X-COM: Friendship Unknown

The snow had passed. The bomb cyclone had ended. The light of the sun slowly started to shine through the window. Command was wrapped up in the snake’s coils. Not too tight, just tight enough for the bed’s occupants to be comfortable.

“What time is it?” the male grunted, trying to shift to see the alarm clock and failing to move very much. That was what happened when you had a Viper coiled around you.

Zossi yawned and grumbled, slowly uncoiling from around her human. “It’s… nine.” The snake finished uncoiling and rolled off the bed with a thump, leaving most of her lower half on the bed. “Time to get up.”

“Yeah, I’ll shower and then go make breakfast,” Command agreed, shifting out from under Zossi’s coils. He began heading towards the bathroom, stripping off his shirt as he went and leaving it on the ground. Which was immediately picked up by Zossi and hugged to her chest.

The snake hummed as she held the shirt. There was a knock at the door. Zossi slithered over to open it. It was Wallflower. Because of course it was.

“Heard a noise?” Zossi asked.

“Yep. Just checking on you.” Wallflower nodded. “I kinda feel like the house mom.”

“You are.” Zossi giggled. “It was me, like it normally is.”

“You have that snake weight.” Wallflower giggled too.

“Are you calling me fat?” Zossi tilted her head to the side.

“What?” Wallflower blinked, then blushed. “No! No, no no no…” She waved her hands in front of her while shaking her head. “I was just-”

“It’s okay. It was a joke.” The snake giggled again. “Don’t worry.”

“Right...” Wallflower chuckled uncomfortably. “Well, I’ll leave you to… ummm… get dressed.” She coughed awkwardly then walked away.

It was then Zossi finally noticed that she was barely covering her venom sacks with Command’s shirt. “Oops.”

The human eventually emerged from the bathroom and put on a fresh set of clothes, plucked from his dresser and hurriedly pulled into place. “Okay, Zossi, time for breakfast,” he noted aloud. “You can get clean while I go cook.”

“Thanks.” Zossi nodded and slithered into the bathroom. Command headed to the communal kitchen and began pulling together the stuff for pancakes and bacon, something everyone could eat. Even if the Viper did take hers as mostly bacon.

The man’s breakfast creation was cut off by a knock at the door.

“Good thing I haven’t turned the stove on yet,” he mused. “Coming!” He took a few steps to the door and opened it, still wearing his apron. Which was, funnily enough, styled to look like a Viper’s normal colors, with the text ‘Squeeze the cook’ on it.

In the doorway was a woman in a black suit. She had yellow skin, teal eyes, and a virtual mane of hair that seems to be split between streaks of deep read and gold. She had a black bag over one shoulder. The only decoration on it was a small keychain that had a small sun on it, split down the middle between yellow and red. The woman smiled as the door opened fully. “Hello, Mister Line I presume?”

“Yes,” Command nodded. “Look, if this is going to take a while, then please, come in. I was just about to make breakfast, if you’re hungry.”

“Oh, thank you, you’re too kind.” The woman stepped in after Command stepped aside for her. “I’m Sunset Shimmer with the Extraterrestrial Imigration and Investigation Bureau. You can just call it E.I.B. for short. We got ahold of that email you sent out about the conditions in your little apartment complex here.” She moved over to the small table next to the “kitchen” and sat at one of the two chairs. Then she pulled a tablet out of her bag. “Don’t worry, you’re not in any kind of trouble, the opposite in fact.”

“I’d rather hoped that was the case,” Command idly noted, getting out another few eggs to make more mix up. “I’ve been working to get rid of the scumbag for months now.” He began mixing up the pancake batter, tossing in a few secret flavors to make them irresistible when they were cooked.

“Yes, apparently he owns a few properties and does the same there. There’s going to be a few changes, nothing too drastic, just a few quality of life improvements.” Sunset stated, tapping at her tablet. “Also, we may use this site as a testing site as it were. See how another extraterrestrial or two adjusts to life here. Don’t worry, we wouldn’t shove them in here. I’m going to talk to the other residents.”

“Sounds good to me, sometimes I think Zossi could use a few friends that understand her when she makes an obscure reference.” Command was manning two frying pans at this point. In one, he was making the pancakes, and in the other, he was cooking the bacon. “Speaking of, I’m surprised she’s taking this long in the shower. Then again, Viper. I’m just glad our water bill is a flat rate each month.”

