(made by DumpsterPhoenix (Verhalen) with help from SemperViridis, July 2021)
Dara was just coming back from a grocery trip when he saw Sören, Nicholas, Anthony, DeKalb and Victor come through the house, like they'd been conspiring outside. Sören waved, and Dara waved back.
"What are you fellows up to?" Dara asked.
"I," Sören said, putting a hand on Nicholas's shoulder and Anthony's shoulder, "am taking my guys, and most of Yeyette's, out to Burger King."
Nicholas winced like he was pained by the mere concept of Burger King; Dara almost felt sorry for the older man. Almost.
"You're not taking Yeyette?" Dara shifted his weight from one foot to the other, wondering if Yeyette didn't like Burger King. He thought about asking Sören if he was invited too but - Sören had said "most of Yeyette's guys". That meant not all of them, surely?
Sören blinked at Dara slowly, like he couldn't believe what he had just heard; Anthony's lips quirked with the hint of a smile, trying not to laugh.
"DeKalb and I are picking Yeyette up at the hospital and bringing her home," Victor said, "but no, we're just dropping her off... she's not coming."
"And neither are you." Sören's eyes locked with Dara's and the Icelander folded his arms and cocked his head to one side. "Figure it out."
Now it was Dara's turn to blink. That meant he was going to be home alone... with Yeyette.
"Are you..." Dara took a step back. "Trying to set me up on a date with Yeyette?"
"There is no try, that's exactly what we're doing. So... we're going to be gone a few hours, which gives you ample time."
The word "ample" in Sören's accent was funny - but Dara didn't feel much like laughing. Already, his heart was pounding.
Sören slapped him on the back on his way to the door. "Have fun, you crazy kids."
Dara's mouth opened, and no sound came out. DeKalb saluted and Victor gave a small, polite bow as they followed along outside to where the vehicles were parked.
"Feck."
It wasn't that Dara was unhappy about the prospect of a few hours alone with Yeyette - just the opposite - but for all of his background in survival, he felt woefully ill-equipped to meet the challenge that had been suddenly sprung upon him. He and Yeyette were official now, and had been for a couple of months but it still felt like less time than that because of Yeyette's crazy schedule.
It also felt like more time than that, like they'd been together for years. But even with that feeling of familiarity between them, everything was fresh and new enough to make Dara feel a little anxiety about getting it right.
Before he could grind his gears too much, Yeyette walked through the front door... alone. Eugéne, who had made himself scarce since Dara arrived, trotted right out, tail high in the air, and began circling Yeyette's legs, rubbing against her and purring loudly. Yeyette stooped to pet and skritch the orange-and-white cat, then she rose and for a moment, she and Dara just looked at each other, saying nothing.
Even in her scrubs, her red hair in a messy bun, the fatigue quite apparent on her face after a long shift, she was beautiful. Dara's breath caught and his stomach began to churn, heart beating faster. Oh shite, oh feck. He tried to stammer out a hello.
"Hi," Yeyette said in a flat tone of voice, like all the emotion had been drained out of her from work.
Dara gave a small wave. Then he found his words and cleared his throat. "I assume you know everyone's at Burger King so it's just us..."
Yeyette nodded. "Sören is very helpful," she said dryly.
"Um..." Dara ran a hand through his hair, all nerves. "Would you... would you like to go to dinner? You can pick the place -"
"To be honest, after a long day, the last thing I want to do is have to dress up and go someplace with a lot of people. Would you mind terribly if we stayed in?"
"Not at all." Less chance for me to make a feckin' eedjit of myself out in public. Dara's mind's eye played mental images of him spilling a drink on himself or getting spinach in his teeth. "Would you like takeaway, then? Or perhaps I could cook..."
"A home-cooked meal sounds nice." Yeyette managed a smile. "And... would you mind if I took a nap first? I feel like the walking dead, getting an hour of sleep would help me recharge."
"OK." Dara nodded. "Would you like me to wake you up?"
"Yeah, that's better than the noise of an alarm." Yeyette waved as she turned to head upstairs. "See you in an hour?"
"Will do." Then once Yeyette was upstairs Dara let out another, more pointed "Feck."
On the one hand, not going to a restaurant took pressure off him to "act normal" in public, and reduced the risk for embarrassing mishaps. On the other hand... now he had to cook, and hope Yeyette would enjoy whatever he made. And he had about an hour to do it. He racked his brain, trying to think of something that could be prepped and cooked rather quickly, but was still fancy enough to be considered appropriate fare for a romantic date... and was made from whatever they had on hand in the kitchen. With seven people sharing a house and food, they were always running out of things.
Dara needed to act, and blow off this nervous energy. He walked into the kitchen and began to inspect the contents of the fridge and freezer, as well as the pantry. After a few moments of careful consideration, he decided swordfish, asparagus and roasted herbed potatoes would be fine.
He got to work, washing the vegetables, chopping and seasoning the potatoes, marinating the asparagus. Once the asparagus and potatoes were in a roasting pan in the oven, he sprinkled a bit of sea salt on the swordfish, and just as he turned on the stove burner to begin cooking the swordfish, he heard a loud clearing of the throat. Dara almost jumped out of his skin - for a brief instant he worried it was Yeyette, observing what he'd been doing, about to tell him she wasn't in the mood for fish tonight...
...but it wasn't Yeyette. It was Eugéne, perched on the kitchen counter.
That cat just cleared his throat. Even though Dara knew well by now Eugéne could talk, and was even toilet-trained, it was still surreal. "Hello," Dara said. "I don't think your mother wants you going on the counter."
"I am supervising," Eugéne said in his French accent. "Maman will understand."
"Ooooooooooooooooookay." Dara shook his head and turned back to the fish.
