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

[offthebeatenpath]

Knowing how Pyro felt about her - even when she didn't see herself the same way - meant she could avoid taking John's forced if not false praise to heart. "I'm just a fortune teller," she said, where she hadn't before. "Nothing cool or hot about me." A shy smile flashed briefly before she lifted her beer for a sip.

[prodigalflame]

"And I'm just good at barbecue," John told her, Em's words having woken up an old, still nagging wound that ever quite closed. "You can do things, Em, you can do things great and incredible. And you're not reliant on a lighter." His praise might have been more for himself than Em, but it was still heartfelt. If he thought someone could be awesome, then they were. And if he thought someone sucked, well, he didn't give a damn.

Pausing, he checked the meat by pressing on it with the tongs: it was around medium-rare, which was how he liked it. "Maybe Frosty here would like to get our fortunes told," he said, leaving the decision up to Bobby, and reached for a dish to start piling the meat in, and then a separate one for the grilled vegetables. "I'd say yes, but I can't actually decide things for the both of us, can I sweetheart?" He passed one of the dishes to Bobby, a well-oiled cooking routine.

[cold_blueeyes]

Bobby resisted an eyeroll as John brought up the lighter thing. He really needed to get over that. Not being able to create the flames he could control in no way diminished how amazing what he could do was. He gave John a gentle thump on the arm with the back of his hand before taking the dish from him, a silent and gentle chide not to be an idiot about that.

"No, you can't," Bobby replied with a pleasant smile. He looked over at Em and shrugged a shoulder. "Maybe we should just focus on dinner, since it's ready." Because he hadn't heard her offer a reading, and he wasn't going to assume she was even willing. And if she was, he wasn't so sure he wanted to know what she would see.

[offthebeatenpath]

"Dinner, yes." Focusing on dinner sounded like a much better idea to Em, and she laughed only a little awkwardly. "I make a point of not doing couple-y readings for people I know. Privacy's important, and there are some things I don't need to see. Besides, you'll probably enjoy it more experiencing your life together than waiting for what I see to happen." She would've said the same to any friends, but considering it was John and Bobby, she had more reason for not turning to the tarot.

[prodigalflame]

"Then please step inside," John suggested as he slid the outside door open, turning from the topic of his future to something way more pleasant: his present. And while he shot Bobby a brief Look, he didn't comment on the thwap. Gracious was practically his middle name, fucker.

"Bobby here has kindly set the table for Chez Allerdrake," and there was a carafe of tap water on the table, and a bottle of wine in the refrigerator just in case. Shaking his head, he stepped through the door himself, to place his dish on a trivet on the table. "I really never thought I'd be one of those people," he muttered. Cutesy names were not really his thing. "But Bobby has brought out the 'annoyingly cutesy tool' side of me." He gestured at the spread on the table: not just what he'd been grilling, but a fresh garden salad, some bread rolls and butter just in case, and mustards and ketchup and sauces of all kinds.

"Help yourself, Em." John was busy pouring out glasses of water for each of them, and giving Bobby a quick peck on the cheek as he came inside.

[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."