Food puns never get old.

[retraced]

Who: Gilbert and Maya
When: This afternoon
Where: Phancyhive kitchen
Summary: FOOD CONFRONTATION
Warnings: Vague discussion on eating disorders.

He hadn't really noticed it before Oz arrived, but now that his master is here and his heart and mind are finally clear, it's become more apparent. Maya still arrives at the Phantomhive house on her regular feeding schedule, but Gilbert has realized that she isn't actually eating anything. She's just taking it with her and acting sneaky about it all the while.

Something is fishy, and today he's going to confront her about it.

...Or he's going to sit here at the table with her lunch all prepared and wait for some opportunity to bring it up. Either way.

Today's meal is a bit more than he usually makes for her: a four course affair with black bean soup, chicken, vegetables, a small side salad and a slice of cheesecake with cream. There's also tea and sugar in the middle of the table. None of this can simply be wrapped in a napkin as she's been doing lately. No, he's purposely arranged this so that she'll have to sit down and eat it all. Your move, Fey.

Comments

... is a failure at life

[acemedium]

As soon as she looks up (and up, and up) to meet Gilbert's eyes, something strikes her. The aura in here... is different somehow. Could it be that he's actually serious for once, and therefore not the clumsy, awkward--

What is this feeling at the pit of her stomach, as she looks up at the man she thought she knew---

... Oh wait, it's just another hunger pang.

But still, the way he's looking at her.... it's concerning. She pauses minutely at his look and questioning, and then goes back to grinning, albeit a little nervously.

"I did! It was practically three breakfasts, come to think of it..."

but a winner in...burgers?

[retraced]

He can sense nervousness in people. It's the same facade that Oz used to put up every time his father's name was brought up in public or someone else tried to invoke the Vessalius name to praise the descendants of the 'hero' of the past. It's just as recognizable on her face as it is on his, and Gilbert isn't going to sit here and pretend like something isn't going on here.

...He's just going to fail miserably to guess what it is.

"You won't eat any of it now?" he asks again, scooting the plate of chicken towards her. Temptingly. GIVE IN, MAYA.

"Are you sure?"

only if Gil makes them for her

[acemedium]

Maya's heart (or stomach, but they're interchangeable with her) almost screams at the sight (and smell) of that chicken as Gilbert nudges it closer, and she jolts away like a scalded cat from the food.

Starving Mr. Fake Priest! she reminds herself, almost having to smack her own hand to stop from snatching the food and.... wolfing it down. Get a hold of yourself, Maya! You can't fall to pieces just because that piece of chicken looks scrumptious!

"I-I'm really not hungry right now, Mr. Nightray!" Oops, her voice was not supposed to be that high-pitched. Regardless, this was shaping up to be one of the most difficult situations she'd endured in the many trial and tribulations of her life. "B-But it looks so good I bet I'd eat the whole thing later when I'm hungry... Ahaha..... C-Could I get those containers now, please?"

deal.

[retraced]

He nearly loses his false-aloof expression there. Something is wrong, obviously, but at the same time it's not his business to pry into what it is if it doesn't look like she's going to want to discuss it. He takes the plate and scoots it back away from her, eyes moving down to rest in his lap. It had been a game before, but it's quickly becoming one that he doesn't want to hurt her any further by continuing.

"Whatever is wrong is none of my business," he says plainly, "but whatever is going on, you still need to eat something."

1/2

[acemedium]

She's about to add something else and attempt to play it cool, (That chicken is screaming her name! It's making it difficult to concentrate!) but at his response she can't manage more than a dumbfounded look. SO COOL, MAYA.

"Huh?"

Okay, this is new. Why is he looking at her like that? Wrong? Something's wrong? Does she have something on her face?! Is it her hair? Is it too spiky?! Not spiky enough!?

Wait a minute, she doesn't even have spiky hair!

[acemedium]

It's at this point that it crosses her mind that he might be worried because it looks weird that she's not eating, but...

.... Nah.

Maybe he thinks she doesn't like it? Either way, she snaps back to attention. The only thing that's wrong is how good that food smells when she can't eat it!

"No, no! You've got it all wrong! I'm eating! I'm definitely eating! Just.. not right now."

[retraced]

"Suspicious..."

He mutters the word before he can stop himself, but hey, it's true. Maya has eaten over more than a few times by now, and only until recently has she stopped eating there, or asked to take it to go. Something has changed, and his instinct says that it's something drastic. Dangerous.

Because his instincts are crap.

[acemedium]

... They really are.

"There's nothing suspicious about it!" she huffed, as if offended by the accusation, "I don't know what weird ideas you have, but I'm not hungry all the time" Well, she was. But that didn't mean she'd own up to it. "And just because I--"

All of a sudden, her stomach growled. And not quietly, either.

Crap.

[retraced]

Ah...her speech actually starts making him feel really bad. Of course it's true that she wouldn't be hungry all the time...and sometimes there are just days when you're not as hungry as others, or you're too stressed and your stomach knots into a ball of pain and eating just sounds like more of a chore than something enjoyable.

Or maybe that was just him...

But even though his expression turns horribly guilty while listening to her, it quickly switches to one of surprise and perplexed confusion when the sound of growling echos out over the top of her voice.

"Y-you-you really are hungry!" he finally manages to snap at her. "Whatever the case may be here, you're definitely hungry right now!"

[acemedium]

The silence seems to hang for hours before he snaps (when it's really only a few seconds), and Maya breaks out into a wide, nervous, oh-god-don't-hurt-me kind of smile.

"W-Well, um... I just remembered, I have a dentist appointment! See you later!"

And she makes as if to run off.... (Sorry, Wolfwood!)

[retraced]

Maya, you're an even worse liar than Gilbert. And that's saying something.

But he has good enough reflexes that the minute that she turns to run off, he's already up and around to her side of the table. And in a second, given that she doesn't dodge him, he'll be grabbing her by the collar of her shirt/jacket and PICKING HER UP. It's okay, he does this to Alice all the time, he won't hurt her.

"Hey! Don't just run off like that!"

[acemedium]

She really is.

In any case, somewhere in Maya's head the words "ABORT MISSION ABORT MISSION ABORT MISSION" flash as she scrambles to get away (If leaving all that food behind wasn't so devastating and heartbreaking, she'd probably be picturing herself as IndiMaya Jones on top of that) and there's a flurry of hair and medium robes as she makes a break for the door---

---- And gets snagged by the collar and lifted clean off the ground. (Dodging fail!)

Clearly, having been the target of manhandling and being snagged by men twice her size and all sorts of sticky situations in the past must have given her some kind of experience or expertise or plans for escaping Gilbert's--

"Eeeeek!!"

....Nope, she just flails uselessly in the air.

[retraced]

He doesn't even look worried about it as he picks her up even further and dangles her in front of his face, glaring into her eyes and attempting to look threatening.

Of course 'threatening' in this case is more like 'not sure if insulted or just confused'.

"You're not running off until you explain things better! What's going on?!"

[acemedium]

Being off of her feet and hiked higher up into the air makes Maya increasingly nervous, and prompts more flailing as she tries to grab his arm and... somehow get herself down.

But she catches his eye as he's glaring at her and she stills, briefly, trying to catch the expression on his face.

Threatening atmosp-- ... Actually, no, it really isn't. If anything, he seems kind of confused. Plus, this is Gilbert we're talking about here....

"N-Nothing! Put me down!"

[retraced]

Nothing to be nervous about, Maya. Gilbert's threatening atmosphere only increases with a weapon, and in this case he only has...food. And he doesn't look ready to throw it at her, so she's probably going to be okay.

"If you never explain what's going on, then no one will be able to help you fix it!"