Chrysalis To A Butterfly [Kiana Kaslana X Male OC]

I am here to stay

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?"