Come As You Are (An Anne With An E/Sebastian 'Bash' Lacroix Fanfic)

23. Picnic

I woke up from a good night's sleep and sat up, rubbing my eyes. Bash laid next to me, seemingly still asleep. I got up and shuffled out of his room, heading for my room. I changed into daily wear and started putting my hair up. I was finishing putting pins into a bun when the door creaked open.

"Yes?" I called out.

"It's your brother," the voice replied. "What do you want for breakfast? There's some potatoes, eggs, and bread. I already started making toast but I didn't know if you wanted anything else."

I put in the last pin. "We can have the other two options as well. I'll make potatoes while you make eggs. I've learned how to cook some stuff while at college so I'm not completely useless."

A floorboard creaked as Gilbert stepped aside. "That's good. Maybe one day you can make us a feast."

I laughed as we walked down the hallway. "Don't get too far ahead of yourself. We can just stick to potatoes and the few other things I know how to cook."

Gilbert nudged my arm. "Who knows? Maybe if the teaching thing doesn't work out, you can be a cook."

I laughed as we got to the bottom of the stairs. Gilbert handed me the potatoes, which had already been washed and peeled, in front of me on a cutting board with a knife. I started cutting them in round circles before setting them aside. Like siblings do, we began making jokes around and laughing when Bash finally came downstairs.

"What are you doing, Aria? You can cut yourself!" Bash exclaimed, grabbing my wrist as he pulled the knife out of my hand.

"I was doing just fine before you came!" I shouted. "Now give it back! I know how to cut things and I want to continue to do so."

"Are you okay with this, Gilbert?" Bash demanded.

"Yeah. I mean, she was doing alright before," Gilbert replied. "And she said that she was doing fine before you came. She'll be just fine after you give it back too."

Bash sighed. "It's beside your left hand. Don't cut yourself, okay?"

I rolled my eyes. "Sure. I'll be fine."

I continued cutting the potatoes and when I finished, I put them in a pan with a bit of butter. I cooked them beside Gilbert, who was cooking eggs. We teased each other, occasionally bumping into each other. We put the food on plates after we finished. Bash came into the room when we were done, sitting next to me.

We are together, talking about how the day was going to go. Gilbert was planning on visiting the town and some of his friends. Bash wanted to take me on a picnic for lunch.

After breakfast, I went to my room and sat at my desk with the window open to let the fresh air in. I read while I waited for lunch. Since I didn't have a typewriter that typed Braille, I couldn't write. I was hoping to have one soon but I knew the blind school provided those kinds of typewriters if I ever needed one while I was there.

Hours later, the door creaked open softly. "Aria, it's Bash. The picnic is ready."

I put a bookmark in my book. "Okay. Are we going to leave soon?"

"If you want," Bash replied. "I have a quilt and the basket ready."

I stood up. "I'm ready. What quilt did you grab?"

"It's dark brown and navy blue with some fancy stitching," Bash replied, taking my arm as we left my room. "Why?"

"That was my mother's," I replied. "She made that herself before she died."

"We can leave it if you'd like," Bash said. "I can find another blanket."

I shook my head. "No, no. It's fine. I don't think I've touched that blanket since before I left for the blind school but we can use it. I don't mind."