"Can't help it."
"Creepy."
"You love it."
She opens one eye, then the other, and despite the bruising, despite everything that happened yesterday, she's smiling."Maybe a little."
I press a gentle kiss to her forehead, careful of her injuries."How are you feeling?"
"Sore, but better than yesterday."
"Good.Because I'm making breakfast, and you're going to sit there and let me take care of you."
"Is that an order?"
"Absolutely."
Her smile widens, and something warm and possessive curls in my chest.This is what I want.
Every morning, every day, every moment I can get with her.
We move to the kitchen and she settles on a barstool while I start pulling out ingredients.It's domestic and ordinary, and under different circumstances, it would be perfect.
"Pancakes?"she asks, watching me work.
"Jake mentioned they're his favorite."
"You remember that?"
"I remember everything about them.About you."
The admission makes her cheeks flush, and I have to resist the urge to kiss her again, later, when the kids aren't about to wake up, when we have time to do it properly.
"Can I help?"she asks.
"You can keep me company.That's help enough."
She watches me work, and there's something intimate about it.The casual touches as I move around the kitchen, the way she leans into me when I pass by, the small smiles we exchange that feel like secrets.
This is what life could be like.Should be like.
If I don't fuck it up.
The kids start filtering in around eight, drawn by the smell of pancakes and bacon.They're still half-asleep, disheveled and adorable, and watching Evangeline with them makes my chest tight with emotions I'm not ready to examine.
"Uncle Hades made breakfast!"Lily announces, climbing into her chair."With chocolate chips!"
"Because someone mentioned they were her favorite," I say, serving her a stack.
"You spoil them," Evangeline says, but there's no criticism in it.Just affection.
"Someone has to."
We eat together, all seven of us, and it feels like a preview of what our future could look like.Loud, chaotic, full of laughter and spilled juice and arguments over who gets the last piece of bacon.
Perfect.
My phone buzzes with a text from Ghost, and reality crashes back in.