Eugéne walked around the kitchen counter, and sat in front of the crockpot so he could keep a direct eye on Dara's activity at the stove. Every now and again, Eugéne glanced up from the fish and at Dara, with big, sad eyes, silently begging.
Dara started to feel guilty, but the fish wasn't ready yet. Then Eugéne let out a tiny little mew, like a baby kitten even though he was a full-grown cat, and it tore at Dara's heart.
"It's not done," Dara said. "Even when it is, I'm not sure how much I can give you - "
"It's not that," Eugéne said. "Well, it is. But it's not all of it."
Dara's eyebrows shot up. This was getting weirder all the time. "So, what is it?"
"You have to put bacon on it," Eugéne said.
I'm getting feckin' culinary advice from a feckin' cat. Before Dara could express his incredulity aloud, Eugéne said, "I am French, I know what I'm doing. You must put the bacon on it. It is a crime against food not to add the bacon." Then Eugéne slow blinked at him and began to purr ingratiatingly.
And so Dara added bacon to the swordfish. It was getting hot in the kitchen, so Dara unbuttoned his shirt. Just before the bacon-topped fish was ready, Eugéne cleared his throat again.
"What."
"Your meal should have a salad."
Dara narrowed his eyes. "You're a cat. You're an obligate carnivore, you're nagging me about adding more vegetables?"
"You don't want my Maman to die of scurvy, do you?"
Dara didn't think Yeyette was in danger of dying of scurvy, but he still found himself going to the crisper and putting together a green salad with a vinaigrette... and wondering how the hell a cat knew what scurvy was, anyway. He was starting to question his sanity again.
"Oh feck, the fish."
Dara rushed over and got the fish off the burner just in time. Then he took out the asparagus and potatoes from the oven. Eugéne watched as Dara arranged everything onto plates just so. An hour had passed, and it was time to wake up Yeyette. Dara knew he could probably be late five minutes and set up the silverware, pour out the chardonnay, but he'd told Yeyette he'd wake her up in an hour and he felt it was important to keep to that word, five minutes or no. He rushed upstairs, hoping she wouldn't judge him for the table not being perfect, and walked to her door.
She had changed into a camisole and cotton pants, and her hair was down now. Dara's breath caught - she looked like a sleeping princess out of a fairy tale, with those auburn waves flowing, a peaceful expression on her face, long lashes framing her cheeks, full lips slightly parted. It was tempting to kiss her awake, but Dara was a gentleman.
"Yeyette," he said softly.
Yeyette's eyes opened, that sea green color. Dara smiled and waved. Yeyette gave him a sleepy smile, yawned and stretched. She glanced at the clock on her bedtable, then at Dara waiting in the doorway.
Then Dara realized he still had his shirt unbuttoned. "Sorry," he said, giving a nervous laugh, reaching down to start working the buttons. "It was too warm in the kitchen. I really wasn't trying to -"
"Leave it." Yeyette smiled again and sat up.
"Oh... OK." Dara's face burned. Through their Force bond, Dara could feel Yeyette admiring him, and he liked it, but he still felt flustered.
"Let me visit the restroom then I'll meet you downstairs," Yeyette said.
Dara gave the thumbs up and ran down the stairs - that bought him at least a few minutes where he could make everything look a little more proper.
He walked in to find silverware arranged at the plates, glasses of chardonnay poured... lights dimmed, candles placed on the table and lit. Eugéne was now wearing a bow tie, perched on the table. Dara didn't know whether he should be more surprised Eugéne had set up the table nicely, or that Eugéne hadn't devoured the fish and bacon.
"You are very helpful," Dara said, rewarding the cat with pettings and skritches. Eugéne nuzzled his hand and leaned into his touch before brushing against him, purring loudly.
"I like you," Eugéne said. "And Maman likes you."
"I'm pleased to get your vote of confidence."
Eugéne narrowed his eyes and spoke in a hiss. "Monsieur, I would have already clawed your eyes out if there were a problem." He raised a paw and flexed his claws to make a point.
Dara gave a too-hearty laugh and skritched the cat some more - that was both endearing and a little terrifying - and at last Yeyette walked in, making Dara's heart skip a beat again, his stomach all butterflies. Eugéne chirped and raised his tail. Yeyette gave Eugéne some pettings and then she said, "I hope he wasn't too much trouble."
"No, Maman, he behaved himself," Eugéne said.
Dara facepalmed and Yeyette laughed. "I was asking Dara, not you," Yeyette said, tweaking Eugéne's tail.
"He was fine," Dara said. "He was a very good boy. He should get a treat. Maybe a little piece of swordfish, a tiny bit of bacon?"
Yeyette sighed. "Oh, all right. He's twelve pounds according to the vet, so he's not exactly starving, but I suppose."
Eugéne used the Force to pull out chairs for both of them. Once they were seated, Eugéne gave the cat equivalent of a bow. "Bon appetit."
"Here." Dara cut off a small portion of his food and loaded a saucer. "You're a good wingman," he said under his breath to the cat; he could have sworn Eugéne smiled.
Eugéne sat at the table with them, noisily slurping away at his treat. That was rather the opposite of romantic ambiance, but the way Yeyette smiled at her cat went right to Dara's heart.
"This is very good," Yeyette said after a few bites.
"Thank you. I tried."
"You did." Their eyes met. "You succeeded."
"I'm really bad at this," Dara confessed. "I feel like a clueless -"
"I don't need you to be Casanova," Yeyette said. "To be honest, it's a relief you're not. I just need you to be you."
"OK." Dara let out a small sigh of relief.
Yeyette reached across the table and covered Dara's hand with hers for a moment. It was just a little touch, but it said so much.
It said there was hope. He was damaged, and he knew Yeyette had her own issues... but they'd find their way.
He was already home, and this strange cat who had adopted him was proof of that.