Adonis nodded his head in an exaggerated way, "Yeah! Washing hands is very important. Daddy says so. Nana says so. Even Abue and Granda says so. So that must make it very important. You know?" His chefs hat started to tilt then slide off his little head. Mina held the vegetable with her right hand in order to push her brother's hat up with the left.
As if they were in sync, the twins looked over their right shoulders. They stared curiously at Felix with raised brows. Adonis shrugged, going back to taking care of the vegetables. On the other hand, Mina hopped off the stool then hopped over to stand next to Felix. She watched whatever he was doing all while trying to figure out what was he looking for. Her fingers tugged the straps of her apron.
"We have plastic knives that are different colors in the drawer by the stove because my brother and I can't use the adult knives. I like the bright red one cause it's one of my favorite colors," She explained, "What's your favorite color, Felix? I like red but I also like black too. Having one favorite color is too hard."
Damian quietly stepped out of the bedroom in a long sleeve black pullover with 1988 summer Olympics logo on it and matching black shorts. The weariness on his face lingered. He was both energetic and tired at the same time, but seeing the three in the kitchen made him content. It was enough for him to smile as he stood there, watching.
Felix nods along to the twins' ramblings. He doesn't know who Nana or Abue or Granda are, but he can assume they're relatives of sorts, likely from their mother's side of the family. As far as Felix knows, Damian isn't on speaking terms with his own parents. Family isn't exactly a topic he'll breach unprompted. "Yes," he confirms with a nod as he locates the knife drawer. It isn't the one Mina had pointed out, for the actual knives are far from where their hands can reach.
"Gold," he answers without hesitation. "Gold is the best color." He smiles down at the girl and brushes a piece of hair from in front of his ear, showing off the trio of small gold hoops pinching the helix of his ear. His watch–stolen–is also gold. "But I suppose I do like black as well. It pairs well with any color." Luckily, the cutting boards are easy to locate.
Unconsciously, Felix flips the knife in his hand, catching it and chopping into the washed jalapeños in one smooth motion. "Adonis–" he catches the attention of the other twin. "Do you have a favorite color?" Behind him, he can hear the soft creak of the bedroom door. Felix doesn't address Damian, allowing the detective to have a moment to himself.
The girl's eyes lit up at the gold hoop earrings. Her lips formed an o shape. "Woah. Those look very very pretty." While Mina has been aware that people can get their ears pierced, she never had seen someone with their ears pierced like Felix. The gold from the watch shined as light from the kitchen bounced off. Gold is a pretty color.
Damian walked into the kitchen. He reached over to turn the sink facuet off. Then, after Adonis hopped off of the stool, he moved it to side and out of the way.
Adonis bit the corner of his lip while tilting his head to the right. "Uhhh my favorite color…." He started to look around at different things in the kitchen. Standing still, he paused and looked down at the floor. "I think blue. I like lots of colors like purple, pink, and silver, but blue is like my favorite, I think." He turned around, facing his dad, and asked, "Daddy, what's your favorite color?"
"My favorite color…" Damian hummed. In the middle of thinking, Adonis went over with arms up, and Damian picked the little one up. His lips moved to the left before he looked down at his shirt. "Green," He said while pointing to the respective Olympic ring, "I've never really had a favorite, but green is always nice." The two little chefs nodded at the same time.
"Blue's also a good color," Felix answers with a nod, finishing his jalapenos and moving onto mincing the onions and quartering the limes. Save the tomatoes for last, always. He'll finish the salsa, then he'll move onto making the quesadillas. The salsa's there to snack on while cooking, that's what his sister had always said. "And green?" Felix raises an eyebrow with a smile. "I thought you were going to say black or beige."
Felix recognizes the olympic symbol as the one for the Korean Olympics. He saw it once at trivia night at some bar. He doesn't remember the date he was with, he just remembers there was never a second date. Felix can't help it if there are attractive people in his vicinity and he wants to talk to them as well. God, it would have had to have been half a decade ago.
