"Double, double toil and trouble, fire brew and cauldron bubble!" a woman chanted, the room dark aside from the light coming from her stove top. A ladle in one hand while her other was empty, having just dropped something in the pot she was working with. "Er... what was the rest of this incantation...?"
"If you put an eye of newt into our dinner again, I'm not playing fair!" another woman shouted from another room. Getting the first to wince and look at the ingredients next to her. One group was labelled 'for dinner' while the other was 'for later.'
She was thankfully using the items from the correct group of ingredients. Carrots, diced onion, garlic, cumin, potato, bay leaves and of course. Beef. Braised before hand and left at a perfectly cooked medium rare, juices marinating with the stock and aromatics as the pot bubbled. A spoon was carefully lowered in after the finishing touches of seasoning were added, stirring it gently to make sure every flavor got to dance as it cooked.
"There!" the woman said, putting a lid on the pot and grabbing a timer. "It'll be ready soon!"
"Are you using the kitty kat timer?" the other woman said, still from another room. "That one makes the cutest noise when it's done!"
"I am!" the woman said, stepping out of the kitchen with the timer in hand. "You made it after all, Mica." Now that she was out of the kitchen she kept dark entirely for mood lighting, despite obvious safety issues, in her hand was a modified egg timer, with a calico cat in a chef's hat on top.
"Still bringing it out on nights like tonight?" Mica laughed, sitting on the plush sofa. "Filled with confidence aren't we, Layla?" She was wearing a black tee shirt, with a pink broken heart with a bandage over it, a blanket covering her from the waist down and fingerless leather gloves. Her black hair was a tangled ball of knots thanks to being done up in a ponytail, and she was carefully using a brush to manage it.
"I mean... after what happened last time?" Layla mumbled as she turned the timer and set it down between her partner as it gave a little tuned meow. She was wearing jeans missing most of the left leg and a red tee shirt, with her blue hair done up in a braided ponytail. "I think my feet are still sore from carrying you everywhere."
"And the time before that?" Mica chuckled, motioning for her girlfriend to sit down next to her. "Where I made you moan all night long with any touch, you couldn't even sleep until it wore off."
"And that's why we only do this when we don't have work the next morning," Layla said, trying to resist giggling as she remembered what happened. "But tonight will be different!"
"Like how it was so different when I had you forget that you were naked and spent all day walking around my place with everything hanging out?"
"Yes! But still! I'm going to win tonight babe!" Layla said, standing triumphantly as her girlfriend gave a skeptical eyebrow raise. There was a beat, only the awkward silence of Face Off playing in the background as the two women stared each other down.
And then launched into a full make out session despite the mood killing movie. Their hands cupped each others' waists as they let the movie play and the timer slowly tick down. Their hair mixed as Layla leaned forward, carefully pinning her partner in witchery and romance.
"Meow! Meow! Meow!" the timer interrupted. Getting both sapphic sorceresses to stop mid kiss. It kept meowing as they both flushed as the very awkward face touching scene started to play on the television, and both sat up.
"Right. The stew!" Mica giggled as Layla fumbled off the couch and ran to the kitchen. Adjusting her top and buttoning up her jeans again. "Oh, wow you were really eager."
"Food first, making me a quivering mess next week." The culinary caster mumbled, disappearing around the corner, and let out a content sigh as the aroma of perfectly cooked beef stew filled the house.
"Next week? You mean tonight babe." Mica teased, knowing her partner's face was red. Both witches enjoyed the build up to these date nights, the teasing, the romance, the bad movies, it was perfect. That's why she picked Nic Cage movies, something silly and dumb to destress before they got to their 'friendly' competition. "I have big plans for you."
"I made plans for you too!" Layla shouted back, carefully dishing out two bowls of soup and grabbing bread rolls. "I'm just not gonna give you a hint before I win tonight!"
"Oh really?" Mica cooed, giving a look as she magicked over two tv trays. "No hints? Not at all? Nothing special planned from my kitten?" She winked, watching her partner turn beet red in the light of an explosion from the movie. "Not at all? Just going to stay quiet until I make you purr?"
"How do you keep winning when you play your hand that early?!" the chef mumbled, sitting down after handing over the dinner.
"Because you waaaant it," her girlfriend teased as she reached over and started patting Layla's head. Getting a soft hum in response as her eyes closed. "Why, if we didn't have to eat first, I'd definitely start now."
"Stop having such good fingers and then maybe I'll resist a bit more," Layla pouted, looking at her girlfriend as she started laughing. "Oh, I really just said that didn't I?"
"Magic fingers are my specialty!" Mica laughed, not missing a beat as she put a hand under her girlfriend's chin. "Now then, I'll be sure to treat you well after we eat babe."
"You mean I'll treat you well!" she countered, sitting back as she started to eat. The two of them slowly lost all desire to talk as the stew was consumed. The beef melting in their mouths, the potato and carrots adding a beautiful texture to each bite, and the rolls absorbing the stew and leaving both women satisfied.
"Okay." Mica sighed, snuggling up to her girlfriend. "If we ever do a cooking bet, you'd win."
"Easily! And I'll win tonight too!" Layla beamed triumphantly. Letting out a triumphant and incredibly overconfident laugh before their challenge had even started. "And you'll be my plaything!"
Mica smirked, not saying anything aside from letting an eyebrow raised skeptically. Her girlfriend's laughter slowly, incredibly slowly, faded into an awkward chuckle. There was a pause, only the last action scene of Face Off filling the room as they both quieted down.
"...What was the challenge again?" Layla mumbled, realizing she had not actually prepared for anything but her victory. Her fingers slowly pressed against one another awkwardly as she got a deadpan stare in response. "I uh... forgot."
"Oh dear, really?"
"I got excited about cooking for you again..." she mumbled, getting her girlfriend to start laughing even harder. Her face turned beet red with every wheeze that she made. "I like cooking okay!?"
"I-I know!" Mica said, trying to stop laughing before pulling Layla into a kiss. "It's just so cute I couldn't help but laugh."
"If I'm so cute then will you let me win?"
"You're cuter when I have my hands wrapped around your waist, so. No." the guest in the house smirked, getting a stuck-out tongue in response after a few more minutes of kissing.
"So, the challenge?" Layla said, slowly realizing she may have already lost. "What game were we going to play?"
"Kirby."
"Dream Course or Air Ride?"
"Air Ride, cause we're going to be using our feet." Mica grinned, removing the blanket, and quickly ripping off her socks. "Now let's get set up!"
"Can we at least play a round of City Trial after?"
One GameCube set up later.