“Your rent and living cost payments are going to go down by the way. You are, essentially, doing a service.” Sunset nodded as the bathroom door opened.

Zossi came in, her torso wrapped in a towel. She saw Sunset and blinked, freezing in place though the tip of her tail did flick back and forth rapidly.

“Hello Miss-” Sunset made a few hissing sounds. “Don’t worry, I’m not here about anything bad happening involving you. Mainly your former landlord.”

Zossi relaxed. “Oh good.” The serpent slithered over to the dresser, pulled out a shirt and slithered back into the bathroom, only to shut the door again. Moments later she returned, dressed.

“How have you liked it here Zossi, I can call you Zossi, right?” Sunset asked, looking at the snake as she coiled her lower half around to make a seat for herself.

“Yes, you may.” Zossi nodded. “Things are good, Commander is wonderful.” She smiled.

“And have you been able to find a job yet?” Sunset asked with a smile.

“No.” Zossi shook her head. “Not yet. Commander did veto one I found. Though I don’t know why dancing around a pole-”

“No!” Command snapped.

“Ah, I can understand that.” Sunset chuckled softly. “I take it that you’re happy here, regardless?”

“I am.” Zossi nodded.

“Good.” Sunset put her tablet away and stood up. “Well, I think everything’s in order here. I’ll leave you two to your breakfast.” She walked towards the door. “We’ll be in touch.” She nodded at Command and left.

“Didn’t even stay for her portion,” Command noted out loud. “Zossi, love, you want to start then? I’ll just spread the rest around to the others, assuming they want some.” He slid a plate with pancakes and bacon piled on it towards the Viper.

The Viper gave a happy gasp and started chowing down.

“Yes yes, a fed snake is a happy snake,” Command chuckled. “Get you a nice heater after this and you’ll be good all day.”

“Mmmmhmmm.” She nodded through shoving food down her gullet.

“And I thought I ate fast,” the human noted. “Ah well. Just means you can be the delivery snake to the rest of the apartment.” He flipped another set of pancakes and turned the bacon in his pans. “Wallflower first, once this is done.”

The snake nodded, finishing her portion. A few minutes later, another plate of breakfast was ready to be delivered to the other residents of the apartment. This process was repeated for Floor, as well as the Dazzlings. Neither of which actually showed any appreciation for the delivered breakfast, even if they did take it. Eventually it was just Command Line eating his own breakfast at his own table, with Zossi coiled up nearby.

“Ah well,” he noted from her report about the others. “What can you do, can’t force someone to be grateful.” He nibbled a bit on a strip of bacon. “Still, the fact that they took the food is a good sign, I suppose.”

“You’re a good chef.” Zossi yawned as she curled up in front of the heater as it was set on low.

“I try,” Command noted. “And you’re adorable when you’re sleepy.” He chewed his way through his own food, musing to himself about the balance of the flavorings.

“Flatterer.” She mumbled, nodding off slowly.

“Well, with a snake sleeping in the corner of the room, guess I can get some work done,” Command noted. “First the dishes, then I can see about any new work offers on my computer.”

That was the one bad part of putting your roommate to sleep with a good meal. You had to do all the cleanup.

Twenty minutes later, the dishes were cleaned, put away, and Command was sitting in front of his computer again. “Hmm,” he mused to himself. “A few good offers. Let’s see...ah. That has potential. I might actually enjoy playing that one too. So...shoot off a quick message and wait for a reply.” He cracked his neck and fingers before typing out his acceptance. A few minutes later, and his message was in the ether to the developer. “And now, to relax while I wait for their reply.” The human checked over his shoulder to take in the status of his roommate Viper.

There was a set of tiered coils, atop which was a snoozing serpent with her head on her arms.

“Snek status, asleep and adorable,” Command noted, taking his phone out and taking a picture. “That’s going online,” he said to nobody in particular, posting the image to a social media account he’d started that only posted cute Viper pictures, mostly taken of Zossi when she was unaware of it. “Now...let’s play some normal games.” He booted up one of his old favorites and started in on it.

What was becoming a regular thing now, there was a knock at the door. Zossi was still snoozing so Command got up to see who was bothering them now. It was… Floor Bored?

“Hey, did some suit lady come by earlier?” The young woman with bags under her eyes asked. She was in black sweats and a blue hoodie, with the hood up despite how warm it was today.

