Chapter Text
The Architect almost wished he didn't kill The Chefs, that way he wouldn't have to wake up so early to cook breakfast for his children (his heart still did little leaps of joy at the thought.) He wasn't exactly a morning person despite his slightly unhealthy work ethic. Why couldn't he have just enslaved the fat bastards and forced them to cook in exchange for their lives? It would be pretty ironic to have them cooking for the children they so happily chopped up. That thought made him clench his fists for a moment. That's right, they were child killing monsters with little regard for the suffering of others. Guess burning in hell was all they were really good for, he doubted the children would be thrilled about eating anything from them anyway.
He cleared the pantry and freezers of anything he couldn't confidently ID as livestock, chucking it off The Maw before getting to work. Cooking wasn't exactly one of the things he could say he excelled at, his eye only really came in handy when it came to constructing buildings or tools, not breakfast. His only way of improving his culinary skills came from reading cook books and trial and error.
A great deal of trial and error. Thank God The Maw was equipped to feed such a ravenous group of people, he had plenty of ingredients to experiment with. Once he was confident in his ability to cook food that wasn't burned to a crisp, he woke the children up one morning to serve them breakfast. They sleepily stumbled into the dinning room, only waking up when the appetizing smell of eggs and bacon reached their tiny nostrils. The large table was set with plates of scrambled eggs with sides of bacon with glasses of orange juice, all appropriately portioned for children their age and size. The children were shocked at the sight, not really expecting to eat an actual breakfast that didn't just consist of a small loaf of bread. Years of being served slop and stale bread made them nearly drool at the sight of an actual cooked meal.
Six was the first one to sit down and eat, joyfully digging into the fluffy scrambled eggs while The Architect gauged her reaction. The girl looked like she was on cloud nine as she ate, washing down the food with a quick swig of orange juice. RK and Eve quickly followed her example, eating with a bit more restraint with large smiles. The rest of the children sat down and dug into their meals with similar expressions of content, happily savoring the taste of a cooked meal. The Architect was pleased with the results, happy that his time in the kitchen wasn't a wash. The sight of their pleased and joyous expressions made waking up at such an atrocious hour worth it. He could get used to this if this was the sight that greeted him every time he cooked for them. He was honestly quite excited to try cooking them other meals for lunch and dinner to see how they'd like it. A indescribable feeling of pride and satisfaction blossomed in his heart as he gazed at the feasting children, something about the sight filled him with joy.
He was snapped out of his pleasant thoughts when he noticed the children all looking at him, their plates sufficiently cleaned as Six slowly asked. "Can I have seconds?" She was gazing up at him with imploring eyes, a look quickly mirrored by the rest of the table. Well shit, he hadn't actually prepared for the probability of them wanting more. It had slipped his mind that some of these children were malnourished, of course they'd ask for more food. He smiled kindly as he stood up. "Of course, I just need time to make some more." He delighted in how they're eyes sparkled with joy, he couldn't refuse such pleading faces if this was the result of making some more food. He swiftly entered the kitchen and got to work.
-
A good part of his usual routine was cooking meals for the children, switching it up every day or so to have a sense of variety. They enjoyed anything he put before them, but some kids especially loved different meals. Some kids seemed to greatly enjoy burgers and fries, one of those kids being RK who expressed his joy vocally after taking his first bite. Saying that it was the tastiest thing he's ever put in his mouth as he eagerly ate. Six herself seemed to enjoy anything, not much of a picky eater that one but that wasn't too surprising. Eve seemed to love spaghetti and anything Italian related, her eyes shining in barely suppressed joy whenever she caught sight of the dish at the table. No matter what meal he had prepped for the day they would always clean out their plates, satisfied smiles all around. He was glad that he did away with those terrible Chefs, he refused to surrender this pleasant feeling in his chest as he cooked their meals while he hummed a small tune to himself.
He was in the process of collecting all the plates when the children beamed up at him with the largest smiles he's ever seen, expressing their gratitude in unison.
"Thank you for the meal!"
