COOKIES well they're baking lessons - hopefully they don't burn down the house. (Levi)

[callmeemily]

You request a baking lesson, and you get a girl standing on your doorstep at 9AM with a bag over her shoulder. This time, there's no crutches; there's no crutches, and even though Levi had said he'd get the ingredients, she's got more, because she found out a yesterday that she can bake again. She can bake, and that means they're not just making cookies, even though they were still going to make those.

She wonders about making this a thing, the teaching, but then Raleigh realises that she'd rather have it be like this. Friends, and teaching, not anything more formalized. There's sort of an elephant in the room, the sort of elephant that she doesn't know if it can be banished with cookies and well-intentioned half-explanations, but she figures she does want to be honest; she can't go around with half the town knowing her name and the other not. But they'd get to that bridge when they come to it.

So she rings the bell - not needing a cab, she wanted the walk, she needed it because she's been too long on crutches - and waits.

Comments

[tarnishedbadge]

Levi had been looking forward to Emily coming over all day. Every time he hung out with Emily he had... not exactly enjoyed himself but had enjoyed her company. He just wish that they hung out more when she wasn't feeling threatened or being actually threatened. Which is what this was about. Well, that and cookies.

When the doorbell rang he grinned and opened it, arms out wide.

"Oh good, it's you. If it was someone else this level of excitement on my face and this pose would have been incredibly awkward."

[callmeemily]

"Hey, if I was the mailman, I would feel incredibly welcomed." The nerves just evaporated as her face lit up in a bright smile. It was good when someone's that excited to see you - that's the way that Joel and Spencer are, too, and it... helps. Every single time, it's like a little bit of the hurts heal.

"And hey, look!" She actually turns around in place. "I no longer have two trusty sidekicks. It's just a day for celebration. I'm not the mailman, my crutches are retired, it's like a party all day long."

[tarnishedbadge]

"Hey, look at you," Levi said, grinning as she turned around and displayed the fact that she didn't have any crutches. She looked incredibly happy for that and he couldn't blame her.

"And, you also brought incredient despite me saying that I would get everything. But that's okay, you can come in anyway."

[callmeemily]

She beams up at him, and she comes in once he gets out of the way. "I did bring ingredients. Because we're not just making cookies, and I didn't know what you had on hand, but believe me, we'll use what you brought, too." She's so glad to actually be whole. "I brought your hoodie back," she admits. "I almost forgot it on purpose because it's super comfortable, but I figured you'd miss it."

It's on the top of the bag, and she'd been grateful - before she'd gotten ridiculously drunk and he'd bundled her home in a taxi, she'd sort of claimed it, and Raleigh's just hoping she didn't say anything embarassing. But still, it's freshly laundered, and she hangs it on the back of one of his chairs.

"You having a good day, so far?"

[tarnishedbadge]

For all Levi cared she could have kept the hoodie. Maybe he'd get her one of her own for her birthday or Christmas, whichever came first. Then she could be incredibly pretentious by walking around in a Harvard hoodie, just like he was.

"It's a good day so far. To be honest I've spent most of it looking forward to you coming over and making sure I have all the things we might need to back. And why aren't we just making cookies anymore?"

[callmeemily]

She can't stop the way she just sort of... blooms, when he says he was waiting for her most of the day. It's not on purpose, the way that she smiles to herself and stands up a little straighter, unable to stop the smile that curves at the corners of her mouth, not that she wants to - she doesn't even realise she does it.

"I can bake again, so we're baking. Both of us." She says it like it's a matter of fact, like it's just how things are now. "You are making cookies, I am making you something special, and then both of us are just going to get fat and it'll be awesome."

She sets down her bag, and starts to unpack it - tupperwares of flours and sugars, some of the spices that Bonnie gave her because she's one of the loveliest people that Raleigh's met, butter that goes on the counter and cream that goes in the fridge. "Sound good to you?"

[tarnishedbadge]

"I was promised being ordered around by an attractive woman who was going to sit on a stool and direct me, I got a spiffy apron and everything," he said, holding up the apron he had gotten just for the occassion.

Really though, he was happy for Emily, beyond happy because he knew how much baking meant to her. He would much, much rather see her happy like this than ordering him around.

