April hummed quietly, helping arrange the thorny stems in a vase as Morticia beheaded another full-bodied head of rose petals to fall and scatter like blood drops across the conservatory floor.

  "Are you planning on doing anything with the petals?" Purnima asked curiously from where she sat observing them, having been happily enjoying the peace and quiet of the morning.

  "Oh I have Lurch dispose of them on the edge of the swamp where I compost and collect fertilizer for my darling plants. Gomez is terribly allergic to roses." Morticia hummed, shears glinting with a cruel beauty in the sunlight shining down before another rose met it's fate.

  "Huh, makes sense. Would it be okay for me to take some? I enjoy a good rosewater and rose oil, and your roses smell amazing. Not sure if they'll allow me to use the dorm kitchen for making them with the scent, but they'd be nice potpourri as well." Morticia smiled in her soft way, eyes glittering like ice across the windows to a winter sky.

  "Why, of course you may, Purnima! I'm quite certain Grandmama would be quite pleased if you simply used her brewing equipment here to avoid issues. The scent won't be a bother if I have Lurch open a few windows so the smell of the incoming rain can come into the house." She assured before raising her voice slightly. "Lurch! Thing!"

  April giggled softly as Purnima startled at the large man appearing quite suddenly and silently, the sentient hand on his shoulder.

  "There you are! Thing, dear, would you mind taking Purnima to Grandmama? She wishes to make a tincture and similar." Morticia informed happily as she knelt, gathering the bounty of discarded petals as she continued, placing them on the cleared tray from Cleopatra's breakfast earlier. "Lurch, would you please open some windows? I want the house to smell like the incoming storm and avoid causing Gomez any headaches while they work." Lurch simply groaned assent as Morticia rose, holding the tray of velvet petals up for Thing to descend onto before the giant lumbered off.

  "Thank you, Lurch. Well dear, here you are! Thing will point the way to her lair for you." She assured, passing her burden to Purnima. "Off you go! Send Thing to tell me if you end up needing more."

  April gave an encouraging nod before her new friend left, leaving her to enjoy the calm she always found in these mornings spent with Morticia.

  "Your eyes keep straying to the edge of the swamp." Morticia mused, tending to her oleander. The usual natural pink of the petals having been cultivated under her dedicated care to produce a deep magenta hue. "Gomez did say to expect them a bit late. Why don't you go ahead and fix those two some coffee? I have a feeling they should return soon." She encouraged, seeing April blushing a bit.

  "I, um, I just-it usually doesn't take so long for them to be back." April justified. "It's just thrown off my schedule a bit, that's all." Morticia gave a soft smirk.

  "I see. Well, the last of the particular coffee beans Bren prefers are still safely hidden in the pantry where you put it yesterday morning. I made certain Chad was directed to the other bag when he woke up." April's blush deepened before she simply nodded and swept out of the room, going to fix some fresh coffee for them. It had become a bit of a ritual for her. Get up, start the day with Morticia in the conservatory, then make fresh coffee to have ready for Bren and Gomez when they returned from their run.

  Passing through the family room, she smiled softly at the sight of Claire and Pugsley pouring over what appeared to be blueprints that were spread across the floor, quietly but excitedly chattering away as they pointed to different things. Fin sat with his hand settled on Claire's knee, absently stroking a thumb along the surface as he calmly helped correct the coding Wednesday had taken a shine to, lately. When Claire spoke up a bit, beaming as she pointed something in particular out to Fin, he graced her with a soft smile, his hand gently squeezing her leg as he nodded before both returned their attentions to their respective tasks.

  It was sweet, seeing him so affectionate with her. He had always been rather reserved, and it made April glad to see that he had someone he was so open with. Even before they had decided to move beyond their friendship...though Fin was admittedly more hands on, as it were, now that they were official. Not that Claire seemed to mind in the least.

  Continuing to the kitchen, she beamed at Uncle Fester fixing whatever concoction he'd decided sounded good this morning. "Good morning." She hummed, earning a smile from the large man as he pulled her into a crushing hug.

  "Good morning, April!" Releasing her, he landed a firm pat to the top of her head before turning back to stirring his amalgamation. "Any nightmares?"

  "Not last night, I'm afraid." Fester sighed, shaking his head.

  "Shame. There's always hope for tonight!" She chuckled softly at his encouragement offered before he left. Soon digging through the top cabinet until she found the coffee bag hidden behind the jar of newts. Pulling out the other coffee bag from the lower cabinet, as well, she started brewing the two and a bit extra, knowing Fin would be more than happy to drink any left once Bren and Jace had theirs. The man seemed to live off of coffee and tea more than anything else. While the acrid and nutty scent of the dark brews began to fill the air, she took in a deep breath before letting out a silent sigh, processing last night a bit more.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Not that she hadn't already spent nearly an hour fixated on that silly kiss Bren gave to her palm after it had happened. Because who wouldn't?? Well, except maybe Chad, apparently. Bren play flirted with him all the time. Was that what it was? Sleep deprived play flirting after an exhausting day? But, it wasn't done with the usual tone Bren used when teasing Chad...

  A blush warmed her cheeks as she pulled out her preferred cast iron pan and the fixings for a breakfast sandwich for Bren since Grandmama was busy helping Purnima. Even as a joke, that tone would have her redder than a tomato and wobbly as a newborn foal. Practiced hands reached for the kaiser rolls in the bread box, gently stroking the worn wood to calm it before the jagged edges of the scrolled lid could crash down on her hand, earning a pleased grumble. Great defender against critters, a bit overzealous for human hands. Honestly she had no clue how the two flirted like it was nothing.

