Milk And Cardamom | S. Brown ✔

[21]

Alex let Steph in as she reached the shop on her usual time then told her that he had to go to the nearby store for a quick stock up on coffee and other shop supplies.

"Dora will be down in a moment, you can wait in the kitchen till then," he spoke up, "oh and lock the door after me, I'll be back hopefully before shop hours start."

She nodded, a bright smile playing upon her features, "sure thing Al, don't worry I'll preheat the oven in the meanwhile for the cakes and Dora will definitely come down till then."

"Good."

She locked the door as he left then went to the kitchen. Silence engulfed the shop premises as she opened the blinds on the window and started taking out the trays and other stuff needed for baking.

It seemed Dora had gotten slightly late as Steph waited for her, deciding to whip up the batter so that when she came down all the two would have to do was setting the cakes in the oven.

"Dora?" An unfamiliar voice reached and she turned to see someone descending the stairs. He was just as tall as Alex though his features were unclear as he held a hand over his forehead, almost as if he had a splitting headache, "Dora, are you in the kitchen? I... Oh shit..."

He stumbled and Steph quickly reached out to steady him, realizing that it was Lucas, Dora's stepbrother. She caught him by the arms gently, making sure he didn't slip further.

He was badly injured and was having trouble walking even. Though as hazel connected with green, he stiffened immediately, pulling away from her.

She was taken aback at the sudden reaction but for Luke it was an involuntary reaction to repel when touched, be it from any person other than his family and very close friends. He got nervous when anyone except George, Camille, Dora or Ashton got close to him.

He took in the uncertainty on her features hence he spoke up so that she wouldn't feel as if she had done something wrong by reaching out to help him, "Steph, I... I'm sorry... I thought Dora was down here and..."

"It's alright," she smiled gently, "need any help coming down?"

"No thanks, I'll manage."

He held on to the handrail of the stairs tightly as he stepped down, taking great care not to lose his footing again.

"You look terrible," she remarked but then realized it wasn't the right thing to say, "I mean... Are you okay?"

"Much better than I was last night," he mumbled.

"Oh." Steph couldn't hold back her curiosity as she asked, "what happened though, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Poor chap got mugged because he was stupid enough to walk alone through the notorious alleys of Gotham city. And that too at night time," Dora had entered the kitchen at last and answered Steph's question instead.

"Oh... Not a preferable time for walking I must say," Steph's eyes flickered back towards the tall boy sitting uncomfortably on the chair in front, refusing to meet anyone's gaze.

"Preferable time? Oh no, he was walking straight into a death trap."

He stiffened at those words because in a sense, she was absolutely right. He had nearly escaped a death trap set up by none other than his own father. 

But Dora wasn't aware of that and he couldn't make her suspicious so he changed the topic slightly, "yeah I get it Dora, award me with the certificate of dumbness already."

"There you go," she had put some milk to heat on the stove and poured it in a cup after adding a pinch of cardamom to it, "your certificate of dumbness."

His lips twitched as if he would have smiled but it hurt so he refrained from doing so, "I am rather fond of this type of certificate though."

"But seriously Luke, stop getting into trouble wherever you go," Dora rebuked him though her voce was gentle, the hint of concern clearly evident, "you don't have to get injured all the time to be able to have your favorite drink."

"Noted," he mumbled, carefully taking a sip of the warm liquid.

Steph had busied herself with the batter she was preparing and Dora joined her shortly after checking the consistency of the mixture. "Hey Steph, mind stirring this a little longer? I'll just be back, have to give Luke some breakfast. He hasn't had anything to eat since last night."

"Yeah sure, you see to that."

Dora left to fetch the bread and butter to make toast for breakfast but found nothing, "hey, we ran out of breakfast? How's that even possible?" Raising her voice a little, she called, "Alexander, we ran out of breakfast!"

Stephanie laughed seeing her friend get worried on such a trifling account, "hey calm down, Al left for the store just now to stock up everything."

"Oh..."

"Shall I award you with the certificate of impatience, Isadora Beaumont?" Luke's light voice cracked the silence that had engulfed them after Steph's laughter had died down.

"Oh sure, then you won't be getting any breakfast today as a consequence," she threatened him.

Steph's smile had widened, observing their banter, "oh come on, Dora, have pity on him."

Dora paused as if it had reminded her of something, "hey, wasn't that exactly what Al had told you when you were being insufferable to Tim the first time I met you guys?"

"Or in other words, you're accepting that you're being insufferable to me right now," Luke's reply was quick and Steph could easily see that the boy had a sharp response ready for almost anything Dora said to him. 

It was like a tradition for the two to argue like that, reminding her again of how she was exactly the same way with Tim.

"Lucas, be grateful I don't want you to get any more injured than you already are or else you do deserve a smack on the head."

"Heaven forbid," he breathed, focusing on the cup of milk in his hands, "one head injury is enough, I can't afford two."

Alex had returned from the grocery store so Dora went to open the door while Steph set the cupcakes in the tray then placed it in the oven. With Dora gone, silence washed over Luke once again as he waited for her to come back, his finger tracing the pattern on the empty cup.

He was thinking that he would have to return to the annexe his family was staying in soon after breakfast and he would definitely be bombarded with questions. He couldn't possibly tell George and Camille that he had encountered Deathstroke because he didn't want to get them worried.

But giving a mugging as an excuse for his injuries seemed far fetched as well.

And his assumption was further confirmed when Steph spoke up, "these look like sword slashes..."

He looked up to see her standing in front of him, her finger pointing to the cuts on his arms. Whatever little color he had on his face drained immediately, "what, no... It's just... I..."

"You should get these treated or else it will get infected," she remarked softly, not probing further, "remember Tim, Dora's boyfriend? He once got into a fight with Damian and got slashed like that. Didn't tell any of us for a week and got infected. Really painful it was for him afterwards."

"This Damian seems like a scary person," he spoke, inwardly grateful that she had changed the topic herself.

A smile flickered on her face as she shook her head, watching Dora and Alex coming their way, "scary is a mere understatement. He's our little brother though, in case you're wondering."

Dora entered the kitchen and taking the bread and butter out from the bags Alex had brought from his shopping trip, she started to make breakfast, "you're gonna eat with us too, right Steph?"

"Sure, can't say no to food."

"Wise decision indeed," Alex added as he took out the coffee jar as well as the blender in order to make coffee for them all.

***