Thunderstorms

3) Casserole and Movies

   I cleaned the house and had a shower of my own while my guest slept. He woke up and came downstairs while I was making dinner, quiet enough that I almost didn't hear him. Unlike me, however, he wasn't used to the creaks in the floorboards. I looked over my shoulder at him, smiling "hey, you hungry".

   He hovered around the kitchen table, still apparently a little wary of me "yeah". His voice sounded much better I noted, less lightning and more slightly hoarse, it would be normal in a day or two.

   I looked back at what I was making "you're ok with casserole right". It was some sort of bacon casserole recipe that had a lot more than bacon in it and actually consisted of a lot of bread.

   "Um, sure" he sounded slightly confused.

   I cast him a glance but didn't ask "there's also vegetables and pudding as side dishes".

   I couldn't see his face but I could hear the grimace on his voice "thanks, I'll stick to the veggies and casserole". I heard a chair move and the cloth shuffle of him sitting down as I got the casserole out of the oven.

   I took it over to a hot plate on the table, looking at him, he was arranging his wings on either side of the chair so he didn't squish them "you seem biased against my pudding and you haven't even tried it yet, in some cultures that's rude".

   He looked at me, looking slightly worried "it's not personal, I just don't like pudding".

   I chuckled and grabbed the veggie tray and the store bought pudding cups, setting them on the table "chill, I know, I was kidding, what do you want to drink". I went to the fridge and filled a glass with milk for me and got him a water bottle after he asked. I set the water by his plate as I took my seat, dishing out food for both of us. There wasn't much talking as he ate, apparently still starving since he downed the first plate and was halfway through the second before slowing down enough to breath. I was still eating my first plate and already getting full.

   He grabbed some carrots from the tray and nibbled them as he looked at me "this is good, I don't think I've ever had casserole before so I don't know if it's supposed to be like this, but it's good".

   That at least accounted for his earlier confusion, I smiled "thank you, this about the extent of my cooking ability so it's good that you like it". I grabbed one of the pudding cups, someone might as well enjoy them.

   We ate in silence again, both enjoying the side dishes and giving our stomachs time to accommodate the meal.

   I got up after a few minutes and started clearing away dishes and packing the leftovers into a tupperware bowl for tomorrow's lunch. I was pleasantly surprised when Icarus got up and started helping as well as he could, drying dishes and wiping down the table. Together we cleaned up in a few minutes but by the end of it he was wincing and kept gingerly touching his side and stomach.

   I looked at him "do you want some Aspirin".

   He glanced at me, evaluating "... yeah, I guess".

   I nodded and went to the bathroom, searching the medicine cabinet to find it and slipping two out of the bottle before going back. I gave them to him "take those and it should help, are you tired".

   Icarus took them and took a sip of his water before swallowing them, he shrugged "not really".

   I thought "well, do you like reading, or movies, I've got plenty of both".

   He perked up at that "oh, uh... I don't know, can I look through them".

   I grinned "sure, come on". I lean the way to the small-ish living room I had, with one couch and a tv and coffee table with a small bookshelf in the corner next to the couch. The bookshelf was overflowing with books and movies both, some actually on the floor around it from lack of space on the shelves. I settled on the ground in front as he gently sat on the edge of the couch, kinda like he wasn't sure if he was allowed. I didn't mention it, picking through everything "what kind of stuff do you like".