+Is this an inclusive or?+

+I can make you one with each. There's not really enough surface area on a pancake to effectively combine them.+

He grins. +Go for it! I love you.+

+You keep saying that,+ muses Bella, and she starts peeling an apple. This job goes much faster when she doesn't have to worry about slipping.

+It keeps being true,+ says Brilliance.

Bella thinly slices the apple, peels a banana, slices that too. +Does it bother you that I don't say it back?+

+Nope.+

+Okay, that's good then.+ Bella gets out a bag of miniature chocolate chips, and then measures wet ingredients into her pancake batter.

Lexi wanders down the stairs. "What was up last night?" she asks.

+You want to answer her or should I?+

+You can.+

+Okay, but do I tell her what actually happened or be vague about it?+ Bella eats an apple slice to cover for her lack of immediate reply.

+You can tell her what actually happened,+ he says, rubbing his face with both hands.

Bella picks up her pancake batter bowl and moves closer to Lexi and murmurs in her ear, very softly.

"Oh my God," says Lexi, less softly. "But why wouldn't -"

"Because teleporting's not simple," murmurs Bella.

He sighs.

Bella deems her batter stirred enough. She gets a pat of butter and plops it into the frying pan and turns on the stove.

"Are... you okay?" Lexi asks Brilliance haltingly.

"Probably not."

Lexi obviously didn't think that far ahead.

Bella dollops batter into three spots on the frying pan. "There's only so much that can be done," she murmurs.

He smiles wryly. "And there's pancakes! My life can't be all bad if there's pancakes in it."

"There will be pancakes very soon," agrees Bella. She spreads fruit slices on two of them and sprinkles chocolate chips on a third; apparently this batch is for Brilliance. She eyes the frying batter critically, then flips them, one-two-three.

Brilliance beams.