."
"Fine, then you can do the dishes," he said to her. "As for why I ask, other than the visit itself, I do know that you're going through a lot right now. I just...I worry is all."
"Oh, I'm better than I was," she told him. She wanted to beat the everliving SHIT out of Remy Benoit last week, but hadn't. That was progress, right? "Spending time with you helps."
"Well, I'm glad that I'm helping you out," he said to her. If he had known that she thought of beating up Remy Benoit last week, well, he might have had more to say about it. Then again, at least she *hadn't.*
She smiled then and cleared her throat awkwardly before hopping off of her perch, before collecting cutlery and plates for them.
Twenty minutes later, food was set out for them and they were both sitting at the small table that he had. "What would you like to drink?" he asked her.
"Uhm, whatever you're having. Or planned to have," she told him. This looked like the most decent meal she'd have in weeks, honestly, although she doubted she'd eat much, since she hadn't had much of a appetite.
"I was actually going to have a glass of wine if that's good with you," he said to her with a slight smile. If he knew how poorly she had been eating, he would have cooked for her a lot more.
"That sounds perfect," she replied with a smile, waiting for him to pour their drinks and sit down before she started eating, since that was only polite. "What were you going to do before I came? Read?"
He poured them both a glass of wine and, after handing her hers, sat down in his own seat. "Probably. I hadn't given it much thought." He smiled. "Spending time with you is a much better way of passing the evening."
She accepted the glass. "Thank you," she replied with a faint blush. She took a sip of her wine and set the glass down, before starting on her meal. "Do you enjoy cooking?"
"Actually, I do," he said, taking a sip of his wine before starting in on his meal as well. "It's not something I usually get to share with others, though." He usually only cooked for himself.
"It bothers me that you spend so much time alone," she told him, before spearing a few carrots and munching on them. "Although I guess you'd be used to it." She'd also noticed that he wasn't much of a people person, so there's that.
"I uh...I am not very good with people, mostly," he admitted to her as he cut up some of his roast. Well, he seemed OK with her from the start, but he hadn't managed to branch out past her. Of course, he didn't really want to much.
She smiled at him and ate more of her meal quietly for a few minutes, chewing thoughtfully before setting down her knife and fork and taking a sip of her wine. "Do you prefer to be alone, though?"
"Sometimes," he admitted. He had been a loner growing up. The slayer he had been assigned to before Kayla had rejected him and been killed, which was why he wouldn't leave Kayla alone about it this time. He didn't seem to do well with anyone other than Kayla, honestly. "I like being with you, though."
"Because I'm fabulous, obviously," she replied jokingly. She smiled though and meet his eyes briefly before looking down and clearing her throat, "I'm sorry, I don't seem to have much of an appetite. It was nice, though."
He laughed a little. "Obviously," he sad to her. He worried that she wasn't eating enough lately. She needed her strength. "It's OK. You can always eat more later." Maybe an invitation to stay if she wanted. Even he wasn't sure.
"I could," she agreed, watching him curiously. She cleared her plate from the table and started tidying up, as she said she would. Filling the sink with water and dish washing liquid.
He nodded. "If you want, of course," he told her. He didn't want to push her. He just had the feeling that she was in between living situations right now. He at least had a guest room, for some reason.
"You don't think that that might be... awkward?" She asked him, her cheeks flushing slightly.
He thought on it for a moment, and then just shrugged. He really wasn't sure what was awkward and what wasn't. Most things dealing with people felt awkward to him, so he wasn't a good judge.
"Okay then. I'll stay," she replied with a small smile. "Thank you." Not wanting to linger on the moment too long, she scooped up some soap suds and blew them in his general direction with a giggle.
"Good," he said to her with a smile, then laughed when she blew suds at him. He just wished she would smile more these days.
It didn't take long for her to do the cleaning up and when she was done she dried her hands and hopped back on the counter again. "Don't feel like you have to entertain me or anything, though."
He shook his head. "That makes it sound like a chore or just something I don't want to do," he pointed out to her. "I happen to like spending time with you."
"Sorry," she replied with a slight wince. "I didn't mean ... Actually, I don't know what I mean," she chuckled and shook her head.
He gave her a slight smile and shrugged. "I'm not terribly sure what you meant, either." Other than possibly she had low self esteem right now, which wasn't too much of a shock.
"Thank you, Gabriel," she said to him, maintaining eye-contact. Thinking that wasn't enough, she hopped off of her perch and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a gentle hug. "You're a good man."
He seemed a little startled by the physical contact, but hugged her back just the same. He just wasn't used to it, obviously. Didn't mean that he didn't like it. "You're welcome," he said to her.