Moonlit Silhouettes

Answers

Tala finished her coffee, poured herself another, and then began to search the kitchen for something to make for breakfast.

She stood and surveyed the results of her search; a package of bacon, half a dozen eggs, several almost too ripe bananas, and a can of Pillsbury biscuits. She mentally catalogued the possibilities, then decided to go ask Nick what he thought.

"Hey, Nick!" She called as she walked into the hall. "So our options for breakfast look like bananas, scrambled eggs, biscuits and bacon, that sound good to..." She trailed off and stared down the hall.

Nick stood just outside the bathroom doorway, one hand on the doorknob, the other holding closed the towel draped loosely around his hips. His hair was sticking up crazily, as if he had hurriedly rubbed the towel over his head in an attempt to dry it. Obviously with little result because it was still soaked, water droplets dripping off the ends of the locks and then sliding down his well toned body that was steaming from the temperature change.

Although that last part might have just been her imagination.

He stared at her with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open slightly as if he wanted to say something but the words were having trouble moving from his brain to out his lips.

They stood there for several tense moments, staring at each other like deer in headlights.

Finally Tala managed to untie her tongue and stammer out. "I was just...breakfast...ask you...bacon?" She asked stupidly, forcing her eyes to stay focused on his face.

"Uh..." Nick replied, sounding just as intelligent as Tala had. "Bacon...good, yeah...that's good, bacon's good..."

Tala gestured back to the kitchen. "I should probably...uh..."

They made eye contact for one brief, searing moment, and then both turned and bolted for their perspective sides of the house.
Nick to his bedroom to get dressed, Tala to the kitchen to start making breakfast.

A few minutes later a -fully clothed- Nick walked into the kitchen. He poured himself some coffee and silently sipped it as Tala stayed very interested in the bacon she was frying.

"Uh...do you need any help?" Nick asked, straining to break the awkward silence and distract them both from the nagging tension between them.

"I'm almost finished with the bacon, maybe start on the eggs? You do know how to scramble eggs, right?"

He scoffed. "Of course I do! You would underestimate my talents that much?"

Tala looked at him with one raised eyebrow. "Violet taught you to cook so she wouldn't have to fix you all your meals, didn't she?"

Nick rolled his eyes. "That whole 'animal instinct' thing is a real pain in the ass."

Tala smirked and returned to frying the bacon. Nick joined her in the kitchen and proceeded to crack the eggs in a large bowl, add a little milk and began whisking them.

"Once I get this bacon off, you should go ahead and cook them in the same pan with all the grease."

Nick grinned. "I like the way you think."

"Okay, the pan's all yours."

Nick turned and almost bumped into Tala. "Oops, sorry."

They stood there for a few seconds, then the pan spit oil that spattered on them both. They jumped and let out yelps of surprise and pain.

Tala growled and scooted around Nick, placing the plate of bacon on the table before plopping into a seat and sipping her coffee. "Know what else is a pain in the ass?" She motioned between the two of them aggravated. "Whatever...this is. It's a good thing we're going to get help today otherwise I think I'd go crazy."