Archive of Our Own ^beta

Many wild tales take place on Quesadilla Island. From code monsters to presidential elections, from boat and plane crashes to blood red skies and poisonous air, the residents had seen it all (however unwillingly). Children adventured with their parents and pranked one another, but they also looked out for each other. They had each others’ backs when they disappeared from the island. Each child had silly games and hobbies they enjoyed, but they also had scars and nightmares that told tales of  dangerous times.  There was never a dull moment on the island, that was for sure. 

This morning started out like many other mornings on the island. Slow and peaceful, without a hint at what mischief may come later. 

Tallulah snored softly in bed, blanket tucked under her chin and short, brown hair splayed around her. Sunlight drifted through the window, gently lighting up her face. Chayanne, on the other hand, sat up in bed, having just watched Phil and Missa leave for the morning. They were going to tackle some dungeons today, and while Chayanne wouldn’t have minded tagging along, he knew the two wanted to hang out together. With Missa gone frequently, it was rare that Phil got to spend time alone with him. Chayanne stretched his arms and turned to look at his sister, who was still solidly asleep. Even though both Phil and Missa had pressed a kiss to her forehead before they left, she hadn't stirred one bit. Chayanne smirked to himself; he knew what would wake her up. 

Climbing out of bed, he made his way over to the kitchen and started pulling out bowls. He set a pan on the stove and opened the fridge to grab bacon. Turning the stove on, he let it heat up before he began laying strips into the pan. 

Almost instantly, the sound of bacon sizzling filled the kitchen, and a rich aroma filled the air. Chayanne heard the shuffle of blankets and peeked around the corner to see Tallulah’s head pop up. Her hair was frizzy around her, some parts sticking up. Chayanne giggled at the sight and Tallulah scowled, quickly running her hands through her hair. 

“I'm making bacon,” he said. “Want some?”

Tallulah nodded and climbed out of bed, making her way over to sit at the kitchen table. Chayanne watched as she crossed her arms on the table and put her head down. 

“Are you gonna fall asleep again?” Chayanne asked, smirking. 

“No,” Tallulah mumbled, then sighed. She sat up straight in her chair and kicked her feet as the bacon cooked. She was absent-mindedly playing with her curls when a fresh sizzle at the stove caught her attention. She looked up to see Chayanne carefully placing a new batch of bacon into the pan, laying each strip in bubbling hot oil. 

“Chay, what're you making for breakfast?” Tallulah called. 

Chayanne turned to look over his shoulder, glancing back at the bacon with a confused grin growing on his face before saying, “Bacon?” 

Tallulah huffed and rolled her eyes, smiling. 

“I know that. I mean, what else are you making?” 

Chayanne laughed, and put his tongs down while the bacon cooked. Gesturing to the open page of his cookbook, he replied, “Pancakes!” 

“Oh, yay!” Tallulah cheered. She slid out of her seat to join Chayanne at the counter, watching him flip the bacon around. 

She watched him put the fresh pieces on a plate, and snagged one as Chayanne started cooking another batch. Chayanne was amazing at cooking. It certainly defied normal family dynamics, what with a child cooking for the family, but when was Quesadilla Island ever normal? Tallulah was certainly glad Chayanne cooked for the family; she couldn’t stand eating Papa Phil’s avocado toast day in and day out. 

Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. 

“Hey, Chay?”

Chayanne looked up from where he was watching the bacon cook. 

“Can I help make pancakes for breakfast?”

Chayanne looked a little surprised at her question, but nodded nonetheless. 

“Do you know how?” he asked. 

Tallulah blushed slightly before muttering a reluctant “... no.”

“That’s okay!” Chayanne assured. “It’s really easy; I’ll explain it.”

As Chayanne off listed the ingredients, Tallulah flitted about the kitchen, grabbing what she needed. Chayanne placed a couple bowls in front of her, explaining how it’s better to mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately before combining them. Tallulah nodded along. It didn’t seem too hard. She’s got this!

“Now that you know, can you mix the batter?” Chayanne asked. “I wanna get started on making brötchen for tonight.”

“Of course!” Tallulah responded, and Chayanne slid her the bowl he had been using to demonstrate how to make the batter. 

