Dinner at home - locked to Lou

[anddowntothesea]

It's one of his most closely guarded secrets - the fact that he can actually cook. He bakes, too. His Ma was determined that she wasn't going to raise any sons who were a burden on wives. As it turned out, wives had been purely theoretical, but Gabriel Monroe is a man that can look after himself.

When the doorbell rings, he opens the door in jeans and plaid rolled up to his elbows. He smiles.

"I was halfway expecting you to cancel."

Comments

[anddowntothesea]

"I...do," he says, hesitating for a moment as he turns towards a well-stocked wine rack and selects a bottle. "Should compliment it pretty well, actually." He shakes his head. "Just make conversation. Did you always want to be a judge?"

[louise_abasi]

"That's why I asked for one. I know the cool thing to do is to drink the darkest of reds, but white wine is much more of an all rounder. Usually."

"Just make conversation?" She looks up at him. "For a very long time. Have you always wanted to be a painting boat owner?"

[anddowntothesea]

"No, but it's a living," he says, uncorking the wine and bringing it to the table. "Why did you come to dinner tonight? Accept my invitation, I mean."

[louise_abasi]

"I don't know."
She offers her wine glass. "It's been a while since I had someone else cook for me. Someone who isn't part of a staff."

[anddowntothesea]

"Staff," says Gabe, huffing out a soft laugh as he starts to plate up the main course, starting with the rice. "Jesus."

[louise_abasi]

Of course he makes a point of that. "You never eat out?", she asks, trying to not sound too hurt.

[anddowntothesea]

"Not as often as I'd like," he says, because money can be tight and he doesn't have a lot to throw around. "I didn't mean that as a dig, Lou, honestly. Just...amusement at how different our lives are."

[louise_abasi]

"I didn't view it as a dig." God, she is completely transparent. "Enjoy your meal, let's eat before it goes cold."

[anddowntothesea]

He brings his own plate back to the table and then sits down opposite her.

"If you have time after this, I thought we could watch a movie, maybe?" He says it casually, like he hasn't been giving it a hell of a lot of thought.

[louise_abasi]

"Tonight?" She looks at her watch. "At the theater or.. on the couch? It has been absolute ages since I watched a movie with someone. My taste is usually too radical."

[anddowntothesea]

"I was thinking the couch," he says, glancing up at her with a smile lifting the corner of his mouth. "Not sure my DVD collection has anything I'd call radical though."

[louise_abasi]

"Oh." This was a date, wasn't it? And what did Louise had to do about that? "I'm open to a lot of genres, it is just that I like monsters best. I'm, whatever. You can pick something, you're the host."

[anddowntothesea]

"I'm a gentleman," he says, before taking a bite of his food, chewing carefully. "You can choose."

[louise_abasi]

"I'm not very up to date with any movie that doesn't star kaiju." She shrugs. "But if you don't mind, I'll try my best."

[anddowntothesea]

"I don't mind," he says, setting down his fork to reach for his beer. "I own all of the movies. Whatever you pick'll be fine, sweetheart. Promise."

[louise_abasi]

She had liked the sweetheart free time better, but maybe the both of them were still feeling out their ways. "What was the last movie you watched?"

[anddowntothesea]

"I rewatched Casablanca," he says, taking another bite of his food. He's outdone himself. He can't help but feel proud. "I like the old ones - the things I grew up on."

[louise_abasi]

"The food's lovely, by the way, Gabe. Well done. You could expand your career path into anyone's kitchen, honestly." Louise never really watched any of those kind of classics. She could offer unnecessary facts about the first time Godzilla showed, though.
"That's quite a long one, isn't it? Casablanca?"

[anddowntothesea]

"Like I said, my Ma was insistent she wasn't going to raise any useless men. She's still working on Connor." He huffs a laugh, shaking his head a little. "Yeah, it is. I've got shorter movies, too."

[louise_abasi]

"Connor is a sibling? I don't think I've heard you mention him before." Not that they usually spent a lot of time on dialogue when together.

[anddowntothesea]

"My younger brother. He's fifteen. And then there's Gale. She's a couple of years older than me." He shrugs. "Connor was only a kid when my dad died - Gale was already gone."

[louise_abasi]

"I think I heard her name before. Gale and Gabe." She takes another bite before adding an apology. "I can't imagine life without my father."

[anddowntothesea]

"It's amazing how quickly you get used to it," he says, with a crooked smile that barely touches the corner of his mouth, half a shrug. "Now, I have a hard time remembering what it was like to have him around.

[louise_abasi]

"Oh. But." It's much too close and too intimate, and she slept with him, twice. "Still. Which of your movies would you recommend to me?"

[anddowntothesea]

"You like monsters?" he asks, mulling it over, scraping up the last bite of his food. "Have you seen Attack the Block? It's this independent British thing, and it's great."