The distinct smell of bacon and buttery sweetness drifted through the doorway, causing Julien to stir. But the warmth of his bed clung to him, begging him to stay swaddled in its embrace.

For a brief moment, he thought maybe Theia had swung by, and he leisurely plied himself out of the bed’s grasp, intent on relieving himself before going downstairs. The bathroom door clicked behind him.

A few minutes later, he burst out of the bathroom, hands still dripping with water, and an alert expression on his face as he rushed downstairs in a cold sweat. He frantically looked around, heart beating out of his chest until his eyes landed squarely on the back of a man built like a mammoth.

Still clad in black from head to toe—the clothing choice varying only by a hair—Andrew was standing beside the stove with a distinct hot-pink apron stretched to its limits across his frame.

I still have that fucking thing?

He would’ve found the sight comical in any other situation.

But Julien didn’t relax.

“What’re you making?”

The man glanced at Julien as he entered the kitchen, then returned his focus to the pan in front of him.

“Breakfast.”

“For who?”

Andrew flipped an egg, pressed it into the pan with the back of the spatula, and turned around. Tilting his head, he stepped aside and directed Julien’s attention to the plate beside him. Eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, toast, pancakes—even waffles—were all precariously stacked on top of a single plate.

Isn’t that literally—everything—I got yesterday?

Andrew returned to his original position and added the egg to the collection.

“Both of us.”

Julien’s stomach rumbled.

Damnit.

He reluctantly took a seat at the counter, equal parts hunger and confusion vying for control as his senses were assaulted by the heavenly aroma—so close, yet so far. He tried to distract himself by watching the puppy pad around Andrew’s feet.

Ahh, so cute.

Hunger won out in the end.

Julien couldn’t believe how easy he was.

Am I really about to be won over by some half-assed food?

It’s not like the food did anything wrong though.

Soon enough, Andrew turned off the stove and placed the food pile in front of Julien.

As Andrew moved to grab dishware for the two of them, Julien checked the time, popped one of his pills and watched. The man set the dishes down, untied the apron, and neatly folded it before taking a seat beside julien and setting it aside.

Julien didn’t wait, he threw only a minor glance at Andrew before taking one of the plates and a fork from him and piling on the food. He stacked 2 pancakes, a slice of toast, 4 pieces of bacon, and a pile of scrambled eggs onto his plate and got to work. 

Andrew watched him from the side without touching anything.

Feeling Andrew bore a hole into his face, Julien turned mid-chew. The bacon cocoon he had meticulously wrapped around the eggs coming undone.

Do I have something on my face?

He swallowed.

“...What?”

Andrew glanced at his plate.

“Do you not like waffles?”

Julien raised a brow.

“Not a fan?”

Andrew gestured towards the untouched waffles.

“I heard you just fine the first time.”

Julien wiped his mouth with a napkin, glanced at Andrew, then at his empty plate, before redirecting his attention back to the food and rewrapping his eggs.

“I prefer Belgian waffles.”

He brought the wrap to his mouth and gnawed it without uttering another word.

He’s a surprisingly good chef…

Then again, Julien wasn't good enough himself to compare.

Andrew stared at the younger man for a moment longer before reaching for the food himself.

“Noted.”

Andrew finally dished out his own plate—piling the neglected waffles in the center—and began to eat.

With no more interruptions, the two of them finished eating and split off without another word.

You could probably hear a pin drop in here.

Andrew put away the leftovers and fed the dog, while Julien made a point not to look at him again as he went back upstairs to resume his morning routine. First taking care of himself, then taking care of his plants.

His greenhouse didn’t technically need daily maintenance, but he felt calmer that way.

Greenhouse Temp: Check.

Gardenias moved: Check

Overall plant health: Great all around.

Weeding: Done.

Plant bed prep: Check–

…Nope.

As he prepped the empty beds, he realized he’d forgotten to buy more fertilizer, not only that, but other than some mint seeds he’d received at a recent exhibit, he had nothing else.

No biggie. Simple problems had simple solutions.

