For nobody else but you. [Eikane]

[Tashe]

"Ouch!" After flapping his hand in the air Nautic stuck the side of his finger in his mouth and set the candle down on the table, he had burnt his finger trying to light it. Fortunately it wasn't bad, only momentary contact. He had sent Tizzy to keep a watch on Eikane, the Greenhandler didn't want his boyfriend (oh it felt nice to use that word again) to walk in and interrupt his preparations before they were ready! His Firemandyr would contact him when the Goldhandler started off toward his Apartments for a rest, or if Eikane decided to go to the mainhall for lunch, Nautic had instructed Tizzy to steal something from the man and lead him back into the apartments. "Lets see... oh right!" Shifting the chairs around slightly, Nautic frantically tried to make everything perfect. Nautic had been planning this little lunch for a while. He had been extra friendly to the cooks recently, and because they liked him they had allowed him full access to the kitchens after hours. The Wherhandler had wanted to do something nice for Eikane, though that wasn't the entire reason he had set up this lunch. Nautic still needed to make good on his end of the bargain they had made over his research project. He had agreed to make food for Eikane in exchange for the pictures the Goldhandler said he'd draw. Therefore, this killed two birds with one stone.

Folding the napkins as he surveyed the table, Nautic nodded in approval. He didn't dare remove the upside down bowls that covered the food, or they would loose all the heat they had managed to retain on the way from the kitchens. He had snooped around a little bit and through Nautsk found out what Eikane's favorite food was. Fortunately his mother had been willing to teach him how to make it. Noodles with Creamy white wine sauce. The pasta itself was easy enough to make, but getting the sauce just right had been a challenge for him to perfect. This latest try had come out the best of all, at least he thought so. It tasted good and it may not be up to par with what the kitchens cooked... but he had baked some fresh bread with garlic to go with it, as well as some baked vegetables. In case Eikane didn't like it of course. He had also made some lemon bars for later and brought a bottle of sweet wine to go with it. Though thinking about it now, was it a little over kill? "I mean... desert with lunch! Who has desert with lunch? Its a dinner thing... oh what should I do? Its too late now! I could hide them or..." His thoughts were interrupted by a flash of images. It was Tizzy, he was saying Eikane was coming.

"Oh dear, oh dear!" Fussing, he poured some redfruit juice in each of their cups before putting down the pitcher and brushing out the wrinkles in the table cloth. This whole endeavor had been possible because of the fact Eikask was spending most of her time in the Wherhatching sands, Nautsk was also spending a lot of her time over there as well since the Gold let her in whenever he accompanied her. But when he wasn't available, the Green would curl up in the farthest corner of the sands and 'help watch' the eggs. Since she couldn't have eggs of her own, Nautsk was extraordinarily eager (if that was even possible) to help with the Queen's eggs. Twisting too and fro with the cloth covered lemon bars held against his chest, Nautic frantically searched for somewhere to hide them. Putting them on top of a bookshelf, he hid the wine bottle and glasses up there too. Quickly he fussed with his lavender shirt and picked a few pieces of lint off of his tight brown trowsers, though he couldn't do much for anything below his knees, Nautic's high black boots prevented him from doing so. He turned around to face the table just as the door began to open...

[Ember]

Eikane huffed in annoyance as he left his gold's clutch. Bratty gold! Faranth forbid she ever lay eggs again! Yet the man knew she would and, in truth, he usually didn't mind. When his own mindmate growled every time he approached the room even he eventually lost his patience. No one was going to hurt her precious eggs and couldn't she tell who it was that was turning the corner? Eikask had mellowed out a bit since the touching but she still growled a warning to all who approached. The gold knew Hers had grown annoyed with it but she continued anyways.

Jealousy wasn't an emotion he was used to feeling and yet he felt an odd sort of jealousy for the eggs hogging all of his wher's time. He paused his mental ranting for a moment and wondered if that's how she felt when no one was paying attention to her. It was kind of lonely but...she didn't have to have attention all the time. He chuckled under his breath. Neither did he really. The goldhandler liked attention almost as much as his wher did. He was just considerably more mellow about it than she was. When he got to his room he wasn't prepared for the pleasant surprise that waited for him.

Eikane blinked then smiled as he took note of the waiting meal. He forced himself to ignore the things that had been put out of place for the time being. He was a fussy freak but he supposed having a lover again would force him to get used to ignoring such small details again. His stomach churned slightly, lettign him know that it was indeed hungry. The Harper's smile grew just a slight bit more and he moved into the room, closing the door gently behind him. "Did you prepare all this for me?" He asked his boyfriend. Talk about turning a night around. The tall young man crossed the room to Nautic and leaned down just enough so their foreheads met. If the other blonde wanted a kiss he could work for it a little bit.

[Tashe]

Nervously twisting the toe of his boot on the ground Nautic watched as the door swung all the way open and then closed behind the Harper. The smile that appeared took the edge off of the fluttering feelings in the Greenhandler's stomach, it didn't look like he was opposed to the invasion. If he had been, Nautic would have felt horrible. Normally he had this strict rule about not coming into a person's living space when either they weren't there or he hadn't been invited in, but occasions like these were the exceptions. Clasping his hands behind his back when Eikane approached, Nautic shifted his weight from side to side until their foreheads touched. So cute! He almost blushed at the closeness between them, but in the end restrained his emotions. "Ah... ah yes. I thought you might be hungry. You know... with having to sit in the hot hatching arena pretty much all night."

