Carley was feeling and looking considerably better. All swelling had gone down, leaving only scrapes and bruising visible, as well as the cast on her wrist. And the particularly dark bruising over her ribs was covered by her shirt, so people still couldn't exactly tell the extend of her wounds. Feeling better, she had decided to do some cooking, rather than bum more food from Eddie. Left arm limp at her side, she dumped noodles into boiling water, and had some sauce simmering on the opposite side of the stove. Various spices were sprinkled in, but this process was a bit more tedious than usual. Trying to unscrew caps off thing with one good hand was no fun. Hearing the knock at her door, a container of basil was set aside as she turned around, huffing at the door. She very nearly stomped on over towards it, looking indignant as she fumbled with locks and door chain. "Listen, I told ya I'd have yer stupid rent by-" Words were cut off abruptly as she pulled the door open, spotting Glenn rather than the landlord she expected to make yet another return. "Glenny... hey." She was sort of surprised to see him, of all people at her door. Especially after the letter she had written. Really, if she had known he'd be dropping by she'd have, you know, actually brushed her hair a bit better, and put on more than simple tee shirt and shorts; her jammies, actually. "Um...did ya wanna come in?" Smile forming, she stepped aside and out of the way in case he did move in.

"Sure..." He paused briefly. "Are you sure I'm not interrupting anything? I can stop by later, when you're done eating or whatever."

"No." She shook her head rather insistently. "Yer not interruptin'. You can join me too, when it's done." Pause. "If you want." Pause. "So come in!" Smile brightened suddenly, as she gestured for him to enter. "All the warm air is going out."

He stepped inside slowly, gaze flickering over to the kitchen stove. "What're you making?" He removed his cloak, hat, and scarf quickly, setting them aside near the door.

Carley was about to speak, but paused as she caught the scent of cologne in the air. The very familiar scent... it softened her smile, and with a shake of her head she closed the door. "Spaghetti. Or at least I'm tryin' to." Casted wrist was lifted a little. "Cookin' with one hand is harder than I thought it'd be." Despite her words though, she was moving deeper into the apartment to cross the threshold into the kitchen.

"Need some help? I'm not great, but I've made soups and stews and sandwiches before, and I'm sure if you point me in the right direction, I won't poison it." Glenn smiled at her, trailing behind a little bit.

"Um." She paused momentarily, glancing between him and the pots on the stove, bright blues full of mirth. And a touch of uncertainty. She was a little funny about letting people into her kitchen. "I don't think I can pick up the pot of noodles when they're boiling, so if ya can get the drainer out of that cabinet-" A gesture to said cabinet. "-and put it in the sink and drain the noodles when they're ready that'd be a big help. Oh, and my spices need their caps back on..." She looked on the counter, expression sheepish at the five containers set out, and the five lids next to them. She hadn't exactly gotten to trying to secure them again. There were pretty bright blue potholders sitting out on the counter not too far from the pot of noodles, but it'd be a few moments yet before they were done. For now, the little blonde elf had taken up spoon to stir the sauce simmering in the pan.

"Thanks," she said with a smile after Glenn had secured the caps. Curiosity nagged at her. Why was he there? Just to check on her? Had he seen the letter? He couldn't have if he was there and he hadn't mentioned it. Or maybe he just wasn't going to. Part of her thought to ask, but that just wasn't something to ask about. And if he decided it was best not to talk about it, well, she didn't want to press. Was he dressed up? "Ya look nice." ...why ever did she say that? Carley took a breath in, but the sigh never did come. She just stirred and stirred her sauce, definitely more than necessary.

Glenn glanced at the closed spices, then over to Carley. "Did you want me to put these away?" He paused for a moment, before he spoke again. "Thanks, I, uh..." Carley glanced back over, somewhat tentatively, catching sight of his blush. She felt her own cheeks grow a bit hot before gesturing quickly towards the spice rack. "Yeah, right there. Doesn't matter how ya put them in there." Though an astute person would notice the other spices in the rack were in alphabetical order. She definitely had a system going on in her kitchen. Spoon swirled in sauce as she went back to stirring, oblivious to the water starting to boil over in the noodle pot. "Is the, uh, noodles and stuff ready now?," he said, after he'd put the spices away. Glenn quickly removed the strainer from the cabinet and placed it in the sink.

At the inquiry she glanced aside, frowning at the boiling water spilling over the edge of the pot. Muttering a couple of curses in elven beneath her breath, she reached over to shut that particular burner off. "They're probably overcooked." She was usually so good at cooking too. Frustration evident on her features, she glanced around momentarily before taking up potholders and offered them over to Glenn. "Be careful to not burn yerself. It's hot." Cursing herself mentally for the words that came out. That was a bit of a 'duh' wasn't it?

"Alright." He swiftly walked over to the stove and carefully grabbed the pot, using the potholders to protect his hands. Taking care not to spill any of the still hot water on his arms, he carried the pot over to the sink and strained the noodles, before dumping them back into the pot. Glenn picked up the pot again with the potholders and moved it to where the spices had been. "Do you, uh, need me to bring this somewhere else? Or is it good here?"