As Tallulah began measuring out the flour, Chayanne stooped down to grab another bowl. The two worked mostly in silence, with the soft noise of measuring cups clinking against the counter or the thump of a drawer closing occasionally breaking the quiet. Every now and then, one of them would reach over to snack on a piece of bacon. The whir of the dough mixer interrupted the content silence as Chayanne scooped the beginning of bread dough into the bowl. The kitchen was filled with warmth as sunlight drifted through the window, highlighting the amapolas that sat in the kitchen window. Flour dusted Tallulah’s hair as she reached up to adjust her purple beanie and coated Chayanne’s hands as he sprinkled it on the counter, preparing to knead the dough. The bag of flour sat in between them. 

“Hey, Chayanne,” Tallulah called uncertainly. Chayanne looked up from where he had been kneading the dough to see Tallulah was holding her whisk above the bowl as the batter easily dripped from the spokes. 

“I don’t think this is the right consistency,” she mumbled, dropping the whisk back into the bowl. 

Chayanne laughed, and scooted over to take a closer look at the runny batter. 

“You probably added too much milk,” he said. “Just add a bit more flour and mix it well until it gets thicker. I don’t think you’ll need too much more.” 

Tallulah sighed, but grabbed a measuring cup and slowly sprinkled a bit more flour into the bowl. She grabbed her whisk and began mixing furiously to incorporate the flour. She was determined to make the best pancakes her familia ever ate! 

Chayanne raised an eyebrow as he watched her mix. Despite her vigorous stirring, no batter was flying out of the bowl. He turned back to focus on the dough when he heard Tallulah shout in surprise, and then– poof! A cloud of flour filled his vision. 

Chayanne waved his hands to clear the flour hanging in the air only to see Tallulah staring at him, covering her mouth in shock. He noticed the bag of flour knocked over on the counter, most of its contents spilling out. He glanced back at Tallulah, who’s shoulders had taken on a slight shake. Was she crying? Her eyes pinched, and a small giggle came from behind her hands. Chayanne huffed, and she burst out laughing. He crossed his arms in mock anger, but couldn’t help the small smile that made its way onto his face. 

“Sorry, sorry,” she said in between laughs. “But just look at you!” 

Sure enough, when Chayanne glanced down, his hoodie and arms were absolutely covered in flour. His once bright teal hoodie was now a soft, pastel teal, and the flour on his arms made him look like a ghost. There was even a small pile of flour resting on the head of his duck floatie. He scooped it into his hand and held it there, smirking.

“Tallulah?” 

She had pretty much settled down now, and had gone to start sweeping some of the spilled flour on the counter into her hands. She glanced back at Chayanne, a questioning look in her eyes. 

“Yeah? What’s-” she cut herself off with a squeak as Chayanne threw the flour at her. A small puff erupted as it made contact with her shirt, a shocked look growing on her face. 

“Now we match!” he stated triumphantly.

She continued to stare at him. Chayanne felt a small bud of worry grow, but it was quickly erased as Tallulah threw her handful of flour back at him, before quickly diving to hide behind the kitchen table. He heard her giggling from behind the table, and scooped some more flour into his hand before approaching. He kept his steps light, just like how Phil had taught him, and crept around the corner of the table. The second he made eye contact with Tallulah, her giggles stopped and she started scrambling to get away, but to no avail. Chayanne threw the flour at her back and ran around the table to reach the counter again. 

Tallulah beat him to it, and another handful of flour found its home on Chayanne’s hoodie. She quickly turned around and ran behind the table again, this time watching Chayanne. He stepped to one side, and she shifted in the opposite direction. Chayanne started chasing her around the table, but they ended up just going in circles, teasing each other all the while. In one of her passes by the counter, Tallulah managed to swipe some flour into her hands. The siblings now stood on either side of the table, flour occasionally slipping out of their hands. 

“I feel like we’re in a western standoff right now,” Chayanne remarked, and Tallulah laughed. Her beanie was askew from running, and she left fingerprints behind as she fixed it.

“This town ain’t big enough for the both of us,” she quipped, and adjusted her footing. She tensed, and then launched her handful of flour across the table as hard as she could. Chayanne flinched back in surprise, but watched as all the flour fell on the table. It was his turn to start laughing as Tallulah pouted.

“Come on!” she cried. “I thought that would work!”

They stayed in their stand off for a second longer before a burning smell reached Chayanne’s nose. It wasn’t pleasant, which could only mean-

“The bacon!” Tallulah screeched. Chayanne whipped around, and, sure enough, the bacon was blackened to a crisp. He rushed to turn off the stove and put the pan into the sink for good measure, running warm water over the charred remains. He dusted his hands off on his sweater, some flour joining the rest on the floor. Chayanne turned back to Tallulah, who seemed to be having the same realization as him. 