He stripped off his gloves, rinsed the dirt from his hands, made his hair slightly more presentable, and grabbed the motorcycle keys from his bedside.

The plan was simple: Grab fertilizer, come back, and continue pretending like he didn’t have an unwelcome houseguest.

But his simple plan was halted before he could even reach the door.

“Where are you going?”

Andrew asked, drying his hands on a paper towel.

“The store.”

Julien slid his shoes on and reached for the door. But just as he was about to open it, Andrew pulled his hand away from the doorknob and took his keys.

Julien furrowed his brows in disbelief.

“What the fuck—”

Andrew pocketed the keys and turned around.

“Give me a second.”

Julien couldn’t believe the disrespect, and before he had a chance to process it, Andrew had already disappeared, reammerging with a new set of keys and the dog on a leash.

Julien looked at the keys in Andrew’s hand, the dog, then Andrew.

“What was that for—“

Andrew tilted his head.

“I’ll take you.”

“I’m not going far–”

“I’ll take you.”

Andrew held the door open for him and waited.

Julien looked at the door with a sour expression.

What. A. Gentleman.

No language dead or alive could capture the flowery arrangement of words Julien had for the other man at that moment. Especially after having been cut off not once, not twice, but three separate times in a row.

Miffed, Julien looked down at the young pup who continued to snub him and walked past them, bumping into Andrew on the way out.

It felt as if he’d walked directly into a brick wall.

Rubbing his shoulder discreetly, he kept walking like nothing happened, refusing to look back.

Andrew let out a huff of air and followed, the door shutting softly behind them.

—

Julien waited in the lobby as Andrew walked the dog outside, not jealous at all that she looked like she was having a blast.

At least someone is having fun.

Unfortunately, she didn’t care about him the same way. In fact, she couldn't be happier without him, treating him like some washed up toy. Julien had no idea why she hated him so much but clung to the devil outside.

Julien leaned his head on the wall behind him and mumbled,

‘I could’ve been at the store by now.’

He could’ve been enjoying the flowers, sampling organic sweets, and perusing new flower pots and modified plants right now—all while completing his shopping. 

But no.

He was being held hostage by the guard dog from hell himself.

Julien watched the giant man throw twigs around the yard, race against the young pup, and crouch down to pet her fur. All while looking like he’d rather be anywhere else but here.

Julien too, would rather be anywhere else.

I agree mental me, let’s travel to the Hawaii Ridge and never return yea?

But with his keys having been commandeered, he wasn’t going anywhere, leaving him with no choice but to wait.

Another 15 minutes went by before the man finally came back. Stopping in front of Julien, he opened hus mouth.

“What’s the pin?”

Julien looked up.

“For what?”

“The apartment.”

Julien gave him a blank look.

“0730#”

Andrew nodded and walked off, leaving Julien alone in the lobby.

Julien rested his head in his hands.

I don’t feel very protected.

All he felt was annoyed.

When Andrew returned a mere 10 minutes later, Julien stood up and followed Andrew out to the vehicle.

Fucking finally.

—

“Grab that.”

Andrew pulled a bag of mulch down from the top shelf and tossed it in the cart.

“That too.”

Another bag—this one full of potting mix—joined the assortment of items.

They’d been like that since they’d walked in.

Julien had tried—and failed—to grab the last bag of his usual fertilizer, only managing to shove it farther out of reach. That’s when Andrew stepped in like a ‘knight in shining armor,’ grabbing it with ease.

Not one to ignore the blessings of a wandering owl, he had been using the other man’s larger proportions ever since. Sure, Julien was tall enough to reach everything else himself, but where’s the harm in putting him to use right?

It was his own small form of revenge for wasting his time earlier, and needless to say, he was no longer pushing the cart around either.

He’s following me around like a lost puppy anyway, helping is the least he can do.

Well, puppy may not have been quite right.

After aimlessly wandering through several more aisles and picking up a few more seeds, Julien decided there was nothing else he needed and redirected them towards the self-checkout. 