“Yeah, she wanted to check in with Zossi, make sure she was happy despite our d-bag landlord,” Command replied, shrugging a little. “Also, he might be getting replaced or something. So, bonus there.”

“Awesome, he’s been refusing to fix my shower… and my toilet’s out now too, so can I use yours?” The woman asked. “It’s hard to clean your apartment when you can’t clean yourself, ya know?”

“Yeah, sure, just be careful not to trip over the snek,” Command stood to one side to let her pass into his apartment. “She’s sleeping right now and it’s adorable.”

“Thanks.” She leaned around and peeked at the snek. She smiled at him, looking quite tired. “That is adorable. Mind if I use your shower too?”

“Just don’t fall asleep in there and sure thing,” Command agreed. “I’m mostly trying to stay on top of what’s going on with the landlord at the moment, it’s no skin off my nose how long you stay. Just try not to drown yourself.”

“Thanks again, be right back.” And the young woman retreated down the stairs from whence she came. Only to come back a few minutes later with a fresh set of clothes. “Might need to do laundry today.” Floor mused as she stepped over Zossi’s tail in order to get to the bathroom. “I’ll try not to use up your soap.”

“Eh, I need to go shopping anyways,” Command noted. “I’ll make a trip out of it when Zossi’s awake. She might panic if I’m not here when she wakes up.”

“Probably a good idea.” Floor nodded then shut the door. Command shrugged again, then headed back to his desk. Hmm. No news about what was going on with the landlord yet…

There was a yawn as Zossi slowly uncoiled and stretched. “Did I hear someone?” She asked, blinked at her human.

“Yeah, Floor Bored is using our functional bathroom, apparently hers never got fixed,” Command called over his shoulder. “Have a good nap?”

“Oh the poor thing.” She gasped then nodded. “I did. Any news yet?”

“Not yet, but the top of the hour is about to come around, and new stories are typically done th-” Command pointed out.

There was a ping from his email. Which he checked. From a Sunny.

Your landlord isn’t going to be anybody’s problem anymore. He was discriminating against extraterrestrials in every one of his properties. We’ll be sending somebody over tomorrow to get a good look at every apartment. We’ll probably be installing somebody for each place too, so no worries about having somebody be too busy. I hope this is a bit of a fresh start. Have a great day.

“Ah, well, that’s that problem sorted,” Command smiled, turning to Zossi. “The old landlord is out, and we’ll be getting a more personal landlord by tomorrow to help fix things up. Floor will probably get her bathroom fixed first thing.” He mused to himself the next bit. “Maybe we should organize a building-wide effort to get the problems listed beforehand, make the inspector’s job easier…”

“That’s not a bad idea.” Zossi nodded. “Though I don’t know about our other friends downstairs. They’re always so cranky. Mmmm, maybe Wallflower should move to one of the second floor apartments? Everybody’s downstairs. We’re kinda lonely up here.”

“Well I mean, we have each other,” Command pointed out with a smirk. “But I wouldn’t say no to some other people moving up here as well.” He hummed in thought. “Question is, who…well, besides Wallflower. You’ve made your appreciation of her known.”

Zossi just shrugged. “Maybe we’ll get some new roommates.”

“Guess we’ll find out tomorrow,” Command replied. “For now, what does my pretty snek want to do?”

“Did I hear something about shopping, or was I dreaming?” The snek slithered over to the fridge, took a look inside, and hummed. “Yeah, we might need to restock.”

“Make a list, I’ll type it up and go get the things,” Command noted. “Oh, look at that. My bank account is looking remarkably healthy thanks to someone putting all the extra money our landlord was taking back in it.”

“They work fast.” Zossi slithered over to the desks and started scribbling at a spare sheet of paper.

“I guess when there’s wrongs to right, they don’t wait around,” Command agreed. “Okay, and...huzzah, the store is open today. And they say they’ve restocked recently too, so I should be able to get everything.” He glanced over at Zossi. “Once you’ve got a list ready for me, anyways.”

“Not a lot. Dish soap, some lunch stuff, meat, snacky stuff.” She passed over the list. “Oh, and shower essentials.”

“Can do,” Command entered those few things into a tablet. “Any preferences on the meat? I know you’re particular, even if sometimes you eat a whole roast in one bite.” The playful ribbing was accompanied by the human wiggling his eyebrows at Zossi.

