Monday, February 10th

With a rumbling groan, a guttural sound deeper than he ever thought his voice could make, Eden shifted under the light sheet. Everything was sore. Parts of him he didn’t even know existed were sore. Squinting his eyes open, all he saw was a backlit blue, and he realized the sheet was pulled up over his head.

Slowly moving a hand to the edge of the fabric, wincing at each tiny movement, he pulled the covering until a reddish-orange light hit him. With another groan, his eyelids closed, and he instinctively rolled away from the windows. It was a bad decision.

Fuck...

An amused chuckle drifted over, sounding almost mocking in his ear, and he squinted again. Kell was leaning against the small kitchen counter with a wooden spoon in his hand and that annoying smile on his face.

“I wasn’t sure you were going to wake up,” he joked, then he took a short breath in. “Oh. You can’t blame this on me, in case you don’t remember. I’ve seen your temper, but this was all you.”

He remembered every crazy moment and his cheeks burned as each one ran through his mind like a horrific slideshow of shame. “I’m not usually like that...”

Kell chuckled again. “I don’t think anyone is usually like that.” He turned back to the stove. As Eden began to regain his senses, the wonderful smell of peppers and sesame and egg wafted into his nostrils. “Come eat something.”

Glancing around him, he realized both he and the sheets were clean, and he was wearing a pair of pajama pants, a bit too big at the waist. The last thing he remembered was passing out, too drained to continue. Which meant Kell had washed him, dressed him, and changed the sheets under him. The burning from his cheeks spread to his ears.

“It’ll be worse if you don’t move around,” Kell casually offered, pulling a large pan off the stove and moving it to the table. “You need to stretch your muscles out. And replenish some of the calories you burned.”

With an enormous amount of effort, Eden pushed himself up onto his palms, grimacing at the pain. He couldn’t move his gaze away from Kell, setting plates and utensils in front of each chair.

What the hell is this? What are we doing?

Sex was sex and intimacy was intimacy. This was... somewhere between. Friends with benefits? Except they weren’t friends. They were barely more than strangers. He turned himself and slid to the edge of the mattress, letting out a breath at the movement. Eyeing the chair, he knew sitting on that would hurt.

“What are you doing?” Kell asked through a playful grin, arms folded while he watched the show. “You’re very dramatic. I checked and there wasn’t any blood, so I don’t think you tore anything. Would you like me to run you a bath? Or do you need me to go down to the corner and buy a donut for your ass?”

What the fuck...

Eden smiled at this ridiculous situation. Gritting his teeth, he stood, grunting loudly as he straightened his back. He felt wobbly but managed to find his balance and shuffled over to the table.

“You made it.”

“Oh, fuck off.” He sat gingerly, gasping at the initial pressure. “You can bottom next time.”

“I don’t think that was your only problem, but I’m fine with that.” Kell sat across from him and Eden could only stare. The response was so calm and casual - everything was so casual - and he couldn’t understand.

Piling fried rice into a large bowl and laying an over-easy egg on top, Kell placed it before him. “I wasn’t sure what you eat, so I figured this was safe. I’ll take the egg if you don’t want it.”

“No, this looks really good...” He picked up the spoon and poked at the yolk, letting the yellow run into the bowl, then stared at Kell again. “Umm...”

Kell hummed at him, but he just shook his head. Taking a bite, he glanced back up, this time in shock.

“What?”

“This is good.” He wasn’t expecting a bowl of fried rice to taste so delicious. The right ratio of rice to vegetables, not too salty or spicy, and just a hint of sesame. The warm egg mixed throughout made it creamy and he let out a satisfied sigh.

The reaction received yet another chuckle and Kell paused, quietly watching him eat. Their eyes met a few times as Eden pushed food around the bowl and into his mouth. The dark brown looked brighter in the setting sunlight. Like so many things about him, it made Eden’s heart skip.

“I’m a grown man living alone,” Kell said, finally taking a small bite but not moving his gaze away. “Why are you so surprised? You can’t cook?”

“Shit no,” Eden huffed out. “Unless you count burnt toast and peanut butter as cooking.”

“I do not.”

“Yeah, me neither.”

His lips stretched and curled upward on their own, and there was a warm, comfortable feeling in his chest. It was strange, but he didn’t dislike it. After sex had always been washing, sometimes sleeping, and rarely he would wake to another person. Maybe it was just the age gap between them, or maybe it was Kell’s unique personality, but this was something completely different.

“So...” He didn’t know how to ask his question, almost fearing the answer he might receive. “What is this exactly?”

Kell eyed him, smiling only a little less playfully. “What do you mean?”

“Well, we agreed no relationship... And despite how sore I am right now, I enjoyed this...” He paused, hoping Kell agreed. The smile in front of him widened and he took that as confirmation. “But... now we’re sitting here, eating a dinner you cooked, after you cleaned up and let me sleep.”

“So?”

“So... I just want to make sure we have the same definition of relationship.”

Kell laughed at his awkwardness, making him flush a bit in embarrassment, then leaned forward over the table. “The sex was good. Really good. Anytime you want to do that again, you let me know.” His smile faded slightly, a barely noticeable change. “Outside of that, you’re my student, and at the moment, you’re my guest. I brought you here and I don’t see why sex needs to change that fact.” He leaned back again and tilted his head. “Does that make you uncomfortable?”

“No. I feel surprisingly comfortable, actually.” He really wasn’t good at keeping his thoughts or feelings to himself, but Kell didn't seem like someone who would judge him for that. “Which is why I wanted to make sure that was normal.”

Another laugh, louder this time, and Kell seemed to relax. The kind and playful smile returned to his face. “We’re both adults. There’s no reason this needs to be awkward.”

Eden nodded and there was a long silence as the two ate, until Kell set his spoon down and looked at him more seriously.

“I know the day was a bit chaotic, but... what are you planning to do about that moonlit friend of yours? I’m fine with this arrangement, but I don’t want to get dragged into someone else’s mess.”

Shit. Dean.

Eden sighed, covering his face with his hands, still not sure how to handle that situation. Now it was more complicated.

“I don’t care,” Kell said, returning to his food. “But you should take care of it.”