i'm so in love with you, i just thought that you should know.

@ buchanan

Lexi looked down at the meal before her and paused for a moment to take in her senses. With how starving she was, she dug into the mac and cheese. Taking a bite of the food, she enthusiastically nodded her head in response. "This is probably the best mac and cheese I've had in a while." She covered her mouth slightly, unable to contain her excitement. Lexi looked over at Scarlett smiling after she swallowed her food. "How is yours? It looks amazing, too." She questioned in return.

--

Eric's eyes flickered down to his thumb pressing against his hand, relaxing his initial tension. "Yeah, that's the only reason why I would ever shoot someone. No one deserves to be shot though, Ariel." He disagreed, giving a small frown. "I just don't want you taking the law lightly. It's not something that I would want you to get tangled in." Eric explained while taking a drink of his water. Despite knowing that Ariel was serious about his job, he wanted to clarify that shooting someone took a lot out of a person's humanity. It took more than just one finger to pull the trigger on a gun.

Scarlett had to cover her mouth as she laughed, glad that the other was enjoying the food as much as she was."Oh yeah, mines is delicious," she said moving a little of the food around out of habit before she took another bite. Pausing she pushed her plate towards Lexi's,"Have a bite of it, it's so good, I could eat like ten plates of this at a time if I had a bigger stomach" she gushed, rolling her eyes at herself. Scarlett was a big food person, loves trying out new things and making stuff herself though she honestly wasn't the very best cook, her attention always drifting to other things causing food to be cooked a little too much or just burned to crisp.

---

"Okay,okay, okay, I know, I get it" Ariel sighed, rubbing his thumb over the soft skin, always being such a touchy and grabby person ever since he was a child. He feed off of affection, receiving or giving though he mostly enjoyed to give. He loved to bathe others in affection, give them hugs and kisses, talking to them about everything and just giving them all of his attention."Perk up Eric, please" he pouted, using his free hand to grab Eric's other one and then he smiled, bright and boyish like always.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

@ buchanan

Pausing to look over at Scarlett, Lexi wondered if it would be alright to have a bite. "Oh, don't we all wish we had bigger stomachs? Although, I don't think I would want the weight gain." She laughed since she would probably end up like bloated balloon. Taking her offer, she reached over with her fork to take a bite. "Mm, that's really good, too. I may just become a vegan." Lexi concluded while moving her dish over towards Scarlett. "Take some, please." She urged her with a forming smile. A part of her wanted the recipes to make all these delicious foods, but she never had the time to cook anyway. Her trash filled with take-out bags would back that up.

--

Eric sighed since he could not stay that annoyed with Ariel anyway. Their friendship made that impossible for him stay made at the poor boy who was only curious. "Okay, okay, I am done lecturing you." He reassured him with a small smile. Glancing down at their hands, Eric noticed how slender Ariel's were in comparison to his own. "All I want is for you to be more careful with your questions, but I'm not mad at you."

Loads of things make Scarlett happy. Dogs, cats, thick pull overs, a nice coat of nail polish, a great movie, polka dots, and so much more that if listed would make a book with three extra parts and having people enjoy food they might have not tried before was definitely in there somewhere, op fifteen if anything."Glad you like it, this is definitely my favorite dish here" she says, raising her fork back up and taking another bite. Normally she would be wolfing the food down, it's been such a long day and she had some paper work to file by the end of the week but all she really wanted was to sit here and enjoy this till the very last bite and maybe even some dessert. Smiling Scarlett took a little bit of Lexi's food and ate it, licking her lips free of the 'cheese' and smiling to the point her eyes crinkle from the sheer force,"Really good"

---

"I am very careful with my questions!" Ariel gasps, faking a hurt look on his face before he simply broke into a smile because he couldn't keep up with it for very long. He was always in a good mood with Eric, couldn't wipe the smile from his face even if he tried."At least my questions aren't inappropriate, I mean not always but you know" he shrugs his shoulders and quickly pulls his hands back once the waitress comes with their food in her hands, placing it in front of them and making a off handed joke before she left around the kitchen."I'm starving oh my goodness" Ariel sighs contently taking quick and big bites of his food which would only lead to him chocking on it as usual, always being a fast eater.

