By two in the afternoon, Kael had finished washing the dishes, folding the clean laundry, and checking the list of things they needed to buy later in the week. With all his chores done, he stood in the middle of the living room and looked around for another task.
"Are you searching for something?" Sera asked from the sofa.
"No," Kael replied.
"Then why are you standing there like you’ve forgotten what you came here to do?" Sera asked.
Kael glanced at her. "I’m wondering what I should do next."
"Nothing," Sera answered.
Kael blinked. "Nothing?"
"Yes, Kael. Nothing. Sit down," Sera instructed.
He looked toward the kitchen, then at the laundry basket he had already emptied. "I could prepare dinner early," he suggested.
"We’ve just eaten lunch," Sera reminded him.
"I could check the budget again," Kael offered.
"You checked it this morning," Sera pointed out.
"Then I could—"
"Sit. Down," Sera repeated.
Kael finally gave up and lowered himself onto the sofa beside her.
Sera looked satisfied. "See? That wasn’t difficult."
"I’m beginning to think you enjoy ordering me around," Kael remarked.
"Only when you make it necessary," Sera replied.
Noah was lying in his crib near the sofa, awake but quiet. He moved his arms occasionally and made small sounds, apparently more interested in the ceiling than in anything happening around him.
Sera picked up the television remote. "We should watch something."
"Anything in particular?" Kael asked.
"There’s a cooking competition I used to watch," Sera replied.
Kael raised an eyebrow. "You want to watch people cook after spending half the morning teaching me how not to destroy breakfast?"
"That’s exactly why I want to watch it. Maybe you’ll learn something," Sera teased.
"I learned plenty this morning," Kael insisted.
Sera smiled. "Like how to make toast?"
"That’s a complicated subject," Kael replied.
Sera laughed and turned on the television. After searching through the available programs, she found the competition she wanted. The episode followed several contestants as they tried to prepare dishes within a limited time.
Kael settled back against the sofa while Sera adjusted the volume.
For the first few minutes, they watched quietly. Then one contestant dropped a tray of vegetables just before the judges arrived.
Kael pointed at the screen. "That would happen to me."
"At least you admit it," Sera replied.
"He should have secured the tray properly," Kael said.
Sera turned to him. "You spilled half our potatoes this morning."
"Those were different circumstances," Kael argued.
Sera raised an eyebrow. "How?"
"The potatoes were rebellious," Kael explained.
Sera shook her head, laughing, before returning her attention to the program.
The contestants continued cooking, arguing with one another, and rushing to finish their dishes. Kael found himself getting more interested than he expected. He began guessing which meals would turn out well, while Sera explained why certain combinations of ingredients worked better than others.
At one point, Sera paused the program to explain how a contestant had made a mistake with a sauce.
Kael stared at her.
Sera noticed his expression and turned toward him. "What?"
"Nothing. I didn’t know you knew this much about cooking," Kael admitted.
Sera looked back at the frozen image on the screen. "I used to read about it."
"Cookbooks?" Kael asked.
"Cookbooks, magazines, recipes online. Anything I could find," Sera answered.
Kael looked at her with curiosity. "Why didn’t you tell me?"
"You never asked," Sera replied.
Kael considered that answer. She was right. Most of their conversations since she had arrived had involved Noah, money, household arrangements, or her family. He knew pieces of her past, but there were still many ordinary things about her that he had never thought to ask.
"What else do you like?" Kael asked.
Sera looked at him suspiciously. "Why?"
"Because I just discovered that you’ve been hiding an entire cooking expert from me," Kael joked.
"I’m not an expert," Sera replied.
"That’s not what I asked," Kael pointed out.
Sera thought about it before answering.
"I like drawing, obviously. I enjoy cooking when nobody is standing over me telling me what I should make. I like old movies, especially mysteries. I used to read detective novels when I had time," she explained.
Kael looked surprised. "Detective novels?"
"Yes," Sera confirmed.
"Do you enjoy trying to solve the case before the main character?" Kael asked.
"Of course. Half the fun is figuring out who did it," Sera replied.
Kael smiled. "That sounds competitive."
"It is. I hate it when the author makes the answer obvious in the first few Chapters," Sera explained.
"Now I know not to recommend any mystery novels to you unless they’re difficult enough," Kael said.
Sera gave him a confident smile. "You can try, but I’ll probably guess the ending."
They resumed the program, but Kael kept thinking about their conversation. He had always known Sera was intelligent. Back in school, she had been one of the students who could understand a difficult subject quickly and explain it to others without making them feel stupid.
