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“Babe! Come help me pour the ingredients in. This is the easy part.”
“I’m coming. I just don’t want to mess up your super scientific process.”
Dani walked over to the kitchen, where Aubrey had spread out what looked like the entire pantry. A variety of ingredients and baking tools covered the counter, and Aubrey leaned over an empty tray.
“There is nothing scientific about this. I see recipes as nothing but a vague suggestion. This is about creativity, about feeling, about passion!” Aubrey popped up from the tray and waved the whisk in her hand with fervor.
“Well, your passion needs to serve at least 10 people,” Dani giggled, dodging the whisk to pick up a spoon of her own. “Who knew gingerbread cookies were such a heart project.”
Aubrey pointed to a small bowl of spices she had measured out, and Dani poured it into the larger bowl of flour, beginning to stir. “When I offered to bake something for the Lodge holiday party, I was kind of hoping Barclay would turn me down,” Aubrey said as she whisked. “Like when you offer to help someone move, you don’t actually want to do it, you just know they won’t take you up on it. But we can work with this! I’m a fake-magician turned real-magician and you’re a vampire, we adapt!”
“I don’t think that magician or vampire really helps with baking skills, babe. But I appreciate your encouragement,” Dani placed a kiss on Aubrey’s cheek in-between stirs. “And I totally forgive you for volunteering me to help you without my knowledge.”
“Well, we’re kind of a package deal! We are both independent people, yes. There’s Aubrey, and there’s Dani. But when it comes to baking projects and the like, there’s Aubrey’n’Dani.”
“Got it.” Dani presented her stirred ingredients, which Aubrey accepted with a smile. She took one look at the bowl, declared “needs more spice,” and grabbed the open ginger container to dump more in the mixture.
Dani decided to let the expert take the lead for now. She leaned against the counter to watch her girlfriend fold in the dry and wet mixtures, with a familiarity that she found fascinating.
Knowing Aubrey had taught Dani so much about the world she now inhabited. Sure, she had encountered Earth before Aubrey walked into the Lodge, but there was now an intimacy, domesticity that was previously overlooked. Her experiences of the world had consisted of new cuisine, pop culture, the odd ways of governing, the grueling history. Until Aubrey. Surface knowledge, she discovered, could not possibly encapsulate what it was to be human. It was not until she saw Aubrey recite song lyrics word for word, or complain about her hair color fading, or bake gingerbread cookies without a recipe, that she truly understood life on Earth, life in Kepler.
“Helloooo. Earth to Dani. Or Sylvain to Dani? Is that what you guys say?” Aubrey waved a flour-covered whisk in front of her face, and Dani blinked back to the present. “Where’d you go there?”
“Nowhere. Just thinking about how cool you are.” She smiled and bumped Aubrey’s hip.
“Aw, you’re cute. But you’re the worst baking assistant ever. I need someone on top of their game, do I need to replace you with Duck?”
Dani let out an offended gasp. “I am the best baking assistant. And you can’t kiss Duck in return for helping.”
“Good point. You’re reinstated.” Aubrey leaned over in invitation, and Dani gladly met her with a kiss. “Now help me with the mixer.”
The two hefted the electric mixer onto the counter, inducing an explosion of flour around them. They broke into a coughing fit, and Dani laughed at Aubrey’s now powdered hair. Aubrey shook her head, creating even more flour to hit Dani. She laughed in between coughs and doubled over to sit on the kitchen floor.
“Oh, great, my assistant has already given up. She’s left me to tackle these cookies alone. There is no loyalty in this kitchen,” Aubrey sighed as she poured ingredients into the mixer and set it on low.
“You just said I was the worst assistant ever. I’m doing you a favor by not helping.”
Aubrey slid down the counter to meet Dani on the floor. “Okay, point taken. Criticism revoked.” She rested her head on Dani’s shoulder. “I have to let the dough mix anyway.”