Carley watched Glenn at work, happening to catch the scent of his cologne in the midst of the other aromas in the room. She breathed it in, trying to think of the last time she might have smelled it. But really, she couldn't recall any other time. Was this the first time he had worn it? "Mm? Oh!" She pointed to the sauce after shutting the burner off on it. "Just dump 'em in here." He carefully cradled the pot of spaghetti noodles, slowly sliding them into the sauce. It splattered lightly, just enough to dapple the collar of his shirt with red. "And ya can set the pan back down, and I can stir th- oh no." She had caught sight of the stains on his shirt, and frowned at them. "You got some sauce on yer shirt." A moment of thought and she gave him a one moment gesture.

"That's okay. Vee Vee taught me how to handle stains!" A drawer was pulled open and a small towel was pulled out. A little water was run over that, before she moved to the fridge, opening that. Scanning over the contents, she pulled out a small bottle of club soda, almost empty. She.. got stains on her clothes all the time. Opening it up was a bit of a struggle.. in that she actually wasn't able to open it up. Grumbling, she twisted at and fumbled with the cap, but it wasn't coming off. Glenn set the pan with the colander in the sink, then peered at the elf as she tried to pry open the club soda bottle. "I, uh, can do that too, if you need me to?" Bright blues shift up and aside towards him, her expression a little embarrassed as she wordlessly offered the bottle over. A quick twist of the cap, and he opened the bottle, gesturing toward the towel that Carley was carrying. "I can take care of that. Don't worry about it." Carley handed the towel over. "'k, just rub it in the stains, should fade them or somethin'. I can't remember exactly. Vee Vee's better at cleaning than I am." While he handled that, she moved back to the stove, stirring noodles and sauce together.

After stirring the spaghetti all together, Carley set the spoon aside. The stuff could probably stand to cool off a few more moments anyways. Turning around, she studied Glenn for a few moments, and his shirt as well. Her features looked apologetic then. "I'm sorry. I might have remembered that wrong too. I can replace yer shirt if it's ruined." Wasn't it club soda? No? Maybe lemon? No. Was it... not that either. Maybe a combination of things? Too late to figure it out now.

He waved her off. "I'll just go get it dry-cleaned, if I need to. Or get myself a new one. I should be getting a new dress shirt anyways." He stepped out of the kitchen, near where he had set his winter clothes. He quickly unbuttoned and slipped out of the shirt, leaving him with just a white t-shirt on. He quickly tossed the shirt on top of the pile of clothing. The envelope was now half-visible, peeking out of his back pocket. Quick footsteps returned him to the kitchen, where he
shrugged his shoulders at Carley. "It happens."

She's had guys like her before, sure, but not in any sort of serious way. Carley was fun to be around, or they just thought she was 'cute'. And she never felt the same way in return for them. It was rare for her to genuinely care for another quite like this, so to finally share her feelings and have them reciprocated? She was.. well.. at a loss. Carley was barely an adult, such things were new to her. What came next? She was sure she was supposed to say something, anything, but once more words failed her. Cheeks flushed a pretty shade of red as her heart thumped within her chest a few extra times, and weight was shifted from one socked foot to the other. The moment felt long and surreal, and still, she said nothing. Bright blues did soften a good deal though, and the corners of her lips twitched upwards, just a little.

For a moment, Glenn stood there, arms swinging a little at his side. What to say? What to do? It was completely unnecessary, and the words almost sounded like they were as much for himself as they were for her, but they were strangely...calm, measured. Like he'd thought about them for a while, unlike the words he had said to her previously. "W-when I heard about the Stitch, and I'd heard that people had died, it hurt me a lot. And it still hurts me to think of all those...parents, children, husbands, wives. But when I thought that you might have died, it kind of...felt like the gods just ripped my heart out of my chest." He shook his head, laughing. "I sound stupid, don't I? And cliche. I know you hate cliches." He smiled wryly at her. "I wasn't sure if...I was just over-thinking this or what, but...yeah." He waved at the air vaguely. "I like you."

She listened carefully to his words, watching his face, his movements, considering what he had said. Oddly enough, it didn't take her much time before she finally spoke up. "Maybe it's a little cliche." She shrugged a shoulder as her smile brightened, only briefly before fading a bit. "But cliches are cliche for a reason.. they're.. common, shared by... I dunno. I think I felt the same way when I thought people I cared about could have been hurt or..worse. Or maybe it's not cliche. How can it be cliche to feel pain when ya fear for another?" She scrunched up her face a little. "I'm sure I'm not makin' much sense. I guess I wasn't expectin' ya to say that, or maybe I thought..." Was she just over-thinking and talking too much? Most likely. Carley grinned somewhat nervously then. "I like ya." The words came easier than before, and in common too!

He glanced over at the spaghetti for a second, before his gaze fell back on Carley's face. Slowly and hesitantly, as if he was walking for the very time, he headed over to where Carley was standing. Arms were wide-open, in anticipation of a hug.