However, he hadn’t known about her interest in cooking or detective stories. He certainly hadn’t imagined her spending a quiet afternoon watching a cooking competition and criticizing the contestants.
She seemed more relaxed when talking about these things. Her voice changed, and she became more expressive. She wasn’t thinking about what her father expected or whether her choices would cause trouble. She was simply talking about things she enjoyed.
Halfway through the episode, Noah began fussing.
Sera reached for the remote and paused the program.
"I’ll get him," Kael said as he stood up.
Sera shook her head. "You’ve done most of the chores today. I’ll take this one."
"I don’t mind helping," Kael replied.
"I know. But I want to," Sera explained.
She got up before he could argue and lifted Noah from his crib. After checking his diaper, she settled into the armchair and held him against her shoulder.
Kael watched her for a moment before returning to the sofa.
Sera had been sharing more of Noah’s care lately, but what stood out to Kael was that she no longer seemed to feel the need to explain every time she wanted to do something herself. She was learning how to make room for her own choices again, even in small ways.
He picked up the remote and waited.
"Is he hungry?" Kael asked.
"I don’t think so. He just wants to be held," Sera replied.
Noah made a small sound, then settled against Sera’s chest.
"He’s getting comfortable," Kael observed.
Sera smiled down at their son. "He has a very demanding schedule."
"Eat, sleep, complain, repeat," Kael said.
"Don’t forget the part where he looks at us as if we’re disappointing him," Sera added.
Kael laughed. "That must come from your side of the family."
Sera gave him an offended look. "Excuse me?"
"I have an excellent record of being easy to please," Kael replied.
"You complained about the potatoes this morning," Sera reminded him.
"Because they were uneven," Kael argued.
"And the toast?" Sera asked.
"I never complained about the toast," Kael insisted.
Sera looked at him knowingly. "You complained about the lack of butter."
"That was a reasonable concern," Kael replied.
Sera laughed again, careful not to disturb Noah. They continued joking until he finally closed his eyes.
Once he was asleep, Sera carried him to the crib and laid him down gently. She waited a moment to make sure he remained settled before returning to the sofa.
Kael restarted the program, but the contestants were now preparing their final presentations.
"Who do you think will win?" Kael asked.
"The woman in the blue apron," Sera answered.
Kael glanced at her. "Why?"
"Her dish is the most balanced, and she hasn’t spent the last ten minutes panicking," Sera explained.
Kael watched the remaining contestants. "I think the man on the left will win."
Sera shook her head. "He’s burned something twice."
"He might recover," Kael argued.
"He might also set the kitchen on fire," Sera replied.
They watched until the judges announced the results. Sera’s choice won, and she turned toward Kael with a smug smile.
"You were saying?" Sera asked.
Kael shrugged. "I was testing your judgment."
"Of course you were," Sera replied.
"I didn’t want you to become overconfident," Kael explained.
Sera picked up a cushion and placed it between them. "I don’t know how I managed to survive all these years without your guidance."
Kael pulled the cushion away. "You’re welcome."
The episode ended, and another began automatically. Neither of them reached for the remote.
After a while, Sera spoke again.
"Do you remember the school festival in our second year?" Sera asked.
Kael looked at her. "The one where the power went out during the evening event?"
"Yes. You spent nearly an hour helping the staff get the lights working again," Sera recalled.
"I was trying to avoid the cleaning duty," Kael admitted.
Sera stared at him. "You told everyone you wanted to help."
"I wanted to help the electrical system. I didn’t want to help clean the cafeteria," Kael explained.
Sera burst out laughing. "I knew there was another reason."
Kael grinned. "You were the one who stayed behind to help organize the food stalls."
"Because the person in charge had forgotten to order enough supplies," Sera replied.
"That sounds familiar," Kael remarked.
"It was a disaster. We had people asking for food we didn’t have, and the drinks arrived late," Sera explained.
"But you handled it," Kael said.
"Only because everyone else was too busy arguing," Sera replied.
Kael remembered the evening more clearly now. He had been near the stage when he saw Sera carrying boxes between the stalls. She had been tired, but she kept moving, telling people what needed to be done and finding ways to solve each problem.
At the time, he had admired how easily she took charge.
"I remember thinking you were good at organizing people," Kael told her.
Sera seemed surprised. "You never told me that."
"We weren’t exactly close back then," Kael replied.
"No, we weren’t," Sera agreed.
They had known each other for years, but most of their conversations had been brief. They shared classes and occasionally worked on school projects together, yet neither had made much effort to get to know the other.