“Ham. Ham sounds good. Maybe ham slices so I don’t end up eating the whole thing in one sitting.” The Viper giggled softly.

“...You do know they do this thing called luncheon meat, right?” Command posed. “You can make a sandwich with things like ham slices and have it as a nice mid-day meal.”

“Isn’t that what I suggested?” Zossi blinked.

“Just making sure, silly snek. Okay, ham for lunch…” The human hummed. “Oh, I know what I can do for dinner one of these days. Might need to get two. I have a good roast recipe that’s floating around somewhere around here, just need to find it and blow your mind with how good it tastes.”

“You’ve got my attention.” Zossi perked up a bit.

“Heh, well, you’ll have to wait until I check their spice aisle,” Command teased. “I need to season the meat, but it won’t take much.” He turned the tablet off and put it in a small carrying bag, before getting up from the desk and walking over to the Viper. “Hugs before I go shopping?” he asked.

The viper leaned over and wrapped her arms around him, briefly resting her chin on his shoulder. “Mmmm... hugs.”

Command squeezed back, and used this opportunity to kiss the Viper’s cheek. “Mm. Love you too. I’ll be back in an hour or so,” he promised.

“Sounds good.” Zossi nodded. “Good luck, try not to get confused for an employee.”

“Pfft, like that’ll happen,” Command rolled his eyes. “Okay,” he gently disentangled himself from her hold and stroked along Zossi’s hood for a moment in a show of affection. “Back soon.” He managed to tear himself away from looking at the Viper and headed out to buy the things they would need.

As he left the bathroom door opened and Floor stepped out with slightly damp hair and holding a balled up bundle of dirty laundry. “Hey.”

Zossi blinked at her. “Hey.”

“Thanks for letting me use the bathroom.” The young woman said as she crossed the room to the front door.

“Of course. Somebody should be coming tomorrow to look at the state of things.” Zossi made sure to explain in case she didn’t know.

“That’s good.” Floor nodded. “Ummm, thanks again.” Like that, Floor Bored left.

Now the Viper needed to figure out what to do with her time.

The human male hummed to himself as he pushed a cart through the aisles of the grocery store. True to their word, the store was stocked with most of the things he’d need to resupply his fridge. Now he was after a few roasts for dinner later on down the line. He’d already found the spices he would need. Barely, somebody else had left only one container of garlic powder on the shelf. He’d snagged the last one and went on his way. Now all he needed was a prime cut of…

Aha. Tri-tip. Perfect. He wouldn’t even be offended if Zossi wolfed an entire one down when he was done seasoning it, it was the whole reason he was buying multiples.

“Excuse me, are you trying to cook for your Viper?” A feminine voice asked. Command turned to see another viper, a white one with pink eyes, wearing a black sweater and skirt.

“Ah, yeah, that was my plan,” Command noted. “I’ve got an old recipe for a roast that I think she’ll like.”

“Ah, I thought so. I could smell her on you.” The viper giggled. “Careful she doesn’t choke on too much meat. I don’t want to ruin your plans, but want a few tips?”

“Well, I don’t need many tips on how to cook it or prepare it, but I’ll listen to what you have to say on the interactions between Vipers and roasts,” Command quipped. “Something tells me you have a unique perspective that would be foolish to discard.” Even as he spoke, he was pulling a few roasts off the shelf and putting them carefully in his cart.

“Well, just be careful with how many spices you use. Some don’t agree with viper digestive systems.” She cautioned. “Also, the rarer the better. Though that might not work well for a human, come to think of it.”

“Huh.” Command blinked. “Okay. So something like a simple salt, pepper, garlic powder roast would be good for me, but what would you recommend for her?” This was an aspect he’d never thought he’d have to take instruction in, but he wouldn’t turn down any help once proffered. Even as he spoke, the human turned his cart back to the spice aisle so that he could pick up something specifically for Zossi.

“Actually that sounds perfect. Just take hers off before yours. We vipers like some blood in our meat.” The viper said with a nod.

“Ah, so like my dad then,” Command quipped. “He always liked his meat to bleed a little when he cut into it. Still, I’m glad my plans won’t have to get more complex at least.”

“Very good, happy to be of help. As little as I gave.” She replied with a nod. “I hope this makes your viper very happy.”

“...She’s not my viper,” Command noted. “We live together, we’re equals.”