The two leaned against the counter in a way that was undoubtedly uncomfortable, but neither of them dared move. This moment of calm was precious for both of them, a brief reprieve from the chaos Amnesty Lodge brought.
Dani gazed at her girlfriend from the corner of her eye. The way her bright hair brushed her cheek, how her bracelets jangled when she moved, how their legs were tangled up together on this dirty kitchen floor. She could light up a room, fire or no, just by walking in. It astounded Dani, how lucky she was to sit here in silence with the person she loved.
“I love you,” Dani whispered, mainly to herself. She barely realized what she had said before Aubrey’s head shot up from her shoulder.
“You- what?”
“I love you,” she said, louder this time, because yes, of course she did. She loved Aubrey Little so much, how could she not?
Aubrey stared at her for a moment in silence. Dani panicked for a split second, thinking she had misstepped, until Aubrey jumped up from the floor and beamed. “That’s great!”
Dani let out an involuntary snort at Aubrey’s reaction, which slid into full on giggling. “It is- it is great!” She laughed, smiling up at her girlfriend.
It was then Aubrey’s turn to panic, realizing her reaction, and she leaned down to pick Dani up from the floor. “No, that’s not what I meant to say, I mean, yeah it is great, but,” she hoisted Dani up and held both her hands. “I love you too. That’s what I meant. Like, a lot.”
“Well, that’s pretty great.” Dani moved her hands to Aubrey’s face to bring her in for a kiss. It was soft and chaste and full of the love they had just declared. Aubrey broke away, unable to stop smiling, but kept her head close.
“We should really finish those cookies,” Dani whispered, resting her forehead on Aubrey’s.
“Yeah, we should,” Aubrey replied, before bringing her in for another kiss. This one was less chaste, both wrapping their arms around each other and pressing their bodies close.
Aubrey pushed Dani against the counter, running her hands through her hair, and Dani leaned against it to support their weight. Aubrey shifted to lean into Dani’s neck, but as she moved, a crash erupted, causing both of them to jump. They both turned to see the ginger container Aubrey had left open fall straight into the mixer where the dough still sat. The mixer continued to spin unaware. They could only stare in silence for a moment, before Aubrey turned the mixer off in a rush and picked up the bottle that was now completely empty. The remaining ginger had all spilled and incorporated itself into the dough.
The silence continued, both of them staring at what was now an unsalvageable mixture. Aubrey looked at Dani, and back at the mixture, and all she could do was mutter a small, “oops?”
The lobby of Amnesty Lodge was just big enough to host all the residents for a holiday party. They were all packed around a single table, with various treats layed out, Aubrey and Dani’s gingerbread cookies front and center. Everyone had dug into the cookies, before stopping in what could be curiosity or repulsion. No one swallowed.
“Well, ladies,” Duck stuttered, staring at the cookie in his hand in an excuse to not make eye contact, “these cookies, sure are, um, well, they’re something, I’ll tell you that. Are they the best cookies I’ve ever eaten? You know, it’s hard to say, but what I will say is that-”
“They’re disgusting!” Ned interrupted, spitting his single bite out into a napkin. “What did you do to these things, put some chili peppers in there for flavor? These could clear my sinuses in minutes!” He continued to mutter as he served himself a full glass of eggnog and chugged it.
“We, uh, we took some artistic liberties? It may not have worked out as well as we expected,” Aubrey said, trying to hold in a laugh.
“No, it sure didn’t.” Barclay put his cookie down and shook his head. “That’s the last time I let you two in my kitchen.”
Dani laughed and put her arm around Aubrey’s waist. Ned took the tray of cookies and tossed them all in the trash, and everyone moved on to the other treats displayed. As chatter picked up again, Dani leaned on her girlfriend and smiled. She felt Aubrey smile too, and they pulled each other closer. Their baking may have seemed a complete failure, but to Dani, it was perfect. To Dani, it was so utterly human. She shifted to place a kiss on Aubrey’s cheek.
If this was life in Kepler, Dani didn’t mind sticking around a bit longer.