[OTA] Pumpkin Faces

[tangodebaston.livejournal.com]

The weather was somewhat back under control, a little chill but certainly not an unhealthy one. The snow was melting, and the colors were turning, and that made Juan Pedro want to be outside.

His youngest class was in the middle of the afternoon, after school, and he decided that instead of dance lessons, today they would carve pumpkins. He'd purchased a whole bunch of them, and had them set up in the green, and he surprised the kids by claiming a field trip where he took them outside, and presented to them their trip.

Pumpkins, paper, child safe scissors, child safe carving sets, glue, paint, brushes, a whole assortment of goodies to do up some great jack o lanterns. They wouldn't last til halloween but they'd certainly be a fun, creative way to spend an afternoon outdoors. And there were plenty of the orange squashes for more than just his students. If any adults or young people decided to come and join the fun, the better.

To keep in the mood of Spanish dance class, he'd set up a sound system that was playing latin music, as he sat down with the kids to start working on a pumpkin. So far, it seemed a great success.

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[take2andcallme.livejournal.com]

"If you miss my office that much, you could always just come visit, you know." His deadpan voice held just the smallest hint of amusement as he held up the hefty manila folder in his hand. "Working, unfortunately, but I think I've got a few moments to spare."

Dropping down cross-legged next to JP, Caleb watches the pumpkiny disemboweling, tapping his fingers on his thighs to the music. "What brought on the sudden field trip?"

[tangodebaston.livejournal.com]

The look he shot back was amused and teasing as he said softly "That would be a change, since you are the one visiting me the most. I may just catch a cold to do that."

A shrill laugh went up from one of the teenage girls off to the side, when Caleb sat down. It may be unrelated, as a few of her friends joined in with the giggling. It may not be.

"The storm kept us all inside, and the weather is getting better. I figured it would be appropriate for the time of year, give the kids a little fun outdoors, and allow them to socialize outside of the couples they are usually paired up in." The spoon scraped along the inside. He'd done about 10 of these, so he was becoming a bit of an expert at it.

[take2andcallme.livejournal.com]

"Or you could just visit. Unless you've mysteriously forgotten the way," he shot back, ignoring the giggling off to the side. There always seemed to be quite a bit of that around these two unlikely friends, probably because of just how unlikely they were--the taciturn doctor with his head buried in work and the carefree, charming dancer. And besides, girls at that age always seemed to be giggly about something or other. He rarely even noticed it anymore, instead eyeing the speed with which JP was emptying out the pumpkin.

"I don't know whether to be awed or nervous about how handy you are at that," he said, nodding at the nearly scraped-clean gourd.

[tangodebaston.livejournal.com]

He rolls his eyes, laughing "That would be impossible. It is a few store fronts away."

A few minutes prior they'd been giggly over Zoe and JP, imagining some kind of secret love affair. One never knew with the young. But seriously, it could have nothing to do with them, even.

He chuckled, shrugging "Gut a few of these, you will also be handy. And you are a doctor, you are probably even better at this than me." He held out the spoon, having another one handy "Want to help? There are a lot more of these to do."

[take2andcallme.livejournal.com]

Shrugging, Caleb took the offered spoon. "I haven't done this in years," he answered, shifting closer to JP and pulling the pumpkin closer to his lap. "Not since college." Freshman year, to be precise, when he and his friends had carved a full set of pumpkins making fun of a particularly evil professor. "You want me cutting or scooping?"

[tangodebaston.livejournal.com]

He picked up the second spoon, and grinned, focused on finishing his own pumpkin. "It is not difficult. Scrape in circles, I find, works the best."

"You can do both, there is a knife there, after you cut, gut. You can throw the seeds in that bag between us. I will send them to the kitchens for toasting."

[take2andcallme.livejournal.com]

Rolling up his sleeves and setting his folder on another bag a safe distance away, Caleb settled in front of his pumpkin. Selecting a particularly sharp-looking sawing knife, Caleb went to work, deftly slicing open an angled lid with notch and removing it. The look on his face was very similar to that he wore during surgery, almost comically serious in context. "I'm surprised you don't do it yourself," he replied at the last comment, referring to JP's penchant for cooking often and well.

