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Huh.

[He sits back in his chair.]

Good question.

[Because he apparently has to think about it???]

I guess...sci-fi? Action? Along those lines.

[Boxer why do you have to put such thought into that?? Isn't it a relatively normal question?

Maybe the guy just didn't watch a lot of movies. That probably wouldn't last very long with her around.]

I feel like you're one degree from an 'I don't know'.

[Which, hey, that's cool! She's not judging! But still.]

...Yeah. [Just call him out like that! Jeez!

He gives a noncommittal shrug.]

I'll watch just about anything.

[It's hard not to when he's so mild! She'll double check herself next time.]

So you'll totally watch a thriller with me? [Pleeeaaasseee, Boxer???] It just came out on cable tonight and I was going to DVR it ...

[But she ended up here, near a TV and a really great cuddle buddy!]

A thriller? Sure.

[So noncommittal. Movies are movies.]

Wanna go back out there and program mine to record it? The food'll be done by the time you come back.

[Boxer will clearly never be as enamored with them as she is but that's okay, as long as he's willing to sit through them with her and listen to her go on and on and on!]

Yes!! Oh, do you have popcorn?!

[They might as well be at the start of their date again because she's all sorts of excited.]

[He's the kind to not be into movies in general, but be really, really into certain movies in particular.

Boxer scoffs.]

Do I have popcorn.

[He reaches a tentacle across the kitchen to open up a cabinet. He only has a few bags of microwave popcorn and a bottle of air-pop.

A few dozen.

And a couple of selections to make flavored popcorn too. Powdered cheese, caramel, butter, salt, and so on...]

Caramel!!!!!

[Oh, she's so happy right now. Boxer is the most gorgeous, perfect man in the world as far as she's concerned.] I want that one!

[She'd try to make it herself but, uh, his appliances don't need that kind of stress in their lives, and if she wants to catch the beginning of the movie she has to go get the DVR going anyway. But Boxer gets a little air kiss for his appreciation of popcorn.]

Relax, Nariko. You can have all the caramel popcorn your heart desires after dinner.

[Because he can be a mother hen, too. As she finishes up programming the DVR to record, Boxer calls out from the kitchen.]

Dinner is served!

[Indeed, he already has the table set and the portions divided out on plates!]

[He's a good one, at that, because she pouts at the idea of eating before getting to the sweet stuff, but quite obediently finished up with the television and then came back to the table.]

Man, that looks good!

[And she really shouldn't eat two dinners in one night but ... She'll run a little more tomorrow, it'll be fine.]

Can I just hire you to feed me so I don't have to eat out all the time?

[All. The. Time.]

[She'll get used to it, being around him.]

I have a policy of not allowing my partners to hire me. But you can just ask me to make something whenever you please--all you have to repay me with is some of your time. What do you want to drink?

[Will she? Or will they hen over each other, creating a dull roar of mutual concern?]

But if I ask you then you might be busy or say no.

[And that'd just be awful. Or she'd go back to endless buckets of Chinese food.] Just water!

[She'd offer to help but it seems like Boxer has it all covered, so she sits!]

Then you'll have to be a big girl and fend for yourself.

[He really doesn't want someone dependant on him...

He brings her back a glass of icewater, as he does for himself, and digs in.]

[There's really no chance of that, considering she's managed just fine in all these years, she's really just kidding around.]

Thank you! [For the food! The incredibly delicious food that she eats at a careful, polite pace and then just goes ahead and devours.

It's good, Boxer! Very, very good.]

[Well, good, because there are days where he will feel like he can't be arsed, and that's when they'll order a gratuitous amount of delivery.]

Thank you.

[She's cute! Lookit her go.]

[She's not a pet!!! ... Except she really is going for the food so maybe it's only fair. She's halfway through when it occurs to Nariko to maybe breathe while eating and it's a good opportunity to ask:]

What are you thanking me for, you're the awesome date, here!

[And she didn't do any of the cooking.]

[He snorts. Don't choke, Nariko.]

Because you're making quite the show of enjoying my food. Don't think anyone's ever given me such high praise before.

[It's not a show if it's really how she feels! But she has the decency to get a little flushed at that.]

They should! It's been a long time since I've had a home cooked meal [Quick or not.] and they're meant to be cherished!

[She taps at her fish.] Besides, this is kind of nice, right? I don't even remember the last time I sat at a dining room table that wasn't out in public. It makes the food taste even better.

[Wow, her life is kind of pathetic outside of the awesome job.]

[It's not super quick for him--one of the longer ones, to be honest, because he doesn't usually do a whole lot of Really Involved cooking, except for holidays.]

Never thought of the table as a spice before.

[He's just being silly though. But no, Nariko doesn't seem pathetic. Just a workaholic.]

You must spend an awful lot of money on food if you're always eating out...

[If he did that he probably wouldn't have as much money saved up as he does.]

It's my second highest expense every month, I almost spend as much on food as I do rent.

[Because on top of eating out every single day for every single meal? It's always expensive stuff - This is a woman that would need a few seconds to understand the concept and usefulness of a dollar menu.]

I mean, once upon a time it wasn't like that but, you know, people get busy, work is intense, all that.

[In other words: Her now ex-boyfriend used to do the cooking but somewhere along the way they had both fallen out of the habit completely, and reduced their nightly dinners to take-out and taking separate ends of the couch, barely talking to each other.

So compared to that the table and Boxer's warmer, all around nice presence is definitely a great spice.]

I'll fix that.

[Because Boxer will never fall out of the habit of feeding himself, and when you make enough food to satiate a kraken's appetite, you might as well make another Nariko-sized portion.]

What kind of food do you like the most?

[?? She tilts her head at him a little curiously at that but doesn't pursue it. In all honesty she doesn't want to bother him too much. It'd be a shame if he got sick of her before they really got into anything meaningful.]

Middle Eastern, but that's got to be one of the few cuisines that's a little sparse around here. [But only that. There's a few great food trucks, two hole in the wall places, and one upper scale fusion restaurant. You can get anything in this city - except for your grandma's cooking.]

But next to that, anything quick and tasty is greater. Panini's, creative salads, burgers, rice ... [Hm.] I should just go ahead and admit that I'll eat just about everything.

Middle Eastern! Been meaning to brush up.

[As for the 'everything'.] Yeah, I kinda gathered when you said you liked Mystery Jans.

[Yuck. Stick with him, babe, he'll feed you better than that.]

I'm the best critic you could ask for, I grew up eating the absolute best of it.

[She's also an incredibly soft hearted critic and might not be very good at telling him if he was too far off the mark or not. Luckily Boxer's probably as good at cooking anything he wants as he is charming, so it probably won't be an issue. But the Mystery Jan's comment gets him the hint of her tongue stuck out in his direction.]

Look, it pays to be adventurous and up for anything! That's the 'mystery' part!

[He rolls his eyes, grinning.]

I wouldn't call "topping a flatbread from the meat trimmings from other flatbreads" an adventure. I call it a heart attack.

[Look at them bickering like they've always been together...]

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