Private A heartfelt gift

Stefan · Jan 9, 2021

A slight smokey haze filled the apartment. Sounds of sizzling meat could be heard from the kitchen, and a blur of blue hair moved back and forth in the kitchen with a rather stressed looking face.

Levina had decided to surprise Broen after he got off work by having dinner made and set. That wasn't going as planned as she had to start over on the hamburger helper she had picked up, thinking just following directions would be easy.

The coffee table was set for two as Levina desperately tried to finish before Broen came home. Her gift to him sitting nearby and almost forgotten about as dinner seemed more and more like a failure.

"Oh come on! I browned the meat first this time! Why doesn't it look like the box?!"

Great. Now she was pleading with the food as if that would help.

@Kada

Kada · Jan 25, 2021

Broen had taken extra shifts at the bakery to get the money that he needed for Levina's gifts. They were a little cheesy for sure, but he hoped that she liked them nonetheless. Honestly his biggest fear was that he had gone too far with the gifts. But Levina had made him feel so special since they had started dating; given him a way to ground himself in the new reality he was starting to get comfortable calling home.

Boxes wrapped in colorful paper and stacked in a bag for easy carrying, Broen opened the door into the apartment that he and Levina shared to the smell of cooking food. More specifically the subtly chemical smell of some kind of boxed dinner being cooked... or possibly burnt.

"Livewire?" he said, cocking an eyebrow as he eyed her in the kitchen from the door. "You okay there?" He was trying not to smirk, honest. But it was kind of hard when he could tell immediately what this was: she was trying to cook for him for once.

Stefan · Jan 25, 2021

The door cracking open was heard just above the noise she was making in the kitchen. Just what Levina was worried about, she hadn't finished yet, and Broen was home. His voice reached her ears and her panicked voice desperately tried to sound calm.

"Yeaaaa. Fine...perfectly...ugh....fine!"

Things were not fine, but were going better than they had been. She had managed to actually finish the main meal of Hamburger Helper's finest, beef stroganoff. Now she was plating it and trying not to make more of a mess than she had already. That was when she noticed the smell.

A slight hint of something burning. 'But the food is done...what's burn...BREAD!' Levina quickly put the plates down and moved to the oven. When she opened it, the smell quickly became overpowering. Quickly reaching in with a gloved hand, the blue haired ball of stress pulled out a silver foil like package that was browning on the outside. Inside held the undoubtedly black garlic knots.

"Well....dinner is done...."

She sounded defeated, but when she appeared from the kitchen with two plates in hand, there was a big smile on her face, trying to hide her disappointment. The plates were noticeably absent of the burnt bread that's scent was taking over the rest of the apartment.

"Welcome home Hero."

Kada · Feb 2, 2021

"Hey yourself, Livewire." It was hard not to sound amused, given the situation. But he did his best, because she had clearly been struggling with the meal prep.

Broen couldn't help but smile. He could tell exactly what this was, and he could swear it almost made his heart flutter. There was a distinct urge to go and see the extent of the damage that she had done in the kitchen, but he didn't want to ruin the moment.

"Looks tasty," he said, taking the plates from her and setting them down so that he could wrap his arms around her waist and kiss her. "And the food doesn't look half bad either," he teased, kissing her lightly on the lips.

"But no really, it looks great. Beef stroganoff is great." He noticed the smell of the burnt bread, obviously, but didn't bring attention to it. "Do you wanna eat first, or open gifts?"

Stefan · Feb 2, 2021

Levina swore she could see him trying to look through her at the state of the kitchen. Her smile dropped to a bit of a nervous one as she bit her lip lightly. It was understandable, the kitchen was his domain, and she had invaded it and pretty thoroughly disheveled it.

As he took the plates and finally scooped her up in his arms, she couldn't help but let out a small audible sigh of happiness. The first kiss came and she almost melted. She had needed this. Her own thoughts had been getting to her lately. All those thoughts were pushed away by his sly comment.

"Oh you charmer you. Does it really though? I tried. I thought the box stuff might be easier..."

Levina rested her head against her shoulder and took a long breath in, taking in his scent for a moment before gently kissing his neck and looking back up to him.

"Uh....well, I don't know how good dinner is going to be but I doubt it will get better with time. I'm ok with skipping it honestly..."

Her pale cheeks flushed a rosy color, the embarrassment of being openly bad at something a new milestone for her.

Kada · Feb 28, 2021

"I'm sure it'll tase just fine," Broen assured her, kissing Levina softly on the lips and taking a seat with her to eat. The food wasn't the best he'd ever had, but it was by no means the worst and he told her as much. "When I was a kid and first teaching myself how to cook, I once burned a grilled cheese sandwich so badly that the cheese burned inside the bread." He cringed a bit and laughed. "I still ate it though, cause it was that or go to bed starving. The whole thing was like trying to eat a charcoal brick."

Broen realized as he told the story that he didn't think that Levina knew the extent of the abuses he'd suffered under his father. But he also considered that maybe it wasn't the right time to talk about all that, so he decided to leave it. Instead he scarfed down a few more bites of his food and pulled out one of the gifts that he had gotten for Levina.

"I figure we can eat and open at the same time, yeah? This one seems most on point at the moment."

It was a goofy Christmas card with a pun, but inside was what was important: a voucher for free cooking lessons from a pretty reputable chef in the city. Broen smiled softly and bit back a laugh, "I figure, nobody's perfect at everything. But if you want to learn to cook, I'd love to have you in the kitchen with me eventually."

Stefan · Mar 1, 2021

"No way. I can't imagine you messing up anything...much less something that simple."

Levina listened intently to Broen. She couldn't explain it, but she loved all his stories. They all told a little bit about him, and she wanted to know everything she could about the man she loved so. Something in Broen's face seemed like he was wanting to say something, or continue, but instead he took a few more bites. The way he ate almost made her think she had done well in cooking.

"That sounds good to me!"

Her voice was excited as he pulled the card out. Reading over the pun she shook her head and rolled her eyes at him before looking at the contents inside. Levina wasn't perfect, and Broen knew that, but he still loved her the same. Beyond that though, he knew how much she needed to be perfect. Showing him that she wasn't perfect, or even good at something, like cooking, took a lot. Broen knew what it would mean to her to reach that perfection and had actually gotten her classes to get better. She wanted to cry, and her eyes glazed over before looking up at him with a smile.

"I....I love it. It's perfect! Oh I hope I can be that good one day!"

Cooking alongside Broen would be amazing to Levina. It also brought her back to the gift she had gotten him, as she stood up quickly and excitedly. Grabbing the black box, she sat it down in front of Broen, grinning while biting her bottom lip.

Inside the box, on purple silk, sat two high-end cooking knives. The handles had been replaced with a custom made glass from Erione. One handle held a man glad in green armor protecting a woman in blue, the same blue as Levina's hair. Where the other had the woman in blue holding and comforting the man in green while gently kissing his cheek.

Levina sat back down and fidgeted with her hands nervously. "I hope you like it..."

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Private A heartfelt gift

Stefan

Well-Known Member

Kada

Comradmin

Stefan

Well-Known Member

Kada

Comradmin

Stefan

Well-Known Member

Kada

Comradmin

Stefan

Well-Known Member