Oooh Honey, I'm Home (Tanner,Ceri)

[Linden McKay]

Guilt seemed to take over. Horrible, gut-wrenching, painful guilt. How had he managed to forget his little sister's birthday? Okay, so he had several siblings and it was hard to keep track. But this was no excuse, not for Ceri. She was his favorite! What the hell was the matter with him? Oh so many things. He'll admit, he was a teensy bit drunk, out on the prowl and so not thinking. It was a typical day for the technopath. That didn't matter either, this was CERI'S BIRTHDAY! If you ask Linden, he'd say that it was much more likely of him to forget Jaythen's birthday than it was Ceri's. Ask any of the siblings and they'll agree. Ask anyone who knows the two McKays and they'll agree too. So how had he managed to screw up so huge?

Red heads, brunettes, blonds, hot chicks and damn good lookin' guys. It was paradise in a college room. How often did he get that? Oh yeah...just about every weekend. But still! There were so. Many. Redheads! Gingers galore, oh sweet Jesus, Linden just couldn't deny himself that luxury. Snap out of it boy, damn. Back to the guilt.

His conscience had gotten the best of him. Big time and now he was on his way to 'Sil's where his beautiful, adorable, fun, brilliant, beautiful (oh wait, that was already said. What the hell, it deserves to be mentioned twice) little sister worked and spent most of her time. It wasn't too far from the college, and for once in a few weeks, Linden didn't have the biggest hangover, just a small one. He's twenty-one, dammit, he's supposed to drink. It was meant to be a surprise, how she would take it, well that was the real surprise. Oh please let there be a customer taking up most of her attention.

He walked in, strutting is more like it, and was dressed in his finest. Designer brand and smokin' hot as he says. Right off the bat, he saw his darling sister working as hard as she can to make the place spotless, literally. The medication must not have been working so well today, which meant things were bad. He stopped strutting and slowed his pace, more hesitant now. "H-hey kiddo..."

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner was quite fond of the weekend. It was nice to get off campus for a little while and experience all that (or, rather, the little that) the surrounding town of Pilot Ridge had to offer. He didn't usually go with any friends or anything, but he tended to enjoy doing a little bit of shopping, maybe grabbing lunch somewhere cool, and just hanging out in a different setting. But of course, his favorite place to go was Sil's, where he bought most of the spices and similar such things that he used to make his meals taste so, well, tasty. He'd been going there virtually every weekend ever since he was allowed off campus, and it wasn't long before he became acquainted with one of the chefs, Ceri, who was nice but sometimes a bit anal retentive - something Tanner could, frankly, totally relate to. They would talk about what spices Tanner was looking for, what was good that week, what Tanner wanted to make, and exchange recipes and experiences and whatnot. Ceri knew a lot more about the culinary arts than Tanner did, so he liked to listen to her stories.

It was one such weekend that Tanner found himself walking through the doors into Ceri's, immediately welcomed by the scent of something really good cooking, not to mention all of the spices which somehow seemed to all blend so perfectly together. Tanner walked through some of the aisles, browsing the many products that were for sale. The thyme smelled particularly fresh; perhaps he would buy some for the lamb he would be cooking with Lindsey the next week. He needed a few different kinds of herbs for the potatoes, as well, so this would be a fruitful trip.

It wasn't long after he entered that he spotted Ceri doing some cleaning - it went a bit over his head that she was having some sort of episode, as he wasn't as tuned into her as her brother would have been - and walked up to her. Getting closer, he saw some other guy standing with her. Ceri didn't look particularly happy, and Tanner wondered if perhaps this man was bothering her. "Hi, Ceri," he said in what he hoped seemed like a cheerful yet assertive manner.

((Let me know if any of this is inaccurate! Again, I don't know much about how Sil's works XD))

[Ceri McKay]

Ceri was done cooking, for now. She had made a ton of cookies, and baked goods along with many other things. Now she was just cleaning up. For the fifth time within about an hour and a half. She'd taken her medication this morning as she had every day for the past several years. It was just one of those days that it decided not to work properly. Then again, she knew it wouldn't work if she was stressed. Her doctor had told her that added stress would not help her with her disorder.

