Chapter 182: Ordinary Things

They locked the café again and headed upstairs.

The apartment still carried the faint smell of coffee from below. By the time Lauren unlocked the door, Luke was already thinking about a shower, clean clothes, and finding somewhere soft enough to disappear for several hours.

He stepped inside.

Family photographs still covered the hallway.

The chipped mug painted with crooked flowers remained on its shelf.

Lauren’s daughters smiled from framed photographs beside pictures of their hero uniforms.

Nothing had changed while they were gone.

Luke remembered his first night here, when he had been afraid to leave dirt on the floor and worried that touching the wrong thing might make Lauren regret bringing him home.

Now he dropped his bag beside the wall without wondering whether anyone would eventually tell him to leave.

Lauren closed the door behind them.

Luke had barely turned around before she wrapped both arms around him.

There was no teasing remark or playful warning. She simply pressed herself against him and held on.

Luke wrapped his left arm around her, keeping the injured wrist safely away from her body.

They stayed like that for several seconds.

Lauren eventually released a long breath against his chest.

"I needed this."

"So did I."

She didn’t move away.

"The Heartroot was home for Aelira."

Luke rested his cheek against the top of her head.

"I know."

"And she had to bring what was left of it here."

He understood what she meant.

Simply walking into this apartment after the Hunt had made his chest loosen in a way he hadn’t expected.

Aelira could never experience that same relief.

Luke held Lauren a little tighter.

When she finally leaned back, some of the sadness remained in her expression.

Then her attention shifted immediately toward him.

"You need food."

Luke smiled. "I ate this morning."

"That was hours ago."

"I can make something."

Her eyes dropped toward his right arm.

Luke corrected himself before she could speak.

"I can help you make something."

"That’s better."

"See? I’m learning compromise."

Lauren looked impressed for all of half a second. "You really have grown."

"Don’t sound so surprised."

"I’m trying not to."

They moved into the kitchen together.

Lauren handled the knife and anything that required both hands. Luke carried plates with his left, opened containers, set the table, and found whatever small tasks he could do safely.

A few weeks earlier, being prevented from doing more would have annoyed him.

Now he simply worked around the limitation.

Lauren noticed.

She waited until he placed the last glass on the table, then leaned over and kissed his cheek.

Luke turned his head before she could pull away and caught her lips with his.

Lauren made a small sound of surprise.

It lasted less than a second.

Her hand slid behind his neck, and the kiss deepened naturally.

Luke no longer froze while waiting for Lauren to decide every part of the interaction. He still lacked her experience, and she could make him forget how to speak whenever she truly tried, but kissing his girlfriend no longer required several minutes of internal preparation.

When they separated, Lauren smiled.

"My boyfriend has become bold."

"You’ve spent months telling me to stop hesitating."

"I was encouraging you."

"Same thing."

Lauren shook her head, though the smile remained. "Sit down before this newfound confidence becomes unbearable."

They ate together.

For a while, neither mentioned Lethariel.

Lauren told him about two messages from her daughters. Luke complained about Bureau coffee and learned that Lauren considered his description of it as "barely drinkable" too generous.

They talked about reopening the café.

Lauren wanted to contact the employees the following morning and make sure everyone was still comfortable returning after everything that had happened. Luke offered to inspect the storage room before she reminded him that checking supplies would almost certainly turn into lifting something he shouldn’t.

"I can count boxes without moving them."

Lauren gave him a look.

"I can."

"You would last five minutes."

"Ten."

"Luke."

"Fine. Maybe seven."

Lauren sighed and continued eating.

The conversation moved on.

That alone made Luke smile.

A few months earlier, every disagreement had felt more dangerous than it should have. He had been so afraid of becoming inconvenient that even a small correction could send him into an internal panic.

Now Lauren could tell him no without Luke wondering whether the word secretly meant she was getting tired of him.

That was another kind of progress.

After dinner, Luke gathered the lighter dishes with his left hand.

Lauren immediately noticed.

"Only the plates."

"I know."

"No pan."

"I wasn’t touching the pan."

"You looked at it."

"Am I banned from looking now?"

"I’m considering it."

Luke laughed and carried the plates toward the sink.

Lauren followed with the heavier cookware.

They settled into an awkward but workable rhythm. Luke dried what he could manage with one hand while Lauren washed. Every so often, she stole the towel from him when he tried to take something too heavy.

At one point, Luke reached for a large ceramic bowl.

Lauren slapped his hand away.

Not hard.

Just enough.

"Hey."

"You were warned."

"It’s a bowl."

"It’s heavy."

"I fought monsters bigger than this apartment."

"And now you’re losing to pottery."

Luke stared at her.

Lauren remained completely serious for about two seconds before her lips twitched.

"That was terrible."

"I know."

"You still said it."

"I couldn’t resist."

He laughed again.

When the dishes were finished, Lauren made tea while Luke carried their cups into the living room.

They settled on the sofa.

Lauren tucked herself against his left side, fitting beneath his arm without needing to ask. Luke shifted until she was comfortable and rested his cheek briefly against her hair.

The television remained off.

Neither of them wanted noise.

For several minutes, they simply sat there.

Outside, cars moved along the street. Someone laughed beneath the apartment window, followed by the distant sound of a bus braking at the intersection.

Normal sounds.

Luke hadn’t realized how badly he missed them.

Lauren eventually lifted her head.

"You’re quiet."

"So are you."

"I asked first."

Luke looked around the room.

"It feels weird being back."

"Bad weird?"

"No."

He thought about it.

"More like I forgot how normal everything here was."

Lauren smiled faintly.

"We can make it abnormal again if you’d prefer."

Luke glanced down at her.

"That sounds threatening."

"Maybe a little."

He smiled, but Lauren didn’t push the joke farther.

Her head returned to his shoulder.

Luke appreciated that too.

Not every quiet moment needed to become teasing.

Sometimes they could simply sit together and let the day end.

After a while, Lauren’s breathing became slower.

Luke looked down.

Her eyes were closed.

He stayed still.

This time, however, he didn’t freeze because he was afraid of waking her or worry that holding her the wrong way might cross some invisible line.

He simply adjusted the blanket over her legs and kept his arm around her.

A few minutes later, Lauren opened one eye.

"You thought I was asleep."

"You looked asleep."

"I was resting."

"That’s almost the same thing."

"Mhm."

Luke smiled.

Lauren reached up and kissed the underside of his jaw before settling against him again.

It felt wonderfully ordinary.

Luke had missed ordinary more than he realized.