As the car approached Amirah and Blaire's home, Nytin couldn't help but admire it. It was a cozy little house with a brick chimney, and they appeared to be very particular about their homes outside; besides the many plants and lawn ornaments adorning their home, their large front porch had a swing and extra seats surrounding a circular table with an umbrella. Overall, their house was charming and welcoming.

Nytin couldn't focus much on the house as he practically flew out of the car once the doors were unlocked. He simply couldn't get what he'd done just moments earlier out of his mind. He still felt embarrassed and wasn't sure what to say to Avery, who looked troubled or perhaps flustered; he couldn't be sure.

Nytin moved forward and gently tapped Amirah's shoulder to get her attention, “Is it alright if I sit outside for a moment..? I just want to smoke for a little while, if it's alright with you...I’ll make sure to air myself off before coming in. I don’t want to bring the smell of the cigarettes into your home.”

Amirah seemed to appreciate this gesture greatly, “That's perfectly fine. Thank you for asking, though. Take all the time you need, and we’ll wait inside for you. If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask.” She smiled warmly, and Nytin couldn't help but smile back.

“Alright, I’ll be done soon. Thank you for your hospitality.” Nytin watched the other three go into the quaint little home and settled himself down on the wooden swing they had in the front. He sighed deeply, finally feeling like he could relax and settle down.

Nytin reached into his pants pocket and brought out a metal case, it was similar to his debit card, it was embroidered in a beautiful golden pattern that danced across the glossy black case, and the swirls ranged from thick, to thin, resembling vines that were growing out of control, almost appearing as if they’d grown on it naturally. Nytin opened the top of the box and gazed at the small engraving inside, there was a thin line of symbols, that didn't seem to mean much, but upon seeing them he could only look away and grab what he needed, tucking the small cartridge into his pocket again as he brought the cigarette to his lips.

Nytin dug in his pocket momentarily and brought out a similarly patterned lighter. He flicked it open and stared at the bright flame that arose for a few seconds. He moved it close to his face, letting the flame rest on the end of the cigarette before moving it back and inhaling deeply, closing his eyes before exhaling the smoke, watching it fade away slowly into the cold winter air. While he did so, a new calm washed over his entire being, as if his body finally understood it could relax. 

He remained outside until his cigarette had almost fizzled out entirely, simply enjoying the cold, tranquil air and silence, but after a while, it had become too quiet for him to bear. It's been a while, I should go in... With that thought in mind, Nytin stood up and stretched, cracking his back with a soft groan, “You’re getting old Nytin…too old.” He sighed. With that, he entered the house and heard the trio chattering away. He looked down, noticing the others had taken their shoes off, and did the same, before fully entering the house.

Avery seemed to have somehow noticed him first, “Nytin, quick, do you think mustard should be put into potato salad?”

At Avery's words, Nytin's nose wrinkled in disgust, “Mustard shouldn’t be put into anything regardless. It's by far one of the foulest things made in all of human creation– er...food wise...” He sat beside Avery and yawned, “What brought this topic on?”

Blaire spoke, her tone bitter,  “I was just telling them how I liked potato salad, apparently it's wrong.” The young woman's arms were crossed, and her brows were furrowed in frustration. She wasn't happy about the disagreement.

Amirah smiled sheepishly, “It isn't...wrong... it's just more of an acquired taste, is all.” She tried to appease both sides, having no true opinion on the matter yet, but she also didn't like the bitter taste of mustard in the slightest.

Her girlfriend simply huffed and turned her head away, “You guys have to try it first before you complain, I think it's only fair.”

That seemed to give Amirah an idea, “How about we all make some food for dinner? We can all be in charge of something to make, go to the store to get the things we need, and then we can settle it while eating yummy food?”

Avery hummed, “I can bake a cake, but I’m not too good with dinner. I always burn it because I can’t see if it's done cooking.” 

Nytin leaned slightly closer to Avery, “I can help you make whatever you need Starshine.” 

Avery looked up at Nytin and smiled, “That's so sweet of you...but I'm surprised you don't want cake, given your massive sweet tooth n’ all.”

Nytin couldn't lie to himself, he did want cake, specifically, he wanted to try Avery’s cake, “Well…I do..” He admitted with a small laugh, “I-I uh..” He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck, the feeling he’d felt in his stomach previously had returned, “I'll help you with that as well...if you’d like..” Nytin suddenly felt very nervous, as if he needed to run away from the situation entirely, yet simultaneously wanted to stay exactly where he was.

He watched Avery tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, fiddling with it as she responded, “I can do it for the most part but it'll be fun to make something together.” She smiled up at Nytin whose heart felt as if it had stopped.

Nytin found himself in awe of the young beauty before him and couldn't help but smile warmly, “Just tell me wh–” He was cut off as Blaire practically shoved him to the side, interrupting him to speak her mind.

“Could you make the lava cake? The one you made for my birthday.” Her excitement for the cake seemingly replaced her frustration momentarily. Avery opened her mouth to respond but Amirah spoke up as well.

“Absolutely not. Do you remember the mess that thing made? I think we should have pineapple upside-down cake.” Amirah smiled at her girlfriend who glared down at her, “Plus, my birthday is the closest one- after Avery.”

Avery laughed a little and moved closer to Nytin, “Since Nytin is the one helping me…how about he gets to decide?”

The two women turned towards Nytin with pleading eyes, but he quickly shot both of them down, “I have a much better idea. How about we make a cinnamon apple dump cake? It's simple enough.”

Blaire seemed ready to argue but took a moment to weigh her options, “Hmmn...Alright, fine…but if it's gross, can we please make a lava cake?”

