#msa paprika

[lauritanaomystery]

Happy birt- Oh NO!!!

If you make a prank even if it's your birthday. I assure you that you will not be saved from your punishment as Laurel is in charge. Lewis and Laurel are actually a Latin American couple, and if you don't know Latin-American women when they get angry, I assure you that you will be in for an interesting surprise...

[msa-infection-au]

Pepper Family Infection Profile Pics and Kingsmen Family Infection Profile Pic

Mr. Pepper and Mrs./Ms. Pepper (Adopted Child of Lewis and Biological Children of Three Daughters; Belle, Cayenne, Paprika)

Gender: Male and Female

Status: Alive/Active, Healthy/Immune of Infection Stages (0), Infected Stages (1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 [Final Full Infection] -> 6 [Final Infection Transformed]), Dead/Deceased, Missing

Infected: Healthy/Immune of Infection Stages (0), Infected Stages (1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 [Final Full Infection] -> 6 [Final Infection Transformed])

Injured:

Infected Stage/s: Infected Stages (1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 [Final Full Infection] -> 6 [Final Infection Transformed])

Side Notes:

----

Health: __/10

Sanity: __/10

Strength: __/10

Hunger: __/10

Thirst: __/10

Stress: __/10

Aggression: __/10

Inventory:

----

Belle, Cayenne, Paprika Pepper (Parents of Mr. Pepper and Mrs./Ms. Pepper, Adopted Older Brother of Lewis)

Gender: Females

Status: Alive/Active, Healthy/Immune of Infection Stages (0), Infected Stages (1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 [Final Full Infection] -> 6 [Final Infection Transformed]), Dead/Deceased, Missing

Infected: Healthy/Immune of Infection Stages (0), Infected Stages (1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 [Final Full Infection] -> 6 [Final Infection Transformed])

Injured:

Infected Stage/s: Infected Stages (1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 [Final Full Infection] -> 6 [Final Infection Transformed])

Side Notes:

----

Health: __/10

Sanity: __/10

Strength: __/10

Hunger: __/10

Thirst: __/10

Stress: __/10

Aggression: __/10

Inventory:

-----

Lance Kingsmen

Gender: Male

Status: Alive/Active, Healthy/Immune of Infection Stages (0), Infected Stages (1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 [Final Full Infection] -> 6 [Final Infection Transformed]), Dead/Deceased, Missing

Infected: Healthy/Immune of Infection Stages (0), Infected Stages (1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 [Final Full Infection] -> 6 [Final Infection Transformed])

Injured:

Infected Stage/s: Infected Stages (1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 [Final Full Infection] -> 6 [Final Infection Transformed])

Side Notes:

----

Health: __/10

Sanity: __/10

Strength: __/10

Hunger: __/10

Thirst: __/10

Stress: __/10

Aggression: __/10

Inventory: Shotgun with Bullets Ammos and Guns with Bullets Ammos

----

For @laurasanchez36

Msa Infection AU Alternate Universe Crossover belongs to me

Crossovers of AUs Alternate Universes belongs to me

AUs Alternate Universes Crossovers belongs to me

AUs Alternate Universes and Crossovers belongs to me

Mystery Teams/Groups/Gangs belongs to my msa ocs sonas Teams/Groups/Gangs

Mystery Teams/Groups/Gangs belongs to her msa ocs sonas Teams/Groups/Gangs

Mystery Skulls Animated belongs to Ben and MysteryBen27 of YouTube YT Series

MSA Infected Infection AU belongs to my AUs Alternate Universes Crossovers Infected Infection AU 

[nickkkdoesstuff]

Day 15: Family

I’m a bit late but here you go :D

[eagehaunting]

Mystery March 2021 day 21: One of Us

Everyone thank @vonraptor for giving me ideas Bc this is for u broooo

“One of us, one of us.” For the past hour or so, Arthur had his headphones on tight, keeping his eyes glued on his assignments and scribbling away at the answers frantically. Anyone who didn’t know him would assume he’s cramming for finals, or for a deadline that suddenly jumped to that night.

No. That was far from the case. Arthur was rushing before his line of concentration broke at the chorus of voices behind him.

”One of us! One of us! Arthur~ it’s time to lay down! It’s nap time.”

“Pap will you please just shut up?”

The half formed equations that he barely got a hold of disintegrated like ash. Ignoring the heaviness of his eyes, he unhooks his headphones and looks back.

On Lewis’s bed, the giant man was sprawled out with several plushies and sisters tucked in his arms and laying across them. His eyes were shut and breathing slow, along with Belles, who was curled similar to a cat against the wall, only connected to Lewis by his large fingers still half tangled in her hair. The one chanting one of us was Paprika in her poka-dotted onesie and with her stuffed rabbit in her arms. She was bouncing on Lewis’s knee, like she was ready to hop on Lewis’s stomach whenever, but more focused on an argument with Cayenne.

Cayenne, who’s swatting at Paprika, was half- nestled against Lewis’s chest. Tucked in a blanket and content to simply nap next to her brother.

Paprika gasps when she turns away from Cayenne and her meanness back to him.

“You’re ready?” She beams at him, and Arthur can only manage a slow blink before shaking his head.

“Not yet, Papi. I gotta finish this assignment.”

She slumps and sinks against Lewis’s leg. “How much is left?” She asks, eyes wide in a puppy dog stare. Arthur swallows and looks away, not wanting to be compelled by her again. Nope! No way. He’s got work to do and no amount of begging will stop him.

“Just a bit more, then I’ll join you-“

Little feet- more like a small body- hit the floor with a thud.

Arthur flinches, spins around, and finds that Paprika was no longer on top of Lewis. In fact- Lewis’s eyes were open and he was leaning up, scanning the room hurriedly. Shit she woke him up?

Little hands touch his knee, and Arthur snaps down to see the girl’s puppy dog eyes boring into his. “Can’t you join now?” She asks, pouting.

Fuck. Fuck. God dammit. God dammit why do I have to like you kids? I would punt you into the sun if you weren’t so precious to me-

Cayenne moans in disappointment, snapping Arthur out of his thoughts and letting him see the large form hunching down to scoop Paprika up. Lewis cradles her against his chest, rubbing his eye.

“Sorry about that, A-“ he covers his mouth, yawning, “Arthur. I didn’t realize I fell asleep. Do you want to move to the computer room? I’m sure papa won’t mind as long as you don’t touch the computer.”

Arthur stares back up at him, before glancing as his assignment.

