'Endearments'

Jalil was woken up by the ray of sunshine through his glass window and the loud chirping of the birds. He glanced beside him and saw no one there. Then he gradually heard faint laughter outside.

His brows knitted, and he got up to leave his room. His eyes were half-closed while he slowly paced towards the dining room.

He stared at his grandparents and Eliza, who were merrily chitchatting while having breakfast.

It took a couple of minutes before Eliza noticed Jalil's presence. She smiled from ear to ear, which made the elderlies look in his direction as well.

"Good morning, pumpkin." Jalil was stupefied at the last word he heard from Eliza's mouth.

His brows furrowed in confusion as his gaze followed her when he stood up and walked towards him.

"I cooked something else for you since I cooked vegetables for Mamu and Papu," Eliza said, which made Jalil's brows furrow even more.

"Mamu? Papu? Wait. What's happening?"

Jalil's grandparents chuckled at what he said and his reaction.

"Oh, dear. Look at that face." His grandfather laughed at Jalil's face. "Your grandma was jealous when she called you pumpkin. So, she wanted Eliza to call her a unique name as well."

Jalil looked in Eliza's direction and held her hand to excuse themselves from his grandparents. He brought her to his room and glared at her.

"Do you see me as a family of squash or something? Why are you calling me pumpkin?" Jalil asked.

Eliza covered her nose and rolled her eyes after.

"You don't know endearments? They asked me about it, and pumpkin was the first word that came to mind." Eliza waved her hand in front of Jalil. "Also, brush your teeth first. Gosh! Is this the Jalil who's famous?"

Jalil deadpanned. "I just woke up."

"I know. Still, you should've brushed your teeth first before talking to me. Tsk." Eliza opened the room's door and glanced at him.

"Faster pumpkin before your breakfast gets cold," she winked, then she left. 

Jalil was stunned at Eliza's weird actions. "What's with her?"

He paused and smelled his breath by breathing into his palm. "Ah, right. I forgot to brush my teeth last night," he mumbled.

After cleaning his face and brushing his teeth, Jalil went to the dining room with his fresh and presentable appearance. He sat beside Eliza, just across from his grandparents.

"It's omelette and bacon, pumpkin," Eliza sweetly said to Jalil, which made chills up his spine. Above all, the heart-shaped sauce on top of the omelette made him feel cringe.

'Stop calling me that,' he mouthed, but he just received a mischievous smile from her.

They continued eating, and Jalil had no choice but to go along with Eliza to appease his grandparents. 

He knew their gazes very well. They were not just chitchatting; they were also observing him and Eliza, how they work as a married couple, and whether they get along or not.

Jalil was being careful and tried as much as he could to match Eliza's behavior towards him. He started calling her peach and felt triumphant as he received an annoyed and cringe-worthy reaction from her. Now, they were quits.