The Taste of Home

Chapter 25

Their first morning together didn't go quite as planned.

Miguel rummaged through the fridge, growling softly as a mishmash of ingredients clattered against each other. Unlike The Crimson Goat's well-stocked walk-in, Alejandro's fridge yielded few fresh ingredients and far too many frozen meals. Miguel could make do with a handful of eggs and whatever other protein he could find, but Alejandro? Surely there had to be something he could use to make him a decent breakfast.

"What are you doing up so early?" Alejandro trudged out of his room with a yawn, still wearing his pajamas.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." Miguel ducked his head sheepishly. "I wanted to make you breakfast, but I can't find anything to save my life."

Back with Saguaro Pack, he could barely catch enough prey to feed a hatchling. He couldn't hunt for Alejandro, but he'd be damned if he didn't at least try to make him a decent meal. It was the least he could do to thank him for taking him in.

"Don't worry about it. I usually just have a bagel or something." Alejandro stifled another yawn. "I don't exactly have much energy to cook first thing in the morning."

"There must be something I can do for you. Isabella would never—" Her name sent a spasm through Miguel's throat as he fought to keep from crying. She'd never want to speak to him again. Even if he hadn't disobeyed her, she'd be ashamed of him for being so useless. He couldn't hug his partner without hurting him, couldn't try to cook for him without waking him up.

"You don't have to do anything." Alejandro brushed an errant tear from Miguel's cheek. What had he done to deserve this gentle kindness, this tenderness despite what he was? "If you'd like, I can show you how to make salsa. You wouldn't believe how well that goes with eggs."

"That would be really sweet of you." Not to mention it would finally help Miguel figure out what made salsa so ridiculously delicious.

If the look on Alejandro's face was any indication, he was just as excited by the prospect of them cooking breakfast together as Miguel was. Although his morning tiredness was still plain to see in his sleep-knotted hair and his slightly drooping eyelids, there was a brightness in his warm brown eyes that hadn't been there a moment ago. "Just give me a second to get ready, okay?"

Once Alejandro got dressed, he grabbed everything he needed from the fridge. "There isn't a lot to it," he said as he filled a pot with water. "You just boil everything, let it cool for a few minutes, and toss it in the blender."

"That's all?" It was hard to believe something so delicious was so easy to prepare.

"For this one, yeah." Alejandro passed him half the peppers to de-stem. Each movement he made was as deliberate as a chupacabra on the hunt, yet his fingers possessed an easy gentleness that was entirely his own. Where Miguel struggled to remove the stems without accidentally taking a chunk of bright red flesh with it, Alejandro quickly had a small pile of unblemished peppers beside him. "Just be careful not to touch your eyes for a while. These burn like hell otherwise!"

Miguel had already grown to love cooking at The Crimson Goat, but there was something extra special about cooking with just Alejandro. There were no other chefs to coordinate with or customers to dictate what they were making, just the two of them cooking at their own pace and stealing glances at each other.

"Thanks for letting me teach you," Alejandro said. He leaned over and kissed Miguel's cheek before showing him how to handle the tomatillos, his fingers caressing the papery husks as he peeled them away.

"I'm the one who should be thanking you. If it weren't for you, I still wouldn't even know how to turn a stove on." And probably would have made The Crimson Goat explode, as Ralph had told him using extremely colorful language. He'd assumed all stoves were electric like the Millers', completely clueless about how to operate a gas stove until Alejandro had patiently walked him through the basics.

"I don't get the chance to teach people how to cook often," Alejandro explained. "It's something I've always loved doing, though."

"I couldn't ask for a better teacher." A thrum rumbled out of Miguel's throat, growing in volume as Alejandro blushed. He could get used to spending his mornings like this. And his evenings, days off, and any other moments he could savor with no one save his partner.

Once they'd finished prepping the tomatillos, they tossed them into the boiling water alongside the peppers, some tomatoes, and garlic. With his hands no longer busy, Miguel's mind wandered back to his former pack. Every moment away from them ached, and yet they'd cast him aside like shed skin. Alejandro deserved so much better than their castoffs.

Miguel startled as an arm wrapped around him, pulling him close. "You're thinking about them again, aren't you?" Alejandro said.

"Is it that obvious?" Miguel leaned down and nuzzled Alejandro's hair, breathing deeply until the lavender scent banished the tears threatening to leak from his eyes.

Alejandro hummed softly. "What happened wasn't your fault."

"If I had just told her about us sooner—"

Alejandro silenced him with a kiss. His lips brushed against his cheek as briefly and delicately as a butterfly, yet that was enough for a deep thrum to silence Miguel. "We can't change that, but if there's anything I can do to help make this feel like home for you, tell me."

If it weren't for the venom burning in his fangs, Miguel's mouth would make itself feel right at home on Alejandro's forehead, kissing it until it was no longer creased with worry.

But he couldn't. He had to fill his stomach first. Then the venom suppressant would help him fill the hole in his heart where his pack used to be.

"Thank you for letting me stay here," he said quietly.

"Was everything okay last night?" Alejandro rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling nervously. "Hope my snoring didn't keep you up too long."

"It was nice, actually." The constant noise had reminded Miguel that he wasn't alone. "It just felt weird to sleep by myself. Everything's a lot warmer when you've got a whole pack sleeping around you." Even Isabella and other chupacabras who preferred not to lay beside anyone else still slept near their packmates.

Without them, the night had been long, cold, and lonely.

"I can get you some stuff to help with that." Alejandro leaned over and gave him another kiss. "I swear I have enough blankets for a small army."

"Could you maybe teach me a few more recipes, too?" Teaching him brought a sparkle to Alejandro's eyes that matched his smile, and Miguel would be all too happy to finally be able to treat his partner to a proper meal.

"I'd love to! How'd you feel about me teaching you something every Saturday?" A nod from Miguel was all Alejandro needed to start rummaging through the cupboards. "I should still have my abuela's old cookbook around here somewhere."

As far as Miguel was concerned, he could teach him anything as long as they got to spend more time together, especially if it made him this happy.

Once they'd given the ingredients time to cool and poured them into the blender, Miguel put his hand over Alejandro's as they held down the lid. He gingerly brushed those delicate fingers with his own, thrumming quietly. Despite everything he'd lost, he still had Alejandro.

As long as that moonbeam smile was still shining on him, Miguel knew everything would turn out okay.