New Job

Matt quickly glances at Ariana laying on the ground before rushing towards his mom. He can't help but feel guilty since nothing has happened but he still has to explain quite a bit to her. Dashing towards his mother, it only takes him seconds to reach her and grab her arm.

"She's a coworker, we aren't in a relationship."-Matt explains hastily.

"You work fast for not being in a relationship. Did you use protection? And I know you just lost your job so you don't have any coworkers currently."-Mrs. Simmons

"She offered me a job today. And she passed out when I was doing some dangerous magic experiment."-Matt

"Sure. That is the most unique excuse for 'getting caught up in passion' that I've ever heard. You have an amazing imagination."-Mrs. Simmons

"Ugh. I summoned a creature from another dimension that has a negative effect on human minds and it made her pass out. When I went to check if she was okay she grabbed me in her sleep. Then I started meditating because she wouldn't let go and I didn't want to hurt her. She works for a group of people who monitor special humans for danger. And so do I now."-Matt gets out a full explanation.

"So no grandkids yet? Well is she awake? Did you want to make some food for when she wakes up since your cooking is so impressive lately? It'd be a nice thought for your new coworker."-Mrs. Simmons

"Alright, I believe we had everything for a good beef stir fry. It shouldn't take me more than half an hour to prep the ingredients and get it all cooked."-Matt

Matt quickly gets to chopping the beef into strips and the vegetables into bite sized chunks. He then cooks the beef in hot oil for a couple minutes before setting it aside. Continuing to cook the vegetables the same way for a bit longer, he sets them aside with the meat. Finally preparing the sauce with garlic, ginger, orange juice, water, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch he brings the ingredients to a light simmer for a few minutes while making sure they are thoroughly mixed together and then tosses the meat and vegetables back into it. Letting everything finish cooking together, he goes upstairs to check if Ariana is awake yet.

Taking a deep breath "WAKE UP ARIANA!"-Matt screams into her ear.

"Ah good, you're awake. Did you have a nice nap? You feeling okay?"-Matt asks in a soothing tone.

"What happened? Why am I sleeping on the floor? I remember the cat thing and giving it alcohol, then I was in this dark place. There were these creepy clowns with spiders crawling around on their bodies. They were coming closer when all of a sudden they disappeared."-Ariana says, a bit scared remembering her nightmare.

"Clowns and spiders are your worst fears? Kate has the effect of enhancing the fears of beings with weaker wills. Even I started getting a headache. Anyways, I sent her back and made some stir fry if you're hungry. Do you need help standing?"-Matt

"Can you carry me? I feel a bit dizzy."-Ariana says weakly.

"Sure."-Matt says while picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder in a fireman carry.

"I thought you'd give me a princess carry. Why are you being so rough on me?"-Ariana

"You seem fine to me, and I have to walk down stairs with you. I need to see where I'm going."-Matt justifies."Plus it's fun to tease you, since you have been teasing me constantly since we met."

Arriving downstairs, they see Mrs. Simmons preparing the table.

"You guys are really close, you sure you aren't in a relationship?"-Mrs. Simmons asks with a smirk.

"Can I... Can I call you Mom? Matt's bullying me and won't be gentle. Even after all we've been through, he still won't be open about our relationship. That was my first time, Matt."-Ariana says with tears in her eyes.

"I will drop you. I already told her you gave me a job and what we do. What do you mean 'first time?' Sounds like someone doesn't want to try my beef stir fry."-Matt says sarcastically.

"It was my first time watching someone summon a demon? The food smells really good too. Would you like to work as my chef instead? I can pay you a salary....or with my body."-Ariana says with a bit of drool coming out of her mouth.

"I'm going to ignore that, let's eat."-Matt

"You two get along real well, I approve if you need me to step out for a couple of hours and make me some grandkids."-Mrs. Simmons

"Food. Now."-Matt says desperately trying to change the subject.

They finally dig in to the meal, and Ariana is just as impressed by Matt's cooking as his mother was.

"Wow, this is really amazing. You sure you don't want to be my stay at home husband?"-Ariana says after swallowing down the last bit of food on her plate.

"Not currently part of my plan. Maybe if you were a bit more aloof, you'd appeal to my tastes a bit more."-Matt

"Guess I'll just have to keep trying then."-Ariana