Work Text:
The analog clock above the stove blinked dimly, reminding you that it was already five o’clock. You finished mixing up a large bowl of salad with your homemade vinaigrette and some fresh chopped veggies. The small apartment had the same aroma as a fancy restaurant. The steak was broiling in the oven and the cake batter was sitting in a small tin waiting its turn. You were never the best cook, but you had no choice but to impress the one and only Doctor Octavius tonight. You didn’t mean to ask him on a date, but after months of pining, your heart took hold of your tongue. After some small talk, as usual, you blurted it out.
“Oh! Before you go! Did you uh, want to join me for dinner Friday night?” You choked on your words and turned red after you realized what you had said.
He began to smile. “I’d be delighted to, why don’t I give you my telephone number and you can give me the details.” You took his outreached phone with shaky hands and typed in your contact information.
He took back the phone and slipped it into his pocket. “I’m needed in the lab, but I look forward to this weekend!” You could have sworn you saw a wink before he walked away.
Thinking back to this interaction made you cringe. You were always calm and cool-headed at work, this wasn’t like you. I suppose crushes have a funny way of showing your true self, even when you try to object.
The oven beeped and you could smell the cooked meat from the other side of the kitchen. You carefully took it out of the oven with some cat-printed oven mitts and placed it on a small silver heat placemat. It looked perfect. You topped the steak with some fresh thyme and covered the surrounding potatoes in a touch more salt. After you felt the platter looked nice, you went off to set the table. It was the perfect night to use your only fine china rather than the plastic plates that filled your cabinet. You placed everything on the table, adding two glasses slightly filled with red wine. Backing away from the table, you checked to make sure nothing was forgotten. After a moment, you heard a knock at the door. Your heart skipped a beat and you ran to the door. Taking a deep breath, you opened it. Standing there with roses was none other than Doctor Octavius. You felt your heart skip a beat, he looked incredibly handsome in an innocent way. He wore a red turtleneck tucked into black trousers with a trench coat covering it up.
You accepted the flowers with a smile. “These are beautiful…come on in!” You motioned to the inside of the apartment.
Otto handed you the roses and gladly accepted the welcome. “Wow, (Y/N), you look stunning.” He chuckled at his sentence, not believing you did all of this for him.
He walked into the small apartment and followed you to the covered table. You found a glass vase in your cabinet and filled it with flowers and some water, which added a beautiful touch to your arrangement. Everything was set up in a way that made it seem like you were a professional, even though you were far from it. The two of you sat down and began to enjoy the small spread of steak, potatoes, roasted broccoli, and bread.
“Well, thank you very much for inviting me over tonight, everything looks delicious” He gave you a shy grin before taking a small sip of wine and swirling the glass with his thumb and forefinger.
You were appalled by how distinguished the man looked sitting in your kitchen. You seemed to run out of words and your mind went blank. You began to panic, awkward silences did none other than ruin the mood. Thankfully, which you two ate, your date had plenty of conversational ideas and wasn’t about to let the evening turn cold. The conversation went from work to hobbies, to your family and his. He told you about his past and regrets. Things he thought he would never talk about, let alone on a date. You showed him empathy, something he hadn't felt in a long time. You showed him a sense of understanding, even though your past was nothing like his. As the wine began to disappear, the evening began to feel lighter, and so did he.
It was dark outside and dinner was long gone. While dessert was baking in the oven (aka the cake you forgot to bake prior), you walked into the living room. Otto followed you as you approached a record player on a large bookshelf.
Otto looked impressed at the old box. “What a beauty, do you collect records, or were these guys passed down?”
You chucked at his question. “It was my father's long ago, he introduced me to bands that made me love rock.” He nodded along to your response.
You carefully dusted it off and chose a large disk from the wooden box below it. You lowered down the needle and a song began to play. You began to turn around when you felt a leg sweep you off of your feet…and into a pair of lush arms. Tipsy and bashful, you let out a loud belly laugh, the sound contagious to Otto. You and Otto danced around the living room, laughing like children at each other’s terrible dance moves. Spinning with your arms in the air, you accidentally bumped into him. Otto grabbed you underneath your arms and swung you into his arms. Your cheeks turned pink as you began to dance close to his chest. You never took Otto as a dancer, but right now under the influence of wine and good music, anything could happen. He began to sing along to the music, sounding silly, but sincere all at once.
“ You know that it would be untrue”
He held onto your hips.
“You know that I would be a liar”
Starting to sway to the beat.
“If I was to say to you, girl, we couldn't get much higher”
He spun you around, and right as you were about to lose balance and hit the floor-
“Come on baby, light my fire”
Otto caught you, looking into your eyes. Whispering the last line, he leaned in and brushed his lips against yours. You smiled into his kiss, pulling him in. You could feel his coarse fingertips softly caress your cheek, the other hand holding your lower back, making sure you stayed upright. His lips were soft as silk with a slight taste of wine. They made your knees buckle. You slowly brought your lips apart and put your head on his shoulder. The cologne on his neck teased your nose.
The beeping oven startled you out of the moment and you snapped your head up. Otto laughed as he followed you to the kitchen once again. You quickly opened the oven, reviving the almost-burnt cake. The kitchen began to smell like vanilla and fudge. You set it down on the stove to cool and placed the oven mitts back in the drawer. Hopping up and sitting on the counter, you watched Otto clear the dishes off the table and start washing the dirty plates.
“Wait, I really appreciate it…but you don’t need to clean!! That’s my job as your host!” You motioned for him to come towards you and he chuckled, placing the dishes inside the sink.
“I can’t help it, (Y/N), you made me dinner, I’ve gotta help you out as well!” He cupped your cheek and kissed your forehead.
“And you gave me a kiss in return.” You made a kissing noise towards Otto, teasing him.
“I can’t argue with that, can I?” He picked you up off the counter and carried you over to your living room couch, abandoning the cooling cake. He lightly tossed you on the velvet fabric, your head gently hitting the throw pillows. You let out a shriek as Otto lunged at the couch, straddling you.
“Since you mentioned my repayment, I presume I should make that debt disappear?” He wagged an eyebrow as he lifted your wrists above your head.
That night, well, every cent of dinner debt was rightfully paid, in the best possible way.