But she couldn't help it this time. She was twenty-one years old and her big brother (who was supposed to be her favorite) had forgotten her birthday. No one else had forgotten, in fact, they'd thrown her a small party. Ethan had even shown up, and he went to college with Linden! Now, Ceri wasn't angry, but she was upset. How could he forget his little sister's big birthday. He had said he wanted to take her out drinking for her first time (legally). It was so depressing. But she knew why he'd missed it. He was busy partying and getting completely wasted because he was a jerk.

And that jerk just so happened to stop by. How convenient. She scrubbed the counters a little harder than intended and ignored him. She didn't want to bring this into work. Work was for working, not family arguments. What if a customer walked in and...enter customer. She looked up to see Tanner, he was one of the familiars. With a wide smile she greeted him and didn't even look at her brother. "Hello, Tanner. What can I get for you?" She asked softly trying to forget that Linden was right there, staring at her as if he'd been shot with a stun gun. Well that's what he gets!

"Do you want the usual, or mix it up a bit today? I've just put up some new things on the menu if you'd like to try one." Ceri suggested quietly. At least Linden had turned his attention to the boy instead, but then again, Ceri was afraid of what might happen. Oh god, Linden better not say anything dumb. "And we just got a new shipment of spices."

[Tanner Larson]

The closer he got, the more obvious it became that something was going on between these two. Were they ex-lovers, perhaps? Friends who'd had a falling-out? They didn't look alike, so it never occurred to him that they might be related. Tanner wasn't remotely interested in getting involved in whatever tension there was - and it was clear that there was tension - but he did want to help Ceri in any passive way he could, so he was glad when she turned her full attention towards him. She seemed happy enough to see him, so he attempted to ignore the other man and just talk to her.

"Hmm, what did you make today?" He asked with a smile. "Whatever it is, it smells great." He thought for a moment, before responding to her second suggestion. "That's why I'm here. I'm making a rack of lamb with a friend this week and I need some rosemary, some thyme, and whatever else you think would work." He knew Ceri could run laps around him in the kitchen, so he felt comfortable leaving it in her capable hands. Now if only that guy would stop staring at her...

[Linden McKay]

Okay, so clearly Ceri was angry. Maybe not angry, but hurt. And that was worse for Linden. Seeing his adorable little sister look so focused on cleaning rather than dropping everything just to give him a hug hurt. A lot. Sure, he'd been a jerk and was hungover for her birthday, but still! He was her favorite and he wanted his hug dammit! But nooo, instead this perky blond decided to take her full attention, talking about trivial things like cooking. Who cared what spice to use?! Goes to show how much he knows about cooking.

She didn't even look at him, not one word and the same from the guy who didn't even know Linden. What was with that? Hello, totally hot guy right beside you and what, you focus on the girl because she can cook? Really? That was dumb. Linden was sexy and he knew it, that song was his theme song for crying out loud! Maybe this kid was straight. Even still! Linden had found several very straight men looking at him. It was to be expected.

And still nothing. Linden finally threw his hands in the air and spoke before Ceri could answer, "Hey. I'm Linden, that's my sister. You two friends?" He asked with a stern, slightly over-protective tone to his voice. If this guy was going to make goo goo eyes at his sister, he wasn't going to just sit back and watch it happen. Not with a guy who was too impolite to at least say hi. Or that's how he's trying to justify his reasoning.

[Tanner Larson]

Really, it wasn't Tanner's attention to be insulting in any way. Truthfully, he had just come here to get his spices, say hello to Ceri, and leave. He was only tangentially concerned with this other man, and it was only because he seemed to be bothering Ceri to some extent. But she was smiling now, so perhaps he had misjudged. At any rate, the fact that the other man was attractive could not be denied, but that sort of thing was just not on Tanner's mind at the moment. Besides, hot guys were a dime a dozen at Hammel...

The blonde turned when suddenly addressed, and for a second he thought maybe the other was trying to pick a fight with him, but then he was introducing himself and mentioning his relationship with Ceri, so perhaps he was just being friendly. Yes, surely Tanner had misjudged the situation, and suddenly he felt very silly about it. "Oh, um, hi," he said, giving a sheepish grin. "I'm Tanner, and um..." Oh God, he'd just asked if they were friends. What a horrible question! What if they spoke at the same time and gave different answers? Tanner was simply mortified. "Well, I come here a lot..." He replied simply, with a small shrug of his shoulders. He figured that was safe enough, and if Ceri wanted to proclaim them friends, well, he was more than happy to oblige, but there was no way he was going to say so first and risk making a fool of himself. Especially, you know, in front of a hot guy...

