Roxanne "Roxy" Morton (no_heights) wrote in onewaythreads, @ 2017-11-29 16:15:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, merlin abernathy, roxy |
Who: Merlin & Roxy
What: Cooking Lesson
When: First week of November
Where: Merlin’s place
Rating: Low
Status: Complete!
Roxy had been hesitant in taking Merlin’s offer to show her how to cook. But he had seemed adamant and he always brought up her willingness to try things as Lancelot so she felt it was only necessary to prove him right. She would step up to the challenge, even if she lacked the courage. If you can jump out of a plane, you can do this. It became a mantra throughout the evening as he showed her various skills and helped her through the process. It was actually going quite well until...well, there was a lot to keep track of while you were cooking! You had to heat the water and then wait for that, then also start to cut the veggies, but not too early or they would start to soften/brown and then you had to toss the pasta into the boiling water…
Roxy must have been flying through the kitchen, hair tendrils hanging in her face as she tried to keep track of everything. She must have flung a towel down too close to the open flame of the stovetop because she turned around and there was a…”FIRE!” Roxy panicked for a moment, before she grabbed a towel to try and smother it, but it seemed that a bit of the cooking oil had caught as well.
“Bloody hell, Merlin do you have a fire extinguisher?”
--
“A wha- What the hell, Roxy?!” Well that was quite a sight. A dishrag and cooking oil both on fire. Wonderful.
Hindsight was a beautiful thing. Merlin should have thought to tell Roxy to put her hair in a ponytail, but he didn’t. She wasn’t a child to be commanded. He should have listened to Roxy about her cooking skills. He thought she was just being harsh on herself. He should have known keeping a towel on the counter was a bad idea. It made cleaning up spills easier though.
He didn’t think a cooking lesson would turn into a disaster.
“Over to the side! By the toaster! Grab it while I smother it!” Grabbing the top of a pan, Merlin slammed it onto the oiled rag. “When I lift, fire the hose!” Thinking she had grabbed it, he lifted the lid and turned towards her.
Hindsight would have told him to look first, then lift. Oops.
--
“I’m sorry! Damnit…” Roxy turned around and looked for the extinguisher, grabbing it and looking at the instructions. It was different than the one from home and now Merlin was lifting the lid and she wasn’t ready! “Stupid bloody thing,” she muttered, pulling the pin and aiming the nozzle at the flames. A few quick bursts and the white foam was smothering the flames as well as the food they were trying to prepare.
When everything had been done, Roxy stood there, still holding the extinguisher, her mouth slightly opened as she looked at the chaos that was Merlin’s kitchen. She glanced at him as well, having gotten a bit of the retardant on himself and she pressed her lips together. “Sorry Merlin.” She lowered her arms, slumping against the countertops and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.
“I can order us pizza?”
--
That could have gone better.
So there was foam all over his kitchen and on him. Parts of his kitchen were damaged and what was a cooking lesson had become a different sort of eye-opener. Roxy, though brave and determined, could not cook. At all.
On the plus side, the fire was out.
Wiping the foam from his face, Merlin knew he had another job to do. He had to cheer Roxy up. He hated to see her so defeated. With a nod, he said, “Order us some pizza. I’ll go get changed and we’ll eat and watch a movie. Do you need a change of clothes as well, lass?”
--
Roxy wiped her hands on her pants, glancing up at his offer for a change of clothes. “You think you’d have something that would fit me?” She grinned, shrugging her shoulders. “If you find anything you think would work, I can change into it.” She didn’t like the idea of sitting on anything of Merlin’s with her current state of foam, sweat, and various degrees of cooking all over her. “But I’ll get the pizza and we can go from there.”
She waited until he had left to change himself before she pulled out her phone, sighing and looking through it for a good pizza place that would deliver. She sent a text to Eggsy, a sort of lament of how the evening was going before she ordered a large pepperoni pizza with a few breadsticks to start. She was hungry after this whole ordeal.
“Pizza’s on its way,” she shouted, making her way into the living area. Merlin had always been a mentor to Roxy, especially after their first assignment with Valentine. It felt a bit strange to just hang out with him, but she appreciated his attempt to teach her some life lessons. She worried he might now think differently of her; it had always been a professional setting between the two and he had made a comment about her work with Kingsman…
She sighed and leaned against the wall, not wanting to sit down quite yet. Hopefully he could find something that would work for the rest of the evening. She could already hear the teasing she would get from Eggsy when she got home.
--
“I’m sure I’ll have something,” he told her. “I’ll be right back.”
He had to have something. Sure, most of his closest consisted of sweaters, but he had other items. (Did sweater vests count as ‘other?’) Once in his room, he started looking through his closets. Sweater after sweater, oxford shirts, a few polos, and he wasn’t sure what he expected. He used to be a Kingsman. He was a tech wizard. Casual clothes weren’t something he wore often. Even his pajamas seemed formal.