  Soon, eggs, some ham product Bren insisted was different and special they called pork roll, and slices of American cheese were on standby. The rest of the fix'ns and a prepped plate with a paper towel were at hand by the time the pan was deemed hot enough to her hovering hand. Recalling Jace would be back, as well, she threw extra ham in the pan, the sizzle a familiar background to her musings.

  Obviously it was a joke, right? Them? Flirting with her? People fawned over Bren anywhere they went. She'd seen it plenty of times. Gorgeous people, to boot. They could have their pick of the litter, so it wouldn't make any sense. They sometimes went out to parties looking like sin embodied and still came back somehow with an angelic smile when they saw her still up reading. Covered in body glitters she knew they didn't use because it was that chunky sort they didn't like because it felt greasy.

  Pork crisped and resting on some paper towels, she sighed, getting the eggs going as she unwrapped the cheese. Shaking her head slightly, she scoffed under her breath. No, they wouldn't have meant anything by it. Not with her. After all, why would they want to be dragged down by her? Her idea of daring outfits was a run of the mill Monday for them and her exciting Friday nights were spent with Homeric epics, medieval literature and cups of tea. Forcing herself to stop overthinking silly things, she focused in on cooking. That she could do, and do well, at least.

  Once the eggs were seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked over medium, she topped them with their robe of unnaturally yellow, questionable cheese to let it get melty. Scootching them to one side of the pan, she pressed the crumb side of the sliced rolls into the drippings for a moment before setting them on a waiting plate. In short order, she had the sandwiches assembled and started wrapping them in foil. Coffee should be done by now, which meant she could focus on that, next. Better than getting back to her pointless panic spiral.

  Setting aside the sandwiches to steam in the foil, she got down Bren's mug, putting in the amount of sugar they liked before pouring in the last of the coffee they preferred. Once the creamer was in, she snagged a spoon to stir it, nudging the utensil drawer closed with her hip. That done, she reached for the ketchup Bren insisted the sandwich had to be dipped in, meaning to go ahead and put a portion on their plate.

  "No fucking way!" She jerked away with a squeak at the sudden, loud voice behind her and hand on her arm. As she turned, something hit her hand and a crashing noise rang in her ears, only to see a very startled Jace quickly jumping back, hands up.

  "Shit! I didn't mean-"

  "Shut it." Bren's voice was unusually harsh before they stepped into her sightline, concern softening their features as their tone turned gentle. "April? April, are you alright? Did it splash on you?" Realizing what had happened, she flushed, embarrassment flooding her as she started to move. Intent on finding a towel as guilt hit her at the sight of their shattered mug.

  "I-Im so sorry! I'll clean it up-" gentle but firm hands settled on her shoulders, freezing her before she could do more than shift a bit.

  "April, you're barefoot." Bren's calm voice filtered through the frantic jumble of her thoughts, warm eyes catching her own gaze to keep her still. "I don't want any of that getting stuck in your foot. C'mon, we'll let the idiot clean it up and get you out of the danger zone, okay? Can we do that?" She nodded, eyes widening as they easily scooped her up and carried her to the kitchen table, setting her down on top of it.

  "Just stay right there looking pretty while we get this taken care of." They teased, only for their smile to fade into a frown. She didn't have a chance to ask what the problem was before they left and were almost immediately back, snagging her foot to pull it closer and carefully pull off one of her socks, which she dazedly noticed were wet. "Okay, looks like it at least wasn't hot enough to burn you." They murmured before starting to carefully dry off the coffee that had soaked through her socks with the tea towel they'd grabbed.

  "I-I can-" She started, mortified at this whole ordeal, only for Bren to look up at her with that little bemused smirk of theirs.

  "I know you can, but I want to. C'mon, miss independent. Indulge me a bit. Please?" She hesitated, looking over to where Jace was working on cleaning up the mess she'd made.

  "But, your favorite mug, I broke it-" A warm hand turned her face away from the crime scene and back to focus on their gaze.

  "No, you didn't. Jace broke it by being an idiot and sneaking up on you, especially after Id told him you don't like that. Besides, it's just a mug and it was an accident. No big deal. Plenty more where it came from. None of this guilt complex bullshit from you, Red. I won't allow it." They soothed easily, moving the hand on her cheek upwards to fix her hair a bit with a chuckle. The rumble of approaching thunder echoing the sound. "Only you could be nice enough to apologize for someone else scaring you. Its fine. I promise."

  April tried not to. She really, really tried. April was the sort that could deal with all sorts of terrible, awful things without a hint of a tear. However, if enough had been piling up, and someone was kind...well, she was liable to cry. There had been so many late nights and early mornings of studying and insomnia lately. So many frustrating math tests, even with her accomodations to help. So many times she had felt alone on campus, struggling to connect with her classmates. Then yesterday with meeting all these new, wonderful people because of course everyone else had such lovely friends. Then last night. Last night with that stupid, silly little kiss to her hand that had her mind racing and stomach in knots. Now she'd not only dropped their favorite mug, but she also wasted the last of their favorite coffee.

  After all of that, Bren was standing there cleaning her up after making sure she wasn't hurt. Smiling up at her and reassuring her that everything was okay and that she hadn't done anything wrong.

  So, of course, despite her best efforts, April did the only thing that was reasonable according to her sensibilities:

  She burst into tears.