[I'm sorry bUT I'M SCREAMING, THIS WOULD TOTALLY BE THEIR BLOODY HANDS

@ buchanan

"Yeah, I can definitely understand why." She gestured down to Scarlett's food then moved to return back to her own. While on their way out later, Lexi made a note to grab one of their takeout menus. "What kind of dessert do they have?" She asked, wanting to take a bite of all the food. As long as they were here, she was going to take advantage of enjoying it. A small spread across her face when she silently waited to see Scarlett's reaction to eating the mac and cheese. Although, Lexi had found it more sensual than anything else. The way that she licked her lips almost sent a shiver down her spine. "Y-Yeah." She softly responded back, quietly yelling at herself. It could have been considered rude that Lexi had spent the entire time practically starting at Scarlett. "S-Sorry." She quickly apologized, letting her eyes drop back to the food.

--

Despite Ariel's words, Eric did not stay very convinced when he saw the small cracks of a smile starting to form on his lips. "Ah, I knew that you couldn't keep up the charade that much longer." He mused, leaning back into the seat when the waitress came. Eric chuckled while the steam filled the air between them, steaming up the booth. "Oh, your questions can be very inappropriate." He flashed back to the time when Ariel had first asked him about having sex, practically making him choke his water. "Hey, hey, slow down. I am a bit rusty on my Heimlich." Eric cautioned Ariel, giving him a look. Digging into his own food, he was glad that they had decided to have dinner together tonight.

(AHHH!!!! THAT IS EXACTLY HOW IT WOULD BE!)

"They're got a handful of them, vegetarian ones and vegans ones, cakes and brownies, really good pies too, though I highly recommend the rice pudding, it's to die for" Scarlett said moving her hand and using it for motions as she was awfully expressive and used her hands when she spoke to help illustrate to give a point to what she was saying. She knew it was a bit of a bad habit since she tended to hit things or people by accident when they walk by and she often tried to stop herself if she catches herself doing it. Moving around a bit of her marsh potatoes around Scarlett gave Lexi a odd look,"Sorry? What's wrong?" she asked curiously, unaware of the other staring at her. She didn't notice a some of the small things unless she was focusing in on them.

---

Ariel chewed his food with his mouth closed and stopped himself from taking another bite so he could prove he could slow down even though he rarely did. His mother always called him a human vacuum, eating everything in sight, gone in front of your eyes within the matter of very short minutes."Is your CPR better than your Heimlich? Maybe I'll jump into the ocean" It was basically flirting, but this being Ariel it was just his humor and form of teasing. Picking up his mug with both hands, sleeves pulled over his fingers he took a tentative sip of his apple cinnamon latte,"Ought to practice right now actually, in case you get called in tomorrow and have to preform it, who knows"

[Big & small, size differences keeps me alive]

@ buchanan

Lexi could not help practically moan at the sound of eating rice pudding. "Mm, that sounds amazing. Rice pudding is so hard to come by now." She sighed, returning back to her mac and cheese. Even the small pudding cups that the grocery store had could not compare to homemade rice pudding. "What I meant to say was, was that rice pudding would sound amazing." Lexi quickly corrected her little outburst, feeling an embarrassed at her lack-of-filter. Brushing back one strand of hair, she took a bite of the food and swallowed to answer the next question. "O-Oh, you didn't notice? Nevermind then. It wasn't a big deal." She awkwardly laughed, thinking it was better not to explain. Lexi did not want to make things awkward.

--

"I would hope that one isn't better than the other." He chuckled since they were supposed to be sufficient. Eric chewed his food before swallowing once more, rolling his eyes at Ariel. "I would advise you not to jump into the ocean, but, if you do, I can save you with CPR." Looking over at Ariel practically devouring his food, he paused a moment to merely grin at him. "No, don't make me practice it right now. That would mean that you would have to stop eating this amazing food." Eric pointed out, hoping that this would not be the case. He would save Ariel any day, but he hoped that it would not have to be now. Reaching out for his water, he took a sip of it.

Tilting her head slightly back Scarlett laughed, she knew full well that the first reaction was more real and first come. She has the same reactions to food though as well, Scarlett was such a foodie that if being a cop didn't work out for very long then she could be a fantastic food critic. She would need a bigger vocabulary though, 'ah' and 'oh my goodness' wouldn't too good on articles."I'll order some for us then, would you like it to go or stay?" Scarlett asked as she raised her hand and caught the waitresses action, waving her over to place the order in. It was quite late already and she didn't want to keep Lexi up if she was tired from the days horrible events.

---

Ariel couldn't swim for the life of him, he hates the beach and deep rivers and pools, closest he would get was the sand and not even the area where the waves crashed and could drag little plastic buckets from children. He wouldn't go in even if he knew Eric would do CPR on him, fuck that. Placing his mug down Ariel gave Eric a look,"One moment you're telling me to stop eating so quick the next you don't want me to stop, I see how it is" Ariel joked, gently nudging Eric underneath the table.'I won't though, you know it, the water is terrifying" He stuck his tongue out a bit and made a funny face,"Have you ever had to give CPR or do the Heimlich?" he asked curiously.

