Chance Meetings

[Cooper Gates]

Cooper was greatly enjoying the first few weeks of school, though he was quickly finding his Japanese wasn't as good as he would have liked. Still, it was an amazing experience, and he would be forever grateful to his family for helping him to get there. He was actually back in the country for the weekend, at the Inn to make dinner that night, to show them what he had been learning. He had been talking to Mallory at the desk for a while now, but she had needed to wonder off to do something or the other and so he was just lounging there, waiting for her to return so he could be on his way. A nap sounded lovely about now, the time differences always got him a little on the weekends.

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia had enjoyed traveling, especially with Katy. But now she was mostly doing it to distract herself from her lack of plans for the future. She knew her former classmates were probably settling into jobs right now, but Emilia knew already that whatever she was going to do, it wasn't going to be something glamorous. So she wanted to put it off a bit longer. She had gotten the idea to visit Kira, as she knew the girl's family had an inn. After looking for it for a while, Emilia headed inside and looked around. She had hoped to just see Kira around, but it seemed like it wasn't going to be that easy. Emilia hesitantly headed over to the desk, seeing a guy sitting there who seemed to work there. "Uh, excuse me. Does... Kira Wolf work here?" She asked him, hoping she didn't have the wrong place after all.

 

[Cooper Gates]

Cooper looked up as a girl spoke, smiling at her. "Oh, hello," He greeted cheerily. "Kiki is actually gone, she took off for a year after graduation to travel around with whats-his-name, she says she wanted a year off before they came home and jumped back into school," He told the blond, propping his head in his hand. "Sorry you missed her- I'm Cooper, her sister married my brother." He explained easily. "Do you want to stay for dinner? It would kinda suck to come all this way for nothing," He pouted a bit.

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia's face fell as the guy behind the desk said Kira was gone, that she had taken a year off to travel with who Emilia assumed was her boyfriend. "Oh." She said, frowning. Suddenly, she felt incredibly silly for even coming here. What had she expected? For Kira to just have been here, waiting for her? They hadn't even been very close friends. She blinked as she realized the boy was still talking, trying to focus on his words. "Oh, right." She said as he told her his brother married Kira's sister. She vaguely remembered Kira talking about an older sister who ran the inn. "I.... I suppose." She said, before quite registering what she was agreeing to. "If you're sure it's no trouble." She added hurriedly. There was a part of her that definitely wanted to just flee this place in embarrassment, but she was rather tired and hungry. Maybe this wouldn't be a terrible idea.

 

[Cooper Gates]

Cooper laughed lightly. "No, no trouble really. The more the merrier!" He waved at Mallory as she came in, getting up and relinquishing her seat to her. He rounded the corner, offering out his hand. "I'm Cooper." He introduced, before turning to head further into the inn and motioning for the girl to follow him. "I'm in school to be a chef so dinner is on me tonight," He laughed lightly.

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia wondered if she should have agreed, she felt mildly embarrassed. But it helped a bit that the guy talking to her was pretty cute, and sweet too. She took his hand and shook it. "Emilia Manning." She said, introducing herself. Then she followed Cooper as he headed into the inn, listening as he explained that he was a chef, or at least training to be one. "Oh, that sounds wonderful. Is there anything I can help with?" She asked quickly.

 

[Cooper Gates]

Cooper nodded, she had a pretty name. When she asked if she could help, he grinned mischievously. "I can always use a taste tester," He offered with a playful wink. "And company in the kitchen is always welcome," he smiled at her. "Do you have any favorite foods?" He hadn't decided what to make anyway, and luckily the kitchens here were fairly well stocked.

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia couldn't help the surprised laugh that escaped her when the boy said he could use a taste tester, though the accompanying wink made her blush. "Oh, uhm." She said, running her fingers through her her hair a little. "Well, I'm happy to help in any way." She said, following him while looking around. "Oh, I... I like a lot of things." She said quickly, embarrassed by the idea of him making something especially for her. "Just make what you want, I'm just happy I'm invited." She said softly.

 

[Cooper Gates]

Cooper found himself blushing a bit. This girl was actually kinda adorable. He grinned, giving her a gentle nudge. "Hey, it's alright. I always cook what I want," He gave her his most charming grin, turning to stand in front of her, still walking backward. "You're one of Kiki's friends, and you're sweet, and that smile is adorable. Besides, I want to make something you know you'll like." He smiled wider. "Pretty please? Give me something, anything,"

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia paused when the boy stood in front of her, though he walked backwards. She wondered if he hadn't gotten the wrong idea, it wasn't like she and Kira were close exactly. Would he be angry if he found that out? She hardly registered he said her smile was adorable for a moment, but when she did, she blushed. "Uh," she stammered, uncertain. "Well, uh, if you're sure." She played with her hair a little anxiously. "Pasta?" She eventually said, it was the first thing she thought of.

 

[Cooper Gates]

Cooper smiled widely. "Oooh, great category, what abouuuut," he thought it over, walking backward still. "Oh, oh, what about crab spaghetti with lemon gremolata?" He snapped his fingers, pleased with his choice. Crab was always delicious, and spaghetti was good comfort food. He smiled brightly at Emilia, running a hand through his hair and awaiting her denial or approval.

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia kept her slightly nervous smile in place as the boy went on, naming some complicated dish Emilia had never tried. It sounded nice, though she had no clue what it would really taste like. "Sure." She said a little shyly. "I mean, that sounds good. I'm curious to try it." She said quickly. Truthfully, she was glad that he'd made the final decision and hadn't asked her more questions. She was happy to try anything he made if it meant she didn't have to make decisions for a stranger again.

 

[Cooper Gates]

Cooper grinned widely, clapping his hands together in victory. "Yes! Whoo! Let's go!" He reached for Emilia's hand, laughing brightly and hurrying on to the kitchens. He laughed as they came into the kitchen and went about gathering ingredients. "Go ahead and just sit up on the counter there if you want, it's really comfortable, do you want something to drink?" He chattered brightly, smiling at the blond before setting things down and beginning to prepare the food.

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia flushed when Cooper grabbed her hand, not sure what to make of this. She followed him to the kitchens, wondering if it was really okay for her to be here. He said she could sit on the counter and offered her a drink, and Emilia took a moment to take it all in. "I can stand." She said, brushing down her skirt. "Some water would be nice." She then said hesitantly.