[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

As Candy walked in, Crax was 'setting the table' on the island. She hopped onto a bar stool, and folded the napkins for both of them, placing them beside their respective plates and arranging the cutlery on top of them. Crax handed her their glasses, and she placed them beside their plates before looking over at the oven.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Crax put the oven mitts back on, and carefully lifted the hot baking dish from the hob, carefully placing it on a placemat he had prepared in the centre of the island. He removed the lid while he was still wearing the mitts, and was immediately hit by the delicious smell of the casserole he had made.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Candy made a sound of appreciation, and felt her mouth begin to water at the glorious smell coming from the dish in front of her. Her stomach growled again as she watched Crax carefully lift out two whole sprigs of rosemary with a spoon, before serving the casserole onto her plate with a smile.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"I hope you like it" Crax said, as he placed the plate down in front of her. He picked his own plate up and served himself, before sitting down beside her, close enough that their knees were just touching. He watched as Candy picked up the first delicate forkful and blew on it to cool it, before placing it into her mouth.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Crax relaxed as a hum of appreciation came from Candy, and picked up his own fork to begin eating. "I tried something a little different this time" he said conversationally, not really expecting her to answer him until she had swallowed her mouthful; "I made it a little sweeter than I normally make things; I thought you'd like it."

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"You were right; I do like it - it's absolutely delicious!" Candy declared with a wide grin, picking up a bit of potato and onion. "I don't know how you come up with these ideas for delicious food - I can barely decide what to make for breakfast!" she chuckled, before placing the next forkful in her mouth.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Crax chuckled too, and gently nudged her knee with his own. Candy wasn't a bad cook, but she was terribly indecisive, which was why he tried not to give her options when he planned to make food. It was a lot easier to just put the plate down in front of her, especially as she wasn't a fussy eater.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Crax chuckled to himself, remembering the time he had offered her a choice of desserts, and due to her indecision they had wound up making a franken-trifle with coffee and toffee flavoured chocolates mixed in. Candy had said she liked it, but he still thought she was just being polite, especially since she hadn't asked him to make it again.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Crax lifted the fork to his mouth, and tasted his creation; it was a little sweeter than the things he normally cooked, but the red wine sauce was thick and rich, and the whole seemed to blend together into something delicious, so he wasn't complaining; especially since he could see Candy's smile out of the corner of his eye.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

They ate with gusto, with both of them having small second helpings; eventually they finished, and Candy leaned on the island, chatting away about the book she had been reading before they fell asleep whilst Crax poured the leftovers into a smaller dish with a lid, and washed up, placing everything on the drying rack and moving the dry items into the cupboards where they belonged.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Crax then pulled out a selection of berries from the fridge; he had blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and pre-skinned lychees in syrup, though Candy still wasn't sure whether they were berries or not. He chopped all of them up into small chunks and poured them into a glass sundae bowl, followed by some of the lychee syrup.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Crax then pulled out the remainder of the vanilla whipped cream from lunch, and whisked it briskly to make it stiff again, before pouring it into the sundae bowls, filling them almost to the brim. He then cut a slot into a whole strawberry for each of them and slotted the edge of their bowl into it, before placing the desserts on the table and handing Candy a spoon.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Candy licked her lips and grinned; such a simple dessert, and yet she knew it would taste delicious. She tucked in with enthusiasm, accidentally flicking a bit of the whipped cream onto her face.

Crax chuckled, and wiped the drip of cream off the tip of her nose, before licking his thumb and waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"Sweetest dessert I've ever tasted; I think I'll have to have another bite" he joked, leaning forward to place a quick kiss on her cheek. Candy giggled and blushed, before leaning over to place a kiss on his lips, licking the sweet taste of vanilla cream off her own lips as she pulled away.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

They finished their desserts, throwing shy grins and glances at each other, and then Crax washed up. They both retired to the living room, where the roaring fire in the hearth was casting its warm glow on the walls, making the shadows dance in merry patterns on the baubles on the Christmas tree in the corner.