Teddy gave them a flat look. “No, we certainly do not. Go sit.”
“Chia seeds are nutrient dense,” Echo said as they rounded the island. “I really think you should reconsid—AH! IT’S STILL HERE!”
Sable grumbled from his spot on the floor, annoyed by the noise.
“Sable,” Wren reminded them, putting his hands on his hips. “And yes. He is. Is that a problem?”
“It’s not,” Teddy said. “Echo, I promise nothing bad will happen. Wren has a way with animals. You can trust him. Or just trust me.”
Echo chewed their lips as their eyes bounced between the three of them before settling on Sable. “He’s sleeping?”
“He does that a lot. He’s a lazybones,” Wren said.
Sable swatted him with his tail, making Wren laugh and Echo smiled slightly. “He can understand you?”
“We understand each other,” Wren said happily. “Not words, necessarily. On a deeper level.”
“That’s nice. Words are hard sometimes,” Echo mumbled, edging closer.
“Sable is a great listener,” Wren said softly. “You don’t even need to say it.”
Echo crouched down a few paces away from Sable, arms wrapped around their knees. Sable opened a single yellow eye toregard them, nostrils flaring before he purred softly, deep in his chest.
Echo’s eyes flew wide, and they looked up at Wren in question and wonder.
Wren laughed a little. “That means he likes you. Which is an honor, because he doesn’t really like anyone but me.”
Wren had hardly seen anyone look more pleased, before he glanced over at Teddy to find him staring at Wren with the exact same look. Soft. Awed. Happy. It made Wren’s chest pound and his heart ache with feeling.
“Thank you,” Teddy whispered.
“For what?” Wren asked.
Teddy’s eyes traced every feature on his face. “Being you.”
Before Wren could beg to know what that meant, Teddy turned around to the stove. He poured the finished mixture into a skillet while Echo communed with Sable on the floor.
The perfectly round circles were fluffy and steaming when they ended up on a plate in front of Wren. They could have been photographed and put on a blog post immediately. It was an encapsulation of Teddy and the opposite of the mess Wren would have made.
Wren didn’t even want to dig into them, instead wanting to stare in satisfaction at what had been provided to him.
“Are they okay?” Teddy checked, nervously hovering with a towel slung over his shoulder.
It forced Wren’s fork into the stack and then into his mouth. They melted on his tongue, the hint of maple from the syrup sweeter because of who had put it there. “They’re good.”They’re perfect. Just like you.
Teddy’s shoulders visibly relaxed while his chest puffed infinitesimally.
“Are you not having any?”
Teddy shook his head. “They’re for you.”
Wren’s eyes widened at the towering stack. “It’s bigger than me.”
Teddy blushed. “You shouldn’t be hungry.”
Wren remembered that Teddy used to walk around with Wren’s favorite seeds in his pocket just for Wren to snack on.
Teddy quickly turned and pulled out two small bowls, filling one with water and the other with what was clearly the same birdseed that was in the feeder on his window. Blu hopped down happily.
