“I honestly think you’re working with a lost cause here.”
“You’re forgetting,” he begins as he moves her in front of the simmering stove in front of him, then handing her the spoon, “that you, Bonnie Bennett, are a capable witch and not Elena Gilbert, so I’m fairly certain that you can handle stirring a pasta sauce without burning it.”
“I love how you figure that Elena is a category onto herself.”
“I’ve had Elena’s cooking. I know it as fact.”
She laughs as she takes up stirring the sauce, and he moves back to the opposite counter and begins cleaning some of the chicken for dinner. The scent of the herbs and spices and the acidity of the tomatoes linger in the air, and Stefan is clearly relaxed, being in his element in the kitchen. It’s just the two of them, for the first time in a long time with Caroline and Tyler taking the twins back to see Alaric for a little while, but Stefan and Bonnie had stayed behind for … reasons. The reasons are complicated, and not something they’re letting Caroline in on yet, but there’s been something building in the space between them over the time they’ve spent in New Orleans, and as far as Stefan’s concerned, they have the right to try and explore it.
In the safety of New Orleans, when their nosier friends are a thousand miles away.
“I take it this is one of your moves?”
Stefan glances up for a moment, blinking his confusion. “My ‘moves’?”
“You know. When you’re trying to impress someone.” Bonnie glances back at him over her shoulder. “When you’re flirting with a girl, you pour her some wine, make her dinner … ”
“I will have you know that I am absolutely not … that transparent.” Bonnie’s laughter filters through the room again as he ends that sentence pretty lamely, giving a bit of a cringe in return. “Or maybe I am. Are you complaining?”
“I would never complain about home cooked food.” She pauses in her stirring for a moment, as he goes to wash his hands. “I’m just trying to figure out how much of my A game I’m going to have to bring here.”
“Your A game?” he asks curiously. “Are you saying you have moves, Bonnie Bennett? Because I know I can be pretty charming, but the cooking is pretty much the only one I’ve got you haven’t already seen.”
“Oh, I’ve got moves like you wouldn’t believe,” she grins. “I just need to know how much will-we-or-won’t-we we’re going to play here?”
“Well, that is entirely up to you. Basically right now, we’re Schrodinger’s cat.” He holds up a hand when she looks at him confused. “I’ve been watching a lot of Big Bang Theory, don’t judge me.” She rolls her eyes and he continues. “My point is, until we test the waters, we’re never really going to know for sure.”
“And your method of testing would be?”
He dries his hands for a moment, before placing the towel to the side and leaning in to kiss her softly. He’s been thinking about it for weeks, and her responding in return leads to exceeding expectations. The kiss actually carries on for far longer than it should, until Stefan can smell the sauce starting to burn and switches off the heat.
Bonnie steps back with him, taking a breath, and then a small smile. “So. Dinner?”
“Sure,” he smirks. “I want to see some of those moves of yours later though.”
She grins in return, before nodding. “Oh, you definitely will.”
bonnie/stefan | stefan & caroline's nola adventures | 600
“You’re forgetting,” he begins as he moves her in front of the simmering stove in front of him, then handing her the spoon, “that you, Bonnie Bennett, are a capable witch and not Elena Gilbert, so I’m fairly certain that you can handle stirring a pasta sauce without burning it.”
“I love how you figure that Elena is a category onto herself.”
“I’ve had Elena’s cooking. I know it as fact.”
She laughs as she takes up stirring the sauce, and he moves back to the opposite counter and begins cleaning some of the chicken for dinner. The scent of the herbs and spices and the acidity of the tomatoes linger in the air, and Stefan is clearly relaxed, being in his element in the kitchen. It’s just the two of them, for the first time in a long time with Caroline and Tyler taking the twins back to see Alaric for a little while, but Stefan and Bonnie had stayed behind for … reasons. The reasons are complicated, and not something they’re letting Caroline in on yet, but there’s been something building in the space between them over the time they’ve spent in New Orleans, and as far as Stefan’s concerned, they have the right to try and explore it.
In the safety of New Orleans, when their nosier friends are a thousand miles away.
“I take it this is one of your moves?”
Stefan glances up for a moment, blinking his confusion. “My ‘moves’?”
“You know. When you’re trying to impress someone.” Bonnie glances back at him over her shoulder. “When you’re flirting with a girl, you pour her some wine, make her dinner … ”
“I will have you know that I am absolutely not … that transparent.” Bonnie’s laughter filters through the room again as he ends that sentence pretty lamely, giving a bit of a cringe in return. “Or maybe I am. Are you complaining?”
“I would never complain about home cooked food.” She pauses in her stirring for a moment, as he goes to wash his hands. “I’m just trying to figure out how much of my A game I’m going to have to bring here.”
“Your A game?” he asks curiously. “Are you saying you have moves, Bonnie Bennett? Because I know I can be pretty charming, but the cooking is pretty much the only one I’ve got you haven’t already seen.”
“Oh, I’ve got moves like you wouldn’t believe,” she grins. “I just need to know how much will-we-or-won’t-we we’re going to play here?”
“Well, that is entirely up to you. Basically right now, we’re Schrodinger’s cat.” He holds up a hand when she looks at him confused. “I’ve been watching a lot of Big Bang Theory, don’t judge me.” She rolls her eyes and he continues. “My point is, until we test the waters, we’re never really going to know for sure.”
“And your method of testing would be?”
He dries his hands for a moment, before placing the towel to the side and leaning in to kiss her softly. He’s been thinking about it for weeks, and her responding in return leads to exceeding expectations. The kiss actually carries on for far longer than it should, until Stefan can smell the sauce starting to burn and switches off the heat.
Bonnie steps back with him, taking a breath, and then a small smile. “So. Dinner?”
“Sure,” he smirks. “I want to see some of those moves of yours later though.”
She grins in return, before nodding. “Oh, you definitely will.”