As they took in the state of their kitchen, the siblings felt a growing sense of dread. Flour was everywhere – on the counter, the table, the floor, the cabinets. They had managed to get it into tight corners that would surely be a pain to clean up. Tallulah ran a hand down her face, leaving a smear, and groaned. 

“We need to clean this up before Papa and Apa get home,” she muttered. Chayanne sighed, but nodded.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I’ll go get the broom. See if you can put some of the flour still on the counter back into the bag.” 

Tallulah headed back to the counter and began scooping up the flour, salvaging what she could. Chayanne began sweeping the floor, making sure to get under the kitchen table. 

The two worked quietly for a bit. Tallulah hummed under her breath, and Chayanne switched from sweeping to trying to scrape the burnt bacon off the pan. He let out a soft grumble as he did so; he didn’t want this nice pan to be ruined! As he fought with a tough patch, Tallulah sighed and looked around the kitchen. Despite the progress she and Chayanne had made, there was still flour everywhere. She groaned, and Chayanne glanced over at her with a questioning look. 

“I’m going to take a small break,” she said. Chayanne nodded, and went back to scrubbing at his pan. 

Putting her rag down, Tallulah walked over to the side table where her flute rested. She dusted herself off and picked up the flute, playing a quick tune. Chayanne looked up again, this time abandoning the pan and wandering over to sit next to Tallulah. He listened as she played an upbeat melody, relaxing during their small break. When she finished, he clapped his hands for her, and Tallulah gave a mock bow. An idea popped into his mind.

“Since I tried to teach you cooking earlier, can you teach me how to play the flute?” Chayanne asked. Tallulah’s eyes lit up at the question. 

“Of course!” she exclaimed, and she jumped up to rummage through her backpack. Sitting back down, she handed Chayanne another flute, this one looking a little plainer than hers.

“This is one of my first flutes,” she explained. “I used it for practice before I got this one!” 

Chayanne turned it over in his hands, examining the instrument. Awkwardly, he tried placing his fingers the way he had seen Tallulah do before. Tallulah held in a small laugh as she picked up her own flute again.

“Like this,” she demonstrated. “Slide your thumb back a bit more. It’ll be more comfortable if you hold it like this.” 

She watched Chayanne adjust his grip on the flute, and reached over to move his index finger back one key. 

“This feels weird,” he muttered.

“It will for a bit, but you’ll get used to it,” Tallulah comforted. “Next, always remember to bring the flute up to you. You don’t lean down to the flute.”

Tallulah brought her flute up to her face, and Chayanne copied the movement. 

“Also, you’ll want to sit up straight,” Tallulah added. “It helps with breath support.” 

Chayanne immediately straightened out his posture, and Tallulah giggled.

“Good!” she exclaimed. “Now, breathe in through your nose and breathe out slowly and steadily.” 

Both inhaled and blew into their flutes. Tallulah’s low note was much more steady than Chayanne’s. He ran out of breath first, and sat quietly for a couple seconds as Tallulah finished off her note. He inhaled again and blew into his flute, fighting back a grin when the note was much steadier this time. Tallulah smiled for him, clapping once he ran out of breath. She really was proud of him– despite him not picking up an instrument before, he was already doing well.

“Alright! I think you’re ready for a simple song!” Tallulah paused as she thought about what song to teach Chayanne. She had a couple favorites that she thought were easy enough, but she had already been playing for a year. Maybe… She giggled to herself as the song came into her mind. Chayanne tilted his head slightly in confusion, and she only giggled more.

“What are you thinking?” Chayanne asked, a knowing smile growing on his face. 

Tallulah took a moment to steady herself before giving her reply. 

“Hot Cross Buns.” 

Chayanne paused before the joke hit him. Tallulah watched as his face lit up and he started laughing. 

“Is this because I’m a chef?” he joked. Tallulah started laughing with him.

“No! I mean, partially. It really is a good beginner's song to learn.” 

Chayanne rolled his eyes, but fixed his posture all the same. Tallulah’s cheeks felt rosy from the excitement and laughter. She loved being able to share music with her siblings, and she was incredibly happy that Chayanne was interested. She hoped that one day they would be able to perform duets together. 

“First, you’re gonna start with a D.” Tallulah demonstrated on her flute and blew into it, a crisp note coming from the instrument. Chayanne copied her, and was pleasantly surprised when the same sound came from his flute.

