Shining Though the Clouds [closed]

He had thought it was a dream. A stressful, yet hopeful dream. The sheer joy he felt upon seeing her face was enough to carry him through the horror and sadness that seemed to overwhelm him at times. Yet, as he awoke to the joint living room and kitchen, a smile broke on his face. He had left Joanna to sleep in his bed, accompanied by Micah who slept in her toddler bed in the room corner. The apartment was only one bedroom, as it was all he could afford. The kitchen was smaller still, with maybe though room for two people if they squeezed by. The only thing the apartment had going for it was the view into the main strip of Rosebury.

Shepard slowly rose to his feet, eyeing the light from the window. This was the first day on the path to getting Joanna her memories back. With a rush of determination, Shepard threw open the curtains, letting the morning light spill through the living room and into the kitchen. Happier than he had been since he had arrived here, he got to work on breakfast.

With how small the apartment was, he was sure the wonderful smell would reach Joanna and the sleeping toddler at some point. And he couldn't help but smile to himself.

If she had dreamed a thing, she couldn't begin to recall it. Her sleep had been so deep that even as she had begun to stir awake, her eyelids remained too heavy to open. A sweet, heavenly, and distinctly blueberry scent had managed to stir her from the bed. Joanna sat up, combing a few fingers through her hair and glancing around the room.

Her stomach growled and she likely looked like a pure mess with a few bandages left on and some of Shepard's shirt and sweatpants that she may have borrowed from him. Jo made a mental note to maybe visit as thrift shop later, if he could show her where it was...

Joanna glanced out of the bedroom. Holding her breath, she did her best to sneak past the little one's crib without making any noise and leaving the door cracked behind her. Soon as she turned the corner and saw the heap of pancakes in the making, a goofy smile crossed her face. "I think that's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," she sighed, her stomach growling again. "I mean... Good morning! That smells so good..."

The growing pile of pancakes was not to be understated. His sister enjoyed pancakes, so they had a lot of ready-to-go pancake batter. Though, she hated anything in them except chocolate chips, which Shepard saved for an occasion. Half the pile had blueberries, the other had none. Spinning the finished cake onto the plate, Shepard returned to the pan and dropped in small pancakes to use as snacks later, thus using up the rest of the batter.

"Mornin'. You hungry?" He joked, watching her enter, then turning back to the pancakes to hide the pink in his cheeks. "Here." The blond flipped a large pile of blueberry pancakes onto a plate and slid that and the syrup towards her. Next to Joanna was what appeared to be takeout utensils still in the plastic wrapping. Despite how much it appeared Shepard has his life together--they didn't have proper silverware. "Now, I know it may look like a lot to you right now, but I promise you, you could eat all of these and still want seconds." He assured her with an amused grin on his face.

Joanna mirrored his grin and sat down in front of the giant plate. "Right now, I believe it." She did herself the honor of spreading butter and syrup on her freshly made breakfast and murmured another thanks before beginning to dig in. As soon as she'd taken her first bite, her face immediately lit up. "Shepard, this is delicious!"
Maybe she should have been polite and exercised a little patience in eating, but she had been starving, and it tasted so good...
"You're an amazing cook. Why didn't you say so sooner...?"

The grin grew even larger, and he turned back to move the newly cooked dots of batter into a Tupperware for later. He slid to the other side of the kitchen to watch her eat, proud of his work. Standing up a little straighter, Shepard's smile turned awkward. She would have known, except-- "Just figured you would want to try it first hand." He assured her, beginning to make another plate. "Blueberry pancakes are really good, aren't they?" Shepard asked tentatively, hoping maybe it triggered something.

In the distance was a loud thud.

As the pangs of hunger disappeared, she found herself quickly crawling to a slow and savoring the taste. There was indeed something familiar and delicious about them, but she couldn't place the feeling to any certain moment or warm memory... It did sour things a bit, but it was an ache that was all-too-quickly becoming normal for her.

"You know me so well," Jo joked lightly under her breath. At the sound of a large thud, she'd nearly dropped her fork, sitting up high in attention. "... what was that?"

"Uh--" He blinked and looked towards the bedrooms. "I think Micah--" A loud squeal filled the apartment, footsteps thundered down the hall. A young girl flew into the kitchen with a speed one would have might think of a speedster.

"PANCAKES!" The young girl threw herself onto Shepard's leg. "Chocolate chips, chips, chiiiips!!" She looked up expectantly, open hand grabbing at the air. She frowned at his hesitation and glanced towards Joanna, sitting at the table. The young girl brightened again.

"Jojo, pancakes!" Micah exclaimed, slapping the side of Shepard's leg.

She'd seemed lost, staring a bit awkwardly between them. Joanna hadn't recalled seeing wings on the young girl when she'd been ushered to bed or laying in her crib, but maybe she had simply missed it? Micah had come barreling in like a rocket.
Jo blinked again before setting down her fork and a warm smile replaced her confusion. She held her arms out wide open. "There's plenty over here! Come on, Micah! I'll share with you!"

The was zero hesitation, and the young girl hurriedly pushed the chair closer to Joanna's and climbed onto it. She was about to reach into the pancakes with her bare hand before Shepard cleared his throat. The two made eye contact. Then she climbed down the chair and hurried to the sink to wash her hands. Amused, the blonde put together a smaller plate for the little girl. "Sorry, she gets over excited when I make pancakes. They are a special breakfast for her." He explained, placing the plate in front of Micah's chair. "Do you want anything to drink?" He asked Joanna with a grin on his face.

"Milk!" Called the toddler, already climbing into her chair once again. Shepard laughed in agreement but didn't make a move until Joanna answered.