Private The Temple House Call

[Mathieu Brion]

Inara reached out with her free hand to turn the water off, but Mathieu never let go of her wrist. Instinctively, his gaze went down for his eyes to meet hers as she turned around to let out a soft 'thanks'. "You're welcome" he mumbled, barely even audible for himself to hear. The concept of letting go was completely lost to him for the moment - something which he would have done long ago in normal cases. Instead, he just stood there, responding to her smile with his own, genuinely happy one. The world around them was still in motion - but in this instant, it was all irrelevant, it was all trivial.

The smile lingered on his lips, even as she looked away. The rosy colours on he cheeks once more emerged, still as cute and wonderful as ever. His thumb soon started to slowly move down as if caressing her wrist. It was a careful movement, one driven by instinct but still all too subtle. His eyes never left her face and soon, he seemed to gravitate toward her, albeit at a snail's pace.

It wouldn't last. Whether it was the force or sheer bad luck, an increasingly sharp sound of food being burnt could be heard, forcing him out of the trance like state. He let go of her hand and once more moved around her back to take hold of the pan's handle, bringing it up and moving it about to spread the heat a bit. It was far less efficient than if he could have used his other hand to steer the wooden spoon, but that was far from an option.

Any other day, Mathieu's full attention would now have been on the food. But it wasn't. His emotions were in turmoil as he worked to rescue their food. He wanted to hold her again, even if it was just the wrist. He wanted to look at her like he just did during the magical moment they just went through. But he didn't. His eyes were fixed on the pan until it looked much more mellow at which point he set it down again and taking a step back, returning control of it to the chef of the night.

"I'll... just.. find the bathroom"

Soon, he stood in the lavatory with a closed door behind him. He was bent over the sink where he washed his face in cold water. He needed to wake up. To snap out of it. He would be willing to sacrifice a lot for another moment like the one they just had and the thought of that scared him. Ever since he joined the Jedi, he had not really been attached to someone in that way and he knew of the risks that it could bring to a follower of the light. But what scared him more was that she would wish to create more distance between them after this.

After wiping his face dry, Mathieu walked back out with one clear goal in mind. To have a nice and pleasant evening with his friend. The decision weighed heavy on him and he was unsure if he would be able to keep it up in the long-term. Still, he would try. "I can set the table"

Inara Basai

 

[Inara Basai]

Inara gazed up into Mathieu's eyes again when she felt his thumb along her wrist. As he began to lean in, she started to rise up onto her toes, her chin automatically tilting upwards and her eyes slowly closed.

But then, their moment was shattered by the harsh sizzling of the food in the hot pan.

Eyes snapping open again, she felt a small wave of panic threaten to overtake her. However, she was relieved to see that Mathieu had already lifted the pan off the heat. Once he set the pan down again and stepped to the side, Inara took his place at the stove. And she gave him a quick nod when he walked off towards the bathroom. She took up the spoon again and gave the chicken dish a stir, but her full attention wasn't there...

Fortunately, the chicken wasn't blackened. And she hastily added the rice to the pan with it and poured in a bit of water to make a sauce. Inara stood there alone, eyes on the golden sauce bubbling away, but not really seeing it.

They'd shared such a moment of closeness.

The feeling was comforting, Inara found herself craving it again. She wanted to be close to him; she'd wanted it since they'd met on Taris... but was only now beginning to acknowledge that fact. But why had Mathieu walked off like that? She heaved a little sigh, downcast. Could Jedi even... date? Inara didn't know enough about their Order to be sure. A pang of guilt found the pit of her stomach at the thought. Then, she spared a thought for her own situation. As a ranger, she'd be traveling – she'd be fighting. It was not an ideal for having a partner, not at all. And there was always the possibility... that she wouldn't make it back to him.

Inara wasn't sure if she could bear that.

She found herself frowning, a rare occurrence. But she banished the sad expression in favor of a quick smile when Mathieu came back out.

“Sure,” she said, nodding. “That sounds good. It'll be ready quite soon.”

As he worked to set the table, she put the finishing touches on the meal and began to dish it up. “Endorian chicken curry,” she said, putting some of the poultry and rice onto his plate. “And Aloo potatoes, they're a little spicy.” The slices of potato were a pleasant bright yellow color from spices and had some red flecks on top, along with some fresh coriander. And they were more than a little spicy. Inara gently slid a piece of bread onto the edge of Mathieu's plate, and gave him another smile.