[tangodebaston.livejournal.com]

He grinned, watching Caleb do it so expertly. His were kind of ... well they weren't as precise. He had to stare, looking quietly amused at the focus on the other man's face.

"I think I have changed my mind. You should cut all the lids. You are much better at it."

And then mild surprise. "I do not have an oven big enough to cook all of these, and there will be a lot of seeds. The kitchens are better suited to it. I will leave it to the experts. I do not have all day to toast seeds you know."

[take2andcallme.livejournal.com]

"I'd be worried if I couldn't handle a knife at least passably," he replied, setting the lid aside and reaching in with the spoon to begin scraping away at the inner pulp. "What are you planning to do with the finished product? It's still weeks til Halloween."

He'd have to remember to swing by the castle again for some seeds, once they were toasted. There was a big soft spot in the doctor's heart for anything pumpkin

[tangodebaston.livejournal.com]

He chuckled "Y mas bonito también, cuando lo haces..." he teased softly in Spanish. He shrugged, and grabbed the bag to upturn the pumpkin into it, dumping out the guts. "Nada, the kids will take these home with them. They can torment their parents with the rotting things, and feel some pride for having made them."

Even pumpkin flan? "Mira, I just spoke to Zoe, and we have decided to have a... bake off?" he made a face, not knowing what else to call it. "Next thursday, after dinner, we will be cooking at Club castle. Want to come be one of the judges? We're gonna make desserts with the left over pumpkins."

[take2andcallme.livejournal.com]

"A good doctor goes where he's needed. I guess I could suffer through some homemade baked goods," Caleb said thoughtfully, leaning away from JP just in case he took mock offense. "Are we still on for dinner that night?"

For the last year or two, Thursdays and Saturdays had become the pair's usual dinner nights. Almost always, it was JP cooking; Caleb's few attempts at something more complicated than spaghetti had ended in some pretty creative disasters.

[tangodebaston.livejournal.com]

He beams, his nose scrunching a little as he smiles and sets aside the pumpkin with its lid, grabbing for another. "I am grateful that you suffer my impulses, Caleb." No doctors were hurt and no seeds were flung in the delivery of this message.

He nods, licking at the side of his mouth as he stares in concentration while he cuts the stem lid off the new pumpkin. "Claro, I will try not to make it something with calabaza, so you aren't bored of the flavor before the challenge."

JP didn't care if they were disasters. He was too polite, and too grateful for the attempt to do more than eat it, smile, and try to say positive things about the effort. He'd gotten food poisoning once, but Caleb was a doctor. He could medic up a solution to a problem he himself had created.

[take2andcallme.livejournal.com]

"Im pretty sure it's impossible for me to get bored with any of your food," he answered, eyes narrowed in concentration as he attempted to gauge the thickness of the rind he'd hollowed out. "And since your impulses usually end in delicious things, I can't say no. The usual time?"

The food poisoning incident was never spoken of aloud. That had been a fairly spectacular failure in itself, and was one of the reasons Caleb now left the cooking to the experts.

[tangodebaston.livejournal.com]

He smiles, blushing faintly at the compliment. Caleb had to be focusing hard to say that so smoothly to him. To say something he meant without censoring himself somehow.

"Gracias..." he whispered, looking pleased with himself and very touched, "A little earlier? 6:30 should be fine, and we can get to the castle by 7:00." One day, JP would have to teach Caleb how to cook. That's all that unspoken of incident meant. When they had time, if they ever had time.

[take2andcallme.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, time was something that seemed in short supply for them both these days. Aside from dinner and occasionally coffee or drinks, the two hadn't really seen much of each other in the last few months at least. Finally finished scraping, Caleb dumped the pumpkin guts into the bag on top of the others and sighed.

"I should really get back soon. Pretty sure the paperwork breeds when I'm not watching. Should I be expecting a missing finger or three later?"