(Who could complain about button-down pajamas in yves-saint blue with the kingsman insignia on it though?)
When he was about to give up, Merlin finally came across the perfect shirt. Sure, it was large and would fit her like a dress, but it was something. He had a love for the muppets, Beaker especially, and he had almost forgotten he had that shirt. It was a good thing he found it.
After changing into a new sweater (he really needed to buy something different), he walked back to the kitchen and held out the shirt for Roxy. “Apologies for the delay, lass. I didn’t think my pants would fit, but I hope this shirt helps.
“Did you order, by the way? If you want to get changed, I can wait for the delivery. I got it taken care of.” He was a gentleman, after all, and Roxy was his guest. Her money would not be welcomed in his home.
--
“Yeah, pizza’s been ordered,” she said, pushing herself away from the wall, glancing at the shirt he held out to her. She hesitated for a moment, blinking as she took in the shirt he was handing her. She couldn’t help but grin at it, glancing at Merlin with a raised eyebrow. “This is your shirt? Have you ever worn it before?” She took it from his hands, trying to imagine him in it and it made her smile even more.
There was only a moment of hesitation before she proceeded to walk down the hall. She’d keep her jeans on, but at least she could wear this instead of her current top; she hadn’t gotten the worst of it, but it was still a bit damp from the foam melting into it.
When she came back out, the shirt did almost hang like a dress on her and she had pulled her hair back, all the flyaways carefully tucked in. She felt a bit more at ease and came to sit on the couch, folding her socked feet underneath her. She didn’t argue the money portion as she had left some bills sitting on his dresser before she had come back out. By the time he noticed it there, she’d have left and they didn’t have to argue over who was paying and who wasn’t. She knew Merlin well enough to know how that would end.
“I just ordered pepperoni pizza, I hope that’s alright?” She turned to look at him, trying to settle and feel more at ease with her mentor.
--
“It’s all right. Pepperoni is fine.” He wondered if she was comfortable sitting like that. “Did you want something to drink? I could even split that scotch you got for me. We did say we’d end up splitting the bottle next time we got together.” And boy, did they need it now more than ever.
A cooking lesson gone wrong. Of course it would happen. Merlin had to make things right though. Sure, a small fire had happened, but he couldn’t have Roxy feeling bad. He invited her over and he insisted she learn when she said otherwise. He was at fault.
Standing up, he walked over to a wall unit and picked up the bottle and two glasses. Looking at her shirt, he gave a small nod. “You really didn’t know I liked the muppets? I’m here because of them.” He had mentioned it to some of the other Kingsman members in the past, such as Harry, but perhaps he hadn’t to Roxy and Eggsy. Now was a good time to tell then. Maybe it would help her relax.
--
“Don’t I always want something to drink?” She moved to watch him grab the bottle, a smile on her lips. “Good, happy to be sharing it with you because I made sure to get you the good stuff.” She watched as he poured and she glanced at him, imaging what he would look like in the tee. “No, I only know you like sweaters and tartan jackets.” It may have given away how much she observed him, but almost everyone in the Kingsman knew.
“How on earth did the Muppets get you where you are today?”
--
“Smart lass.” Smiling at her, he poured the drink into the two glasses, then handed her one.
Okay, so she was observant. While he did favor sweaters and tartan patterns, there was one other factor into it. “Ah, but I wore those during work. Do you think I wore those even when I wasn’t working?” Bad question, since he did wear them off the clock, but he still had some casual clothes.
Quick to change the topic, he said, “The Muppets contained two of my favorite things; Beaker and John Denver. I liked Beaker and how he was into science, which got me into Kingsman. If I didn’t favor science, I wouldn’t be where I am now.” He’d hate to think where he’d be, actually.
--
“Cheers.” She held up her glass to him as she took a drink, feeling that familiar burn go down her throat. She loved it. She had never been too big of a drinker until she started working for the Kingsman. It was amazing how many times you would get back from a mission and want a drink, no matter how it had turned out. A drink to celebrate or a drink to wipe away the mess that had come along from it or a drink to celebrate you had been able to walk away one more time.
She was pretty proud of her alcohol limit.
She held her glass in both hands as she listened to him talk about his love of a certain Muppet and how it had led to an interest in science. She couldn’t help but grin, shaking her head. She just couldn’t imagine a little Merlin, sitting in front of the telly, watching the Muppets and deciding he had an interest in science because he loved that silly little scientist. It was almost too adorable.
“Beaker’s pretty cool,” she said, nodding her head. “I’m a classic Kermit fan myself.” She finished off her drink, setting the glass on the table. “And I didn’t know John Denver was apart of the Muppets?”
