Baby, it's cold outside....

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

Their first date had been a picnic, but it's really not good picnic weather any more. Mar'i can withstand the cold of space, but she much prefers warmer temperatures, and of course Grant doesn't have her advantages. She grins at the memory of him in the EVA suit on the moon, while she'd flown around free of such restrictions. The look of awe on his face when they visited Tranquility Base, though ... both of them careful not to disturb the famous landing site. Thanks to her ability to carry him in flight, he'd been able to see the footprints of the Apollo 11 crew, still preserved in the lunar soil.

She doesn't get to entertain much at her condo. Public identity or not, she's cautious about inviting people over, so none of her classmates from the university have visited. Study sessions have always been held in the library or at someone else's residence. But Titans--Titans are always welcome.

Especially the Titan who's coming over tonight.

She hums happily to herself as she moves about in the kitchen. She isn't a very good cook (especially when she measures herself against Alfred or even her stepmother or Aurora), but she has portobellos marinating in the refrigerator, ready to be grilled and served with a green salad.

Now, where did she put those kaiser rolls?

Comments

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"You're welcome." She sits down and offers him the salad dressing. "Want some? Or do you need more tea?"

[damage-granted.livejournal.com]

"Oh, sure," Grant says, taking the bottle from her, applying a small amount to his salad, then setting it back near the bowl. "I'm fine as far as tea goes. Everything looks great." Reaching for his fork, Grant glances over at Mar'i, an embarrassed smile on his face. "Uh...can we go ahead and eat, then?"

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"Sure!" She trickles dressing over her own salad and digs in. Apparently she's worked up a healthy appetite, getting everything ready.

[damage-granted.livejournal.com]

Reaching for his tea, Grant takes a sip, then stabs at his salad, popping a bite into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. So far, so good. Really, he wasn't worried about this at all. He figured he'd do something to warrant not being asked back to her condo, but things are looking up. After all, they're both enjoying a homecooked meal.

His foot finds Mar'i's under the table, the side of his foot brushing against her ankle. "How did finals go?" he asks, looking down at his sandwich, resting his foot against hers.

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"Not bad." She shrugs, nudging his foot with her own. "I keep having to miss class, though, and I hate that. I'm gonna take forever to graduate at this rate. How about you? Still thinking about going back to school?"

[damage-granted.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I can only imagine what sort of effect the last couple of months have had on your schoolwork," Grant replies, showing her a sympathetic look. The question about his own educational plans surprises him a bit, and Grant reaches for his tea again. "Yeah," he replies, sipping from the mug, setting it down again. "I've already sent in an application for UCSF. We'll see what happens. I'm...thinking about going into architecture..."

The tone is a little uncertain, but he does want to do something and Mar'i has been encouraging him to apply somewhere. Taking his sandwich in hand, Grant bites into it, brows lifting. "Oh, wow. Mar'i, this is really good!"

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

She beams, then sets down her fork to try her own sandwich. "It is good! I love these rolls. The same bakery made the pie--oh, kryll, the pie!" She puts down the sandwich and dashes back into the kitchen. Grant can hear the oven door open and close. "I forgot to put the pie in!" she calls. "I hope you like apple!"

[damage-granted.livejournal.com]

She had nothing to be worried about at all, he thinks, taking another bite of his sandwich. "The wha--? Oh, the pie!" he says with a somewhat shocked look on his face as she darts back toward the kitchen, nearly knocking over her chair in the process. "Apple is fine, just as long as it's hot!" he calls back, leaning to the right, trying to look into the kitchen. Well, better to have put it in late and have it take a little longer to bake than to have left it in too long. "How long does it need to stay in?" he asks.

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"Just a few minutes!" she calls back. "It's already baked--it just needs warming." A short series of beeps, then she rejoins him at the table. "Okay, timer's set, so when it goes beep-beep, it'll be done." She picks up her sandwich again. "Sorry!"

[damage-granted.livejournal.com]

Ah, well, that's good then. Nothing too complicated about just warming something up. Plus - pie in a couple of minutes. "Right, so, listen for the two beeps then," Grant says, smiling broadly at her. He'd worked on his salad while she'd been up, then returns to his sandwich. "Mar'i, this is excellent. Thank you," he says for about the fifth or sixth time since he walked in the door. Beautiful girl, good food - it's a lot to be thankful for.