Once everything was scanned, Julien tapped the payment scanner with his finger and Andrew put everything back in the cart.

“Transaction Complete”

“Let’s go.”

Andrew stared at him for a while before leading the way back to the black minivan. Unlocking the vehicle, they unloaded and only after the trunk closed did Andrew break the silence.

“You have one of those installed?”

Julien peeked his head out from the other side.

“What?”

Andrew pointed to his wrist.

Julien squinted his eyes at him then looked down at where Andrew was pointing.

“Oh.”

Julien rubbed his wrist absentmindedly.

“You don’t?”

Stupid question Jules.

Andrew shook his head.

“I’ve never seen it before,”

He opened the passenger side door and waited for Julien to slide in.

Where the hell’d Theia pull you from that you’ve never seen a Tith?

You couldn’t catch anyone in the central districts above the age of 18 without one, let alone if you worked in Discovery or Hope. Unless of course you were talking about the Bionaturalists.

Julien doubted Andrew was one though.

Assuming that was the end of that conversation, Julien took a seat. Meanwhile Andrew shut the door and slid into the driver’s side, starting the vehicle with a smooth hum.

Andrew continued talking as if there’d been no pause at all.

“Not in person, at least.”

Julien gave him a weird look. Even the Demerico’s had better social skills than this.

Julien shook his head and pulled out his phone.

There should be a limit to social ineptitude.

Julien for instance, was totally normal.

They took off and Andrew began playing soft radio music while Julien sent messages to both Nevaeah and Theia—some more tasteful than others—with Theia getting the short end of the metaphorical stick.

When the van came to a sudden stop, Julien looked up and frowned.

This, definitely wasn’t home.

It was the parking lot of Screw It! Hardware Store.

Now what?

Julien furrowed his brows and gave Andrew a look.

“What are we doing here?”

Andrew got out and rounded the van, opening the door where Julien was sitting.

Apprehensive, Julien looked at him skeptically. The other man held his palm out towards him, beckoning him for…something.

Julien’s heart skipped a beat.

“What, what?”

“I need you...”

Huh?

Cue the music! What a sudden turn of events!

Before Andrew could finish, Julien’s brain short-circuited, and in his confusion, he placed his hand into Andrew’s!

He wasn’t sure what he was needed for, but it’s always good to be proactive!

Andrew’s shoulders twitched and he looked at Julien’s hand before giving it a light squeeze.

“Your blood,”

He clarified, lifting the keys he had stolen from Julien earlier, the needle poked out of the keyhead with a soft click.

“I need a copy.”

The imaginary record screeched to a halt and Julien’s face turned red fast enough to be mistaken for Mars.

Why!? Why does he take so long to finish a damn sentence!?

He was mortified.

Turning away, he pretended as though he hadn’t just done something stupid and held out a trembling finger.

“Just take it.”

Andrew quickly pricked him and watched as Julien rapidly clicked the ‘close door’ button when he was done, cursing under his breath the entire time it took for the door to finally click closed.

Did I do something wrong in my past life?

Julien wailed in mortified silence—hands covering his ripened face—as Andrew disappeared into the store with the keys to create a copy.

About thirty minutes later, the vehicle started back up again.

This time, they actually were headed back to Julien’s apartment, and upon arriving, Andrew held Julien’s keys out towards him. 

Still apprehensive from his earlier blunder, Julien cautiously reached out, only for Andrew to catch his wrist midair.

“Don’t worry.”

“Stop…”

“Accidents happen.”

Julien’s embarrassment soured into frustration, this could’ve all been avoided if he’d left on his own earlier. Snapping back, he grumbled,

“You couldn't ’ve just asked me to get you a copy?”

Andrew paused, tilting his head he asked,

“Would you have?”

“How would you know if you didn’t even ask?”

Did Theia say something?

If she did, what else had she said?

Julien felt his stomach drop and he quickly yanked his wrist—and the keys—free. Rushing off toward the apartment without another word, he threw one last glance over his shoulder.

Too close.

Andrew was left to unload everything by himself.