Getting to know you

For perhaps the first time in what felt like forever—

Joey had absolutely nothing to do.

No artifact inventory.

No training.

No vampire hunters.

No lizard men.

No cursed swords screaming battle cries.

Just...

a day off.

He intended to enjoy every minute of it.

---

The kitchen at Blackthorn Manor smelled of garlic, butter, and something Taylor insisted was "just enough rosemary."

Joey wasn't convinced.

"I think you've added rosemary to everything."

"It goes with everything."

"It absolutely does not."

"It absolutely does."

Joey pointed the wooden spoon at her.

"You put it in mashed potatoes."

Taylor looked completely unashamed.

"They were excellent mashed potatoes."

"They were... actually really good."

"I know."

"You seem awfully smug."

"I've earned it."

She bumped his shoulder playfully as she passed him carrying vegetables toward the stove.

The movement was so casual now.

So comfortable.

A month ago Joey would have frozen if Taylor had brushed against him.

Now he simply smiled.

Somewhere along the way...

being around her had become easy.

---

"You know," Joey said while chopping onions, "I never pictured my life ending up like this."

Taylor looked over.

"Cooking dinner?"

"Cooking dinner with a six-hundred-year-old bird goddess."

Taylor laughed.

"When you say it like that it sounds ridiculous."

"It *is* ridiculous."

"...Fair."

---

Taylor moved beside him to stir the sauce.

She leaned against him without thinking.

Joey didn't move away.

Didn't tense.

Didn't blush nearly as much as he used to.

Progress.

"You've changed," Taylor said quietly.

Joey looked over.

"In a good way?"

She nodded.

"You still get awkward."

"I absolutely do."

"But now..." she smiled softly.

"...you don't run from it anymore."

Joey considered that.

"...Huh."

She wasn't wrong.

---

Right then—

the kitchen door opened.

Cassandra walked in carrying a wine glass.

She stopped.

Looked at the two of them.

Looked at the cutting board.

Looked at the simmering pasta sauce.

Looked back at Joey and Taylor standing shoulder to shoulder.

Then smiled far too knowingly.

"...Well."

Joey immediately recognized that tone.

"Oh no."

"I leave for one hour..."

Cassandra gestured dramatically around the kitchen.

"...and you've become domesticated."

Taylor immediately hid her face.

"We're making dinner."

"I noticed."

"It seemed like a nice idea."

"It is a nice idea."

Cassandra took another sip of wine.

"I simply wasn't expecting to find the future king of birds arguing about seasoning."

Taylor groaned.

"Cassandra..."

"What?"

"You know exactly what."

"I do."

Cassandra wandered over to inspect the food.

She stole a piece of roasted potato directly from the pan.

Joey watched.

"...Did you seriously just steal food?"

"I was quality testing."

"You burned your tongue."

"I did."

"Worth it?"

"...Yes."

Taylor couldn't stop smiling.

Watching the two of them bicker was strangely comforting.

Comforting enough...

that she found herself speaking before she'd really thought about it.

"I never had this."

The room became quiet.

Joey looked toward her.

"What do you mean?"

Taylor stared into the bubbling sauce.

"A normal evening."

She smiled sadly.

"My lives have always been..."

She searched for the word.

"...temporary."

"I've spent six centuries moving."

Her voice had grown quieter.

"When people started asking questions...

when I stopped aging...

when someone noticed birds behaving strangely around me..."

She shrugged.

"I left."

Joey stopped cooking entirely.

"I've had dozens of names."

"Hundreds of homes."

"Friends."

"Families."

"They always ended."

She swallowed.

"I learned not to stay."

Cassandra leaned silently against the counter.

She understood that kind of loneliness.

Perhaps better than anyone.

Taylor continued.

"My people don't have kingdoms anymore."

"We don't have cities."

"There are so few Avalorians left..."

She laughed softly.

"...that sometimes I wonder if I'm protecting a civilization..."

"...or simply remembering one."

Joey quietly reached over and took her hand.

He didn't interrupt.

Didn't offer advice.

Just...

held it.

Taylor squeezed back.

After a moment she smiled.

"You remember the zoo?"

Joey nodded.

"You said all the birds liked me."

"They did."

"They always do."

Taylor laughed.

"I don't actually control them."

"You don't?"

"No."

"I simply..."

She searched for the right words.

"...exist."

"As queen, birds recognize me."

"They always have."

"Swans."

"Owls."

"Eagles."

"Hawks."

"Even penguins."

Joey blinked.

"...Penguins?"

"They're very polite."

"I had... never considered penguin etiquette before."

"They bow."

"They WHAT?"

Taylor nodded seriously.

"They're adorable."

She leaned back against the counter.

"My emotions affect them."

"If I'm frightened..."

"They become agitated."

"If I'm sad..."

"Songbirds stop singing."

"If I'm happy..."

She smiled toward the open kitchen window.

Outside...

a cardinal landed on the sill.

Then another.

Then a blue jay.

Within moments nearly a dozen birds had gathered outside the window.

Not making noise.

Simply watching.

Joey slowly looked from them...

back to Taylor.

"...You're kidding."

She shook her head.

"No."

A tiny chickadee fluttered closer.

Then chirped once.

Taylor smiled.

"I think he likes your cooking."

Joey looked absurdly pleased.

"I've been complimented by royalty."

"The chickadee?"

"The chickadee."

Cassandra laughed softly.

"I hate to interrupt this charming Disney moment..."

She nodded toward the stove.

"...but your sauce is burning."

Joey spun around.

"Oh, come on!"

Taylor burst into laughter.

Even Cassandra couldn't keep a straight face anymore.

Dinner was eaten on the back terrace as the sun began to set.

Birds perched in nearby trees.

The evening breeze carried the scent of pine.

No alarms sounded.

No monsters appeared.

No battles interrupted them.

Just conversation.

Laughter.

And the comforting realization that, despite everything waiting for them beyond Blackthorn Manor's walls...

they had found something worth protecting.

For Taylor...

it wasn't the meal.

Or the jokes.

Or even the quiet.

It was the feeling she'd almost forgotten existed.

Home.