As he finishes the cilantro and tomatoes, Felix finds a decently sized bowl and begins to spoon the piled and chopped ingredients into it. He places the knife carefully in the sink and finds a large spoon to mix. He tops with plenty of lime and a few dashes of table salt. "Chips–" He says. "And where do you keep your protein? Chicken, beef? Y'know."
Damian was so focused on Felix's smile that he forgot that he was holding Adonis. His ears turned pink as he looked off to the side. He wasn't able to think of a response. Only when the little monster began to wiggle himself free did Damian realize then helped his son safely get down. He looked over at the table, seeing how it was littered with papers, crayons, and markers. "Hey, you two!" The twins both turned around, staring at him with wide eyes. He asked, "Could you guys go clean the table for me? You can set it up anyway you want to afterwards."
The two chefs nodded then waddled off. Adonis was the first to reach the table and begin putting crayons back in their place. Mina, on the other hand, stopped at the corner of the counter. She held her hands together behind her back and said, "I think that green and gold go really well together." Then she skipped off to help her brother.
Green and gold. Damian was only able to process Felix's question after a shiver went down his spine. After relaxing his muscles, he went over to the sink. "I am pretty sure the chicken is in the bottom drawer on the left side of the fridge," He answered while turning the faucet on. The smell of soap filled his nostrils. It smelled like mangos and flowers. Once he was satisfied with his hand washing, he turned the sink off and started to wrap the cloth around his hands. He leaned back against the counter. "I can help prepare it if you want or you want me to just stand here? It's your call."
Felix briefly watches the kids scuttle off to clean the table before turning back to Damian. Mina's comment rings in his ear, but he chooses not to think about it until what will probably be three in the morning. Felix is lucky that he doesn't flush easily, an ability he was either born with or trained away at his seat at the poker table. "They do go well together," he notes aloud, finding the fridge and the chicken within.
As he sets the meat out, he finds a skillet and sets it atop of the stove, already clicking the gas on and letting it warm the pan. "I'd love your help, doll," Felix says smoothly. "I'm assuming you know how to cook chicken?" He teases softly, elbowing Damian's bicep. With that, he turns to the pantry and finds a barely opened bag of plain tortilla chips. They're clearly not Felix's choice of quality chips, but he'd rather be eating the salsa with those rather than stale Doritos.
He quickly dips a chip into the salsa and puts it into his mouth. "Mm." He hums as he chews and swallows. "That's good." The jalapeños are warm, but not irritatingly hot. The lime was also a good one and provided a perfect amount of citrus. Not wanting to be selfish, Felix slides to bowl towards Damian. "Try some."
Damian ambled over to stand beside Felix, but he couldn't look at him. His eyes flickered over as he chuckled. "Depends on the dish," He coyly responded. Picking up the chicken, he washed them underneath the sink. He sprayed some cooking oil on the pan then placed the pieces of chicken down.
"You are too kind, good sir." He took the blue rag from the oven railing and wiped his hands with it. Then he tossed it to the side, away from the stove. He continued to talk while grabbing a chip then dipping it into the salsa. While carefully putting the whole chip into his mouth, he covered his mouth and chewed.
As soon as he swallowed, he gave a thumbs up. "It's really good." His mouth was tingling, but he liked the feeling of it; it's what he likes about hot food anyways. Damian probably could have gone for another one, but he nudged the salsa in Felix's direction. "Where'd you get the recipe from? I might wanna use it for later…sometime…" Returning his focus back to the stove, he turned the heat up a notch. "You can have more of it. I don't have much of an appetite right now."
Felix smiles–or, well, he hasn't really stopped smiling. It just rests naturally on his face, and it's not like the devilish smirk he used to keep with his expression at all times. This isn't the Felix that loves poker and lying and causing problems for people… No, this is a different Felix. "It's a family recipe," he answers as he takes another chip. "My oldest sister invented it when I was eight. I've just remembered it ever since."
Another chip and then Felix begins shredding some cheese. It isn't his first choice, but he'll take what he can get. One of these days, he's going to have to make Damian a dish that's worthy of Felix's high standards. Expensive ingredients, time spent creating, a nice meaningful dinner– "I'll write it down later tonight for you." He nods and sprinkles some seasonings over Damian's shoulder. His chest is nearly touching the detective's back, but Felix is definitely not thinking about that at all. Nope, Felix is just reaching around him to flavor some chicken.
