My blankets were soft and cozy, practically willing me to stay in bed and sleep for five more minutes, but sizzling sounds drifted from the kitchen like somebody was cooking. If Fiona was hungry, I should probably get up and make breakfast since she didn't have any culinary skills to make the food taste good.

I started to sit up, but Matcha chirped from under the blankets. I lifted them up so he could bounce outside, joining all the other slimes surrounding me. Dirt slimes, fire slimes, plain blue slimes I'd never seen before, it was like every slime in the area had gathered around me. And then there was Boss, the big ol' cookie slime watching over me. He nudged closer, pressing against my back.

Tears pricked my eyes as all their love surrounded me. "Thank you for taking care of me, but I'm all right now." Matcha tilted this way and that, as if unconvinced, so I patted his head and smiled. "Really. I feel great. You guys helped me sleep so well. I appreciate it."

I stretched my arms up high as the sound of metal clattering on the floor pulled my attention to the kitchen again.

"Dammit," a very male voice said, "how does she make it look so easy?"

That sounded a lot like Cole. In my kitchen. Cooking breakfast?

Now I had to get up and see what was going on. Flames shot up from the stove as something charcoaled in a pan. Spark and another fire slime danced in the chaos, making the flames even bigger like they were having the time of their lives. Cole's sleeves were rolled up and he had a big smear of flour on his face while a bowl of dry ingredients lay scattered all over the floor. He looked utterly out of his element.

"What's going on in here?" I asked softly, not wanting him to drop anything else.

"Hazel, you're awake already?" Cole winced as I took in the absolute disaster of a kitchen. "Umm, I wanted to make you breakfast, but it's my first time cooking. I'm sure you could tell that though."

Flour dusted his long black hair, which was pulled back in a ponytail that looked far too good on him. Honestly, the whole vibe of him cooking in my kitchen would have given me butterflies, if only it wasn't on fire.

I picked up Spark and set him on the stove. The little slime sighed, then devoured the flames like a good little fire slime. Cole obviously didn't know how to control the chaos a fire slime could bring when they were having fun, but it was an acquired skill. He'd learn if he was here more often.

Wait, did I want him here more often?

I shook my head, rolling up my sleeves with a smile. "Why don't you let me make breakfast? I promise it'll taste delicious."

"You're supposed to be resting." Cole frowned at the burnt lump of something on the stove. "Just let me try again. It'll be better next time. Unless you don't want me to?"

His sad tone tugged at my heart. If he wanted to help that badly, I couldn't really refuse. He had been nice enough to stop by and check on me, even staying to make breakfast too.

"No, no, please keep cooking. I can rest while I teach you how to make..." I paused, trying to figure out what he'd been trying to cook. There were blueberries and lots of flour, cornstarch, potatoes, an entire cup of salt, and no sugar. "Sorry, what are you trying to make?"

"Muffins," he mumbled, glancing awkwardly at the ingredients he'd laid out. "Is this not right?"

"Well, you need more sugar than salt for one," I said, trying not to laugh, "and you definitely don't need potatoes. Unless you're making potato pancakes or something savory."

"I thought potatoes made things sweet though?" he asked.

"Only if you're using sweet potatoes. But that's a whole different thing." I chuckled to myself a bit over that, thinking of the system. "Let's clean up and give these muffins another try."

He gave me a sweet little half smile as he grabbed me a chair and a blanket from the dining area so I could get cozy while he cleaned up the entire kitchen by himself without me lifting a finger. It felt kind of nice sitting back while somebody else did the work, even if he was the one who'd made the mess. Vague half-asleep memories tugged at my mind of him holding my hand and brushing my hair out of my eyes. The butterflies from earlier came back with a vengeance.

"What next?" Cole asked, turning to me. His expression was so eager and full of excitement, like cooking for me was the thrill of his day.

I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly feeling dry. "Um, take the stems off the blueberries and wash them. Once they're dry, you can coat them in flour. It'll prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins."

