"Hey, Natalie."
"Yes, Oz?"
"Could you please get off me?"
"Why?"
"So we can turn the game off and make some soup."
"Hmmm…"
Natalie buries her face in Osmond's chest and inhales deeply, then raises her head.
"Alright."
She gets off Osmond, he gets up and turns both the game and the TV off, and they head to the kitchen.
"What kind of soup are we gonna make?"
"Butternut, celery, and maybe something else."
"Is it gonna be chunky or creamy?"
"I wanted to make it creamy enough to drink, but if you want, we can leave it chunky."
"No, make it creamy."
"Alright, now go wash your hands."
Natalie washes her hands in the bathroom while Osmond washes his hands in the sink. Osmond wipes his hands on a fresh kitchen towel, opens the fridge and pulls out a butternut squash and a sad, old celeriac half. Natalie comes back to the kitchen.
"Are you gonna put a potato in there?"
"Why?"
"Celeriac goes well with potatoes."
"In that case I'll add a potato."
He takes a large potato from a cardboard box under the sink and puts it on the counter.
"Hey, what should I do?"
"You can peel the potato and celeriac, I'll do the squash"
Natalie takes a peeler and starts peeling the potato. Osmond slices the squash in half and peels one half with a knife, then starts chopping it. Natalie finishes with her potato and grabs the celeriac.
"Cut it in half, please."
She hands it to Osmond, he cuts it in half and cuts off the dried, exposed part as well as the rooty, dirty bits, then returns it to Natalie and starts cutting the squash.
Natalie peels the celeriac, washes it along with the potato, dries them both with paper towels and gives them to Osmond, and he starts chopping those as well.
"What now?"
"Take a pot and fill it with water."
She does that and puts it on the stove. Osmond soon finishes chopping the veggies. He puts them in the pot and turns the stove on. Natalie notices a part of celeriac left over.
"What are we gonna do with the rest of the celeriac?"
"It might be a bit overpowering if we put it in the soup... Is there anything left over from lunch?"
Natalie checks the pot from lunch.
"There's enough for maybe one small plate."
"Hmm… We can share the leftovers and combine them with grated celeriac, how does that sound?"
"Can I feed you?"
"Why do you wanna feed me so much?"
"Because it's fun."
"What's so fun about it?"
"I don't know, it's just fun."
"Well, it's embarrassing for me."
"C'mon, it's not that bad."
"We're not even dating!"
"And yet, we kissed."
"Ah geez, you're right!"
"So can I feed you?"
"Mmm… We'll see."
Osmond remembers that he didn't put any salt in the soup, so he adds salt.
"Do you mind if I add some dill?"
"Not at all."
He adds a teaspoon of dill, then leans back on the counter in front of Natalie. They look at each other. Natalie breaks the silence.
"Have you started writing that book?"
"Yeah, the Overseer helped me while you were at work."
"How much did you write?"
"Just the outline of the book, the stage layout, and a rough draft for the worldly fool."
"That sounds like a lot."
"It's not, we finished pretty quickly."
"How long is the entire book gonna be?"
"Maybe 10 pages, 20 at most."
"Isn't that just an essay?"
"Yeah, I guess it's a bit too short to call it a book…"
They stare at each other in silence again.
"Wanna make out?"
"Is that all you think about?"
"Is that a "no?""
"Yes."
"So you do wanna make out?"
"No!"
"Why not? It's fun!"
"It was fun, but we're going way too fast. First I'd like to be completely confident in my feelings for you, then we'd start dating, and then later on we could, you know, do those couple things. I don't think it's good if we immediately skip to the couple things."
The water starts boiling. Osmond lowers the heat on the stove.
"When you say "couple things", you mean lewd stuff, right?"
"Lewd stuff starting from kissing and ending with the lewdest stuff."
"What's the lewdest stuff?"
"Kinky fetish sex like with BDSM or whatnot."
"You want me to dominate you?"
"No! ...Well, maybe a little."
"On your knees, slave!"
"No way."
"Please?"
"Dude, no."
"I'm a girl!"
"Well, you're as tall as a dude."
"I'm just a bit taller than average!"
"We're the same height."
"You're just a bit shorter than average!"
"Whatever you say, bro."
"On your knees!"
"Make me."
She grabs him by the collar and brings her face close to his.
"I said, on your knees."
He averts his face, she grabs his jaw and makes him look at her.
"You're being too rough."
"I don't care."
She kisses him. He pushes her away.
"Stop it right now."
"I… Yeah. I'll stop. I'm sorry."
"Don't just force yourself onto me like I'm some sort of plaything. I'm not your toy and we're not dating."
"You're right, I'm sorry."
Her eyes get teary. Again, silence.
"Ah geez! Now I feel bad!"
"I said I was sorry!"
She starts crying.
"No, I didn't mean… Ah, for fuck's sake. I shouldn't have gotten so angry, I'm sorry."
"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have forced myself onto you."
"It's fine, I'm not mad anymore."
"It's not fine. I'm always causing trouble for you."
"Natalie, it's fine. I don't mind you being you, and I love you."
Natalie wipes her tears.
"I love you too, Oz."
"Is it okay if I hug you?"
"You don't have to ask."
He hugs her. She sniffles.