“Mmmm. Cute.” The viper smiled with a little hiss, then simply slithered away.

...What a weird encounter. Ah well. He had groceries to pay for.

Command had put his encounter at the store out of his mind by the time he arrived home, carrying a fair few bags of stuff for his apartment. “At least I’m getting my weight training in,” he muttered as he climbed the stairs. Not long until he could put it all down and get it where it belonged.

The moment he was inside Zossi’s eyes locked onto him. Her eyes widened and she let out a hiss.

“Hey love,” Command sighed, walking over to the fridge and putting the bags down, starting to put away the meat. Both the roasts and the sliced ham and such for sandwiches. “Got a plan for dinner later, I got lucky with the spice aisle.”

“There was another viper.” She hissed. “I smell her on you.”

“She offered me some advice, made sure my planned meal wasn’t going to make you sick,” Command noted out loud. “One day we have to go over the list of things you can’t eat before I try to prepare something too fancy for you.”

She slithered over and draped herself over him. “I have to get her scent off.”

“She barely touched me, you’re being over-protective,” Command noted. Still, he didn’t try to get her off of him. The things that would spoil were already away, the only things left lying around were the soaps, and those could wait a minute. Or however long this would take.

“I’m just making sure that everyone knows you’re taken.” Zossi replied with a hum.

“Sure you are,” Command noted out loud. Eventually he turned and caught the Viper in a hug, bringing her torso close to his. “Hey love,” he whispered.

“Commander.” She whispered back.

“So, I might’ve looked something up while you were napping,” Command noted out loud, still holding the Viper around what would be a normal person’s waist.

“And what’s that?” She asked.

Command glanced down before looking back up at her face. “The whole ‘clothing optional’ thing you sometimes do? Yeah, that’s not a cultural thing. I checked.”

Her cheeks flushed. “Oh…. Ummm… certain nests do it?”

“Mhm. Certain nests with only one male to go around.” Command noted. “They also noted that it only tends to happen when the Viper is receptive to, ahem, certain activities.”

She flushed even further. “Right…”

“So I guess I should ask,” Command said, still not letting go of the Viper. “Zossi, just how tightly did you want to coil around me?”

“Very.” She replied.

“And the fact that another Viper got even close to me is making you competitive, isn’t it?” Command noted. “Even if I tell you she was wearing clothes, unlike you.”

“I-I can get defensive if I want to.” She sputtered a little.

“Mhm. And the reason you never brought this up to me was…” the human trailed off. “You know, they’re working on making a serum to make humans compatible with Vipers? It’s to aid in the whole rebuilding a female only race thing we promised we’d do.”

“Right.” She nodded. “Maybe… ummm… we could wait, so…” She stumbled over her words.

“Hey, it’s not like I was going to sign up to be the first one in line to test this thing!” Command chuckled, stroking along Zossi’s back comfortingly. “But maybe we could...practice, if you wanted to that badly.”

“Not now, a bit too embarrassed to be honest.” She shook her head.

“Well obviously not, it’s still the middle of the day,” Command agreed. “But maybe later on.” He hugged the viper a little closer and sighed. “You know, if I didn’t know those were venom sacs, that would be very awkward,” he admitted.

She pulled away. “Fine! I’ll put a shirt on! You’ve made your point!” She threw her arms in the air as she dug through the canbet for a shirt.

“I wasn’t saying it was bad…” Command noted out loud. “I mean, do you know how many females I had a relationship with before you?” He paused for a moment. “None. Honestly, you’re the best thing to happen to me. I don’t mind if you’re a little more affectionate.”

Zossi tugged a t-shirt over her head. “Good, however the moment is ruined.” She said with a sigh.

“Aww, now sexy snek is just pretty snek,” Command teased.

“Flattery will get you…” she raised a finger, “somewhere… eventually…”

“I mean, you already coil around me when we go to bed, so I’d like to think I’m pretty far in the relationship game already,” the human countered.

“Now don’t get overconfident.” She crossed her arms.

“Nah, overconfident is me expecting results from tonight’s dinner,” Command agreed. “By the way, you’re going to get your own roast to eat all to yourself, and it’ll be seasoned and seared to perfection.”

“Ooooooo Roooaaast.” She sighed happily.

“I’m gonna season them and start the oven,” Command nodded. “No sneaking any nibbles while I’m distracted. And no being the distraction to try and get free meat.”