--
“Ah, but he guest starred enough times that he should have been part of the cast.” A joke he had told time and again, but one he favored. It easily explained his love of Denver and how a Scottish man had ‘Country Roads’ as his favorite song.
Taking a sip of his drink, Merlin decided to go searching. “You’ve listened to him, right? I have some of his music if you want to hear. Otherwise we could watch something.” And try to forget the smell of burnt pan and failure that would waft in from the kitchen.
Before he could go look, the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it.” Setting his drink down, the older man left her alone to retrieve the pizza.
--
Well, she was certainly getting to know Merlin a bit more and she couldn’t help but smile as he walked towards the door. Who knew the top technological mind in Kingsman had a soft spot for the Muppets and John Denver?
When he came back with the pizza, she stood to go back into the kitchen, trying not to look at her own failures, and grabbed some plates for the two of them. “I don’t think I have heard any of his songs. I mean, I know who he is but his music…” She gave a shrug of her shoulders in response. It wasn’t really her type of music, but she wouldn’t be opposed to listening to it. She had rather enjoyed her music days with Cas, why not open it up?
“Maybe you can play some after we eat?”
--
After getting the pizza (and giving the driver a nice tip), Merlin returned to the dining room and set the pizza on the table. He had to admit, he was glad not just for the simple dinner but a simple evening as well. Maybe the plan went awry for a reason. He couldn’t complain.
“All right, lass. I’d be delighted,” he said, opening the box for her. “You first.”
--
Roxy grinned and reached over to grab a piece from the box, taking a bite while the cheese was still hot. “Mmmm...yes, much better.” Roxy couldn’t help but glance back towards the kitchen, glancing as Merlin took a seat.
“I will clean that up too. Sorry again.” She made an apologetic face, embarrassed that she had almost ruined his kitchen. “Hopefully it’s not too damaged?” Whatever needed fixing, Roxy would make sure to come over and help...or at least find the right people that could help in this instance. She didn’t know a lot about home repair, but how hard could it be?
“Thanks for trying to show me. I told you I was a bit helpless.” She didn’t like that she was failing under Merlin’s watch. He had pointed out that the Lancelot he knew didn’t give up so easily and she liked that that was his perspective on her. Not quite correct, as she pointed out she was both Lancelot and Roxy, but she didn’t want to disappoint her mentor in any fashion.
“I think I’ll just have to stick to cup of noodles and take out.”
--
Taking a piece of pizza, Merlin thought about her words. His kitchen wasn’t too badly damaged. A new paint job and some fixing here and there and it’d be all better. It wasn’t that big of a deal. It was just the shock of everything happening at once. That’s all.
Besides, he hated to see Roxy down just like that. He knew that while she was brave and determined, there were times when doubt and fear clouded her mind. When she first started at Kingsman it had happened, but Eggsy had talked her into continuing, and now it was his turn.
“We just need to try again,” he said, like it was no big deal. Picking up a slice of pizza, he took a bite as he thought over his words. “You’re not helpless. I didn’t know how bad it was. Now that I do, I think I know where to start. We’ll eat and relax this time, but next time we’ll get you doing something simple. You need more than cup of noodles and take out to survive, lass.”
--
Roxy hesitated on taking another bite of her pizza, surprised that Merlin was willing to continue with their lessons. “Are you sure? I mean...how many times are you going to redo your kitchen because I’m a hopeless mess?” Alright, so that was a bit far and she might be playing the pity card a bit too heavily. But for now, she just shrugged her shoulders. It was easy for him to offer and accept now, but that didn’t mean she would have to remind him about it.
“Seems to be working well so far,” she said, a shrug of her shoulders. She was sure that Merlin was starting to see the other side of her as much as she was seeing the more fun side to him. It was a bit strange, but also kind of nice. Eggsy had been the only agent she had really felt comfortable with, putting on her more professional side when working or speaking with others. Maybe Merlin would start to become more like a friend than someone she admired so much.
“So Thanksgiving. We’re still on, yeah? I think Harry did agree to let us use his kitchen.” Which would be good. Roxy could make the drinks and leave the cooking to the rest of them.
--
“Oh, no, next time we’ll use your kitchen.” It was half in jest, but partially true. His kitchen might not be done with repairs by the time they got together again. They needed another places so her’s would have to do. Besides, it gave him a chance to see what she had to work with. Did she use an electric or gas stove? What about what pots and pans she had? What utensils was she using?
“I’m still sure though. We just need to try again. I have a general idea of what could happen now and I can prevent that.” Or try. Still, knowing was half the battle. He was better off with the knowledge he had now than he was before.
Finishing his slice of pizza, he put down the crust and went for another slice. “Thanksgiving is still on. We’ll get you to make some side dish by then, at least. And we won’t damage Harry’s kitchen. We’ll leave that to Eggsy.”