"Oh, right." Julie had almost forgotten, and she grinned when Altaria brought over a pen. "Thanks, darling. And since you brought it up, I missed our burger date last weekend."

Steve grinned a bit.

"It's alright," he said. "I think I can forgive a missed date because of an assignment."

"Still, not exactly a good record to miss one of the two dates we've had," Julie said with a little shrug. "I could make dinner tonight instead."

Steve smiled and kissed her cheek.

"I think this once I can count it as a reschedule rather than a missed date," he said.

"Alright, I think that's acceptable," Julie agreed with a grin. "I'll run down to the store and pick up a few things, then, and I'll cook for us."

"I can do that for you, if you'd like," Steve offered. "Give me a list. That way you don't have to leave the pokemon."

Julie hesitated for a moment before she nodded her agreement, handing back the signed form to him before getting up to go make a list of what she'd need. It took her only a minute to make the list.

"There, that should be everything."

Steve nodded.

"Alright," he said. He got up. "I'll be back soon."

"Alright. Thanks, Steve." Julie smiled and watched him leave, once again catching Chingling before the little pokemon could get out the door.

Steve closed the door quickly behind him, having heard Chingling approaching, and headed out to get what Julie needed.

Julie waited patiently for him to come back, getting everything ready in the meantime so it wouldn't take as long once he got back.

This time, Steve was ready to intercept Chingling if he had to, when he opened the door.

"Everything still in one piece?" he asked when he saw Julie again.

"Yup, everything is still good here," Julie said with a little grin. "And I've got everything set up so I can teach you how to make burgers tonight anyway."

Steve grinned a bit.

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" he asked.

Julie grinned and moved into the kitchen with him to show him what to do. Even the pokemon settled in to watch for a while, clearly hoping for food.

Steve watched and followed instructions, clearly enjoying both the time with her and the lesson. And, he might admit, he was a bit of a softie when it came to pokemon, and he slipped a few pieces to them every so often.

Julie noticed and smiled. She had set aside some meat to make meatballs for the pokemon.

"Alright, now that the patties are formed, let's set them in the fridge for a bit to rest. And while we're waiting, I'll show you how to make meatballs for the hungry horde." She shot him a grin.

Steve turned a bit red.

"Ah... you caught that, huh?" he asked, grinning sheepishly.

"I did." Julie grinned and kissed his cheek. "It's okay, they're cute and the only reason I didn't feed them yet is because I knew I'd be making the meatballs for them."

Steve grinned a bit.

"Well, then we shouldn't keep them waiting," he said.

Julie chuckled and showed him how to make those before putting everything to cook. The meatballs were done first, and she handed those off to Steve to feed to the pokemon.

Steve smiled a bit and took the meatballs, handing them out fairly to the pokemon.

Julie let him focus on that, finishing dinner for the two of them before setting his plate next to him.

"They already look more relaxed," she noted quietly, watching the pokemon settle in to eat.

"That's good," Steve replied softly. "It will help them acclimate a little better if they're calm and relaxed."

"Yeah. Helps me, too. Don't have to worry about them getting into so much trouble." Julie smiled and pushed a plate over to him. "So we can eat our dinners in peace."