Kael woke up feeling weird. Not groggy. Not tired. Just awake. Like his brain had just choosen to forget that he was supposed to be more like a prisoner in this places and was felling a sense of belonging and feeling very alive. He sat up and blinked a few times, staring at the ceiling. It was quiet. Too quiet. No alarms, no shouting, no Jaxen looking at him with eyes so cold and with no emotions. It was suspicious.
Finally, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and shuffled downstairs. The kitchen smelled like absolutely nothing. Peaceful. Nothing dramatic was happening. No smoke, no chaos. Since Kael liked breakfast, he decided to make a mini feast for breakfast Eggs, toast, bacon's and some hot coffee to go with it, He didn't overthink the recipe. He just threw things into pans and sat down to eat.
It was calm. Almost boring. But somehow, that was okay. He chewed slowly, thinking about nothing and everything at the same time. Maybe the day would be easy. Maybe he would actually survive living in this house without losing his mind.
Then, the front door clicked.
Jaxen walked in, looking like he had styled by a professional that morning . He was fully dressed for work. His suit was perfectly sharp, his shoes were polished enough to use as mirrors, and his hair was arenaged and styled to perfection, He looked like the kind of person who planned the entire world's schedule before breakfast.
"Good morning," Kael said, waving a fork that had bacon on it.
"Good morning," Jaxen replied. His voice was cold as usual.
"Care for some breakfast? I made extra," Kael offered, mostly just to be polite since he was in a good mood that day.
Jaxen looked at the plate, then back at Kael's messy hair. "No. I don't want to ruin my mood this morning," he said. He didn't even pause. He walked to the desk, grabbed his car keys, and left.
Kael hissed quietly at the closed door. "Like I care," he muttered to a piece of toast. "More food for me you psycho."
He finished breakfast, but the boredom hit him like immediately, he sat there, staring out the window. The sun was moving at the speed of a snail. Clouds were drifting. Birds were flying. Nothing exciting was happening.
He decided to wander. He toured the house like he was a tourist in a very expensive,and beige museum. Everything was the same. The house felt huge, empty, and way too quiet.He looked if there were places he could clean to while away time but all the surroundings in the house were clean and sparkling.
He flopped onto the couch. He tried to read a book, but his eyes just slid off the page. He tried to scroll through his phone, but the internet was dry. He tried staring out the window again. Still boring. He sighed and took a book to look through but dropped it almost immediately out of boredom
Hours passed,slowly. He tried napping, but his brain refusedto care about anything he wanted that instant. He tried staring at a wall to see if he could find any patterns in the paint. There were none. He walked back to the kitchen and checked the fridge for the fifth time, hoping a magical sandwich had appeared but there was none
Finally, as the sun began to dip, the front door clicked again. The boss had returned. Jaxen looked calm, maybe a little tired around the eyes, but still entirely composed.
Kael jumped off the couch before Jaxen could even put his keys down. "Football?"
Jaxen paused, looking at Kael's desperate face. "Yes," he said simply.
And before jaxen could return back downstair after hading his bath and changing . Kael had set up the TV gathered snacks—pretzels, chips, and drinks that had way too much caffeine. They sat on opposite ends of the couch. The game started, and then the impossible happened.
The screen showed the line-ups. Kael looked at the screen. Jaxen looked at the screen.
"You're a Lions fan?" Kael asked, his voice shaking.
"Since I was six," Jaxen said.
They both blinked. Then, they gave each other a very slow, very serious nod. For the first time ever, they were on the same side.
The cheering started almost immediately. When their team made a good play, they didn't just clap—they shouted. They were jumping on the couch like five-year-olds on a sugar high. When their team finally scored a goal, the world ended. Kael lost his mind, lunged sideways, and ended up hugging Jaxen.
Jaxen didn't freeze. He didn't push him off. He hugged him back, jumping up and down in his expensive socks. It wasn't awkward. It wasn't weird. It was just pure, unrefined sports-induced insanity.
They started chanting. Kael didn't know half the words, so he just made up sounds that rhymed and shouted them at the top of his lungs. Jaxen joined in. They sounded terrible. It was perfect.
Midway through the second half, Kael's stomach let out a roar that was louder than the TV. "I'm hungry," he announced, clutching his midsection.
Jaxen didn't even look away from the screen. "Order takeout. Use my card."
Kael didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed his phone like a professional gamer. Pizza? Yes. Buffalo wings? Obviously. Garlic bread? Get two. He almost added a giant tub of ice cream, but he hesitated. Too much sugar? he thought. Then he remembered Jaxen was paying. He added the ice cream.
While they waited for the food, the game got intense. Kael was cheering like a man possessed, screaming at the referee through the screen. Jaxen, usually the calmest man on earth, was matching his energy, his face turning a slight shade of red. Occasionally, Jaxen would give Kael a small smirk after a good play, making Kael feel a bit ridiculous—but in a good way.
The food arrived, and they didn't even move to the table. They ate right there on the couch. It was messy. There was wing sauce on the napkins and pizza crumbs everywhere, but neither of them cared. Their team was winning. Every time a player got close to the goal, Kael was up, shouting and hugging Jaxen again. Jaxen was right there with him. The room was loud, full of energy, and actually full of… happiness.
The final whistle blew. They won.
The celebration was peak chaos. High-fives that actually hurt. More hugging. More cheering. Kael felt like a kid again. He wasn't thinking about his complicated life, or the fake relationship, or his annoying job. He was just a guy who saw his team win.
Eventually, the adrenaline died down. After finishing the last of the cold pizza, Kael wandered upstairs. He showered, washed off the wing sauce, and changed into his most comfortable pajamas. He flopped onto the bed, feeling a weird sense of peace.
He grabbed his phone for one last scroll.
His feed was the usual mess. Memes he had seen three times already. Cat videos. People arguing about pizza or burger.Then, he found a video of a dog wearing sunglasses, sitting in a tiny chair, eating a tiny slice of pizza. Kael laughed so hard he actually snorted into his pillow.
One friend had posted a picture from a concert. Kael felt a small pang of nostalgia. He missed the crowds. He missed being somewhere loud and exciting.
Another post was a long rant from a stranger about their new job. Kael rolled his eyes. "Humans are exhausting," he whispered to his dark room.
He scrolled past a picture of someone's new succulent. He stared at the plant for a minute. "Why is this exciting? It's a leaf in a cup," he muttered. But then he smiled, because he realized he had spent two hours today reading mail, so he couldn't really judge anyone for being bored.
More memes. More chaos. His eyes started to feel heavy. The phone eventually slipped from his hand and landed face-down on the mattress.
Kael didn't bother picking it up. He just stared at the ceiling. His thoughts were slowing down. The energy from the game was fading into a nice, warm tiredness. Finally sleep.
Quiet. Calm. Simple. For the first time all day, Kael felt like things were going to be okay.
Tomorrow could wait