thedispatch | Forgiven

[ A squeak of a laugh escapes the reaper as she's spun. ]

Fine, fiiine. Home it is!

[ Hands now dried, she uses the towel to turn off the faucet, before leaving it at the basin's edge to dry.

She unfasten the belt around her waist, relocating it to drape around her neck, and unbuttons her jumper on the way to her locker. By the time she's arrived to it, shes able to step out of the garment, and swap it out for the blazer she's left inside. ]

Am I still pretty enough for a store run?

Clock out and we'll go.

[ A roundabout way of saying 'yes', but it's something! He waits at the doorway to the office, noting a few more agents who do a double take when they see him. He makes brief eye contact before they lose his interest and he checks his watch impatiently. ]

You didn't answer meee, Will!

[ She calls after him - but once he's gone, she'll chuckle to herself.

Not long after, she'll skip up to plant her feet beside him, arms slipping around one of his. ]

Well, are you ready?

[ He nods and a blink later they find themselves outside one of the local markets. The people there are too busy sifting through the baskets of produce to notice them zap into existence. Finding a basket, he leads them into the crowd of various vendor stalls. ]

[ It's partially by habit that Grell lets go of his arm in such a place-- but she also sees something quite shiny, and also not food-related, at one of the stalls. It isn't even that she really wants it, she just wants to investigate and touch it. ]

It's been a while since I've been here!

If I'm going to be cooking we'll need some fresh produce. Among other things.

[ He's actually surprised she willingly let go. It makes him curious as to what grabbed her attention, so he follows along. ]

[ It's a beautiful window decor piece; a welded star with inlaid stained glass pieces. Grell reaches up to hold it in her hands, turning it over with a little smile. Ah, but then the fresh arrangements of flowers catch her attention below. There's the prettiest red rose, which she cups between her hands to inhale its scent. ]

Mm, it's not so bad~

Honestly, I don't think you should be spending your money on frivolous things. Not until we have two steady incomes.

[ But he'll let her fawn over the pretty items to appease her. ]

I don't need to own something to enjoy it, darling♥.

[ By the look on the vendor's face, they have a different opinion on the matter! Before they try to initiate conversation to sell her on the items, she turns on heel and hooks her arm in Will's, to walk away! ]

So, what's on the list?

[ He pulls a list from the inside pocket of his jacket. Seems he wrote one up sometime during Grell's shift. ]

If you'd like spaghetti still, then we'll need tomatoes, onions, garlic, some various spices, cream. Some beef too if you'd like a meat sauce.

[ Grell leans in to peek at it curiously! She'd seen him writing, but hadn't any idea what for. Part of her hoped it was a love letter... wouldn't that be the day... ]

And that's just for the pasta... We have a lot to buy for, don't we?

[ She plops her cheek against his shoulder to bat her eyes up at him! ]

Thank goodness you have this cooking thing figured out.

I can make extra so it lasts a few meal with this much. A few more basic ingredients will help, as well.

[ With that, he walks over to inspect the tomatoes on a nearby stand. With his calm expression it seems they are of good quality. ]

Oh... Well, that's more convenient, surely.

[ Seeing him shift through and poking at the tomatoes, Grell curiously picks up one of her own. ]

Is there... something different about them all?

They need to be ripe enough if we plan on eating them tonight. So soft but not enough to wrinkle when you lightly squeeze them.

[ Finding a few he approves of, he sets them carefully in the basket. Though, he saves one, handing it to Grell so she can see what he means. ]

[ Grell's not entirely sure what to do with it, or how much of a squeeze it sufficient -- so she end up pressing into it with a finger, instead. Like one might boop a puppy's nose. ]

I-- suppose I get it?

[ She hands it back to him, in favour of getting out her wallet. ]

Looks tasty, though. [ And she seems surprised at how cheap they seem to be! ]

[ Frowning, he looks over the tomato, making sure she didn't puncture the skin. Appearing fine, he places it beside the others.

They make their way though the market, picking out the ingredients William had written down, along with a few items that are a bit more of a guilty pleasure. Finally, they arrive back at Grell's flat and William begins putting the groceries away. ]

Get out a large pot and a sauce pan.

[ Grell makes her way into the kitchen to set down the bags on the counter, heaving a sigh. ]

I really can't believe we got all this for so little... Perhaps what I pay for a day's worth of meals....

[ She's contemplating what she's been doing with her life, when William's request echos through her mind. ]

--Hm? [ Okay, she's lost. ] I have a big pot, but what's a pan for sauce look like?

[ He knows she's not someone who cooks, but it feels it should be easy enough to deduce. ]

Like a frying pan but with higher sides. So you can simmer liquid in it.

[ If only Grell were so confident. She's only cooked very simply over the course of her afterlife, and that didn't last long-- and such is all the more obvious when she has to get on her knees to dig under her cabinets for the cooking pot... and blow a generous layer of dust off of it!

With a sputter, she wrinkles her nose, dumping it into the sink for washing! ]

[ William makes the vaguest disgusted face at the state of her cookware. He shakes it off quickly enough, letting her wash it while he finds a knife to dice the tomatoes with. ]

Wash that twice. At minimum.

[ She huffs while inspecting her selections of pans. ]

What, it's only fifty years - or so - of dust.

[ Opting for the one with the highest sides, she shrugs, plopping it onto the counter by the sink, as well. Because it isn't much better. ]

I'm surprised you have cookware to begin with.

[ Setting those aside, since there's no pan to place them in, he moves on to the garlic. Next the onions, and looking back to her is becoming grumpy that it still doesn't seem clean yet. ]

[ At least she's taking her job seriously, putting some elbow grease into it while she scrubs at them-- and literally washing them twice. Once she does have the saucepan clean, however, she seems a bit confused as to where to put them... her dish towels are so small! So she does a haphazard job of drying one, before leaving it to 'dry' on top of the little towel, while starting at the second. ]

I'm beginning to remember why I never do this...

That will be your task, then. I will cook and you can clean up afterwards. You'll have plenty of practice cleaning from work.

[ He takes up the one pan, drying it off more before placing it on the burner. As the pan heats, he begins to add ingredients. The sauce slowly forms as they blend together and eventually there's a creamy red sauce left simmering in the pan. ]

Fill the pot up around 2/3 of the way with water and place it one the larger burner in the back.

[ Grell makes a disgusted sound at the idea of more cleaning - AND getting good at it; however, her mood quickly turns around while watching William work. She curiously hovers - and steals some diced bits of fresh vegetables from the cutting board when she thinks he isn't looking. But she's plenty encouraging about his progress! ]

Mm? Alright, I can do that.

[ Hopping to it, she takes the pot back to the sink to fill, squinting at it to determine if it's about right where he'd said it should be, and even pouring out some water util she feels it's about right. Hoisting it back to the stove, she sets it down a bit heavily, before she sets to lighting the burner. She's not the best at getting the gas to ignite, either-- but it finally gets there, and she's pretty proud of it! Baby steps! ]

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