Caspian and Asher stayed far longer than Lake expected but he didn’t mind it.
They had iced tea in a living room, the television put on for entertainment, some random action movie playing.
It also helped that Davian and Asher were knocked out cold after bringing their competitiveness to tea time.
Lake and Caspian got to experience firsthand how they ended up competing at the most ridiculous things.
And it was no surprise that Asher was the instigator, Davian came off as quiet and reasonable, but the Alpha was rather susceptible to taunts, or maybe Asher was just too good.
So they drank too much iced tea and were fast asleep on the sofas which had generous pillows, Asher’s hair in his face.
"It’s almost time for lunch," Lake spoke quietly, Davian’s head in his lap.
The Alpha had slept sitting up so he gently brought him to rest on his legs so he wasn’t uncomfortable.
"I noticed I didn’t see any cooks," Caspian matched his volume, reaching out to push his mate’s hair out of his eyes.
He hadn’t seen any house staff either but that wasn’t his place to say. "Does Davian cook all the food?"
"We order in most of the time, and he cooks when he can. But do you want to make lunch together with me? It’s just for the four of us."
Caspian practically glowed at that, shooting to his feet energetically.
Lake got up slower, carefully replacing his lap with a pillow under Davian’s head. It took some effort because the Alpha was dead asleep.
Caspian turned down the television before they left, and although the kitchen was pretty far from the living room where both Alphas were asleep, they still spoke in hushed tones.
Lake wore one of the aprons he had gotten for Davian, deciding with Caspian on what they would make for lunch.
Conversation flowed easily as they split tasks between themselves, their laughter soft like the glittering rays of sunlight that spilled into the kitchen.
"Do you remember asking me if I wanted a baby?" Caspian brought up in a lull in the conversation.
Lake straightened up at that, giving Caspian his full attention. "It’d be hard to forget," He said lightly to keep the atmosphere from getting tense.
Caspian wiped his hands on a towel, wringing the fabric. "Asher doesn’t want a baby."
"That’s not the question I asked," Lake said a little touchily.
That made Caspian smile a bit, "I know, but the context will make you understand better."
They were already rounding up on making lunch so there was some time to sit at the island and have this conversation.
"He doesn’t want to pass his genetic defect to the baby," Caspian explained while keeping it vague.
Lake had an aghast look on his face, he hadn’t been expecting their conversation to take that turn.
"I knew about it before I agreed to be with him," Caspian said in a rush, "So it’s a little confusing for me, I don’t want our child to go through that but I also want a baby, does that make sense?"
Lake listened intently, not interrupting until Caspian was done. It made him realize that Caspian hadn’t exactly been lying with his first response days ago.
"And I feel a little guilty for that want," Caspian fiddled with his hands now that he no longer held the towel.
"Both feelings are natural, both wanting a baby and feeling guilty about it because of the circumstances," Lake said gently. "You’ve still got so much time, you might be able to find a solution to the defect so don’t write it off yet."
"Thank you. It’s so easy to have tunnel vision about thi... oh no! The chicken!" He shot to his feet mid-sentence, darting to the oven.
Lake had completely forgotten that they were cooking although he was in an apron in the kitchen. He also hopped off his stool to check if the chicken was done.
"It’s almost burning!" Caspian panicked, reaching into the oven.
Lake almost tackled him to the ground to stop him, "Don’t take it out with your bare hands, oh my God..."
In a few minutes, they had the chicken out and were slumped breathless over the counter, laughing.
"I’m so sorry," Caspian gasped, tears spilling out of his eyes. "My body moved on its own."
They were still both wearing their mittens, sliding to the kitchen floor to catch their breaths.
"Thank you," Caspian said quietly when their laughter tapered off, and it was clear he wasn’t just talking about the chicken.
"My pleasure," Lake huffed out a breath, he didn’t know what Davian and Caspian liked so much about cooking, it was exhausting.
Caspian got to his feet first and offered a mitten-covered hand to him which sent them into another fit of giggles.
When Lake finally recovered enough to take Caspian’s hand, it caused another chain reaction of laughter because he was also wearing a mitten, which made it nearly impossible to get any grip.
The kitchen door opened then, their contagious laughter attracting both Alphas’ attention.
They had both shot up right from sleep and hurried to the kitchen so they were more than a little confused at the puddles of laughing Omegas on the ground.
Lunch was a more colorful affair, conversations flowing with ease after their much quieter breakfast when had Caspian borne the brunt of carrying most of the conversation.
Mid-way into lunch, Asher’s phone rang, and he glanced at it before excusing himself.
It was Jael so he picked right away, certain that the Beta’s blood pressure was currently 180/120.
"Nobody is dead," He said immediately after the call connected.
Jael heaved a sigh of relief, "So why aren’t you back yet? Is Mafia King Davian holding you hostage?"
"No, we’re having lunch," Asher said, looking over his shoulder at the counter where the others were still eating.
Jael choked, "You’re doing what?"
"We also had breakfast here, don’t worry," Asher added like that would help any. "We won’t be back till late, Caspian is going to a cooking school with Davian."
Asher hung up before he could hear Jael’s splutter of confusion, returning right back to lunch.