"Pizza, paper plates, napkins..." Oliver muttered as he set the table, the pair of pizza boxes taking up the center of the table with everything else arranged around them. "Right, drinks... Poli will want a beer with her pizza, and I know Jal has taken a liking to cola... Gotta make sure to limit that so she doesn't get cavities or something..."

He paused, staring off into the distance for a moment. "Now that I think about it, I never asked about tooth care on their world. Do they brush and floss like we do? I never really paid attention to their teeth, but Jal smiles a lot and I haven't noticed anything wrong..." He sighed, rubbing his temple slowly. "I guess there is a lot of stuff to cover that I hadn't thought of before..."

Shaking his head, he grabbed beers for himself and Poli, and a cola for Jal- while reminding himself to limit it to the occasional treat- before staring blankly at the options before him. "I know Lily has had wine fairly often, being a princess and all, but... we don't have any... And pizza and wine just sounds wrong."

"Maybe she would like a beer? Or some tea?"

"Everything good, Oli?"

Oliver smiled over his shoulder at his fiance as the three of them joined him, hair still damp from the bath. Poli, like him, had opted for a pair of jeans and a shirt- one of his shirts, unsurprisingly, that had 'I Attack the Darkness' written in large letters across it. Behind her, Lily and Jal entered the kitchen together, eyes large with wonder as they tried to take in all the new and unusual things surrounding them. Lily's red skin stood out in sharp contrast to the green sundress she wore, the ankle length fabric swaying gently as she glided into the room.

And Jal... He couldn't help but grin at the sight of her wearing a simple pair of overalls and a t-shirt. While it didn't quite go with the pink sunglasses, he thought she looked adorable.

"Yeah, just working on drinks; I wasn't really sure what to grab for Lily, though."

"This... pizza. It smells quite good." Lily said softly, turning her gaze to Oliver. "What would you recommend to pair with it?"

"That's a tough question to answer, really." He replied as Poli led Jal to sit at the table. "Beer or soda are pretty popular, but we also have tea and water- though hot tea probably isn't the best match, if you ask me. I mean, I have a few blends that could maybe work, but..."

"I will try whatever you are having- if that is acceptable?"

"Sure." He shrugged, grabbing another beer and joining them at the table. "Just to be safe, we're going to take the meal slow. From what I've seen, your biology is similar enough to ours that the food shouldn't be a problem, but it's still better to be cautious. So, after your first bite, wait a few minutes to see if there is a reaction before you eat more, ok?"

"That means you especially, Jal; No trying to stuff your face like you did with my snacks the first time."

Jal shifted in embarrassment even as she tried to suppress her excitement at trying the new food. "I know, Dad. I remember what you told me."

"So, they're pretty similar to us?" Poli asked curiously as she opened the first pizza box and grabbed herself and Jal a slice each. "When did you find that out?"

"Eh, I had some time for a look when I was dealing with those last pirates." Oliver shrugged, taking his first bite of pepperoni pizza, and a small smile flashed across his face. "It wasn't really a proper dissection or anything, but they have all the same organs in the same places- there could be some differences on a cellular level, I guess, but I wouldn't even know where to start with that."

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"What does 'dissection' mean?" Jal asked innocently, even as she eagerly reached for her food.

Oliver nearly choked as the question, combined with the sharp look from Poli and the expression of mild horror from Lily, reminded him clearly... that, while he didn't really think anything of it, most people would be horrified at the idea of him studying his mutilated enemies just to understand their differences and similarities...

And that it definitely wasn't an appropriate dinner conversation- especially with his daughter, a young child, around.

"Ah, that... I'll explain that... Um, later. Maybe next week, as part of your English lessons..." He coughed awkwardly.

"Anyway... Um..." His eyes flickered between Poli and Lily, a hint of desperation in them as he searched for help changing the subject.

Seeing the panic creeping into his expression, Lily quickly composed herself and jumped in to steer the conversation to a safer topic. "Is eating with your hands a common practice here?" She asked smoothly, daintily lifting the slice of pizza before her.

Taking pity on her fiance, Poli stepped in to help as well. "It depends on the food, mostly, as well as personal preference. I know some people eat pizza with a knife and fork, but most people here don't. There are actually several other foods that we tend to eat with our hands, like hamburgers and tacos, but there are also a lot that we don't."

"You know, I find it kinda interesting..." She continued with a thoughtful look. "That both our worlds have similar utensils. I mean, a knife is pretty obvious, but I never really thought to deeply about forks and spoons..."

Oliver sighed in relief as the conversation drifted into safer territory- he had gotten far too used to Poli simply accepting his oddities, and having to reign himself in a bit for the sake of his daughter... required a little adjustment.

The last thing he wanted was for her to end up like him- hopefully she would take more after Poli, he thought... That would be for the best.

"Pizza... is amazing!" Jal exclaimed, slouched in her chair as she patted her belly.

"It is quite good. I especially like those little black vegetables- what were they called?" Lily added, gently dabbing at her lips with a napkin.

"Black olives; they're one of my favorites too." Oliver chuckled, already cleaning up.

As he was putting the leftover pizza in the refrigerator, Lily spoke up once more. "That... box... that you are storing the food in, you also store the drinks in it?" At Oliver's nod, the curiosity in her eyes grew and she leaned forward in her seat. "But... the drinks were cold!"

"Before you start trying to explain the fridge, Oli, you mind tossing me my phone?" Poli cut in. "It's still in your Warehouse, and I want to check on my mom now that we're back- I'm sure I have at least a hundred messages from her at this point."

"Sure, hon. Tell her I said 'hi'." He answered, handing her the cell phone before turning back to Lily and Jal, who were both eagerly waiting for the explanation. "Ok, come check it out. I can't really explain exactly how it works, but the refrigerator stays cool inside to help preserve food. The small top part up here is the freezer, which, as the name implies, keeps things frozen..."

Not being able to get into the technical details, Oliver's explanation was fairly short. Still, it was enough to amaze the duo from another world- especially the ice maker, as fresh and clean ice was a true rarity even to the princess.

He was just wrapping up his little show and tell with them when he caught the end of Poli's conversation from the other room.

"Yeah, we just got back mom. We haven't even unpacked yet." He could hear the tinge of nervousness creeping into her voice- and the reason quickly became clear.

"We're still a little worn down from the trip, so maybe tomorrow would be better-"

"No, really mom, you don't have to come right over..."

"She hung up..." Poli sighed, slowly lowering the phone from her ear. Turning to face Oliver with an awkward smile on her face, she shrugged slightly as the panic in his eyes mirrored her own. "So, my mom will be here in, like, fifteen minutes."

"I probably should have expected this..."

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