“Go ahead,” she said as she began to fix her own plate. “Eat up.”

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

There had been a little struggle to set the table, but it was now behind him. He refrained from bringing the plates over to the table and stayed with Inara by the kitchen counter. Loading the food up there was far easier than any of the alternatives and if they couldn't load it all onto their two plates, the remainder of the curry could be left on the pan to be kept warm. "That looks delicious" he said, but his voice was not quite as enthusiastic as it had been earlier. Still, he tried his best to produce a smile as his gaze rose from the food and onto her.

He leaned down to get a good sense of what the potatoes smelled and they sure gave him the impression that they were spicy too. Still, their aroma and appearance made him want to eat them regardless - besides, a little bit of spiciness often enhanced foods so he was eager to taste them. Once his plate was loaded, Mathieu took it over to the table. The call for him to go ahead and eat was not heeded, however - to the Padawan, it was only right to wait for her to be at the table to, and so he returned to her side to watch as she loaded the curry onto her own plate. If she'd let him, he would bring her plate to the table, otherwise, he would simply walk back to the table with her.

Once the two were seated, he looked to her with a smile on his lips and and repeated her words from earlier "Eat up?" and upon given confirmation, he would dig in. A long "Mmmmm" could be heard after the Morellian took his first bite. His head tilted back as he closed his eyes, "Wow, Inara. Can we hire you here at the temple or something? This is great!" he said, before taking eagerly another mouthful.

Sitting up with a straight back, there was still a noticeable height difference between them - but at least the table put some distance between them which meant that she wouldn't have to tilt her head back so much. "So, what's the secret? They way to marinated the chicken? The spices?" he asked, clearly rather impressed by her skills. A smirk spread across his face "Maybe I should keep en extra eye on the task boards. If Chalacta offers this kind of food, I want to go there to try it out myself."

Mathieu was doing his best to return to normal - whatever that was when he was around her. And in some ways, he succeeded. He asked a question, joked a little, enjoyed the food and Inara's company. But then, he also longed for what had just been and however much he tried, he couldn't take his mind off of it. Just as his mind was about to wander over to their conversation, it quickly snapped back to a memory of that special moment they had just shared. There had been a few occasions where he had been close to stop the conversation and say something. But each time, he got cold feet. What was he even going to say? And more importantly, how did he really feel? For now, he just stayed silent and thoroughly enjoyed the food. It was not the same as if his mind had been less burdened, and his heart wasn't screaming for him to do something - but it was still a wonderful meal nonetheless. But then, he had yet to try the potato.

Inara Basai

 

[Inara Basai]

Inara smiled softly when Mathieu said the food looked delicious, and the smile remained when he brought her plate to the table. Such a gentleman. She had a seat at the table and lifted her fork, but she hesitated to eat. Instead, she watched with bated breath as Mathieu took his first bite. And a great sigh of relief escaped her when he seemed to enjoy it.

“Maybe,” she said with a good-natured laugh. “If this ranger-thing doesn't work out, I'll go work in the kitchen.”

As she took a bite herself, she pondered that a job in the temple kitchen might actually be fun. In a way, she'd also be following in her mother's footsteps. But, she let the thought pass as she savored the taste of her Chalactan home. The spices used in the curry were warming, comforting. Her brows rose slightly when Mathieu mentioned watching the task boards for a mission to Chalacta.

“Yeah,” she nodded and paused to swallow. “If you ever decide to go there, let me know and I'll tell you all the best places to eat.”

They'd worked together before, and there was always the possibility that they'd do so again – she did want to keep working with the Jedi padawan. But, the idea of visiting her home together was... distant. At the moment, it felt far beyond their grasp. And so, Inara, too, tried to keep things casual. She also tried not to gaze too deeply into Mathieu's eyes, lest she lose herself in their depths again.

“I think there's enough left-overs to make you a meal to have tomorrow,” she said, turning a quick glance over her shoulder. Leftovers were the best part, the flavors had even more time to develop, and it was one less meal he'd have to prepare.

“Oh,” she started and chewed a quick bite of potatoes. “Don't even worry about the dishes, either. I'll clean up before I go.”

