"LEX, you'll never guess what happened!" Levi exclaimed excitedly as he burst into the apartment, before pausing to look around.

"Lex?"

"In the kitchen!" Lex's voice echoed through the apartment, and Levi stormed into the kitchen with the same unparalleled enthusiasm.

"You'll nev-- what are you doing?"

Lex chuckled as Levi tilted his head in curiosity.

"I'm making lasagna," he answered, "is that not allowed?"

"It's allowed, it's just..." Levi trailed off uncomfortably.

"You didn't think I would ever get around to preparing a decent meal instead of instant food?" Lex guessed.

"Um... yeah," Levi admitted.

"It doesn't matter," Lex dismissed it with a wave of his hand, putting the dish of lasagna into the oven and turning to face Levi.

"What was it you wanted me to guess?"

"I made it into the football team!" Levi squealed, jumping up and down in excitement, "I'm in the same team as Tim, Luke, Jamie and Neall!"

"That's great!" Lex smiled, taking off the oven mitts and apron that he'd been wearing.

"Yeah it is!" Levi grinned, "and guess what? Damien and his goons approached me again today, and the twins threatened to attack them if they didn't leave me alone, and they walked away!"

"Damien Westwood?" Lex frowned.

"Yeah, that's the one," Levi nodded, "anyway, he's not a problem anymore, and Tim said I could play football with him, the twins and Luke during breaks too!"

"So you've made yourself some friends," Lex smiled, and Levi's cheeks turned a shade of light red.

"Yeah, I guess so," he answered with a smile.

Lex reflected his smile, before suddenly remembering something.

"Oh! Before I forget..." he searched through his pockets, before taking a key out of one of them and dramatically handing it over to Levi.

Levi accepted it with a questioning look, inspecting the key and noting that it looked brand-new.

"It's a copy of our apartment key," Lex replied, holding up the original, "that way we don't have to worry about who has the key."

"Smart," Levi mumbled, sticking the key into his pocket, "anyway, I should probably make a start on my homework."

"Sounds like a good idea," Lex nodded, "do you think you could take the lasagna out of the oven when it's done? Then I'm going to go shopping -- we're almost out of coffee."

Levi pulled a face at the thought of the black liquid, his last experience with coffee having been less than perfect.

A lot less.

Lex chuckled at the look on Levi's face.

"Here's a timer, just take it out and switch the oven off when it rings."

He handed the small clock to Levi, who accepted it with a curt nod before dashing off to his room.

Lex shook his head, and then picked up his bag. 

Let's hope he doesn't burn the house down while I'm away.

-

Lex strolled down the aisles of the supermarket with his hands in his pockets. He didn't really intend on buying anything -- except perhaps some coffee -- and he was mostly just searching for a way to pass time.

Lex London was bored.

It was times like these that he was thankful that he'd never been a pickpocket. He'd taken part in countless heists, break-ins and other large-scale thievery, but he'd never felt the need to swipe things off people when they weren't looking.

That didn't mean he wasn't good at it -- the incident with Lexon was proof of that -- but it did mean that he wasn't constantly haunted by the impulse to stick everything into his pockets that wasn't duct-taped in place. And now that he was walking down aisle after aisle of all sorts of dangerously loose objects, Lex found himself extremely grateful that he wasn't subjected to that temptation.

Because, well, it might've caused a few problems.

Especially when he started down the coffee aisle.

The various types and brands of coffee lined the shelves, occasionally interrupted by one of the boxes of teabags that were dotted everywhere between the packages of coffee beans. This particular supermarket had a wide array of coffee, and it had a few of the better brands too.

Lex ran his eyes over all the coffee, digging his hands deeper into his pockets just in case. The rest of the aisle was void of people, but if anyone had been watching they probably wouldn't have noticed anything out of the ordinary. Lex was a master at disguising his emotions when he wanted to be.

Although anyone watching might have been surprised by the speed with which Lex came to a sudden halt when he noticed something.

Well look at that. My luck has turned.

What had he noticed, you ask? What was this spectacular event that had brought the great Lex London to a standstill?

You might have guessed it by now, but in case you haven't, I'll tell you.

The good coffee was on discount.

-

Lex walked back into his apartment with a small smile on his face. He was still subconsciously trying to hide it, the instinct that he'd built up over the years screaming at him to keep his emotions in check.

After all, show of emotions would only ever get him caught, and what was the point in that?

Despite his demanding instincts, Lex still smiled as he put down his bag and made himself some coffee. It wasn't the same as coffee from an actual coffee machine, but it was a whole improvement from the cheap coffee he'd had before.

The smell of lasagna was drifting through the whole apartment, and Lex noted with satisfaction that Levi had succeeded in not letting the meal burn to a crisp. The dish was standing on top of the stove for the time being, cooling down so they'd be able to eat soon.

Lex took his Iron Man mug in one hand and a book in his other (he'd finished Voyage of the Dawn Treader and was now reading Halt's Peril again) as he walked to the couch, sitting down with a happy sigh.

He took a sip of his coffee, and his smile widened. Life was pretty much perfect like this. Sure, he was still a wanted criminal, and he didn't exactly earn a fortune, but things were looking up.

Of course, it's when you start getting hope for the future that Fate decides to step in and switch things up.

-

Okay, so things are finally going to start getting interesting (in like three chapters from now XD). Anyway, thanks for sticking with me this far, I really appreciate it =D. (And if it's not too much trouble, could you do me a favour and vote if you enjoyed this chapter? Thanks ;D)

~Ev