Theo picked at his own food as Rahar ate, a faint smile on his lips as he watched the other practically inhale the bacon. It was…well, messy, but kind of cute, in a way. He felt a little bad, constantly comparing Rahar to a dog, but he honestly resembled one in so many ways. Theo grabbed his coffee mug, and took another sip, his eyelids drooping a bit. He’d eaten a little bit off of his own plate, but probably less than he should have. Being so tired honestly killed his appetite, and he didn’t usually eat too much, anyways.

Still, it had been a long time since he’d eaten with anyone, and it was a nice feeling. Somehow, everything tasted a bit better just by having Rahar there.

“Theo,” Rahar chirped, his mouth full of food.

Theo scrunched his note, and sighed, “Don’t talk with your mouth full,” he said without thinking, and then blinked. He had just ordered a dragon prince around, and the realization made him cringe. But Rahar didn’t get upset, he just seemed surprised.

Rahar blinked once, and then again, and then slowly chewed his food the rest of the way, swallowed, and then started speaking. “Are you not eating anymore? You’ve barely eaten anything…” Rahar eyed Theo’s plate, and though the dragon made no comment, Theo noticed his eyes lingering on the pieces of bacon on his plate.

Theo chuckled softly, and then stabbed his fork into the bacon pieces. “It’s fine. Here, take these, I wouldn’t want them to go to waste…”

Rahar’s eyes widened, practically sparkling with excitement. But then he frowned, and looked down at his plate, and then back at Theo. He repeated the action two more times, and then pursed his lips. “You should eat it…” Rahar said, scrunching his face up slightly, looking like he’d swallowed something bitter. It clearly took a lot of effort for him to reject the offer of bacon.

Theo laughed, and shook his head. “I’m full, Rahar, it’s fine…I don’t want it to go to waste, so go ahead and eat it.”

Rahar hesitated, but then gingerly grabbed one of the extra pieces of bacon, and bit off the end of it. Theo smiled, watching as Rahar eyed him carefully. Rahar started to speak again, but then stopped, and finished off his bite of bacon. “If that’s all you eat, I can see why you’re so small…” Rahar said, his expression shifting to one of concern. “Even humans in my realm eat quite a bit. But they also work the fields…” And Rahar trailed off, staring pointedly at Theo. It was pretty clear Theo hadn’t worked in the sun for a single day of his life. Or a physically demanding job, for that matter.

Theo arched a brow, and then sighed, and set his coffee mug down. “I don’t eat a lot in the morning, honestly. Low blood pressure, or something. I’ll make up for it later…” He definitely ate way too many snacks throughout the day. He had no comment about his small physique. It was what it was. “My metabolism just doesn’t kick in until I’ve had a few cups of coffee.”

Rahar looked like he was speaking an alien language – well, all technicalities aside, he sort of was- and then ate another piece of bacon. “Well, as long as you eat, that’s fine…” he grudgingly said, and then focused again on the food on his plate.

Theo smiled for a second, and then grabbed his plate and stood. He would take care of cleaning the rest of the dishes while Rahar ate, and then he’d take him to see his room. As much as Theo hated to disappoint Rahar, he really couldn’t last another night without much sleep. He brought his plate to the sink after throwing away what he hadn’t eaten, and then grabbed the rest of the dishes, heaving them into a small pile in the sink.

Ten minutes later, and the mess all cleaned up, Rahar brought over his plate, eyeing the sink suspiciously, almost. Theo smiled, and took the pate from Rahar, arching a brow. He’d clearly licked it clean, and the plate barely even needed a rinse. “Thank you, Rahar…”

Rahar gave him a smile, and then looked back to the sink full of steamy, soapy water. Theo dipped the plate in the soapy water, rinsed it off, and turned back to the dishwasher. He set the plate with the others on the rack, and then pushed it in, before shoving the door closed. It wasn’t nearly full enough to run yet, so he didn’t have to worry about that at the moment.

He turned to Rahar, and then arched a brow, seeing he was leaning over and staring at the dishwasher. “What is it?” Rahar asked, his voice a hushed whisper.

Theo hesitated, not sure how to answer that. Rahar’s eyes were sparkling, but he seemed wary. Like a cat unsure of a cucumber on the floor- Theo could imagine him jumping into the air if the door opened on its own. “It’s a dish washer…” Theo hesitated, and then crossed his arms over his chest. “We don’t have magic here, but I guess we have something a little bit like it. Electricity and stuff…” Theo winced. ‘Stuff’ was really not too intelligent sounding. He might have been a nerd, but he wasn’t that kind of nerd. Rocks and music were his forte, and about all he really had a great well of knowledge on.

“A dish washer…? But didn’t you just wash them? And what… El...elec….trish….itty??” Rahar squinted, and then lowered himself into a crouch in front of the dishwasher, lifting a hand to poke at the shiny black surface.

“Uhm, yeah. But it’s like…” Theo frowned, and then sighed, “Electricity. It’s like….uh, it does a lot of things, like on its own. Almost like magic, but it’s science…” he said, feeling a faint flush rising to his cheeks. God, how long had it been since he had any science classes? And how did he explain it to someone who’d never even heard of it. “It does a better job at cleaning things than I could….”

Rahar squinted at the machine, and then up at Theo. “I don’t understand. But I trust you…when are we going to see the other room?”

That said, Rahar stood from the ground, seemingly forgetting all about the Dishwasher in just a moment.

Theo snorted softly, and smiled, before clearing his throat. “We can go now,” he said briefly, and then turned. “It’s across the hall from my bedroom, upstairs…” It had been a spare bedroom growing up, and when he was in middle school, his parents had helped turn it into a rock collection room. Theo smiled faintly at the memory as he started heading upstairs. His parents had taken his fascination with rocks seriously, and had helped him grow his collection. He wasn’t sure how Rahar would react to the large amount of rocks in the room, but at least he’d never gotten obsessed with bugs, or something like that. It might have been a little unsettling having a bunch of bugs in glasses, staring at you all night.

Theo shuddered at the thought, and then headed up the stairs. He heard the padding of feet behind him, and knew that Rahar was following him up. The stairs gave little creaks as they walked up- it was an old house, so of course that was to be expected.

Theo reached the second floor, and then headed down the hall. He stopped in front of door across from his bedroom, and glanced back to make sure Rahar hadn’t somehow gotten lost. Sure enough, Rahar approached him with a curious expression. Briefly, Theo glanced towards the end of the hallway, to where his parents’ bedroom was. He had left it alone, all these years. He couldn’t even remember the last time he stepped inside.

He pushed down the faint sadness, and pushed the door to the spare bedroom open. “Here’s where you’ll be staying for now. Don’t mind the rocks, I promise they don’t bite…” Theo said, as he stepped inside.