Apt #14, MHA, Saturday Evening

[hasaknightjob]

Steven hadn't seen Llewellyn since Thursday. Actually Steven hadn't seen anyone since Thursday, having needed to take a some time to himself. But, unsurprisingly, Llewellyn was the one Steven most wanted to see once he felt ready to take over the body again. So he and Llewellyn agreed to have a dinner date that night.

Steven wanted to make things a bit more special than usual, though. So in addition to having dinner delivered and ready to go by the time Llewellyn got there, the table was set with the nicest plates and silverware that Steven and Marc owned. Tea candles were placed on the table and the electric lights dimmed to provide a more intimate atmosphere. A playlist of songs provided soft background music with selections both romantic and appropriate for slow dancing later, should they be so inclined.

In honor of the Lunar new year, dinner was a meant to be shared assortment of scallion pancakes, potstickers, spring rolls, and shumai, along with fried rice and Buddha's Delight for the main. Dessert consisted of sweet dumplings and cookies shaped like rabbits.

Food and water bowls had been set up for Raphael on the floor of the dining area and, since Raphael would likely have been fed already, the food bowl only had a few treats in it for Raphael to nibble on should he be so inclined. The cat toys that lived in the flat were out in the living room, placed in such a way for Raphael to have the fun of discovering them as much as playing with them.

For his part, Steven wasn't dressed in a full suit - in spite of who he was dating, that still felt too formal to him for a night in. But he did have on a nice pair of navy blue slacks and a similarly nice lighter blue button down shirt.

All in all Steven wanted - hoped that the effect would be that Llewellyn felt like he was being treated a little extra special than their more casual dates. The only thing left was to wait and see if it worked.

Waiting nervously, of course. It was Steven after all.

[ooc: for the beau. Fine to say they had date night, contents of conversation NFB please]

Comments

[pocketpretzels]

Well, he needn’t wait much longer, as there was a familiar-sounding knock at the door.

[hasaknightjob]

In turn Llewellyn did not have to wait long for Steven to answer.

"Hello, you," Steven said. He stepped out of the way so that Llewellyn and Raphael could come inside and the door could be closed before the cat could start thinking about exploring the corridor instead of the flat.

[pocketpretzels]

"Hello, you," Watts replied, leaning in for a kiss of greeting. While being very careful of the cat in his arms, of course. Though said cat's insistent 'Mrrr!' made it quite evident that he too would like some attention from their host.

[hasaknightjob]

Luckily, Steven could multitask. So he tilted his head up to kiss Llewellyn at the same time he gave a light skritch behind one of Raphael's ears.

[pocketpretzels]

So talented!

Once Watts finally pulled away, he was able to take a moment to really take in everything Steven had set up: the romantic lighting, the food on the table, the music in the background... he leaned down to set Raphael gently on the floor and then stood back up, smiling. "This is- everything looks marvelous."

[hasaknightjob]

Steven looked hopeful at the compliment. "Yeah? I wanted to do something nice. Extra nice. For you."

[pocketpretzels]

Watts enjoyed even the most ordinary of their dates, of course, but that admission naturally merited another, very thorough kiss of appreciation.

[hasaknightjob]

Steven didn't mind longer kisses. They were, after all, rather nice themselves. He moved his hands up to rest on the back of Llewellyn's neck as they did, glad to have Llewellyn near.

[pocketpretzels]

"For me," Watts repeated, still a little awed, pulling back just far enough to rest his forehead against Steven's.

[hasaknightjob]

"For you," Steven confirmed. "I wanted to spoil you a little. Show how grateful I am for you."

[pocketpretzels]

"You are a wonder," Watts told him fondly.

[hasaknightjob]

"No, that's you tonight," Steven said. He brought his hands down so he could take one of Llewellyn's in his own. "Here. Before the food gets cold."

[pocketpretzels]

Watts smiled as he twined their fingers together. "Don't need to tell me twice."

[hasaknightjob]

Steven brought them over to their usual spots at the dining table. He gave Llewellyn a kiss on the cheek before motioning him to sit.

"Here, I'll take care of it."

[pocketpretzels]

"I- well, all right," Watts said as he sat. Definitely feeling more than a little spoiled already by the care Steven was taking.

[hasaknightjob]

Steven portioned out the various starters. They were meant to be split between two people, so in theory Llewellyn and Steven could have the same. But if the balance tipped to an extra item with some of Llewellyn's favorite ingredients on his plate, then whoops.

"So how are you? How's your day been?"

[pocketpretzels]

Yeah, the heart-eyes had started up pretty soon after Watts had crossed the threshold and they were not in any danger of stopping.

"Unremarkable," he said. "Well, until a few minutes ago, of course," he amended. "Did some reading. Went for a jog. And you've- been all right?" he asked.

[hasaknightjob]

Food taken care of, Steven poured them both a glass of wine. "They said this would pair well? Hope it's good?"

After all, Steven didn't have anything remotely like Llewellyn's skills with that sort of thing.

"And yeah, I'm all right," Steven said. "Needed time to think is all. Thank you. For understanding."

[pocketpretzels]

"Of course, darling," Watts said easily. Part of him suspected there was more to it than just needing time to think but this was neither time nor place to get into that.

He swished the wine around in the glass and gave it a sniff before taking a small sip. "An excellent choice," he said approvingly.

[hasaknightjob]

"Yeah?" Steven smiled with relief. "Right. Good. Dig in then."

Steven took his own seat finally. "I mean I wish I could do more, obviously. But it's not for any of us to interfere, is it? Only thing we can do is be there for Annie as she needs. Did you bring her that bread?"

[pocketpretzels]

"I did, yes," Watts nodded. "She seemed pleased by the gesture."

[hasaknightjob]

"That's good," Steven said. "Which one did you decide on?"

Steven at least knew it wasn't the cinnamon, they'd had that for breakfast together.

[pocketpretzels]

"The sourdough," Watts told him. "The plain white seemed, well. A little too plain. And Raphael made off with a chunk of the rye before I could stop him."

[hasaknightjob]

Steven knew he probably shouldn't laugh but he couldn't help it. He looked around to see where the cat had gotten to. "Is that right? Did you nick some of the bread again? What have we discussed about asking?"

[pocketpretzels]

Raphael was currently in the living room, batting around something that made a jingling noise, unaware or perhaps just unconcerned that he was the topic of discussion.

"He remains unrepentant," Watts said somberly.