((Sorry for the delay, everything was fine until it wasn't x.x)),

Talia felt her cheek heat up as she blushed, nodding lightly to his words. She twirled some loose ends of her long hair around her fingers. She smiled shyly as she watched him, curious. Carefully, she picked up the bowl in her hands. "I hope so." She said calmly, smiling easily. "We can got me he bakery once you're all better." Talia giggled lightly.

As she went to leave, she glanced at him once more. "I'll being more soup later, and have dinner with you." She said, her cheeks warming some. "i-if you don't mind. " Talia flushed shyly.

(( It's alright. I've been away for quite a while as well ^^ ))

"I don't mind!" Kael shook his head and his hands to show how much he didn't mind her coming over. "It's just that ... well." He looked sheepishly at his tidy but unmistakably empty kitchen. "I haven't had the chance to shop for groceries which is why I went to get dumplings yesterday." That, and the thought of serving her instant noodles for dinner made him cringe. "But ... wouldn't you get sick if you spend too much time with me here?" He asked as he held the door open for her, eyes innocently wide with sincerity.

Talia blinked, then smiled some at the words. He didn't mind. She tilted her head curiously when he seemed nervous, and giggled. Talia shook her head and held up the bowl a little. "Don't worry about that, Kael." Did mermaids even get sick? She wondered to herself. As for the shortage of food, she's cool for them. "I'll come by tonight with more soup." She said with a smile Bowing her head lightly, since she couldn't wave with a bowl in her hands, she turned and headed back to her apartment.

Once she got inside, she washed the bowl and spoon, then made herself something to eat. After that she didn't know what to do.

Kael couldn't think of anything to do after that and spent the rest of the day in absent-minded wandering around his apartment. He felt much better after Talia's visit and he supposed it was due to the soup she made. "Nothing left in the fridge, huh?" He told himself after remembering how their conversation went. "Probably have to shop for groceries tomorrow. Maybe after dropping her off to her apartment. I wonder if the grocery will still be open by then?" He asked himself, not entirely aware of what he was saying.

"Never mind that. First stop will be the bakery! I wonder what time they open ..."

Talia had the dumbfounding realization that she made food, when she hadn't even noticed that there was groceries in the apartment. She curiously went looking in the fridge, and then the cabinets, mentally sighing to herself. She was crazy.. Her mother might've brought her some sometime while she slept, and that's why she hadn't noticed? She'd need to thank her mother.. For now, the girl wandered over to the couch and curled up to take a nap. There wasn't really anything else to do...

*~*~*~*

She woke around early evening, and sat up, a shy smile coming to her lips as she remembered her visit with Kael. She promised him more soup. Talia quickly went to get up, causing the room to suddenly spin, in which she squeezed her eyes shut and leaned latched onto the arm of the couch. Once the dizzy-spell wore off, she slowly opened her eyes cautiously made her way to the kitchen to prepare soup for both of them. She followed the same steps as the first time she made the soup, since he seemed to like it so much. While she cooked, she turned away to sneeze and blinked a couple of times. Shaking it off, she washed her hands and went back to cooking.

It took slightly longer than last time, since she was cooking for two now, and when the soup containers were made, she sighed quietly to herself. Something else she needed to thank her mother for- dishes. Talia carefully gathered the bowls and made her way out, skillfully opening and closing her door. Talia casually walked over to Kael's apartment and lightly tapped his door with her foot, stifling a second sneeze.

(hope you don't mind the time-skip ^^' )

(( It's alright ^^ ))

Kael woke up to the bright rays of the sun shining directly on his face as if to tell him that 'Yes, indeed. The sun does exist. Do not ignore its existence anymore.' He sat upon his bed and the lack of pain or discomfort caught him mildly off guard. He launched himself off of the bed and straight to the bathroom mirror and gazed at his well-rested reflection which was now grinning at him.

"Bakery, here we come!"

He dashed towards the closet, the kitchen, and the dining area with his newly restored strength, not exactly in that order. He was now dressed and he could hear the water boiling in the kitchen but with all that he'd done in these few minutes, he felt like he was missing something. It was the blurriness of everything that caught his attention once he calmed down.

"Not again ..." Kael grumbled as he turned the stove off. He'd lost his glasses numerous times in the past and it was extremely difficult to find them every single time. It was like his glasses had grown bored and decided to grow its own legs to play a frustrating game of hide and seek with its owner.

He was on all fours looking under the bed when he heard a distinct tapping against his front door. His eyes widened with anticipation, knowing that no one but Talia has reason to look for him during the summer break. Rushing towards the door, he opened it for her without looking to see who it really was. "Morning." He grinned at her as his fingers moved to fix his unkempt hair. "Come in!"

Talia felt bad that she fell asleep so early last night.. Now it was morning and she wasn't feeling so great, but she didn't let it show. She'd be fine, right? While she stood at his door, her cheeks warmed at the thought of spending time together with him. What if he was feeling better, and didn't want her soup? Shaking her head lightly, she smiled brightly when the door opened. "Morning!" Talia greeted.

She soon realized he wasn't wearing his glasses, and tilted her head some, fighting the urge to ask if he needed help finding them. Talia carefully raised the soup containers, as she entered his apartment and blushed lightly. "I made some more soup.. If you're hungry. . Maybe we could eat together this time?" She voiced shyly, averting her gaze slightly. She had two bowls this time after all.

(( So sorry for disappearing ))

"That- That would be great!" Kael beamed and moved to the side to let her in. He could smell the soup in her hands and already felt his stomach growling, asking for food. "I'll get some utensils." He dashed through the apartment with practiced ease, not needing the glasses he terribly needed to see clearly. He didn't need them to distinguish between a spoon and a fork anyway, and he kept the place tidy enough to know where everything was.

He soon returned to the dining table with a pair of utensils in hand and took a seat beside her. "I'm well enough to take you to the bakery today, thank goodness. If we get there early enough, we'll get to see them baking the first batches. The scent of freshly baked everything will be sure to get your tastebuds moving! We can get a-" He blinked as the events of the day prior rushed into his brain. "I hope you didn't catch anything from me yesterday. You're well enough, I hope?"

((Don't worry about it luv~ welcome back? ^^))

Talia casually walked inside the apartment, watching curiously as he mentioned getting the utensils, then went about doing just that. While he was away, she noticed his glasses and set the bowls down on the table. She w walked over to where she'd seen them and carefully picked them up, holding her hand behind her back as to surprise him, then went back to the table before he sat down. She sat down and smiled as he spoke about going to bakery today, then he asked if she was well. Talia nodded and gently slid his glasses on properly, smiling. "I'm fine, honestly. We'll go once we eat a proper meal, is that okay?" She spoke, tilting her head slightly.

She giggled lightly at his adorableness and carefully popped the lids off of their containers, before claiming one and bringing it closer to her and beginning to eat.

(( Didn't really leave since I still collected the coins. But you could say that, hahaha~ ))

Kael blinked when Talia slid his glasses over his eyes before his ears burned red and grabbed a bowl of soup to hide his embarrassment. "I- … yeah."


With the bowls and utensils cleaned and put away to dry, Kael rushed back towards his room to retrieve a jacket and his wallet. Returning to Talia with a smile, he led her out of the apartment and into the warm daylight. The air brought over the scent of the sea as birds flew overhead. One of his neighbors passed by on his bike and waved them a hello before disappearing around the corner. "So what kind of pastries have you not tried yet?"