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"I'm glad you like it," she says after swallowing another bite of sandwich. Some of the juice starts to trickle down her chin and she quickly blots it with a napkin. "I thought about a restaurant, but y'know, this is nice, just the two of us. Makes it easier to talk about stuff without worrying who's going to overhear."

[damage-granted.livejournal.com]

He'd given some thought to the idea of a movie or a restaurant - or both. But he knew that she wanted to invite him over to her place and he wasn't about to deny her that. Her comment about the two of them talking without worrying about being overhead garners a slight pause, but Grant carries on with eating his sandwich. "It's better to be indoors tonight than wandering around downtown trying to fight our way through the Christmas shoppers, anyway," he says.

"Um...are you going to come to the Tower on Christmas, or...?" he asks, thinking back to the encounter with Bea several days ago.

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"I could," she says thoughtfully. "Is that where you're going to be?"

[damage-granted.livejournal.com]

Taking a last bite of his sandwich, Grant looks up at her, a warm smile on his face. "Yeah. I don't...I don't have family anywhere else, so I'll be there. I was...that is..." He pauses, his foot shifting against hers under the table. "Um...I'd really like to spend Christmas morning with you, if you wanted."

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"I'd like that." She finishes her own sandwich, pressing her foot against his. "We could--"

Beep-beep!

"--eat pie now," she concludes, giggling at the interruption as she springs from her chair again. "Hang on--I'll be right back."

[damage-granted.livejournal.com]

Grant can almost feel the wave of relief washing over him as Mar'i agrees to the idea. They'd already spent Thanksgiving together, but that had been a rather impromptu celebration, brought on by the trickery of certain members of the Justice League. This is a little different - almost like another date, but with far more people there.

He laughs in response to her giggling, then rises from the table, taking his cup with him, looking at Mar'i's and taking hers as well. Following her into the kitchen, Grant moves toward the kettle. "I could do with some more tea. You?" he asks, picking up the kettle, heading toward the sink.

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"Yes, please." She pulls the pie out of the oven and frowns a little, reaching for a knife. "I'm not very good at cutting these...." She starts cutting, then looks over at him. "Uh, I hope you don't want ice cream with your pie. I don't think I have any right now."

[damage-granted.livejournal.com]

Grant stands at the sink, filling up the kettle, then plugging it in as Mar'i pulls the pie out of the oven, setting it on the counter. Upon hearing the "I'm not very good at cutting these..." comment, he turns, tilting his head to the side curiously, then walks over to her, standing behind her.

"Here, let me give you a hand with that," he says softly. Placing his left hand gently on her hip, Grant reaches out with his right, his chest resting lightly against her shoulder, and guides her hand. One slice, then two. "And don't worry about the ice cream, ok?" he asks, hand still resting on hers.

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

Her cheek brushes his as she turns her head to kiss him. "I won't."

[damage-granted.livejournal.com]

Grant's hand falls away from hers as she turns toward him, and he leans forward, kissing her softly, her words whispered against his lips. The kiss ends a moment later, his hand still resting on her hip. "Ah..." he fumbles, looking briefly at the pie, then back at her, color rising in his cheeks. It was just a kiss, you dork...

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

She searches his face, looking worried. "Did I do something wrong?"

[damage-granted.livejournal.com]

"Huh? No, of course not," Grant replies, meeting her gaze. "Just surprised me, that's all." There's something there behind his expression, but he's trying to suppress it. She did all this work for him to make this night absolutely perfect - the last thing he wants to do is ruin any of that. "Have I told you lately how wonderful you are?" he asks, hoping to head off any other questions.

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"I guess that depends on how you define 'lately.'" She's still regarding him seriously, but she turns away soon to open another cabinet and take out two small plates. "Could you get forks?"

[damage-granted.livejournal.com]

"Sure thing," Grant says, pulling away from her, heading to the silverware drawer, pulling out two forks. "Oh, the tea!" he says quickly, hearing the kettle boil, unplugging it. He frowns for a moment, trying to remember what she did before, then spies the teapot. Removing the lid, he pours the water of the leaves, allowing it to brew for a little while, looking back at her, resting against the counter.

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

Two slices of pie go on two plates, and Mar'i takes them back to the table.