Sal wouldn't lie; the shower was better than he had expected. But was it a good enough reason to let Kiana feel she did the right thing? He thought otherwise. Clad in his blue sweatshirt and black joggers, he put on his black slippers and went downstairs.
The moment he stepped down the first flight of stairs, the aroma of baked cheese with a ting of tomato and maybe some pork- invaded his nose.
Kiana was almost done with her pizza toast. She walked over to the oven on the counter below and put on her orange oven mitt. It had a baseball embroidered on it—a gift from Fu Hua. She then held the steel handle and pulled it open, leaving the trapped aroma to spread out, blanketing the entire living room and parts of the stairs.
They were a success. Kiana was proud of them. As for Sal, who entered the kitchen, he had a smile on his face. His sea-green eyes observed her. Kiana's brows were furrowed as she slowly pulled out the tray and placed it on the counter. Despite Sal standing meters away from her, she didn't greet him. She was super focused.
Sal tip-toed towards the counter. First, he noticed that her white wavy hair was neatly trimmed into a side pony, and her apron was ridden with red and yellow stains. He quickly averted his gaze towards her fingers. He took a breath of relief. They weren't bandaged. Had it been a year ago, Sal was sure the story would have been very different.
Kiana had her tongue out, a cute gesture she did when she got hyper-focused. She then used the sauce—which she made herself, and a few toppings, such as pork, minced chicken, and olive, to garnish the toast.
"Oops," Kiana yelped as the sauce splashed over the counter, ending up on her cheeks and the tip of her nose. She sighed as she flicked her ring ginger over it and then into her mouth, eating the sauce.
"Tasty," She grinned before getting back to work.
Cute, Sal's face heated up a bit. He took a deep breath and tapped at the counter, announcing his presence.
"Sal!" Kiana gasped. Her eyes bulged before slowly contracting. Her parted lips curled into a smile. She was happy to see him.
"Didn't expect the dumbo to cook a decent meal."
"Hey." Kiana pouted. Her body stretched over the counter, with her face almost touching Sal's. He could smell the aroma of hazelnut mixed with a sweet undertone of roasted cocoa beans. It was soothing and reminded him of the day they celebrated Christmas in Davao—even though they were trying to outrun Shicksal and St Freiya. It was still a good memory. "My cooking is excellent, dork."
"Sure," He teased, stepping back. He placed some distance between them. "I trust your words."
"Once you have eaten these pizza toast," Kiana returned and pointed towards the tray. "You won't be able to live without my cooking."
"Really?" He gave her a side-eye before picking an apron himself and stepping in. "Is that your master plan making me eat radioactive~" He stopped and cleared his throat. "I mean amazing food and trap me."
"I heard that." She replied and glared at him. "Whatever. Just get me the ceramic plate and heat some milk. Bronya likes cappuccino for breakfast."
Sal nodded and got to work. The ceramic plate was inside the sliding drawer next to the sink. He then placed it a few meters away from the oven tray at the counter. Then he got a day-old packet of milk from the fridge—thanks to extreme snowfall outside, they were not getting fresh supply like they used to in the morning.
He used the scissors to cut it open before gently holding it over the stovetop pot and pouring in the milk.
"Didn't know Bronya woke up so early?"
"Yeah," Kiana replied. Her eyes never left the toast. She placed them carefully on the ceramic plate, ensuring the toppings didn't fall. "Even I was surprised. Usually, she would sleep in until nine or ten, but after Mt Taixuan, she has been waking up early."
"I see," Sal replied. He had placed the pot over the stove. He then used the control panel to set the temperature. Once the heating began, he opened the third cupboard and took out the coffee powder. "That fight was hard on both of you."
"Kind of," Kiana replied. She was now placing topping on the last batch. "Though your father was the toughest, honestly." Her lips turned into a scowl. "Mostly because of certain someone putting himself in danger."
"You had to say that, didn't you."
"Did you leave me any other choice, dork?"
"Sure," He sighed and whispered. "I am sorry for that."
"I know." She replied. "I am as well. Sorry for running ahead and putting myself in danger."
Sal's eyes widened as he glanced at her. Despite that, he was still focused on ensuring the milk shimmered properly until bubbles formed around the edges.
"I should have waited for you," She continued with a smile. After Mt Taixuan, Kiana found joy in accepting her shortcomings. That is why this felt liberating to her. "I got impatient and wanted to end the fight quickly. Sorry for that."
Sal nodded. He pulled the pot from the stove and placed it inside a bowl. Using an electric mixer, he started whipping the milk. The mixer's sound invaded the kitchen's faint yet comfortable atmosphere. After a few minutes, Sal stopped. There was enough froth for the cappuccino.
"Bronya prefers mildly sweet?" Sal asked.
"Mhm," She hummed.
"Also about Kolosten," He started. It wasn't easy for Sal to express his honest feelings, but he tried. "I let my emotions get the best of me." He gulped as he poured a teaspoon of sugar into the cappuccino cup. "When I saw fathe-" He stopped and deeply breathed. Kiana glanced at him to make sure he was okay.
He started again: "When I saw Otto, I wasn't filled with hatred like all of you. Rather, I wanted to see him succeed." Sal stirred the coffee and milk together. "After Amber and Void Archive narrated the truth behind his actions, I could no longer despise him."
"Kallen?" Kiana quietly asked.
"Mhm," He hummed. "What he did to get her back is something I can never justify or want to. But simultaneously, I can't help but respect his rigour. Despite all odds, even his own life, he saved her. When history looks back at him, I am sure he will be seen as humanity's greatest villain and saviour. But to me, he was just a broken man who wanted to repent for his sins."
