"Not so much as I used to." True enough, John had arrived looking alarmingly rail-thin. He has filled out to merely skinny. He's openly pleased about it, and fond, too: Jack has been a significant force pushing the concept of multiple daily meals in his life.

He takes up his bowl and folds down to sit at Jack's side. Always slightly inelegant, always watching surreptitiously to see how Jack arranged his limbs. John lets their shoulders brush, their knees nearly touching.

"You should teach me to cook as you do, Jack. It's incredible."