Play in the dirt

Lou shook his head. "I don't know, you seem pretty special to me," He murmured shyly as he stood, moving to the fridge and trying to decide what to make. "I can make a salad, most of it from my personal gardens. Or if you don't mind waiting I could make a light vegetable soup," He offered, rubbing the back of his neck as he shifted a few items in the fridge.
 
Erik snorted. “Maybe special in the head,” he joked. As far as he was concerned, self-deprecation was an art form, and he was an artist. He snatched up the last tomato and devoured it.

“Soup sounds delicious,” Erik replied. It was a hot day, sure, and a normal person might choose salad over soup. But he was not normal, and no dummy. Of course he would choose the option that was going to extend his stay, even if it made him overheat.
 
Lou almost smiled a bit, chuckling at Erik's statement. "Well you're still talking to me," He retorted simply. "There must be something wrong with you," he laughed lightly, gathering the ingredients from the fridge and moving over to the counter. He rinsed the vegetables quickly, humming a bit as he worked. "Are you allergic to anything?" He asked.
 
Erik laughed. “There are plenty of things wrong with me, but talking with you? Nah.” He shook his head to the question about allergies. “Need help with anything?” he asked. Working with recipes all day, he was, by extension, a semi-decent cook. He watched Lou chop vegetables. A man who knew his way around food was, well, spicy.
 
This was a recipe Lou used often, and it was simple, but he liked it. He lined up his vegetables on the counter as he washed them; yellow onion, celery, tomato, carrot, potato, corn, peas. He picked his favorite knife from the block at the back of the counter. "The door over there, that's my room. Go over to my window, get me a bit of fresh parsley, bay leaves, and thyme please. Not from the plant, there will be a bit of each hanging in the window. A pinch should do," He instructed, setting to work dicing the produce.
 
While Erik was tempted to make a comment about being sent to a stranger’s bedroom, he kept his mouth shut. He complied wordlessly. Lou’s room was spotless and simple. There was a twin bed nestled in one corner, piled with blankets and pillows. The assortment of plants on the windowsill added a nice touch of green. He reached up and grabbed the herbs Lou asked for. Erik did confuse cilantro for the parsley, but he figured it out after snapping off the leaves.

He brought the bunch of parsley, bay leaves, and thyme to the kitchen and set them on the cutting board. They smelled great. “Here you go,” he said with a grin. He stood there a moment, feeling a little rush of awkwardness as he looked at Lou. He returned to the table and pulled out his wand, filling up his glass of water with Aguamenti.
 
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Lou had just finished chopping the vegetables and setting the soup on the stove to cook when Erik returned with the herbs. "Thank you," He murmured, and after a few more moments he finished his preparation. He sighed, moving back over to the table. "It'll be done in about half an hour," He spoke, folding his hands on the table. He wasn't sure what he wanted to talk about. He smiled shyly at Erik.
 
Erik stashed his wand back in his pocket. He grazed his packet of cigarettes and was tempted to offer Lou one, but people didn’t smoke inside these days and besides, he knew smokes could be a major turn-off.

Erik admired Lou’s smile, but he tried not to stare. He suddenly remembered where he’d learned the name Prindeou. “Did you know a Reece?” Perhaps it was just coincidence since he’d met the man on a different continent. Still, it didn’t hurt to ask, right?
 
The color drained from Lou's face at the question. He stood and walked away a bit, crossing his arms and turning away from Erik. "Yeah... he was my younger brother." He took a shaky breath. "He passed on a while back," He shut his eyes, taking a few breaths to try and calm himself. He hated talking about his brother.
 
Erik noticed Lou’s change in expression and immediately knew he’d said the wrong thing. He sunk a little in his chair. “I’m- sorry to hear that,” Erik said, meaning it. He thought about his sister, or his Mom, the most recent deaths in his family. But maybe that wouldn’t make him a good listener.

Erik didn’t know Reece Prindeou all that well- Reece was a few years behind Erik, maybe in Teuila’s class. However, he remembered an extroverted, fun-loving personality. He wasn’t bad-looking either, like his brother here, but Erik had avoided pursuing students younger than him as a general rule.

Noticing that the soup pot had started to boil and bubble angrily, steam shooting out from the sides and rattling the lid, he rose from the table. He didn’t ask permission to stir the soup and turn the heat down just a touch. After all, he knew his way around a good brew.
 
Lou was brought back to himself as Erik moved to stir the soup. Unthinkingly, Lou moved in behind him and reached over his head for the pepper, adding in a pinch as Erik stirred. "I'm sorry," he murmured, "I was caught off guard," he hesitated a moment, realizing how close they were, and took a few steps back quickly. "Sorry again," he managed, moving quickly to sit back at the table. "You knew Reece?" He asked softly.
 
Erik felt himself blush as Lou reached over him. The proximity was- electrifying? He smirked as the other wizard pulled away. What a fickle mooncalf. The soup was starting to smell delightful.

Nodding, Erik slid back into his chair. “Didn’t know him that well. Few years behind me. Seemed fun, though.”
 
Lou nodded, eyeing Erik furtively. "That makes sense," he murmured softly, glancing down again. "He was always full of energy. Still, he'd sit with me when he came home for the holidays and he'd teach me a few of the spells he'd learned at school. We couldn't really practice magic, and he took off fairly quickly after he graduated," Lou shrugged, glancing back up to Erik. "Do you have any family?" He asked softly.
 