Five more problems, with six sub sections for each.... not due for another two days....

Since when did his eyes get so tired?

Pushing aside the building regret made up of bullshit rationale, Arthur closes the book and stands up, cracking his back before shutting off the small lamp on Lewis’s desk.

“Nah, it’s fine. Better make room on the bed though.”

Paprika beams at him, and is returned with a ruffle of her hair.

[simplyender]

for the record i wholeheartedly believe that making any member of the pepper family sad is a warcrime.

[the-night-writer1]

Paprika's ghost scare

(Mystery skulls mpreg au I looked up the name of Lewis' sisters so I think I'm good)

Paprika stood in front of the her big brother's house nervously trying to get the right key to unlock the door. Her and her sisters had been seen to check on Arthur today because Mom and Papa were busy at Pepper's Paradise. Cayenne and Belle were both a bit mad she'd been in trusted with the keys instead of them.

"Hurry up Paprika! Arthur could stuck in there and need help!" Cayenne yelled in protest at her taking so long to find the right key. Belle said nothing with her arms crossed as Paprika finally found the key and unlocked the door. Her sisters shoved her inside before closing the door. Paprika was uneasy about barging into her big brother's house without being sure Arthur was even home. She'd noticed the van wasn't parked near Lewis' old truck. She rubbed her shoulder and glanced around the living room as Belle and Cayenne kicked off their shoes. The lights weren't on or the TV so either Arthur wasn't home or still asleep.

"well Paprika don't just stand there go wake up Arthur!" Cayenne yelled before her mouth was covered by Belle.

"Quiet! Or you'll wake him up sad and grumpy Cayenne!" Belle hissed quietly," that's the whole reason Paprika should wake up him up dumb dumb! "

Paprika swallowed softly and took her shoes off. Carefully and quietly up the stairs. Why did she always have to be the one to wake someone up? It was never Cayenne or Belle who did it just her. Now she had to wake up Arthur from a dream that could have someone they both missed dearly in it. She rubbed her shoulder as she walked to Arthur's bedroom door. Hopefully if she apologized he'd be kinder to her than if she didn't. She wiped her eyes before slowly opening the door.

Arthur was sleeping soundly in his bed as tiny purplish pink ghosts floated around him. Paprika gasped covering her mouth and looking away for a moment. What were ghosts doing here? What were they doing to Arthur? Should she yelled for Cayenne and Belle ? No she had to get the ghosts away from Arthur or he could disappear by the time her sisters got up the stairs. Paprika quickly ran to the side of the bed and threw the keys at one of the ghosts. The keys however went straight through it. It caught the group tiny ghosts attention long enough for her to climb on the bed and try to shield Arthur.

"Shoo leave Arthur and his baby alone" She said softly trying to shoo them off with her hands. They only stared at her confused as one grabbed the keys," you heard me go away leave him alone!"

They just continued to stared at her and her poor attempts to scary them off. She shivered as she heard a door open. It was the bathroom door, she swallowed softly as she looked up. She saw a tall skeleton ghost looking at her bewildered his skull tilled in confusion before she screamed. Paprika would have hit the floor if Arthur hadn't grabbed her by the shirt. The skeleton ghost took a few steps forward and snapped it's fingers as Paprika clung to Arthur's side as he sat up. She buried face in his shoulder shaking a bit as he rubbed her back.

"It's okay Paprika I promise Lewis didn't mean to scare you" Arthur said softly, wait did he say the big scary ghost was Lewis?!

"h-how is that big brother?" She said only slightly glancing at the ghost. The ghost rubbed her cheek softly before a egg was thrown at their skull.

"Get away from them puta!" Cayenne yelled preparing to chuck another egg at the ghost. Belle was running up behind her and as the ghost's skull changed into Lewis' face. It was Lewis he became a big scary ghost?

"CAYENNE LANGUAGE!" Lewis hissed as the two girls froze. Everything was silent for a moment.

"Ah! Lewis has come back from the grave because you took his sailor Moon plushie! Run!" Belle yelled running back downstairs dropping the loaf of bread she grabbed to use as a weapon. Cayenne screamed throwing the other egg before running back down stairs as well while Arthur snickered. Paprika was still holding on to him has Lewis ran down stairs after them yelling,"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY TUXEDO MASK PLUSHIE?!"

" What happened to Lewis?" Paprika asked as she loosened her grip. Arthur was still rubbing her back as he looked at her.

"Don't worry about it Paprika. He's back now that's all that matters"

[the-lewismobile]

mystery memes, round two!! please enjoy my terrible sense of humour

[anisegalennt]

Feels good to be back uvu), 

enjoy a litle wip of Paprika in the meantime ;)

[nebulous-rain]

"Lewis!"

[sunshine-zenith]

🌶

[lauritanaomystery]

Well, I discovered a way to make linearts faster and cuter! Yay✨

Lewis with his sisters

Arthie with galahad while they eat sunflower seeds and Mystery kisses Vivi!!!

[ultravioletqueen]

Nombre completo:valentino Miguel pepper

Alias:val

Edad:17

Tipo de sangre:-A

Ocupación:estudiante de preparatoria

Ocupación actual:mesero en pepper paradiso y niñero

Fecha de nacimiento:14 de febrero(acuario)

Shows/juegos favoritos:romance,aventura(undertale, shera y salior moon)

Comida favorita:chocolate blanco

Instrumento:arpa

Animal favorito:gatos

Altura:1,65(5,5)

Familia:mr pepper(padre) Mrs pepper(madre) belle(hermana menor) cayenne(hermana menor) paprika(hermana menor) lewis(hermano adoptivo)

Arma:ninguna

Habilidades:visión espectral,detector de espíritus, ver a través de los disfrazes humanos de otros fantasmas, gran cocinero,telekinesis.

Personalidad:val es un adolescente muy asustadizo y fácil de hacer llorar, debido al bullying que sufrió de parte de sus compañeros por su "poca masculinidad" val tiene una muy mala imagen de si mismo considerandose alguien raro. Val es muy amigable y muy paciente con sus cercanos, val es poco sociable y no se relaciona mucho con la gente, pero cuando se siente cómodo puede incluso llegar a ser muy risueño.

Val es trabajador y siempre da su parte del trabajo, es muy dedicado a su trabajo como mesero y niñero. Val es sumamente sensible y muy empatico, siendo capaz de meterse en los zapatos de otros y entender sus situaciones. Val es un fiel creyente de lo sobrenatural y es de mente abierta,respeta las creencias de los demás y es respetuoso.

