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a small rap on the door awoke wilardo from his light sleep. he was greeted by the red wall of the guest room he currently occupied, finally coming to his senses that they were still trapped in this otherworldly mansion. he supposed it was dawn by now, and he wasn't quite looking forward to the stale air of the mansion and rather unfamiliar faces. he hated the feeling of being trapped, which made his curse all the more unbearable, it seemed.
another light knock on his door shook wilardo from his thoughts and a quiet, familiar voice followed.
"it's ashe," he called. "i woke up rather early to make breakfast and i was wondering if you'd like to assist? i'm hoping to surprise the others today!"
wilardo contemplated for a moment. ashe was upbeat and energetic, suspiciously energetic for a time like this. that man radiated an aura of suspicion, but wilardo couldn't quite put his finger on it. he sighed, calling out a response and shuffling out of bed.
"yeah, yeah, i'm coming," he replied, shuffling through his bag for his gun and shoving it in his pocket. he wasn't quite sure what ashe would attempt, after all.
"alriiiight! i'll prep the ingredients!" ashe's upbeat voice rang through the door and wilardo was concerned with the loudness of his tone he would surely wake up claire and noel.
he sighed and dusted himself off, heading down the wall towards the dining hall where he knew ashe would be waiting. he kept his hand over the pocket with his gun, hesitant to accompany this strange, teal-haired man he had only met a few days prior.
he traveled up the stairs to the kitchen and was met with a relieving but rather unexpected sight. cartons of eggs, milk, and strawberries, along with butter, baking powder, and flour, were set out on the table.
"wilardo! you came just at the right time! would you like to help me with making the batter?" ashe turned from where he was bent over, holding a rather large bowl and a tablespoon.
the dark-haired man relaxed a bit, giving a brief nod. "you'll have to show me what to do, though. it's been a bit since i've tried my hand at cooking."
the other male gave a chuckle, one wilardo couldn't tell if it was sincere or fake. "of course, of course!" he sing-songed, sliding wilardo a teaspoon and labeled cup. wilardo eyed the utensils, realizing how little he knew about cooking. despite living for so long, he never found that much interest in cooking.
"scoop about two cups of flour and.. four teaspoons of baking powder into the bowl. make sure it's close to the center." ashe instructed. this was fine. wilardo could scoop stuff. nothing quite difficult.
he eyed the teal-haired man, waiting for his next directions, but ashe was gazing thoughtfully at the bowl.
"aha!" he exclaimed and wilardo swore he could see a lightbulb light over his head. ashe turned all the way around so quickly wilardo would've thought he simply spun in a circle if he wasn't holding a salt shaker in one hand when he turned back around.
"won't that just make it salty?" wilardo questioned. he wasn't sure he or anyone in this mansion really wanted salty pancakes.
"it actually adds flavor if it's in a small amount! weird, no?" the other grinned as he tapped the a bit of salt into the bowl, setting the shaker aside with the other ingredients.
huh. that is weird, he thought.
wilardo watched intently as ashe set out a second bowl and unwrapped the package of butter. he took his own knife out of his pocket and sliced two pieces, sliding them into empty bowl. he then handed wilardo a measuring cup and the carton of milk.
"now pour one half a cup of milk." ashe instructed, and wilardo followed. "here comes the tricky part!" he grinned, plucking an egg out of the carton. "open your hand."
wilardo hesitated before opening his palm, watching as ashe's lithe fingers placed the egg into his calloused hand. the slimness of ashe's fingers was a stark contrast to his own. the other closed wilardo's palm. ashe shifted the dark-haired male's fingers until the egg in his hand was grasping the egg in a way he didn't quite know the name of, but he had seen many people crack eggs holding it in this position.
wilardo looked up and took a moment to gaze at the man in front of him. he no longer wore that obnoxiously fake grin and impossibly energetic stance. in fact, ashe looked more comfortable and relaxed than he'd seen before. he wondered just what ashe was hiding behind that heavy facade of his.
ashe looked up and caught wilardo's gaze and a comfortable smile spread across the teal-haired male's face, the color of his hair contrasting with the slight pink tinting his cheeks.
"..ah. sorry. i made this awkward, didn't i?" he began, quickly building back up his pristinely-built walls. that stupid, obnoxious grin spread across his face once more and wilardo huffed. ashe withdrew his hand from wilardo's and took an egg of his own out of the carton.
"do you know how to crack an egg?" be asked. wilardo shook his head. again, he had never bothered with cooking. it had never been of much interest to him.
ashe's stupid smile was still plastered to his face, but wilardo could see his eyebrow quirk a bit, as if he was wordlessly suggesting it was common knowledge.
"that's alright! i'll crack the first one, just watch me." wilardo nodded, watching as ashe used the egg to lightly tap the edge of the bowl once, twice, then harder the third time. he pulled apart the shell and the yolk plopped into the bowl of buttery milk, not a shell piece in sight.
"..you sure are good at this," wilardo mused aloud.
ashe gave him a bashful look. "really? i don't think i'm too great myself, honestly. i used to make pancakes a lot for my younger sister though."
"younger sister, huh." wilardo murmured to himself as he cracked his egg. he didn't do it as swiftly or as elegantly as ashe, but he made sure to keep the shell bits out of the bowl.
"nicely done! now whisk the butter, egg yolk, and milk together and i'll heat up the stove." he hated the way his brain picked up on the way ashe's fingers gently brushed against wilardo's own as he handed him the whisk.
he connected the dots quickly and began whisking the ingredients together, careful not to splash anything. after a bit, ashe instructed him to pour the ingredients into the other bowl and continue whisking. it was a bit tougher this time, but wilardo didn't mind too much.
once ashe decided it was well-whisked enough he poured the batter into the pan. it was enough for exactly eight pancakes, assuming noel wouldn't be up this morning again. wilardo noticed that ashe seemed much less confident and much more wary around the stove, but he paid it no mind. must be a instinctual fear, he thought.
as the pancakes cooked ashe and wilardo chatted about a variety of things- of noel, of the mansion, of the witch's heart, of their careers. he felt that the person he was talking to now was ashe's true, authentic self, not the falsely energetic facade he displayed around the others.
"oh, the pancakes are done! do you mind setting the table for me and waking the others? i have a few more minor adjustments to add." ashe requested. wilardo let out a gruff noise of agreement and woke up sirius, claire, and attempted to wake up noel. by the time he had gotten back, the tables were all set, and something seemed.. off about the pancakes.
"did you add... whipped cream and strawberries?" wilardo contained a chuckle of amusement at the slightly childish toppings, though he couldn't say that he'd ever had strawberry-topped pancakes that he hated.
ashe nodded with a smile. "it certainly adds flavor! i don't think you've ever met anyone who hates whipped cream on pancakes, no?" wilardo had to agree with him on that one.
sirius came to the dining room first with his usual "apathy," with claire following not long after, her pupils expanding like a cat's as soon as she spotted the pancakes.
"i suppose it's not too bad..." sirius declared once they had all finished.
claire gave a cheerful nod of agreement. "it was wonderful, ashe! thank you!"
"ah, i really appreciate it, but wilardo deserves some credit too!" ashe exclaimed. "he helped me a lot today!"
"oh, wow! i didn't know you could cook too, wilardo!" her gaze shifted to wilardo and she held her hands over her chest.
"... yeah." wilardo mumbled quietly, not quite used to the praise. ashe wasn't too bad, he decided.