And to that, her grin brightened, and she laughed lightly, cheeks flushing once again. A small step forward was taken to eliminate the space between them, and both of her arms were spread in an effort to wrap them around Glenn. For the moment even the pain of her arm and wrist were forgotten.

Glenn tilted his head down as she wrapped her arms around him, attempting to rest his forehead against hers, hopefully not accidentally head butting her. His eyes were flashing between forest and jade green with every nervous, fluttering blink as he stared at her unwavering azure irises. His heart thumped faster in his chest, but the pace was steady, not at all like the panicked beat she might have heard when he'd run over from the Marketplace earlier that week.

She was moving slow enough so their foreheads didn't hit hard, and her hands rested against his upper back. Her own heartbeat kicked up a bit, not used to having someone else so.. close to her. At least not like this. She watched the shifting of greens within his eyes, smile fading a bit to a more serious expression. Chewing the inside of her lower lip, Carley tilted her head back, just a little to get a better look at him (being a bit shorter), causing the tip of her nose to brush against his.

The room, the world seemed to swirl and vanish until all it consisted of was her eyes. Those beautiful, blue eyes. His own were wide open and had settled into their dark green hue, completely transfixed by her. They were large, expressive, unblinking, and warm in a way that few people had ever seen. He could feel the blood pumping through his arms and legs, roaring in his ears, and every nerve in his body seemed to be thrumming at once. Then, suddenly, he leaned back, carefully as he could, and tilted his head ever so slightly to the right. If she'd let him, he would quickly give her a peck on the lips.

The answer Glenn was about to speak was cut off by her lips pressing against his. Eyes popped wide-open and seemed to flare an even darker shade of green before he squeezed them shut, tilted his head to the opposite side, and kissed her back. Not a peck, not with full passion, but somewhere in between. It was...perfect, and though he couldn't sigh, all the tension, all the fear he'd felt over the past few days, all the pain that seemed to follow him around wherever he went seemed to melt away, as his posture finally relaxed.

She leaned into him, just a little bit before pulling away, somewhat hesitantly. Red again this time, but not as much so. Eyes slowly fluttered open, seeking out green as she chewed the inside of her lower lip. "Amin merna tanya..." She spoke the words quietly.

Glenn slowly pulled back, eyes shut just a moment longer than Carley's, a small smile on his face. Finally, he opened them, immediately finding hers, and the smile remained- broadened even. "What's that mean?"

Grinning, Carley chuckled lightly. "Means 'I want this'." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze to reiterate her words, and bounced, just a little. She just couldn't keep still.

He repeated the words slowly, dreamily, trying to get his tongue around them. "Amin merna tanya...vithel." He squeezed back, then turned to face the abandoned food. "I...guess we should try cooking something else. Or would you rather just go grab some...-" He struggled to think of the word. "-take-out?"

Reheating it in a pot was a possibility, but really, the noodles were overcooked and were probably sticking together and she didn't want him thinking her an incapable cook! "I don't cook well with others, as ya probably know already." She eyed his dress shirt in the pile on the floor with his other clothing momentarily before glancing back up, cheeky grin in place. "Take out sounds great! So ya wanna go out now?" She was very obviously excited about the idea. "Oh! I just can't go out like this. Can I change?" She started to pull her hand from his, painfully slow. "It won't take long."

Fingertips dragged across her hand as she let go; he obviously wasn't in any hurry either. "Go ahead. I have to put on my cloak and scarf and hat."

Another grin flashed, Carley quickly scrambled over to a door, fiddling with the knob a moment as she struggled to get it turned and door opened. Slipping inside, the door was closed behind her. Now normally, she wouldn't have taken long to get ready at all, but this was sort of like a special occasion! So after a full ten minutes later (which was an eternity for her, in terms of getting ready to go out) the door opened and out she stepped, not dressed like normal though, no. She wore a light blue dress that went to her knees, with sleeves that widened at the end. The hem of the dress as well as sleeves had a decorative, dark blue lace trim on them. A dark blue scarf matched the trim, and pale blue, almost white, stockings were worn. The.. worn boots and brown tote bag left a little something to be desired though. "Ready!" The little elf was beaming as she closed the door behind her, then started moving back to Glenn.

In that time, he had put back on his (mostly) dry white dress shirt, then his cloak, knitted cap, and scarf. He grinned as Carley came out, holding his hand out so she could take it. "You look good. Let's go."

As soon as he held his hand out, she reached out to take it with her good hand. She couldn't wait for the cast on her wrist to be taken off... "Diolla lle!" The bounce was back in her step as she moved for the door. She would have opened it up herself had she been capable of it, but as it was, she had to wait for Glenn to. "Did ya have an idea of where we should go Glenny?"

He opened the door, letting go for a second once they got outside so she could lock everything up. "I have no idea, but that's alright. I'm sure we'll find something alright." Glenn paused, almost as if debating whether or not to say the words. Then finally, a single affirmative nod of his head. "And besides, I don't care if it takes us a while to find a place. As long as I'm spending time with you..." He waved a hand in the air. "It doesn't matter to me."

((Posts edited and adapted from Live RP))