Apariencia:val es un adolescente de 17 años de estatura promedio, tiene el pelo rubio con mechas rosa pastel y ojos del mismo color, en apariencia es casi idéntico al señor pepper. Val se le puede ver usando una camisa a rayas blancas y grises debajo de una chaqueta fina de color magenta, lleva también un gorro y converse fucsia y su atuendo se completa con un collar con un pimiento rojo. Val también posee orejas perforadas y lleva aretes negros.

También tiene una prenda alternativa, que consta de un hoddie sin mangas de color blanco con dos rayas rosas, pantalones grises y sandalias rosas.

Historia:val nació poco después de la llegada de lewis, siendo el único hijo biológico varón de los pepper, val era constantemente acosado por sus compañeros debido a que "era poco masculino" al gustarle cocinar y el color rosa, sin embargo lewis siempre lo defendió y cuido de sus matones, por lo que val admiraba mucho a lewis ya que veía en el lo que quería ser:un hombre que inspire respeto que no tiene miedo de ser el mismo.val en más de una ocasión tuvo algún encuentro con lo supernatural debido a extrañas visiones de fantasmas o sueños locos. Tras la desaparición de lewis, val llegaría a padecer trastornos de la alimentación y empezó a tener más encuentros supernaturales, cuando se dio cuenta de que algo estaba mal fue cuando reencontró con su hermano, no podía ver su disfraz humano, veía su forma fantasma, val en ese momento fue junto a lewis con frigg para ver que era lo que tenía, resultaba que val era un vedoiro, una persona capaz de ver espíritus y la muerte.

Trivia:

*el diseño de val esta basado en mangle de fnafhs y de nathaniel kurtzberg de mlb.

*val sueña con el mundo de los muertos.

*val padeció de bulimia, sin embargo ahora está tratado y parcialmente recuperado.

*val es amigo de chloe, quien considera su mejor amiga.

*val y sus poderes estan inspirados en audrey verdancy de @reptilian-angel.

*el prefiere lo dulce más que lo picante.

*su voz headcanon sería Carlos Hernández en español y michael sinternikklas en inglés.

*nació el día de San Valentín(14 de febrero).

* val también es un usuario involuntario de telekinesis, ya que cuando duerme los objetos a su alrededor se mueven, si se mueven alrededor de él es un sueño normal pero si empiezan a moverse de forma alocada es una pesadilla, esto hace que no sea capaz de ir a pijamadas.

Full name:valentino Miguel pepper

Alias:val

Age:17

Blood type:-A

ocupation:high school student

"actual" ocupation:waiter in pepper paradiso and babysitter

D.O.B:February 14(acuario)

favorite show/game:adventure,romance(undertale, shera and salior moon)

Favorite food:white chocolate

Instrument:harp

Favorite animal:cats

Height:1,65(5,5)

Family: Mr Pepper (Father) Mrs Pepper (Mother) Belle (Younger Sister) Cayenne (Younger Sister) Paprika (Younger Sister) Lewis (Adoptive Brother)

Weapon:none

Skills: spectral vision, spirit detector, seeing through the human disguises of other ghosts, great Cook,telekinesis.

Personality: val is a very scary teenager and easy to make cry, due to the bullying he suffered from his peers for his "little masculinity" Val has a very bad image of himself considering himself strange. Val is very friendly and very patient with those close to him, Val is not very sociable and does not interact much with people, but when he feels comfortable he can even be very smiling.

Val is a hard worker and always gives his share of the work, he is very dedicated to his work as a waiter and babysitter. Val is extremely sensitive and very empathetic, being able to step into the shoes of others and understand their situations. Val is a faithful believer in the supernatural and is open-minded, respects the beliefs of others, and is respectful.

Appearance: Val is a 17-year-old teenager of average height, has blonde hair with pastel pink highlights and eyes of the same color, in appearance he is almost identical to Mr. Pepper. Val can be seen wearing a white and gray striped shirt underneath a thin magenta jacket, he also wears a fuchsia hat and converse and his outfit is completed with a red pepper necklace. Val also has pierced ears and wears black earrings.

He also has an alternative garment, consisting of a sleeveless white hoddie with two pink stripes, gray pants, and pink sandals.

History: Val was born shortly after the arrival of Lewis, being the only biological male child of the Pepper, Val was constantly harassed by his companions because "he was not very masculine" when he liked to cook and the color pink, however Lewis always loved it. He defended and took care of his thugs, so Val greatly admired Lewis as he saw in him what he wanted to be: a man who inspires respect who is not afraid of being the same. Val on more than one occasion had an encounter with him. supernatural due to strange ghost visions or crazy dreams. After the disappearance of Lewis, Val would suffer from eating disorders and began to have more supernatural encounters, when he realized that something was wrong was when he reunited with his brother, he could not see his human disguise, he saw his ghost form, Val at that moment went to Lewis with frigg to see what he had, it turned out that Val was a vedoiro, a person capable of seeing spirits and death.

Trivia:

* Val's design is based on mangle from fnafhs and nathaniel kurtzberg from mlb.

* val dreams of the world of the dead.

* val suffered from bulimia, however he is now treated and partially recovered.

* val is friends with chloe, whom he considers his best friend.

* val and his powers are inspired by @reptilian-angel audrey verdancy.

* He prefers sweet over spicy.

* His headcanon voice would be Carlos Hernández in Spanish and Michael Sinternikklas in English.

* was born on Valentine's Day (February 14).

* Val is also an involuntary user of telekinesis, since when he sleeps the objects around him move, if they move around him it is a normal dream but if they start to move in a crazy way it is a nightmare, this makes him not capable going to sleepovers.

[nickkkdoesstuff]

maybe 👩‍👩‍👧‍👦 w/ lewis (dead) for the char drawing meme?

Art meme.

👩‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family - Draw your OC with one or more members of their immediate family

:’v

[eagesoldartblog]

Pay it Forward Chapter three: Cakes 

Lewis crouches down, his gaze glued to the oven as he watches the batter slowly rise. It was a rather small cake, but it would have to do. Considering it was such a short amount of time from when Arthur would supposedly arrive. And even more stressing- he didn't know what other ingredients his parents needed for his party tomorrow.

On top of all of that, the girls would be home soon, and he wanted nothing more than to spend some time with them. They had tried to stay up a few nights due to him miscalculating when he would have arrived home, just to see him when he got home! They deserved to have more attention directed to them specifically. 