He blinked for a moment, fighting the overwhelming amount of joy and satisfaction to respond warmly. "Anytime kids, can't just let you all starve now can I?" He asked with a smile, putting all of the plates on a small trolley before he decided to ask something.
"So how long did it take you guys to rehearse that perfectly?" He asked casually, chuckling to himself when he heard Eve let out an embarrassed gasp behind him, quickly shouting at him as he left the room.
"That's none of your business!"
-
The Architect was washing dishes tonight, as he usually did before he went to sleep. The only difference this time around was the small group of children that were divvying the tasks to help him finish, handing him plates to scrub while others dried them. This group was led by Six, who was currently drying a small plate with a yellow dishrag. The girl was really fond of that color. This arrangement was suggested by Eve when RK told her he found the man still cleaning dishes one night past twelve, he had assured them that it was fine and that he didn't need too much help. His words were ignored as the girl came up with a proper schedule for different groups to help him on different days, something The Architect was slightly proud of. The children seemed to like the idea of helping their guardian with his task because they eagerly went to work. He blamed this on his own work ethic, it obviously imprinted onto them as they watched him toil away in his workshop.
He had just taken the last plate from one of his helpers when the boy fell into the sink, making the man quickly shoot his hand down to pull the blonde boy out of the suds filled water. The boy was rubbing his face to clear the soap from his eyes, prompting the man to rinse the boy under the faucet quickly before depositing him on a clean and dry rag. "Congratulations my friend, you get to go straight to bed after this while everyone else showers." The Architect said with an amused smile, the boy pouted in response as the other children quietly laughed. He put away the last of the dishes before addressing the group. "Thank you for all your help children, especially you my dear boy." He said while rubbing the blond boys head affectionately, making him flush in embarrassment before he spoke.
"But all I did was fall in the sink."
"And thanks to that, I don't have to wash my hands. Means I get to sleep earlier." He stated with a small smile, looking down at the damp boy before asking. "What's your name? I'd feel bad about calling you Suds." He teased, making the boy chuckle quietly at the name before he answered. "My name is Seth." The Architect slowly nodded before picking the boy up, setting him on his shoulder as the rest of the children climbed on. This was quickly beginning to become a popular means of travel amongst the children, leading him to getting softer cloth to make his shirts out of. He spoke merrily as he walked back to the nursery.
"I plan on making something special for you kids tomorrow to thank you for your work, I'll give you a small hint, it's very sweet and has chocolate in it." He could practically see their excitement at the thought of eating anything with chocolate in it, he had discovered that they had a real sweet tooth on them when he first baked them chocolate chip cookies. Anything sweet was greatly appreciated by the children who have only known the taste of bread for a great deal of their lives. He was more than happy to give them such sweets in careful moderation, he wasn't really looking forward to reeling in 36 kids suffering from a sugar rush. He also wasn't a dentist, so if teeth started getting loose he would be resorting to string and doorknobs. The kids were quick to agree with him once he explained why they couldn't eat too much sugar, not excited in the slightest about removing their teeth in such a fashion.
He left the group in the showers to bathe in peace, he had modified the showers once he discovered the disgusting infestation of leeches that resided in the pipes. A few empty pipes and small controlled fires cleared the pests out of the pipes. He had also made them appropriately sized for the small children, making a future infestation impossible and leading to less wasted water. He carried the slightly sleepy Seth to the nursery and set him down on one of the beds gingerly, tucking the fading boy in with a small smile before moving to leave. "Goodnight Seth." He quietly called, a soft noise that sounded faintly like a "Night" was the boys response before the sandman took him to the realm of dreams. The Architect watched as the now clean children slowly walked into the silent room to join their friends, shuffling into their beds to sleep away the night. The room was soon filled with the soft breathing of sleeping children, he stayed for a moment longer before slowly shutting the door without making a peep.
He walked back to his room with a content smile on his face, removing his clothes and slipping on his sleepwear before crawling into bed. Closing his eyes slowly as he tried to get some rest.
He had to wake up early, breakfast wouldn't make it's self after all.