Six sat atop the dirty middle island, watching as her friend jumped onto the now safe ground. Once they had frightened the tens of thousand of insects into hiding, they began their search for the exit, which didn''t take long for Six to find.


    Her gaze shifted to the far wall, or more specifically, the dumbwaiter that was their way out of the kitchen. She had, at first, wanted to take it immediately and get out of there, not wanting to push their already strained luck. But Harry thought it would be a good idea to see if they could find anything edible. She tried to argue against it, but her stomach loudly agreed with the green eyed boy.


    The traitor.


    Harry gave her a smug grin at hearing her stomach betray her. It made any argument she could have made irrelevant. So she reluctantly agreed to search for some food. Harry''s face lit up at that, promising to make her something delicious. Six doubted he would be able to accomplish that goal, given that most food able to be scrounged up was less than fresh. But who was she to dampen such high spirits?


    Besides, if he did manage it, all the better. She certainly wouldn''t turn down real food.


    So she watched from her perch as he began his search for food. Shockingly enough, it didn''t take him long to find some. All he had to do was open the fridge. Well, that''s not entirely true as there was copious amounts of rotten cuisine stuffed inside.


    Which did not help the foul smell in the room, not one little bit.


    She had an idle thought, wondering if the Residents could survive off of it. Considering the amount of spoiled fare, the only conclusion she could reach is that they not only could survive off of it, but it was their preferred meal.


    Besides children that is.


    Harry, whose face twisted into a fierce scowl at seeing the state of the fridge, started digging through the spoiled remains. She shivered at the sight, wondering how he could stomach such an action.


    Harry had seen much worse at the Dursleys. Watching his uncle and cousin forgo silverware to use their hands as fleshy shovels to gorge themselves desensitized him to food related traumas.


    But as someone who was systematically starved over the years, despoiled of proper nutrition, the sight of food going to waste infuriated him. Such a thing never happened at the Dursleys, though food had very little shelf life there. He was pretty sure his aunt had to make daily trips to the market just to feed them. It made him wonder at how they could afford it.


    His efforts were rewarded, as behind the gunk and slimy remains of food, sat a carton of eggs. His eyes lit up when he saw it. Not only that, but he was able to find a bit of cheese that was mostly bereft of mold as well. He just needed to cut away the blue, fluffy parts and voila!


    With this, he could make some omelets. He''d prefer it if there was some milk he could add to the eggs, but given the chunky nature of the milk he did find, not to mention its greenish, yellow color, he decided he could do without.


    He did, however, manage to find something even better. Namely, some salt and pepper, the quintessential spices for all food. Nothing better. Of course, Harry was never able to experiment with many spices while slaving away in the Dursleys kitchen, given their hatred of foreign food, but he at least knew how to use what he had.


    Alright, he had his eggs, his cheese, salt and pepper, and even a bit of butter. All his ingredients were gathered. Now he just needed to mix them all up into a bowl. This is where the real challenge started.


    Finding a bowl proved to be more of a challenge than he thought. He could have used a pot, but unfortunately, they were well out of reach. All except for the one resting on the stovetop. But the less said about what''s in it, the better.


    So he continued his search, eventually finding a bowl he just might be able to use. However, its placement left much to be desired.


    It was resting on top of the towering pile of dishes, almost mocking him. But Harry was never one to shy away from a challenge, especially when he had a hungry friend counting on him. He pondered the problem of how to reach it while Six simply watched on, content to let him do his thing.


    It was some prime entertainment after all, and she had the best seat in the house.


    After about a minute of rumination, he had an idea. First, he would empty the sink to the right of the tower, which had little in the way of contents. Then, he would fill it up with water, so he could throw the bowl into it, preventing it from breaking.


    Hopefully. It would probably be better if he filled it with something soft, like towels, but there wasn''t enough he could find, and he refused to open the cabinets to look for more, knowing that the insects had likely retreated inside.


    Best not to open that particular can of flesh eating worms.


    So Harry set about his task, brimming with determination. It didn''t take him long to empty the sink and plug it up, but he was in for a surprise when he turned on the faucet. The water that came out was so filthy it could barely even be called water. It shouldn''t have surprised him, but it did.


