Dani was a bit surprised to hear a response, but she liked the question. “Honestly? Yes. It’s just such a crazy, ever-moving place. I love it here.” She answered, with an easy smile. It was nice to talk about the things that made her fall in love with this city. “That’s exactly the feeling. I don’t want to move away from here, I don’t want to go back home, but there’s still a lot to be missed. I’m from Brazil and I visit sometimes, but I think this is the place for me. Oh, and I’m Dani. What about you?”

Rechecking her answers, the redhead ran her hand through her hair in thought. “Washington. Only they forgot the G. So it’s Washinton I guess. Didn’t know the place changed names without me knowing.”

“Maybe is one of those Mandela effect things and Washington has always been spelled Washinton since the Matrix broke. OH, maybe someone stole a G from like, a sign and now everyone went away with it and started saying it without the G and no one told us. Both viable options, if you ask me” Ari reasoned.

“Well, thank you for doing it. I didn’t expect to be having such a big basket of homemade food for me.” A genuine smile spread on his lips for the gesture, even though he never meant for Ari to actually cook him food. He would have been content with only trying a tiny bit of bread. “Honestly? Anything and everything,” he laughed, shaking his head. “I’m a Californian guy, grew up near the beach, so I love fish. But I’ll take meat in all its forms, specially as hamburger.” For a moment he thought Ari would decline the offer, he had no obligation to stay but a part of Heath wanted him to, so when the other accepted, he flashed a smile. “Alright then, I’ll be right back.” The blond moved to the back of his studio where he had a small kitchen, bringing beers, forks and napkins for the two of them. When he was back, he handed one of the bottles to Ari, placing the other items on the table. “So, what do you recommend to start with?”

The chef shrugged lightly, a grin matching the blond’s in response to his words. “Well, I hope you like it. Fair warning, if you don’t, I will actually have to quit cooking altogether and actually follow my dream of becoming a mariachi” he pointed out. Ari was proud of his skills; they had gotten him where he was; one of the few things he was vocal about how proud he was (the others being Arturo and his hometown). However, for a strange reason he didn’t want to dig into, he was nervous about Heath actually trying his cooking. “Fish, huh? That’s awesome, I grew up near a beach too. Have you ever tried ceviche? I’ll think you’d like it” the youngest male suggested with a grin. As Heath disappeared, Ari took a moment to let his eyes wander about, actually taking in the blond’s art as a full of grin appeared on his lips. Those who said the eyes were the window of the soul, obviously hadn’t seen what art could say about a person. Then, as his companion arrived again, Ari’s smile grew slightly timider, eyes focused on the food. “I suggest putting everything in a tortilla and just... eat it, I promise it’s actually good and it’s safe to eat.”

“Wait, yours sounds really nice. Tlayudas–that’s the tortilla pizza…kind of?” She grinned with a small laugh. She wasn’t sure if she remembered that right. “You know, it’s on my bucket list to go. I always said I was going to go as a big 21st birthday trip but, uh, life likes to not follow my planner.” Naomi mused before shaking her head. “You know I don’t. I mean, I know you sort of taught me, but I’m kind of rusty. Well, really rusty. I couldn’t promise not to burn something.”

“Yes, the tortilla-pizza ones with the insects you didn’t want me to use that one time” Ari mirrored her laugh, scratching the back of his neck nervously. “I know, I remember. Maybe for your twenty-eight birthday? If Eli can’t make it, I’ll look after him” he suggested with a small shrug whilst chewing on his inner cheek, only to smirk at the girl’s next set of words. “That’s okay; cooking is not for everyone, you know that. We uh— we have wood-fired pizza at Leuca, in case you guys want some. On the house, of course.” 

Willow had never been a spectacular cook. She had been good enough to make do and that was about it. Pair that with living in England for a number for years, her palette had been quite limited. That was however, until she moved back to New York and in with Ari and her nephew. Since then, she has tried more foods that she did in over two decades of life before hand. It was a pleasant experience. most of the time. At least she barely had to cook anymore, that was always a plus. 

And on days like this, where her body felt like a limp noodle, she was immensely glad. Work on the companies newest piece had just begun and there was always a period at the start where she had to once again get used to the physical stress of rehearsals combines with classes. However, nothing was quite as exciting as this beginning period. Where things were being pieced together and one had no idea how it was all going to work but could see that it would. Living with a child though meant that resting was never really something she got to do. Evident by the fact that she moment she entered, Arturo was running at her with a hug. It was a welcome home she had gotten used to and one that she had fallen in love with. “Off you go Art.” She ruffled his hair before he ran off with the kind of energy she just did not have at the moment.  

A laugh escaped her lips. “It’s not the worst answer you could have given, so there’s that. No clue what exactly that is but it sounds good.”

Aristóteles observed in silence the relationship between his sister-in-law and his kid, smiling to himself. He often wondered if Arturo missed his mother. If he could remember the couple singing lullabies to him at night if he could remember Natalie’s stories or her perfume. If he could remember the way she used to dance around the room with him in his arms and lull him to sleep. He knew deep down, Arturo remembered Natalie enough to get sad about her not being around, but he often wondered if he missed her the same way he did. If his body paralyzed at night, whenever he realized Natalie was truly gone, if he needed her as much as Ari did. He wondered if Arturo ever saw Nat in Willow too and felt a pang of sadness wash over him entirely. 

