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It's a hard watch for Elliot, to turn away from the buzz of the main cabin and witness Guest, that courageous and practically fearless soldier, practically limp back to his cabin.
He's done so much to protect the team, body-blocking some of the most vicious attacks, charging after the killer and distracting for minutes on end. But by the end of every round, he's so exhausted and banged up he simply wants to rest, preferably on the side that doesn't hurt so much.
It makes Elliot want to chase after him and feed him more pizza. Somehow, by whatever magically bullshit exists, his pizza has a healing factor, and he would abuse that just to bring his lover the much needed relief.
Oh, what to do? He should let him rest, obviously, but there must be something he could do for his tired darling.
Elliot ponders over it, resting his chin on his fist as he sits on the couch. Suddenly an idea flashes into his head. He could make something in appreciation! Cooking was about all Elliot could think of doing, more so along the lines of baking, so he could sneak something sweet to the blue-haired man, maybe even leave a note if he wasn't up for chat.
But first he'd have to wait a little bit for the cabin to clear out, or else someone might get the wrong idea that Elliot was baking for the entire household.
No problem! He had plenty of time.. unless another round started. Hopefully not..
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As soon as everyone left, Elliot quietly made his way into the kitchen. It was mostly stocked up on a random assortment of pantry items, dry, wet, and canned. The first time he entered the kitchen, it felt odd. Everyday it was restocked and kept organized, even when he ran low that day, by the next round more items appeared.
Whatever entity kept them here was at least diligent.
Elliot then turned to look at a shelf covered in dust. He gave a quick once over before finding a small cookbook with a baked apple pie on the front cover. He flipped through the pages until he found one recipe that seemed easy enough: brown sugar cookies.
Flour, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, baking powder, salt.. simple stuff.
It doesn't take long for the blonde to find all of the ingredients. Once he's found them, he sets them on the counter and looks for a mixing bowl.
The process doesn't take long, measuring out the amounts into cups and stirring it all together. He hums in content, browning the butter with a spatula for a few minutes as it begins to bubble. Once it thickens, he adds it to a mixing bowl alongside the eggs and a teaspoon of vanilla, whisking it thoroughly.
Along the process, Elliot begins to hum a tune, something he's heard on the radio from time to time. He feels... peaceful in this moment. It's not often that the entity holding everyone hostage allows for a moment of calm, but it seems to not have a care for what happens in the survivors' free time. At the very least, it's taking Elliot's mind off of fighting for eternity.
Once the dry is added in, Elliot takes the liberty of dumping an entire bag of chocolate chip chunks into the mix-- because at this point, why not make it so sweet?
He finds the parchment and cuts a large piece off, lining the oven tray with it as he spoons the dough on until there are a dozen pieces lined up. He slides the tray back in and turns the knob on the oven to 350°, making a mental note to check them frequently.
Now that the main batch was out of the way, he could work on making a ganache frosting.
Much like the cookies, ganache is very simple to make. All it takes is some good quality chocolate and heavy cream in a pot, and fortunately he had extra chocolate laying around.
First you heat up the cream until it bubbles around the edges, then you add in the chocolate and stir until it completely blends together....
Elliot was completely caught up in the process that he jumped as soon as a pair of well-built arms wrapped around him. He damn near trips, instead fully backing into the man behind him. He stares up at the face looking back at him with an equal amount of shock.
"Sorry Ellie, didn't mean to startle you." Guest starts, his eyes droopy with a hint of sleeplessness. Elliot sighs in relief, then smiles at the man. His hand affectionately taps on the arm around his torso. "You're fine, I thought you were gonna take a rest though?"
Guest lets go momentarily, allowing the blonde the much needed space to finish stirring the pot of melted delight and to turn off the burner. He smiles, through a moment of a painful memory of waking up feeling as if his back on fire, he remembers the scent of warm sweetness wafting in from the main cabin.
"Tried to, but I thought I smelt something sweet, guess my nose was right." He flashes a soft, tired smile. He breathes in the scent deeply and chuckles. "What are you making anyway?"
"Brown sugar cookies with a shit ton of chocolate chunks, also I've got some ganache on the stove, try some!" Elliot holds the whisk up to his darling's face.
The soldier needn't be told twice, leaning forward and taking it by the handle. The tip of his tongue glides against the coated wires, the taste of chocolate floods his mouth in a large heaping. His eyes widen in delight at the flavor, licking the layer off of his lips as he goes in for a second taste.
"Wow, is it that good?"
"Mhm-" Guest pauses his ministrations momentarily as it gathers on the corner of his mouth. He's about to wipe it off when Elliot interjects with his own hand. Confused, he stares at the shorter man as his fingers wipe it away and immediately bringing them up to his own mouth. A cheeky smile plasters over his face.
"What? I just wanted a little taste too." Elliot fake pouts, the appendage moving quickly against the dessert until it vanishes entirely. Guest looks a little shocked, before letting out a soft giggle. He then leans down a places a chaste kiss against his partner's lips, then a second and third, trailing all the way up to his ear before he whispered. "You deserve a little sweetness too, darling."
A soft red stretches across Elliot's features as he turns away, flustered. "Tease."
Then Elliot remembers to check on the cookies, pulling away from Guest he crouches down to check on them. Golden brown, just about done.
"I'll get these put onto a plate, if you wanna go sit on the couch I'll be done in a sec."
Guest nods and walks out of the kitchen, plopping down onto the couch. A minute later Elliot reappears with a silver plate, the steam rising off of the sugary treats. Guest can feel the drool pooling at his mouth as Elliot sets them on the coffee table, taking a moment to snuggle up with him.
The first bite tastes delicious, Guest's eyes are rolling back and it feels like a warm surprise of gooey butterscotch on his tongue. "Oh my- were you a baker before you started delivering pizzas?"
To this Elliot laughs, "I took a few cooking classes thanks to my dad wanting to expand the family business, but honestly I've been too busy to pick it back up again."
He waits for the man to finish chewing before placing a kiss on the corner of his cheek. "Thanks for boosting my ego, though."
There's a look of absolute adoration in his eyes before he even speaks, it's almost enough to make his heart skip a beat. Elliot takes a bite of his own cookie and hums in delight, resting his head upon Guest's shoulder. "This is nice. Glad, I waited until everyone was asleep before making these."
Honestly, he was just happy to spend this time relaxing on the couch with his partner. After so much time spent in hell, little moments like these became a staple of stability. Time spent outside of a round were the only time where he had total control over his free time, and to be here with him, entangling himself in front of the fireplace, was a welcome change of pace.
After Guest finishes the last cookie, he lays back, the pain of a previous round dissipated. He opens his arms, allowing for Elliot to embrace him as he pulls the blanket over their relaxed bodies. They both let out a sigh of content, drowsiness finally setting in as they nestle further into the couch.
In the back of his mind, he's already thinking of ways to thank Elliot for the midnight snack, but he has a feeling he's already got an idea in mind.