@ Dandy Darling;

@ buchanan

A little startled at the sudden outburst of later, Alexandra soon joined in with her. She was grateful that Scarlett had found amusement in it. Lexi moved to wipe some tears that had formed in her eyes with a lingering smile. "Yeah, that would be great! Whatever is fine with me." She reassured, able to stay up for another couple of hours. If they were going to laugh like this the entire time, Alexandra was sure that she would be able to stay up for another twenty-four hours. She always loved a good laugh. "I am probably going to be dreaming about this rice pudding for the next couple of days." She admitted, taking a sip of her water with a sigh to quench her thirst. The laugh had taken more out of her than she realized.

--

Eric chuckled since he knew that Ariel was merely joking from the nudge underneath the table. Playing footsies was a little game between them, always. "Well, I only offered. The choice is always for you to make." He smiled while shrugging his shoulders slightly. Shaking his head, Eric personally found no problems with water. He never really understood what Ariel had against a form of nature. "Then you would be surprised to know that you are about half water." He chuckled, watching for his facial expression. Soon, his laugh faded away while he thought back to previous events. "Once or twice. The first time, a grandmother had accidentally swallowed a piece of chicken, and it got lodged in her throat. Another one, someone was drowning, so I had to do CPR."

Once the waitress arrived Scarlett ordered four rice puddings since she figured they could eat some tonight and if Lexi wanted there would be some tomorrow morning as well. If the restaurant sold their food in bulk and microwaveable she would be in heaven, probably never eat out again if she could stay in the comfort of her own apartment and pop some food in the microwave and have the same great taste. As the waitress walked away with a smile, Scarlett motioned to her plate of food,"Would you like some more?" she offered, budging her plate towards Lexi.

---

Ariel squirmed at the mention of being made out of water,"We'll I'm not ten feet wide and more than five feet five inches deep so I think I'll be okay" he said picking his fork back up and eating his food in quick swift bites, more or less not even chewing since it was all soft. He was always curious about Eric's job and what he did, he really looked up to the other and no one could knock how high he thought of Eric down. "Saving lives" he says as he covers his mouth with his free hand so he wouldn't be revolting."Better than any Marvel super hero"

@ Dandy Darling;

@ buck

"Four?" She practically exclaimed when the waitress walked away with the order. Even though she loved rice pudding, Lexi could not help but think it was too much to devour in one sitting. "I know we both love food, but I don't even think I can finish that." She gave a half-heated laugh. It would be a shame to let all of that go to waste, so maybe they could bring it back to her place. "As much as I wish, I need to save room for that rice pudding. This mac and cheese is filling me up, too." She admitted. Unfortunately, Alexandra had to politely decline the offer.

--

Eric offered a small smile since Ariel was not joking when it came to the caution he exercised around water. As soon as the water reached past his shoulders, Ariel would start to panic. Eric had seen it happen before when they went to the pool. He refused to go past a certain point, which he acknowledged. "Isn't the whole purpose of a superhero to save lives? I am sure that Captain America has saved more lives than I could possibly imagine." He replied after swallowing the current mouth full he had.

Looking back at Lexi Scarlett nodded her head,"Yeah four" she agreed. She didn't think she was going a little big headed with the dessert, if anything she thinks it's the best decision she has made unless Lexi turns out to not enjoy the rice pudding from this restaurant. Scarlett has high hopes in the food though so she was doubting that the other was going to dislike the sugary sweet rice pudding."We could eat some nor or at home, and the rest we could eat for breakfast or pack it for some lunch" she explained realizing that she may have seemed a little out of her depths for ordering so much especially since the rice pudding wasn't going to be in a tiny cup in a rather big bowl since the restaurant had big proportions. Accepting the decline Scarlett pulled her plate back and ate from the corners in."Yeah, they kind of don't really cheap people out of food here, they used to have much bigger plates when I first came around though, huge as Figueroa's hands and he's stocked like a beast"

---

"Captain America literally saved the entirety of New York his first movie and possibly the entire world with the second one, but he's not real so he hasn't saved anyone while you at least saved one, and don't go modest on me Eric" Ariel said as he waved his fork at Eric. Ariel was a complete nerd with comic books, his favorite publisher was definitely Marvel and his favorite hero is Bucky(even if people say he isn't even one), Captain America comes a very close second."You're a super hero, you ought to have a cool name, what about 'the fire scorpion' or 'doctor wave', though I think Officer Pearce sounds best, really suites you," His plate below was just a mouthful or two away from being empty, though his drink was still a few sips from the rim."Super power would be your authority and smile, weapon is your gun I think, and I have no idea what your weakness would be"