“Yes, Commander.” She rolled her eyes and flopped onto the couch with a huff.

Olfactory. Torture.

That was the only way to describe the hour long process of seasoning the meat, and slowly roasting it to perfection, for the Viper.

Command was right. It smelled like nothing she’d had before. She could all but taste it already. And yet it was locked away in the oven as the last few minutes of the cooking process ticked by. Guarded not only by the door keeping it in there, but also the watchful gaze of the human who had come to share the couch with her. He knew her very well, and the moment she got up to do anything, she knew his eyes would be on her. Either from attraction or for trying to keep tabs as to how close to the oven every part of her was, it would be hard to tell.

“Commander, this is horrible. Let me eat food.” She whined loudly.

“I know Vipers like their meat a little bloodier than we do, but I’m just trying to make sure it’s not so raw you could get sick eating it, silly,” Command chided her. “Five more minutes and you can have yours, impatient snek.”

“Fiiiiiiiine.” She groaned.

Time seemed to drag on. Command was comfy snuggled up to her coils as he watched the clock. The human was...very comfortable around her.

“I’m going to inhale that when I get it.” She said with a hum as her stomach growled.

“That’s why there’s two,” Command agreed. “One for me to cut up and share with the others, one for you to eat. One minute, by the way.”

“I can be patient.” She said, taking a deep breath.

“I’m gonna get up and check them now,” Command continued. “And we are not reenacting any sort of ‘tossing the treat’ scenes. I value you more than that.”

“Plate it and give it to me, I can control myself that much.” Zossi pouted.

“Suuuure, miss ‘go around naked,’” Command teased, heaving himself from the couch and walking over to the oven. He pulled the door open and stuck one of the roasts with his thermometer. Yup. Medium rare, meaning it’d bleed if stuck. “This one’s done for you,” he called, getting out a platter and putting the roast on it. It was still steaming as he pulled it free of the oven.

She stiffened at the scent, clenching her fists. “Hmmmm…. Smells so gooooood….”

The platter was put at the small dining table near the kitchen, at the side where there was no seat, specifically for the snek in the room. “Mine still needs a few more minutes before it’s done,” Command said, turning back to the oven and sighing. The price he paid for fully cooked meat.

She slithered over and settled herself down in front of the plate. She inhaled the aroma, giving a little shudder. She cut a slice off and brought it to her lips. The moment it went in her mouth she slumped. “Mmmmmm…….”

The spices that Command had used on the meat weren’t anything complex. At least, to him. The salt and pepper and garlic were common ingredients on Earth. It was how he’d coated the meat in an even rub of the spices, then roasted it slowly, to bring out the most flavor possible. Perfectly spiced and wonderfully savory. She’d be asking him to make it again, that was for sure.

The first bite taken, she proceeded to tear into her meat. Happy snake noises came from the table. By the time Command pulled his own roast out of the oven, the table was a scene of carnage.

“...I guess you liked it?” he offered weakly. “And now you’re messy and have blood all over your shirt and scales.”

“Dammit.” she frowned. “I just put this shirt on.” She huffed. “I’ll go clean up.” She uncoiled and slithered into the bathroom.

“Alternatively, you could keep going around naked~” Command called after her. He smirked mischievously at her indignant sputtering as he began cutting the roast into nice slices. He could easily share his cooking with the rest of the apartment, and had little doubt they’d all accept.

“But I’m self conscious now.” Came the muffled reply from the bathroom.

“And you weren’t when you were basically, what, trying to seduce me by coiling your naked self all around me?” Command countered. “You were pretty confident then.”

Zossi’s head popped out. “Well… yeah… I wasn’t actively thinking about it.” She said, slowly slithering out, now shirtless.

“Okay, how about this to help you think about it in a positive light,” Command looked up from where he was cutting the meat. “I’m not going to jump in line to test this serum they’re working on. I’ll wait until it’s 100% safe and compatible with humans, and even then, I’ll ask you your opinion first. But the fact that I’m even considering it should tell you what you mean to me.”

She slithered over to him, only for the front door to open.

“Hey I sm-” Wallflower froze.

Zossi froze.

Command kept cooking.

Wallflower turned a shade of pink. “Sorry!”

The front door slammed.

The bathroom door slammed.

Command kept cooking.

A voice whined from the bathroom.

“Fuck that for awhile!”