Coincidentally, just as quickly as the thought came, Lewis had glanced up and peered through the connected living room, through the window, allowing him to notice the familiar shape of the car. A smile stretching across his face, Lewis slips out of the kitchen and makes his way to the back door. He waited a few seconds, attempting to hide behind the small door. Just a little longer. Make the surprise all that more sweeter. 

And he flung the door open. 

A gasp, “Lewis!!” Paprika’s bubbly voice is the first one he hears, and he ducks down and steps out- nearly smacking Cayenne who had been positioned at the door. 

He quickly snatched her up too, “Lew-!” Cayenne half screeched. Wriggling her tiny body to slip away from him, but it was already too late, A choked whine being squeezed out of her as Lewis hugged her tightly. Only compress more as Paprika scrambled up the steps and leapt into his arms. Singing a cacophony of Lew-lew that made his heart soar.

“Ack! Let go!!” Small hands press to his cheek, Belonging to the one and only Cayenne. Who Lewis loosened his grip for, allowing her to wriggle out. 

She glares at his happy grin, and then lightly bonks his forehead. 

“Ow, I missed you too.” Lewis laughed, standing to his full height- with Paprika snuggled against his shoulder- earning the shortest snort. 

Cayenne didn’t care, grumbling a small, “Yeah yeah,” walking away from him, yet making a note to toss a quick, “how was your crash?” over her shoulder. 

“Crash?” Paprika pushes herself away from her hug, eyes popping out of her skull. Eyebrows furrowed, Lewis cursed his little sister and opened his mouth to comfort her, 

“About th-”

“It's alright, Paprika,” Mama interjects, a hand stroking the little girls hair, “Lewis is safe, otherwise he wouldn’t be here to hug you right now.”

Her mouth was still set with a deep frown, interestingly looking from Mama to him, before reluctantly laying her head on his shoulder. Placing a kiss on her forehead, Lewis whispered, “Hey, I’m making some cake right now, but I haven't been able to start the frosting. Would you like to help me do that?” He asks, piquing her interest immediately. 

“Can I?” 

“Of course,” Lewis laughs, holding open the door for Mama and following her soon after, tickling Paprika into hysterics, “You know I always need the sweetest girls opinion on my frosting! How else will I know if they’re up to standard?” 

She bursts into giggles as he pokes her sides, flailing her tiny arms and attempting to wriggle them out of her backpack straps. “Wait-!! Let me-” She squeals, and Lewis swiftly plants her on her feet, whisking the backpack off her back. 

“Make sure to take off your shoes,” Lewis says, dropping the backpack onto the couch next to Belle, “Then meet me in the kitchen after you wash your hands.” She skitters off to the back door, shouting a small response as Lewis finds himself waltzing back to the kitchen. Crouching down, he eyes the batter, and the checks the timer. With an even bigger smile, he fishes for a toothpick to check its consistency. 

If it's ready soon, I can let it cool for a while as we make frosting, and then soon after it’ll be in the best shape for decorating! Lewis nearly fist bumps over the achievement. However, small footsteps clatter over, Paprika leaping to hug his leg and bouncing on her heels. 

She gives him a giant grin, “Let's start!!” 

Humming a small tune, Lewis ruffles his thick fingers through her curly hair, “Alright, now let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, I need some butter, powdered sugar, and milk. Can you grab that-...” He trails off, eyebrows raised with amusement as Paprika bounces away from him to the fridge, yanking it open loud enough that Belle noticeably flinches from the living room. Hearing her call out, Lewis leans out to dismiss her worries. Then, hearing a small gasp. 

“Lewis!” Paprika’s voice strains, he peers over just in time to see her scaling the inside of the refrigerator, holding one of the drawers as it dangerously slides out—

Nearly diving, Lewis snags her by her arms and shuts the drawer with one fell swoop. He frowns, “Pap’, you gotta be more careful.” 

She curls his knees up by a mere fraction, clutching the milk jug close to her chest and whining, “I’m sorry..” 

“It’s alright,” he said, setting her down and grabbing the butter and milk from her hands and places them delicately on the surface. Before he turns back to her and crouches down, “Wanna help me grab the vanilla and powdered sugar?”

Eyes lighting up, she nods quickly, grinning ear to ear and turning around. Just on cue for Lewis to swoop her up and get her settled on his shoulders- crouching of course, even more so that usual to ensure she didn’t bump her head. They open the cabinet, Paprika pointing out the bag of sugar and the small bottle of vanilla extract, and finally she was put down. Skipping, she pulls out a large bowl from the bottom shelves and struggles to squeeze it into the more cluttered space. 

“Fetch your stool, Pap, I don’t want you falling again.”

“Okay!” And with that, she darts off, leaving Lewis with ample time to mix in the butter and sugar, and prepare the milk and extract for Paprika to add. He wouldn’t have noticed her returning if she didn’t let out a small sing- song laugh, “Lewis?”

“Yes, Reinita?” 

Paprika lightly kicks the floor, “Can we make some pink frosting? I wanna put some hearts for uncle Arthur!”

Lewis halts his stirring, turning around to face her, “Uncle..?” 

Bouncing on her heels, she gives him a full smile, “Yeah! Mamá told us you were making a cake for him! I wanna add something too!”

Eyebrows furrowed, Lewis stares down at the little girl with dumbfoundment etched into his face. An expression Paprika quickly picked up on and flinches away, frowning. 

“Or not..” 

“No, no,” Lewis clears his throat, face flushed, “how... Do you know Arthur?” He asks, feeling that was the safest route to go down with his tiny sister, to gauge just what she knows. Face lighting up in the usual shy and bashful way, Paprika mumbles out-

“Mamá y papá needed a baby sister while you were away at school, Arthur has been looking over us a lot.” The more and more she talked about him, the brighter she became, “He even lets me help him with the cars!” 

Lewis, still at a loss for words, nods his head and forces a small smile, “Is.. that so? Do you plan to become a mechanic one day?”

“Yeah! I think it would be really fun! Arthur taught me how to change oil and batteries and even how to use a tire!” Use a tire? She must have meant that she knows how to fix them, Lewis thought, humming to himself as he pictures the situation, stomach dropping at he imagines it being a seriously dangerous place..

Shaking his head lightly, Lewis snags to stool and sets it up, “You should have told me, you and I could have fixed up our car even faster.”

“You think so?” 

“I know so!” Lewis hums, scooping her up in his arms and plopping her in her place, “now, can you help me with this?”

