Lukas threw open his bedroom door, his senses on high alert.

He saw nothing, but heard shuffling from the direction of the dining room. He immediately retrieved his [Cursed Blade] from his spatial ring, crossing the living room in three steps.

He came into the dining room with his sword ready and found Melody standing over a broken glass cup, her shoulders drawn up.

On her face was an expression that was a mix of guilt and embarrassment.

She looked up at him.

"Sorry," she said quietly.

Akira burst in from the kitchen a second later, both hands raised, wearing a pair of oven mittens.

She looked at Lukas, then at Melody, then at the glass on the floor. "What happened?" she asked.

Melody gestured at the pieces. "I dropped it."

Akira stared at her. "That’s what all that noise was?"

"I didn’t mean to."

Lukas exhaled, returning the sword to his spatial ring before looking around the dining room properly for the first time since entering it.

A steaming bowl of chicken soup sat at the center of the table. Around it were several dishes, each one covered or plated and ready to be served.

That was when the aroma finally hit him, and he blinked in surprise.

He looked at his wives.

"What is all this?"

Akira pulled off one of the mittens and grinned. "We were going to surprise you with breakfast before you woke up. The plan was to bring you out here with food already on the table, and see your reaction."

Melody spread her arms. "Surprise."

Lukas let out a long breath. The tension drained out of his shoulders and he almost laughed.

"You definitely surprised me," he said.

Melody walked across the room, grabbed his arm with both hands, and pulled him towards the head of the table. He let her.

Akira disappeared back into the kitchen and returned with the remaining dishes, setting them out until the table was full.

They sat down and ate.

The food was good. Lukas told them so, and meant it.

Halfway through the meal, he looked up. "What made you two decide to do this?"

Melody rested her chin on her hand. "You’ve been cooking for us. Since before we even got here, really. We wanted to do something back."

"Also," Akira said, reaching for another serving, "we need to learn how to cook. Cooking is a life skill. What happens if you get hurt and can’t cook? Do Melody and I just starve?"

"That would be a terrible way to go," Melody agreed.

"Teach us," Akira said. It wasn’t quite a request.

Lukas smiled. "Fine. We’ll start simple."

They finished eating, cleared the table between them, and split off to their rooms to wash and dress.

When they met again in the living room, Lukas had on a white shirt under a black jacket, dark trousers, and boots.

Melody came out in a bright yellow sundress that caught the morning light, a wide brown hat already on her head, her expression bright.

Akira appeared last, dressed entirely in black. She wore a black crop top, black jacket, and black trousers. She looked at Melody’s yellow dress, then down at her own outfit.

"We match," she said flatly.

"We absolutely do not match," Melody said.

"I meant as opposites." Akira shrugged. "It works."

Lukas looked at both of them, then moved towards the door.

"Let’s go," he said.

They left the apartment, the door shutting behind them with a click.

Lukas tested the handle once out of habit. It was locked.

They turned to the elevator. This time, the platform wasn’t there. The shaft was empty, the opening sitting open in front of them with nothing inside.

Then Melody noticed the button. It was small and round, set into the wall beside the frame. She pressed it, and it lit up.

"Oh," Akira said. She stared at the glowing button, then at the empty shaft, then back at the button. "With a touch of a button, you call it and it comes to you." She shook her head slowly. "That’s ingenious."

They waited. About a minute passed, and then the platform rose into view from below, stopping level with the floor in front of them.

They stepped on it. Lukas found the numbered panel and pressed the button marked one.

The platform descended.

The lobby came into view gradually, the polished floor and clean walls appearing as they dropped. The platform settled at the ground level and they stepped off.

This time, the front desk wasn’t empty.

A receptionist sat behind it, a man in his thirties with a neat collar and a pen in his hand. He looked up as they walked across the lobby.

Something occurred to Lukas.

He changed direction and walked to the desk. The receptionist straightened slightly.

"Good morning," Lukas said, smiling.

"Good morning." The man smiled back. "How can I help you, sir?"

"We’re new residents. We just moved in yesterday." Lukas leaned against the counter, flashing his key card. "Do you know where we could find a map of sector four?"

The receptionist’s expression relaxed. "We actually keep maps for residents." He rose from his chair. "Give me a moment."

He disappeared through a door behind the desk and returned less than a minute later, a folded map in his hand. He set it on the counter.

"There you go."

"Thank you." Lukas took it and walked back to his wives.

He unfolded it between them. The map was detailed, with streets, landmarks, and transit routes all clearly marked. Their building had been indicated on it with a small symbol.

"That’s us," Melody said, tapping it.

"First thing," Lukas said. "Faustian Bank."

They scanned the map together, tracing streets with their eyes. They found a branch, but it sat far across the sector, near the edge of the map.

"That’s too far to start with," Akira said.

They looked again, more carefully this time, working closer to their marked location.

"There," Melody said.

She pointed to a second branch, which stood much closer. It was a reasonable distance away by tram.

Lukas folded the map and tucked it away.

They stepped out of the building into the morning air before finding the nearest tram stop without much difficulty.

They checked the route board on the wall, and identified the line they needed to take.

After a few minutes of waiting, the tram arrived, slowed, and opened its doors.

They stepped on.