[GIAT-the flat] sunshowers [gregoire]

“Open the door, Gregoire!” Maia stared at the door to the flat, a deep pout covering her face. This was impossible! Where was Gregoire?! She’d told him she was coming, right? Or had she? She’d thought about telling him she was coming, but whether she’d actually done so was up for grabs. After living in the UK for a month, she’d finally found his address (which had been stuck in a seashell) and was going to visit her very good friend. But he wasn’t here! It was very mean of him to not be at his home when Maia wanted to cuddle. And to think she took the night off for him. Scandalous.

She jiggled the handle one more time before a determined look crossed her features. One short melody, and she heard an audible click of the door unlocking. No pesky lock was going to get between her and her target. Turning the handle, she stepped in and searched for a light switch. Flicking it on, she closed the door behind her and locked it. So this was Gregoire’s new home? It was cozy. Pushing her red hair behind her ears, she proceeded to explore.

It only took her a moment before she got comfortable, and was headfirst in his closet. Freckled hands grasped at all of the things, before she found a shirt she liked. She divested herself of her dress, throwing it over his bed swiftly followed by her undergarments. Maia dove into the large t-shirt, wiggling at the feel of the soft cotton against her skin. It was comfortable and smelled good, and that was all that mattered. Her freckled collarbone and shoulder were visible in the shirt she was swimming in.

Food? Food! Maia was hungry! She darted across the flat towards the kitchen. At first, Maia stuck to what she could reach but she couldn’t reach the taller cabinets so she drug a chair over to the cabinets and peered in. SHE COULD MAKE COOKIES. Quickly grabbing the fixing for chocolate chip cookies, she held everything in her hands until she could set them on the counter. Preheating the oven, Maia began to sing as she mixed dry and wet ingredients together, so focused on what she was doing that she didn’t noticed all of the things glowing and pulsing to her singing. Or the door opening.

With a stripe of flour across her nose like war paint, she looked upwards suddenly and cinammon coloured eyes creased as she sent her most brilliant of smiles to one of her oldest friends. Waving a wooden spoon with sticky batter on it, she trilled happily in French. “Gregoire! Cookies! You will help, yes?”

It had been a long day for Gregoire but he tried to not let the stress get to him. Sneaking out every so often for a cigarette or a minute of peace he had managed to keep his head. The students were on break which meant a younger crowd would be trampling through the shop, not that he minded, it was just more work. He did a few tattoos in the early afternoon but since then he had spent his time answering questions, stocking shelves, and keeping his new owl from eating paint. Soon enough the day was over and it was time to close up for the night, something Gregoire was relieved to do. He was tired but he wasn't upset. He was ready to go home and relax for a while before he did it all over again tomorrow. The tattooed man locked the front door of the shop and left out the back, preparing himself for the journey back to his flat. He locked the back door of the shop, turned to his left, walked up a flight of rickety metal stairs, and then unlocked the front door of his flat. Living above the shop had many perks and a short commute was top of the list. He pushed open the door and then set his keys into the small bowl that was sitting on an end table he had scrapped near the door. It wasn't until then that he realized he wasn't alone in his apartment.

Normally if someone was inside his flat uninvited Gregoire would of reached for his wand but the familiar buzz of humming calmed his nerves. He didn't have to meet her gaze to know exactly who had come to visit. She was one of a kind, it was hard not to remember Maia. "Cookies huh?" He asked, flashing her a toothy grin before taking off his red baseball cap and tossing it on his bed, next to her dress. Walking toward her he held out his arms both waiting for a hug which was sure to come soon enough and also because of what she was currently wearing and doing. He knew that was his shirt, and the flour on her nose made him chuckle. "It's good to see you Maia." He replied in French, thankful to be speaking his native tongue. He didn't get the chance to use it often but moving to England had been his choice so he couldn't really complain. He moved to the counter and looked at the bowl full of batter on the counter before scrapping a bit off the edge to eat. He made sure not to stick his hands in the bowl, visions of his mother swatting him with a spoon surfacing in his mind, but he couldn't resist eating some of the batter. "Its good." He answered with another smile. Even though he had been worn out a minute ago being with a close friend always put Gregoire in a good mood.