He nodded, picking each stem off the blueberries with care and precision before washing them. Then he turned to me again, awaiting instructions. Muffins were actually kind of difficult for a first-time baker who didn't have a recipe, so I wished he'd started with something easier. Like eggs.

"Why don't I measure everything out for you?" I got up to help him, but he just shook his head.

"You just focus on relaxing." His voice fell to a whisper. "And let me take care of you for a while, okay? You have no idea how terrifying it was seeing you collapse."

His gaze held mine, dark eyes full of an intense emotion I'd never seen before, but it had my entire body feeling strange. Like I was waiting for something, but I wasn't sure what.

Honestly, what had gotten into Cole all of the sudden? It was like he was an entirely different person from the silly guy who got headbutted by a goat. He felt so sure of himself now and in control, like he knew what he wanted and nothing was going to get in his way. I hated to admit it, but it was kind of....attractive.

I sat back down, feeling a bit uncertain. I was here to level up, not find romance, but he was just being so kind that I couldn't help but let him stay. I had been working hard lately, so maybe I really should take a break. What's the worst that could happen?

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"Okay, I'll just sit here and watch you work then." I pulled out my cookbook, opening to a new blank page. "Do you have something to write with though? This might be easier if you had a recipe to follow."

Mine usually just filled in with magic as I baked, but I hadn't made muffins in the dungeon before. I felt like I knew how though, so if I could just write it down, I knew he could figure it out. Cole flipped through his menus, pulling a black pen out of his inventory. It had smokey tendrils swirling around it and an amber stone at the top.

"Try this." His fingers brushed against my skin as he handed me the pen. He smiled and dipped his head shyly. "In some stories, pens can fly and take notes for you on their own, but this one is just a normal pen unfortunately."

"Just a normal pen?" I laughed. "That's like saying a souffle is just a cake. This pen is beautiful!"

Cole smiled as he started flouring the blueberries. I set the pen’s tip against my cookbook and started writing a muffin recipe down. The ink swept across the page so smoothly that I almost believed it was a magical pen after all, with dark ink that shimmered in the light. Cole finished the blueberries far sooner than I finished the recipe, but he just waited and quietly played with the slimes. It was a comfortable kind of quiet, like we'd known each other for a long time.

When I was done adding notes for everything I thought he might need, I handed the cookbook over to him. "Let me know if you have any questions."

His gaze moved back and forth, reading everything I'd written, flipping the page to the notes section. "I think I'm good to give this a try. Thanks."

"You're welcome." I leaned over to the pan of burnt potatoes he'd set to the side to cool. There were a few bits that weren't charcoaled, so I snagged a bite. It was absolutely tasteless, just like I'd expected, but I smiled anyway. "It's not as terrible as I thought it would be."

He grinned. "Gee, thanks."

"I meant that you can't expect anything to taste good without a culinary skill." I shook my head, laughing. "It was supposed to be a compliment."

"You should work on those." He tilted his head, measuring out the flour. "And how do you know I don't have a culinary skill?"

I toyed with my braid, which had gotten pretty messy from sleeping with it in, giving myself time to think of a polite answer besides his food was awful. Based on everyone's reactions so far, it felt like I was the only one in the dungeon with this culinary mage class, so he couldn't possibly have any skills like that. Right? But once I finished rebraiding my hair, I had nothing left to be distracted by.

"Well, I mean, your food tasted like all the other food in the dungeon," I said softly. "Without a flavor boost skill, it's just kind of...bland? Sorry, I don't mean to be rude. The dungeon just doesn't have good food."

"Hmmmm, that is a good point." He scooped flour into a bowl before adding in the other dry ingredients, then stirred everything together, mixing and mixing and mixing until I held out my hand.

"You're overmixing it!"

He froze. "Sorry. I got lost in thought a bit."

Cole pulled the cookbook over again, checking the next steps, before cracking eggs into the bowl along with the other wet ingredients. Then he added the blueberries last, carefully mixing them in so they didn't get mushy like my note said. He really was trying hard, so no matter how it tasted, I'd love it. Nobody had ever spent this much time baking for me before. Maybe we could bake together next time and make something extra tasty.

