That's Not Calamari - Per, casual

[JANE EYRE]

Jane never would have thought that the odd, quiet dock worker who saved her life some time ago would end up being such a good friend. Sure, Perry taught her how to swim and, to some degree, how to cook fish, but Jane had never anticipated a friendship.

Several weeks had passed since the accident at the docks and Jane knew how to swim now. She and Perry could have called it quits then but spending time together seemed oddly...favorable.

For instance, today. Lunch on Perry's boat which he was currently in the water trying to catch. With his bare hands, for whatever reason. Honestly, some of the things Perry was compelled to do flat out confused Jane. What was better about catching fish with your bare hands, honestly? Couldn't he use a pole like normal, civilized people?

He was Perry. That was really all the explanation Jane could think of.

While he was off doing his overly testosterone driven hunting ritual, Jane was lazing on her stomach on the boat, a large piece of paper before her, charcoal in hand. She was drawing the marina, and failing quite miserably.

Angles just weren't cooperating today.

[PERRY "POSEIDON" GOETZKE]

Fishing was something Perry knew how to do and how to do well. Sure, he used a fishing pole. When he was after real fish and not bait fish, he'd cast out a pole and just wait for it to catch something, anything, as long as it was edible. But, when the game was smaller, he didn't see the need to use a fishing pole. You can't see what you're getting when you use your pole. So, instead of using a pole, Perry just jumped straight in and fished with his bare hands for the bait. It was a whole lot easier.

And it amused Jane. Who decided that Perry was her new friend. He really didn't mind it. Sometimes she came out of nowhere, sometimes it was planned. Like today, lunch was planned between the two of them. Well, planned as in Jane asked and Perry grunted. So kind of planned. He had forgotten until Jane showed up; he was busy catching bait.

She didn't mind. She just stretched out on the deck and started drawing the marina while Perry stayed in the water catching bait. A few minutes later, though, he caught enough and climbed back on the deck, tossing the small fish in to the bucket he kept handy.

"What fish do you want?" He grabbed his towel and began wiping off. "Flounder again, or what?"

He looked over at what she was drawing. She always seemed to make such good drawings.

[JANE EYRE]

Jane frowned down at the sketch pad, chewing on the inside of her cheek in frustration. She just couldn't get that one boat to look right. It was coming out all lopsided. Jane turned the sketchpad to a different angle and tried to keep going from there.

Well, that worked a little better.

Perry climbed onto the boat and started to dry off. The primeval hunter was satisfied with his catch, it seemed.

"What fish do you want? Flounder again, or what?"

Jane shrugged. "I'm not a picky eater. Whatever you want to have is perfectly fine with me." And it was. Perry knew how to cook fish so it tasted wonderful and not like salt or seaweed or something unpleasant. And it didn't taste like those frozen fish fingers she had bought at the market once. Those were horrible. They tasted nothing like fish and were soggy and mushy.

Last Jane had checked, they shouldn't be soggy and mushy.

"The flounder was good but if you had something else you wanted to make, I'm sure I'd enjoy it."

[PERRY "POSEIDON" GOETZKE]

"The flounder was good but if you had something else you wanted to make, I'm sure I'd enjoy it."

He shrugged and bent to towel off his legs. He rubbed at them roughly, making sure any water hiding in his leg hair was dried. Then he laid the towel on the deck and stepped on it to wipe off his feet.

"Well," he said, doing a weird shuffling movement on the towel, "I've got salmon that was caught two days ago, mahi mahi which is denser like a steak but not, flounder, tuna, and a buddy of mine managed to give me a whole swordfish."

Perry grabbed up his towel and hung it over one of the chairs to dry out. The sun was bright enough that it wouldn't take too long. He padded over to his chair and plopped down, legs stretched out and lean leaned back so he could dry out.

"I got the grill, a flat top, a deep frier, a small oven thing."

He waved his hand around in the air to show he didn't really care which way he prepared it. Fish was fish when it came down to it.

[JANE EYRE]

Jane looked over at Perry and listened to him list off all the types of fish he and the way he could cook them. Jane didn't care one way or another how it was cooked. She really liked fish so as long as it wasn't soggy fish sticks, she'd eat it. Sushi actually sounded good but that was a lot of hassle that she wouldn't want to ask of Perry.

"Well, it all sounds good. I've never tried mahi mahi though," She said with a shrug. Jane was up to trying a new fish if Perry was going to make it. Well, she'd eat anything she didn't have to burn cook.

Jane rolled over and closed her sketch pad, declaring it a lost cause for the moment.