He was glad that she had come to visit, even if she had forgotten to let him know she was coming. She always made him laugh and Gregoire knew it wasn't because of her siren charms, he still had his ring on. She was just naturally a fun person to be around. "So what do you need me to do?" Making cookies wasn't something Gregoire had done often but he was willing to learn.

Maia’s head began to nod wildy when he mentioned cookies. “Yes!” She bounced excitedly, waving the spoon around like a baton. When he moved closer, she dropped the spoon on the counter rapidly and was in his arms in a heartbeat. Long legs wrapped around his waist as she dragged herself up his tall form, chattering in rapid french abut how much she missed him and how tall he was, and how she wanted to draw on him again. Her speech was so excited and rapid, that it was almost impossible to gather her thought processes completely from the way she jumped from topic to topic. She clung tighter to him as he moved towards the counter, and watched as he nibbled on the batter, watching him eagerly to see how he liked it. “IS GOOD?” She hummed a joyful song, arms twinned around his neck still.

“I have missed you!” She kissed his forehead before pressing her cheek against his, sighing happily. It was always good to be around close friends, and she’d missed Gregoire since he’d left her. “You live too far. No. I live close now. I work at Gringotts, in London? and live in Devon. You know Devon? It has many trees. I have a creek in my back yard.” He would come visit her cabin, and they could have fun. “You are tired. Why do you not sleep?” Abruptly changing the subject, her thumbs brushed underneath his eyes as she looked at him. “After cookies, we will sleep yes? I will sing you to sleep and you will wake up refreshed.” It wasn’t as if Gregoire knew nothing of what she was. What reason had she to hide it from him?

She slid down his body and stared at the batter and the waiting cookie trays before turning her brilliant smile towards him. “I have perfected my cookies!” She announced, taking a bit of batter on her fingertip and eating it delicately. “I am no longer a shame to my mother’s kitchen, and we shall bask in this with cookies and whatever goes with cookies.” Maia got excited over sweets, and she was glad to have a reason to make them. Sharing them with Gregoire was a benefit she also couldn’t ignore.

“We need to make the dough into round things so they bake?” Maia paused before pasting on the most earnest/serious look combo that she had in her arsenal. “Gregoire. Explain this to me. Why do we make balls of cookie dough and they turn flat? This does not make sense. Why don’t they stay round?” She frowned a bit, thinking. “OOH! Do you have caramel? We can make caramel chocolate cookies.” She clapped her hands together, excited. “This is very fun, don’t you think?”

When she climbed on top of him Gregoire's smile grew wider, she was always so lively. He laughed and hugged her back warmly. Gregoire didn't know how much he had missed her until she was in his arms. He had forgot how she smelt like the ocean and it made him feel at home when the scent hit him. As she pressed her cheek against his Gregoire squeezed her tight. Listening, but knowing Maia well enough to know when she was going to keep chatting Gregoire kept quiet. The French man was glad that she was living so close now. He would be able to see her more often and that made him happy. Though he had never been to Devon he could picture it because of the way she described it. "You do?" He asked about the creek, happy that she was close to some form of water. Gregoire knew what Maia was and he wasn't weirded out by it. He had found out when they were still in school and even though it had been strange at times he wasn't the type to judge her when she had no control of her powers yet. Her singing was much better now and Gregoire loved listening to her, even her humming was sort of exceptional.

