Apartment Above Fix And Clean Shop

[alwaysonguard]

It had been a busy day so far for Dwight, though not down in the shop. Instead, he had spent much of the day upstairs in the apartment getting things straightened up and looking a little less 'bachelor-pad' esque. It really was just some straightening and organizing.

And he kept telling himself it was no big deal really.
It was just Amaya.
Coming to the apartment.
For a business meeting.
And dinner... of sorts.

There was no need to go overboard. Yet by the time the afternoon rolled around and the time they had handwavely agreed to arrived, the apartment was looking rather nice.


The floors were clean of the usual clutter- military training would always be in his blood, so a mess was not allowed but clutter had a way of creeping up at times.

The small yet comfortable living room area was arranged nicely. The existing furniture that had come with the apartment, mainly the couch and recliner, had been supplemented with a lot of custom pieces Dwight had made himself- a coffee table and end tables, book shelves, and a few other pieces here and there.

The kitchen was simple but more than enough for his level of cooking skill and the small table had room enough for four chairs if anyone ever did stop by. A few selected plants, not a mushy flower arrangement anywhere to be seen, sat or hung in the large windows along the wall.

Under the stairs leading up to the bedroom loft was a pen area filled with all of Snoopy's favorite toys and his favorite stuffie and pillow- and Snoopy himself of course. On every shelf were crammed books and though there was a TV on the far wall, it was hardly ever used.

And the final touch, hanging on the wall leading to the stairs down into the workshop, were several photos, including one of him and Lizzie, a ridiculous one of him and Miguel from their road trip, one of him and Amaya from the most recent school trip, and a few others documenting his first year in Fandom.

Things were as ready as they could be. All that was left to do was wait for things to finish cooking. And for Amaya to arrive. There was that too...

(post open! Expecting one but others can stop by before in the time line XD )

Comments

[alwaysonguard]

"Wine it is" Dwight said with a nod.

After a few minutes of rummaging around in the kitchen, Dwight returned with a tray and two steaming mugs of the mulled wine, complete with a handy cinnamon stick in each for easy stirring and for an extra little kick.

Setting the tray down on the little space left on the coffee table he sat back down, reaching out to grab one of the mugs himself.

"My own recipe" he said with a grin. "Based off one Dr. Lecter taught in his cooking class."

[special_rabbit]

"Well, look at you!" Amaya remarked, picking up her mug, too, and inspecting it and especially the cinnamon stick. "This might almost be too fancy for my blood!"

Especially for just a wood exchange.

[alwaysonguard]

"Pfffft you flatter me with far more praise than I deserve for this" Dwight said lifting the mug a bit before taking a sip. "Took all of ten minutes to put together. It's been simmering most of the day, sot he stove has been doing most of the work he said with a laugh.

"But thank you, all the same" he added with a smile and a slight nod. "Can jot down the recipe for you if you want. It's really easy, and admittedly fun, making your own flavors and such."

[special_rabbit]

"Isn't it pretty much just throwing a bunch of wine and some spices in a pot and make sure the heat's not on so high you burn the place down while you're at it?" Amaya asked, over the lip of her mug before taking a sip.

[alwaysonguard]

"Exactly. Like I said... far too much flattery for a simple drink."

Slight pause there for a moment.

"Though I am glad it turned out alright" he offered as he took another sip himself. "First attempt. Think we can call it a success."

[special_rabbit]

"Definitely wouldn't call it a failure, anyway," Amaya agreed with encouragement as she confirmed that statement with more to drink.

[alwaysonguard]

"And hey look at that! I can learn to cook after all" Dwight said with a smirk. "And nothing caught fire this time and there was no smoke alarm either!"

Yes just one of many things that happened over the past year almost- Dwight Hendrickson learned to cook more than spaghetti, mac n cheese, and frozen dinners!

"Will have to start holding a few small (very very keyword there small) dinner parties over here soon. See what I can really pull off."

[special_rabbit]

"Well," said Amaya, lifting her mug in salute, and already remarkably close to finishing up its contents, "at least you'll know what to put on the menu to get me to show up."

[alwaysonguard]

"Well you showed up so yup, totally got that one nailed down. Though.... meats on sticks have been a pretty good bet for a while now. It's actually kinda like your kryptonite really" he said with a slow nod and a broadening grin.

"But could definitely use some help... if... you were up to the idea. Could always set up a little pre-party planning shindig. Help me figure out the best meats and the stickiest sticks to use."

And as soon as that left his mouth it registered just how absolutely stupid it sounded and Dwight groaned- hopefully- internally at himself.