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Mathieu produced a mischievous smile upon hearing her conditions for coming to work at the temple "I better start filing a few complaints then. Maybe I can convince Cas and the others to join me." He let out a small laugh at his own joke before moving on to continue enjoying the meal.

It was good news, that she'd let him know what places to hit for the best food. It did, however, sound like she had no intentions of trying to go there with him herself. But what did he expect? She didn't owe him anything and in the end, there was no reason for her to go there with him anyways. In his mind, this confirmed that they were just friends and that he shouldn't let his hopes go anywhere far. For just a brief moment, the Jedi Padawan looked rather sad and while his lips formed a smile, his eyes remained unchanged. "Thanks, I'd appreciate that. It is always the locals who knows the best places." he said and tried his best to move on past the cause of his fallen spirits "Me and my friends used to play this silly game when we first arrived at a new large city for work. It was simple, really. We picked someone at random the streets and followed them until they either entered a restaurant or a transport. If they entered the restaurant, we'd eat there that evening, and if not, we'd find another person. The back alleys of the Corellian sector on Nar Shaddaa has some of the best shrimp pizza I've ever had."

She noted how there would probably be left-overs for they day after. "I'd like that. Your curry is delicious" he said, feeling rather lucky that she made enough to also provide him with another dinner. "It will make things much easier for me, that much is for sure. Between your curry and my stockpile of sandwiches, I hope I'll be alright for a while" he said - but then, he knew himself and he usually ate quite a lot.

Seeing her pick up one of the yummy looking potatoes, Mathieu did the same. He was about to answer - for the next few days, he'd just use the dishwasher but the answer never came. Instead, he was gasping to bring fresh cool air into his mouth to make the burning sensation on his tongue to go away faster. But that proved to be way too inefficient. The large Morellian was starting to sweat - something he barely even did when they were fighting the slavers on Chroma-Zed. He could have rushed off to get milk but he really didn't want to do that to Inara who had been so kind as to cook for him. He emptied his water glass but it only made it worse so what he ended up doing was to take a generous bit off of the bread whilst trying to keep it on his tongue.

He feared that he had offended Inara. Or perhaps made her sad about having made food which was too hot for him. At least he had done his best not to make a scene out of it. For neither had he ran off nor had he showed any signs of panic. Looking to her with a careful smile, Mathieu hoped to see her being alright despite his reaction to her food. If she seemed to be fine, his smile would grow wider until he finally let out a light and almost careful laugh.

Inara Basai

 

[Inara Basai]

Mathieu's crestfallen expression hadn't gone unnoticed by Inara, but she did her best not to show him. She felt the same, really. Glancing up from her plate as he mentioned his travels with friends, she did smile. “That sounds like a great strategy,” she said with a nod.

Inara tore off a section of her flatbread and smeared it into the leftover curry sauce on her plate. She closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the flavors. When she opened them again, she spotted Mathieu gasping. She sat up slightly, worried that he might be choking. But his airways sounded clear at least. Then, she spotted the beads of sweat forming on his brow. Inara's fork paused as she observed him, curiously.

But as he drained his water glass, she understood.

“Oh gosh,” she said, a lighthearted smile on her lips. “Did I make the potatoes too spicy?”

She leaned down towards her plate for a moment and gave the potatoes a quick sniff. It smelled alright to her, but then again... she'd grown up with these flavors and had been eating spicy food forever. But to someone that wasn't quite used to it... the level of heat was probably molten.

“Here,” she said, getting up and fetching him a tall glass of milk. “It'll help.”

Without thinking, Inara gave Mathieu a small pat on the back that turned into a quick rub along his good shoulder. But when she realized her hand was lingering there, she withdrew it awkwardly and hid the hand down at her side as she made her way back to her seat. However, Inara didn't sit down again. Instead, she glanced to the counter top where her cooking supplies waited.

“I hope you want some more cookies,” she said as she walked back into the kitchen to roll her pre-made dough into shape and place them on a sheet to cook -- they wouldn't take long. Her plate was mostly clean now, and she felt bad about leaving him there at the table to finish alone. But her heart was beating too fast to be still.

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

He could hear her question. He could see her smile. But even then, the large Morellian was not quite sure how to act, still plagued by the same concerns as before. But he had an ace at hand. With his mouth stuffed full with bread, he simply mumbled something unintelligible whilst moving his head in a circular movement.

