[ oh, she still doesnβt know when his birthday is; that had been an obvious fishing for that information because she might still be trying to trick him into slipping up and telling her. but thatβs not the point of this text even if she does notice how he sidesteps any talk about it in favor of the more pressing issue: surprise pizza.
she lifts the lid on the top box to check, and then the other two, before making her determination. ]
Looks like sausage and mushroom.
[ sheβs going to guess thatβs significant in some way. ]
[ of course heβs gonna dodge any stealthy attempts at birthday information gathering. especially if he can somehow dodge it for the next coming month until the 15th of november can just breeze on by without her being the wiser.
but really, it might as well be his birthday with what she answers him with, ]
[ at some point, sheβs going to find out. either from stumbling across it when either of them least expect it or through sheer process of elimination. her own birthday had come and gone relatively unacknowledged, but like sheβd told him the night he came back β everything she could want on a day like that, she already has.
something tells her the toppings are a special thing all on their own, so she wonders just how quickly sheβll be seeing him next when she sends this text. ]
Depends on how slow you are getting back here.
[ sheβs not going to eat all of it, but she could put a good dent in it all on her own. ]
[ it's not like he can just get up and leave (though, technically, he has done it before, even if it'd been at a more dead hour of the night), so despite the promise of some freshly heated pizza with his favorite toppings, he's gonna have to wait. ]
shift ends in half an hour think you can hold your mouth that long?
[ yeah, theyβd definitely learned their lesson that once, his absence and early closing subsequently ending in a bunch of knives going missing β eventually revealed to have been stolen by the people whoβd been parading around town causing chaos in animal masks β and since then, she hasnβt attempted to talk him into ditching work early.
(much.)
oh, you know sheβs gotta. ]
You know, Iβm not sure. I might need to keep it busy with something else until then.
[ there's very few things that frank cares enough about to get protective about. not counting certain people, one of those few things is a damn full pie (or three) from lombardi's. that, and coffee, the latter of which almost everyone in deerington has been witness to so long as they've spent a little time in dearly diner and watched the manager chug down a few cups all on his own. ]
Um, this showed up in my basket so at the very least itβs shared custody here.
[ but she can already tell he has a special connection to this place, especially if he recognizes it by name and has been there enough times to have a firmly established opinion about the quality of the pizza itself β which, she can confirm, after having lifted the lid of each box to check its contents, smells freaking amazing. ]
[ he's not going to indulge her in that "shared custody" comment, even though she's essentially right. much of their lives are fairly intertwined these days; when he'd gotten bogie, the tiny pitbull had ended up in wynonna's basket too, even though he hadn't officially resided in the farmhouse then, and she'd ended up staying in this house without ever being taken over to the apartment. he'd done it so the little canine would always have someone around even when he headed off to work, but really, even then, he'd kind of known it was a bit of a shared ordeal.
this isn't a dog, but the pizza probably works in a bit of the same way.
as he promises, the pontiac ends up rolling up the driveway some half hour later, the rumbling motor turned off almost as soon as it's parked, and he shuffles up and onto the porch with a quickened step, finding his way inside, track instant towards the kitchen. ]
[ she won't betray their unspoken agreement to not break into one of those boxes until he gets here, so it's probably a good thing she's got that coffee in her hand; she can sip it every time she thinks about cracking one open, maybe even taking a few exaggerated slurps for the purposes of being extra dramatic in spite of there being no one here to witness it. if she's going to be made to wait, it's going to be an entire thing.
but the sound of his car's engine rolling up the street betrays his arrival long before that front door swings open and she's greeted by heavy boots on the old, creaking floorboards.
she counts down from three, two, one and then glances up with an expectant smile as soon as he crosses through the doorway, bogie hot on his heels after picking up on his arrival from her sleeping position (either on the living room couch or upstairs on someone's bed, that part remains a mystery). ]
No, but the situation is critical. [ she presses a hand to her abdomen and affects a visible pout before the expression drops and she sidles over to stand next to him. ] Alright, what's so special about this damn pizza, anyway?
[ the dog is quick to catch him, the pattering of nails across the wooden floorboards racing up to find him when he's barely walked through the front door. ] Hey, girl. [ he greets down to the hopping, urgent puppy as he scoops down to pick her up, holding her to his chest with a playful petting to her ears when wynonna slides up to him. ]
See, now that's how I know you haven't had a slice, because you wouldn't be asking that otherwise.
[ it's a reprimand and yet it's a counter to the affection he displays when he leans forward to press a kiss to her cheek, following it with another brief petting to bogie before setting her back down to the floor to skip around at their feet. ]
Lombardi's happens to be the best damn pizza anywhere in New York. Greasy as shit, thick on the cheese, and baked to damn perfection. [ he shuffles across the kitchen, going to the sink for a quick wash of his hands before making his way to the pizza boxes, hand running over the cardboard but a pleased sigh before cracking it open.
he grabs one, parting his mouth wide for a bite that easily takes up almost half of the pizza, but he moans to satisfaction, stepping back over to wynonna to hold up the remainder of it to her mouth. ] Here.
