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Kim was absolutely wrecked. Her entire body was hurting and barely functioning after the 77 hour shift she’d done with Global Justice. It was as if all the villains had coordinated together to give Kim the worst time she’d ever had in her entire hero career. It left her bruised, dirty, tired…
She limped through the door to her apartment. Even with as hungry as she was all she wanted to do was sleep. There wasn’t enough energy to try and cook.
She paused, sniffing the air as she noticed there was something. Something was cooking? How?
Kim carefully and quietly made her way into her apartment. She stealthily moved through the open concept living area and stopped at the doorway to the kitchen. Holding her breath, ready for anything, she turned the corner with her Kimmunicator set for tazing.
“FRE-” She cut herself off even as the subject in her sights complied. Blinking, she confusedly asked, “Drakken?” Indeed, in her kitchen was Drakken. He had on a chef hat and apron for some reason as he stood arms held up in surrender. On the stove, something was cooking in a pot. Putting her hand down, she asked, “What in the world are you doing in my kitchen at 3am?”
He made a face before it lit up. Drakken exclaimed, “Glad you asked!” He spun a spoon as he said, “I heard through the grapevine that you were having a rough day. S. Day s . Several of them. So!” He flourished at the pot. “I decided to cook you something special!”
“What is it?” Kim couldn’t help but to swallow at the delicious smells. Whatever Drakken was making it smelled divine.
“It’s vegan chicken noodle soup!” Drakken announced grandly.
“...Vegan chicken?” was all Kim processed.
“Well, I mean, I grew a line of cells in the lab to mimic chicken. It’s mutated chickpeas!”
Kim shook her head with a smile. “You and your mad science.”
“Hey, me and my ‘mad science’ are how Global Justice is keeping up with WEE!” Drakken complained.
“And here I thought I was the reason,” Kim teased.
“Why not both?” Drakken said brightly.
“Why not both indeed.” Kim sidled in front of Drakken to look in the pot. “Is it ready?”
“It’s more than ready! It’s PERFECT!” Drakken turned and rummaged through Kim’s cupboard. He presented a large mixing bowl to Kim. “Here you go!”
“Isn’t this a little...big?” Even with the words, Kim took the bowl.
“Oh ho! After you have a bite, you’ll want to take the whole pot!” Drakken boasted.
“We’ll see.” Kim took a ladle from the nearby drawer and filled it with some soup. The strands of mutant chickpea mixed well with the carrots, celery, and what seemed like some sliced portabella mushrooms. The deep brown liquid dripped like a dream into the bowl and swirled mesmerizingly. Her stomach complained loudly, letting her know it wouldn’t wait.
She filled a spoon with the soup, again watching as the various vegetables made a colorful mix. Kim blew on the spoon to cool it before she took an experimental bite.
Her eyes went wide. It was... perfect . It was just the right balance of spices and veggies, with the mutant chickpea taking center stage. It wasn’t chicken. It was better than chicken. It was like a warm wool blanket on a cold winter morning.
Kim ate more, and more, and more , until her bowl was empty. Belatedly she realized that she had stuff herself full. Drakken was watching her with excitement as she let out an undignified burp.
“Well?” he asked, on the edge of his seat.
“It was great!” Kim gushed. She looked at the pot to see how much was left. There was enough for another large bowlful of the soup. “Where did you learn to cook like that?”
“Mother and our secret Lipsky family recipes!” Drakken replied. “This is a special recipe dating back to the Moors!”
Kim had many, many questions with that statement. She started with the most obvious. “Which Moors?”
Drakken blinked. “There’s more than one?”
She shook her head in reply. “You’re ridiculous sometimes.”
“I’m your ridiculous sometimes,” Drakken said as he kissed her forehead.
“Yes, you are.” She couldn’t resist; she took another ladle of the soup and slurped it right up. “Oh, this is so good.”
“I’ll keep it in mind the next time you have a rough day. Days. ...Whatever.” He hugged her tight. “I’m just thrilled that I made your day better!”
“I am too.” Kim stretched as the weariness began settling back on her shoulders. But where it had been weighty then, it was now relaxing. She would sleep well once her head hit the pillow.
She began to make her way to the bedroom. “Did you want to sleep with me?”
Drakken laughed. “The day’s barely started!”
“It’s three in the morning ,” Kim reminded him.
“But I’ve only been awake for fourteen hours!” he shot back.
“Then consider it a light nap?” A yawn escaped her mouth. “Or not. You can leave and lock up however you got in.”
“I stole and made a copy of your key,” Drakken answered.
“Right. However you got in.” She knew it was pointless to ask about stealing her things. His morality was a little askew. “Anyway, I’m going to sleep.”
She continued her march to her bedroom. Her queen bed was singing its siren song to her. It welcomed her with open arms as she flopped down, barely bothering to slip off her clothes as she went. Normally she would put on pajamas but she was simply too tired to care.
Kim blissfully fell asleep. She didn’t know how long later it was when she woke up. When she did, she couldn’t help but to smile as she realized she wasn’t alone, with her partner snoring peacefully beside her.