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Magnus clutched Madzie’s hand, both of them waving Catarina off as she stepped into her portal. “What shall it be today, sweet pea?” he asked, turning to Madzie when the portal winked out of existence.
“Can we bake cookies? You promised last time,” Madzie said, tugging on one of Magnus’ long purple tentacles as she dropped her backpack by the door. The tentacles surged around her, eight of them in all, poking at her in greeting.
“Cookies it is,” Magnus said with a flourish of tentacles, laughing when Madzie whirled around and headed straight for the kitchen. He followed after her, putting some Christmas music on with a snap of his fingers. With two days to go until the big day, he wanted to get in the festive mood.
Madzie pulled the stool out from next to the fridge, the stool that Magnus kept for her so she could reach the counter. When Magnus cleared his throat behind her, she turned. The raised eyebrow he shot her had her sighing.
Magnus had to laugh when Madzie dragged her stool over to the sink to wash her hands. He joined her, scrubbing his hands and tentacles. They tended to join in when he cooked.
Madzie was practically hopping with impatience when her hands were clean. Magnus took ages washing all of his tentacles. Dragging her stool back to the island and hopping up, she waited for Magnus to join her before she snapped her fingers.
Magnus shook his head with an indulgent smile. Madzie was far too impatient. He looked over the equipment and ingredients that Madzie had conjured, adding a set of measuring cups, a stand mixer and some tubes of icing with a snap of his own fingers.
“Where’s Alec?” Madzie asked, giggling when one of Magnus’ tentacles snuffled her neck and hair. She accepted the apron Magnus handed her, batting the tentacle away to slip it on.
“He’s working but he should be home soon. I think we should have some cookies waiting when he gets back, hm?” Magnus asked, tieing Madzie’s apron strings behind her back.
“And some cake! Alec loves cake,” Madzie said.
“Uhuh, Alec loves cake. But we’ll stick with the cookies this time. We can make a cake next time,” Magnus chuckled, shaking his head when she pouted. Madzie loved cake. Alec usually ate whatever crumbs she left him. One tentacle snaked out and pulled the fridge door open, taking a box of eggs out. They would need eggs too.
Another of Magnus’ tentacles gripped the knob on the double oven, twisting it to pre-heat while he organized the supplies.
Madzie pushed her hands together and pulled them apart, focussing her magic to expand the kitchen island. They needed more room.
“Well done, sweet pea,” Magnus said, complimenting Madzie on her spellwork when the island doubled in size, filling a good chunk of the kitchen. He slipped his own apron over his head, a couple of tentacles tying the strings behind his back.
Madzie preened, giving one of Magnus’ tentacles a fist bump when it waved in her face. She gripped the edge of the counter, ready for cookies!
“Have you ever made cookies with Catarina?” Magnus asked, grabbing the mixer and a measuring cup. “Cooking is an art form but baking is a science. You have to use the exact right amount of ingredients,” he said when she shook her head.
“Like when we make potions?” Madzie asked, watching Magnus measure a cup of butter out.
“Exactly,” Magnus said, dropping the butter into the mixing bowl. “If we use too much or too little, it won’t work. First, we cream the butter until it’s smoothe,” he said, showing Madzie where the on switch on the mixer was.
“We cream the butter for two minutes, then we need one cup of sugar and one egg,” Magnus said with a nod when Madzie flicked it on.
Madzie grabbed the bag of sugar, struggling until one of Magnus’ tentacles helped her hold it. She carefully measured out one cup of sugar and handed it over. When Magnus started pouring the sugar into the mixer, she cracked one egg into a bowl.
Magnus wrapped a tentacle around Madzie’s waist to lift her up and let her pour the egg into the mixer, watching she didn’t get too close to the beaters. When the egg was combined, he switched the mixer off and scraped the bowl with a spatula to make sure all of the ingredients were mixed.
“Next, the extract. One teaspoon of vanilla and half a teaspoon of Almond extract please, Miss. Madison,” Magnus said, sliding the measuring spoons over with a flick of his tentacle.
Madzie rolled her eyes at the use of her full name but complied. When the tentacle lifted her closer to the mixer again, she measured out the right amounts and dropped them into the mixer, watching the beaters mix the dark extracts into the mix.
“It changed color!” Madzie said, watching the mix turn a darker shade.
“It did,” Magnus said, watching until all of the ingredients were combined. “Now we add the baking powder and flour,” Magnus said, handing Madzie the measuring spoon once more. “Two teaspoons please.”
Madzie measured the baking powder, dropping each teaspoon’s worth in. She giggled when Magnus snapped his fingers. “We don’t need all of them!” she chuckled. Magnus had conjured three measuring cups.
“Of course we do!” Magnus grinned. Gripping a strainer with one tentacle over the first cup, he sifted the all-purpose flour into it to add some air, filling each cup the same way.