[Ceri McKay]

Ceri was just about to answer Tanner, when her brother decided to butt in. He always had to be the center of attention, and usually she was fine with that, but he was making a fool of himself. She glanced at Tanner and gave him an apologetic frown at her brother's behavior. What had gotten into Linden? She was frustrated that her brother was harassing one of the customers and one of her friends. Or at least she thought they were friends.

When Tanner spoke she focused on Linden. She knew the tone he'd taken on and the look on his face. He thought...oh God. The fact that Linden thought Tanner was hitting on her made her want to laugh. It wasn't like that, she knew, and the fact that Linden hadn't picked up on it showed just how out of it he still was. He didn't see any of the signs. Had Ceri and Tanner been flirting, she'd have been bright red, fidgeting and surprisingly more relaxed with her disorder. Heck, Linden should come around when she hangs out with Ethan, then he'll see signs clear as day.

"Linden stop badgering him, jeez. Tanner I'm sorry for my brother's behavior, he's not being polite." She gave Linden that stern look that she'd picked up from her mother. "He's a friend, yes, but it's not like that and if you were paying attention you'd see that." Ceri shook her head slightly and went to get her brother a drink. She set a Coke in front of him and turned back to Tanner, "So lamb huh? Well rosemary is a great spice for lamb and thyme works wonders with rosemary. Hmm, I don't know what else. You don't want to overpower the lamb of course, so I think those two with some salt and pepper would do great."

[Tanner Larson]

'It's not like that.' Not like what? Tanner's eyes suddenly widened: oh God, did this guy think he was trying to hit on Ceri? He could have gagged then and there. Nothing personal, of course - Ceri was a very pretty girl - but Tanner was not even remotely interested in girls. Hell, he had a better chance of being attracted to Linden, and Linden was being kind of a douchebag. Not that Tanner never got along with obnoxious guys - heck, Zac had his insufferable moments, and Robbie was just a child sometimes, and he still got along with them great. But no, there was no attraction whatsoever between Ceri and himself. Yikes. It was all he could do to keep himself from blushing, giving Linden an innocent smile as Ceri parted their company just briefly to go get him a drink.

Once she returned, Tanner became resolved to get away from the older man - who was starting to make him a bit uncomfortable in ways he couldn't quite articulate - as quickly as possible. "Oh great, yeah, I agree," he said, a bit flustered still with this situation, as he took a few steps backwards towards where the spices were displayed, in the hopes that Ceri would follow him there (and away from Linden). "Do you... think you could help me pick out just the right ones?" He hoped it wasn't terribly obvious that he was trying to get rid of Linden: he didn't want to seem rude, but the man had given him a less than pleasant look and was now going all "protective older brother" on him. This was some drama he could do without.

[Linden McKay]

Linden was a little out of it sure, but usually he could see right through attempts at flirting and to him it seemed that Tanner was definitely into his sister. When Ceri said it wasn't like that, Linden took it the wrong way. What? Did this guy really think he was too good for Ceri? Clearly the kid had terrible taste. He hadn't hit on Linden, he didn't like Ceri, what the hell did he like then? Fat old men/women with no personal hygiene at all? Ew!!

He had no idea just how wrong he was though. And he couldn't just give up. Oh no, that wasn't Linden's style. He glared at the kid and took a sip of his Coke. "And why is it not like that? Hmm? Is my sister not good enough for you pal?" He interrogated making a bigger fool of himself than he already had. Oh Linden just shut your trap before it gets you in trouble.

They started walking towards the spices and Linden frowned. He felt so left out. Why wasn't this going well? He hadn't done anything wrong. Or so he thought. The boy could be so completely oblivious sometimes it was crazy. Ceri was trying to occupy him with other things, but was failing hardcore. Linden was just too worried about her for his own good. He wasn't helping her at all, but he thought he was.