Asher listened to Caspian tell him his childhood popcorn stories all the way back to the mansion.
Each sentence was followed with a handful of popcorn, and Asher would tell him to stop so that he could eat dinner but the sight of his puffy cheeks filled with popcorn was hypnotizing.
"... soggy popcorn will make you sick, I wouldn’t recommend it." Caspian was saying, completely focused.
His anecdote was followed by another handful of popcorn, his small hand completely covered in butter and popcorn crumbs as he shoved the handful in his mouth.
"I can’t believe I didn’t tell you about the first time I tried making popcorn..." Another mouthful.
"Mind you, the first and last time," More munching.
Asher listened intently, a small smile playing on his lips. And if he circled the same neighborhood a couple of times to make the drive last longer, that was his secret to keep.
"...stumbled on some cooking show and tried to recreate it..."
"...but popcorn kernels and unsupervised popcorn kernels are a bad combination."
Asher was certain that the paper bucket of popcorn was almost empty, Caspian using both hands to dig into it might have something to do with that.
"I wouldn’t know, I’ve never made it before." He added to the conversation, his smile evident in his voice.
Caspian looked over in shock which quickly faded away, "That actually makes sense," He muttered instead, popcorn crumbs sticking to his face.
"Well, picture this, popcorn kernels are like corn kernels, and they pop when they’re heated..." He started explaining with gusto, forgetting to eat more popcorn.
"So imagine filling up a pot with the exploding kernels and covering it to keep all the popcorn in..."
"That’s right," Caspian answered his own prompt, "A disaster. We were cleaning up popcorn for hours."
Caspian fell quiet now and Asher knew it was for him to catch his breath, his face glowing with life, the scent of sweet buttery popcorn filling the car.
If he could, he would pause time so he could experience this for an eternity.
But everything had to come to an end, especially car rides.
Asher went around to open Caspian’s door and the first thing he was greeted with was a small waterfall of popcorn as the Omega tried to get down.
He still held his precious popcorn bucket as he helped him down, ignoring Caspian’s apologies for his sticky hands and keeping their hands joined.
"We should make popcorn," Caspian said without warning as they made their way to their room.
This was Asher’s perfect chance to propose a popcorn maker, so he took it. "I could get a popcorn maker here tonight."
Caspian frowned at that, "Popcorn maker? We just need some kernels and oil."
"I’m not letting you make it yourself," Asher refused, prying the empty popcorn bucket from his hand to hand it to a passing maid.
Caspian pouted up at him, "Is it because I ruined my mom’s kitchen?"
"Well, that and you’re supposed to be on bed rest."
Caspian didn’t push after that, walking right to the bathroom to wash off at the sink when they got to the bedroom.
Tonight had been so much fun, at some point, he didn’t even need to force being cheery, he was having such a great time that it came naturally.
But no matter how hard he tried to distract himself from it, he would eventually be reminded that all wasn’t a bed of roses.
He came out of the bathroom clean and much quieter, dinner already laid out on the table.
Caspian had eaten a lot of popcorn but he still tucked away a healthy amount of food, tucking his legs underneath him on the couch he shared with Asher when the plates were cleared out.
He deliberately searched for the movie they had been watching in the cinema, knowing that he would have a better time watching it alone with Asher.
Asher didn’t protest so he started it over, a content smile on his face as he rested his head on the Alpha’s shoulders.
Dinner had been quiet, and it made the fact that he had been the one filling up the silence between them all the more obvious.
Barely ten minutes into the movement, Asher started to move away.
It made Caspian straighten up with a frown, wondering if he had gotten tired of Visit NovelHub for more amazing novels and chapters.
Only for him to find Asher drooping to the side because he was fast asleep.
His smile was bittersweet as he watched him struggle not to fall over even while he was fast asleep.
The dark bags under his eyes worried him, Asher simply took too much on his own shoulders, and Caspian just wanted to help out a little.
He should probably rouse him so they could move to the bed but instead, he pulled Asher’s body into his arms so the Alpha could rest his weight on him.
Asher ended up sleeping on his legs and he had to leave him there because he overestimated the strength of his arms and nearly sent the Alpha rolling to the hard ground.
He watched the show for another fifteen minutes... well, more like he watched Asher sleep for fifteen minutes.
Watching the Alpha breathe deeply while he played with his hair was rather addicting.
But they unfortunately couldn’t stay this way all night, because Asher was literally folded in half on the couch.
Caspian could once again just tap Asher awake but instead, he decided to take the Alpha to bed by himself.
It took an embarrassingly long time but he managed it somehow, completely worn out when he finally got Asher to the bed.
His exhaustion didn’t diminish how proud he was, needing to sit on the ground to catch his breath.
He had thought he would keep watching the movie after helping Asher to bed but he was barely able to put the television off before flopping on the bed.
Caspian laid down right beside Asher, holding the Alpha’s arm tight as his racing heartbeat settled down.
When it was just him , it was not easy to be optimistic, his lips turned down, his eyes glassy.
If Asher asked him to leave, he would have to. He couldn’t protest or try to offer solutions to fix them.