Inara was kind. So very kind. Quickly working towards swallowing, he then greedily accepted the glass she offered and drank it all up in a matter of moments. He was about to reach out to put a hand on her arm and thank her - but then he noticed her soft touch by his good shoulder. Mathieu enjoyed it, the feeling of closeness, even if it wasn't the same as before. Instead of moving and consequently risking to having her rescind it, he simply remained still, letting out some heavy and relieved breaths whilst still feeling a thin layer of sweat from the hot experience.

Soon, she removed her hand and started to walk back to her seat. Mathieu wanted to reach out for her and make her stay by his side for just a little longer. But he remained silent and finally let his gaze shift from her wild hair back onto the spicy potatoes. "You Chalactans don't play around, do you? It tasted great, but, you know..." he said, trailing off with a chuckle before adding "Maybe they were a little bit more spice than what I'm used to" he said, smiling, finally deciding that giving her a hint was for the best - at least if he wanted to cook with her in the future. And with that, he raised his empty milk glass to her to underline his point.

As she moved away to the kitchen, he nodded eagerly "Your cookies were great. I'd love more of 'em". The former Mercenary looked down at his plate and then to where she used to sit. He was grateful that she had come to cook for him and the thought of her sitting there opposite to him for dinner just felt right. His gaze fell down at his plate again - most of the food was finished, but the spicy potatoes still laid there. His desire to eat what she had prepared for him was significant but then, eating the potatoes made things rather awkward. Finally, he decided that he would try to eat them after she had left - if nothing else, it might at least help him get more used to eating the same kind of food as she was accustomed to.

Standing up and taking a few steps, he would soon be in the kitchen with Inara, returning to the position by the fridge where he stood before. There was so much he wanted to say. But then, there was also so much which he could loose. The rather tumultuous feeling he seemed to have was not one which he had had for a rather long time. It was part of the code - he needed to find peace. But at this moment, that appeared to be an impossible task. "But you really don't have to, Inara." The words came suddenly and they crushed him. Instead of opening up and finding peace through dialogue and honesty, he tried to avoid the problem.

"I don't know for how long the cookies will have to bake, but I'm starting to tire." It was not completely true - Mathieu could have stayed up the entire night to be with her but if it had to continue like this, the was convinced that he would go under. Falling silent, the Padawan looked her in the eyes. He wanted to tell her that it wasn't because of her and that she was more than welcome to stay if she wanted to. But his eyes could not speak. After several moments of hesitation, a meek smile formed on his lips "Maybe we could watch a movie another time? And I still owe you a lunch"

Inara Basai

 

[Inara Basai]

Inara opened the little bag of dough and gave it a sniff; the scent of sweet almonds found her. She was about to look for a sheet to bake them on, but paused when Mathieu spoke. Her lashes fluttered softly, confused. As he explained further, her gaze dropped down and to the side – back towards the dough on the counter.

“Don't worry, it's fine,” she found herself saying, and Inara forced a smile. “You do need to get some rest.” After all, it was true – he'd just been discharged from the Halls of Healing earlier that day.

She sealed the bag of dough and placed it in Mathieu's fridge, along with a container of the leftovers. “Those will both stay good for a few days,” she said, “You can bake the cookies when you're feeling up to it – just until they're golden brown around the edges.”

With that, she worked quickly to clear the table and place the items neatly into the dishwasher, working fast and without words so as not to overstay her welcome. A small sigh escaped when she lifted the tote bag back onto her shoulder, and she stepped up to Mathieu to say goodnight. Looking up, she let her eyes meet his once more. It felt very much like the air between them was thick with tension, and Inara held her breath as Mathieu mentioned the movie and lunch, too.

“Sure,” she said, nodding. “Another time.”

Inara offered a smile, a brief closed-lip affair, as if to say no hard feelings.

Had the situation been different, she might have found herself leaving him with a kiss upon the cheek (if she could have reached that height, that is). But not tonight. Instead, she walked to the door and held her hand up to give a tiny wave. “Have a good night, Mathieu – and take it easy, okay?”

Once their goodbyes had been said, she'd step back out the door and walk down the hall, taking her heavy heart back to the base.

Mathieu Brion