“Good! Now, you’re going to play a C.” Again, Tallulah showed the finger placement for the note and played it, Chayanne following her example.

“Last, a B flat.” This time, a sharp squeak came from Chayanne’s flute and he flinched back in surprise. Tallulah took in the shocked look on his face and held back a giggle. She remembered the first time she had picked up the flute. Her small fingers made it hard at first to play, and she was constantly causing little squeaks. With practice, it became less and less common for her to do so, but that’s not to say it still didn’t happen occasionally. A light flush came to Chayanne’s cheeks, and he tried again, only to cause another shrill noise.

“If that happens, it means your placement isn’t great,” Tallulah informed. “Try moving your finger a bit and see if that helps.”

Chayanne nodded and readjusted his grip, trying again to play a B flat. The note sounded better this time, and he played it again to be sure. Tallulah and Chayanne sat there for a bit, going back and forth between notes. Tallulah explained the pattern of the notes and played through the song for Chayanne. He slowly worked his way through the song, pausing to listen to Tallulah’s instructions. The pride in Tallulah’s chest grew as he made it through the song for the first time without any mistakes. She cheered, setting aside her flute to wrap him in a big hug.

“You did it!” she exclaimed. “You’re doing so well!” 

Chayanne flushed and ducked his head at the praise. He hugged her back, joy simmering in his chest.

“Only cause you’re a great teacher,” he mumbled. Tallulah was going to respond, but was interrupted by the click of the front door. She and Chayanne both turned to face the door as they heard two pairs of feet shuffle through.

“Chay! Lullah! We’re home–”

“ ¡¿Qué pasó?! ”

“What happened to the kitchen?!”

Oh, right. 

The kitchen. 

Chayanne and Tallulah glanced down at each other, only now seeming to remember the flour that covered their clothes. Looking back up, they could see the kitchen still in disarray, as well as a trail of flour from the kitchen to where they now sat. Despite their earlier efforts, there was still flour on the kitchen table, the cabinets, and the counter. Chayanne’s abandoned dough sat puffed up in a bowl, having risen since their food fight and impromptu music lesson. 

As Phil and Missa rounded the corner, Chayanne and Tallulah sheepishly met their gazes. Sharp inhales came from their parents, and it was silent for a moment as the two waited to be scolded. Instead, they were surprised to hear a wheezy laugh come from Phil and small giggles come from Missa. Chayanne and Tallulah hesitantly smiled, before joining in. 

“We were gone just for the morning, and you two got into this mess?” Phil got out between laughs. Chayanne and Tallulah nodded, big grins on their faces.

“Lullah started it!” Chayanne teased. 

“Did not!”

“ Ya es suficiente ,” Missa interrupted lightly. “What matters now is cleaning it, and you two as well, up.” 

Chayanne and Tallulah stood up and shuffled back into the kitchen, albeit begrudgingly, and picked up their abandoned rags. Phil grabbed an extra rag as Missa took over sweeping, and, soon enough, the kitchen was starting to look clean again. When Phil reached the sink, he saw the burnt pan and threw a questioning glance at Chayanne, who just shrugged. Phil shook his head, but began scrubbing away the few remaining bits of burnt bacon. 

As the last of the flour was wiped away, the family collapsed into their seats at the table. Chayanne and Tallulah immediately rested their heads on their arms, tired out from their fight and subsequent cleaning. Phil chuckled lightly, and Missa reached out to brush a curl from Tallulah’s face. 

“Did you two even eat breakfast?” Phil asked softly. 

“We ate some bacon,” Chayanne mumbled. Tallulah nodded in response. It was quiet for a second longer before Missa stood up and gathered a sleepy Tallulah in his arms. Phil followed, tucking Chayanne in his.

“How about this,” Missa offered. “You two take a quick nap, and we’ll finish up a late breakfast?”

“Just no avocado toast,” Tallulah muttered as she was placed in bed. Phil laughed lightly as he set Chayanne next to her, pulling the covers over both of them. 

“No avocado toast,” he agreed. 

As Phil and Missa walked back to the kitchen, Chayanne and Tallulah could faintly hear soft whispers and the clinging of dishware. With the promise of warm food later, the two began to drift off. Chayanne’s hand loosely gripped the blanket, and Tallulah’s arm wrapped around her crow plush. Content, despite their earlier chaos, they fell into an easy sleep, comforted by the love of their family.