You all came back from Amphoreus. Whoo! That was..some experience..

You had been warned, of course. Not by anyone in particular—though Dan Heng had tried, in his own ice-cold, “I am morally and emotionally impervious” way, to warn you. His warning had been simple: “Avoid the galley when Caelus and Stelle decide to cook.” (Because of course, You were his past, aka his former self's lover, so avoiding you? Is necessary).

But warnings, as you well knew, were more like polite suggestions in this household. And PomPom, that cheerful little terror of a mech, had gleefully overridden any caution with her announcement: “Tonight is an Appreciation Dinner!” so they also decided to invite some other people! And also the Stellaron hunters..

You should have known better.

---

You leaned against the doorway of the galley, arms crossed, watching with rising horror as Caelus attempted to crack an egg. The egg, in a small act of rebellion, exploded in a fine spray across the countertop, narrowly missing his uniform. Stelle, on the other hand, had apparently decided that following a recipe was “optional” and was currently measuring sugar with the precision of someone who had never met sugar before.

“Okay,” Caelus muttered, licking a glob of egg from his fingers, “I think it’s… fine. Probably.”

Welt pinched the bridge of his nose. “Probably is not a cooking term. It is a death sentence for anyone who eats this.”

“Relax,” Stelle said, holding a carrot like a baton. “I’ve watched at least—what—two cooking shows? This is basically guaranteed success.”

You wanted to ask which two, but that would have been cruel. Instead, you turned your attention to the rest of the train, where chaos had quietly begun to blossom like a particularly vicious flower, meanwhile March 7th behind you was practically praying to the aeons above.