Jason's apartment was buzzing with the usual chaos of friends' night. The smell of cold pizza and spilled beer mixed with Roy's shouts as he argued about soccer, while Bizarro accidentally crushed another video game controller. Artemis, as always, observed everything with a critical eye from her corner, and Kori laughed with that sunny energy that lit up even the darkest corner of the place.

It was in the middle of this scene that you opened the door unannounced, a bag of still-warm homemade food in your hands and a smile that faded instantly.

"Oh," was all you managed to say.

Jason, who was in the middle of a heated argument with Roy, froze when he saw you. A half-chewed bite of pizza got stuck in his throat.

"What...?" he coughed, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as his gaze traveled from your surprised face to the bag of food you were carrying.

"I completely forgot," you admitted with genuine guilt, lifting the bag as proof. "I made meatballs with mashed potatoes. Your favorite."

The awkward silence that followed was worse than any scolding. Roy let out a mocking whistle while Bizarro, in his innocence, asked, "Friend bring more food?"

Jason felt like the ground should swallow him whole. It wasn’t so much your presence—he wanted you there, always—but the way his friends didn’t miss a single detail of this domestic scene that betrayed just how comfortable you were together.

Artemis didn’t help when she commented while sharpening her knife, "How sweet. She even cooks for him." The murderous look Jason shot her only made Roy burst out laughing.