The more he kept looking over at that gosh darn smile, the more he was giving himself heart palpitations. At one point, Damian was more focused on keeping himself occupied so he wouldn't be blushing or staring so much. "Ahh, I see," He beamed, "You should tell her that it's great. The twins will like it."
All of the sudden his hand crashed above his heart. To play it off, he pretended to clear his throat and act like nothing was going on. Felix is only just helping him by adding seasoning therefore he shouldn't be overthinking this. Oh but the slight brushing is causing his legs to freeze. This is just like high school all over again. It is just dinner. It is just seasoning chicken. There is nothing for him to do an in-depth analysis of.
In the corner of his eye, he let his gaze linger on Felix. Time must have froze when he turned his head to get a better look. His breathing slowed. Traces of a smile lingered before he grinned. "Okay…okay…Thank you." Damian was not able to keep his stare for long. His heart panicked after a few seconds and he was back to staring down at the pieces of chicken.
Huh. Felix is tempted to give his sister a call right now just to relay the message. God–Damian's damned smile. It makes Felix feel warm and happy and full and fuck. He's just spiraling and spiraling… this can't be just a crush.
When Damian clears his throat, Felix has to mentally backtrack and wonder if he overstepped. Where could he have miscalculated? Well, he can't fathom a time where Damian had been outwardly comfortable which leads Felix to believe that something else is going on. Felix quite literally made his living off of reading people and lying, but Damian proved his uncanny ability to predict outcomes and read minds wrong on their first meeting. Hell, has Felix been smitten with the man since then? Jesus Christ.
Felix steps back and takes another chip, hoping that the warm jalapeños will distract him from his own thoughts. At the counter adjacent to Damian, Felix finishes his cheese grating and pushes it all into a neat pile next to the vegetables he set aside for the inside of the quesadillas. "Let me know when you're done with that, doll." Felix says, his voice unexpectedly quiet between them.
"Oh okay…..I'll keep an eye on it. Don't worry." He tried to give an assuring smile, but his attention to detail stopped him. Damian could not ignore the low volume in Felix's voice; its tone was different from moments ago. He tried to distract himself by putting a timer on for the chicken. It didn't really work, but he tried.
The difference between Felix now and Felix a few moments ago alarmed him. Had he done something wrong? Damian didn't know if it was the smile or something he said or what. Maybe Felix knew he liked being in close proximity and doesn't want to be. Then there was all those flirtatious exchanges they had; not to mention what he had done yesterday. Oh God. Oh God. Was he subconsciously crushing on him the whole time?
His lips puffed out into a pout as he stared at the pan. Even while picking apart every single thing he had done, he ignore Felix from the side of his eye. He leaned to the side, whispering, "Are you okay, baby?"
Trying not to think about anything other than quesadillas, Felix applies oil to the griddle and turns it on low, waiting for the chicken to finish so he can chop it up and begin assembling their dinner. The domesticity of it creeps in and Felix has to shoo it away with a broom. This means nothing… This should mean nothing. Right.
Fuck it, this all has to mean something. Felix isn't oblivious and he knows how to read most people. There's no use in being quiet about this.
Of course, Felix's usually swiftly functioning mind stutters and stalls at the pet name. "I'm great," he answers, voice even as always. "But…" Felix sighs and sets down the bottle of oil. To better time to bite the bullet than now. "Damian, que somos nosotros?" His eyes momentarily flick to the twins, still busy with fixing the table up for dinner. "Porque creo que me podrías gustar." It's awfully blunt, but if Felix has been picking the clues up correctly, hopefully it'll all turn out right. This should all turn out okay because all of the arrows have been pointing this direction, and Felix might explode if he harbors unsaid feelings for any longer.
What are they? Damian really wished that he knew. First they were just colleagues and he wanted to be anywhere other than with Felix, but it is completely different. He wants to be more than just colleagues and he wants to be with Felix. But then there's the twins. What will they think? Do they like Felix? Does Felix like them?
