After reaching the register and laying everything out on the small conveyor belt, Ansel reached for his wallet instinctively but paused, letting his hand rest on his back pocket for a moment before pulling it away and stepping aside. Although Lucio was aware that Ansel had already purchased plane tickets for their trip to London, Ansel had purposefully neglected to mention that the tickets were for first class and cost him about $9,000 total. Lucio would probably lose his mind a little bit when he eventually found out, as Ansel was sure that Lucio would have been perfectly content in business class, even coach. But Ansel liked the extra leg room, the privacy curtain, and the free alcohol the airline provided its first class passengers, so Lucio was just going to have to accept being spoiled. For the time being, however, Ansel set his pride aside and deferred to his beautiful lover, moving toward the end of the check stand to help pack up their purchases.<br/><br/>When everything was settled and paid for, the two returned to Lucio's car, Ansel toting the two bags into which everything had been separated. The car ride back to the cabin was nice and quick, the cool waterfront air coming through Ansel's hair as they traveled down the road. The small hiccup this morning, although uncomfortable, had been good for the two men, Ansel thought. The professor didn't enjoy putting his darling in uncomfortable positions, but knowing how they both respectively felt about the issue of money was at least a step in the right direction. More importantly, Lucio hadn't run away after Ansel's impromptu confession but instead had embraced him with open arms and passionate kisses. One day, Ansel hoped to hear those same words from Lucio, but the professor wasn't in any rush for at moment. Knowing that Lucio<i>felt</i>something close to love, something he couldn't ignore, was enough. For now.<br/><br/>Ansel was excited to repeat his simple but sweet breakfast recipe for Lucio, so the moment the two had stepped inside the cabin and deposited the bags onto the kitchen counters, Ansel took lead. "Darling, go ahead and put away all of the groceries, would you? I'm going to start on the pancakes immediately. We'll only make a small batch so that I can teach you, since we already had a small meal."<br/><br/>The professor dug through the bags and the extra stores that still sat in the Banes' kitchen, pulling out flour, salt, butter, sugar, milk, vanilla extract, eggs, yogurt, cinnamon, and a couple of the Granny Smith apples they had purchased. He preset the oven to 500°F and set about finding various kitchen essentials to begin the process. When Lucio had finished putting away the rest of the food and came to his side, Ansel began giving the boy instructions for how to put together the simple treat.<br/><br/>"The pancake part isn't much different from a regular pancake, really. You begin by mixing the flour, sugar, and salt." He stirred the dry ingredients together with a smooth turn of the wrist, having made this recipe so many times Ansel was pretty sure he could do it in his sleep. "Then, the eggs, milk, yogurt, and vanilla. When you're finished with that, set aside a cinnamon and sugar mixture in a bowl." Ansel continued on to show Lucio how to caramelize the apples, only six to eight minutes on the stove top. "When the apples are ready, pour the batter over the apples and shove the skillet into the oven. Reduce the heat to 425°F and bake for about 15 minutes." He set the timer on the oven and stood back, smiling. "And that's it! Remarkably simple, but delicious. And while you're waiting . . . "<br/><br/>Ansel turned to Lucio and grabbed the small man by the waist, lifting him up and setting him on a part of the kitchen counter that wasn't covered with pancake ingredients. Ansel positioned himself in between Lucio's legs and began kissing down Lucio's neck, stroking his long thighs as he did so. "We can accomplish a lot in fifteen minutes," he whispered against his lover's throat, his voice a husky and tempting.