“It won't be gross, your taste buds must be altered by all the mustard you’ve eaten.” Nytin shot back playfully, causing his ginger friend to blow a raspberry at him.

Amirah cleared her throat to attract their attention, “C'mon guys, if we’re gonna have this… dinner together, we have to get started now. God knows how long everyone’s dishes and desserts will take to make in just one kitchen.”

Avery nodded before turning to Nytin, “I know how to make a dump cake, but…do we have canned apples? Or apples, in general? Oh! Cake mix, Amirah, do you have any?”

Nytin hummed, “If we don't, I can go to the store, that won't be a problem.” 

Amirah quickly realized he was offering to pay again, “Me and Blaire can go, you and Avery can get started, and we’ll be right back.” She smiled warmly, “Do you guys need anything besides apples and cake?”

Avery shook her head, turning to her cloaked companion, “Do you need anything else Nytin?”

Nytin closed his eyes in thought for a few seconds, humming quietly, “Mmmn…well…if it's alright could you bring some bell peppers? Preferably green ones- oh and a few other things, I’ll write a list if you have paper.”

Amirah smiled, “I think I have a notepad…” She reached into a drawer right next to the sink and took out a cute kitten notepad and pen, “Here you go.” 

Nytin took the notepad gingerly from Amirah and began to write down a few things he needed. As he wrote, Blaire started to whine impatiently but stopped as she noticed something strange, “Why are you holding your pen like that?” she motioned to Nytin, pinching the pen's tip, causing the other two in the room to look over curiously.

Nytin paused and laughed a little, “Oh well…I took up calligraphy of all sorts when I was younger, but now I can't break the habit of the way I was taught to hold the brush and pen—would you like to see Starshine?” He cut himself off to demonstrate his pen-holding to Avery, who smiled appreciatively.

“That's so cool…I’ve never seen calligraphy before, could you show me one of these days?” Avery looked up at Nytin with a bright smile, curiosity encapsulating her eyes.

“Of course…” Nytin’s gaze was fixed upon Avery’s smile, “I could teach you if you’d like to learn how instead.”

Avery opened his mouth to respond but Blaire cut her off, “Can you teach me too? That writing stuff is pretty cool.”

Amirah chirped up as well, “Me too!”

Nytin looked disappointed for a fraction of a second before smiling with a small shrug, “I don’t see why not. We can do it next time we meet.”

Avery smiled wide, “Awesome! It’ll be so fun– Oh! I know! I’ll bake cookies.”

Avery's statement reminded everyone of the task they should have been carrying out, which in turn caused Amirah to glance at Nytin's list quickly, “We should probably get going. Is that all you guys need?”

Nytin nodded, “Yes- ah…one moment.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, handing over his card with the note, “You can use my card, and get whatever you need.”

Blaire whistled happily, “Sweet…” She muttered, “Could I get candy?”

Nytin shrugged, “Anything you want or need, I'll cover It for today.”

Amirah looked hesitant, “Are you sure? That seems like a lot.”

“Of course, if I wasn't sure I wouldn't offer, there's no need to be modest Amirah, buy whatever you please.”

Amirah smiled a little, “Okay well…Thank you, I’ll make sure Blaire doesn't get ahead of herself and buys the entire store.” She giggled a little as her girlfriend looked at her with her arms crossed.

“Babe! C'mon, how old do you think I am? Four?” She put her arm around Amirahs waist, leading her out of the house, “I'm not going to make him go bankrupt.”

“I know Blaire, it was just a joke.” Amirah giggled.

Their voices slowly faded as they walked away from Nytin and Avery, who were soon enveloped in a thick silence. Nytin tried to speak, but he couldn't find anything to say. He simply watched Avery nervously fiddle with her fingers, causing one thought to cross Nytin's mind.

I made her uncomfortable...

Nytin exhaled and leaned back on his heels, “So…About the- well..” He cleared his throat, “I’m sorry for touching your hair, I should not have invaded your boundaries, I apologize if I made you uncomfortable.”

Avery quickly looked up at Nytin, “Oh! No! It's actually the opposite, I was going to ask if you knew how to braid…I wanted to try braiding my hair again, I was just embarrassed- I'm sorry.”

Nytin felt immense relief at Avery's words, “I can braid your hair, I used to braid my sister's hair frequently.” He spoke softly, “Although…do you have a brush, comb, and possibly hair ties here? Would either of the ladies mind if you borrowed some?”

Avery quickly nodded, “Amirah loves to do my hair, so I have some brushes here. I’ll go get them.” Nytin could tell Avery was excited just from her bouncy little walk. She was hardly even touching the floor. He couldn't help but chuckle; it was rather adorable how Avery acted when she was excited. 

When Avery returned, she continued to ramble about getting her hair done while placing the items she had brought on the table, “I remember when she got all this stuff for me. She took so long to do my hair. She put extensions in my hair, and it took a long time to do my makeup. It was really fun, but—Oh, sorry…I'm rambling.” She tittered and turned visibly red, embarrassed she’d ranted to Nytin, who had remained silent while she spoke.

Avery had expected a captious response from Nytin, who simply let out a soft chuckle and tapped on the seat, “Keep talking Starshine…tell me all about it, you’ve managed to get my attention, what happened next?”

He watched as Avery’s expression shifted from embarrassment to one of hesitance before melting into excitement, finally resting on a grateful smile as she sat down in the chair. “Well…there was once they took me to an all-girls sleepover in high school because they wanted me to come too. We had a lot of fun until I accidentally knocked over the chocolate fountain.” 

She giggled a little as she remembered everyone screaming, “I didn't get kicked out, they helped me clean it all up, and it was really fun, but gosh, did it take forever to clean…oh, and there was another time I cosplayed as Sleeping Beauty…”