Who: Emma Swan and Stefan Salvatore When: Late February Where: Supermarket What: Random Encounter Warnings: Low/None Status: Complete
Stefan probably looked like a fish out of water as he stood in the pasta aisle in the supermarket. He’d offered to make dinner for Anna, since she’d been studying so hard she hadn’t been eating properly. And she bought about a hundred boxes of Girl Scout cookies for the house, too, so he wanted to say thank-you. But it’d been a while since he’d cooked, and he wasn’t sure what Anna liked. There were just too many options. Now he was torn between a cream sauce and a red sauce (he was simply going to buy a jar, making from scratch seemed like too much effort) and between the different shapes of noodles. He was probably putting far too much thought into this.
Since she’d reached the point in the pregnancy where she stopped caring about how much weight she ended up putting on, Emma tended to head right to the filling stuff before even consulting the list she had for needed things. The supplies for Henry’s lunch were collected, some yoghurts, cheese and milk, then it was trying to think on things for meals.
It wasn’t like she was the one cooking it all mind you, that was more Neal’s speed and he did a great job of it. But remembering what Henry liked was likely the easiest to go with since she wasn’t sure if Neal really had a preference for what he ended up cooking.
Hitting up the pasta stuff, because they definitely needed more macaroni, and getting the pasta sheets for some lasagna, Emma reached past the guy standing there to get the sauces to add to her impressive shop. “Y’okay there? You look like they just insulted you.” She might not cook a lot, but she at least knew what sauce went on what pasta.
Stefan turned and caught sight of a blonde woman with a fairly full cart. He took a half-step to the side to get out of her way. “...well, to be fair, it’s not like they’re considerate sauces.” He quipped, motioning to the jars on the shelf.
“They really aren’t.” And sometimes Emma wasn’t sure how people were meant to know which sauce to put on what. The bolognese sauce and lasagna were at least considerate enough to be called that. Luckily Emma had gotten on point with figuring out what Neal needed to make their meals, since he was the much better cook of the pair of them.
“What’re you making?”
“Dinner.” ...obviously. It wasn’t like he was in the pasta aisle because he was making eggs, or something. Pancakes. Salad. Only one of those went well with pasta. Stefan was quick to add, “for my roommate. Trouble is, I’m not sure what kind she likes. I don’t want to be too generic, because I want her to know that I did it on purpose. Thought of her while I was shopping and cooking. On the other hand, if I pick out something she really doesn’t like, it sort of defeats the purpose of cooking in the first place.”
Okay, that was kind of cute, Emma just gave him a small smile. “Well, you tend not to be able to go wrong with cheese or bolognese sauce. Most people like those just fine.” Really she knew there were a few people who didn’t like it, but most of the time you’d know. Especially living with someone. “And it doesn’t need to be the sauce that makes her know you did it on purpose or that it’s something special. You can get a nice desert she likes or wine or something. Do the meal a certain way. My son loves his dad’s mac and cheese, but I know when the bacon goes in, it’s a special treat for me.”
The little things, right? Those were the things that mattered.
Stefan was a kind of cute guy. On the outside. Inside he was all Ripper Rage and Bloodlust. But this was a pleasant conversation in a supermarket, so kind of cute it was. He nodded. “Bologneses is a good idea. And I can get some parmesan or something for on top.” Food hadn’t tasted the same since he became a vampire, but he could still eat. And did enjoy spending time with Anna while she was eating. She stopped talking while she was eating.
“Well, I know she likes Chocolate. Maybe I’ll pick up some chocolate cake for the house, or something.” Stefan mused. Hey, this had been a very helpful conversation.
“Not for the house,” Emma just smirked, “get one of those small cakes, like the Chocolate Death things, they do them for like a two person eating. That way she knows it’s just for you guys and not for sharing.” Sure, he said roommate, but Emma wasn’t sure if it was hopefully going to be more or not, but every girl liked to know that someone was thinking about them, didn’t they?
“I’m pretty sure she’ll just appreciate you thinking about her long enough to make her dinner.”
It honestly wasn’t a ‘hopefully more’ thing. This was just Stefan being a considerate guy, a good friend, and a damn good roommate. He felt a little bad that Anna couldn’t have a puppy--he might eat it--and that he’d bitten her the day they moved into the house. He felt bad that she was so jumpy, too. He assumed it was because she was surrounded by vampires, but it could have been anything, really.
“That’s what I’m hoping for.” Stefan said. He grabbed a bottle of sauce from the shelf and put it into his basket. “She deserves a night off. The kid’s working far too hard.” He picked up a package of pasta, too, from a different shelf. “Thanks for the advice.” It was obvious he appreciated it.
“I’m sure she’ll be very touched at your thoughtfulness.” Because sure, it was just food, but the thought behind it was sweet. “Speaking as a woman, we very much appreciate anyone making food for us.” There was that whole ‘the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach’, but Emma was sure it worked for women too. Especially considering she’d poison Neal while he made them delicious goodness all the time.
“I hope it turns out great.” Chocolate cake would likely erase the memory if it didn’t.
“Thanks.” Stefan gave the other woman a smile. It was a relieved, genuine smile. She’d helped him quite a bit, and the Dreams were getting better. Things were definitely looking up. “Have a great day.”