[026]

[oliverplus]

[Oliver is in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches of chocolate frosting on a round white cake. he also seems to have put quite a bit of frosting on his face, hands, and shirt--as well as some flour and other ingredients. cooking is not his strongest point. but he licks his finger and, after a second's consideration, seems satisfied]

Comments

[formervanguard]

Oh..! [Marta is staring wide-eyed at the cake.] Oliver! You made this? It looks so delicious!

[oliverplus]

Yeah! [at the sound of her voice, Oliver turns to beam at her] Have some! Here, let me get you a plate... [he goes back to rummaging in the cabinet. he wishes things would stay put in this kitchen]

[formervanguard]

[She happily goes to stand at the counter, waiting patiently for Oliver to find said plate.]

Thank you so much! Is it a special occasion? Are we celebrating?

[oliverplus]

[Oliver nods, finally finding some plates and pulling them down] Yeah! The Doctor and I saved the country! Well. Mostly the Doctor did. I... [he pauses. but, considering the close friend that Marta is, he doesn't really mind telling her] I'm still alive. So I'm celebrating!

[he brings the plates over, then fetches a knife and some forks] How big of a piece do you want?

[formervanguard]

[She frowns, concerned.] I'm glad you're still alive! Did that... almost not happen? Are you alright, do you need healing?

Oh, um... not too big! I won't be able to eat it all!

[oliverplus]

[Oliver waves away the concern] No, no, I'm fine now! For a bit there, though, I didn't think I was gonna be, so... [quickly] Well, it all worked out!

[he gives a short laugh, holding his knife over the cake to indicate his intent to cut a medium-sized piece] How's this?

[formervanguard]

Oh... well, alright. Good! [Bright smile!]

That's perfect. Thank you! I didn't know you could bake!

[oliverplus]

[he smiles back, serving up the slice of cake] Yeah, ah, only a few things. My girlfriend taught me. [he offers her the plate] Here you go!

[formervanguard]

[She gleefully takes the plate, as well as a fork from a nearby drawer.] Thank you!

Really? Aww, that's so sweet! So does she bake things for you a lot?

[oliverplus]

[Oliver looks a bit uncomfortable at that] Yeah, she did. But she's way better than I am! [his smile is fond but a little sad]

[formervanguard]

[She giggles a bit, and just smiles.] I know how you feel. Emil's such a great cook, I only wish I could ever be that talented!

[oliverplus]

Yeah, Chloe's like that, too...

[he turns his attention to serving himself a slice of cake, using that as an excuse to not look at Marta for a moment. he's still smiling, but the sadness is more pronounced now]

[formervanguard]

[Marta notices, she'd be a fool not to. She pokes at her cake with her fork for a second, wondering whether or not it's really any of her business... Then she speaks, without really looking up.]

You miss her a lot. Don't you?

[oliverplus]

[Oliver pauses as though he's been caught] Ah...yeah. [he carefully puts his slice of cake on a plate] 'Course I do.

So...is the cake all right?

[formervanguard]

Mhm! [She takes a bite as she smiles at him.] It's very good! Perfect for celebrating being alive.

[oliverplus]

Yeah? [he smiles back] That's great to hear! It's...um...actually my second go at it. [he wasn't going to admit that to anyone, but it seems like a good way to change the subject now] The first didn't turn out so well...