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The front door creaked open, revealing the tired and worn out Elliot.
His uniform was wrinkled, stained with grease, flour, and other ingredients.
His hair was out of its usual ponytail, being messier than usual.
Elliot shuffled into the dark apartment, dropping his bag onto the floor and shutting the front door behind him.
Elliot moved over to the sofa, plopping down on it, nearly landing on the small kitten who was relaxing on the cushions.
The kitten, Pepper, yelped out and moved away from Elliot.
Elliot barely registered the kitten's yell, just allowing himself to get comfortable on the couch.
The blonde sighed, just blankly staring up at the ceiling without a thought in his head.
A few moments later, Pepper trotted over to him, laying her little head on his lap.
Elliot doesn't react, but his demeanor visibly changes, his body relaxing when he feels the kitten's furry head.
After a few minutes, he heard a door opening up somewhere behind him.
He didn't need to look back to guess who it was.
After a moment passed, the voice of his sibling, Two Time, called out to him,
"Elliot?"
The other didn't answer, just letting out a groan and sinking down further into the couch.
Two Time sighed and walked closer to the couch, glancing down at Elliot with concern evident on their face.
Elliot merely glanced up at Two Time's face before closing his eyes.
The latter moved to the front of the couch, leaning down to pick up the resting
kitten up from Elliot's lap.
Then, they set the kitten down onto the other end of the couch before sitting next to Elliot.
There was a silence, no sound other than Pepper's purrs and meows, the sound of cars passing by, and the faint rustling of leaves outside.
The two didn't say a word, and yet it felt as if they could understand what the other was feeling.
After what felt like an eternity, though it was probably only a few minutes, Two Time sighed and stood up.
Then, they looked back down at their older brother. "There's some leftover pizza in the fridge," they said softly, keeping their voice, "I can heat them up for dinner."
Elliot weakly shook his head, running his fingers through his hair, stopping when he felt his fingers touch his horns, "I've had enough with pizzas today.." His voice was laced with tiredness.
Two Time nodded, looking towards the kitchen, "Then, I'll make some pasta or something.."
With that, Two Time walked over to the kitchen, having one goal in mind: Make good food to cheer up Elliot!
Once Two Time arrived into the kitchen, they got to work.
They start gathering up the ingredients: Pasta, cheese, vegetables, butter, ground beef, milk, seasonings, herbs, and whatever else they had in the fridge that would make decent spaghetti ingredients.
30 minutes later, the bolognese sauce was simmering in a pan whilst the pasta was cooking in a pot right next to it.
Two Time was now preparing the plates and utensils, humming a little tune while checking in on the pasta now and again.
Elliot, who was still in the living room, was now slightly less tired and scrolling through his phone while Pepper was purring on his lap and nipping at his pants.
The blonde pets the kitten, getting a high pitched meow in response.
As this was happening, the food had finished cooking and was now all plated up.
Once everything was all ready, Two Time called out to Elliot, "Eli! Dinners ready!"
Elliot perked up, giving the kitten one last pet. "Time for dinner, I guess."
He picked Pepper up from his lap and placed her on the cat bed under the table, standing up from his seat.
He stretched his arms up above him, straining his muscles before letting his arms drop down and walking over to the kitchen.
In the doorway that led into the kitchen-dining room, he saw Two Time placing the plates of spaghetti on the table.
He walked over to them, placing his hand on their shoulder, spooking them.
"Jeez!" They turned around, their tail swishing behind them, "You can't keep sneaking up on me like that, Eli.."
Elliot chuckled and walked over to the nearest chair, smelling the aroma of delicious spaghetti bolognese, "You can't say that when you practically do the same."
Two Time stared at him, a sheepish smile on their face and walking to the chair across from Elliot's, the second plate of spaghetti bolognese in front of them.
Elliot sniffs the air, the scent of deliciously made spaghetti filled the air around him, "Mm... I swear, sometimes I think you're a better cook than me..."
Two Time chuckled, scratching the back of their head, "Don't say that... You're a great cook as well. I'd say that our skill level matches up pretty well."
The blonde sighed, picking up the fork and twirling it around in the spaghetti, "Sure..."
The two sat in silence, beginning to eat their dinner, a hum of satisfaction coming from Elliot.
--20 minutes later--
Elliot exits from his bedroom, donning a new fresh set of clothes; a red sweater and black shorts, and drying his hair with a towel.
Two Time was sat on the couch, watching some random cooking show they got too invested in.
"I thought you were going back to sleep." Elliot mumbled, walking over to the living room.
Two Time shrugged, "I don't feel sleepy anymore. You on the other hand..." They pointed a playful finger at him, "Should be sleeping right now."
Elliot shook his head, letting out a chuckle as he sat down right next to them, "I guess I'm not sleepy anymore either."