cooking dinner together, stealing kisses as payment for anything and everything ("i need to get into that cabinet" "it'll cost you~" / "hey can you pass the celery" "mmmmaybe")
disclaimed
...
"Babe, can you hand me the carrots?" Maya asks as Riley pokes around in the fridge, pushing one carton or other to the side to reach the bouillon cubes in the back.
Riley pauses. Maya watches as she stills out of the corner of her eye. "Mmm," Riley hums. "Don't think I can."
It's Maya's turn to stop now, dropping the potato in her hand and the peeler in the other and walking over to the fridge to peer around Riley's shoulder. "I could've sworn I bought carrots," she mutters, leaning up on her tip toes to see around her much taller girlfriend who is—rather suspiciously Maya notes—blocking the fridge's contents.
"You did." Riley turns and meets Maya's eyes with this wide eyed innocent look that usually means she is absolutely up to something.
Alright. She'll play. "So can you hand them to me?" Maya holds out her hand expectantly.
Riley pretends to think it over, tapping one finger against her chin before she says seriously. "Nope."
"Why?" Maya asks, dropping her hand to slip down Riley's arm, to her wrist and then finally to hold her hand.
"Haven't paid the toll," Riley answers seriously, eyes still wide even as the corners of her mouth start to twitch up into a smile. "No carrots without the toll," she nearly sings.
Maya wrinkles her nose up, knowing exactly what game they're playing now and fighting hard against the grin that's threatening to surface. "Fine," she huffs, trying hard to fake exasperation. She leans up, tugging on Riley's hand as leverage and kissing her softly, rolling her eyes when Riley starts to smile into it. When she pulls back, Riley's full on grinning and it's all too easy for Maya to match it. "Carrots please," she says, bumping Riley's hip.
Her girlfriend relents, handing over the bag of veggies without protest. Maya leaves her at the refrigerator to go back to her prep, still smiling slightly.
They work in a mostly silent kitchen—Riley's humming as she and Maya move around each other in the small space the only thing to break up the quiet. Maya's mind wanders as she gets her prep work completed, absent mindedly listening to Riley behind her.
"Hey Riles," Maya says abruptly, breaking the comfortable rhythm when she notices where their good pan is. "Can you grab the frying pan down for me?"
It's really her own fault when Riley whips around grinning. "Mmmmaybe," she says gleefully, looking up at the pan thoughtfully. "It'll cost you."
In response, Maya sighs dramatically, pushing off the counter and turning to face Riley. "C'mere," she huffs, already smiling. She waits until Riley's leaned in before she adds, "This is extortion, you know."
"Sue me," Riley challenges.
Maya pushes up on her toes to catch Riley in a kiss; it's a little messy, a little hard—Maya catches her mid-sentence and their teeth clash before they settle against each other. She can't help but feel triumphant when she pulls away and Riley seems to have to catch her breath before she turns and pulls the pan off the highest shelf, a place that Maya's beginning to think that she put it in the first place.
The room feels a little smaller now, makes it a little harder for them to move around the kitchen without brushing against each other. Maya begins to play the game as well, charging a kiss when Riley needs to get into the drawer she's blocking, and another when she needs to get the pasta strainer from under the stove. By the time dinner's done, it's a full hour after they started and they're both a little breathless, respective makeup mussed.
It's after they've served their plates that Riley shoots Maya a pointed look just before she drops into what is normally Maya's spot on the couch.
"Um, rude much?" Maya scoffs, nudging Riley's ankle with her toes. Riley just puckers her lips in response.
Very carefully, Maya sets her plate on the coffee table, taking Riley's out of her hand to do the same and not acknowledging the sound of surprise that Riley makes at the action. And then, very carefully, she tackles Riley back onto the couch, grabbing her face with both hands and peppering her with kisses. "What do you say," Maya says afterwards, planting her hands on the couch on either side of her laughing girlfriend. "My toll covered for dinner?"
"Not quite," Riley grins, leaning up to catch Maya's lips with her own, kissing her deeply and knocking the wind right out of her. When she pulls back, her Cheshire cat smile is still firmly in place as she says, "It is. For now."
Even as she rolls her eyes, Maya can't quite muster any true exasperation. Instead she just kisses Riley once more before she gets up, reclaiming her spot in the corner of the couch and not protesting when Riley presses herself up against her, lined up shoulder to hip as they start trading crazy stories about their days.