MCA #0, Friday night

[grenadesandohana]

It was going to take more than it being cold, miserable, and rainy (and it was all three) for Steve to stop grilling outside.

It meant he was wearing shoes and a ridiculous puffer coat, but the steaks would be worth it. "We're almost ready here!" he called into Danny through the door he'd left cracked open. "They here yet?"

[OOC: For Danny and their dinner guests!]

Comments

[hatesparadise]

Danny and his nice, hot cup if tea were watching him from the safety of inside. Because he wasn't nuts, you see.

"Not yet!" Then, added, "I'm gonna get the matzo ball soup ready for when you get pneumonia, ya goof."

[grenadesandohana]

"It's not so bad!" Steve said, shoving his freezing fingers into his coat pockets.

[hatesparadise]

"Uh huh." Danny sincerely doubted it.

[grenadesandohana]

"It's much worse other places!" Steve yelled back. "I've been there!"

And grilled out there too, like an idiot.

[hatesparadise]

"That doesn't fill me with confidence, babe!"

[grenadesandohana]

"And I made amazing...okay, not steaks, but food there too!"

He reheated the hell out of that MRE!

[hatesparadise]

"Where was this again?" Danny asked, knowing full well what response he'd get.

[grenadesandohana]

"Classified!" Steve sing-songed.

[knife_bender]

Diego didn’t know what the weirdest part of this was—-the fact that he and the girl he was seeing were going to a barbecue in November or the fact Diego had pseudo-friends who would invite him to a barbecue in the first place.

He rapped on the door with the hand that wasn’t holding beer raccoons hadn’t touched. “This is so weird.”

[defenderofdesmoines]

"It's not weird," Annie assured him, though she was admittedly a little nervous, even if the only sign of it was that her posture was ramrod-straight. She had also worn her hair down for once, which was how you could tell she was taking this seriously. "I mean, other than how we're apparently grilling in November."

[hatesparadise]

Since Steve was being stubborn about grilling, it was Danny that answered the door.

"Come on in," he said, taking a step back to allow them in. Then added loud enough to carry to the lanai, "I'm gonna start drinking to deal with Steve, so company is good."

[grenadesandohana]

"They only came to talk with me anyway!" Steve voice came back from the lanai.

[knife_bender]

"Steve does have a point," Diego joked, handing over the beer. "No raccoons touched this, I promise."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Or any other woodland creatures, as far as I'm aware," Annie added with a smile. "Thank you so much for inviting us. You have a beautiful apartment."

She'd been to Rey's, so it wasn't like she hadn't known about the larger apartments downstairs, but for real. Annie did not have a lanai where she could foolishly grill in November.

[hatesparadise]

They were just gonna say it was a Hawaiian thing to save their own sanity.

"You're such a stunning conversationalist when your teeth are chattering too!" Danny called back dryly, taking the beer. "You guys want one now? We've also got wine."

Not making this sound less like a double date, huh?

[grenadesandohana]

Steve came in from outside in his puffy coat holding a plate full of steaks.
"We've got wine?" he repeated. "Did you buy it because I didn't buy it."

Definitely how roommates talk, yes!

[knife_bender]

Yep. Totally normal thing roommates talked about. Diego gave Annie a look that clearly said See what I was talking about?

"I'll stick with beer, thanks," he said, snorting when he saw Steve in his goofy coat. "You look cozy."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I'd love wine, if you're offering," Annie decided, hiding a smile (poorly.) "And I, for one, really appreciate your dedication, Primary Steve."

Because she wasn't going to openly mock someone who was cooking for her, even if that was quite a cozy coat.

[hatesparadise]

"Did I get wine, he asks," Danny scoffed. After the amount they went though with, well, mostly Verity. He knew what to expect. "Steve is a delicate tropical flower with the cold."

He gestured toward the table before heading to the kitchen himself to get drinks together.

[grenadesandohana]

"I know 37 ways to kill a guy with a pen!" Steve retorted. "Delicate flower that!"

He was not, however, taking off his cozy, cozy coat because he was totally freezing. Like a delicate flower.

"Make yourselves comfortable," he said with a grin. "Take off your shoes, if you'd like."

[knife_bender]

"You know I kind of want to hear about the pen killing." Diego actually pulled out a chair for Annie without really thinking about it because between Mom and Sir Reginald he was raised with some old timey manners. He just didn't get to use them often.

"I can only think of, like, ten ways I could kill a guy with a pen."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Are we talking a clicky pen?" Annie wondered, shooting Diego a smile as she sat down because that was cute, damn it. No one ever pulled out chairs for her! "Or like, one with a cap?"

She could think of, like, maybe three ways to kill someone with a pen, but she had also never needed to be that creative.

[hatesparadise]

"Nope, no murder talk at the table," Danny said, passing out the drinks. Because he knew where this would go. Oh, he knew.

[grenadesandohana]

"Since when?" Steve asked, smirking and taking his non-raccoon beer.

[knife_bender]

"Yeah what else are we gonna talk about?" Diego asked.