dinner at john and bobby's

[offthebeatenpath]

Em had been surprised when John first mentioned the possibility of her coming to dinner sometime, and when he called to actually invite her she was even less sure how she felt. But Jag had gone back to the circus for awhile - after assuring Jake, Ollie, and Em he'd be back sometime, who knew when - and that made it easier for her to say yes.

A bottle of wine would've been an obvious host gift, but she didn't know this John and Bobby well enough to know if they drank wine at all, or if they did, what they preferred. So she took a chance that neither of them were vegan... or diabetic, made up a batch of bourbon marshmallows and homemade graham crackers, and boxed them up with some chocolate bars for a s'mores kit. It was either that or some flambé-able ice cream topping, but those did better made immediately before lighting and serving, so she went with the s'mores.

As she headed up the walk, Em worked her way through the first few Askani meditation patterns to settle her nerves and put her feelings in some kind of order. It seemed to help, some, and after a slow breath, she pushed her hair behind her shoulders and out of her face, then rang the bell.

Comments

[cold_blueeyes]

Bobby was grateful for Em's answer, as they moved inside. "Wow, that one is so not on me," he protested at John, grinning. "You make fun of my puns and then come up with that?" He set down the dish John had entrusted him with before pulling out a chair for Em, ever the gentleman.

[offthebeatenpath]

Em couldn't decide if it was stranger hearing John use the phrase 'annoyingly cutesy tool' in reference to himself (and why) or having Bobby pull out her chair.

No. She could. It wasn't the first time this Bobby had done that for her, and even the Bobby she'd known might do it playfully with someone. Probably not Em, but maybe Sabine, who let him get away with a lot of the traditional or chivalric white boy stuff Dani would've punched him for trying. So not as strange as the things John was saying.

She grinned as she took her seat. "Shakespeare made puns," she said, using one of her world's Bobby's favorite arguments.

[prodigalflame]

John's lips thinned a little at Em's words, and the grin. "You're encouraging him," he grumbled, shaking his head a little, hair falling in front of his face so his own slight grin was somewhat hidden. "Practically ganging up against me, the two of you."

[cold_blueeyes]

"Yeah, Shakespeare made puns," Bobby repeated softly, grinning. He gave John's shoulder an affectionate squeeze before grabbing hold of his chair and pulling it out, although this time it was dramatically, playfully, with a sweep of his hand in invitation and an amused gleam in his eye as he looked at John. "And Em, you're welcome to join us for dinner whenever you want. Any defender of puns is a friend of mine."

[offthebeatenpath]

"Who do you think I learned that argument from?" A bit of familiar when through the looking glass was something to cling to. "Some things never change. You knew he was punny when you hooked up with him."

[prodigalflame]

"I knew," John said slowly, looking Bobby up and down as if questioning his sanity, then glancing at the chair, "he was punny way before I hooked up with him." Hell, he'd known it first day John had been at the school. "I knew a lot of things," he reflected, before sitting down in that chair, and pulling himself closer to the table.

"And you're right, Em: there are some things about Frosty here that will never change, thank God." That included the puns. Gesturing to the food on the table, he shook his head, keen to encourage some appreciation of his culinary talents. "But c'mon, eat already."

[cold_blueeyes]

"I feel like I'm letting everyone down by not having the perfect pun for the moment, after all of that," Bobby admitted with a sigh, moving to take his seat once John sat down instead of smacking him. He started passing dishes around the table, helping himself to the food as he flashed a fond grin at John. "The food looks great, as always, Zippo."