It's NOT a date... (Arc/Lani, Private-ish)(NSFW)

She would accept lover regardless --- a nighttime lover, perhaps, but the word itself wouldn't offend her. It was the concept of commitment that would ruin her, the notion of emotional dependency or desire. Still, his wanderings would easily lead him to the kitchen, where she was cooking at the stove with a loosely closed robe draped over her shoulders. There was tea brewing and some sort of... stir fry? Was she making stir fry for them both? Phoebe seemed oblivious to his wakefulness regardless, cooking away and humming softly to herself. If he listened, he'd notice it was one of his tunes. The first one she'd heard him play.

Jay, loathe to disturb such a scene, snuck himself into the kitchen and quietly pulled up a chair, leaning against the table in front of him as he listened to her humming and the sizzling of the food as well. As for commitment; there was no way he wasn't going to bring that up when she said what she did. He was glad, too, that the tune she chose to hum was not only that which was one associated with him, but a happy one as well.

Perhaps her spatial awareness was altered, leaving her oblivious, or perhaps she knew he was there and was just continuing to go about her business. Whatever the case, she didn't seem to react to his presence, even once she opened the cabinet --- now that she wasn't quickly opening and shutting it, he'd noticed that she only used the bottom two shelves and the rest were entirely barren --- and began arranging two plates of food. The tea was set aside to cool, at least enough to not result in absolutely burning one's self, and so she didn't worry about mugs just yet. When she turned around, she seemed not to miss a beat, still humming, sliding plates and utensils to him and coming around to take up a space beside him. It seemed almost... natural. Familiar. Homely.

Finally, once she had finished with making breakfast and not reacting to his sitting there, Jay stopped his Phoebe-watching (which he found to be a very endearing way to pass the time. Seeing the empty shelves just made her short stature seem all the cuter) and decided to speak. "Morning," he said, smiling, arranging things in front of himself how he preferred.

"Is it morning?" She inquired, leaning her head against his shoulder while she pushed food around her plate, trying to work up the gumption to properly eat it. Honestly, she had no concept of time right now, even with the sunlight pouring in from the countless windows.

"In a sense, it's our morning whether or not it is in reality, since we woke up recently," Jay said, shrugging, though he had no such issues with eating his food. She cooked it, and that was more than enough for him to enjoy it.

Phoebe nodded against him, letting out a soft yawn before righting himself and setting about downing her own meal, her portion significantly smaller than what she'd made for him. Size aside, he simply had a bigger appetite than she did, and she had picked up on that fairly quickly. It certainly wasn't because she just... watched him or wanted to please him or anything. She'd deny such accusations, like everything else. Still, she'd adapted to a routine with him that worked out well enough.

Jay, while eating, wasn't going to stir things up. It could be dangerous, to do something that might surprise a person while they were eating. That was his excuse anyway. He was delaying his inevitable prodding until afterwards because this was just... nice.

When she finally decided it was time for tea, she set out the necessary components, pushing a warm mug to him before setting about preparing her own. Hardly had she finished making the cup before she downed it, however, and was on to another cup. It was a bit unusual of her. Was she tired or did she just really like this particular spot of tea? Whatever the case, she took the second one slower, and she had her food finished and tidied up before she finished the mug.

The tea came in due time, about when Jay was about to be finished. He slowly sipped at it, washing his food down, while he watched Phoebe's unusual behaviour. He wondered if it had something to do with what she said last night. He kind of hoped. Either way, it was strange. Still, drinks and food were about the same, so he'd wait a little more...

Dishes done and kitchen cleared up just as immaculately as ever, Phoebe leaned back against the counter and cocked an eyebrow at him, seeming oblivious to how much of her body the now barely tied robe was exposing. "So, the... date was your idea." She was lying and she knew it, but she wasn't about to admit it, "....so what do you want to do next? We seem to have gotten a little... sidetracked."

"Mm, if you say so, lets go with it," Jay said, leaning forward against the table just the same as he had been before Phoebe had recognised his presence. He smiled at her a little and started on steering things where he wanted them to go. "First off, I'd like to talk for a bit. Specifically, about what you said last thing last night."

Her brows furrowed curiously, and she shifted so that her arms guarded her chest, folding as she looked at him. It was clear enough that this, at least, wasn't an act. She genuinely seemed to have no idea what it was that he was referring to. "What... about?"

