Elizabeth doesn't know who she's becoming (manylighthouses) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2014-05-26 14:42:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, aramis, elizabeth comstock |
“Should I be worried about your father?”
Who: Elizabeth and Aramis.
When: Mid-May.
Where: Aramis’ home.
What: Aramis is cooking, it's very romantic.
Rating/Warning: Warnings for awkward adorableness, you may get a cavity?
Status: Complete!
Aramis was glad that Elizabeth was coming over. He really quite enjoyed her company, and she was a good way to get other people off his mind. It was certainly much better to put his time and attention on her, at any rate. He tidied up his ground floor flat, which was a lot more than he cared to do for most people, and got dinner started. French food just took that little bit of extra time.
Once he ran out of things to do, he tamed his hair a little, then picked up a book to pass the time until Elizabeth arrived.
Torn between getting a bottle of good wine and buying something to bring for dessert, Elizabeth had eventually settled on both. She had enough money not to spare any expense, but she didn't want to show Aramis up, either.
So she'd selected a good mid-range wine that would go well with dessert, and had stopped off at Baxter's bakery to grab something to go with it.
By the time she made it to Aramis's door, she'd managed to work herself up into a near nervous wreck. She knocked, then fidgeted with her hair a bit while waiting for him to answer it.
When Aramis answered the door, he gave Elizabeth a wide smile and pressed a kiss to her cheek before stepping aside. “Hello, come in. I thought I told you that you only needed to bring yourself,” he teased when he saw the wine and the dessert. “Fortunately, I happen to love both wine and sugary pastry type items, so I suppose I can let it slide. This time.”
"Ah bon? Well, you might have, but I felt the need to bring something besides myself, anyway. It only seems right! You're doing all the cooking!" Elizabeth's cheeks went rosy at the kiss, and she couldn't help but duck her head a bit. Even though this wasn't the first time that Aramis had pecked her cheek. She still couldn't believe that this was her life, half the time.
"And it smells fantastic already! Hopefully I can flatter you enough with this wine and these pastries that you'll want to cook for me again. Without scolding me for bringing things!"
“I can hardly stay upset with such a pretty face,” he replied, giving her a wink. Closing the door behind Elizabeth, he placed his hand on the small of her back to lead her through the main sitting room and into the kitchen. “If you need to chill the wine you can put it in the fridge, along with dessert, if you’d like. Can I grab you something in the mean time?”
The hand against her back felt like electrical shocks and was very warm, though for some reason her reaction was to shiver. It wasn't a bad shiver, but a good one. Elizabeth was insanely attracted to this man, and she had no idea how handle it or even if he knew. The main failing of her upbringing was never learning how to deal with people at all, especially when it came to romance.
She giggled nervously and allowed herself to be lead further into the apartment, then nodded her head, "We definitely want to chill this wine. I think the pastries might last alright outside of the fridge, though. It's better to serve those at room temperature anyway! And... I'll just have some water, if you can get me a glass?"
The refrigerator was right there, so she went ahead and opened it up to put the wine away.
Oh, Aramis knew. Or at least he had a strong idea that she was attracted, which certainly made him happy. She was, after all, very pretty and kind, and he liked that. It wasn’t often he found himself a nice girl, so he was enjoying this.
“Water it is,” he said, getting a glass from the cupboard. He poured out some water for Elizabeth and handed it to her, then leaned against the counter. “And how are you lately? Everything’s good, I hope.”
"Thank you." Elizabeth took the glass in her hand and sipped off of it while trying to sort through the current events. She wasn't sure how much of her dreams she could tell him, "I've been dreaming, like everyone else. For a while they just seemed to be mirrors of my real life! Only in the past, around the nineteen hundreds. I think I mentioned before that I came across old weaponry and medical science. There's hand cannons and old hunting rifles and very old style machine guns. The person who came to rescue me from my tower gets injured often and I end up patching him up."