The chef smiled at Willow’s words, inhaling sharply. “At least I didn’t say the eggs eat grass or something, I’m kinda proud of that one. You should’ve seen him, he went directly to the fridge and took out one egg, tried to calm it down. I swear in two years, he’ll have everyone in the family become vegan and I’ll be ruined” he sighed, a tiny smirk playing on his lips. “That’s because you have never visit me at work and that’s your fault” he teased, nudging the blonde, chuckling. “Pasta al broccoli pesto, basically. It’s good, people order it a lot.”

Which was why he found himself on his day off from the restaurant cooking, Arturo sat on the counter as he watched him, trying his very best to figure out if Sam-I-Am would end up convincing anyone to eat green eggs and ham whilst simultaneously asking Ari the type of random questions only a six-year-old could think of. ‘Papi, why are the eggs green?’ ‘Papi, where does ham come from?’ ‘Papi, do you like green eggs?’ ‘Papi, can we have green eggs and ham for dinner?’ each and every one making his grin grow every so slightly. It wasn’t until the sound of the door opening filled the room that Arturo finally stopped his questioning, urging his dad to get him down from the counter to go and hug Willow. “Tía, dad says eggs get green because they get angry” he heard his kid speak, making the sous-chef chuckle whilst shaking his head “Come on, monkey. Go finish your homework, dinner will be ready in twenty minutes” he urged, turning his eyes to his sister-in-law “I didn’t know what to say and you know how he gets, he starts... bombarding you with questions. I made dinner, Malfadini with broccoli rabe pesto. I hope you’re hungry. How was your day?”

( @willowwxsp​ )

Moving herself closer, she rested her head on his shoulder. She didn’t have to be at work, so she had all day to sit here with Ari. She always enjoyed spending time with him. “Is it? I always thought it looked kind of challenging.” Addy swore she didn’t have a musical bone in her body. Watching as Ari handed the guitar over to her, her eyes widened, she sat up straight and she hesitantly took it. “You’re going to regret this,” she said, letting out a laugh. 

“You learned to play when you were nine? That explains why it literally looks like second nature when you play.” Addy definitely appreciated how open he was with her. It seemed like she was always learning new things about him. “You have to tell me all about this reality show.” She had a million questions, but was going to wait for him to tell her if he wanted to. “We can try that. What do I do first?”

He pressed his lips against the top of the blonde’s head, shrugging every so slightly at her question. “I guess it depends on the person, but there is a reason why it’s the most played instrument in the world, you know? I mean, it’s not the harmonica but it’s also not a harp. Or would you rather play another instrument?” he questioned, passing an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. A chuckle left the male’s lips, eyes focused on the blonde with the guitar on her hands “As long as you don’t like, intentionally break it, I think I can handle whatever you throw my way.”

The fact she could be silly around another adult and not receive any odd looks in return made Vivian beyond happy. “I’m more of a drastic measures type of gal. The idea of getting rid of lice slowly gives me goosebumps. I’m selfish alright, who said I want to share my scalp with other organisms, huh?” she grinned, “You really think so? Too bad I love my hair too much to let it go.” the brunette added, letting out a soft laugh. Shaving all of her hair off was never a thought that crossed her mind; a shorter haircut sure but shaving it off was too extreme for her liking. Nodding her head, Vivian grinned. “Got it. Lice’s code blue, cooking chaos code green and fire… is fire. What if I have a different kind of emergency?” she questioned, tilting her head on the side with the most innocent look ever. The brunette just liked to tease him. “Noted. Next time I get lonely, I hope you boys can come over and keep me some company.. or help me out with food. I’m sure I’ll need Arturo’s tasting abilities.” Vivian replied, and smiled at him. It was nice to know Ari didn’t mind coming over to help out. That’s why she trusted him enough to let him into her apartment, he was a decent guy. Looking down at her glass of water, the brunette couldn’t stop smiling. “I’m not really good in the kitchen. I never had someone to show me stuff.” she explained, shrugging her shoulders. The boarding school had a cafeteria, Cece had her own chef. It was kind of hard for her to learn how to cook when everything presented her with delicious dishes. “But you enjoy it.. I feel like I’m going to screw up every time.. so I don’t want to scare the kids if a fire breaks out.” Vivian half-joked, “That sounds nice.. I’d love that, yeah.” 

It has been nineteen years, two months, and five days since Teresa had experienced her first heartbreak. Everyone expected her to move on and be who she had been before Paloma but she simply couldn’t. She saw Paloma’s dark eyes in the eyes of strangers. The brightness of her laugh as children chased each other in the playground. Her husky voice whenever she heard the first notes of Love My Way. The ache still ran through her body, like molten lava, filling each scar as it warms them. Not wanting to worry Pax, she couldn’t turn to him when she felt she couldn’t breathe. Instead, she found solace in group therapy, with others who have loved and lost so terribly. There she gained a friend. Well, his homemade food had won her over. 

