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Hector was curled up under a blanket on the couch, tired and seemingly immobilized because of that. Malik was sure he was radiating melatonin. Hector was somehow not asleep, despite the crust in his eyes and the blank look on his face.
Malik, unsure of what to say, stopped to gaze at him. “You should go to sleep,” he commented.
Hector yawned. “Don’t feel like it.”
“Well, that sucks for you, because you’re clearly tired out of your mind. Go to sleep.”
Hector didn’t reply.
Malik was sure that he’d fainted before he could speak, but when Malik peered over the edge of the couch to look at his groggy face, his eyes were open. Instead of sleeping, Hector was staring at nothing with a solemn expression on his face.
“. . .What’s up?”
Hector turned to look at Malik, pensive. “It’s just. . . I’m feeling nostalgic. I’m missing your mom’s–well, Serenity mom’s old cookies. Those were fantastic.”
Malik’s mind was immediately occupied by thoughts of the past. He knew a solution to this issue. He knew a solution to this issue by heart. But was he ready to admit that to Hector?
If that’s what makes the shrimp feel better, then absolutely.
“I remember the recipe.” Malik blurted.
“You do?” Hector seemed slightly appalled as he giggled to himself. “I didn’t know you could cook. I didn’t even think you knew how to work a microwave.”
Malik pretended that he wasn’t slightly offended. “I do!” he retorted defensively. "Kind of.”
“Prove it.”
And he did. Malik recounted every detail of the recipe with stunning accuracy, thinking of Hector all the while. Above all, he wondered whether or not Hector would enjoy them. That was the driving encouragement for the amount of love he put into these dumb chocolate cookies.
It’s safe to say that Hector did, in fact, enjoy the cookies.
“Malik! These taste like the real thing; they’re incredible!” he said after Malik pulled the tray out of the oven, wearing oven mitts that read “KISS THE COOK”.
Malik didn’t know how to reply. He was new to their conversations being so genuine. “No problem, dude.”
Hector didn’t do anything but smile at him lovingly. “Your next job is to make sure nobody else gets their hands on these.”