The tattooed man shrugged when she asked why he didn't sleep. He had every intention of going right to bed when he had got home tonight but that plan had changed the moment he saw her face. She was too important for him to call it an early night, tired or not. "I don't want you to leave yet, I don't need to sleep." He said with the tiniest of pouts on his face as she slid off of him. If he went to sleep she might leave and he wasn't ready for that. Not yet. "Milk goes with cookies." He said before moving to reach into the cupboard and pull out two large classes. Gregoire loved milk, he always drank a lot of it, especially with cereal. So it was one thing he always had enough of. Pivoting to open up the ice box he pulled out the glass jar of milk that was sitting inside mostly full and then poured them both glasses. After taking a large drink he set the glass down and was unaware of the milk mustache he was currently sporting. Not that he would of cared, he didn't need to impress Maia, she seemed like she liked being around him just the way he was. Gregoire always appreciated people like that.

Her question made him laugh again as he took up space right next to her, preparing to help her make the little balls of dough. "That is a good question Maia." He replied with another shrug of his shoulders. Honestly he had no idea, cooking wasn't really his strong suit, but he could take a guess. "Maybe the heat in the oven melts them?" Gregoire offered her another toothy grin before she decided she was on the hunt for caramel. He didn't have the best stocked kitchen but he did have some things hanging around. If he had the ingredients to make cookies from scratch anything was possible. "Let me look, and yes it is." This was fun. Everything with Maia was fun. It had always been that way, even when they were awkward little teenagers. Not that Gregoire had ever been little, he had always been much taller than his classmates. Maia on the other hand was a tiny little thing, she was adorably small. Going to the cabinets that hung freely on the dark walls of his flat he opened them one at a time. He really hoped that he had caramel because while chocolate chip cookies sounded good, caramel chocolate ones sounded amazing. He found a half eaten bag of individually wrapped caramels in the back of the last cabinet and without hesitation he snatched them up.

His kitchen wasn't large but the open floor plan of his apartment made it feel a lot bigger than it really was. Moving back to where he had been standing he plopped the open bag down next to the bowl and spoke to her. "Will these work?" Gregoire waited for her reaction, expecting it to be excited, with a smile on his face. "I missed you fishie." He announced, bumping his hip into her playfully. "I'm glad you are here now." After he had washed his hands he started balling up fists of cookie dough because he had no idea when the caramel was added. Gregoire had seen his mother make cookies a hundred times but he had never actually learned how to make them himself. He wasn't a total loss in the kitchen though, there were some things he knew how to make. He could make a mean pot of spaghetti when he had the time. "Do you like working at Gringotts?" He asked, making conversation but it wasn't hard with her. Talking to her was familiar to the French man and he was soaking up as much of it as he could while she was around. Although he had grown used to London it would never quite feel like home. It smelt different, they ate different things, and he rarely found anyone willing to speak to him in French. The language happily floated off his tongue as he continued to ask her about her new job.

"The goblins aren't being mean to you right? Because if they are you just let me know." Chin high he chuckled again, it was a joke but really it wasn't. Gregoire would protect Maia without a hesitation.

Just thinking about the tiny creek sent a blinding smile towards Gregoire“Yes!” She exclaimed, rubbing her fingers together. “But it is fresh water, so it doesn’t feel as good as the ocean.” It was water at least, and as long as it was deep enough for her to submerge herself in she felt better about it. “But it’s so very cold. There is snow everywhere.” Maia didn’t operate in extreme temperatures, preferring to live where she didn’t have to chance frostbite or sunburns. “I have boots with fur linings and they are very warm and soft.” She clapped excitedly, dancing in place. “You will come visit, promise? I will tie you into the wards and Amos can meet you.” Amos was her majestic cat whom she very much loved. She was 100% sure that Gregoire and Amos were going to love each other.

Stubborn and sulky was the frown that appeared on Maia’s lips as she stared at her friend. “I wasn’t going to leave.” She mumbled, hands curling into tiny fists. “Your bed is big enough for the both of us yes? We sleep there and I’ll make you breakfast and you can show me the shop.” It was a quite demand that rumbled from her lips, and she stared him down. Her tiny foot stomped on the floor like she was a rebellious 3 year old, and wanted to get her way. Distracted way too easily, she stood on the tips of her toes and brushed the milk off his lip. “The milk goes with cookies?” Eyes wide like this was a new idea, she reached for the cup of milk and held it with two hands. Sipping on it, she hummed before lapping at it like a pleased kitten. “I like milk!”

