Page 137 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
“What are you doing?” Axel asked, stopping short when he entered the kitchen to find Theon rustling around in a cupboard. Random food was spread out on the counter, the sounds of pots and pans clanging filling the room.
“Looking for a knife,” Theon answered, still digging.
“For what?”
“To cut something, Axel,” he retorted in irritation.
“But why?”
Finally admitting defeat, Theon slammed the cupboard door shut and straightened. “I need to make Tessa some food. She hasn’t eaten since we got here.”
Axel huffed a laugh. “Youare going to make food? Do you even know how?”
“As well as you do,” his brother shot back, that muscle in his jaw feathering in annoyance. “I can make a sandwich.”
“Somehow I doubt that,” Axel replied, forcing Theon to move aside as he came up beside him, surveying the ingredients. Or lack thereof. “You don’t even have bread out, Theon.”
Turning away from him, he went to the refrigerator and pulled out cheese, sliced ham, pickles, and a container of leftoversoup. Depositing the items on the counter, he grabbed some bread before he pulled out a pot and dumped the leftover soup into it to reheat.
As he was spreading mayo on the bread, Theon said, “I can make a sandwich, Axel.”
“Right,” he said with a smirk. “Like I’m sure you could make wild rice soup,” he added with a nod to the simmering pot.
“You didn’t make that,” Theon said with a scoff. “Dumped it out of a can maybe.”
“I absolutely did make that,” Axel retorted. “You forget I have a pregnant wife. When she wants wild rice soup, I find a way to make that happen.”
He finished prepping the sandwich before grabbing another pan, turning on a burner to heat it to toast the ham and cheese.
“So…you’ve learned to cook?” Theon asked, watching him work.
“I mean, I kind of had to here,” Axel replied, stirring the soup. “I know I could pay for anything, but I also wanted to get to know the people even more. What better way to do that than asking them to help you make the best wild rice soup when at the market? Asking for advice on other things? I’m trying to prove I’m on their side. It’s a lot easier if they see me as one of them instead of as someone who wants to rule over them.” When Theon didn’t immediately respond, Axel glanced up to find his brother staring at him. “What?”
“Nothing,” Theon said quickly, his pointer finger tapping once on the countertop. “What can I help with here?”
With a smirk, Axel slid the pickle jar to him. “Can you handle fishing a pickle out of there?”
“Ass,” he muttered around a laugh before doing just that and grabbing some grapes to add to the plate.
And then he added a piece of chocolate.
“Someone has grown,” Axel said mockingly.
Theon flipped him his middle finger as Axel took the sandwich from the pan, cutting it in half before filling a bowl with soup. But as Theon reached for the dishes, Axel swiped them up.
“I’ll take them to her,” he said, balancing the plate as he tucked a bottle of water beneath his arm.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Theon said, the ease of a moment ago gone as he eyed Axel.
“You don’t get a say here, Theon,” he replied simply. “This is my domain. My space you all just dropped into. Kat wants to talk to her, and we need to reach an…understanding before that can happen.”
“Then I’ll come with.”
“Nope,” Axel said simply, brushing past him. “And if you try to interfere with this, we’re going to have a problem. This needs to happen. You know that.”
“I agree, but I still don’t think you should be alone with her.”
“You think I’ll hurt her?” Axel asked, the corner of his mouth turning up.