    It took a few minutes for the sink to fill up completely and in that time, the water didn''t clear up one tiny iota. Actually, Harry was pretty sure it had gotten worse. Good thing he didn''t intend on using any for cooking.


    It made him wonder why all the dishes were even in the sink. There was no way they could get clean with water so dirty. Just one more thing that didn''t make any sense and another question to lock behind the vault with the others.


    Once the sink was full, Harry began his arduous climb to the top of dish mountain. He had a small bit of fun imagining he was climbing Mount Everest, battling against tempestuous winds and blistering cold. It made the otherwise mundane climb just a bit more fun.


    Thankfully he reached the top with little trouble. The tower wobbled a bit, but nothing that was intrinsically dangerous. Disconcerting, for sure, but not life threatening.


    Now at the peak, Harry carefully aimed the bowl, which was about half as big as he was, towards the sink. He slowly pushed the ceramic container off the top plate, watching with bated breath as it fell, plunging into the lukewarm depths below.


    Relieved at not hearing a heart wrenching shattering, he carefully climbed back down the mountain. The journey was long, and fraught with many dangers, but he succeeded.


    Once back on solid ground, much to his relief, he stared into the dirty, swampy looking water, faced with yet another bothersome issue. That being, draining the sink. Something he hadn''t thought of until now.


    "Everything ok?" Six asked, idly kicking her feet back and forth as she watched him.


    "Yep, all good! No issues here," Harry called back. He then refocused his attention on the sink, returning its taunting stare with a glare of his own. He wouldn''t let something like this stymie him for long, he just needed to think.


    He could just jump into the sink and remove the plug, but getting his new clothes wet and dirty was just about the last thing he wanted. He could strip naked and dive on in, but he didn''t feel much better about that option either.


    So that means he needed to find something to either grab the plug or the bowl itself. Taking a quick look around, he spotted a certain object that would be perfect for the job.


    Or at least, he hoped so.


    It was none other than the common ladle, good for soups and stews the world over. However, he didn''t want it for the basin that it was normally used for. Instead, he wanted that nice, curved handle. That should help him grab onto the plug. Luckily, this particular piece of kitchen equipment wasn''t out of reach, merely dangling off of a rack on the far counter.


    So he carefully maneuvered his way over, making sure he didn''t fall. Dropping the bowl into the sink had created a new slippery hazard from the splash, so he had to be extra careful. Six already thought him clumsy, he felt no need to reinforce her of that particular belief.


    Fortunately, he made the journey without incident. He grabbed the ladle, which was bigger than he was, placing it over his right shoulder to make it easier to carry. Then he began to backtrack.


    Once he arrived at the sink, he removed the ladle from his shoulder and spun it around, using the curved handle to try and grab onto the plug. However, it proved to be a most elusive prey for something that didn''t move. But unfortunately for it, Harry was a patient hunter. Though it took some time, he was able to snag the little, round, metal ring resting on top of the rubber plug.


    Once he felt some resistance, a big grin split his face. This was it, now all he had to do was pull! Wrapping his arms firmly around the spoon portion of the ladle, he did just that, yanking the plug clear out of its home.


    The water immediately began to drain, making a disgruntled gurgling sound as it traveled down the pipe. Harry kept hold of the ladle, and therefore the plug, not wanting to risk it sinking back into the hole.


    It didn''t take long for the sink to completely empty, leaving only a single, intact bowl in its wake. Seeing this made Harry grin as he set aside the ladle and hopped into the wet sink.


    He grabbed the much too large bowl, struggling a bit with its weight, before managing to set it onto the counter. He took a step back at that, wiping the sweat from his brow with a satisfied sigh.


    His clothes were a little damp and the bowl a little dirty, but he felt satisfied at completing his goal. Cooking sure was hard when everything was so much bigger than him. But at the same time, it made him feel all the more accomplished to finish a task, even one as mundane as getting a bowl.


    Climbing out of the sink, he moved the bowl onto its side so he could push it like a wheel. Given the uneven nature of it, he had to be careful that it didn''t tip over and crash onto the floor. He wasn''t sure if it would be enough to alert the Lighthouse Keeper, but he didn''t want to take the risk.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    He also just didn''t want all his hard work to be in vain.