I handed him one of the muffin pans Fiona had made for me so he could butter and flour it, filling each cup up with batter. I wrapped the blanket around my shoulders again, curling into its warmth as Spark climbed the stairs into the oven with another fire slime. Their grins lit up the oven, shining brighter than ever before.

"Careful not to overheat it, Spark," I called out as the slimes started doing that fire dance they'd been doing when I first walked in. Spark sighed, lowering the flames a bit. "Thank you."

They giggled as Cole carried the muffin pan to the oven. He paused, turning back to me. "Why don't you put them in? Maybe your skills will take effect then."

"I don't think that's how it works," I said, but got up anyway. "We could try though."

Flavor Boost said my cooking would have flavor as long as I had mana, but how much of the cooking did I actually have to do to trigger that? Just putting something in the oven really didn't feel like enough, but I'd give it a try for Cole. I slid the pan in, letting Spark pull it into position. The slime nodded, smiling like he would bake them to perfection for me.

"Now what?" Cole asked. "We just...wait?"

"Pretty much." I went back to my chair, sighing as I sat down. "I kind of like this taking a break thing, by the way. I should make it a daily quest. The quest for relaxation."

He laughed. "Careful, the system might add that for you if it overhears you."

"Ohhh, that would be cool." I leaned forward. "What do you think, Sweet Potato? Want to reward me for being a bit lazy every day?"

"I think it's more taking care of yourself than being lazy, but sure," Cole said. His eyes widened. "I mean, sure, I think the system should do that for you. For everyone actually. Leveling is good, but overworking yourself to the point of passing out isn't helping anyone, you know? Taking a break is a fine idea. Wonderful even. Maybe you should get a random item daily for it. Or XP."

I smiled, leaning back in my chair. "Too bad you're not the system, because that sounds like a great idea."

[Calculating...]

[Breaks do not increase your level so they serve no purpose]

[Quest denied]

"Well that was harsh," I said with a frown. "Why are you so sweet sometimes and so sour the rest of the time?"

[Because I am an auto–]

Cole walked right through the system message, obscuring it entirely. "Did it say no? I'm sorry. Maybe I can reward you instead?"

"Ummm, yeah, sure." I leaned to the side, trying to see what the message said, but it was already fading. Spark was swaying happily in the oven though with his fire slime friend as the batter started rising. "The muffins are enough of a reward."

Cole let out a breath, leaning against the wall as Fiona poked her head into the kitchen.

"Something smells good in here," she said. "What are you making this time?"

She was looking at me as if I'd made it, but I just shook my head. "The muffins are all Cole, he did the work while I just sat here resting. He insisted."

Fiona's lips curled into a grin. "Ohh, maybe he's not so bad after all then."

"Once again, gee, thanks." Cole shook his head. "These compliments the two of you give are a little underwhelming."

We laughed and he joined in too. Having all three of us here, all cozy and warm in the kitchen while the scent of blueberry muffins filled the air was really nice. This was how every day should start. We continued chatting while the muffins puffed up, creating beautiful muffin tops, until they were finally ready to take out of the oven.

Cole grabbed a towel and removed the pan from the oven, placing it on the makeshift counter to cool. Then we dug in. The streusel on top was buttery and crumbly, a perfect texture against the soft muffin and bright pops of fresh blueberries. The flavors practically exploded in my mouth, so delicious I couldn't ask for anything better.

"They're amazing," I said after devouring my first muffin.

Fiona frowned. "Didn't you say Cole made them?"

"She put them in the oven though," Cole said quickly. "So her skills would activate."

I nodded, grabbing a second muffin. "I honestly didn't think it would work that easily, but man are these delicious. Thank you for making them, Cole."

He smiled, bringing the tray into the dining area so we could all sit down properly. He even filled three glasses of water and made sure my blanket was fully covering my shoulders. He was a lot more thoughtful than I'd realized before, taking care of everything before I could even ask for it.

A girl could get used to this…