Bittersweet Aftertaste

Burnt Eggs

A/N: TW for derealization

This is a little shorter than I want it to be but I wanted to get the chapter out. I kinda hate how it turned out but it's okay. I have bigger plans for oncoming chapters :)

Morning rolled around faster than Latte would have liked it to. She walked into the kitchen with a yawn, hazily turning on the coffee machine. She leaned back on the counter, laying her head on one of the kitchen cabinets, closing her eyes as she waited.

Once she heard the beep, she took out two mugs and prepared the drinks for Espresso and herself. She put a little extra sugar in hers, deciding that she needed a little boost to start the day.

She walked over to Espresso's room and knocked, sloppily opening the door without using her hands when she got a reply.

"I made coffee." she stated, putting one of the mugs on her friend's table. Espresso thanked her quietly, his attention still being sucked in by whatever paper he was reading.

Latte leaned on the door frame, sipping her drink as she looked around. His room was still as much of a mess as she remembered. She sighed, her nerves from the previous day still being haywire.

"I can't believe you're already jumping back to teaching." she said softly, furrowing her brows together in worry as she stared at her friend. Espresso paused and looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

Latte sighed and crossed her arms, holding the now empty cup carefully.

"You... yesterday. For a moment I thought I lost you forever." she looked away, not bearing to keep eye contact.

"I know that whole thing affected me so I'm sure it affected you. I feel like you should take a break before taking up jobs again."

Espresso picked up his mug and swirled his drink around, watching the milk mix with the coffee.

"I don't know Latte. I don't know what I'd be doing." he answered truthfully. "Teaching is a good way for me to spend time." 'A good way for me to not think about what happened.' he thought to himself. "Besides, I don't feel like being alone right now."

"I could take some time off?" she offered. "We could go shopping or to the library?"

He shook his head, taking a sip from his mug. He grimaced slightly at the taste.

"Don't do that, you actually have a class to teach. I'll be okay."

Latte eyed him for a moment before nodding.

"Dress up then. I'll make some breakfast." she stated, leaving no space for argument. She turned around to leave but paused.

"Do you have any eggs?"

"Look around, I probably do." Espresso shrugged.

Latte just sighed and walked out. Maybe she really didn't have too much to worry about.

Espresso leaned back in his chair to stretch, letting out a satisfied sigh when he heard his back crack at the movement. He looked at his coffee once more, downing the rest with a disgusted face before making his way to the bathroom.

He dressed up quietly, exhaustion wrapping itself around his entire being. He lazily washed his face, staring at his blurry form in the mirror for a few moments.

He squinted, feeling like something was off. He put on his glasses and froze as he locked eyes with his mirror self.

Everything about him was relatively normal save for his dough being paler than normal. He furrowed his brows together, the feeling that something was very wrong sending bells blaring in his head.

He kept staring at himself for a few minutes, fixing his hair and posture to no avail when it clicked.

The eyes.

His eyes.

He turned his head slightly, hoping that it was just the bad lighting in the room but no.

His eyes were dull. They didn't reflect any light no matter how he turned. It looked like someone stole his real eyes, replacing them with something -

Dead. Right. How could he forget?

Latte's words from the previous day rang in his head. 'I suppose your eyes might be a side effect of this whole thing.' He swallowed hard, staring at himself anxiously.

Not a big deal his ass. It was a huge deal. Snippets of his nightmare came back to him, setting off his nerves even more.

He looked at his hands, suddenly very aware of how dulled he felt. It was like there was cotton in his head, his senses betraying him.

He squeezed his hands into a fist a couple times, pondering if what he was seeing was real. Were these even his hands in the end?

He looked back in the mirror, his breath hitching when its expression didn't match his. He stepped back and squeezed his eyes together, pressing his palms against his face to gain some pressure.

He almost missed the knock on the door and Latte telling him the food was ready. He took a deep breath and looked at himself once more, trying to put on a calm smile. He grimaced at his reflection, taking a mental note to not smile that day.

He walked over to the dining table and sat down quietly, avoiding eye contact throughout the entire meal as they talked.

Latte eyed her friend cautiously. He has been off since they woke up. She pushed aside her worries, for the time being, Espresso probably needs some space to process things. He would come to her if he needed her help. (..right?)

Espresso thanked Latte for the meal (ignoring how he couldn't taste any of it), then both of them finished getting ready and made their way to the Institution together. The walk there was quiet, neither cookies having the energy for any more small talk.

A/N: I almost posted this chapter with only the authors note in it. I'm tired