[For Shadow]

[playingtheenemy]

The rituals of cooking were something that wasn't lost on Ainsley Hayes. She was good at remembering recipes and traditions and when she said she'd cook, she meant it through and through. Eventually, she'd decided on something simple when it came to the menu, from biscuits like (but not exact) her Nana used to make, a boar-inspired meatloaf, and a

Comments

[palmthemoon]

There had been a moment of panic earlier that day, when Shadow hadn't known where he and Ainsley were having dinner. The Compound was always crowded, especially around meal times, and not precisely conducive to dating. So it had to be his place and Shadow felt bad making her trek through the snow, but it wasn't as though there were many other places. Winter is not conducive to picnics.

He was sitting and doing coin tricks to calm the impossible, unreasonable flutter of nerves in his stomach. Shadow had never been good at dating, and now he was out of practice to boot. Despite that, he was looking forward to this.

At the knock, he was up and at the door, coins left on the tabletop. "Hey Ainsley Hayes," he said as he opened it. "Come on in. Here, let me get that basket for you."

[playingtheenemy]

Ainsley shifted the basket slightly as she flashed a nervous smile in Shadow's direction as he helped her with all the food and she made sure nothing was too cold with a quick touch of her bare fingertips to the items as she closed the door behind her. "I thought that we might as well avoid the rat race by having dinner here, seeing as I have a roommate and all," she explained, brushing her hair back out of her face while sliding out of her jacket.

[palmthemoon]

"Get a bit crowded in there with all the beds," Shadow agreed with a small smile. Not that this place was all that spacious.

He set the basket down and turned to look at her for a moment, then reached for her coat. "Here, I can put this somewhere for you, if you want."

[playingtheenemy]

Ainsley smiled softly as he took her coat and she brushed it lightly, to get stray hairs off of it as she watched him for a moment before setting to work on the basket. "So, I've got basically three courses," she explained, drawing out glasses as well. "And juice. Three courses and juice."

She twisted her hair back to tie in a side-ponytail, drifting down to the length of over half her back. "So, hi," she greeted again, more than nervously as she stood there, her stomach a mess of butterflies catapulting themselves against her stomach lining.