"Okay, I think we're the only ones here," Ariel whispered to Eric as she peeked into the kitchen. She tiptoed into the large room, looking at all the cookery neatly placed throughout the room. This was going to be interesting.
Chef Louis had taken the day off, giving the royal couple to opportunity to cook for themselves for a change. It wasn't like they would get in trouble for cooking on their own, but the castle staff would try to insist them to just relax and let them take care of dinner. Since Ariel never really had a chance to cook EVER, she decided to take advantage of the opportunity and try it out. She had heard about cooking from one of the books she collected in her grotto. One of the books she had was a recipe book, and the redhead remembered flipping through the pages, wondering what things like "pasta" and "eggs" were.
Knowing that she, or Eric, probably, had NO idea how to cook, Ariel snatched a cook book off a shelf and flipped to a random page. She spotted "Penne a la Vodka," which sounded very familiar. Looking at the ingredients, she realized it was that simple pasta that Louis regularly made for them, which both Ariel and Eric greatly enjoyed.
She pointed to the recipe and looked up at Eric. "Mm, good choice," he smiled, before turning to look around the kitchen. "The pasta's over here, I think," he mumbled to himself, briskly walking over to a cabinet which, sure enough, contained the penne. "And the sauce should be in the fridge.." Right again.
Meanwhile, Ariel searched for a pot, and after following the directions in the book, properly boiled it. She didn't even know water could get so hot! No way would any mermaid or merman be able to swim in water that temperature. She peered into the book for the next step, seeing that she needed the pasta now. As she opened her mouth to ask Eric for the pasta, he approached her from behind and poured in the stiff noodles, snaking his other hand around his wife and resting it on the counter. However, when the pasta was all in, Eric didn't move, leaving Ariel trapped between him and the counter.
"I think we have some time before the pasta's ready," he mumbled huskily into her ear, moving one of his hands over to her belly. Ariel was tempted to turn and kiss him, but she didn't. She shut her eyes and bit her lip briefly. This was her first time doing this; she wanted to make sure she got it right. No distractions. So, saying nothing, she placed her petite hand over his strong one that still rested on the counter and forced it off, giving her the room to twirl out of his grasp and walk over to where the sauce was resting on the counter.
Turning to face him, she scolded, "We still have to make the sauce!" He grinned and rolled his eyes at her before grabbing a smaller pot, setting it to heat up as Ariel poured the sauce in.
In a few minutes, everything was ready. Ariel took a wooden spoon and mixed the sauce into the pasta, then poured the steaming dish into two bowls. Meanwhile, Eric poured a glass of wine for himself, and water for his wife.
The couple sat down right there in the kitchen with their dinners. Before starting to eat, Eric grinned and raised his glass. "Cheers," he clanked his glass with Ariel, "to trying something new."