His response was delayed. It wasn't just the switch from English to Spanish, it was a whole equation. Language switching plus mental exhaustion plus feelings; if only he could find the answer to it all. He gave Felix a smile before he asked, "¿Qué somos nosotros?"
The timer went off. His eyes expanded at what he heard. Swiftly, he turned the heat off then turned to face Felix. "¿Tú haces?" Somehow his vision became slightly blurry. He wiped his eyes then sniffed. "Me gustas. Me gustas mucho y no se que decir." Damian sniffed again, wiping the corner of his eyes. "Ah carajo…Lo siento. Lo siento." If only there was a less teary-eyed way for him to say it. He wished he had more to say aside from stating the obvious. The only other ways he could say it would be in English or Korean, but it all would be the same thing…I like you, Felix.
When Damian only repeated the question, Felix felt something inside him dip. It wasn't rejection it was… something. Something else, something confusing and something Felix doesn't like. He likes to know and when he doesn't know what's happening inside his own stomach–but as soon as Damian speaks again, any sort of confusing and annoying and mildly infuriating emotions diminish.
"Me alegro de que el sentimiento sea mutuo," he says quietly. Instinctively, Felix's hand goes up to gently hold the side of Damian's face. Felix smiles, not like his wide laughing ones or mischievous smirks, but a small, genuinely happy smile that's reserved for only one other person to see. Not wanting the other to see the light tears forming across his eyes, Felix closes them and lets his head fall to Damian's chest. "No te disculpes, no tienes nada por lo que disculparte," he murmurs.
The timer goes off again, and Felix, reluctantly, steps back to shut the stove off. "Tus hijos estarán bien con esto?" He briefly looks over to the twins at the table and then back to Damian.
There was nothing else for him to say. Words seemed to have failed him once again. He stood still while staring at Felix with glassy eyes. The other's hand felt warm against the side of his face. Damian could feel his heart beating, even after the hand was removed. He just hoped that Felix didn't notice, even when he rested his head against him. His fingers gently brushed through Felix's hair.
Damian looked over his shoulder. The table was cleared aside from the markers Mina was using to draw something. Adonis, on the other hand, had rolled up a piece of paper and was pretending it was a telescope. Watching them made Damian smile. He took a deep sigh while turning his head to face Felix.
He nodded, "Ellos deberían estar bien con eso. Probablemente te harán miles de preguntas." While thinking of what to say, all he could hear was the twins debating on where everyone will be sitting. He laughed to himself while wiping away the tears. "Ellos deben estar bien. Estaban bien contigo cuando yo no estaba, ¿verdad?"
[i am shaking them; it's about time they figured their feelings out after 13 months of rping alskdfj]
The back of his head feels warm where Damian had put his hand. "No me importa," he replies quietly, he sticks a fork into the chicken to ensure it won't be pink. The last thing he wants is to give Damian salmonella after a mutual confession. God. Life doesn't feel real, like the rose colored glasses his older sister always warned him of. "A ellos parecían gustarme."
Felix sighs and moves the chicken breasts to a new cutting board beside his chopped vegetables. "No quiero interponerme en el camino, ¿sabes?" He makes quick work of slicing the chicken before setting the knife down. He turns to Damian, a question he's wanted to ask for a long time now on his mind. He isn't even sure if he should ask it, especially with the circumstances that led to this moment. Felix can only pray that this won't end in flames. "Lo siento si esto parece… contundente, pero ¿cuánto tiempo ha pasado desde que falleció su esposa?"
"Sí, claroque sí." From what he heard, everything seemed to be going well between the twins and Felix. Usually Adonis is shy then tries to hide in his dad's arms. Mina preferred going off, exploring around the house. The fact that the two liked Felix gave Damian a sense of relief. For so long, it's just been him and them. Things like dating or having another person in the twins' lives was something out of the question for him. It made him worried about everything.
He turned at an angle so he was able look at either the twins or Felix. His gaze lingered on the little monsters while he bit the inside of his cheek. So if Mina and Adonis are four, and their birthday is coming up in August…."Casi cinco años. Cinco años desde Areum…" Damian stopped talking. While deeply sighing, his hand grabbed the side of the counter and leaned against it. Luckily he was fine, aside from everything that remained from before.
