It will be extremely slowburn, let's be realistic. Astrid is an autistic touch sensitive woman, naïve, and before Raphaëlle she was nearly asocial, besides her social aptitude group, her tutor and the Japanese shop owner. I really really ship them, but if it happens, it should respect Astrid's time and I will do it accordingly. ;)
Chapter I - Mondays dinners
It's Monday. The day when Astrid dines at Raphaëlle's house. It was unexpected at first, but the brunette used the blonde reasoning to convince her, since that day when they were late because of their investigation and the Japanese shop where Astrid bought her groceries weekly was already closed when they finally managed to arrive. The dinner room was adequately decorated, the lights were on point, soft, making the environment quite comfortable and familiar, to not bother too much the blonde senses.
-Theo, what are you going to do for dinner? – asked Raphaëlle to her son, she wasn't really great at cooking, and she also didn't like doing it very much.
-Pommes frites. And stew chicken. Astrid will help me, she likes cooking her food. -answered Theo.
-Oui, Theo and I will cook dinner. I like to cook. I want to make food I can eat. Some foods are too much for me, I can't eat them. – completed Astrid.
They started preparing the ingredients and then cooked. When the meal was finally ready, they brought it to the table. It smelled too good. The condiments made it so delicious, so yummy… the smell of it, was so… enchanting? Raphaëlle was delighted, but she didn't know if it was because of the meal appearance, who cooked it, or both. Maybe both. She really really admired Astrid, everything she touched became sacred, became… better.
They eat the food, devouring it. It was truly great. Astrid was so happy with the companion. She could swear it was one of her favourite evenings. Theo was a lovely friend who she could be completely at ease with, she even let him hold her hand when she picked him up from school one time. Who presented rock music to her, namely Nirvana, and the Kurt Cobain quote "They laugh at me because I'm different, I laugh at them because they are the same". Who enjoyed spending time discussing puzzles with her. And Raphaelle? She… she couldn't describe what felt for her yet. It was something new, something puzzling, but this time that puzzle was not so easy to solve. All she knew was that she felt so good in the brunette's presence, without her things were not the same.
-Commandant Coste -asked Astrid- can we play some Tangram now? I love playing it with you.
-Yes, I don't mind, let's see if I play it better this time – I was practising, isn't it, Theo?
-Oui, maman has already won me one time! – retorted her son!
Astrid grabbed the puzzle box and took it to the dinner table. They played it all evening: the blonde was unbeatable at her expert subject, no one could win her, the voice of passion and experience screamed louder. They had a great time nonetheless, what really mattered was the almost familiar gathering, the Astrid's presence, the remnant was a detail after all. Raphaëlle was so delighted, her eyes were so bright, so hearty. Her ripped smile was completely full, she couldn't look away from the blonde. She was attracted to her, but she was fully conscious that her friend wasn't properly a common person. Things should take slowly if she wants to have an opportunity, if someday she could get one. Astrid is not easy.