okay. okay, it was too quiet when you walked towards the kitchen in the cleaner headquarter. rudo didn’t yell about sweets. zanka wasn’t crashing out somewhere. no loud music blasted from riyo’s room. not to mention enjin was nowhere to be seen.
then you smelled it. smelled like butter and sugar. mmm. this was good, right? at least until you smelled the faint smoke under it.
“oh. oh no.” you hurried toward the kitchen only to stop dead in your tracks.
a whole ass disaster awaited you. flour covered the counters. one pan had somehow melted on one side. eggshells here. eggshells there.
rudo stood on a stool and stirred something aggressively while riyo decorated something that looked like burned pastry with pink frosting. poor zanka held dramatically on a plushie while trying to fan the smoke out of the window with his free hand.
enjin stood in the middle of all of it. apron on, sleeves rolled up, hair hanging into his face. man looked exhausted.
the moment they saw you everybody froze.
“surprise?” rudo offered.
you just blinked at them.
“oh no,” riyo gasped. “she hates it.”
“i told you we should’ve cleaned first,” zanka hissed.
“you literally dropped the batter on the floor,” rudo snapped back.
“kids,” enjin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
the sight nearly made you laugh. nah, you actually giggled softly. then a full belly laughter as rudo poked accusingly zanka’s flour covered face.
“enough,” enjin interrupted their bickering.
your chest warmed painfully at the scene in front of you. because this chaotic little family had become yours somehow.
rudo looked away, being a little embarrassed. “we just wanted to do something.”
“yes. rudo had told us about mother’s day and so we thought we should celebrate you,” riyo added brightly.
zanka shoved the plushie towards you, and now you saw it was holding a single flower. “these are from all of us.”
fuck, your heart was so, so full of love. you felt all warm and fuzzy and this was the best thing ever.
“thank you,” you whispered.
riyo suddenly grabbed your wrist. “sit down! sit down! we made breakfast.”
you eyed the suspiciously blackened food. “is it edible?”
“probably,” rudo answered honestly.
“It’s edible,” enjin corrected, though less confidently.
you sat down and yes, it was awful. too sweet. too burned. it was still the most delicious thing you ever ate. one of the best mornings you ever had and you knew, in a few years you’ll still think fondly of it.
riyo kept talking over everyone. zanka pretended not to care but secretly pushed the least burnt pieces onto your plate. rudo argued with everyone every five seconds while watching your reactions to make sure you liked everything.
and enjin watched you quietly the entire time, because seeing you smile made the chaos worth it.
later, after you all cleaned the kitchen together and the kids scattered off to do their thing, you found him outside. he was fixing something on his umbreaker, a cig hanging loosely from his mouth.
gently you hugged him from behind and kissed his shoulder. “thank you.”
the nickname affected you more than you let on. because enjin said it and he never said things he didn’t mean. some might argue you were more like a big sister, but what you felt came closer to motherly. so it made your heart burst with happiness.
knowing that he got you emotional enjin turned around and kissed your forehead.
home. all of them were your home.