That was a good place to start, "It turns out he's here, too. Booker DeWitt. And the strangest thing is? He's my father. My... biological one. We have no idea in the dreams, isn't that odd?"
Aramis listened, raising his eyebrows a little. “How bizarre,” he said. Because it was. All of the dreams were sort of strange, he liked hearing about what everyone else was going through. “Should I be worried about your father?” Aramis teased.
"I honestly don't know. He isn't the father that raised me, and that one is gone... I think I mentioned before. We really only just found each other, and it... is very awkward. Which I guess can be expected. But I admit I didn't bring you up because I wasn't sure how he'd react." Elizabeth gave Aramis a sheepish smile, "Not that I'm ashamed of you!"
Aramis held up his hands. “It’s fine. I’d rather be left out of conversation for now anyway. I’ve had to deal with my share of fathers, I don’t mind avoiding it.” He gave her a smile that suggested he was teasing, but he likely wasn’t. “Here, why don’t you come look at these weapons and things. Since that was sort of my excuse for getting you over here in the first place.”
"It wasn't merely an excuse!" Elizabeth smiled at Aramis and waved her hand in the direction of... not the kitchen, "Do you want to take me to them, or bring them in here? Lead on, if you like."
Elizabeth thought she'd probably willingly follow Aramis just about anywhere, "You know... if you just wanted to get me to come over to your place, you didn't have to come up with a reason. All you had to do was say 'I'm cooking dinner for you Elizabeth, please come over'. Or even... some variation... of wanting me to be here with you."
“Oh, well, I’ll remember that for next time.” Aramis laughed and he put his arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders, leading her to the living room. “Have a seat if you’d like,” he told her. He didn’t really have anywhere else to put these things, and, trying to figure out a good way to display them, he left them tucked away in the living room. The sword was still sheathed in smooth but worn leather, and his pistol was wrapped carefully in a cloth to keep it from getting marked. The needles and various medical tools were left in their original roll of leather and cloth, and Aramis set all of the items on the coffee table.
“Here they are,” he told her, looking at them all with a certain fondness. He really did feel like they were his. The pistol had an elaborate filigree pattern inlaid into it - in fact, most of Aramis’s things from the dreams where elaborate or customized. And they all looked well used, but certainly not as antiqued like something from that time period should be. “It’s like they’ve been plucked right from my dreams and handed to me.”
There was a brief moment where Elizabeth got to cuddle herself in against the warmth of Aramis's body, and that was enough to leave her blushing furiously by the time she'd taken a seat on the couch. The closeness had been very nice and she desperately wanted more of that. Maybe she needed advice. The next time she was on the network, she made a mental note to ask someone.
But her mental note soon faded away when her eyes caught sight of all the goodies that Aramis laid on the table. Elizabeth let out a gasp of awe and reached out a hand to reverently touch the leather on the scabbard, which looked hand tooled, then turned her attention to the roll of medical tools, "Si magnifique! Look at this beautiful craftsmanship... and I can hardly believe my eyes. It's like they haven't aged at all. The only wear is from use..."
Her tone was a near-whisper, as if she could make the items fade away if she spoke too loudly, "The needles and tools especially, you'd never find any in this condition today."
Aramis couldn’t help but preen. After all, at least some version of himself had valued these weapons enough to keep them in good condition, and that was evident. Of course he was proud of them. Her reactions were wonderful to him.
“A friend of mine had his own sword appraised. I was thinking perhaps of doing the same, but the sentimental value is worth more than any monetary value.”
"Still, it might be worth it to get these things appraised. Not because you want to sell them - I think that would almost be a crime in some way - but because of insurance reasons." Elizabeth replied, her tone still solemn in the presence of such grand instruments and weaponry. Her hand delicately tugged out one of the needles and tested it. Though she'd never worked with things like that in her real life, she seemed to know her way around the equipment. Her head nodded a bit, "Though why anyone would want to steal these, I'm not sure. The weapons are a more likely target for thieves."
