Bottle of red, bottle of white [closed/complete]

[pennywaits]

Characters: Arcas and Penlope
Date/Time: After this December 31 at 7:30 pm.
Location: Penelope's apartment.
Rating: PG
Warnings: Alcohol, chaste kisses and misunderstandings ahoy!
Summary: Arcas is back in town and desperate to taste Penelope's cooking despite her trying to convince him otherwise.

Comments

[pennywaits]

She smiled at him apologetically, though the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. She noticed the difference in him and was sure it had something to do with seeing her again. He'd left so quickly after the..incident. She couldn't understand why he wanted to see her again, and so soon after arriving back in town. Hearing the less polished tone of voice only further convinced her that whatever had happened between them had been a mistake and that it was something he deeply regretted.

"I'll only be a few moments. Make yourself at home." She took the bottle from him and murmured her thanks before setting it down in the kitchen. She uttered one more apology and hurried into her room to change. Gods, what was she doing? The smell of something burning filled the apartment, neither one of them were at ease, she was covered in food and about to have dinner with the first man she'd slept with in far too many years to count. How had life ended up like this?

Clean up was quick. She did not get the chance to fix her hair just so or perfectly apply make up as she had hoped, but if she did not think about it, she would be okay with that. She had to be okay with that. She could not hide back here forever.

She returned to the main area of the apartment and tried to smile at him. "I apologize for making you wait." So many apologies and he hadn't even been here a half hour yet.

[onceimmortal]

Arcas nodded and stepped inside, noticing that she seemed all too eager to get away from him into her back room. She was the one he had missed most of all in his time away, but he was nervous to return to her presuming that anything might remain. Based upon her reaction, it was clearly the case that she had moved on and wasn't even particularly comfortable with him. Replaying the conversation they had had in his mind, he recalled her insistence on returning his bowl and how difficult it had been to encourage her to cook for him. They were bad signs and Arcas had realized them too late.

The king closed the door behind him, shifting his weight uncomfortably as he stood in the small foyer. He was, if nothing else, polite. If Penelope did not want to see him, then he would quickly enjoy the dinner and dismiss himself as soon as could not be considered rude. Then he could be gone from her life as she wanted.

"Please do not apologize," he replied without pause, the faintest hint of desperation clinging to his words. The man cleared his throat, something he had rarely done before, and swallowed. Then he offered her a charming smile as if nothing was amiss, content with the knowledge of her feelings, disappointing though they were.

[pennywaits]

He stood so closely to the door she was sure he was preparing to bolt at any second. She couldn't hide her slight frown of disappointment. Was her company truly so awful?

"You...you do not have to stand by the door all evening.. It will make my food even harder to eat than it already is." Her attempt at humor to lighten things up. It was pretty weak. She curled her bare toes nervously in the carpet and tugged at the hem of her sweater.

"Would you care for a drink?" That was easy enough to handle. A drink might do them both good, and it might make the dinner easier to bear. They'd need all the help they could get, judging by the smell. It was suppose to be lasagna. It smelled like burnt hair. Even her dog was hiding from her attempt to cook. Oh gods, she was going to feel so guilty if this made him ill, but she had tried to warn him.

[onceimmortal]

"I had not intended to," he replied with the same endeavor at lightheartedness, maintaining the smile on his face as he moved forward. Though old friends might have hugged or, at the very least, shaken hands, Arcas couldn't bring himself to do any such gesture; to shake hands was too formal, to hug was too friendly, a kiss on the cheek too intimate. Instead, he moved to follow her toward wherever she might lead him, slowly becoming more himself as he began to feel comfortable with where they stood, metaphorically. "I still maintain that your food cannot be so terrible a picture as you paint it."

He ignored the smell. To the latter, he gave a nod and another smile. "Yes, please."

[pennywaits]

Seeing him relax somewhat helped her relax. The smile on her face was less tense and more sincere, though the tension was still there. She gestured towards the couch that had been vacuumed multiple times in anticipation of his arrival and diverted her own path to the kitchen to retrieve the wine and glasses.