He moved, brushing his lips against Eikane's forehead before stepping away from him. "You are hungry, right? I um... made you your favorite." Lifting the bowl off of the plate, Nautic revealed the meal that he had prepared. "I also made some garlic bread and veggies. Oh and there's redfruit juice as well." He drifted along the side of the table unwrapping or producing things from under their various coverings. "It should still be warm, most of it just recently came out of the kitchen..." The Greenhandler paused to look up from the table with a sheepish smile, he hadn't done something like this in a long while for another person, so there was a small amount of anxiety to overcome. "I hope you like it... you know... well if you try it and don't like it I won't mind... I mean, I know I'm not the greatest cook in the world... so yeah." Nautic rubbed the nape of his neck and looked back down at the table. Stupid Nausi. Silly Nausi. Don't be so childish. But it was hard not to be when a glance from the person you liked sent a few hundred butterflies flapping around in your stomach.

"I guess um... we should eat then. Don't want it to get any colder than it already is." The Wherhandler laughed a little awkwardly before dropping his hand on to the table and tapping his fingers. "Oh um. How has your uh... evening gone so far? Is Eikask still guarding those eggs like a... starving Feline over a juicy piece of Herdbeast?" Nautic noticed Tizzy for the first time, he had taken up refuge awfully close to the wine glasses on top of the shelves. Nervous as he already was, he hoped that the Firelizard wouldn't knock them over. That would be horrible. Having to clean up glass instead of enjoy the relaxing (hah!) dinner time.

[Ember]

Eikane was barely able to keep the smile that had his lips twitching upwards from spreading. Oh dear. His Nautic was so nervous that it was comical. Not very fair to laugh at him though. So he didn't. Instead he focused on the greenhandler's words and blinked in surprise when the food was revealed. Huh! It really was his favourite food. He wondered how Nautic had figured it out until he realized he missed a bit of what the man was saying. Whoops. He didn't need to know what Nautic said when he saw the smile though.

When Nautic looked down, Eikane moved closer and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. "Mm. My night was pretty bad. She's so frustrating when she's, as you say, like a starving feline." The goldhandler released Nautic after planting a quick kiss on his neck and taking a seat. "Anyways, thanks for the food. I was really hungry. I don't know how you found out my favourite food but it certainly is a nice surprise." Without further adeu he dug into his food. His wild feline picked himself off the floor a little ways away and wandered to Eikane's side, plunking himself down again. He'd gotten Riker as a surprise and he was a master at getting his fur everywhere, but he loved the feline all the same.

The goldhandler glanced up from his meal quite frequently. As he finished off a forkful he asked, "And how's your night been? Aside from cooking this delicious meal, I mean." He meant the compliment to the food too. It was very good. He'd admit he'd tasted better but Nautic ought to give himself more credit for his cooking. It was better than he could do (he was more than a little spice-challenged) and better than most others he'd tasted.

[Tashe]

In turn his own arms encircled Eikane's waist when he was pulled closer, though his hold broke slightly when the Goldrider bent over slightly to kiss his neck. Nautic resisted a frown when they separated, he liked the feeling of being held. Taking his own seat, Nautic dropped his napkin into his lap and picked up the fork he had placed next to his dish. "You're welcome. You can blame Nautsk for me finding out, she's quite the little snoop when I ask her to be." The Greenhandler eyed the Feline as it stirred from its area. Personally, he found the large male well... unsettling. He knew that Wild Felines could be tamed when they were cubs, but even when they are domesticated they still had claws and they still had teeth. Large teeth. He was fine with Riker when the male had been minding its own business and laying in one spot, it was when he moved around Nautic got wary. Chalk it up to living in the Weyr for his whole life and hearing horror stories about Riders being attacked near the jungles.

Taking his eyes off the Feline, the Greenhandler smiled at Eikane when he was asked about his day. "Oh its been just fine. I was working in the Creche earlier, and I stopped for a moment and realized that the kids there have grown so much!" Using his fork he twirled a serving of noodles so that they were manageable to eat. "It was my turn to teach the little kids today. We did some practice with Arithmetic and Writing. Little Timas was having trouble with his adding but I think he got it by the end." Little kids were adorable. Sure they could be little brats sometimes, but they more often than not had their moments. He was proud of the Weyrbrats. To him it didn't matter whether their parents were Riders or Weyrfolk, they all had had something in common. They didn't have enough time in the day to spend with their parents, either due to work or having been given up at birth. Most of them had good attitudes, some even called him their Brother. It was nice, since he didn't have any siblings of his own.

"But I'm sure you don't want to hear me droll on about the kidlings." He chuckled and took a bite of his dinner before putting down his fork and retrieving a piece of bread from the little basket. Using his knife he smeared some butter over the slice, covering it nicely before polishing it off. "Giving Nautsk a bath was nice, if a little cold. I bet you saw her on the sands. She's sparkling again. Just the way she likes it." It was hard to deny his Wher anything. She was so sweet and hardly demanded anything of him but love, that when she wanted something a certain way he quickly obliged. "Any news from Eikask about when she thinks the Eggs are going to hatch?"