Ari was someone she could be fragile with. Fragile and disturbingly raw. Death was a disturbing way to bond with someone and yet, she easily found herself smiling around him during their darkest moments.  “Have I told you that you are my hero!” She laughed as she danced in front of him with glee. It was rather shameful how food simply brought out the good in Teresa. Food driven, she didn’t need Ari to ask her again. “God, you are prince among men! Pfft, Dr. Montgomery is a quack!” She winced as she realized she was yelling… again. She glanced around as if she expected the man, with his gray mustache and oversized glasses, to materialize out of nowhere. Then with a loud clearing of her throat, she placed her hand on her chest and uttered in a deep, condescending voice. “Ari, I congratulate you on sharing your feelings. It takes courage to be so profound about your pain.” With an eye roll, she reached for a cookie and took a large bite. “What a fucking idiot. Oh! This is amazing!”

Ari stressed-baked, there was no way around it and no use in hiding it. Some people cleaned, some others went for walks, Ari baked. Most nights he could get an arguably good night of sleep, around 4 to 5 hours a night and he was thankful for every hour. However, when there was a special event coming up, it was almost impossible for him to sleep and he was used to spending those hours either in bed, hating every minute of it or baking and feeling useful and slightly less anxious. Sometimes, when the stress was too much and tiredness would get the best of him, the chef would black out and wake up to ten batches of brownies. Therapy was a stress factor in his life alas every time he’d come to a meeting, there was some sort of pastry that accompanied him. It was only luck that the product of his stress-bake got him a friend, a friend who understood what he was going through. 

The male smiled in return to the brunette’s movements, a chuckle escaping his lips. He had seen her on her worse (and she had seen him during those times, too), so it was always nice to see her grinning and lively, it was refreshing. “Does that mean I have to wear a cape? I don’t know if I’ll like that” he mused with a smirk. Then, a grunt as they began talking about their therapist “I fucking hate him” he echoed his own thoughts, rolling his eyes fondly at the girl’s imitation. “Ari, a car is just a car. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Take the wheel of your own life!” he mimicked the Dr.’s condescending, dull tone whilst shaking his head and taking one of the cookies. “Did I tell you he tried to imply the accident was ‘god’s plan’? Which y’know, if you believe that, good for you.. But do you really wanna tell a widowed their spouse dying is someone’s plan?” he mused before shaking his head in disbelief, chewing onto the cookie. “I swear if it wasn’t for you, I would’ve lost it from the beginning.”

Addy enjoyed these escapades with Ari. He was a good guy, and not to mention handsome too. Glancing at Ari, she watched as he grabbed the small guitar and was surprised that he was going to play it. Honestly, Addy felt lucky because she knew he didn’t do that for everyone. In a way, it made her feel special. 

Ari was ridiculously talented, and for a moment, Addy wished she could contribute somehow. Unfortunately, when she tried anything musical something sounded like it was dying. “That’s so beautiful! I really don’t know how you do it,” she said, smiling at him. “You should teach me one of these days. I’ve always wanted to learn how to play an instrument. How long have you been playing?” She asked, curiosity evident in her voice. Pursing her lips, Addy pretending to think his question over very seriously. “Hm…no. Surprise me.” 

Ari’s features softened slightly as he mirrored her smile, resting his back on the headboard, patting the spot next to himself, an invitation for the blonde to come closer. “I swear it’s not hard. I think the guitar is one of the easiest instruments to learn. If I can do it, anyone can do it” he promised with a chuckle. Then, he rose a brow at the request, tilting his head to the side slightly. “Why wait? You never know what will happen tomorrow so, let’s start your lessons now, come on” he enthused, handing the instrument to the blonde with a grin. 

A soft laugh escaped from the back of her throat, she did sound kind of dramatic on the phone. Making a mental note to fix that in the future, the brunette relaxed her shoulders. “Lice? Chickenpox? Would you come and help me shave my hair off?” she joked, tilting her head on the side. “But I like the idea of having codes. That could be fun.” Vivian agreed, resting her head on top of her hands. When it came to cooking anything at all, the young woman tried her very best. It was always hard, finding the time but looking up new recipes was fun. Doing little things for others was the best way to show how much she cared, whether it was pancakes, or helping them around with something else they needed. The reason she called Ari for this, was because the brunette trusted him and actually wanted his opinion. If not him, then who? “I know, but you’re busy.. you have your own things to deal with. I don’t want to add on your stress.” she admitted, pressing her lips into a fine line. He had a child to focus on as well, an adorable one, so Vivian understood how precious time could be for someone like him. Another smile appeared, once he took a bit. “Yeah.. I usually don’t really cook for the kids.” she explained, “They are?” Vivian questioned, before leaning in to take the piece. “Seriously?” her eyes widened a little, surprised with her own achievement. “No.. I can barely cook for myself, let alone make batter..” the brunette admitted, swallowing slowly. “They’re good.. I didn’t expect them to be good.”