MARIGOLD // Dave Grohl

XV: The Reverse Midas Touch

Tacoma, WA

June 21, 1994

The stove was sizzling, the aroma of bacon wafting through the air in Dave's apartment. Sarah had woken up before Dave and snuck out of bed as quietly as possible (also knowing full well that Dave could sleep through absolutely anything if he put his mind to it) and into the kitchen, exploring the refrigerator and pantry for breakfast options. She was tempted at first to take out a few oatmeal packets and call it a day, but she decided against that idea and told herself "go big or go home."

Things had been going pretty smoothly since the kiss. It was as if it never happened. The two spent the rest of the night listening to the new music Dave had written. His new stuff veered off from the usual Nirvana sound, bringing a brighter and more upbeat tone but maintaining the same amount of power, which Sarah thought was amazing. He wasn't allowing his association with Nirvana to change the way his songs were written. If anything, Kurt's writing influenced Dave's writing in a positive way by pushing him in a different direction.

Too caught up in her thoughts, Sarah had neglected to check on the bacon for a good few minutes, so the quickly-cooking greasy goodness soon began to burn, filling the kitchen with smoke. The smoke alarm went off, and Dave came stumbling into the kitchen, assessing the situation. He had fallen asleep at his desk, and that was evident as his glasses were crooked across his nose, and he still had the blanket that Sarah had wrapped around his shoulders when he passed out.

"I tried making breakfast," Sarah grimaced, and Dave smirked in response, turning off the smoke alarm before joining her at the stove and taking the pan off the heat. He ran it under water from the kitchen sink, and Sarah was turning a million shades of red out of pure embarrassment. She stepped away from the stove and stood closer to the island.

"I'm so sorry," Sarah whispered, and Dave only shook his head, turning away from the sink to face her and leaning against the counter.

"For what? You have nothing to be sorry for," he told her, adjusting his glasses. Sarah looked down at the ground, watching as Dave approached her. She looked up, their faces a lot closer now.

"Well, we'd have a different situation on our hands had I set your kitchen on fire," Sarah said, and Dave rolled his eyes, inching closer. "Still, no reason to be sorry."

"Last night was a one time thing, right?" Sarah whispered, and Dave nodded, their faces mere millimeters away. She could feel his breath fanning against her cheek, and she looked up to meet his eyes, her own eyes crossing due to how close they were.

"Yeah, something like that," Dave replied, before his hand met the back of her neck and they were suddenly kissing again, a lot more rough than last time.

His hands caressed the sides of Sarah's face, and her arms wrapped around Dave's torso, pulling him impossibly closer so her back was being dug into by the island counter. His hands ran through her hair, pulling at it slightly, and she involuntarily moaned into the kiss, nearly shutting down after she heard herself.

Noticing her discomfort, Dave pulled away, taking a couple steps back. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Sarah replied, trying to catch her breath. "You're just... a lot," she told him slyly, taking his hand and pulling him back into her.

"I'm guessing that's a good thing?" he smiled, pecking her on the lips quickly.

"That's an awesome thing, are you kidding?" she laughed, Dave wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer before lifting her so she could sit on top of the counter while he was able to reach her with more ease. He kissed her neck and within the split second that Sarah had her eyes open, they flickered towards the charred pan in the sink.

Dave pulled away again, attempting to gain eye contact with her. "What's up? Seriously?" His glance followed where hers lingered, and he turned back to face Sarah, rolling his eyes. "You're still hung up on that? Listen, what can I do to make you believe that that is the last thing on my mind right now?"

Sarah shrugged. "I dunno..." she trailed off, her cheeks turning red. She couldn't tell whether or not she should be freaking out, because he was being so nonchalant about the whole thing.

"You dumbass, I still like you regardless of if you fucked up my good frying pan," he smirked, turning away to pull two mugs out of his kitchen cabinet and bringing them over to his very fancy DeLonghi espresso machine.

"Now you're just trying to make me feel bad," Sarah mock-whined, hopping off the counter and over to Dave to help him set up the espresso machine. She reached over to pull the lever to release the portafilter but Dave swatted her hand away. "No way, Jose, you've got the Reverse Midas Touch. Everything you touch turns into charcoal," he laughed, filling the portafilter with espresso powder before finishing up the rest of the setup process, flipping the switch. Nothing happened.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," Dave exhaled, flipping the switch off and then on again. No luck. Sarah let out a small giggle. She watched the entire scene unfold as Dave realized that his espresso machine was broken. Maybe she had actually jinxed it.

"It's fine, I'm fine, everything's fine," Dave laughed, Sarah couldn't tell if he was being genuine or sarcastic, but either way, she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face into his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, and she felt his hand wrap around her waist.

"It's really okay, I've had this one for a while and it was bound to die sometime. This just means we'll have to go and get a new one," Dave said, patting the top of the machine as if it were an old friend. "Rest in peace, dear DeLonghi, you were a good one."

"Did you say 'we'?" Sarah asked, and Dave nodded. "Why not 'we'? You didn't think I would let you off the hook for burning my pan and breaking my espresso machine, did you? This shopping trip is really for you to take responsibility for your actions," he joked, and Sarah smiled. "At least let me buy you coffee while we're out," she told him.

Dave pecked her lips one more time before heading back to his room to find a change of clothes. "Okay, deal... Miss Anti-Midas."

"Fuck you."

"Name a date and time and I'll be there, love."