“Here,” Lewis says, holding up a spoon, coated in a thick glob of white sugary frosting. Paprika shimmies close and wipes a small bit onto her finger, tasting in and humming with delight.

She beams, “It's really good! Arthur will like it a lot!” Sticking out her hand, Lewis lightly high-fives her. 

“I’m glad to here, I’m sure he’d be happy to know that you helped me!” He presses his fingers against her ribs and watches as she giggles and squirms, “Now.. what do we need now? To make the frosting pretty colors?”

Pausing to think, she glances around the kitchen and lands on the covers.

“Four bowls, and… food coloring.” 

Lewis marches over, a tad bit more dramatic and performative so that way she would giggle and laugh some more- to which he succeeded.

“What colors do I need to grab?” He asks, fingers already grazing across the five or four… Should it be simple or more decorative-?

“Uh… pink, orange, er… green? Oh! And yellow!” 

Green? Hm, that would be interesting, “Where’s the green coming from?”

“Green for grass! We could go green grass along to bottom and then… tires? For cars!” She exclaims, and Lewis smiles a small bit, snagging the black and gray color dye as well. 

“Clever, I think he’ll be fond of that, don’t ya think?”

“Yes yes!”

Soon enough, the four different colors were ready. Paprika and him spent over thirty minutes frosting and decorating the cake. She added the hearts she wanted and some sloppy tires bouncing along the sides, and Lewis puts a cursive ‘thank you’ along the top, along with a wrench design around it. Then along the top Paprika and him both dot it with the orange frosting. Making it resemble a childish tower more than anything else.

Upon completion, Lewis let’s out a soft sigh, ruffling Paprika’s hair, “Nice work, Reinita. Let’s go wash our hands and let Papa prepare dinner.” She nods in agreement and leaps off her stool, to which Lewis takes and shuffles out of the way of his Papa, putting it away before grabbing the cakes tray and placing it on the top shelf of the fridge. 

Quietly, he murmurs to himself, “I hope he likes it..”

“I’m sure he will,” his father's unusually upbeat voice makes him flinch, and he glances over to him.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to… I don’t know..” he trailed off, still unsure of how to handle this situation and this peculiar man, he couldn’t wrap his head around it. Receiving a quick and light pat on his back. 

Papa smiles up at him, “It’s alright, everything will be okay. You have nothing to worry about right now. It’s only four right now, you why don’t you go and relax for a little while. I’ll call you when he gets here and then you two can talk it out.

He would rather he not show up at all, but if you insist.. Lewis nodded obediently, side stepping his way out of the kitchen and down the hall to his room. 

It’ll be no good to talk to him if he’s not well rested, Lewis figures. Slipping into his room, he changes out of his binder into a sports bra, and lays himself across his pillows and blankets. Peering out of the window into the cool summer air, a light breeze flowing in. His exhaustion finally catches up to him. 

When he opened his eyes, there were streaks of yellows, pinks and reds lining the sky. Blinking rapidly, Lewis pushes himself up, gazing out and seeing the sun was beginning to set. Blinking harder- as if it would help him focus and recollect his thoughts- he whips his head over to the clock and spots the red dotted outline of - 6:57?! Since when-!!

Shoving himself even more, and ignoring the acute sharp pains in his back and arms from suddenly jostling his body, he brings himself to his feet and slips them hurriedly into his slippers. Rushing out of the room as one thought spiraled after another. All of which, equally ridiculous and somewhat dumb, all revolving around that one dumb mechanic who’s had him in stitches all day!

Popping into the living room, the first thing Lewis noticed was that Cayenne was on her phone instead of reading the book in her lap on the couch. Paprika was playing with her dolls and half paying attention to the ‘How It’s Made’ show displaying on the Tv. And Belle was nowhere to be seen. 

Except, he finally noticed her through the side- window, carrying something from a low rumbling van parked beside the house and… 

Whose… whose van was that? The garish orange reminding him of- 

The back door opens, and he turns back just in time to see Belle shuffle in with a giant bag, and Arthur holding the door open with his own bags.

“Easy..”

“I got it, Arthur!” She spats back at him, glaring under her fuzzy hair, “I’ll go put these in Lew’s room, you shove your stuff in the living room.” Arthur nods, hobbling in after her, and his eyes rise to meet Lewis’s, Belle went on, “Be quiet, though, Lew’s taking a nap and he doesn’t know you’re staying the night. It’s a surprise.” She hisses through her teeth, dramatically shushing the much taller mechanic, who suppressed a chuckle and let his gaze fall back to Belle.

“Wanna bet?” He says, grinning mischievously, and he shoots Lewis a look to have him play along.

“Bet what?”

“That he knows I’m here, of course!” He’s grinning, and Lewis takes a step to the side and out of view, half tempted to duck into the bathroom and escape that way. Wait- why is he even -

“Hm… no deal.”

“What? You wound me!”

“You’re too sneaky! I can’t trust anything you do.” Belle is now moving down the hall and toward where Lewis was, the crinkling of her bag hardly doing a thing to help her sneak about. 

“Well, I guess that’s your issue then, isn’t it? If you catch Lewis on your way out, let him know I’m here, Kay?” He says, walking a bit faster than Belle, and with a few quick strides, Arthur slips past the opening of the hall and sends Lewis a giant grin.

One which has his heart.. racing? What-!

Belle’s voice snaps him out of it, “Aw shit,” she slumps over, groaning slightly. And dodging the quick smack from Lewis as he realizes what she said.

“Ey, watch your mouth,” Lewis scolds, tongue tripping up as his gaze lingers on Arthur walking out of sight and rousing the attention of his other two sisters, “Mamá wouldn’t be pleased to hear you speaking the devil’s tongue.”

Groaning, she swipes his hand away before heaving up the giant bag of- was that Sailor Moon? “Who do you think I got it from? Mamá’s just as bad as the mechanics at the shop!” She tries slipping past him, and Lewis has half a mind to ask her what she was doing carrying it around but-

Kneeling down, and blocking her path much to Belle’s dismay, Lewis quickly whispers, “Why is he staying the night-?” 

She grimaces, attempting to readjust her grip before Lewis takes it from her, getting more of a look- figurines? “Mama said you’d like having a friend over, so he came over.”

Far from enlightening, but he couldn’t get out a single question from his myriad before the lanky blond steps into view again. A half smile quirked over his face, and all of his words froze in his throat. 

