Anomalies ✔

Chapter Twenty-Nine

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: EVERYTHING

To be desired is perhaps the closest anybody in this life can reach to feeling immortal. 
-John Berger

When I woke up, I was still curled up on Jasper's lap, face pressed against his neck as one of his hands ran over my back -his other gripping my thigh.

His and his dad's voices mixed together in a way that was almost confusing to my tired brain, occasionally his mom would pitch in too and I knew they were talking about something to do with when Atlas and Axel were over.

Hopeful he mentioned the tiny fact I beat their best friend's son up.

Thankfully, however, his mom talking let me remember what I had baked and what is sitting right about our head in storage.

Orange cookies, ones that taste like actual oranges.

They're a fresh recipe I put a little twist on just for the Red's, because I know exactly what they- -Jasper- -like. I made like, three hundred of them and after getting burned a few good times Papa helped too and we finished them way faster together.

"Jitterbug," I mumble, tiredly pushing on his chest. My entire mind feels a little hazy, so fuck that medication. "Orange-"

A yawn cuts me off, and I stretch after it, but Jasper is still blinking down to me with a smile. Apparently, even the mention of oranges makes the dork happy.

"Can I get up?"

He lets me and I have to stand on the edge of the first seat in the row to reach it- -the plane is a comfortable height for people Jasper's size, but for anyone shorter it's not the best- -but eventually I get the duffel bag down and plop the relatively heavy thing on the chair.

There's three big bags, with about thirty cookies each, for Jasper, his mom and Nyx -who was the one who sent me the recipe out of nowhere.

Before that, I didn't even know she had my number.

Other bags just have around ten, but I don't doubt every Red will grab more than one.

The recipe I was sent was shitty and didn't taste like oranges and it was oddly tangy, so I took a few days adjusting it- -and burning a few- -before I finally got it right.

I'm actually really happy with how they turned out, as they smell like sugar cookies and look like pumpkin spice cookies but taste exactly like actual clementine's.

It only took five hours, forty nine oranges and a shit ton of parchment paper.

As an actual orange and the person who gave her entire family the obsession, I think it's only fair that his mom should be the one to taste test them -so I keep the two big bags on my lap after handing the other to her and sitting next to Jasper.

She raises an eyebrow, "Am I supposed t-to eat one?"

"Please, they're uh, you'll like them."

With a single glance at Jasper, Clementine opens the bag, nose wrinkling.

"Sugar cookies?"

"Nope." I pause, then add, "It's not pumpkin spice either."

She was clearly confused at this but apparently trusted that I wouldn't poison her, because she eats one with not even a small bite, but a full one.

And I get to watch as her entire face lights up and she turns to shake her husband's arm after shoving the rest of the cookie in her mouth.

"Oly!" Clementine shouts, holding a cookie up to him -which he takes, albeit with an amused scoff. Then she turns back to me, minty eyes wide as she bounces in her seat with excitement. "Thank you!"