    Thankfully, there weren''t too many obstacles to maneuver around, so the trip was relatively easy. Once there, he set the bowl down properly, right next to the ingredients. With that, all he had left to do was mix everything together.


    Grabbing one of the eggs he pilfered from the fridge, he tried to crack it on the bowl, like he would ordinarily. But it was pretty clear that was the wrong choice, as the egg refused to crack, even a little. Better than it breaking and covering him in yoke, but still frustrating.


    Placing the egg down, which almost came to his waist, he once more pondered his predicament. It didn''t long before an idea popped into his head. If he couldn''t break it by slamming it into something, he would just have to slam something into it.


    Looking around, he managed to find what he was looking for, a butter knife. He cringed slightly at the little bits of hardened food stuck to the blade. Hopefully it wouldn''t come off as he smacked the egg with it.


    Placing the egg on a dirty, bundled up washcloth so it wouldn''t roll around, he raised the knife above his head before bringing it down, the dull edge slamming into the hard shell, splitting it open. The knife was stuck a good third of the way through, which was just about perfect.


    Setting the knife aside, he carefully picked up the egg, making sure not to spill any of its inner contents, and placed it inside the bowl. Once there, all he had to do was split the egg in half and remove all the shell pieces. Easy.


    Or not.


    Grunting, Harry bent over the bowl, grabbing each side of the cracked egg, trying to yank the two halves apart. But it was proving to be more difficult than he expected. Guess that''s what happens when trying to open an egg that''s half your size.


    It took a good amount of elbow grease, and his face was red from the exertion, but he managed to do it. The egg split apart, the suddenness of it nearly sending Harry into the bowl himself.


    With that done, he grabbed the large chunks of shell before tossing them aside. He then made sure there weren''t any smaller pieces of shell left over. No one likes crunchy eggs after all.


    With that done, all he had to do now was repeat the process with the second egg. He did try to split the egg a bit more this time, and while that made some of its contents spill out, it was much easier to remove the shell completely this way.


    Once both of the eggs were safely nestled in the bowl, he grabbed a whisk, which was on the same rack as the ladle, and got to work. It was difficult, given the size, but not impossible.


    Once it was mixed a bit, he set the whisk down and grabbed the salt and pepper. The containers weren''t very big, thankfully, and they were only about half full, so picking them up wasn''t that much of a problem.


    Getting the right amount into the bowl, however, was a different beast entirely. He probably added a bit too much salt, but that was fine. Slightly salty food was the least of their problems.


    Grabbing the whisk he stirred the eggs one more time, making sure everything was as evenly dispersed as it could be. Even with only four ingredients, it was still important.


    After that, he grated the cheese. He didn''t exactly have a cheese grater handy, but he did have a bread knife. It wasn''t exactly easy to get through, but he managed, somehow, cutting off a couple of slices before chopping them into even smaller pieces. Hopefully they would melt properly.


    Once that was done, it was time to start the stovetop. Something he probably should have done at the start to make sure it worked. He would be very upset if he went through all that trouble only for the stove to be broken. But considering there was a pot of unholy gruel sitting on top of the upper right burner, he should be fine.


    To his relief, he was. He turned the knob for the bottom top heater on, setting it to medium low, getting a nice little flame going for his efforts. Now he just needed the pan and he was good to go. Unfortunately, that was on the middle island, which meant he had to climb down off of this counter, climb up the other one, and make the trip back.


    Being so small was a serious pain in the butt.


    "Need some help?" Six asked nonchalantly as he climbed up the drawers onto the island. He was slightly out of breath, which didn''t surprise her all that much given all the work that went into preparing the meal.


    "No, I''m good. You just sit back and relax," Harry said, making his way over to the pans. Six shrugged and continued to enjoy her rest. He found one that was appropriately sized, i.e. one that he could carry, and started the journey back.


    It was far more trying than it should have been, as Harry wanted to be quiet to not alert any potential creatures that wanted to eat them. There was still this looming fear of something else living in the room, something that kept the bugs on the floor. But so far, they haven''t seen any evidence of such a monster.