“What’s up, Lewis?” His eyes crinkle from how he smiles, hair bobbing the smallest bit, “I guess the cats out of the bag. Your mom and dad asked me to help out for tomorrow's party, and they wanted me to stick around to keep you company tonight.” Such a light hearted attitude. His voice was the smallest bit gravely and… tired? It matched the shadows under his eyes and-

Finally, Lewis manages to choke out, “-I made you a cake.”

Arthur blinks, sputtering into a light laugh, “What for-?” 

“As thank you,” gaze darting from the living room and back to Arthur, his mind going in circles, it suddenly occurred to him how dumb he felt holding the bag- a present? Come ON- so close to his chest. There’s a lump in his throat that he couldn’t wallow back before he spins on his heels and dumps the crinkly bag on his bed and nearly runs Arthur down trying to slip past him. 

Arthur snags his shirt and trails after him. An action which should really be making him pause and question why he felt it was okay. If not for the fact that it felt… natural? However that worked, Lewis didn’t take the time to figure out. Instead he focuses on retrieving the cake and praying he doesn't accidentally throw it in Arthur's face.  

“Its for the car-” he quickly explains, “I- I still don’t know how to feel about it but- I'm very grateful and-” His words clash and slide into one another, becoming a mess right before his very eyes. Even Arthur was having trouble keeping up! Heart shaped eyebrows quirking up and mouth twisted with confusion. Soon, finally Lewis presses his lips together and shoves the cake into Arthurs chest. Stilling as those amber eyes drop to the work. 

Slowly, his quirked smile draws against his face as he takes in all of the details, “Lewis, you didn’t have to do anything for me..”

“I- I know, but-” Wait why did he sound like that- “I didn’t- it only seemed right to do something for you as well, I wasn’t- it's not every day that you just- have your car paid off by a stranger-”

Somehow, Lewis could tell that wasn’t the right thing to say. Arthurs eyebrows drop, smile faltering into something that didn’t look correct on him-

“ARTIE!” 

Both men jump with surprise, turning back just in time to see Paprika leap from the ground and latching onto Arthurs arm. He responds surprisingly quick, passing the cake back to Lewis and lifting her up with ease, making a small comment on how heavy and big she is as he pulls her into a hug. 

“Did you see the hearts-? Lewis let me add them-” She excitedly buzzes, not noticing the smallest hint of disappointment in Arthur's eyes before he grins back at her. 

“Well they’re absolutely adorable! It really ties in the scene! I bet it tastes really good too..” 

She nods, full of excitement, eyes lifting up to Lewis- who hardly found himself out of the sea of confusion he’s been casted into. “Lew, Lew, can we cut up the cake now?” 

“I-.. why don’t you ask Arth- Artie? I’m sure he’d love to share if you say please…” 

Almost immediately she was bombarding him with the same question. 

Soon, the cake is cut. Three plates for the girls, and two for them, the rest of the cake re-wrapped and placed into the fridge because his parents didn’t want any. 

The night went by both way too quickly and way too slow. 

Lewis couldn’t make out how he felt about his… friend.. 

Much later, the blankets are set, and Lewis and Arthur are now left alone in the living room while the girls are ushered into bed. 

Lewis honestly would have felt so much better had they been on the couch. There would be ample room, seats you generally don’t cross without your intentions being known. But the floor? That is free terrain. It’s colder down here so one would naturally assume that someone sitting close is for warmth and not-

“Lewis?” His eyes widen, choking as he draws his glass away from his lips and nearly dumping the wine down his shirt. How long has he been drinking-? This is ridiculous!

Anxiously pressing a hand to his mouth, Lewis forces the bitter alcohol down his throat and an even bigger smile- coming off as strained, “Yes?”

Arthur quirks his brow, “You okay, dude? You’ve been guzzling that ever since your ma’ broke out a bottle.”

…. He’s right about that… Lewis peers over at Arthurs glass and sees he has barely drank half of it. One quick inspection immediately proves that his entire glass is empty now. 

Wow. Well, That's an interesting development. He ponders, getting up to refill the glass (which he hopefully wouldn’t drink more of..) and sitting back down just as quickly.

“...Sorry, Arthur. That was my fault.. uh.. please don’t pay too much mind to me.” His cheeks are warm.. goodness why is he so nervous? 

If Arthur still had something else to say, he doesn’t start. Simply readjusting his legs and taking a long sip of his wine, quickly coming up to speed with Lewis. Coughing lightly when it finally catches up to him. 

The silence is unnerving, and worsening by the second. Silent all for the screaming of his thoughts running in circles.

Saying something, something, “So, Arthur. That bag you brought..” where was he going with this? “Was- are those things for me?”

He snorts, slouching over, “Well it’s not like I’d get it for Paprika or like- Cayenne.” 

“So you did get me a bunch of gifts..” He sighs, disliking the implication even more. Gaze shifting over to the cases of Sailor Moon mined by the Tv, the illumination reflecting nicely off the casing. High quality… Lewis gnaws on his lip.

“And if I did..?” Arthur's voice stuns him out of his spur, glancing back over to Arthur. The light casting sparkling rays over his hair, making him look radiant. 

Stop it. 

Arthur lets out an airy laugh, The coolness of the crackled window allows in a soft breeze, rustling his hair and making him all the more cooler as he droops over his own knee, “I’ve been trying to find you a bunch, so you can take it back with you.” 

“To school?” The heartwarming sentiment is joined by a pesky lingering confusion, doubt… hovering around them like smoke from a candle. Smokey and like coffee.. 

“For your dorm room.” 

“I’ll just have to…” a smile slowly crawls over his face, holding up his glass closer, the aroma filling his head with a tingly feeling, or perhaps his gulping was finally getting to him, “I’ll just have to make more cake for you.” 

An elbow hits his side, jolting electricity through his nerves, and the action has him fumbling and nearly spilling his drink again. “Hey, I wouldn't mind that,” Arthur says, his quirky smile back- reminding Lewis that he probably didn’t mean to startle him so much. Nor did he notice, unless that's what his chuckling was for, “I’ve always loved the things you make- although if you do, you should use more of your usual spices.” 

“Huh?” The world fogs and smears into a single blur of color when he turns his head. Eyes landing on the blond locks. Lewis’s throat dries, and he swallows and tries to focus even more on him. 

