Frabjous: (adj.) Wonderful, elegant, superb, or delicious.

Annie paused in front of the metal door and smoothed down the front of her dress for the fourth time since she'd climbed out of her car a minute and a half ago. She had no idea what exactly was going on, just that her best friend was clearly up to something judging by the slightly cryptic phone call she'd received early that day. Still, she'd always trusted him so she did as he asked and was now standing outside his apartment at three minutes shy of seven o'clock.

Feeling composed, if extremely confused and curious, she knocked at the door. It took a second before she heard the sound of approaching footsteps, the scrape of the lock twisting, and then the door slid open. Annie smiled at the sight of her best friend filling the doorframe, dressed in a black button-down and jeans that she had to admit looked really nice on him.

"Miss Walker," he greeted playfully without pre-empting.

"Mister Anderson," she replied and his grin widened. "So are you going to tell me what exactly is going on now?"

Auggie smiled and nodded. "Well, you know how I promised that after tricking you into that raucous dinner with my family, that I would repay you with a quiet, simple dinner?" He stepped to the side, allowing her entrance to his apartment and simultaneously revealing what awaited her inside. At his kitchen island, a beautiful dinner was set out, complete with glasses of red wine and a single, tapered candle flickering in the middle of it all.

Gaping in awe, Annie stepped in and completely took in the meal. It was a delicious smelling Italian dish, and a basket of still-steaming breadsticks was waiting between the plates. Auggie pulled a small remote from his pocket and when he pressed it the sounds of Mingus began piping from the stereo.

"I hope you like alfredo," he said with a soft smirk, extending a hand slightly as he walked in the direction he'd last heard her footsteps, searching for her.

Annie took his hand and squeezed it before resting it in her elbow. "It's my favourite," she said, knowing that he was well aware of the fact already. She led him to the counter, where he held the back of the swivelling stool for her as she climbed up into it, and then he took the seat beside her.

They slipped into a comforting familiarity as they ate, teasing and bantering and playfully flirting like they did any time they were together. The dinner tasted even better than it smelled, and Annie devoured it eagerly. Neither of them even cared to comment on the casual intimacy when their feet brushed beneath the counter or when his hand covered hers over the glass as he refilled her wine, the gestures too common between them to merit reaction.

When they'd both finished, Annie insisted on helping Auggie clean up – he had argued that she was the guest and even though he didn't remember ever surrendering, he still found himself accepting dripping dishes to dry with the towel in his hand. With the chore finished, the remainder of the pasta in a plastic container in the fridge, and both of their wine glasses filled for the third or fourth time (Annie'd lost the exact count), they relocated to the couch where they sat in companionable quiet and listened to the jazz music.

"So what'd you think?" Auggie asked abruptly after a few minutes. "Did it make up for my little stunt? I mean, I know it wasn't much, but…" He trailed off, something hesitant in his normally confident grin while he waited for her response.

Leaning over, Annie kissed his cheek, the wine addling her thoughts and making her linger for longer than was probably appropriate. "It was perfect," she said sincerely. Something in the back of her mind was telling her that she was still unnecessarily close, definitely intruding on his personal space, but she couldn't bring herself to pull back.

There was a tense, poignant moment, the air thrumming with possibility and promise, and then –

"If I didn't know better, Miss Annie, I'd think you were trying to seduce me," Auggie joked. He turned to face her, putting their noses only centimetres apart so she could feel his wine-and-fettuccini scented breath ghosting over her face. Even though he'd laughed as he said it, that tension hadn't faded completely and there was something careful and calculating in his dark eyes as they stared, unknowingly, right into her own.

Annie debated for a second, weighing her options. This would be a huge risk, that much she knew for sure. It was a gamble, and Lord knew she wasn't very good at gambling, but this just felt so right. Being close to Auggie had always felt right. This night had been absolutely beautiful, and it was the possibility of more nights like this to come that pushed the words from her mouth. "And what if you don't know better?"

She saw the switch in Auggie's eyes, saw the words click into place and watched as the playful emotion faded into something more – real. "Do I?" he asked uncertainly, hopefully.

In response, Annie closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his. Auggie stiffened in surprise, and then a split second later he responded enthusiastically. It felt to Annie like everything else in the world had melted into an indistinct blur, leaving Auggie as the only thing in her world that still completely existed. In an instant all of the walls between them crumbled, months of guarded fondness and innocent affections and repressed feelings rushing out over them and dragged them under.

Much later that night, Annie nuzzled her face into the warmth of the bare chest beneath her and felt an arm draw more securely around her shoulders even though the owner had fallen asleep a half hour ago. Her mind felt fuzzy in the most wonderful ways, but there was one thing she was certain of:

This night had been perfection.