Jennifer had a lot of questions.
And she wasn't the only one.
Rolly was kind enough to patiently answer everything the best that he could.
#1
Jennifer: Why was Rolly going around as Ronan the Dragon?
Rolly: That's just what they call me at work.
#2
Jennifer: I thought you became a chef?
Rolly: Yes. I used to work in a restaurant.
#3
EJ: What? Why would a strong Awakener want to be a cook?
Angus: He was a chef.
EJ: Is that a levelled-up cook?
Rolly: I only reached sous chef. I wasn't an Awakener then. Just a really normal guy. And the girl I liked in elementary school said she wanted to marry a chef so she could eat cake every day.
Angus: But that's a patissier.
Rolly: Quite right. I only found that out after going to culinary school. I did my degree in patisserie… but the restaurant that hired me promoted me to sous chef. It just worked out like that.
EJ: Wait—you went to cooking school because of a girl? From elementary school?
Angus (nodding): That must be true love.
Perhaps it was another girl. But Jennifer suddenly remembered saying something very similar after attending her aunt's wedding.
She had asked her mother why they never ate cake like that. And her mother had told her that if she married a chef, he could bake three-tiered cakes every day.
Her friends had teased her about it for at least two years.
Now that was a memory Jennifer would have liked to forget forever.
But Jennifer was also quite sure there could be other girls with mothers as prone to lying as hers had been.
Rolly was probably talking about someone else.
Liam: Did you get to marry her?
Rolly: No. She married someone else. And I became an Awakener and got too busy for that sort of thing.
Quintin: How did you become an Awakener?
Rolly: Back alley. Late at night. Tripped over a black box on the way home.
Damien: Are you Ms. Jen's boyfriend?
Rolly: No.
And then, all on his own, without anyone asking, Rolly said,
"I've lost count of the times I nearly lost my life. And every single time, I see her face and regret not ever saying anything. Even after I saw Shilem campaigning on the news with another woman by his side… I just…"
He swallowed.
"I just came to give you this, Jenny."
Rolly held up the flowers and the cake box.
"I like you, Jenny."
His hands were still large and calloused even in his unawakened form.
He looked around at the men surrounding them.
"I'm probably too late. But I've said it now. I really like you. I've liked you since fifth grade."
"What? But I never knew!" Jennifer blurted out.
Rolly smiled, his eyes twinkling.
"I never told you. I mean, you were always so bright. And I was always just the fat boy. I wasn't smart at school, and I'm not very good with words…"
He held up the cake box again.
"But I can bake you cake every day. I promise I'm very good at that."
"But you're an Awakener!" Jennifer said (yes, she was aware her words made no sense). "You don't have time to bake!"
Rolly laughed softly.
"Maybe it's time I retired. It's been a long fifteen years… I could open a café. If you give me a chance, Jenny, I promise I'll—"
Then he noticed the men around her again and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Ah. Well. I probably jumped the gun. I mean… here's cake and flowers. I better go now."
And then, just as Rolly reached the door, Jennifer noticed something.
He walked with the exact same gait as the Ronan the Dragon who had come in earlier.
And just as the doorman opened the door for him, Jennifer suddenly yelled at his back,
"Rolly! I'm not dating anyone!"
She had no idea why she did that.
Rolly stopped at the door.
He turned back, looking stunned.
Then he smiled, his eyes twinkling.
"Okay. I'll bring more cake next time."
Outside, it was chaotic.
Government agents, Awakener response teams, medics, and soldiers were cleaning up and working to close the portal.
Someone official-sounding was yelling that he wanted a report.
And where the hell had that dragon disappeared to now?
Rolly stepped just beyond the door the doorman was holding open.
And voop.
Suddenly he was gloriously muscled again, stepping out into the sunlight.
"Sir!" he was recognised immediately.
Of course he was.
And he had just promised to bring Jennifer more cake next time.