Arthur’s a lot touchier now.. “It was kinda- ya’know- uh- don’ take this the wrong way, but it was kinda- bland with how standard it was. Delicious as it was.” Part of Lewis informs him that he should be offended, but the coffee scent surrounds his head again, and he doesn’t think to mind it. Arthur shivers, snatching the blanket and twisting it around his shoulders, “I like the spiciness of your stuff, it's like your parents but- you.”

Blinking slowly- when did his eyelids become so heavy?- Lewis hums, his voice rolling against his vocal chords, “You probably are- I haven’t been cooking in a while, I still haven’t been back for more than a day, so-” 

“Nah,” Arthur interrupts him, spinning on his rear end and crossing his legs, eyes pinned to him, “I'm talking about you. Hell, even your chocolatey stuff is- well- spicy.. Uh- its like- jokohilo-”

“Jolokia,” Lewis sips his wine expectantly, eyes glazed over, “I didn’t think you .. didn’t peg you for someone who liked ghost peppers..” 

“It's an acquired taste,” Arthur says, tilting his head- or swaying, or Lewis was swaying. He pressed himself against the couch to stop that, “Usually I can't handle the stuff- any spices really, even peppermint is hot for me- but you.. I don't know, you make it in a way that's so… balanced!” Arthur scoots forward, bumping their legs together. When.. when did he get so close? Lewis straightens up, mouth falling open as he finally realizes just how close he now is. His shaggy hair falling to the side, and his jaw is rough with aftershave. Prickly- Arthur's face looked unnaturally red, almost feverish, breath coming out heavily. 

He looked … glossy- no, determined, in how his bushy eyebrows angle together. A shudder rustles down his back, the coolness of the window is way too cold now.

“Ar-arthur?” 

“Lewis,” despite the tinge of red in Arthurs cheeks, he sounded clear, “dont-.. I’m not.. Trying to be weird or anything.” 

“Yes?” his teeth clink together roughly. 

“Mind if I-- c-can I kiss you..?” 

Lewis froze in his place, eyes wide and eyebrows furrowed. His voice and thoughts ran into the ground in a jumble, the only thing coming out was the small rasps of his breath. 

And that was enough.

Arthur gulps back noisily, nodding without even really moving as he lifts himself off the ground and shoving himself away. Twisting himself and the blanket and facing the screen again, looking- sad? Blank or angry or- “Sorry ‘bout that, Lew. Just- .. forget about it.” 

His throat is tight and lumpy. Scrambling thoughts clash and squish together. Stinging almost. Lewis’s heart refused to stop thumping. 

Lewis couldn’t remember falling asleep, but very quickly he was aware of the light shining through his eyelids and making his mind buzz to life. Finally, his eyes flutter open, and sore muscles slowly stretch out and squash against the couch. The bright rays of the sun shine into his eyes. The serene scene of wind rustling trees finally filling his ears and reminding him that he wasn’t the only one in the house. With the blast of a videogame gun jolting him awake. 

He twists his head, noting the messy and disheveled bed head of Cayenne right in front of him. Blinking harshly, he lifts up his hand and ruffles the red hair. Earning him a short hiss.

“Ey’ quit it!” 

“Go brush your hair,” He hums, a yawn sneaking up his throat and making his shoulders shudder and shake. Squinting against the light, he glares over the room, with the second couch, several plants and flower pots positioned all over and shelves full of pictures of family.

None… of … Arthur? 

He pushes himself up, glancing around the living room for any sign of him and peering into the kitchen. Honing his ears, he realizes the only other person awake is Cayenne tearing out her hair. Lewis snags her shirt and directs her to sit in front of him wordlessly, and as she plops down on his feet, he begins to comb through her locks. Finally pushing out the question, “Where.. Cayenne where’d Arth’ go?”

She’s pouting, but glares at him from under her thick mop, “He left an hour ago, didn’t you hear him?” 

Blinking, he ignores the white flashing behind his vision and the small headache that pulsates behind his eyes. Before he grinds his palm against one, “Nah, I didn’t even realize he woke up..” 

Twisting back, she sends him the most confused glare she could, dripped with annoyance “You were talking to him.”

“... I was..?”

The steam drifts and floats around him, clinging to the wall, his back and shower chair like a sheet, the feeling was more than comforting. Even more so when he slathers his face in soap for the upteenth time. Allowing it all to slip off his chin and drip into his lap. The rhythmic motion doing nothing to distract himself from what was truly on his mind. 

His dumb spiky hair with odd stripes, how he somehow manages to be covered in hair yet remain so- cute? No, handsome, he definitely was a good looking fellow- Lewis slaps more soap against his cheeks, huffing.

And worst of all, he refused to get off his mind. The entire night they spent together was put on a repetitive loop, honing and focusing on that one very specific moment. 

Humming- or growling- he grinds his teeth and shoves his face under the water stream. To the point where the warmth in his cheeks could have been the result of either the hot shower or the fact that Arthur seemed to be lighting a fire in his head just by existing. His thoughts seemed to revolve around him! Which didn’t make an inch of sense… but… 

No. No, can’t be. Lewis isn’t like that. Lewis sternly reminds himself how inappropriate it is. Except, his shoulders falter, and no matter how many times he reminded himself that he should absolutely not be pining over this mechanic, all he would receive is an uncommitted wave of his thoughts hand as they drift back. Why that was a necessary part of the human psyche, he had no idea, and even more so Lewis was half tempted to write a strongly worded letter to himself.

He should call Vivi.

Yes, that would probably be best. Lewis sighs gently through his hands, water spraying to his knees.  She always did have a habit of.. well, snapping him out of his ridiculous thinking. Turning off the faucet, Lewis slowly brings himself to stand up and snags his towel, dying off his hair and soon the rest of him. While he slowly slips on his fresh clothing, he plucks his phone off the counter, wipes off its steamed screen, and dials. 

If he was lucky, she would be free. If he's not, then she's most likely sleeping, or doing something. Lewis glances at the phone screen, huffing slightly as he sees the minute shift to nine thirty. It's especially likely she was sleeping in still-

”Hello?”

Sighing, lips pulling with relief, “Hello, Vi’, I would hate to bother you right now, do you have a spare second?” 

“Shoot. I got all of the seconds to spare.”

“Okay- er… Vivi, have you experienced- uh- love at first sight?” He asks, plopping onto the toilet seat and seating ahead of him expectantly, like she’ll pop out from the bathtub at any minute. Never mind how foolish he felt even asking it, 

“Oh ya’, absolutely,” Vivi’s voice is suddenly muffled- eating? Oh, of course she was, she loved eating- “Of course like.. Not an actual person, just food and shit. But- I have. Why?”