She joined him once the supplies were gathered. Taking a seat on the sofa, she opened the wine and poured both of them a glass. "I'm sure you can smell it. Even my dog hides when I try to cook," she said, this time her humor being a little more natural.

"I...was not expecting to see you," she said carefully, doing her best to avoid asking the numerous questions that were in her head. She had no right to question and he had no requirement to share. It was a common thing to sleep with someone and never see them again in this era. While she, personally, may not find the practice very tasteful, that did not mean he would feel the same. She handed him his glass, biting the inside of her lip.

[onceimmortal]

Arcas moved forward as recommended, taking a seat on one side of the couch. He stretched his arm across the back in confidence, then quickly thought better of it and moved the limb to his lap just before she re-entered. His legs crossed unconsciously toward her as he watched her coming to join him. Never the one to allow her to get away with thinking ill of herself, she shook his head. "It smells of courage. The courage you have shown by endeavoring something even when you believe it impossible."

The man took his glass silently, mind reeling with the loaded sentence. His mind could only possibly translate that one way: I did not want to see you. It was the only sentiment that made sense given her anxiety at his presence. He took a sip of the wine which he had selected, glad that he had chosen something he knew to be good rather than risk the more elite name and year. He constructed a reply in his mind as he enjoyed the drink, lowering his glass before finally looking up to her and replying. "I am sorry, Penelope. Would-- If you prefer, I would think no less of you if you asked me to leave."

[pennywaits]

She couldn't help her laughter. She shook her head gently and took a sip of her wine. "Courage has a rather distinct, somewhat nauseating smell." She leaned back into the sofa and gently swirled the wine in her glass. "You really don't have to eat it. I can always order something more palatable."

His next words confused her. "I have no intention of asking you to leave," she gave him an inquisitive look. "Are you wanting to leave? Because if you are uncomfortable here, I would not think less of you for it. You do not have to stay here for my sake." She would not think less of him, but it would hurt. Just as his leaving the first time had hurt.

"I do not want to make you uncomfortable," she said after a moments pause. She regretted giving into that moment of weakness. She missed the comfortable relationship they use to have. She'd found herself building a sense of trust in people because of him and the friendship they had formed. She'd ruined all that by being weak.

[onceimmortal]

Arcas was too distracted from humor by the more solemn matter to reply to her joke and offer of alternative food. His smile faded as he watched her, studying her to try to determine her meaning. If his initial interpretation had been incorrect, then the rest made no sense. Why else would she be so anxious to see him? Unless it was simply unbridled regret for their last meeting and not hatred of the man himself.

"No, I have no desire to leave," he retorted seriously. Clearly this was something that needed to be settled to some extent here and now, else they would not progress beyond small talk and nothing would be gained. "You do not make me uncomfortable. You cannot, in good conscience, deny that I am making you uncomfortable, however."

[pennywaits]

Her smile faded at the conversation becoming so direct. She focused her attention on her wine glass, unsure of how to proceed from here. She had to be careful with how she answered this question.

"I'm...not entirely sure how to proceed after how things ended. Everything happened so suddenly, both your leaving and your returning." And now it was out there.

[onceimmortal]

Arcas was rarely direct, but when he was, he got things done. It was in the nature of a king to know when to become serious and to cut through politics. In this situation, they needed to cut through everything and be as honest as two polite, embarrassed people could be. While the real truth would probably never come out between them, Arcas was oblivious to this and would settle for anything he could identify as even a temporary likelihood. The man took a deep breath before responding.

"I want for us to be friends, as we were. What do you want?" It was not fair to ask before answering, but it was the only way to begin to be on even ground. He was not so bold as to profess affection for her at this early a stage in his return, not without greater encouragement. Instead, he hoped that she would desire to be friends as he would and then they could maintain their friendship without complication.