Their relationship had changed after the reunion, and the events that followed had brought them into a situation neither had planned for. Sometimes Kael still found it strange that they were now sharing an apartment and raising a child together.
"Did you ever want to do something with that?" Kael asked.
Sera tilted her head. "With organizing people?"
"Yes. You were good at it," Kael replied.
Sera took a moment to think before answering.
"I used to imagine opening a small design studio. Somewhere I could work on interiors, furniture, and illustrations. I liked the idea of helping people make their homes feel like their own," she explained.
Kael glanced toward her sketchbook. "Is that why you’ve been drawing lately?"
"Partly. I haven’t decided exactly what I want to do yet. I might take some courses or build a portfolio first. I still have a lot to learn," Sera replied.
"That sounds like a good plan," Kael said.
Sera gave him a small smile. "It’s not much of a plan yet."
"It doesn’t have to be. You can figure out the details as you go," Kael assured her.
Sera looked at him for a moment. "You really think I can still do it?"
Kael frowned slightly. "Why wouldn’t you?"
She looked down at her hands.
"Because I spent a long time preparing for a life someone else chose for me. I studied what they wanted me to study, met the people they wanted me to meet, and tried to make decisions that wouldn’t cause another argument. Sometimes I wonder if I’ve lost too much time," Sera admitted.
Kael didn’t answer immediately. He wanted to reassure her, but he also knew that telling her she hadn’t lost anything would ignore what she had gone through.
"You can’t get those years back," Kael said at last. "But they don’t decide what you can do with the years ahead."
Sera remained quiet.
"I’m not saying it’ll be easy," Kael continued. "You might have to start again, and there’ll probably be things you need to learn. But you don’t have to figure everything out this afternoon."
A small smile appeared on Sera’s face.
"You’re getting better at this," she told him.
Kael looked at her. "At what?"
"Talking without immediately trying to solve the entire problem," Sera explained.
"I’ve been practicing," Kael replied.
"Keep practicing," Sera told him.
Kael laughed, and Sera leaned back against the sofa. For a while, they watched the television without paying much attention to the program.
The afternoon passed slowly. They took turns checking on Noah, shared a few snacks, and argued about whether the contestants should have been given more time. When Sera’s sketchbook caught Kael’s attention again, she showed him the design she had been working on.
It was a simple drawing of a living room with shelves along one wall, a small desk near the window, and enough open space for a child to play.
"You’ve planned the furniture around Noah," Kael observed.
"Only partly. I want the room to be practical, but I don’t want every part of the apartment to become a nursery," Sera explained.
"Fair enough," Kael replied.
Sera pointed to the desk in her drawing. "I still want a place where I can work without moving baby supplies every time I sit down."
"Then we’ll have to find a way to make that happen," Kael said.
Sera studied the drawing. "I think I could turn this into something more detailed if I had a proper desk."
Kael nodded. "Let’s look at the budget when you’re ready. We don’t have to buy one immediately, but we can work out what we need."
"Thank you. I don’t want you to feel that you have to pay for everything I want," Sera said.
Kael shook his head. "I don’t. We can plan for it together."
She seemed pleased with that answer and returned the sketchbook to the table.
By the time the afternoon light began to fade, Noah was asleep again, and the television had moved on to a program neither of them recognized.
Kael looked at the clock and realized they had spent several hours doing almost nothing. He hadn’t trained, researched the Hunter Association, or worked on the household budget. He hadn’t even thought about what he needed to accomplish the following day.
And the world hadn’t fallen apart.
Sera stretched her arms above her head. "That was nice."
Kael glanced at the television. "Watching people burn food?"
"Spending time together without trying to solve something," Sera clarified.
Kael nodded. "We should do it again."
"We will. But next time, I’m choosing something other than a cooking competition," Sera replied.
"Good. I don’t think I can handle another lesson," Kael said.
Sera smiled. "You need plenty more lessons."
"Then I’ll need a very patient teacher," Kael joked.
"You’re in luck. I’m an excellent teacher," Sera replied.
Noah stirred in his crib, and both of them turned toward him. He made a small noise but settled again without waking.
Kael looked back at Sera. She was no longer just the mother of his child in his mind, nor was she only the girl he remembered from school. She was someone with interests, plans, frustrations, and ambitions that existed beyond their family.
He wanted to know more about those parts of her, not because he needed to solve her problems or decide what she should do, but because they mattered to her.
For that afternoon, there was nothing more they needed to accomplish. They had spent time together, learned something new about each other, and made room for a little peace in their busy lives. That was enough.