"And Lara is going to leave me if I get fat. She's only interested in me for my abs. You're asking me to put your baking ahead of my relationship with Lara. But okay, we'll get fat."

[callmeemily]

"Hey now, the only thing that's changing is the stool part. I'm still ordering you around, and I wore eyeliner for this, so you best believe I qualify today." She's grinning, and she glances at the apron and half chokes back a laugh. "That.... is perfect. That is perfect."

She takes a step back from the food and without even thinking she pulls a ponytail off her wrist and braids back her hair - last thing you really want in food is hair, and she doesn't even think about it anymore.

"Well, I haven't met Lara yet, and I haven't seen your abs, but I guess that means more gym time for you. Believe me, it'll be worth it. You can have the best of both worlds, it's my pleasure to inform you, but... you know. Free time? Can't go that far." She smiles at him, and moves to wash her hands. She's got more energy, right this minute - the crutches had hurt, it'd all hurt, but she hadn't gone back to work yet and so right this second, right now when she could walk but she was going back on Monday - today and tomorrow were gifts of the first order.

[tarnishedbadge]

"I was really looking forward to the stool part but fine, I suppose I'll let it slide this time," he said, grabbing a wooden spoon off of the counter and shaking it at her as menacingly as he could. It was not very menacing at all, unfortunately, because it was just a spoon and he was grinning like an idiot.

He wanted to tell her that she had met Lara, that Lara had been there that night, but it wasn't the sort of thing that he wanted to bring up right now. This was for fun.

"But fine, I suppose I can work out a bit more at the gym."

[callmeemily]

"Okay, so I sit on a stool, tell you what to do, and then bake something that'll blow your mind?" She's smiling up at him impishly even as he waves the spoon at her.

She didn't remember meeting Lara - a lot of that night was a blur at this point, a blur that made her feel sick to think about so she didn't. "Good. Compromise. Which is especially good considering we're probably going to use more butter than this. Do you have it? We should probably sit it up so it'll be workable."

[tarnishedbadge]

"Okay, as long as I get bossed around by a beautiful woman on the stool for even just a bit I'll be happy," he said, winking at her as he started to root through his fridge to try and find the butter that he had gotten at the store. Well, that Lara had gotten since he still wasn't up to driving.

"Also, there's salted and unsalted butter? I wasn't sure which one to get."

[callmeemily]

She still doesn't quite agree with his assignment as her as a beautiful woman, but she did put on eyeliner, after all - and so she doesn't even hesitate, and she perches on the stool in his kitchen, her toes barely touching the rung, tucked behind it. "Salted butter is... like a condiment. Like if you're making corn on the cob or want to butter toast. Unsalted butter is for cooking, so you can manage how much salt you add yourself." She smiles as she says it, and honestly-

She's never admit it, but it's kind of.... nice, to sit here and share her knowledge with someone. "There's a food scale in the bag I brought, if you want to grab it, and grab a big bowl."

She's going to 'boss' him a little more, and then she'd have to get started - but hey, they'd made plans, and she's going to honor them-- in good humor, of course.

[tarnishedbadge]

"Unsalted butter is ketchup, got it," he said with a nod. Her explanation made sense though, now that he thought about it. Who wanted unsalted butter on corn on the cob? Putting the salted butter back in the fridge, he left out the unsalted. Hopefully there weren't too many other tricky things he needed to understand for this.

"Food scale, I have one of those," he said, pulling it out of the cupboard that it was in, although he got hers out as well. This way they could share because he knew that she wouldn't stay on that stool for long. "And I have a big bowl. How am I doing so far, boss?"

[callmeemily]

"You're doing perfect. How's the bossing going? Up to your expectations?" She doesn't even look at a recipe, because she just... knows, what to do next. "Do you know how to cream butter and sugar together?" She is itching to get off of it, and if he doesn't know how to do what she asked, boom. She'll be off of it so she can show him.

[tarnishedbadge]

"It's adequate bossing," he said with a shrug. "You look happy doing it. And not happy to be doing it, just happy."

Which was good. Raleigh happy was very, very good as far as he was concerned. It seemed like she needed as much happiness as she could get.