[pennywaits]

Friends. She could handle that. It would be nice to be friends again. Would it be possible was the question. But perhaps with both of them trying, they could manage it.

"I would like for us to be friends as well." She wasn't going to ask herself if that was all she would like. That would be a dangerous subject to broach. She might find herself wishing for much more than just friendship if she gave herself a chance to think about it.

"I enjoyed our friendship. Very much."

[onceimmortal]

"Then let us enjoy each others' company and be friends once more," he responded with a smile, diverting back into polite territory now that they had found even ground. He took another sip of his wine, though his eyes returned quickly to her face to search for any sort of reactions. Arcas was relieved to feel some of the tension fade away from the situation, as well as himself. Friends again. It was perfectly acceptable.

[pennywaits]

"Renewing a friendship sounds like a nice way to celebrate a new year." She took a sip of her own wine, not wanting to show her face in case all of the questions she had for him were written all over her features. A promise of renewed friendship did not erase old questions, as much as she wished that it did. It did not tell her where he had gone, why he had returned or why he had run in the first place. It did not tell her what she had done to make him run or erase the insecurities that question brought with it.

"I should check on the dinner." She set her wine down and went to busy herself in the kitchen. She doubted there was much she could do to salvage her lasagna, judging by the smell. Opening the oven released a cloud of black smoke. She coughed and waved her hand in front of her face in an attempt to clear the air. Luckily she had remembered to dismantle the smoke alarm before her cooking attempt. She'd learned that lesson the hard way.

"I'm not sure we should try to eat this," this being the charred remains of a frozen lasagna she held up to show him. "Take out might be a better option."

[onceimmortal]

"That is not until tomorrow," he replied with a smile. Arcas was oblivious to it all, busy with his own glass and the prospect of the company he was meant to keep. Having experienced his absence himself, he did not possess the same questions; rather, his were far more simple: had Penelope moved on, was Odysseus here, and how had she been fairing in his departure. He wanted to ask her, but such obvious speech was not in his nature.

The former king nodded when she moved to the kitchen, setting his glass upon the table and rising to be ready in case of requested assistance. When he heard her voice call out to him from the other room, he could not help but smile. Arcas glanced at his watch, then smiled again, moving forward and into the other room. "Fair. Fetch your coat, then. I have made reservations for us."

Though Arcas would not concede to her terrible cooking without trying it, he trusted Penelope well enough to make a reservation for them at 8:15, in case she had been correct. Besides, the gesture would at least make him appear as though he was thinking ahead for them; he hoped it would not imply that he expected terrible things from her.

[pennywaits]

"Tonight is new year's eve. You are going to be the last person I see this year." It was odd to think about closing out another year here in New York City. She sat the burned remains of what was suppose to be their dinner on the counter with a defeated sigh. She'd tried to tell him.

"You made us dinner reservations? You were thinking ahead." She wiped off her hands out of habit and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Were you really going to attempt to eat my cooking?"

She began to take stock of her appearance. If she went out looking like this she'd surely embarrass him, and she couldn't do that. Even though her looks were not her strongest point, she did take some pride in her appearance. Messy hair and bare face would not be acceptable in public.

[onceimmortal]

"Tonight?" Arcas might have looked stunned for a moment if he were not so perfectly groomed as both king and public relations agent. Penelope would likely be able to catch a pause of something like surprise, though, knowing him as well as she did. He recovered quickly enough, offering a slightly crooked smile. "I had not realized."

That explained why the reservation had required bribery. Still, it didn't change a thing and so he focused on the topic at hand. "Yes, I had every intention of eating your cooking. I still would, if you would allow it. I made a reservation because I trust your word, however, and I did not want to chance the night ending with you disappointed. I have done enough to disappoint you already."

He was oblivious to her vanity, not minding her appearance in the faintest. If he judged his friends by beauty alone, then he was not fit to be called a man. Besides, after so many years of court, it was refreshing to see a person without polish on occasion.