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She huffs, good natured. “I do not deserve you.” Contrary other instances where she’s thought as much, her tone is playful.[break][break]

Her face scrunches up like a buneary’s might, and she tilts her head enough to rub their noses together. Just for a few seconds. It’s a silly gesture, but it feels fitting for the moment.[break][break]

Relinquishing her loose grip, Calla slips off the counter to stand beside him. “Yep!” Scooting around him she flips the oven on.[break][break]

“Have you baked very much? At all?”[break][break]

Cal continues to flit around him, pausing to play music in the background quietly. Fun, poppy stuff and the like.

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as silly of a gesture as it is, it makes him feel incredibly warm, and therefore it's not silly at all. he finds himself liking it very much.[break][break]

at her question, he shakes his head which seems to be in sync to the fun music that starts playing.[break][break]

"nope! not once at all!"[break][break]

he's not sure why he states that so proudly.[break][break]

"you'll have to take lead here."

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She laughs as he syncs up to the melody.[break][break]

“Whaaatt? Not even one time?” She holds up her pointer finger, leveling it near his face as she scoffs in disbelief. “Not Once?” I can’t believe it.”[break][break]

Calla sighs, tutting as she shakes her head. “It’s wildly easy. At least this recipe is.” She’s not about to shove him into the deep end of pastry baking.[break][break]

One of her feet taps in time with the music, and she hums a note or two as she reaches for a couple bowls. One, she hands over to him.[break][break]

“You start with dry goods.” Which are obvious ingredients, yeah?

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"not once."[break][break]

they never really had a reason to. any baked goods they would either buy or get someone else to make it for them. his parents must have preferred other activities.[break][break]

he reaches out to accept the offered bowl, peering down at it before looking back up at her like a lost puppy.[break][break]

"what are...dry goods? like flour and stuff?"

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“I’ve always sort of wondered what that’s like—not having to do anything like this for yourself.” It’s not a dig by any means, just honest curiosity. “Either way, prepare to have your whole mind blown. It’s pretty easy.”[break][break]

She can’t help the burst of laughter that frees itself at his question. Combined with the clueless look on his face, it’s too priceless.[break][break]

“Yes, sorry. Yes. That’s exactly right.” She points at the neat line—flour, sugar, baking powder.[break][break]

“Here—“ she scoots behind him to reach for a drawer. Her hand trailing softly across his low back.[break][break]

“Use this one with the sugar first.” She holds out the proper measuring cup.

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"it's a blessing and a curse in a way."[break][break]

not having to do anything like this frees up a lot of time but it also means not knowing how to do this. a part of him wishes he knew more so he wouldn't be so useless.[break][break]

he laughs when she does, then finally notices how the ingredients seem to be lined up.[break][break]

"okay, i got you. one cup of sugar coming right up."[break][break]

as he starts to pour, he stops midway, hesitating.[break][break]

"one cup each, right?"

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“Sounds like it. I dunno if I’d like it, though.”[break][break]

Always a bit stubborn when it comes to being able to do things on her own, or for herself. She would get restless if she never had to, though that’s just a guess.[break][break]

Regardless, it would pain her to know that he felt useless at times for it.[break][break]

Her head tilts to lean against his arm for a second. “See, nothin’ to it!”[break][break]

She pauses along with him, though. “Oh, er, no. Not exactly. Here—“ Calla fishes her phone from her back pocket and pulls up the recipe. Then holds up the screen for him to see the measurements.[break][break]

“More of some, less of others.”

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he peers down at the different units of measurement, further confusing himself because why can't they just make this simple? it's no wonder why people don't bake.[break][break]

"this is either going to come out really good or really bad. there's no in between."[break][break]

he says with a chuckle as he leans a bit into her as well, as much as he could while still getting to work.[break][break]

soon enough, he has the mixture ready. he looks over proudly.[break][break]

"what next?"

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“So long as you don’t mix any up, I think it should be fine.” Watch her somehow be catastrophically wrong, though.[break][break]

While he mixes together the listed materials, she mixes the rest in a smaller bowl. Eggs and milk and vanilla all sloshed together.[break][break]

He looks pleased as ever to have succeeded in his task and she can’t help the fondness that warms her, no matter how small the accomplishment.[break][break]

She offers her bowl over, “Gotta mix the two now.”[break][break]

Then she twists, double checking that she set the oven to preheat.

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he looks down at her offered bowl, chuckling.[break][break]

"lots of mixing needed before we actually get to the baking, huh?"[break][break]

not that he minds. if his role here is mixer, then so be it. as long as she's who he's mixing for (does that even make sense?).[break][break]

he mixes, then shows her the new mixture.[break][break]

"is it time to bake?"

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“Yep! It alllll needs to go together first.” It shouldn’t take long though, really. He’s already got the hang of it, it seems like. Handing over her bowl, soon enough it all comes together.[break][break]

Calla nods, grin spreading across her face as she points to a greased pan waiting on the stovetop. “It is. Or, well, it needs to be separated unless you want to end up with one giant cookie instead.”[break][break]

Tugging him over, by the hem of his shirt, she picks up a scoop and carves out a dollop of the batter. Then it gets rolled up and plopped on the pan. “Easy peasy.”[break][break]

Pausing, she scoops out a small bit with her finger to taste test it. Eyes bright, she looks up to meet his gaze. “This is good! See? You’re already a pro.”

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"one giant cookie doesn't sound too bad."[break][break]

but he probably should have known better. after being tugged over, he watches her scoop, carve, roll, and plop a dollop of the batter onto the pan.[break][break]

"um, naturally so."[break][break]

he's good at all he does, clearly.[break][break]

chuckling, he mimics her movements and replicates the same dollop onto the pan. he sneaks in a kiss on her cheek as well while he works.

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“Maybe if you want to eat all of it in one go.”[break][break]

She snorts, rocking sideways to bump him with her hip playfully. Glancing flitting sideways and up to look at him as she continues scooping batter.[break][break]

“And so humble on top of gifted. Wow, I really won the lottery, huh?”[break][break]

It’s no more than a sarcastic tease, but the last bit is meant sincerely. In her opinion, she has majorly lucked out.[break][break]

The kiss on her cheek earns a laugh, and another bump. But soon enough the job is done. Calla sets the timer once the sheet pan is slipped into the oven.[break][break]

“Now we wait.”