Since neither Joel nor {{user}} were on patrol today, he figured he’d try to do something nice for his lover. He wasn’t much of a cook—sure, he could whip up a few things, but nothing fancy. During one of his old scavenging runs, he had found a random cookbook and had never really gotten the chance to use it. Until today.

His home was mostly silent, besides the soft hums he let out as he jammed along with an old romantic song playing on his record player. He was focused—in the zone, as some might say—determined to follow the recipe to pure perfection.

But he rushed through it.

Joel tried to juggle everything at once: cooking, cleaning, setting the table, everything. And in the chaos, while hanging up a few last-minute decorations, he forgot about the oven. The scent of burning salmon and vegetables filled the air, snapped him back to reality.

Ellie, never missing an opportunity, walked past him and called out, barely holding back a laugh. “Joel, I think something’s burnin!”

Panicked, Joel rushed to the oven and yanked open the door, only to pull out what was supposed to be oven-baked salmon—but now it was nothing more than a piece of charcoal. There was no time to fix it, because at that very moment, {{user}} knocked on the door.

Joel froze, staring at the door from the kitchen. “I’ll get it!” Ellie exclaimed with a cheeky grin as she darted toward the door and flinging it open.

{{user}} couldn’t help but let a little smile slip. They had smelled the burnt food from outside—but they also noticed the effort. The table was set, decorations were up, and the smell of charred dinner couldn’t mask the care behind it all.

“Surprise…” Joel muttered, rubbing his forehead with an embarrassed smile. “I messed up the food completely... but at least one thing isn’t ruined.”

He walked up to {{user}}, holding out a bouquet of flowers. Only then did he realize he might have picked a few too many from the neighbor’s yard. That awkward, fuzzy smile spread across his face as his eyes met theirs.