Back in the kitchen, Elric quickly realized that he was now without cooking instructions. For a moment, he debated going back to Ember's room to check, but quickly dismissed the idea.
'I think I just need to butter up a pan and pour it in now. I think I've got some bacon in the fridge too, we can have that on the side!'
Flicking on the stovetop, Elric waited a minute for the pan to heat up before pouring some batter into the pan.
'Hm, I've never made pancakes before, but this seems pretty easy.'
Deciding to prep the rest of the meal while he waited for the cakes to cook, Elric started rifling through the pantry cabinet to search for maple syrup. He also pulled some whipping cream out from the fridge, and when he returned to the stovetop, he saw that it still looked similar to before, but was now bubbling.
'Ah, crap. I need to flip it for it to cook fully.'
Sliding a spatula under the cooking pancakes, Elric immediately caught a whiff of burnt food.
'Oops.'
The pancakes weren't completely unsalvageable, but he had definitely charred the first side.
'I'll put these on my plate right away, I can't let Ember see what I've done with these!'
After waiting for the second side to finish cooking, Elric put the burnt sides down on a plate to the side.
Just as he was pouring the next batch into the pan, he heard movement behind him. Ember was walking back out into the kitchen, still holding her phone in her hand as she chatted with her mother.
When he looked up, Elric's face froze for a second.
Ember was now wearing a smooth navy shirt with golden flower designs on the shirt's right shoulder. Covering up much of the shirt was a clean white cooking apron. The harmony between the apron and Ember's beautiful face momentarily stunned Elric.
"Hm? What do I smell in here? Elric, did you burn the pancakes?"
Walking right over to where Elric had attempted to hide the burnt sides of the pancakes, she lifted the top one up.
"Hmph. I expected better from you."
Holding the top pancake in her hand, she lifted it up and took a large bite.
"Mmph, yep. Definitely burnt. Still tastes good, though."
Ember placed her phone back on the countertop. It was back to being a regular phone call, instead of a video call.
"Anyways, there's nothing for you to worry about, Mom. Elric is a good guy, even if he can't cook pancakes."
"Well, I'm still worried. I don't like the idea of you staying with a stranger, especially not a guy."
"Mam, I won't do anything to your daughter without her permission. I promise I won't hurt her."
Elric heard a long sigh come from over the phone.
"... You'd better not. I guess I'll trust Ember's judgment this time. Elric is your name, correct? I'm Diane. If, and I mean if, Ember still has a high opinion of you after a few weeks, come over to our place to visit. I'll need to evaluate you in person. If she doesn't, I'll be the one coming to visit you. Understood?"
"Yes, Mam."
Accepting Elric's response, Diane bade Ember farewell, then ended the phone call. Ember seemed a bit apologetic at her mother's harsh words, but Elric didn't really mind.
In fact, he was feeling worried.
'My pops was always pretty strict growing up, and he never pushed me to find a girlfriend. He might not like the current situation.'
Elric's eyebrows furrowed as he flipped the last batch of pancakes.
'He's been different ever since Mom passed, though… I don't know how he'll react.'
Elric glanced up at the clock as he moved the pancakes onto a plate. Peliston came downstairs punctually at the same time every morning, and that time was only a minute away.
"Ember, help me put everything on these and move them over to the table. Dad will be here in a minute."
The couple worked quickly, pouring syrup over the cakes, piling whipping cream on them, and garnishing them with banana slices.
Just before the clock hit 8:00, they finished setting everything up.
"It looks great! Thanks for your help, Ember."
Right then, Peliston entered the dining area.
His dull eyes scanned over the mess left on the countertops then focused on the couple in front of the dining table.
"Yeesh, those drunks really did a number on you."
Instead of the meal or the girl, he seemed more interested in Elric's bruised face.
After taking Elric's state into account, he looked over at Ember.
"Are you the girl I talked to over the phone?"
Seeing Ember nod, Peliston spoke again.
"Hmph, about time this kid found himself a girlfriend. I was starting to get worried he would die a virgin."
"Dad!"
Peliston ignored Elric, moving over and taking a seat at the dining table. After poking at the pancakes a few times, he looked back up at Ember.
"Well, you must be the one who cooked these, right? Elric here has a talent for burning things, there's no way he could make these successfully."
"Hey! I did most of the work, Ember just provided a recipe!"
Lifting a forkful up to his mouth, Peliston took a big bite.
After consuming the food, he looked back up at Ember.
"Excellent job. These taste delicious."
"T- Thanks, …?"
Ember's mind blanked out.
'He definitely said his name when I called him back in the hospital… but I can't remember it!'
She quickly scanned through her memory, but in every instance of Elric talking about his father, he just called Peliston 'Dad'.
"Thanks, Dad."
In her inability to remember his name, that was what she ended up saying.
Ember immediately started blushing, and across the table, Peliston's usually dull and dead eyes glimmered faintly.
"Heh, good. I'll finally have a kid who can help me with cooking! Ember, keep calling me that from now on!"
Ember's face reddened further.
"I- I'll try to…"