RO > call me out; a forever open RP post, version 2

[midvalley]

NEW OPEN RP POST

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[ex_micromanage449]

[ Now she really manages to look indignant ]

Two.

I was smart enough to stop trying after that.

[enraptored]

[ He allows himself a snort, before he's moving to the sink -- first to wash his hands, careful to clean the cuts and scrapes on his knuckles. ]

We'll see if we can at least get you heating up water like a pro, before the night's over.

[ex_micromanage449]

One step at a time, I suppose.

Just give me a second.

[ Before they get too far into this, there's something she needs to do. She moves back out to the living room area, to wherever she dropped her purse when she angrily swept into the apartment, and fishes out her phone.

And then she does the unthinkable.

Claire Dearing puts her cell phone on silent. ]

[enraptored]

[ He watches her go, wondering if maybe there's a call she needs to make or something. He nearly sighs when he sees the phone in her hand, but-- well, she does have a lot of shit to take care of, and it was obvious her career meant a lot to her.

But when she drops it back into her purse and returns, he frowns at her, confused. ]

Did you just--? Did you turn your phone off?

[ex_micromanage449]

... Just the sound.

[ Baby steps, Owen. Baby steps. ]

[enraptored]

[ Hey man, he'll take it. If his pleasantly surprised smile is any indication. ]

I'm guessing that's something you haven't done since you started this job, either.

[ex_micromanage449]

Not really.

But there are special circumstances here. [ And, if she's being completely honest, she does not want to have some Masrani rep call her and ream her about "damage control" right now. She just doesn't. ]

[enraptored]

[ He chuckles quietly. If there's anything he should read into her statement, it's lost on him. ]

Yeah. Spaghetti sure counts as a special circumstance.

[ He nods her over. ] Come on. Wash your hands and we can get started.

[ex_micromanage449]

If you were to ask my mother, she'd tell you it should count as momentous.

[ She comes over to the sink as directed to wash her hands ] Let me guess, we start by putting water in the pot?

[enraptored]

[ He favors her with a bright smile as he's opening the cans of tomatoes, crooked though it is. ]

Got it in one.

See? You're a natural. You won't even need my help by the time we're done here.

[ex_micromanage449]

[ She’s really starting to think she’d like to see that smile more often, and offers a grin of her own in return. She doesn’t smile much, these days, but with Owen, in the quiet of her apartment, it’s oddly easy. ]

Well, I do like to think I at least know how to put water in a pan.

[enraptored]

[ Another victory, and-- ]

So the infamous Tyrannosaurus Whisperer can still smile. Good to know.

[ex_micromanage449]

The infamous what? People don't really call me that, do they?

[enraptored]

[ A beat, then, ] Quick tip -- maybe don't look up any memes they've made with that security cam footage.

[ex_micromanage449]

[ in response, he gets the blankest of blank stares ] What's a "meem"?

[enraptored]

[ hoo boy. ]

I'll tell you when you're older. Let's just go one lesson at a time, for now.

[ex_micromanage449]

You can't just bring up something like that and drop it. What are they?

[enraptored]

They're just joke pictures. Noooot a big deal.

[ex_micromanage449]

People are making joke pictures about myself and the Tyrannosaurus on the internet.

[ "but why tho" goes unsaid, though it's clearly implied by her tone ]

[enraptored]

--Kinda? I mean, sometimes it's a T. Rex with Donald Trump's face instead, but--

Yeah. Basically.

[ex_micromanage449]

[ She gives him a long, scrutinizing look, like she's trying to figure out if he's serious or not.

Evidently she decides he is, because she sighs, rolling her eyes. ] There are some corners of the internet I will never understand.

[enraptored]

Probably best not to try. That way lies madness.

We've got more important matters to tackle, in any case.

[ at which point, he regales her with his impromptu lesson on how to make marinara sauce -- hardly authentic, given that most of what was available were dry ingredients, but palatable all the same. Owen, surprisingly, is a decent enough cook, and unsurprisingly, a patient teacher. ]

Simple enough, right!

[ex_micromanage449]

[ It's true, his patience doesn't surprise her, considering what he does- did- for a living. The fact that he's a pretty decent cook is still something she's trying to wrap her head around. ]

Is this something else you picked up in the Navy? Right alongside training dolphins and sea otters.

[enraptored]

Oh, yeah. It's part of basic survival training. Pretty ground floor stuff -- when you run out of MREs, it's time to start cooking from scratch.

[ After a second of stirring the sauce, he relents, shrugging a shoulder. ]

College, actually. And living on my own. Got sick of ready-made stuff and taught myself how to make something halfway decent.

[ex_micromanage449]

[ She's not going to admit it, but for half a second there, she almost believed him. How do military. ]

You've got one up on me, then. I never took the time. Work and school always came first.