Jack woke to the smell of coffee brewing. He smiled and took a slow, deep breath, taking in the aroma before opening his eyes. Corona wasn't beside him, but he could hear her claws clicking on the floor as she moved around the kitchen. He sat up slowly, yawned and rubbed a hand over his face, then stood and stretched. He brought up a clock in his heads-up display and grimaced.

Damn. It's almost noon. He sighed and dressed hurriedly. He'd needed to get a decent amount of sleep, but he hated oversleeping. A big chunk of the day was gone before he even woke up.

Can't do anything about it now. Just gotta make the most of what's left of the day. He glanced into the mirror, grabbed the comb off the top of his dresser and gave his hair a quick work-over. Then he tossed the comb back onto the dresser and headed for the doorway before it came to a stop.

Corona stood in front of the oven, staring intently at the pan of scrambled eggs on the right-front burner. She hadn't bothered to put any clothes on, as she often did, and Jack took a moment to enjoy the sight.

She glanced over her shoulder. "Morning, luv." She smiled and shifted her weight slightly, and her scales glistened in the sunlight streaming through the window.

"Morning, honey." He grinned, walked up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist, then he ducked under her right arm and kissed the side of her breast. She giggled. "Breakfast smells wonderful," he mumbled against her skin, and she laughed.

"That tickles!" She leaned over to kiss him and returned her attention to the pan in front of her. "I wasn't sure I wanted to try cooking again, after my attempt at breakfast yesterday ended up looking like a meteorite that survived reentry, but you needed some extra sleep." She chuckled. "I learned my lesson, though. I'm keeping my eyes on this until it's done."

"Well, you're doing a wonderful job. With a lot of things, if you get my meaning."

"I do, indeed." She winked at him before focusing on the eggs again. "You were pretty wonderful, yourself."

"Flatterer." He planted a smooch on her huge bicep before moving over to the coffee maker.

"Just being honest." She lifted the pan off the burner and turned it off, scooped the eggs onto a pair of plastic plates, dividing them equally. "Eh. These aren't fluffy. They're supposed to be fluffy, right?"

"They don't have to be." Jack smiled. "You did just fine."

"Maybe. But I still have room for improvement." She put the plates on the table, took four slices of bread out of their bag, and put them into the toaster. "Almost done."

"Okay." Jack inhaled deeply as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "Mmm. This smells good."

"Since it's brewed automatically, it's one of the few things I can't screw up 'cause all I have to do is push one button." She chuckled.

"Aw, give yourself more credit than that. Hell, you should've seen my first attempt at cooking. I almost burned the house down." He poured another cup for her and placed them on the table. "Taura up yet?"

"Oh, she left a message. Said she needed to step out for some fresh air and would come back later."

"Ah." Jack frowned. "I hope she's okay. She seemed a little distracted last night."

"Yeah, I noticed that. She was giving you these weird looks ever since we got home." The toast popped up and Corona buttered them and brought them to the table. "You know, I just realized, it didn't start last night. It's been going on for a while. I noticed this look she was giving you several times in the last few days."

"Really? I hadn't even noticed." Jack pulled a chair back for her and she sat, lowering herself onto it carefully. He sat beside her and picked up his fork.

Corona giggled and pointed her fork at Jack. "Actually, now that I think about it, she looked like she wanted to hump you."

Jack froze with a forkful of eggs halfway to his mouth. "What?"

"I suspect she likes you more than you realize." Corona popped a bite of scrambled eggs into her mouth and followed up with some toast.

Jack stared at her. Corona arched a brow ridge. Jack shook his head.

"Uh … oh, no. No. It can't be that."

"Why not? Remember the way I looked at you just before we got together? Taura had the same look on her face."

"No, no, no. It must be something else."

"What's the matter?" Corona giggled. "Don'tcha think she's attractive?"

"It's not that." He shook his head again. "I don't even wanna go there. It's gotta be something else. Maybe she just had gas or something."

Corona burst out laughing. "Okay, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But I know I'm right."

"Eh." Jack sighed. If Corona was right, it could cause all kinds of problems. He didn't even want to think about it. Best to change the subject. He made a show of glancing at the clock on the wall. "Oh, I almost forgot, after breakfast, I need to give Otto and Shakira the clips Taura edited last night."

"'Kay." Corona gave him a sly look from the corner of her eye as if to say, "Ha-ha, you're in denial."

Jack shrugged and continued eating. "Heard anything from your clients?"

"Nothing urgent. They've been leaving messages, keeping me in the loop. Kim said they're planning to talk to the police today."

"Good." He chewed another mouthful. "Got another gig lined up? Or are you free today?"

"Nothing yet. Got something in mind?"

"Well, now that you mention it …"

She giggled and draped her wing around his shoulders. He grinned.

"I was thinking maybe we could celebrate your latest success. Say, with dinner this evening?"

"Sounds fun. Thinking of anything specific?"

"Something nice, for a change, instead of the cheap places we usually hang around. Soft lighting, maybe a candlelight dinner, that kind of thing."

"But you hate being around people."

"I can live with it for one evening." He chuckled.

"We can have a romantic dinner here."

"Well … if Taura's here then, she might end up feeling left out. I'd like to avoid that."

"Can't Taura be a part of it, too?"

Jack held in a sigh. "This is supposed to be just for the two of us. A nice, intimate dinner for you and me."

"Ah. Well, okay, then." Corona smiled and patted his hand. "Hey, I have an idea. How about the Event Horizon?"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "That place is more like a nightclub for hackers than a restaurant."

"It's getting a little classier. They were adding on some stuff last time I was there, a couple weeks ago. Yeah, it's got the loud music and all that, but they turned one of the upstairs rooms into a lounge. It's soundproofed so you can't hear the noise on the main floor." She smiled.

"Okay. What kind of food do they serve?"

"They've got a pretty wide variety, from what I was told. Italian, Mexican, Japanese and Chinese, Cajun, others." She grinned and chewed another bite of eggs before continuing. "Otto suggested that I try their crab puffs. Oh, they were good! You've gotta try some!"

Jack laughed and nodded. "Okay, you've convinced me. The Event Horizon, it is."

"Whee!" Corona giggled. "Sweet!"

Jack felt his grin broadening. He had always been so grim and angry before he met her, but she never failed to make him smile. He wondered how he'd managed to live without her.

"I love you, Corona," he said softly, and she smiled and leaned over to nuzzle him.

"I love you, too."

They held one another for a moment longer, then finished breakfast in a comfortable silence. At the moment, nothing more needed to be said.