"Si quieres hablar de ello, hagámoslo con vino. Primero voy a acostar a los mellizos. Puedo mostrarte fotos de ella, si quieres," Damian offered. Then he motioned over to Mina and Adonis. The two were still in their own world. Somehow, they switched chef hats. "Ellos toman después de Areum de muchas maneras."
Five years. Gaging the twins' ages, they would have to have been infants, newborns maybe. Perhaps Damian's wife died in childbirth, or maybe health complications shortly after, or maybe something else entirely. Felix takes a long breath and begins the quick quesadilla making process. They should be eating in only a few minutes now that everything is prepared. He makes a little bit of everything, a variety so everyone can choose what they'd like.
"Esperaremos hasta que los gemelos estén en la cama," Felix suggests. Who is he to turn down some free wine? The circumstances might be less than desirable, but isn't this what Felix wants? To finally get off that stupid armor the detective wears everywhere he goes. He should feel like he won some grand victory, but… It doesn't. Felix isn't sure what this feels like. "Entonces podemos hablar de Areum o cualquier otra cosa que tengas en mente."
"Estoy seguro de que lo hacen," Felix says as he flips the last few quesadillas with his hands. He briefly looks back at the twins, trying to guess what Areum could have possibly looked like. "Podrías traerme algunos platos?"
Damian wasn't sure what he was saying. Opening up like this was never something he had imagined doing ever again nor was he ever good at it. At least he has wine somewhere in this kitchen. While he may not have the ability to handle his alcohol well, it will lower the difficulty to talk. On the other hand, he has realized that it hasn't been difficult to talk to Felix. Sure he had always rolled his eyes or would end up sighing a thousand times, but these last few times, he found himself not doing either of those things. He is pretty sure his face was tingling with some sense of giddiness these last few times Felix would look at him.
In a blink, he returned from deep thinking. The ringing in his ears ceased. "Aaah. Esperar, por favor." Stepping to the left, he opened up a cabinet with stacks of plates. Most of them were plain ceramic white, yet there were plain paper plates along with a rainbow of others. Still bring sleepy, he picked up two paper plates along with two silicon plates. The second he picked up the one pink silicon plate, Adonis teleported then proceeded to yank it from his dad's grasp. The little one squealed with glee while running around the table.
Mina had also teleported; next to Felix somehow. Damian had not notice until hearing her soft sweet voice. She tapped the side of Felix's leg. "Is dinner almost ready? It smells good, and I'm hungry."
Felix goes to take the plates, but stops when the child suddenly snatches the pink one up and dashes away with it. He shrugs. Felix probably did similar things as a child. He takes the remaining three plates and looks down at the second twin. He noticed her coming in. She may be small, but she can't escape Felix's peripheral vision. "It's almost done," he responds, his words slightly accented from switching languages.
True to his word, Felix finishes up the food and transports them to the available plates. He turns off the griddle and leaves Adonis's, perhaps the child will return with the plate. If not, Damian will probably just hand Felix a new one.
Returning to the chips and salsa, Felix takes another few scoops and carries the quesadillas over to the table. He puts the kids' plates where he saw them last sitting and finds he and Damian sitting next to each other. Of course, he can't forget the chips and salsa and sets them in the center of the table. God, how long has it been since he's had a dinner like this? Thirteen years? That is, if he doesn't count his friends, but they're hardly domestic enough to sit down and actually eat for half an hour.
Leaning against the counter, he watched as the kid sped around the table whike wearing the plate as a hat. Usually he waits for the kid to tire himself out but this current tangent had been going on for a few minutes. So Damian stepped into the little monster's path then swooped him into his arms. "Geez, you can power all of Europe for fifty years, you know that?" He muttered. Adonis giggled. While carrying the wiggling Adonis, he handed Felix the pink plate.