[ there's no missing the sound of tiny paws scrabbling across the worn floor, because that dog somehow has a sixth sense for knowing when it's frank walking through the door above all others β even though she'll still pause in whatever she's busy with to greet laura coming home from school, or waves returning from another shift at the library. ]
Hey, I was good. I waited. [ she feigns petulance around another sip of coffee, but still offers her cheek up for that brief affectionate press, a small tilt of her head before she swallows and sets the mug down on the counter behind her. bogie's still dancing around from the sheer excitement of having her returned, and even though he can't expect a similar display like that from wynonna, she can't say she faults the dog her enthusiasm; having him beneath this roof feels like a missing puzzle piece slotted back into its rightful place, one she hadn't even known she needed until she was trying and failing to complete the picture on her own. ]
Do I need to give you a minute alone with those boxes? [ there's the way he's groping them already, but that's nothing compared to when he reaches for a slice, that thick cheese he mentioned stretching out from the rest of the pie before breaking free, and then she's helpless to observe him shoving half of it into that monster mouth of his with a blend of fascination and more than a little amusement. ]
And you say I'm the one with a big mouth. [ she's tempted to make a repeat comment about him needing some quality time with this pizza when he voices that soft groan β exactly how good is this pizza, anyway? β but when he's turning his wrist to offer her the remaining half, she reaches up to secure it with her fingers before sinking her teeth in, and then her eyes go wide. ]
Howy 'hit. [ yes, she's definitely still trying to talk with her mouth full. ] Thass fuh'in 'mazing.
text;
she lifts the lid on the top box to check, and then the other two, before making her determination. ]
Looks like sausage and mushroom.
[ sheβs going to guess thatβs significant in some way. ]
text;
but really, it might as well be his birthday with what she answers him with, ]
all three of them?
[ holy shit. ]
you gonna save me a few slices?
text;
something tells her the toppings are a special thing all on their own, so she wonders just how quickly sheβll be seeing him next when she sends this text. ]
Depends on how slow you are getting back here.
[ sheβs not going to eat all of it, but she could put a good dent in it all on her own. ]
text;
shift ends in half an hour
think you can hold your mouth that long?
[ don't make that dirty, earp. ]
text;
(much.)
oh, you know sheβs gotta. ]
You know, Iβm not sure. I might need to keep it busy with something else until then.
text;
don't eat my pizza
[ there's very few things that frank cares enough about to get protective about. not counting certain people, one of those few things is a damn full pie (or three) from lombardi's. that, and coffee, the latter of which almost everyone in deerington has been witness to so long as they've spent a little time in dearly diner and watched the manager chug down a few cups all on his own. ]
30 minutes
[ and what a torturous 30 minutes it'll be. ]
text;
[ but she can already tell he has a special connection to this place, especially if he recognizes it by name and has been there enough times to have a firmly established opinion about the quality of the pizza itself β which, she can confirm, after having lifted the lid of each box to check its contents, smells freaking amazing. ]
Hurry up, my stomachβs all growly.
action;
this isn't a dog, but the pizza probably works in a bit of the same way.
as he promises, the pontiac ends up rolling up the driveway some half hour later, the rumbling motor turned off almost as soon as it's parked, and he shuffles up and onto the porch with a quickened step, finding his way inside, track instant towards the kitchen. ]
Tell me your belly hasn't burst.
action;
but the sound of his car's engine rolling up the street betrays his arrival long before that front door swings open and she's greeted by heavy boots on the old, creaking floorboards.
she counts down from three, two, one and then glances up with an expectant smile as soon as he crosses through the doorway, bogie hot on his heels after picking up on his arrival from her sleeping position (either on the living room couch or upstairs on someone's bed, that part remains a mystery). ]
No, but the situation is critical. [ she presses a hand to her abdomen and affects a visible pout before the expression drops and she sidles over to stand next to him. ] Alright, what's so special about this damn pizza, anyway?
action;
See, now that's how I know you haven't had a slice, because you wouldn't be asking that otherwise.
[ it's a reprimand and yet it's a counter to the affection he displays when he leans forward to press a kiss to her cheek, following it with another brief petting to bogie before setting her back down to the floor to skip around at their feet. ]
Lombardi's happens to be the best damn pizza anywhere in New York. Greasy as shit, thick on the cheese, and baked to damn perfection. [ he shuffles across the kitchen, going to the sink for a quick wash of his hands before making his way to the pizza boxes, hand running over the cardboard but a pleased sigh before cracking it open.
he grabs one, parting his mouth wide for a bite that easily takes up almost half of the pizza, but he moans to satisfaction, stepping back over to wynonna to hold up the remainder of it to her mouth. ] Here.
action;
Hey, I was good. I waited. [ she feigns petulance around another sip of coffee, but still offers her cheek up for that brief affectionate press, a small tilt of her head before she swallows and sets the mug down on the counter behind her. bogie's still dancing around from the sheer excitement of having her returned, and even though he can't expect a similar display like that from wynonna, she can't say she faults the dog her enthusiasm; having him beneath this roof feels like a missing puzzle piece slotted back into its rightful place, one she hadn't even known she needed until she was trying and failing to complete the picture on her own. ]
Do I need to give you a minute alone with those boxes? [ there's the way he's groping them already, but that's nothing compared to when he reaches for a slice, that thick cheese he mentioned stretching out from the rest of the pie before breaking free, and then she's helpless to observe him shoving half of it into that monster mouth of his with a blend of fascination and more than a little amusement. ]
And you say I'm the one with a big mouth. [ she's tempted to make a repeat comment about him needing some quality time with this pizza when he voices that soft groan β exactly how good is this pizza, anyway? β but when he's turning his wrist to offer her the remaining half, she reaches up to secure it with her fingers before sinking her teeth in, and then her eyes go wide. ]
Howy 'hit. [ yes, she's definitely still trying to talk with her mouth full. ] Thass fuh'in 'mazing.