@ Dandy Darling;

@ buck

Alexandra was determined to finish up her food before the waitress came back with their order of rice pudding. As a waitress, Lexi particularly disliked it when customers continued to order food until there was no longer any space on the table. It made life harder. "Okay, that sounds like a great idea." She agreed, covering her mouth that was filled with pasta. Swallowing, Lexi could see that Scarlett was starting to realize that they may have ordered too much food to fit inside of their stomachs. At that point in time, she started to wish that she had an extra stomach or, at least, one that would become an endless pit. Then, she would be able to eat all of the fabulous foods that it could offer. "That's great! Most of the restaurants now give you these tiny portions and then charge these huge prices. It makes completely no sense." She exclaimed since she had abandoned some amazing restaurants to this truth.

--

"But, if Captain America were actually a real person, he would be a hero in this world. I'm just that cop in the background that usually get hit by some flying object." He pointed out as well. Although, he would take the fact that Eric had actually saved a real person as opposed to Captain America. That had boosted his ego some. Most people could not say that they were more of a hero than Captain America. "I am pretty sure that 'The Fire Scorpion' sounds more like the villain than the hero. I think I am going to settle with Officer Pearce since that just happens to be my title right now." Eric chuckled while finishing up the rest of his food. Despite almost being done, he was still far behind Ariel's progress on his food. "My weakness would be closed spaces. That stuff is definitely not for me." He held back a shudder at the thought of being locked up in a coffin alive.

Scarlett quickly shook his head, she could not stand getting ripped off. She absolutely hates going for something to bite and having to pay fourteen bucks for a bomb salad that is the size of her fist rather than the size of her hand with her fingers spread. "Don't ever let me get started on how much I loathe that alright, that has to be my number one piss off" Scarlett said exasperated, she felt like ripping her hair out at the thought of it. She really just couldn't. It was why Veg and Bake was her favorite place to eat, sure it was a bit pricey, but they gave you twice as much as others would and if you were close with he workers or chefs then you'd get some extra. To keep herself from going on a rant Scarlett took bigger bites of food so she took more time to chew. She didn't to seem like someone who got any easily or someone who was just pessimistic.

---

"Pish posh, whatever" Ariel saved waving his hand to dismiss Erics first comment because he just didn't believe in it. Eric will always be a Hero to Ariel and it doesn't matter if it's in the real world here or Marvel Universe. Finishing up the last pieces of his plate Ariel let out a heavenly sigh, his stomach full and although he must weigh heavier now from the food sitting inside him he does feel lighter and pliant. All the excess energy he needed to burn had left him as he ate."Is that why you sometimes leave the doors ajar?" he asked curiously, there has always been little things he noticed about Eric but he had never been able to place them as to why they happened. "Thanks for the food by the way, I feel like I might just explode" he groaned, tilting his head back against the booth and staring at the dim lights above them.

@ Dandy Darling;

@ buck

(Ahhh, I'm so sorry! I thought I responded to this!)

Lexi chuckled at the appreciate of someone else sharing the same feelings as her. "Don't go to the Chinese place down the street then. They literally rip you off. I paid twenty dollars for Lo Mein with soup and I got two small containers. Even the rice was extra!" She exclaimed with a shake of the head. After that meal from them, she had torn up their take-out menu and refused to ever order from them again. "I was extremely upset about that!" She could see why Scarlett had taken a liking to the Veg & Bake. Alexandra knew that she had taken a liking to it as well. Reaching over to take a piece of the rice pudding, she ate a piece and watched as Scarlett practically wolved it down. When she first met the officer, she had pictured her to be more.. strict and up-tight. It must have been her stereotypical thinking of an officer, but Lexi was glad to see her in more of a casual setting.

--

Giving a small nod, Eric admitted to his strange habit of leaving doors slightly ajar. Whether it be inside of his bedroom or his bathroom, he needed to leave the door open as a safety precaution. Some people were uncomfortable with the habit, but Eric needed to have it. He started to feel claustrophobic without out. "It's inconvenient sometimes though. I can deal with public restrooms cause of the cracks in the stalls, but I can't deal with dressing rooms and all the like." He explained with a sigh since online shopping was his best friend. When the waitress came over to take their dishes, she asked them if they wanted dessert. "Up to you, Ariel." He stated as she placed the menu onto the table for them to glance over. "It's no problem. I'm just happy that you're actually eating something nutritious." Eric offered a small grin from across the table and slid the dessert menu closer to him.