Vices and Maces

Chapter 9: Date Night!

CW: mentions of gory murder, descriptions of food

Logan threw his jacket on the couch, cracking his knuckles as he walked to the kitchen. He had told his boss he had an appointment so he was able to come home early, but that was a lie. He really had just wanted to go home early to start working on a nice dinner for Patton.

Part of him wanted to work on his cases. The latest murder of some Wolfsbane members, no doubt done by one of the leaders of Bleeding Rose. There were traces of poison that were in their wounds, but that wasn't what had killed them, blunt force trauma on their heads and bleeding out had killed them. Logan just needed to figure out who the leader was.

Not to mention other murders done by Wolfsbane, and it was clearly done by them since there were Wolfsbane flowers in place. Anytime there is, that means the murder was intentional, and sent a message to all of the other members. Murders done by gangs were near impossible to solve, so Logan shouldn't be so hard on himself. But he'll still stress himself out about it.

However he can't think about that now. He had to make dinner before Patton came home, he needed to time this perfectly. He had pulled out chicken earlier in the morning before he left for work, so now that it was defrosted, he could get to work.

He put a pot of water on the stove and let it boil as he made breading for the chicken. He quickly breaded the chicken before putting it in the oven. As it was cooking, he pulled out a sauce pan and spaghetti sauce. He waited a few minutes before putting the noodles in the pot and sauce in the pan.

Logan grabbed the meat thermometer, opening the oven and checking the chicken. It wasn't ready yet, but it was almost there. So he grabbed parmesan cheese and kept an eye on the spaghetti. It had only been a little less than a week since they last had spaghetti, but this was different. Plus Patton had brought some leftover spaghetti for his coworkers, so they were out fast.

As soon as the chicken was cooked enough, Logan sprinkled parmesan on them, setting the timer for a few minutes. He checked the noodles to see they were ready and drained the pot. He grabbed two large plates and set the spaghetti on, pouring sauce on top. He then pulled out the chicken, putting one on each plate. After that he poured a bit of sauce on the chicken before setting everything down.

He had a few more minutes so he put away any leftovers and cleaned the kitchen. When he was done, he moved the plates to the table with some silverware. He was going to grab the lighter for the candle that was in the middle of the table, but he heard the door being unlocked. He whispered an elvish spell that translated to "tiny flame" and with a quick snap of his fingers, the candle was lit.

Then he rushed over to the door just as Patton was opening it. The nymph jumped in surprise when he saw Logan before a smile melted onto his face.

"You look happy," he noted.

"I'm just happy to see you love." He took Patton's bag from him as he took off his jacket.

Patton smelled the chicken and sauce. "What are you planning?"

"Planned, dear, past tense." Logan took him to the table. "And I planned a nice dinner for the two of us."

Patton gasped, his eyes filling with stars. "Oh my goodness! That's so cute, what's the special occasion?"

"Nothing, I just really missed doing this with you."

"Aw, Logan, you romantic." Patton took his seat. "And it's set up so fancy! You do love me!"

Logan sat down across from him. "Of course I do, I always have. I'm sorry we haven't been able to spend time together like this. I would take you to a nice restaurant but I felt like you might be too tired to eat out."

"Oh I am, and I was just teasing, I know you love me. But eating out on a later date sounds nice. How did you have enough time to set this up before I got home?"

"I came home early. I told my boss I had an appointment and didn't elaborate."

"I do not like your boss. Sometimes I wish I could just walk in, grab him by the shoulders and shake him because he's an idiot."

"It's okay darling, I can handle him," Logan laughed. "But I appreciate it."

Patton sighed as he cut up his chicken. "We both need a vacation."

"We need to plan our wedding, and we could plan out a nice honeymoon for after."

"Can we go out of the country for the honeymoon?"

Logan loved the look in Patton's eyes, it made his chest warm. "Do you have a particular place in mind?"

"No, but I haven't been out of the country in forever. I used to travel all the time when I was younger. Just a wisp of wind, not even having a full form yet."

"I'll never understand how you and other nymphs are just created, not born. It's truly magic, I suppose."

Patton shrugged. "It's probably why I'm so in tune with my magic. I didn't have parents and didn't need them, until I created a form of my own. Unfortunately, I had no choice on what form I got. All nymphs are created female." He shivered, making Logan wince in sympathy.

"But you transitioned wonderfully. You even have the stubble of a beard!"

"Like a fuzzy bear." Patton held his face.

"You'd need a lot more fur to be a bear. And be born a bear to be a bear."

Patton laughed, "It would be so much easier to be an animal."

"Unless you're a changeling or animal traited, then you still need to work like everyone else."

"At least I would be a bit more fuzzy. Or scaly. Depends. What animal do you think I would be?"

"I'm not sure."

"Maybe a puppy! Logan, you would be a... cat maybe? Ooh, or maybe a bird! Birds are smart."

"Corvids are smart, not all birds are as smart as corvids. So crows and ravens, as well as a few other species. Contrary to popular belief, owls aren't smart."

"Definitely one of those then." Patton took a bite of his food before asking, "Do you think we can work on the wedding plans this weekend?"

"Well, I was actually planning on working on some cases but..." Logan stopped when he saw Patton deflate. "But I don't mind changing my plans for you. We can work on the wedding plans together."

Patton brightened up. "Thank you, Logan, I appreciate it. I hope we can plan out a bunch for it, more than what we have."

"Maybe we can finally decide on a date for our wedding day."

"I hope we can, so I can finally call you my husband and not my fiance."

Patton took Logan's hand. "I can't wait to finally put that ring on your finger. I love you."

"I love you too, dear."