Jay looked disappointed, deflated even, as he sighed. "You really don't remember?" he asked, though he knew the answer she would give. Whether she was a master actress or actually clueless like the thought.

She used her hips to push herself off the counter, walking forward and leaning over the island-bartop table he was sat at, standing on the direct other side of it. "Jay, what did I say?" Her words were guarded, firm, but she was trying not to sound panicked or crazy; she didn't like forgetting, and it didn't happen often.

"Uh..." Jay seemed taken aback just a little by how firmly she asked him. He was starting to think that maybe just saying so wasn't such a good idea, but really, he couldn't back out now. "Well, the exact quote would be 'I love you, Jay.'"

Her eyes went wide, seeming almost to snap open, and honestly he could probably swear her ears perked up, not unlike an animal's. The color seemed to drain from her face, and soon she was pushing off the countertop and turning away, suddenly very engrossed with sanitizing the opposite counter even more. She didn't say anything, couldn't come up with a retort and knew that she couldn't just accuse him of lying. It was Jay. He was a lot of things. He wasn't a liar.

Jay stayed silent for the time being, just observing Phoebe as she worked. The way she went white was rather unexpected, but at least there was an effect of some sort. Perhaps he was giving her the time she needed to think about it. Perhaps he was just giving her the time to think up an excuse or something. He hoped not.

Whatever the space he was giving her was doing, it seemed enough of a mystery. She continued like this for twenty minutes, thirty, and likely would have continued for the rest of the hour had she not suddenly spun back around to face him, arms folded and dish cloth draped over her shoulder. She looked absolutely domesticate like this. "You wanted to talk. Let's talk. But not that."

"You're just going to ignore it..?" He asked, a little exasperation evident in his voice. He had been waiting for a while. With a sigh, he shook his head with that same feeling. "I don't really know what. It's kind of been on my mind. Overwhelmingly so. Even now, I'm stuck just thinking about it. I'd call it unfair, even."

She pursed her lips, and some imprudent part of her wanted to demand that he leave, but that would only worsen things further. Phoebe was fine with the not-date. She was fine with talking. She was not fine with confronting her subconscious or her half-asleep self. She wasn't ready for that, even. "Jay, not now." The witch asserted, biting the word and speaking it through her teeth as she tried to convey that she was in no state to try to deal with such a thing. His not-girlfriend had made it rather apparent from the start that she was all for a physical affair, but anything the breeched the lines of emotions were off limits. If she'd unknowingly done so herself, she needed to deal with that herself, but it was not going to be now!

"Fine," He said, letting another sigh escape from him as he shrugged in defeat. He didn't want to upset her, despite feeling close to being so himself. The feeling made him feel kind of like a child, though he couldn't remember all that much of how being one really felt. He looked down at the surface in front, leaning his head against one of his hands as he tapped a finger trying to think of another topic to broach. No doubt, it would be little more than small talk, or at least seem like it. He settled on something else he was interested in. "How's Pleasant been doing?"

"Pleasant?" She asked, almost startled by the question. Honestly, she had expected him to pursue the topic further and was absolutely visibly relieved when he didn't, shoulders relaxing. "Xenia says he's been doing well. I stop by about once a week to check in on everyone. Lady wants to know when you'll be around again." There was a list of things Xenia had gone on about with the cub-chic, but Phoebe wasn't sure if she could relay it all at once. Honestly, the chimera was acting like she was a mother all over again --- an idea not far off the mark --- and Phoebe honestly couldn't process everything that was thrown at her. "She's --- Xen --- is sure if he's going to be able to talk talk or he'll be restricted to some form of... there's not really a word for it, but monster speech."

"Okay, that's good. Oh, but I do hope he'll be able to talk. I'd like a gryphon buddy, if that wasn't obvious already," Jay said, smiling. The little guy was plenty cute, and though Jay was worried about him due to that, it seems there was no reason to. "As for Lady... Wonder why. Tell her she'll get fat if I come around too often."

"She'll hate you for that," she said, laughing a bit and moving to deposit first the dish towel and then the robe she'd been wearing --- poorly --- into the washing machine, leaving her bare and unashamed. "But she gives me a suspicious look if I tell her I haven't seen you in a bit. I don't know. You might have an admirer?" Another laugh followed though this one seemed somehow detached, lacking the mirth of the former. "Xenia just likes to know if you've been well. Honestly, Pleasant's the most talkative and he mostly coos and caws at me."