He let the crazy kid go, watching as he immediately ran to his seat. There really is no way the kid will crash; somehow he has an abundant amount of energy. Mina smiled at Felix. She whispered a thanks then took the chair next to her brother. Standing on the seat, she reached over for two chips then handed one over to Adonis. They sat together while swinging their feet and eating chips.
"Anything you want to drink?" He asked. Damian strolled over to the fridge. Both the kids shouted, "Apple juice!" While he poured out the juice into two sippy cups, he turned so his feet would be pointing in Felix's direction. "Anything for the handsome gentleman?" He wandered over to give the kids their cups; Mina took the black while Adonis took the purple. Looking over his shoulder at Felix, he beamed, "There's more apple juice if the gentleman would like some."
Adonis is an amusing kid, to say the least–somewhat reminding Felix of his younger sister. Ana couldn't sit still for the life of her, and she couldn't keep her mouth shut either. Felix couldn't stop laughing when she called him shortly after he got kicked out of the house with news of being expelled from Catholic school.
After ensuring that he won't have to get back up again to grab anything he forgot, Felix takes his seat. A large smile spreads onto his face at the compliment, one that he doesn't even bother to hide. "And anything to drink will be fine." He turns away and eats another chip. "Except milk. I'm mildly lactose intolerant." His intolerance does not stop him from shoveling spoonfuls of ice cream into his mouth while watching telenovelas. Nor does it stop him from eating quesadillas.
Damian smiled back. He made note of what Felix said then walked back over to the fridge. His hip leaned against the fridge door while he stared at all the possible drink options. Since they are having wine later, he took two plain glasses and filled them with water. He placed one in front of Felix then the other in his spot. Although he technically was ready and everything was prepared, he loaded YouTube onto the tv so the four of them can have Animal Crossing music playing in the background. He knew if he forgot, one of the twins would ask him to put it on.
"Well," He sighed while making his way over. Damian sat down in his seat with his back against the seat. The twins looked at him at the same time. He stared at them then gazed over at Felix, "Is it good?" Adonis nodded. He had already began eating his quesadilla. Damian doesn't blame the little one; it's been a long day after all. Mina smiled as she reached for another hand. "I like this thing," She said while pointing at the salsa.
He reached over for a chip himself then scooped some salsa onto it. "It's called salsa, jagi," He explained. "Thanks to you three, it's really good."
The gambler watches the detective for a few moments, briefly studying the way he would lean on the fridge before pouring the water. Felix thanks Damian and takes a sip. The Animal Crossing music is a fun touch, one that Felix has to wonder if it's the twins' or Damian's doing. It's likely the twins, but Felix has a ball imagining Damian hunched over a Nintendo Switch on a fictional island of his own crafting.
Felix nods, digging into his own plate. "It's very good," he states. "And the salsa recipe is my sister's. I'm going to have to thank her for giving it to me." The chances of Felix actually doing that are slim. If he sends Santana a message in the middle of the night, she's going to assume he's dying and reserve his grave right next to their deceased grandparents. Maybe he'll casually bring it up in conversation when he sees her again at some undisclosed point in the future.
"So–" Felix starts as he swallows his bite. He nods to the twins. He's curious to pick their brains. It's rare Felix gets a chance to be around children. "Do you two have any idea what you want to be when you grow up?"
The twins sat in silence. Damian smiled while eating his food. Seeing the two entities of chaos thinking about such a question like their lives depend on it is so adorable. He had to sneak a few pictures in before returning to his food. God only knows how much storage Damian has in his phone.
Mina's face lit up. Whether it be due to the question or her possible answer, it is anyone's guess. She reached over for a napkin then wiped it on her face. "I am going to be….a vampire hunter!" She exclaimed. "I am going to be the best and get all the bad guys!"
Her little brother sat on the edge of his seat. He was too focused on swinging his little feet while happily eating his dinner. Their father leaned forward, "And what about you, Adonis? What do you want to be when you grow up?"
The energetic boy held the quesadilla in one hand. His other swayed around as he talked. "I am going to be an ice skater and a prince and I am going to help Mina fight the bad guys," He beamed. Adonis looked over at Felix, "What do you want to be when you grow up, Felix? Will you help us fight the vampires?"
