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Sorey and Mikleo had taken over the oven in the Ladylake Inn. Lailah had given them tips about baking, and they were eager to put their culinary skills to the test. The baking connoisseur that was their fire seraph had made two recipes—one for Sorey and one for Mikleo. Sorey’s recipe were saffron honey almond cookies while Mikleo had blueberry lavender cookies. She had designed them specifically with them in mind, and she had provided them with the ingredients courtesy of Alisha.
“Okay, Mikleo, we’re going to make the best cookies we can!” Sorey hurrahed.
“What makes you think they’ll even be edible? The most I’ve ever been able to manage is a dried-out butter cookie,” Mikleo sighed.
“Well, we have to try! And we’ll taste-test each other’s and give honest opinions.”
Mikleo let out another longer sigh. Sorey was so excited because he was assuming that this would be just like his soft serve. The thing was, though, that water seraphim were far better at frozen desserts than those that required heat like cookies. He grimaced at Lailah’s recipe.
First things were first, Sorey removed his gloves and tied on an apron as he fully expected this to be a messy endeavor. Mikleo followed suit. Once they were both ready, they sifted flour in either of their mixing bowls. As they looked at their recipes, they saw a note written in the margin:
These are my special recipes dedicated to you two, so please don’t let anyone see these! Love, Lailah
With that, Sorey and Mikleo were ready to partition their doughs into small spheres. Sorey shook his hands that were covered in dough in panic while Mikleo had thought to get a soup spoon to cut into the dough and round each scoop.
“Sorey, you don’t have to use your hands, you know,” Mikleo told him. He offered him another spoon.
“It’s all over my hands already,” Sorey complained. “I never knew cookie dough would be so sticky. Oh, but mine tastes really good!”
“Don’t eat it raw!”
Sorey tilted his head. “Why not? I’ve had goat milk fresh from the Elysian goats, and these ingredients are fresh as they come.”
“Raw egg and flour have bacteria! If you get food poisoning from them, we’ll have to take you to get medicine.”
“So, you can’t just heal me?”
“I-I can, but…I don’t want to see you vomiting…”
Sorey let out a laugh before cleaning off his hands to instead use the spoon to make his balls of dough. After they had both placed all the dough into sphere one inch apart from each other, they were ready to put them into the oven.
It was going to take them about thirty minutes to bake, which was thirty minutes of Sorey and Mikleo staring through the little window at the dough. It was slow at first, watching the balls melt down into little mounds. Then they started to turn darker and darker as the edges turned golden brown. When they were done, Sorey and Mikleo recalled Lailah saying that it was good practice to test how done they would. With a toothpick, they poked the center of them a few cookies. The tiny wooden stick came out clean; they were done!
They pulled them out of the oven to set on the counter to cool off. Sorey placed his hands on Mikleo’s shoulders. “It’s almost time,” he happily said. “I can’t wait to try yours, Mikleo!”
Mikleo couldn’t help but blush. Of course, Sorey was more excited to try his. And who would he be if he wasn’t excited to try his? After a few minutes, the two of them took one of each other’s cookies.
Sorey’s face softened before he lost himself in a dreamy mixture of blueberries and lavender. The sugar in the cookies reminded him of his youth with his water seraph, and while the combination was a bit unconventional, it was relaxing. He took another bite, noticing this time that the blueberry flavor felt like it stayed at the front of his mouth and the lavender—aroma and taste—drift back. If he were to have closed his eyes, it would have been like he was walking in a field of lavender itself.
Seeing the utter bliss on his face, Mikleo took one of Sorey’s cookies. Contrasting to the ones he had made, Sorey’s cookies were stronger and more aromatic. The saffron, like the lavender, was boisterous and earthy, and the honey that was underneath it held it up so that its sweetness melded together seamlessly. The almonds in the cookies, which when baked, released a small amount of oil that layered on the honey and added their nutty flavor. The complexity of this particular cookie made him tear up. If was a cookie that perfectly encapsulated who Sorey was. Mikleo covered his face.
“M-Mikleo?!” Sorey gasped. “Was it bad?”
Mikleo shook his head. “No…it’s exactly the flavor that would make me think of you,” he said like his heart was squeezing him. He teared up a little.
“Mikleo!” Sorey gasped.
Sorey threw his arms around him for a tight hug. “I guess I’m pretty good at baking then,” he sheepishly tooted his horn. “B-But don’t cry!”
Mikleo smiled at him tearfully. He gave him a little kiss on his cheek. “I’m not crying; they’re just too good!”
Sorey had to giggle at that. He returned the kiss to his forehead. When it was time to clean up, the two decided that the cookies would be a treat filled with their love just for themselves.