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[It's just dinner.

[Well, no. It's not just dinner and Rey knows it. She'd like to think that it means more to Maketh than that, in any case. After all, she wasn't lying about how she felt. About things being real with them. It sure feels realer than before...

[No. She won't dwell on it. Rey is getting things ready from the other side of the door. Nick is gone. Patrolling or working at the HQ. He might have gotten the hint when Rey told him what was on the agenda that night. Things are different this time. She's not keeping anything from him, and he catches onto things better than most would.

[While no gourmet chef herself, Rey has enough experience in the kitchen to know how to make stuff taste good. Not that she has a very particular palate, but Maketh might not be the same. She tries not to fuss too much, but it's hard.

[Instead, she goes with something simple. Something she remembers eating at an Italian place, which she can recreate with the ingredients here. It's still cooking when she hears the knock.

[Rey is... presentable, at least, when she opens the door. Nothing extravagant, but she's not dressed like she is ready to fight by wearing clothes she thinks are disposable. She actually likes these clothes; she'd hate to see them get ripped to shreds by monsters or maniacs.]

More than all right. [Rey assures Maketh with a smile, as she invites the other woman in through the open door.] Sorry it's not all done yet.

[She pauses, and before she can stop to think about it--]

You look beautiful.

That's quite all right, [she murmurs, smiling up at Rey. Somehow, actually standing here is easier than she'd anticipated. It's something they've done before. Shared space and their company within in. And it hasn't always gone well - Maketh still has nightmares about the time lost a piece of her mind and stabbed Rey - but it's always been exactly what it is. No deception.

There's comfort in that, just as there is comfort in this.

Maketh sets the basket down.]

Thank you, Rey. Can I -- help with anything?

[To be fair, Rey doesn't even dwell on that time Maketh had stabbed her. Probably doesn't help that she's hardly the first woman she's had feelings for do something similar.]

No worries. It's almost ready, if you don't mind waiting a few minutes.

[She glances to a green bottle at the center of the table in the dining area.]

If you'd like to get some glasses, though...

[Maketh nods, moving to find the requested glasses. She feels better having something to do rather than just standing there waiting.]

Ah. One of yours, I take it?

[She's grown to like the things Rey brews.]

[She nods, stepping back into the kitchen, grabbing some plates just as the meat is almost finished before she turns it a few times.]

The mead I promised you. [She smiles a little. Even though she had the drink served at the dance night, this one she specifically wanted to make for Maketh.]

It's... fun. Making things. The drinks. But I wanted this one to be special.

[Always good to have hobbies other than killing.]

Oh, good.

[She's been curious about trying it, this thing that Rey has created. She arranges the glasses carefully before pouring.]

It is special.

[She glances at Rey briefly.]

I -- admire that. Being able to make things.

[The meaty scent mixed with tomatoes and spices waft from the kitchen as Rey finishes up the meal. By the time it's ready, she's serving up two plates of a ricotta gnocchi recipe she had learned from her brother years ago. It's served with a side of meatballs and pasta, along with oils and herbs to taste.

[The foods they have here aren't exactly like home, but certain things have caught Rey's eye enough that she could make familiar dishes. Thankfully, it should go well with the bread Maketh brought.]

Have you tried learning?

[Rey is curious as she returns to the dining area with a couple plates to set, steam still rising from the food.]

Not brewing. But other things, yes.

[Maketh sits gingerly, glancing at the food curiously. It looks good. A little like the dumplings her father used to make, though he never served them with noodles.]

I can cook, a little. I'm not very good at it, but I am trying.

We can cook together next time, if you'd like. We could trade tips.

[She seats herself next to Maketh on the table, organizing the plate and glasses while glancing towards the other woman.]

And... you're welcome to stop by anytime, when I'm making drinks. You don't have to help, but I'd like the company.

[There are others she has helping out, sure. But they're not Maketh.]

I would like that very much.