[special_rabbit]

Which was kind of funny, really, because stickiest sticks was probably the best part of that whole statement. Definitely better that part about her helping with planning parties, of all things, and it was met with a set of squared shoulders and a preening smirk.

"I do know a good stick when I see one."

And, great, now they'd done a full tour and wound up back on the unintentional innuendo involving wood.

[alwaysonguard]

Ah yes, the innuendos ... always the innuendos.

"An expert knows their crafts. That is for sure." Oh and look at that... Dwight's mug was suddenly empty too. That happened awfully quickly. Especially for a hot drink.

Maybe that was why he was he was suddenly feeling a little more flushed in the cheeks. Too much mulled wine too quickly. And it was getting a bit warm in the apartment with the stove having been going for so long and all. Totally logical explanation.

[special_rabbit]

Oh, was that supposed to be a sipping drink?

"Clearly," Amaya's smirk stayed in place as she looked over at Dwight for a moment and then around the room in a way not too dissimilar from an early sweep he'd done himself. "Otherwise, about half the furniture in this place would be crashing down around us. But, of course, it's good, solid work. Nice and..." There seemed to be the faintest of hesitation to trot this word out of the lexicon from where it had been skirting around the edges of her consciousness earlier, "sturdy."

[alwaysonguard]

"Well, cant really call myself a handyman if I'm shit with my hands now," Dwight said with a wryly grin.

And oh boy, was it getting warmer in here?

"But yeah, most of the stuff here's hand made. Good a sturdy. Couple pieces I'm especially proud of... the bed upstairs in particular. That's actually where most of the mahogany went. You'd be surprised how much wood totallynotsnickering it takes to make a hand carved bed frame and head board," Dwight offered with a sage nod.

[special_rabbit]

"Well," said Amaya thoughtfully, "I have tried my hand at a table or two..."

And now that she mentioned, she never really had tested that table against the problem that caused her to need a new one in the first place yet, had she? She should probably work on that...

"But never a bed. Gotta imagine something like that's a bit more complicated."

And there might have been, in there somewhere, if you squinted hard enough, a little goading in that last part, maybe a sort of speculative nudge to see if there was any give in that particular direction.

[alwaysonguard]

Oh? Was there also a hint of challenge in there Blackstone? Were you daring to suggest, however remote that might have been, that maybe the proposed durability and intricacies of his handiwork were exaggerated in some way?

"Really? Amaya Blackstone has never worked on a bed huh?" Dwight gave her a bit of a look and then grinned. "Well, there's a prime example of one right up there. I mean, it's lasted me for nearly a year so..."

Yeah. Sturdy. Durable. Well Made. Definitely worth a closer look.

[special_rabbit]

The way Amaya felt a sudden heat across her cheeks and had to tamp down an urge to argue a finer point with regards to worked on a bed told her everything she needed to know about where things were likely to wind up if she charged forward with what else was on the tip of her tongue, and she decided, in that moment, to charge ahead anyway.

She did come out all this way, after all.

"Maybe," she said, "I might just need to have a look at it for myself."

[alwaysonguard]

"Stairs are right there" Dwight said, an attempted cocky tone that really came out more sounding like a failed attempt to tamp down excitement or trying to play down anticipation. "If you really are game to take a look and all."

Was he aware where this was quickly heading? Yes, yes he was and he was 100 percent ready to see it through to whatever end lay in store.

"I mean you're here. Might as well... ya know.. make the most of it. Since you are here and all." Dwight added as casually as he could as he made a move to stand.

Only logical and practical thing to do really. Would be such a wasted opportunity otherwise. For the bed inspection. Of course. The bed.

[special_rabbit]

Amaya watched as Dwight stood up, almost leading with the lift of her chin that seemed to be defiant for the mere sake of being defiant.


And then she followed suit, taking a moment to smooth out her skirt as she did, tugged her gloves a little, the same way she did when about to really focus in on a particular challenge.

"I just hope your work is up to snuff there, Dwight," she said. "As I intend to make sure and test this bed thoroughly."

[alwaysonguard]

"Well you can let me know later when all is said and done" Dwight said as he walked over to the stairs, pausing for just a moment. "I'd expect only the best and most thorough from you after all" he added with a definite nod before taking the first step up the stairs.

[special_rabbit]

"Alright," said Amaya, hand on Dwight's broad (very broad) back to give him a small but perhaps not as gentle nudge forward. "Less talking, more climbing. That bed's not going to just test itself."

[alwaysonguard]

And that was all Dwight needed for the last of the lingering doubt to be totally snuffed out as he finished the climb, maybe taking the step two at a time as he did. And the bed had best hold up or he would have a lot of other things to think about. But that was a far and distant concern, his attention firmly on the current task. It was going to be a good evening. A very very good evening.