A Star's Life : Growing Up, Growing Old

This has to be fluff-y pancakes

Hayze huffed as he cut off the alarm that was scheduled way earlier than he was comfortable waking up. Still despite how tired he was, Hayze got up and started to get moving at least to get out of the room.
Hayze escaped to the living room, plopping down on the soft couch. "How does Ether get the energy to be up so early?" Hayze pondered aloud. He nearly screamed at the pair of bright green eyes staring at him from the ceiling. Only to realize it was just the painting Ether made last month. A picture of a god he said. Hayze didn't know of any god with such vibrant green eyes. Though he couldn't complain, it livened up the living room and made it feel like it was actually living.
Back to thinking. Hayze pondered on what part of Ether's routine made them so energetic in the morning. At the end he just decided it was the fact they were raised closer to the sun than Hayze was.

Hayze fought off sleep multiple times before deciding to just up and walk around the house for a little while. He still had time till sunrise. On his miniature journey he started picking up the things the kids had left strewn about. Ot was enough to keep Hayze occupied until the sky darkened a little further.
Hayze scrambled to the kitchen to get ready with the batter. Flour, milk, eggs, vanilla. He only knew how to make the meal from Ether's dimension thick cooking book. It took two hands to hold from the sheer size alone, not even covering how heavy it was. Sometimes Hayze wished he could freely levitate objects like Ether could. Oh the woes of being mortal.

By the end of just the mixing there was already batter staining his hair and shirt. Hayze groaned and just got on with lighting the stove. Thank goodness Phoe let him have some fireflies. With that he let the pancakes pool in the pan and just waited. He hoped covering the windows with a bit more shade that it'd mess with Ether's circadian rhythm and keep them asleep just a little longer.
Hayze impatiently poked and prodded at the first couple pancakes, disappointed at how light and flat they were. They were nothing like Ether's pancakes. Those were fluffier than clouds, and with the many times Ether brought a cloud into the house, he'd know how fluffy a cloud was. The first couple of pancakes came out too light and flat for Hayze's taste, the next two or three were burnt in varying degrees, the two that followed were under cooked, and only one was close to a good color. However none were fluffy, at all. They were all flatter than, well pancakes.
Hayze groaned, plopping down on the stool he'd dragged over to the stool. It was nearly past dawn and not one pancake was ever close to okay. He could feel the familiar sting of tears prick his eyes. His throat tensed up as if someone had grabbed him by it. The room was too warm for his liking, he wanted to climb back in bed and shut the day out under his and Ether's chilly comforter. Alas he was too good of a husband to give up on making breakfast.

Familiar chilly feathers embraced Hayze as the first tear started to slip down his cheek. Before the pesky drop of saline could get far it was wiped from his cheek by an ever so loving partner. "Don't cry." Their voice cooed with their soft green eye dimly glowing in the early dawn light. Ether's arms gently spun Hayze around to hold him close. To hug and comfort him as they finished yo the rest of the work. "I just wanted to do something for you too. You do so much for me and the kids, I just felt like today should be special for you." Hayze gasped out between sobs, burrowing himself into Ether's familiar soft chill. Not enough to make Hayze shiver, just enough to drive the summer heat from his skin. "You don't know how much this means to me Hayze." Ether whispered softly, wrapping their lover in their wings.
"But everything's awful!" Hayze cried, dark eyes full of shimmering tears. "The pancakes are all bad and so inconsistent. I couldn't even finish them before you woke up cause I procrastinated too much." He sobbed into Ether's shoulder, not missing the feeling of them shifting forms as they held him close. "My Joy, I was up anyways. I had been up since the alarm that woke you. You only ever wake up early when you try to surprise me, so I go along with it. You work so hard, I appreciate more than you know." Their voice even softer than before, their eye even softer than before. Their hold even softer than before. "And there's more than enough time to fix everything."

The former pancakes had been thrown out in favor for newer pancakes the two were making at the moment. Ether had helped with the batter and stood behind her shorter husband, arms folded around his waist. "Be patient Hayze." Was a phrase uttered more than once. The little stereo her aunt had built them for a wedding gift played  a quiet tarantella. While waiting for each pancake to become crisp and golden they danced along to the music, giggling when they made a wrong step or ended up stepping on one another. By the time half the batter as made into thick crispy pancakes they'd fallen on the floor laughing up a storm.

"This a different morning than you planned?" Ether cooed with that look in her eye. Hayze blushed amd tugged at the collar of his t-shirt. "A lot different than planned. Better than planned though." Hayze drew Ether in, leaning up on his tip toes to give his lover a kiss, one that was quickly accepted and reciprocated.