MHA #2 | Wednesday Afternoon

[knife_bender]

You know those little cardboard disks at the bottom of frozen pizzas? Turns out you were supposed to throw away that part before putting it in the oven. As Annie and Diego discovered, it can catch on fire.

See this is what happened when they didn't just stick to protein shakes and/or Danny didn't feed them.

Diego's apartment was still in tact, luckily, it just smelled vaguely of smoke, burnt pizza and cardboard. Which was why all of the windows were open despite it being freezing out. Diego didn't mind too much though, they had a pizza delivered--which they should have done in the first place--and now were cuddled up on the couch under some blankets.

All in all making the best of a bad (or stupid) situation.

[For the girl! And now NSFW]

Comments

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I feel like this should be a new, like, pizza-related tradition," Annie told Diego, curling a little closer under the blankets - because yeah, it was February and they had all the windows open, but let's be real, she didn't really need the excuse to be cuddly. (She'd take it, though.) "Watch - everyone's gonna be into starting pizza fires by next week."

Really, if you asked Annie, they should get points for learning something.

[knife_bender]

"Why is there even cardboard there in the first place?" Diego asked. "What's the point?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Decoration?" Annie suggested thoughtfully. "Preserving the physical integrity of the pizza?" That one. "But it's very misleading given that it's, like, the same exact size. Like it really seems like the cardboard is meant to go into the oven, too."

Except for the part where most people would realize that cardboard was intrinsically not oven-safe, but sure.

[knife_bender]

"Exactly," he said. "They at least should have warned us about it."

It was on the instructions, Diego.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"We had no way of knowing," Annie assured him. No, again, the instructions were pretty clear, provided you read them. "But at least we were pretty fast in putting the fire out. Like, I'm proud of our quick action."

Really, if you thought about it, they should be praised for putting the fire out so fast.

[knife_bender]

"We were some pretty effective firefighters," he said, cuddling in closer. "And the pizza we ordered is probably way better than the frozen stuff."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"No doubt," Annie agreed, poking out from under the blankets just enough to reach for a slice of said pizza. "I mean, we did ourselves a favor. And now it's kind of like we're camping or something, with the smoke and the cold and all."

That was a valiant attempt at some spin, there, Annie.

[knife_bender]

"That's a way of looking at it," he said. "And we learned a valuable lesson about frozen pizza."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"And," Annie pointed out, "we brushed up on our fire safety skills, which are always important."

Especially if you were the kind of person who didn't read clear directions and thought you knew better than some dumb pizza box.

"And honestly, this is kind of cozy and nice, so I say it's a win all around." Except for the part where they'd almost burned down his apartment but shh.

[knife_bender]

"This is nice," he agreed, pressing a kiss against her temple. "It's not even that cold."

It was, but the blankets and body heat helped.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Okay, that's a lie," Annie replied, scooting her legs across his lap under the blankets. "But it's like, a challenge."

She considered this for a moment before adding, "Maybe this is why people keep telling me I should learn to cook."

Naaaaah.

[knife_bender]

"Possibly," he said, resting one of his hands on her thigh. "But it's so much work."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Less work than putting out fires?" Annie wondered.

It was a real question. She honestly wasn't sure which was more effort.

[knife_bender]

"Less fun than putting out fires," he joked.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Also probably less dangerous," Annie mused. "But like, it's not like I haven't accidentally started a few non-kitchen-related fires, so it's probably for the best that we're both comfortable putting them out."

See, it was a training exercise, really.

[knife_bender]

"It's a good life skill." He shifted a little so he was basically cuddled up to Annie's side, wrapping an arm around her. For warmth, you see.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie slanted a look up at him before gently tossing her pizza crust onto her plate and burrowing a little into his side. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you set your kitchen on fire just to get me under these blankets."

But really, they both knew a fire was hardly necessary. It just gave them a reason beyond wanting to.

[knife_bender]

"The evil plan worked, didn't it?" he joked. "You're here with me."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I mean, I think we need to revisit the definitions of both 'evil' and 'plan,' here," Annie teased lightly, pressing her nose into his shoulder because, you know, it was kind of freezing.

[knife_bender]

"It's not much of a plan, you're right," he said. "Does it smell less like burnt cardboard in here yet or am I just getting used to it?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Think you're getting used to it," Annie decided, snuggling deeper under the blankets and curling her arm around him. "We both probably are. Maybe we should just resign ourselves to living with the smell of burned cardboard forever."

Or at least until his lease was up but that was way less dramatic.

[knife_bender]

Diego sighed. "Why couldn't we have started the fire in the smaller apartment?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"It might have spread in a smaller space?" Annie offered, like a hypothetical larger fire was a real comfort, here. "Could be worse! Just think if it had happened and I hadn't been here to heroically save you with warmth. You'd be so cold right now."

And she was just going to punctuate that by nuzzling at his neck, in case he needed help seeing how useful and warm she was, right now. (Also, don't mind her just casually giving him all the blame for what was very much a team effort of a fire.)

[knife_bender]

"I might have caught hypothermia," Diego said, sliding a hand under her shirt to rest against her lower back. "And I'd be hungry too."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"And that would be so sad," Annie replied, and if anyone asked, that little bite she just gave his neck had a lot to do with preventing hypothermia. "Plus all the stress of dealing with a fiery kitchen alone."

'Fiery' seemed like a stretch, but you know, so did the threat of hypothermia.