“Maybe.” Aramis looked over the weapons, then glanced up at Elizabeth with an amused sort of smirk. “But I’d like to see someone try and rob me.” He stretched a bit and glanced at the clock. “I’m just going to go check on supper, make yourself at home. Bazin might be snuffling over at some point to say hello if he’s not too busy napping.”
"Whoever tried it would definitely regret it," Elizabeth agreed. She had no doubts that Aramis knew exactly how to use the weapons before her, and probably half a dozen more. The dreams he had, with all the adventures in them, lent themselves to forging a capable fighter.
And it was extremely attractive. Elizabeth couldn't help that. The first man she'd ever met in the dreams had been a man with a gun, and the first one she'd really met here was Aramis. Who could be a man with a gun, if he wanted to be.
She made herself more comfortable on the couch, saving space for Bazin should he decide to come visit, "I hope he approves. I've heard that pets not liking you can be a deal breaker for people."
Aramis wouldn’t offend her sensibilities by confirming that, yes, he was very capable when it came to certain weapons. Instead he just laughed from his spot in the kitchen. “Bazin likes just about anyone. And how could anyone or any animal not like you?”
"I don't know, but I think it's possible, isn't it? Everyone has someone or something they don't get along with, even me." Elizabeth tucked her feet up on the couch and looked around Aramis' living room. The food he was cooking smelled so good that she was actually starting to hear her stomach growl.
That wasn't very attractive. Oops.
"Are you sure you don't need some help in there?"
“I suppose. But not with you.” Aramis peers around the entrance to the kitchen and pretends to look thoughtful. “Well. I suppose I could always use a taste tester. If that seems appealing to you.”
"That seems VERY appealing to me!" Elizabeth exclaimed, jumping up off the couch. The exclamation might have been loud enough to wake Bazin from his nap, but now she was darting out of the living room and back into the kitchen.
Where Aramis and his delicious food awaited. She very quickly - and quite nervously - pecked her lips against his cheek as she passed him, then grinned at herself. Job well done, Elizabeth! She was really very proud of herself for getting up the nerve.
He grinned, quite pleased, really, by the little kiss. He took a spoon and dipped it in a sauce, which he held out for Elizabeth to taste. “What do you think? Too much, not enough, just right?”
The sauce was absolutely divine, and a little groan escaped Elizabeth's throat as she tasted it. If she hadn't already been practically starving, this sauce definitely would have whet her palate. She bounced on her heels a bit, "C'est délicieux! You don't need to add anything to it... and can we eat it yet? I have to say... my stomach is about to make the most embarrassing series of noises."
“We can’t have that, can we?” Aramis turned off the oven and reached to the cupboard to get some plates. “I think we can absolutely eat. Would you mind taking these to the table?” he asked, handing over the plates. “And cutlery is just in the drawer next to the fridge.” In the meantime, he took some fish from the oven and grabbed glasses for their wine.
Taking things from Aramis's hands gave Elizabeth another chance to bump up against him and shyly caress her fingers against his for a second. The touch was still like an electric shock and it gave her such a thrill that she giggled as she collected their cutlery, "I'd be happy to set the table!"
She bounced out of the room with the plates and cutlery and quickly set them up, then headed back into the kitchen to retrieve their wine glasses, so that they could be set into their places, too. "There are candles on the table, we should light them! It would be... very romantic, non?"
“I love a good touch of romance.” Aramis handed her the wine as well so he could carry in their supper, then he went in search of some matches. When he returned, he lit the candles and dimmed the lights. “I think we’re all set,” he said, giving Elizabeth what he felt was one of his more charming smiles. He even pulled out her chair before pouring out some wine for her.
"We definitely seem to be," Elizabeth replied, with a bashful smile. She loved it when he did gentlemanly things like that, and felt a little more confident about the evening in general, now that her initial nervousness was out of the way.
With the wine poured and the meal before her, Elizabeth picked up her fork and winked at him, "This looks divine, and I can't wait for dessert."