Gulping back anxiously, Lewis fiddles with the hem of his shirt, “Don’t laugh-” 

Immediately a choked snort ruptures his thoughts, ”No way, don’t tell me- you’re kidding, Lew.”

Groaning miserably, Lewis sinks down, “Unfortunately, no.. im- I have no idea why!” That was a lie, “I met him just yesterday, yesterday and he’s the only one i’ve been thinking about all day and- how creepy is that?”

Moments pass, complete silence, only highlighting the ambient noise of- people speaking and silverware scraping against plates. Thus, reminding Lewis of the many times he caught her awake at six in the morning for the sheer desire of ‘people watching.’ Pah! And she said he was creepy… 

Then, she burst out laughing. 

“Should I just hang up now, Vi?” He finally asks, frowning tightly as he imagines how delighted she was by this news. 

”No, please don’t, I think this is amazing. How can I be of service my dear amigo?”

“How do I make these feelings go away?” 

Vivi chokes again, for a different reason if the nervousness meant anything, which, why would she? ”Wait what-?” She sputters, frantically spitting out her words, making them all slide out in a slurred mess, ”Why’dont you want to- why do you wanna stop it?”

“Because!” He nearly shouts, the echo barking back at him and he holds his breath, continuing in a considerably softer tone, “Because, I don’t know him, and I- I don’t want to deal with my infatuations right now.. You know how I got with-”

”With Xavier? I mean- yeah? You were.. Heart broken, but-! That was him, but this is.. Arthur!” The way she said it made his heart skip another beat, “He’s a great dude and he’s really sweet, he’ll treat you extra right- it’ll blossom into a fantastic relationship!”

“... I wish I could think like that, Vivi.. but I-... I upset him last night..” Why did he mention that? The last thing he wanted to do was bring up… that… “I feel like I would only upset him more, since I still have no real idea of how to process these feelings..” 

Vivi goes silent again, except for her small chattering, making him sure that she was alone. That was a solitaire Vivi habit if he ever saw one. ”Well.. I mean.. try? Hit him up in a little bit, ask him out. Or- even better- ask him out to dinner! I’m sure he would be over the moon! Heck- make him something to eat, he’ll be head over heels!” She chuckles and giggles as she does so. 

“I don’t think he would like that- I mean- I-”

”You think an awful lot, Lew,” Vivi retorts, confident in her voice as Lewis shrinks, resisting the urge to bite his fingernails.

“.. Alright, fine.. I’ll.. call him and ask him out for dinner, but I seriously doubt it-”

”If he rejects you, my phone will be ready and I'll be over in ten minutes for you to cry on my shoulder.”

“... Okay, thank you Vivi.. I will.” 

”Alrighty~ Bye bye, Lew lew! I love you~!”

“I love you too, Vi-vi, good bye.”

”Bye.”

She hangs up, leaving Lewis all alone with his thoughts, and he anxiously pulls up the number that Arthur gave him yesterday. 

He bites his lip, and presses the dial button. Waiting… 

”Hey Lewis, what's up?”

[chantillyxlacey]

alternatively, ghost Lewis and "comfort food" perhaps?

“Lewis?”

“What is it, chickadee?” he had asked, smoothing back an errant curl behind Paprika’s ear. He was watching her for his parents for the first time since he’d come home, and the older girls were at school.

“I’m hungry,” she’d said plaintively, eyes huge and woeful-- even with the melancholy pall that had hovered over Lewis for a few days now, he hadn’t been able to help a smile, scooping her up into his lap.

“Well, I can’t let you go hungry. Shall I make you something? What’s your little heart’s desire, baby bird?”

“Papas!” she’d beamed, throwing her hands into the air. “Papa papa papas rellenas!”

He’d laughed at that. “Those take a while to make, are you too hungry to wait that long?”  

She’d shaken her head no, and now they were set up in their parents’ kitchen, Paprika perched on tall chair by the counter while Lewis collected ingredients to make his baby sister’s croquettes.

“Still no olives in the picadillo?” Lewis waggled the jar at her.“NO olives,” Paprika said sternly, crossing her arms and glowering as darkly as any girl her age could ever manage. Lewis laughed again as he set ingredients on the counter, which Paprika sorted into neat clusters according to a logic he had no hope of fathoming. He pulled a tupperware of mashed potatoes from the fridge. 

“Did mama say she was saving these for anything?” he asked, and Paprika shook her head, then clapped her hands together.

“Can I help?” She beamed up at him. “Can I help with something that isn’t knives or the stove?”

“You can help to shape the potatoes once it’s time,” Lewis said as he readied a pot of oil. “And you can hand me ingredients as I need them. He ruffled her hair, then smoothed it back down. “And you could sing to me, if you wanted.” Usually he offered to sing to her, but he still wasn’t quite feeling up to it at the moment.

As he went through the familiar, almost reflexive motions of chopping, measuring, mixing-- some of the weight that had been dragging down on him began to lift. By the time he and Paprika were molding the potatoes around the freshly made filling, he was singing along with her: Spanish oldies from mama’s favorite radio station, papa’s Korean lullabies, Paprika’s favorite Disney songs, the lines mixed and matched randomly according to her whim.

When the papas were all shaped, he arranged them on a baking sheet and lightly grasped either side, concentrating on drawing the heat out of them and into his own hands until they were as chilled as if he’d just pulled them from the fridge. It was a trick he’d discovered on accident, and Paprika was delighted when he used that small scrap of heat to create a miniature fountain of sparks in the palm of his hand. Once the first batch of croquettes was out of the oil, he did the same thing to one, cooling it off enough that Paprika could eat it right away.

She nibbled on her croquette in silence for a moment, and when she’d finished it she carefully wiped her hands on a napkin before folding them in her lap and looking at him seriously.

“I told a fib,” she said in a solemn voice. Lewis blinked.

“When?”

“I said I was hungry and I was, but I could’ve had something else than papas.”

“I’m not quite sure how that’s a fib, chickadee--”

“You were so sad today!” Paprika pressed on, bringing her folded hands beneath her chin. “And you always had so much fun cooking, I thought it would cheer you up!”Lewis’ chest swelled with soft affection and his eyes fizzled with spectral tears. He scooped Paprika up off the stool and bundled her into a hug.

“I do feel better, angelitita,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head. Paprika giggled and wrapped her arms as far as she could around his neck, snuggling her soft, tiny cheek against his.