Aiden had discovered something dangerous.
The kitchen was addictive.
Not because of the food.
Well—
mostly not because of the food.
It was the feeling of being useful.
There was always something happening.
Someone chopping vegetables.
Someone kneading dough.
Someone preparing meat.
Someone washing dishes.
There was never a shortage of things to do.
And Aiden liked that.
He had spent too many days sitting around the temple with nothing to occupy his hands.
So, by the third morning, the kitchen staff had stopped looking surprised when he walked through the doors.
"Good morning, my lord," one of the cooks greeted.
Aiden nodded.
"Morning."
Li Mei was already there.
They were standing beside a table covered with vegetables.
Aiden walked over.
"What are you making?"
"Soup."
Aiden looked at the vegetables.
Then at Li Mei.
"You're going to cut all of those?"
"Yes."
Aiden frowned.
"That will take forever."
Li Mei laughed.
"I know."
Aiden picked up a knife.
"Move."
Li Mei blinked.
"What?"
"Move."
Aiden took one of the vegetables and began cutting.
Fast.
Thin.
Even pieces.
Li Mei watched.
Their eyes widened.
"How did you do that so quickly?"
"Practice."
"You cut them almost twice as fast as I do."
"Then you're cutting them too slowly."
Li Mei stared at him.
"That was rude."
"It was also true."
Li Mei laughed.
Aiden's ears twitched.
He tried not to smile.
He failed slightly.
"Here."
Aiden pushed the vegetables toward Li Mei.
"Stack them first. Then cut. You don't need to pick up each one separately."
Li Mei tried it.
Their movements became noticeably faster.
"Oh."
Aiden nodded.
"See?"
"That is actually much easier."
"Exactly."
Li Mei looked at him with genuine admiration.
"Where did you learn all this?"
Aiden paused.
Again.
That question.
He looked down at the vegetables.
"From home."
Li Mei didn't push.
Instead, they smiled.
"Then your home must have had a very good kitchen."
Aiden's lips curved faintly.
"It did."
For a moment, the kitchen faded.
He could almost hear it.
Kael laughing.
Ryn complaining.
Lior demanding to be held.
Theron standing nearby, pretending he wasn't stealing pieces of food.
Aiden's smile grew.
Then someone shouted.
"Wait!"
Aiden turned.
A servant had accidentally knocked over a tray.
A bowl hit the ground.
The contents spilled across the floor.
"Oh no—"
The servant immediately dropped to their knees.
"I'm sorry!"
"Don't worry about it."
Aiden crouched down.
"Get another cloth."
The servant looked surprised.
"But I—"
"It's fine."
Aiden started cleaning.
Li Mei joined him.
Within moments, the mess was gone.
The servant looked relieved.
"Thank you."
Aiden stood.
"Just be careful next time."
"Yes, my lord."
Aiden nodded.
Then returned to the table.
Unfortunately, the morning only got worse.
The bread.
Aiden had decided to help with the bread.
That had been his mistake.
He was standing beside one of the servants, covered in flour.
His hands were covered.
His sleeves were covered.
His hair was covered.
And, somehow, one of his black wolf ears was almost completely white.
Aiden didn't know this.
He was too busy trying to figure out why the dough refused to cooperate.
"This is supposed to rise."
Li Mei looked at the dough.
"It is rising."
"Not enough."
"You put too much flour in."
Aiden frowned.
"I did not."
"You did."
"I followed your instructions."
"I said a little flour."
"This is a little."
Li Mei looked at the mountain of flour covering the table.
"That is not a little."
Aiden opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
"…Fine."
Li Mei burst out laughing.
Aiden glared at them.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You're laughing at me."
"No."
"You are."
Li Mei pointed toward his head.
"Look at yourself."
Aiden frowned.
"What?"
"Your ear."
Aiden reached up.
His fingers touched flour.
He looked at them.
"Oh."
He tried brushing it away.
That only made it worse.
Li Mei laughed harder.
Aiden sighed.
"Stop laughing."
"I can't."
Aiden shook his head.
Then the kitchen door opened.
The entire room went quiet.
Theron stepped inside.
His golden eyes immediately found Aiden.
He stopped.
Aiden looked up.
There was a long silence.
Theron simply stared.
Aiden stared back.
Li Mei covered their mouth.
Theron's gaze slowly moved from Aiden's flour-covered hands—
to his flour-covered sleeves—
to his hair—
and finally—
to the completely white wolf ear sticking out from his black hair.
Aiden noticed none of it.
"What?"
Theron still said nothing.
Aiden frowned.
"What happened?"
Theron blinked.
"What happened to you?"
Aiden looked down at himself.
Then back at Theron.
He shrugged.
"The bread attacked me."
Silence.
Li Mei made a strangled sound.
Theron looked genuinely confused.
"The bread?"
"Yes."
"How?"
Aiden gestured toward the dough.
"It started it."
Theron looked at the bread.
Then at Aiden.
Then back at the bread.
Aiden's ears twitched.
Theron slowly walked closer.
"You are covered in flour."
"I noticed."
"You have flour in your hair."
"I noticed."
Theron's gaze moved to Aiden's ear.
"You have some there too."
Aiden reached toward it.
"Where?"
"Here."
Theron lifted his hand.
Aiden froze.
Theron's fingers gently brushed over the wolf ear.
He removed a small patch of flour.
The touch was brief.
Careful.
Almost absent-minded.
Aiden's ear twitched beneath his fingers.
Theron paused.
For some reason, neither moved.
Then Theron lowered his hand.
"There."
Aiden stared at him.
"Thanks."
Theron nodded.
Li Mei was still standing behind them.
They looked like they were desperately trying not to laugh.
Aiden glanced over.
"What?"
Li Mei shook their head.
"Nothing."
"You're doing it again."
"Doing what?"
"Laughing."
"I am not."
"You are."
Li Mei finally lost the battle.
They turned away, laughing so hard they had to grab the table.
Aiden stared at them.
Then at Theron.
Then down at himself.
He suddenly imagined what he must look like.
His hair.
His clothes.
His hands.
The flour-covered ear.
The bread.
The ridiculous situation.
And before he could stop himself—
Aiden laughed.
A real laugh.
Small at first.
Then a little louder.
His shoulders shook.
His eyes squeezed shut.
Theron stared.
There it was again.
That smile.
The same one from the garden.
Except this time it was even brighter.
Less careful.
More natural.
Theron remembered the first time he had seen it.
Aiden beneath the moonflowers.
Quiet.
Peaceful.
Beautiful.
Now the smile was completely different.
Messy.
Warm.
Alive.
Theron found himself staring again.
Aiden eventually noticed.
He stopped laughing.
"What?"
Theron didn't answer immediately.
He was still looking at him.
"You're smiling."
Aiden's smile softened.
"So?"
Theron remembered what Aiden had told him.
You just have to give someone a reason.
He looked at the ruined bread.
At the flour.
At Aiden.
"Is the bread making you happy?"
Aiden stared at him.
Then laughed again.
Li Mei nearly fell over.
"No," Aiden managed between laughs. "Definitely not."
Theron tilted his head.
"Then what is?"
Aiden looked at him.
For a moment, he didn't know.
Then his eyes moved around the kitchen.
The warm fire.
The food.
Li Mei laughing.
The servants smiling.
The ridiculous amount of flour.
And somehow—
this felt nice.
Aiden smiled.
"Maybe this."
Theron watched him.
He didn't understand what this meant.
But he understood one thing.
He wanted to see that smile again.
And perhaps—
he wanted to be the reason for it.