A tentacle wrapped around each cup when he was done, ready to go. “We add half a cup at a time. Watch,” Magnus said, lifting Madzie closer once more.
Madzie watched, her eyes going wide. Each half cup of flour that Magnus poured into the bowl made the mixture firmer until it was mixed into a dough.
Magnus flicked the mixer off and cleared the surface of the island with his tentacles. One tentacle dipped into the large jar of flour and sprinkled a handful onto the surface. His tentacle grabbed the rolling pin before he took it and handed it to Madzie, patting his tentacle when it wilted.
“You can get the dough out,” Magnus told it. The tentacle surged forward and pulled the dough out of the mixing bowl, plopping it down on the surface. “We need the dough to be nice and thin,” he told Madzie.
Madzie took her rolling duties very seriously. Even when the front door went. “Alec’s home! Alec, we’re in the kitchen making cookies!” she yelled as she rolled the tough dough.
Magnus sent one tentacle out to flick the coffee pot on for Alec while another two helped Madzie roll the dough. He looked over his shoulder when Alec entered the kitchen.
“What’s all this?” Alec asked, taking in the flour-coated kitchen as he pressed a kiss to Magnus’ cheek.
“Christmas sugar cookies!” Madzie said, tilting her head right back to look up at Alec when he stood behind her.
“I love sugar cookies,” Alec said brightly, accepting it when all of Magnus’ tentacles wrapped around him in a bear hug. He was covered in flour when they released him and went back to helping Madzie.
“They won’t be long,” Magnus said, grabbing a cup with a tentacle and handing it over.
Alec filled his cup and took a seat at the island to watch, smiling when Madzie bent close to the cookie dough.
“Is this thin enough?” Madzie asked, eyeing her work critically.
“It’s fine,” Magnus said. The dough was about half an inch thick. Taking a couple of cookie cutters, he handed one to Madzie and set to work with the other.
Madzie cut her side of the dough out by placing the cutter on the dough and letting a tentacle press it down.
Alec handed a baking tray over when they had a pile of cookie shapes. Santas, Christmas trees, and gift shaped cookies filled the island.
Magnus slid the cookies onto the baking tray and popped the tray into the oven. “Not too close,” he said when Madzie dragged her stool over to the oven to watch them bake through the glass door.
“How was your day?” Magnus asked Alec, joining him at the island for a proper greeting.
“Same as usual. Not as exciting as yours,” Alec grinned, pressing a lingering kiss to Magnus’ lips before his boyfriend pulled back, glancing over at Madzie. “She’s not paying attention to anything but those cookies until they’re done,” he groaned.
“Later,” Magnus promised, pecking Alec’s lips with a chaste kiss before snapping his fingers. The best thing about being a warlock was not having to clean up by hand.
“How long do they take?” Madzie asked, watching the cookies slowly bake. They were taking ages!
“Between six and nine minutes,” Magnus said, pulling a couple of stools out. He set out the icing on the countertop, ready for icing. When the buzzer on the oven went off, he grabbed a mit and retrieved the cookies from the oven before Madzie could pass out from hunger.
Madzie didn’t bother waiting for Magnus to put them on the wire rack. She cooled them in an instant with a wave of her hand.
Alec made to admonish Madzie for her impatience but the excited gleam in her eyes when she climbed up onto the stool, sitting opposite him, was too infectious. They could teach her patience next time.
Magnus took the stool next to Madzie and distributed the cookies between himself, Madzie, and Alec. He had to put extras in front of himself. If the tentacles couldn’t help they would sulk all night.
Alec looked questioningly at Magnus until his boyfriend handed him a colored tube. When he saw Madzie squeezing the contents of her tube onto the cookies he followed suit.
Madzie decorated all of her cookies in record time, showing Magnus and Alec her efforts when she was done. She wilted when she saw Magnus’ beautiful cookies until she looked at the ones his tentacles had decorated and Alec’s efforts. Then she felt better.
“Masterpieces, sweet pea,” Magnus said, smiling when Madzie started beaming once more.
Alec looked down at his cookies, also wilting when he compared them to Magnus’.
“They taste the same whether they are perfect or not,” Magnus said, taking Alec’s hand in his own. “Uh uh, you can have one now. The rest after dinner,” he said when he saw Madzie reach out with both hands.
“Can we put some on the tree?” Madzie asked, dutifully choosing one cookie. When Magnus nodded, she waved her hand and sent two cookies to Catarina at the hospital before gathering a few cookies up.
“Come on, before she demolishes the tree,” Alec said, scooping up a cookie and stuffing it in his mouth before Magnus could stop him.
“You’re as bad as her,” Magnus chuckled. He still took a cookie with him as he followed Madzie and Alec into the living room, ready for an evening of Christmas films with his boyfriend and their ward for the night.