“Melted cookies?” That was a novel idea for the siren. The idea that cookies melted in the oven seemed right, but it was also amazing. She never understood how ovens that weren’t regulated with fire worked. How did it get hot? She would attempt to see how the oven worked, but she was pretty sure that if his oven was in pieces, Gregoire might get mad at her. She would hate it if he was mad at her. Just the idea of it had her biting her bottom lip, and wiggling in place as she watched him walk around the kitchen. It took a moment, but her eyes lit up with joy when she saw the candies in his hand.

“YES!” Swiftly, tugging a knife out of a drawer, Maia began to roughly chop up the candies after unwrapping them. As he put the batter into balls, she began to shove pieces of caramel into them. She hummed to herself, hip bumping back against his before beaming at him broadly. “I missed you too! And I’m glad I’m able to visit more. You may not get away from me much…Britain is weird.” She sighed softly, feeling sorry for all the people who had to deal with all of the winter. Maia just wanted to curl on her side in some warm sand and nap, but that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. That was fine! Her bed was almost as good.

“Gringotts? Yes. I do like working there…” She continued poking caramels into the cookies before going around the other side of the island, poking caramel in the other cookie balls. “It is very exciting. I go on treasure hunts, and dives. I even get to break wards.” That was her favourite part, especially when she could make the things go boom. Explosions were amazing. “The goblins are very nice to me. I think its because I’m not a wizard, and they treat me differently.” She met Gregoire’s eyes, beaming again. “They don’t grumble at me like they do the wizards, and they understand when I have to excuse myself.” They were also fun drinking buddies, and she enjoyed going out with them.

Pushing the last bit of caramel into a cookie ball, she stared at them. “I think it is time. Maman says it takes 18 minutes? So we just have to put them in the oven.” She grasped the tray in her small hands and walked towards the oven. As she got closer, she got more uncomfortable with the heat wafting from it. Dancing backwards a few steps, she turned to look at Gregoire. “It’s too hot..” She murmured in a soft, pathetic voice. “I don’t like it. It’s too hot…” She could feel her scales starting to itch just thinking about the heat, and danced backwards some more. “Gregoire please.” The tiny panicked Siren song hummed in the last word as her anxiety started to rise and she let out a panicked chirrup. Maia just wanted cookies. Shoving the tray in his hands, she then hid behind him, body pressed against his as she clung to his shirt.

Gregoire pretended to pout a little as she told him the water was too cold and that there was snow everywhere. He knew Maia didn't like it when it was too hot or too cold but he still teased her just a little, a playful smile quickly replacing the pout on his lips. "I will, promise." He said even as she was still talking. He would like to visit her. Other than the fifteen steps it took to get to his shop, and the five minute walk to the Goblin Bar down the street, Gregoire didn't really get out much. He had kind of a boring life now. When he was younger he was constantly running around the neighborhood, meeting new people, and getting into trouble, but it wasn't like that now. It wasn't that he had changed or matured but mostly he didn't have anyone to cause trouble with anymore. All of his siblings were back in France, Dereves had left town, and until now Maia had been countries away. Gregoire didn't have a lot of good friends, so he knew to cherish the ones he had. Like beautiful Maia standing in front of him chattering away. When she mentioned meeting Amos he smiled and thought to ask who Amos was. Even if it was a man she was seeing he wouldn't of been jealous, he wasn't that type of guy, but the moment quickly passed.