    That didn''t mean it wasn''t there, it just meant it was good at concealing itself. A very concerning trait for a predator to have. At least, for the prey that is.


    Once Harry was back on the counter, he carefully placed the pan onto the burner. As the metal began to heat up, Harry placed a glob of butter inside, one that was bigger than his torso, making sure nothing would stick to it.


    He did not want to think about what so much butter would do to their arteries.


    He grabbed a wooden spoon and used it to cover the entire pan with the melting butter. Once that was done, all that was left was to add the eggs to the pan. Which is where he encountered another snafu.


    It was too big. Sure he could lift the thing, but pouring the mixture into the pan was another story. He could probably use the ladle to add the egg a bit at a time, but even then he risked spilling it.


    That left him only one option.


    "Um, Six? Can I get a little help?" he asked. With an exaggerated sigh, Six hopped off the island and climbed up onto the other counter. The two of them then worked together to lift the heavy bowl and pour its contents into the pan. It sizzled as it came into contact with the hot metal.


    "Thanks," Harry said, moving to watch the eggs cook. Six stepped beside him, watching the sizzling eggs with interest. She couldn''t remember the last time she ate something that was properly cooked and seasoned, if she ever had. Usually it was just leftover scraps or something roasted over a fire.


    Her stomach gave another loud rumble, eager to taste proper food. However, seeing the eggs cooking in the pan, Six turned to Harry with a questioning look.


    "Couldn''t you have mixed the eggs in the pan instead of the bowl?" she asked. Her question made Harry freeze, before slowly turning to face his curious companion. His eyes met hers as his brain slowly interpreted her words.


    "...No," he stated, but his tone was anything but certain. Six raised an eyebrow at that.


    "Why not?" she continued to probe, even as Harry went back to cooking the eggs.


    "Because it''s… not proper. Eggs must be prepared properly," he said, running the wooden spoon through the slowly solidifying eggs. He wanted to make an omelet, but that seemed like too tall of an order given the circumstances, opting for scrambled eggs instead.


    "What''s improper about it?" she asked, enjoying egging him on.


    "You don''t mix things in a cooking pan," Harry said.


    "Why?" she pestered.


    "Because you don''t. It''s just… you''re messing with me, aren''t you?" he asked, giving her a deadpan stare as he noticed the corners of her mouth twitch. Six tried to appear innocent, but the amusement he could see dancing in her listless eyes revealed the truth.


    "Me? I would never," she said, but Harry wasn''t buying it.


    "Somehow, I don''t believe you. Why don''t you go sit down and wait until I''m done?" he asked, shooing her away. Six gave a small chuckle as she sauntered away, sitting on the edge of the countertop.


    Harry sighed as she left, but the smile on his face showed that he was anything but upset by her teasing. If he was being honest, it would have been easier to just mix everything in the pan, he just didn''t think about it. And he was far too stubborn to admit his mistake.


    He had a feeling if he ever got the chance to cook something like eggs again, he would be in for a large amount of teasing, because he would probably mix it in the pan.


    Back to the cooking, once the eggs were about halfway cooked, he chucked the cheese into it. He hoped it would be enough time to properly melt, but he wasn''t sure. Oh well, nothing he could do about it now.


    The minutes ticked by with the sound of Harry cooking being the only thing to break the monotony. Six was actually getting pretty excited for the meal, the smell driving away the putrid odor that lingered in the room, almost hypnotizing her with its scent.


    Eventually, it was done. Harry pulled the pan off of the burner, placing it on the one below it. He wiped the sweat from his brow, a satisfied grin on his face. The eggs had a nice, golden sheen to them, cooked to perfection. Or close enough. Harry was also happy to note that the cheese had melted just fine.


    Seeing he was done, Six stood up and made her way over to him. Looking down at the freshly made scrambled eggs, she was very thankful that Harry convinced her they should stay for some food.


    "Looks good," she stated simply.


    "Thanks. Want to grab a plate?" he asked, getting a nod in return. Six made her way towards the sink, finding a pure white plate with little to no food caked onto it. What little there was she rubbed off, satisfied with its relative cleanliness.


