Paul went over his inventory quickly, with a practised eye. Then he checked through the list of orders for delivery: rolls and pastries for three different eateries, several cakes for one downtown cafe, and a take-away order for a school function that afternoon. Bunny came in a few minutes later and they all had a quick discussion about work arrangements. They’d been together for so long, they synchronised well. Everyone knew their roles.

All this hustle and bustle about made Zay dizzy. Everyone was just way too energetic for this time of the morning. It was almost creepy. Tired of waiting for someone to hand him a cookie, he just snagged one from the cooling rack.

Paul smiled at his partner, who was happily nibbling the peanut butter cookie in his hand, deep in thought. Paul watched him for a moment, poured another cup of coffee, took a sip, and went over to Zay. “Finish up, darling. Come on, I need to send off some mail. Come with me to the office.”

Zay paused in mid-nibble. "Why?"

“I just want to have a word with you.”

Zay quickly went over recent actions in his head, trying to find something that Paul would want to 'have a word' about. Everything seemed fine to him, but then his idea of good behaviour and Paul's idea of good behaviour didn't always agree. With a sigh, he dutifully followed Paul to the office.

Paul closed the door, and walked over to his desk. He turned around, parked his behind on the edge of the desk, and regarded his young partner.

The butterflies in Zay's stomach started doing a conga. He stood there and fidgeted nervously.

"What?"

“I can’t help but notice that when you and Suzy get together, trouble always brews.” Paul’s brows drew together in the centre of his forehead, making him look rather stern. “I know, you guys are friends and you enjoy her company and that’s really great. Just a note of warning though - don’t let her pull you into her coils again, Zay. She is my sister and I love her dearly, but she is wild and uncontrolled, and her life is one roller coaster ride after another.”

"Geez, give me a bit of credit, Paul." Paul raised an eyebrow in response. "Suzy's not gonna pull me into anything. She's not all that wild; I mean she has a responsible job and everything, right. The roller coaster analogy is good though, I think all girls are like roller coasters, it's that hormone thing."

“She needs stability, and someone to calm her. You make her worse!”

Zay gave his partner a look of righteous indignation and almost stamped his foot. "I do not."

Paul paused and finally said, “I hope not too.”