When she frowned he frowned a little too. That was just the way it had always been around her. If she was playful, Gregoire was happy. If she was scared, Gregoire wanted to protect her. And if she was upset, Gregoire wanted to make whatever it was right as soon as possible even if he had nothing to do with it. It wasn't long before his frown had completely faded though as she demanded that she would stay with him. Of course he didn't have any objections. She had already broken into his flat, stolen some of his clothes, and crashed through his kitchen, it wouldn't make much sense to draw the line at sharing the bed. Not to mention he was enjoying her company entirely too much. "You will like my bed. I have lots of fluffy pillows." He said with a playful tone even as she brushed the milk from his lip. As she drank some of the milk and decided she liked it Gregoire went back to the job of rolling the dough into little balls. He didn't realize how hungry he was until just then but he ignored it, the cookies wouldn't take too long to bake, he could wait. The statement that Britain was weird made him laugh. He knew exactly what she meant, or at least partly. He had left home and come to this strange place some time ago and even though he had mostly gotten used to it sometimes he still felt like a tourist. It was crazy that two places so close could be so entirely different. "Tell me about it." He agreed before laughing again. "Britain smells funny, don't you think?"

After he had finished rolling up the dough he watched her pop little pieces of caramel into them. She had left a few where she had been cutting them up so Gregoire quickly snatched to small bits of the candy and stuck them into his mouth. "Good I'm glad you like it there." He said, still sucking on a piece of caramel. "There is a Goblin Bar just down the block that we should go to sometime. The seats are usually dirty and the patrons aren't always friendly but the drinks are cheap and the staff is interesting. Its entirely run by Goblins." He thought she would get a kick out of the place but Gregoire didn't just go there for the novelty of it. It was a good bar. They made good drinks. It was within walking distance for when he got really pissed. It was his favorite bar. Just as he finished eating the candy he had pinched she said it was time to put them in the oven and Gregoire nodded. He'd been using the oven for a while now but cooking still wasn't his strongest skill. And cookies wasn't really something he made very often. Luckily it was already preheated and she knew how long to bake them for. Slowly he turned and faced the oven as she approached it but he was surprised when she backed away quickly and shoved the tray into his hands. It was too hot. He should have known that, he should have stopped her, but it was too late for that. When she moved behind him to hide Gregoire used his free hand to try and comfort her.

"Awe, it'll be okay." He said in his best soothing voice as he took a tiny step toward the oven. "Cover your eyes and stay behind me okay." He said as he inched toward the hot box in front of him. As soon as he was close enough for his long arms to reach the handle to the oven he pulled it open fast and pretty much threw the tray into it. The metal tray crashed down loudly but all the dough balls remained on it as he slammed the door to the oven shut. It only took seconds but even he felt a small gust of hot air hit him in the face as he closed the door. As soon as it was shut he turned on his heel and put his long arms around her. He could probably wrap them around her twice if he tried, but he just held her tight for a moment. "There all better. Do you want some water? Or some more milk?" He asked, hoping that maybe the liquid would help her get back to normal. Gregoire didn't really know how she felt but he could put two and two together. He knew she wasn't exactly a fish, but he knew fish dried out in the sun. "So what do you want to do while we wait for them to bake?" He asked her with a friendly smile. He needed to distract her but he was having a hard time thinking about what to distract her with. "Oh!" He said quickly and let her go before taking a small step in the direction of his living room/bedroom area. There was a high light on the ceiling so she would get a better view from there.

"I got a new tattoo that I think you will like." He said with another playful grin. "Do you want to see it?" He was just teasing her now because he assumed she would want to see. She was insanely curious, he doubted she could really help herself. "Its shiiiiiny" Making the second word extra long before finally pulling up his shirt and showing her his rib cage and the side of his torso. Covering nearly his entire rib cage and most of his side was a old pirate ship with tattered sails and a black flag and everything. At the tip of the ship was the traditional Mermaid masthead. Most of the tattoo was in black ink, which made the whole portrait look more of a sepia tone on his olive tan skin but the mermaid had splashes of color. The scales were shining in gold that seemed to glint as he moved. And of course the Mermaids hair was a vibrant shade of red, much like Maia's. The hair of the Mermaid and the sails of the ship flew about as if the ship was currently sailing the high seas thanks to magical tattooing. Standing there he waited for her to come and get a closer look but the bright smile on his face showed that he was pretty certain she would like it.