Keeping the Home Fries Burning

"Apologies on a few of those potatoes." Robin self-conciously addressed his one part of the meal. He had gotten involved in a conversation with Miranda at one point, and as a result the slight smell of burnt oil was still in the house.

"Just eat around the burnt bits if you don't like carbon." Titania offered happily. There! Something to focus on. Dad's cooking was always a topic he and Lauren would go on for hours about. Easy distraction. Well, it should have been, before Titania remembered that she'd done most of the cooking tonight, and had just inadvertently drawn all comments about food towards her.

"Oh hush, you didn't burn anything, totally on me this time." Robin smiled. "Miranda had this thing about uh... what was it again?"

"Giant robot fighting. It's a family thing. We're weird, if you haven't noticed." Miranda laughed loudly, yanking the bottle of ketchup out of the center of the table and applying it to her own burger as well as lathering a generous dollop onto the side of her plate next to the thinly sliced and slightly burnt potatoes.

They even left the seat right between them free. Of course, they did. Lauren's cute like that. Of course that left her sitting right across from Robin's younger daughter, who Viola had to admit was a bit intimidating in stature, if not in demeanor. She had his eyes, which really drove home how much the girl looked like a version of her father.

"I had noticed." Viola agreed. looking over at Titania, who studiously averted her eyes in response. "Well, weird or not, it's great. What's that spice on those potatoes."

"Uhm... dad usually uses half the spice rack on it." Titania shrugged. "I don't think any of us have any idea."

"It's magic. I just send them in the kitchen with the ingredients, and I don't ask questions." Lauren explained. "Glad you like the bracelet."

"Yeah, Dad's gonna make me one too!" Miranda chimed in.

"Not like that one," Robin amended hastily. "That one's special."

"Hey, kiddo, Let Vee eat. You know how I am when I get off work." Lauren waved across the table with a smile.

Viola felt a bit embarrassed. Being the center of attention was always rough, and now having four people all paying attention to her at the same time was downright nerve wracking. She munched on a crispier part of the bread, enjoying the texture as she tried to formulate how to respond.

"Yeah, I love it. " Viola tried chipper, and realized that it was the right attitude to take as Miranda and Titania began discussing something involving third position which sounded dirty. She turned her attention to the two people on either side of her, and continued to enjoy her meal and the hands on her back.

Wait, when had THOSE gotten there? They felt good though, seeming to pull some of the stress of the day out of her with kneads and squeezes. All along her back.

"You sit at a desk all day, huh?" Lauren noted, easing a bit of the tension right below the left side of Viola's neck with a quick press. Viola smiled a closed mouth smile in response, as she'd just taken another luscious bite of food and didn't have much to say at that point.

"Not all day..." Viola found herself talking, more than she intended, about the day, and the office, and the people. The words just kept falling out, and it felt good to do so, as she had a rapt audience.

"You totally should have written a thing on him back." Miranda replied when the story of Joey came up. "That's what I would have done. Joey: Will screw anything that moves. If it doesn't move, will give experimental shake."

Viola snorted a little at the joke, glad she had just swallowed prior to hearing it.

"I don't mean to complain about my day." Viola spoke again, realizing how long she'd been going on.

"No, that's what this is for. I mean, it's either the dinner table or the therapists office. Or a confessional or a bar, I hear those are popular too." Robin quipped. "Vee, you're great, and if you need to vent, VENT."