    You couldn''t ask for much more than that in the Nowhere. Heck, this was practically a luxury.


    Once she brought it over, Harry scooped up the eggs with the large wooden spoon, carefully placing it on the plate. It took him a few times to get everything, but once he did, there was a nice pile of golden eggs steaming on the plate, just waiting to be eaten.


    "And that''s that. Breakfast is served," Harry said. Six was practically drooling at the sight, not that she would admit it. She was, after all, the calm and collected one.


    Unfortunately, there wasn''t any silverware in their size, so they were forced to wait until the eggs cooled enough for them to touch. Neither of them were particularly eager to use their bare hands, but it was a small price to pay.


    Getting food was far more important than proper dining etiquette.


    Staring at the cooling food made Harry realize something important. They didn''t have anything to drink! Come to think of it, they haven''t had much to drink at all, making Harry''s mouth feel suddenly parched.


    "Hang on, be right back," Harry said, much to Six''s confusion.


    "Where are you going?" she asked, watching as he jumped onto the floor.


    "You''ll see!" he called back, racing towards the fridge. Opening it, he began to look for something.


    "Come on, come on. I know I saw it in here somewhere… aha!" he thought. With a grin, he reached into the vile refrigerator, pulling out a can of soda. Literally, the can had SODA written on it. He had no idea what flavor it was, but with it being completely sealed, it should at least be safe to drink.


    Unlike the water.


    Six watched as her friend waddled back, carrying a large can with him, realizing he was bringing them something to drink. She helped him get it onto the counter, which was more of a struggle than she would have liked.


    "Tada…" he wheezed out, making her snicker at him. She gave his messy head a pat, which he was too tired to swat her hand away. Decidingto let him rest now for a bit, Six brought the can towards the pan before popping it open and pouring some of the contents into it.


    "What are you doing?" Harry asked, befuddled.


    "It''s too heavy to drink from properly, so I''m lightening it a bit," she responded, making him nod in understanding. There was more than enough for the two of them inside. Once she poured out about half, give or take, she brought the can back to where their food waited.


    Food that was now cool enough for them to eat.


    "Well, shall we?" he asked. Six nodded, and the two sat side by side. Harry reached out first, grabbing a small bit in his hand before tentatively taking a bite. He chewed it slowly, savoring the taste.


    "So, how is it?" Six asked, letting him be the guinea pig. Not that it mattered much. Besides it being poisonous, not much else would keep her from eating it.


    "Not bad. I definitely added too much salt though," he commented, reaching for another handful. Needing no other incentive, Six grabbed some of her own and took a bite.


    Harry, who was watching, secretly wanting to hear her opinion, started to panic at her reaction.


    "Six, what''s wrong!?" he asked as tears traveled down her face.


    "Huh?" she asked, not knowing what he was talking about.


    "You''re crying," he informed her, quietly.


    "Crying?" she thought, confused. She raised her hand to her face, surprised to feel a wetness there. Removing her hand, she was almost mesmerized by the sight.


    But even with the proof right in front of her, she couldn''t figure out the reason for it. What could have made her cry? She wasn''t hurt beyond a few aches and pains, so that couldn''t be it.


    She wasn''t sad, or at least she didn''t think she was. If anything, she was happy. For the first time in she didn''t know how long, she was eating a proper meal. Normally, eating was a chore, necessary for survival. She didn''t exactly look forward to eating a rat, or bugs, moldy bread, or whatever barely edible scraps she could find.


    So having real food was cause for joy, wasn''t it? So why was she crying?


    "Hairy, why? I don''t… I don''t understand…" she said, frantically trying to wipe away the tears that refused to stop falling.


    Hearing his friend sound so confused and afraid broke his heart. Acting on instinct, because he wasn''t sure what to do, he wrapped his arms around the sobbing girl.


    Six, under normal circumstances, would be highly hesitant to engage in such intimacy. But right now she was desperate for the touch of another human being, clutching tightly onto Harry as she wept.


    Food forgotten, at least for the moment, Harry held onto the distraught girl as she let out all her emotions, broken from the simple act of eating a home cooked meal for the first time in her life.


    And he would continue to do so, for as long as it took.