Deals with Daisy // LN4

55 ~ Focaccia

Lando's POV

London
29th December, 2023.

"I need help," Daisy calls from the kitchen in my London flat. It was different to my Monaco one as this was open plan. In Monaco, the kitchen was it's own room with doors that would slide to make it open plan-ish but this one was as open plan as you can get. It made it just a little cheaper which while it wasn't necessary, was nice given the heavy price tags of London homes. The priority was three bedrooms. One for me, one for Daisy, one as a guest room / study / sim room.

"If it's something to do with cooking, I don't know how you expect me to help," I call back from where I'm relaxing on the sofa in the living room, PlayStation controller in hand. She didn't like that answer at all, a distinct grumbling in the kitchen letting me know it. I try to focus on the shooter game in front of me but when I hear something fall to the ground and Daisy swear, I immediately turn to look for the source of it. She's fine, just looking blankly at me with her hand in the air and I realise that she's chosen to drop something on the floor to break my concentration and get my attention. When I look back at the TV I see that I've died and she's gotten what she wanted.

"Get in here! Your idea, you need to help," she commands and I narrow my eyes at her, noticing the slight curls around her face that had fallen out of the high pony tail she'd put up. The hairstyle choice naturally brought my attention to her neck as I saw her massaging her shoulders and look at the cookbook in front of her before back at me with eyes that would make a blind man move. She wasn't dressed down like she was so often at home but ready for dinner given that she'd explained earlier she would still be cooking when they arrived. Right now though the black mini skirt and black top with a deep v-neck were covered by orange race car covered apron I had brought her for Christmas.

She wasn't wrong, it had been my idea to invite my parents around for dinner, a fun little thing to look forward to on the 29th December during the weird limbo period between Christmas and New Years but I thought it had been implied that I wasn't going to be cooking... you know, being that I still couldn't cook anything other than a basic scrambled eggs. Daisy meanwhile had a promising career as a chef if the whole agent thing happened to crash and burn one day.

"Are you sure I won't burn anything?" I ask as I switch the PS5 off and stand up, stretching and walk over to the island that she's standing at. It already smells amazing because she's been faffing around all day. When I'd pointed out earlier she didn't need to make the focaccia from scratch and I could buy some from the store the look on her face made me regret asking her while she was holding a knife in her hand. I'd actually enjoyed sitting on the sofa, hearing her in the background and when I looked in the window out to the city, I could see her reflection working away.

"No, you'll do great... you also aren't allowed to touch anything on the hob so that should save us from burning the flat down," she says. Her voice was warm and reassuring to begin with but by the end she was clearly teasing me as she motioned for me to come around the counter to stand next to her. "You can either chop the carrots so they're like this," she points to a pile of carrots chopped into tiny little squares and then motions to the bag of potatoes further down the island, "or you can peel the potatoes."

"Maybe I would want to do this more often if you let me do something more than chopping," I frown at her, my voice a grumble as she passes me the apron with a multicoloured collection of Fiat Jolly's she had also bought for me for Christmas. We'd been weirdly on the same wavelength this year, both buying each other headphones, aprons, gift cards and making one another a card.

"I'd be happy to teach you, you know that but today when your parents come around is not the time to learn," she explains softly. Her eyes had lit up at the idea so I knew it was a genuine offer and explanation. I can't help but smile as I take the peeler from her hand and go down the island to where the potatoes are, pulling one of the breakfast stools and bins towards me as I do.