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[alapimp]

Who: Aizen and Re-l.
When: Backdated to Sunday!
Where: Aizen's pad of awesome.
Summary: Sousuke cooks dinner for Re-l in a bid to get to know her a little better.
Warnings: Will add if they crop up, but it's probably just conversation.

Comments

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Having dinner out with an almost stranger was something fairly new to Re-l. Sure, business dinners were fairly common, but that was among co-workers. This was something entirely different. Perhaps she was a little intimidated, deep down, but that wasn't going to stop her from going. What reason did she have to be nervous or even anxious in the least?

...Daedalus, for one, she supposed. His frustration was clear to see, fueled on by Raul and Yosuke. Idiotic men, squabbling and getting upset because she was going to an acquaintances for dinner, which was probably just to pay her back for a coffee. Really, they needed to be more mature about all of this; Yosuke was possibly the only exception. That still boggled her as well, but she ignored it and pushed it to the back of her thoughts for the time being.

Instead, she took her time to do her hair and her make-up that day, going a little lighter on the blue this time (she was running out, anyway). She dressed in one of her simple suits, professional but still casual, and made sure she brought a bottle of wine to not appear ungrateful. He was, after all, cooking her dinner...which went well beyond simple compensation for some tea.

She made sure to leave at an appropriate time so as not to be late, jacket over her entire outfit and gun hidden in the back, just in case. Aizen was safe, yes, but the streets were not. If their dinner went longer than planned, she would be prepared to come home safely. And so Re-l set off at a brisk pace and eventually arrived at his door, knocking gently.

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His immediate reaction to the knock was Thank goodness the risotto's safe, which was the weirdest thing that could have possibly crossed the would-be god's mind as he tossed the tea-towel onto a counter and walked to the front door, stepping aside as he welcomed in his guest. Her make-up wasn't quite as intense as usual (higher hopes for less of a defensive mask?) and, by Re-l's standards, she looked positively relaxed in her attire.

"Good evening, come in," he smiled. "Did you have any problems finding the house?"

There were signs all over the campus and innumerable helpful souls wandering around, but she might not have felt like talking to anyone. With the bottle in her hands, her tangent could have been entirely direct, eager to eat.

Or to talk as they drained the wine, one of the two.

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If she had known who Aizen truly was, through and through, she would probably begin to question his homemaker appearance, or even how a high ranking captain knows such things like these. Then again, he was a calligraphy teacher who sometimes wore glasses.

"It wasn't too hard to find on my own, no. The campus is well marked off." She smiled gently, stepping inside. "Luckily, your home isn't a hole in the wall of some neighboring back alley."

Re-l brushed aside a strand of her black hair as she took a look around, silently taking in her surroundings in one, swift glance. She turned back to him and offered the bottle almost warmly. "I figured it'd go well with dinner tonight with some extra for you when you wish." Now it couldn't be said that she couldn't be welcoming, despite her frosty exterior.

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"It's not a very big house, I'll say that much now."

With any luck, all her questions would be satisfied in the ensuing evening. He didn't need friends, but he needed the appearance of needing them, whether as the Lord of Hueco Mundo or Captain Aizen. It was the efforts people went to that stuck, not the motives, and he spared no expense in agreeably accepting her gift.

He led the way into the main room of the house which sprouted off in two directions, one to an open, cramped little corridor of a kitchen where the scents of a well-cooked dinner were arising and another up a short flight of wooden stairs, to the bedroom. As Sousuke headed to the kitchen to fetch a pair of glasses, he gave the small plot a gesture; he ducked his head to avoid hitting it off the fixtures.

"I've set up the table outside, but you're free to take a look around as I serve dinner. It's a few minutes away from being ready."

Offering her a half-full glass, he sipped his own.

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"It's for one person. I didn't expect it to be a grand mansion. I'm used to apartments, in either case."

She followed him inside and took a look around, folding her arms and inspecting the place for herself. It was cozy, quaint, small...plenty for one man. Gin might live with him, but she had no idea. In either case, it seemed like the perfect living space for someone like him. She could live here, honestly. It was nice.

Re-l looked back to him, taking the glass gingerly with a grateful upturn of the lips. A gentleman through and through, it seemed. "Very timely, I see." It smelled delicious. "And you made it sound like you weren't much of a cook."

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"It's been a long time since I tried my hand at cooking or had the time, but one never forgets ... especially when there's hardly any other choice."

Sipping his drink once more, he began folding the risotto onto two plates.

