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Douxie woke up to the slam of his door and some frustrated muttering. He rubbed his eyes as Archie went to investigate. hearing some quiet talking and the sound of boots being discarded against the wall, he wandered into the apartment’s small living room.“Zoe? ‘S that you?” He said, blinking as the kitchen lights flicked on.
“Yes, it’s me. When’s the last time you ate a meal?”
He looked at his watch, and tried to remember. He’d eaten…. A sandwich around noon… of yesterday….
“Yeah, you’re thinking way too hard about this one, so I brought takeout.”
“I’ve been.. Eating..” He looked at the smattering of energy drink cans around the apartment.
“Drinking Rainbow Unicorn Bang doesn’t count.” Archie sniffed, jumping onto the counter. “What’s on the menu?”
“Noodles, I think.” said Douxie, pulling out three bowls as Zoe started cycling boxes of chinese food through the microwave.
“I think that sounds wonderful. Ooh, is that fried rice?” Archie wandered over to the now warm boxes and opened one of them with a delighted hum.
“Hold on, I’m going to make some eggs to go with it.” Zoe started opening and shutting cupboards until she had hunted down a pan. Douxie handed her a spatula and moved to the other side of the counter, portioning out the chow mein noodles. He watched her grumble as she tried to light the gas stove. It took three attempts, but she finally got it and smacked the pan on the burner with a victory huff. Archie opened the fridge and pulled out the egg carton, setting it on the counter.
As Zoe reached for the eggs she paused abruptly, glancing at Douxie.
“What?” she put a hand on her hip, gesturing to the stove with the spatula. “It’ll only take a minute or two. Why are you staring like that?”
“Er- heh. Sorry. It’s good to see you.” His gaze lingered a second more before the beeping of the microwave interrupted and both turned to their tasks.
Zoe smiled despite herself, flipping the eggs with a sizzle, and sliding them onto the plate Archie offered her. She then passed it to Douxie, who put one in each bowl on top of the rice.
Once everyone had been seated on the sofa, and they’d decided to watch Princess Bride after a few minutes of friendly debate, they dug in.
The food was really nice. The eggs were warm and still a bit runny, the steaming noodles weren’t burned, and the rice was filling. When the credits rolled, Archie was asleep- curled around Douxie’s feet, and the empty bowls were stacked on one of the cluttered tables.
Zoe looked up from where her chin rested on Douxie’s shoulder and said, “it’s nice to see you too, by the way.”
He smiled and leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. “Thank you for coming. The chinese takeout was a good call.” She grinned and pulled away, for a moment. “Think I should grab some burgers next time?”
Douxie chuckled, and ran a hand through her hair. “Bring anything. Just try and stop by more often.” He gently pulled the blanket a little more snug as she whispered, “as you wish..” cheekily, before curling up against him, and they dozed off.