[Maketh folds her hands in her lap carefully, looking down before finally meeting Rey's eyes.]

Perhaps I -- perhaps I could do my reports there.

[Rey can't help but bark a short laugh at Maketh's mention of paperwork. Not just because of her roommate, but Rey's own terrible penchant for neglecting reports and the like.]

Don't see why not. We do the brewing in a place outside of the Speakeasy, so it's a little more private.

And... Nick does his reports here sometimes, too. So, you're welcome here. Even if you've got work.

[Just putting that out there.]

[Maketh nods, just watching Rey. It feels so simple, being here. Talking like this. And she wonders why they hadn't done it sooner. It hadn't been the right time, perhaps. But here they are, right now.]

Well. Shall we? This looks wonderful. Though I'm afraid I don't know what it is.

Gnocchi.

[Rey speaks simply as she pulls a glass towards her with one hand, while picking up a fork with the other.]

Potato dumplings with cheese and other things. Made it before just to make sure it'd be good.

Gnocchi. [Maketh tries the word out and then a bite of the food itself. It's good. Not as spicy as she likes, but pleasant and rich.] I don't think I've had anything like it before. Is this a common dish in your world?

[Rey can try and think up good spicy foods for Maketh to try for next time.

[Funny to think like that -- "next time". She wants there to be one, and many more like it.]

Not really. Well, guess it depends on what sorts of places you go. You won't find gnocchi at a Chinese or burger joint. [She scoffs.]

I suppose not. [Maketh smiles a little. She enjoys good food. It's something she learned to appreciate as a child, when there had been times her parents hadn't been able to afford full meals.] My mother was Mandalorian, and they have this sort of casserole called Tiingilar. Quite spicy. It's something of a challenge to see how much you can eat without crying. My father would cook it for her. I miss it, sometimes.

[She can't help but laugh.]

Sounds like a game people used to play. They'd eat hot peppers and try to last as long as they can without washing it down with milk. It can be quite a show -- especially when they start throwing tantrums, rolling on the ground, punching...

[Maketh grins, nodding.]

Much like that, I imagine! It used to be that if a Mandalorian wished to marry an outsider, their intended would have to prove themselves either in battle or with more...culinary challenges.

[She shrugs.]

An old story. It's probably not true. But it was great fun to imagine, when I was a child.

Could be worse. There was a tribe of people in Amazonas that, for their initiation rites to become warriors, would purposefully sting themselves with bullet ants.

[She shakes her head.] People do stupid things to prove their machismo.

They certainly do. [Maketh takes another bite, trying to keep her mind from drifting to examples from her own life - the things they did in the Academy to prove who was strongest, who was going to survive and who was not. It's not the point of this, and she wants this to be something good.] I'm dying to try the mead.

[Ah yes, don't want to dwell on that.]

Try it. [She gestures to the glass by Maketh.] Tried to make it as dry as I could.

[Maketh drinks. It's different from anything she's tried before, though she has faint memories of a few local drinks from Lothal that might have come close. Just a little. It's sweet, but not cloyingly so. She nods, thoughtful.]

It's not as strong as I expected. I like it.

[Rey nods, then tries her share as well.]

Been working on a batch or liquor and wine to ferment longer. Hopefully they'll be stronger when I eventually crack them open.

[Sadly they're not going to get the more "sophisticated" spirits that are aged by years. Oh well.]

It has a different flavor than any wine I've had. [Maketh considers it thoughtfully.] Though I did try a bottle of something that was spiced, and--that came close. But it wasn't sweet like this. I wonder....perhaps someone here could enchant the ingredients to make them age more quickly?

Well, it isn't wine -- it's mead. [She says this with a slight smile.] But it can be spiced as well. Might give that a try for next time.

[Rey mulls over Maketh's suggestion of enchantment. How strange to think that she doesn't even think twice about this sort of subject anymore.]

Hmm. Can't hurt to ask one of those magic types sometime.

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