"If pleasing you makes me a cook, I'm honoured by the title. What's your favourite food?"

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"I don't suppose a teacher's salary is enough to live on take-out every night." Aizen didn't seem the type for disgusting, greasy foods anyway, thankfully. Still, she brought dinner in at least twice a week, mostly sushi or something equally healthy, so... Well.

She glanced over at him, taking a brief sip of her wine before speaking. "I don't really have a favorite. Pasta dishes, I suppose. Filet mignon, if I was eating out for business." Still, she didn't eat a lot of red meat, and certainly nothing very fatty.

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His laugh was deep and rich, emanating from his belly as though his humour was never half-hearted, considerately gentle when handling the feelings of other people. He took their dishes out of the back door, glancing over a shoulder as he spoke along the way, the garden small and compact but alight with the first stars of a summery twilight. A solitary candle stood in place on the small circular table, accompanied by a sprig of blue commelina, yet to be lit.

"I wish I could say I'd undertaken a well-paid job that allowed me to luxuriate away from home, but the university docks half my wages to pay for the house and the Darkness proofing upon it." Setting down their plates, he pulled out one of the iron garden chairs, adjusting the little red cushion before gesturing politely that she might take a seat. "It's a worthwhile precaution, despite the kidou I've laced throughout the property to keep the native horrors at bay."

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"And here I thought professors would be in a high demand, especially those from various other cultures." Worlds and times would have been better, but then, that almost seemed like an insult. It was a shame that his talents weren't properly rewarded.

She followed him outside, admiring the view only long enough so she didn't appear distracted from the conversation, looking back over at him. "I would think the Darkness proofing to be a one-time payment...not something taken out of every possible pay period." She glanced again at the house, raising an eyebrow. Kidou? "Hidden, of course." Or she just wasn't talented enough to see it, but that was alright. In truth, she really couldn't imagine Aizen's power just yet and she was...curious to see what he could do. But it wasn't the time for that; she nodded at his offer and sat.

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"A mechanic of sorts from the university visits each house on the grounds every month to check that the proofing is still in place. I think that's more along the lines of what I'm paying for. As for my own precautions, they're far more reliable."

He nipped inside for the wine, returning to place it on one side. Taking his seat, he lifted his glass in a toast.

"To good company."

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For manual labor, then. That made more sense. "Hopefully there won't be another disaster like the earthquake, or you'll have to pay a great deal more to replace what will be damaged. But then...the schools have the best protection and I can only assume their dormitories and housing have the same."

She smiled, lifting her glass as well. "To good company." And she took a brief sip. She hadn't made a bad choice in the wine, surprisingly. The man she bought it from had asked what food it would be paired with and he gave her a pretty good drink.

"Thank you for doing this, by the way. Especially after all the trouble the others on the network gave you for it."

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"I hope this place can withstand an earthquake, it would be a lot of trouble to make repairs."

The wine suited him far better than the meal, which he ate out of hunger more than appreciation. Sousuke gave her latter comment a chagrined smile.

"I understand where they're coming from. They hardly know me and I've invited you to my home for a private dinner. Doctor Yumeno must be hoping I'll visit the hospital soon with an injury that requires his attention, just so he can deny me. I'm sure he wouldn't, but ..."

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"I didn't hear about it needing repairs when the last earthquake occurred a few months ago. I think you'll be just fine."

The food was better than anything she could have cooked. She's mastered pasta, but this is something else entirely. There's appreciation on her face for that much, really. Daedalus wasn't much of a cook and between the two of them, it was just embarrassing.

"You shouldn't joke like that. While he wouldn't go to those extremes..." Well. And that just reminded her that he knew about the clone. "Daedalus wouldn't hurt you."

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"I'm sorry, Re-l. It's not easy, knowing he dislikes me for such a deprecating reason." Warm brown eyes beheld her over the candlelight. "I'd never present you with an untoward front."

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She took a sip of her wine to clear her throat before responding, which gave her enough time to actually think of a response to that. "Don't apologize, it wasn't your fault in the least. He's been my friend for as long as I can remember, so...you can understand how that would be." She half-smiled to brush off the tension. "He's used to my bodyguard keeping me away from strangers, but now there's nothing holding my curiosity back."

[alapimp]

"It sounds like he kept you in a cage, to be frank. People need room to grow and branch-out, otherwise they turn on each other and rip up the roots closest to theirs in order to breathe. He might need reminding of that."

He tilted his head curiously.

"What's your world like? I'm interested, after all we've said in the past."