"We’ve got a board meeting right after the festival," Lake went right on after the issue of the quarterly meeting.
Davian listened but didn’t bother filing any of the information away for later, confident that Lake could handle it with ease.
"Go take a shower and sit down for a bit," Davian said as soon as they got back to the mansion.
"Don’t want me to keep you company while you cook?" Lake asked over his shoulder.
It had been a long day and it was just mid-afternoon, so Lake really didn’t mind the suggestion to take a breather.
"You can keep me company in the dining room." Davian said without mincing words, sticking to him to make sure he stayed in his room.
Lake found himself smiling easily around Davian, which was a little ironic considering that the Alpha barely made expressions.
He was so easy to read though, despite that, so it was no surprise Lake was constantly smiling.
"How long will the pancakes take?" He asked when they got to his room.
"Half an hour," Davian supplied, concern flashing in his eyes. "Are you alright? Did you get nauseous?"
"I would have called if I did." Lake said without hesitation. "You’ve got thirty minutes, I’m coming right to the kitchen when that time is up."
That was enough to send Davian out of the room, the Alpha striding to the kitchen with focus.
The shopping bags were brought to Lake’s room shortly after Davian left. Lake didn’t need to shower yet, so he got busy putting them away.
What took up most of the time were the headbands, his hands instinctively going to the polka-dotted one in his hair.
Their outfits for the festival were easily put away, and all that was left were the aprons.
Although Davian had told him not to go to the kitchen, Lake really wanted him to wear one of the new aprons they got while he made pancakes.
So he found himself in front of the kitchen door with the bag in hand, wincing as he gingerly knocked on the door.
There was a short spell of silence, Davian opening the doors after.
"I’m sure I told you to get some rest," The Alpha said flatly, unimpressed by his presence.
"I know," Lake immediately made excuses, "But I wanted you to wear these while you cook."
Davian noticed the bag in his hand for the first time, his dark eyes softening. "You didn’t need to bring that yourself," He said, his voice matching his expression.
"It’s no trouble," Lake shrugged, handing him the bag, and reluctantly turning around to leave.
He could smell the pancake batter from the door, and it wasn’t until he wasn’t allowed to anymore that he realized how much he liked watching Davian cook.
Now that there was nothing more to keep him occupied, he decided to take the shower that Davian suggested, trying a new body wash.
The bathroom was filled with several bottles anyway, it would be a waste if he didn’t try a couple at least.
He quickly found out how that was a bad idea when the scent of almonds filled up the shower, sending him out of the shower with a hand across his face.
He had the presence of mind to pull on a bathrobe, darting to the kitchen while still dripping wet.
Davian opened the door much faster when he heard another timid knock, ready to properly scold Lake this time, only to be presented with a dripping wet Omega.
Before he could process what was going on, Lake lunged at him, the Omega clinging to him desperately.
Although Davian had not even the faintest idea of what was going on, he caught Lake’s slender body and held him close, frowning at how cold to the touch his wet skin felt.
A gag answered his question, and that was his cue to pick Lake up to place him on the counter so that he could get better access to his scent gland.
If Davian wasn’t so worried, he would have found Lake drawing in deep breaths of his scent like an asthmatic patient a little funny.
But right now, he was too focused on scenting Lake while trying to warm him up, caring little about how soaked through he got because of the Omega.
He was so focused that he forget completely that he was cooking until Lake pulled away from his neck to stare at him with wide brown eyes.
"Davian, something is burning."
Davian panicked for a split second before pulling Lake back into the curve of his neck. "It’s already burnt, there’s no saving it now."
He felt more than heard Lake’s chuckle, "Right, but it’ll catch on fire if it burns anymore."
Davian’s expression soured, displeased at being forced to choose.
Lake made a sound of surprise when Davian lifted him off the counter, the Alpha carrying him over to the stove to turn it off.
"Where are we going?" Lake asked when Davian turned towards the door.
"Getting you warmed up," He said levelly.
"And the pancakes?" Lake asked with concern.
"I can always make more."
Lake didn’t have a lot of energy to keep being worried about the pancakes, letting himself slump into Davian’s arms.
The nausea was more exhausting than one would expect. He hadn’t even stopped to think before dashing barefoot right to Davian.
Lake was really grateful that the Alpha offered to have them live together, it would have been tough dealing with his nausea all by himself.
Lake had gathered his hair up to protect it from the water but the edges of his hair still got wet.
When Davian said he wanted to warm him up, he didn’t imagine that it would be .
The two of them tangled in each others arms under the blanket.
He had to admit, it was really effective. Davian’s scent was like a cloud around him, and the Alpha gave off so much heat. It was no surprise that he started to feel drowsy after only a few minutes.