"I will know, once you keep your ass on that stool and explain to me how to do it," he warned, knowing what she intended.

[callmeemily]

Raleigh rolled her eyes, and she stays sitting - for now, she stays sitting, and it's probably best for a few minutes because she walked here and she's not used her leg that much in two weeks.

"Yes, sir," her mouth quirks into a smile, and she's mocking him just a tad. "You want to take the softened butter - a cup - and put it in a bowl with a cup of sugar, and press it together with a fork until it sort of becomes one thing instead of seperate - like instead of sugar and butter, it's sugarbutter. Does that make sense?"

[tarnishedbadge]

"Yes, we call that a different name here in New England," he said, getting out the butter and putting two sticks worth in the bowl along with a cup of sugar. Sugar was always a bit of a pain in the ass, no matter how careful he was Levi always seemed to get crystals of it all over the counter.

"We call it mixing. Because that's what it is, Emily, taking two ingredients and making them one is mixing."

[callmeemily]

"Smartypants, you try doing that with a spoon, you're going to get a ball of butter covered in sugar. Creaming it's different, it makes it actually...." She was going to say mix, but she caught herself. "Combine, properly. Creaming is a kind of mixing, but it's different then just like, oh, hey, mix it."

She pauses, and then her voice loses most of it's joviality. "Uh, about that. Remember when that guy - Bach? He said my name wasn't Emily?" She doesn't want to do this, she doesn't want to tell him she lied to him, but just can't keep doing it. "He wasn't wrong. I... uhm. I sort of was- Before they-" But she has to stop, because she's thinking about it. She's thinking about it, and she's not supposed to, she'd made herself not think about it, because when she does, it's like a ball rolling down hill. The last time it'd happened, it was with Les, and before that it was with Spencer and Bach, she can't stop the way that she reacts, and she can feel herself sliding into it again. The man asking her for help, and she should have known better, because then she's grabbed- she somehow should have known, and she has to force herself to take deep breaths. Deep breaths. She forces herself not to check behind her, and she sucks in another breath. Forcing a small smile for a moment, because if you act like you're alright, you'll be alright, somehow, she continues. "Sorry. Stuff was weird, and I wasn't supposed to tell anyone who I was, and so... I apologize, you deserve better than me lying to you. It's Raleigh." She's gripping the edge of the stool with white knuckles, but besides that, she seems... sort of normal.

That is, probably unless you happen to be a detective who can read minds.

[tarnishedbadge]

Levi had been wondering about that and while he wanted to ask her about it he figured she would tell him in her own time if it was real. Why Bach had known he wasn't sure but he was glad that she had told him, that she trusted him that much. He just wish that it hadn't conjured up a lot of memories of her of the time Joseph had kidnapped her.

"Hey Raleigh," he said, turning to smile at her and offer her his hand. "I'm Leviticus Astor the Third. It's nice to meet you."

[callmeemily]

It takes her a second - it's a second of confusion, but she realises she hid it enough, or he's ignoring it, and he's just... he's letting it go, and she's so thankful that she feels like she could cry, although she doesn't. Of course she doesn't.

"You're a good man," she says softly, and she reaches to take his hand, and she squeezes it tightly, for just a second. It's not a handshake, it's something else, and it's weird, the way she just is all-in, with him and Les and Lara and likely Corry. The people who were there, she's put so much stock in them because she believes in them, because she knows that they're good.

"Thank you," she says as she lets go, her head bent for only a moment as she pulls in a deep breath. She's not going to think about it, anymore. She can't. She forces herself to stop, her eyes flicking to the bowl. "So... yeah," she says, even though her heart's a lot less in it than it was. "You cream together the butter and the sugar."

[tarnishedbadge]

"Are you kidding? Thank you for not making fun of the fact that my name is 'Leviticus'," he said, grinning at her as he started to mash together the butter and the sugar. She could call it 'creaming' all she wanted but it was just mixing and mashing.

He knew that what she had said was just a big deal for her but he was equally sure that she didn't want to act like it was a big deal. If she wanted to tell him more he'd listen but for now he figured that focusing on baking would be best. Levi had a sense that it's what they both really wanted to be doing at the moment.

"But there, I think this is creamed now."