He stopped. He brought the vanilla syrup from the second closet and flashed it to Kiana, who nodded and gave him the green light.
"Though he never realized," He continued pouring the syrup over the Cappucino. "To fix one mistake, he made multiple others. To get back that one smile, he destroyed millions of others; He was a scum until the end, a terrible father and grandfather. But despite knowing all this, at the moment when I had to decide to either stop him or let him win, I fumbled." He took a deep breath. "As for the gem of creation. I have my reasons, Kiana; like I said yesterday, I don't want to lose you. But at the same time, I don't want to be protected by you."
Plus, I don't plan on letting you sacrifice yourself ever again. So when the time comes, I will take the bullet. He didn't speak this part aloud.
"And I am done." He picked up the coffee mug and showed it to Kiana triumphantly.
"Oh," Kiana blinked. She was still processing all the information. "Not bad for your first try."
"Did you forget who did the cooking before?"
"Mei," She stuck out her tongue teasingly.
"Fine," Now it was Sal's turn to pout. This made Kiana giggle. She wouldn't often find Sal pouting, but whenever she had, it was adorable.
It was seven when Sal and Kiana started placing the plates on the dining table. The pizza toast was at the center, along with smaller plates around it for others to use. After their conversation, Kiana went to Bronya's room to deliver the cappuccino. Meanwhile, Sal had used that opportunity to whip some fresh orange juice quickly.
"I don't think I can ever understand Otto," Kiana answered, continuing their conversation. Her sapphire blue eyes were deep in thought. Her mind had yet to process everything entirely, but she could somewhat understand Sal. "But I know you. The reason you wanted to see him succeed was because you imagined yourself in his shoes. And when you did that, you saw-" Kiana stopped. She wasn't sure if her assumption was correct, but she had to get this out of her chest. She continued: "You saw me in place of Kallen, didn't you?"
Sal's body tensed, and his back straightened. His sea-green eyes avoided contact with her as he gazed at the Pizza toast on the table.
Kiana sighed. "I am not going anywhere, Sal. I promise. I am right here next to you, and I will stay. There will be times I put protecting the world over my own life, and I am aware of that. But from now on, I will put in extra effort to return home. No more sacrifices or hurting myself."
Sal nodded as he gave her a weak smile.
"And that is why you also need to promise me." Kiana looked at him in all seriousness. "No more hurting yourself to gain more power. I know about the shower and the wounds."
"Mhm." Sal nodded.
"I see," Kiana sighed. She knew that look; it was the same as the one she had when she fought Fu Hua in Arc City. He was conflicted and carrying a burden she had yet to understand, but still, she wanted to see this through.
"How did you figure out the shower?"
"Hehe," Kiana gave him an evil grin. "You were imagining something perverted, weren't you?"
"I think we both know who has the more dirty mind between the two of us."
"The fact that you could say that with a straight face," Kiana glared at him. "makes me pissed."
"Just stating facts." Sal grinned.
"Whatever," Kiana shut her ears off. "I am not talking to you anymore."
Sal chuckled.
"It was the race yesterday."
"Hm?"
"When you offered me your jacket, despite the minus temperatures." She continued. "That is when I saw your skin getting frostbite, and then it getting suddenly destroyed, creating a wound and healing itself. I immediately knew it was the Hersscher powers because Otto had done the same during our fight. That was what gave me the idea, and as for pin-pointing the shower, I made a wager. I knew you liked your showers warm, but I needed to figure out how warm. And as for your stats on 'Gideon', I couldn't check those because that AI protects personal data. So, I took a risk and disabled your admin function."
Sal gave her a confused look.
"I concluded that you were using boiling water to burn your skin and recreate it." She answered. "That is why you could replicate it naturally. However, I had no way to prove that, so I called a bluff earlier by saying I knew about the shower. And you didn't deny it. That is how I knew you were doing that."
"When did you grow brains?" Sal concluded, amazed.
"I don't know if I should feel happy or insulted."
"Insulted would be better."
"Shut up, dork."
"So, how did you fail all your subjects in St Freiya again."
"Ugh," Kiana glared at him. "Sometimes I hate you so much."
Sal grinned at her remarks. As for Kiana, her features softened, too, and she smiled at him.
"You know I am an idiot, and there are many things I can't do," She confessed. "But I know when the person I care about is hurting. I don't know what kind of burden you carry Sal, but you are not alone."
"Mhm."
"All right then," Kiana smiled. "Let's eat before the food gets cold."
"Kiana-idiotka," The girl with messy silver-locks walked down the stairs. In her hand, she held an empty cappuccino cup. Her grey eyes seemed tired. "You know how to cook?"
"What's with you guys!" Kiana punched the table in anger, her face scarlet as she pouted. "Just because I burnt the entire kitchen once doesn't mean I will do that again."
"Sure." Bronya grinned.
"She has cooked well this time." Sal defended, but even he had a grin on her face.
"She did?"
"Uhuh."
"Guess she is growing brains?"
"That I highly doubt," Sal teased. "I believe it's more of a phase-"
"Screw you both," Kiana replied and started stuffing her mouth with pizza toast. "If you are not gonna eat them, I will finish them all myself."
"When did I say I didn't want them?" Sal replied as he picked up a piece for himself.
Soon, Bronya joined them as well. Laughter and joy filled Dorm Nine once again. Both Sal and Kiana knew that the final battle was near, but at the same time, they wanted these carefree days to continue, even if for a little longer.
A/N It's already three a.m. where I am. I didn't plan on writing this chapter tonight, but I am posting it here. Well, I have nothing else to say except I hope you can enjoy this new addition to the story. Well, I have added some backstory from Kolosten in this, not a lot, but just enough to paint a picture.
Anyway, happy reading!