The moment Kayla switched from oat milk to cream, Shadow gave a quiet grunt of approval from across the kitchen.
Dameon sighed dramatically. âOh, so now weâre discriminating against alternative milk products in my home?â
âYou eat cold leftovers straight out of the container at two in the morning.â
âThatâs different.â
Dameon hummed thoughtfully like he was seriously considering the argument while pouring Kaylaâs coffee. The kitchen lights caught against the piercings lining one of his ears while he did.
âAnd yet,â he replied smoothly, âdespite all my apparently terrible life choices, I still let you live here.â
âI donât live here.â
âYou ate twelve yogurts in two days.â
âYou also scared three of my patients.â
Shadow looked offended immediately. âI did not scare anybody.â
âYou stood in the hallway at two in the morning, built like a tank, wearing sweatpants and glaring into space.â Dameon took a calm sip of coffee. âOne of my patients thought you were a cryptid.â
Meanwhile, Shadow had entirely stopped paying attention again, the second Kim tucked herself back against him. One arm remained firm around her waist while his forehead rested against hers, eyes closed beneath the black bandana, close enough to feel her breathing.
Across the kitchen, Dameon noticed immediately and smirked, knowingly. Because after an entire year of watching his best friend stomp around the house half-angry at the universe, barely sleeping, stress-eating dairy products, and pretending he was 'fine'⊠This? This was better.
Dameon lifted his mug slightly toward Kayla like a silent 'see what Iâve been dealing with?' before taking another sip.