Erik wondered why Lou had been homeschooled and his brother had gotten to obtain a magical education. It didn’t seem fair. But Lou seemed a bit sensitive about it, so he didn’t press further. “I think Reece was in Thunderbird with Teuila and me,” he mused, “or he might have been in another house. I’m old, I get things mixed up.”

Erik bit his fingernail. “I do, four living siblings, one dead. We’re a bit of a riot.” Really, he was the most outgoing of them all, but he didn’t mention that.
 
Lou nodded. "He was," He murmured, glancing away again. His brothers ghost just kept coming back to haunt him, didn't it? First it was Mary, and now it was one of Reeces' school mates. He shook off the thought, determined to enjoy this. He actually... liked talking to Erik, and it was so rare that Lou got company. He didn't want to ruin the moment.

He nodded as Erik said he five- er, four siblings, and nodded. "I have Bettie," He replied easily, not having to mention Reece. "Are you close to your siblings?" He asked.
 
Erik drained his cup of water again. “More or less. My older sister Estrella was a bit more like an aunt, really. She died two years ago.” He ran his finger along the rim of the glass. Though Estrella never said anything, Erik always thought she resented him a bit. Their dad had been a sh!t parent to her and then was suddenly able to raise five children, Erik included. He didn’t blame her, but it didn’t feel great, either.

“My brother Christian, he’s living in Samoa with his family now. And a few of my other nieces and nephews relocated here. Nice to have them nearby.”
 
Lou nodded, listening to Erik as he moved to get the soup, shifting it to a cool burner, turning off the other before fetching a pair of bowls. "Give it a moment to cool, and it's ready," He murmured, pouring them each a serving before returning to the table. He moved back and got some spoons and some rolls from off the counter. He settled back down across from Erik, deciding on an easy question. "Do you buy ingredients from Bettie often?" He asked a bit shyly, wondering what the chances of seeing Erik again were. Even if Erik returned, Lou was sure he would just buy ingredients and go, there was no reason for him to speak to Lou again.
 
Erik leaned forward to smell the soup, enjoying the hot steam on his face. “Do I really have to wait?” he complained playfully. He’d burnt his mouth plenty of times on food he didn’t want to be patient for. However, he decided to play it safe this time. Plus, kissing with a burnt tongue wasn’t fun.

“This is the first time I have in a- while.” He grinned. “But if the ingredients are as high-quality as I remember, you can expect me back.”
 
Lou smiled softly. "Yes, you need to wait. It's worth it, I promise," He reached over and gently patted Erik's hand reassuringly, on purpose. It wasn't as horrible as Lou had worried it would be, and he hadn't noticed the way he had stopped looking for Bettie to get back. He nodded, glancing down at his food. "Good," He spoke shyly, afraid to add on more. "It's been a while since I've really taken the time to talk to anyone aside from Bettie," he offered instead. "You're easier to talk to than I expected," He blew on his soup then to keep himself from saying something he'd regret.
 
Erik smirked at Lou when he patted his hand, purposefully this time. He didn’t mind the touch- in fact, he welcomed it. He ripped a piece from the bread roll and dipped it into the bowl. “Talking might be my specialty,” Erik said, “well, one of them.” He took a bite of the soup. It was delicious. “Why not go out sometime? There are so many friendly people out here.”
 
Lou smiled softly, taking a spoon of his soup. "What are your other specialties?" He asked, though his smile faded at the question that was returned to him. He looked down at the soup, biting his lip a moment. "I go out once or twice a month," He offered shyly. "But I have too much work here. And I never know what to say. The last time... I really talked to someone, there was this... this girl, I would go see her every night, and for about a year things were pretty serious, but... one day she just... took off, without a goodbye, and never came back. I haven't really been close to anyone since." He shrugged. "It's... it's fine, I have Bettie, I have my work, I'm alright. No one in town really sees me anyway." He took a bite of soup, blushing as he realized he was rambling.
 
Erik held out a hand and counted on his fingers. “Brewing potions, dancing, kissing, and making bad decisions.” Erik wondered about Lou when he mentioned a woman. He’d suspected Lou wasn’t straight, but maybe he’d read him wrong. They were basically strangers, after all.

“That’s pretty sh!tty of her,” he said finally. He’d been ghosted himself by lovers, but it wasn’t quite the same. Erik tended not to get invested emotionally with most of the people he met.
 
Lou blushed a little as Erik counted kissing among his specialties. "That's quite a list," He murmured, taking a bite of his soup. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with any of those." He watched his soup as he spoke. "I've never really found myself drawn to anyone unless there was a strong connection between us, so I've never actually... you know, been with anyone." He admitted shyly. "I'm just... good at growing plants," He shrugged.
 
Finishing off the first roll, Erik reached for another. In this, he couldn’t relate with Lou. He found himself able to connect with many people. It didn’t need to mean anything significant. Erik couldn’t really comprehend not being with someone. Most of his relationships weren’t serious. “I bet you could get plenty familiar,” Erik teased, “plus, your plants are lovely.”
 
Lou blushed and looked down. "I don't know, maybe," he ate some more of his soup, thinking. "You see a lot of people then?" He asked, feeling a little discouraged by the thought. That was certainly another reason that left Lou alone in the fields again, as he always was.
 
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