Sun, Moon, and Stars: A Varian X OC Story

14. What Baking Can Do

The song above is "What Baking Can Do" from Waitress. It's one of my favorites personally and I think it'll suit this chapter 😄

Several months had passed and the snow from winter had finally melted. Spring was on its way, which meant that everyone was preparing to start growing crops again. The mysterious flowers had continued to grow all around Old Corona, and Varian still hadn't been able to find the answers he needed. Knowing the consequences of touching these flowers, Emma and Varian made sure to keep Mercury and Ruddiger away from them.

Lately, there had been no news from Rapunzel on anything new and Emma was getting antsy. She wanted to spend time with her friends at the castle desperately and felt like she needed to get out of Old Corona for a while. While Emma and Varian were out walking around the village, Emma knew that she had to ask him.

"Varian, do you want to see the rest of the gang today?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," Varian replied. "Is there any reason?"

"Not really. I just think it would be fun if we all did something as a group," Emma explained.

"Do you not like hanging out with just me then?" Varian teased.

Emma hit Varian's shoulder playfully. "No, no! That's not it. I have lots of fun when I'm with you."

"I know, I know!" Varian laughed. "You just can't resist me and my charm."

Emma blushed a deep shade of pink. "Y-yeah, I-I guess you could say that," she mumbled, fumbling with a basket that she was holding.

Before the conversation could get any more awkward, Emma and Varian's attention were brought to Ruddiger carrying Mercury on his back.

"Hey, bud! I didn't realize you and Mercury were that close," Varian chuckled.

"You two look so adorable like that," Emma gushed. "You guys want to come to the castle with us?"

Ruddiger chirped happily and jumped onto Varian's shoulders, while Mercury hopped into Emma's basket and purred.

Time Skip

"Emma, Varian, It's so good to see you!" Rapunzel bubbled. "What're you here for?"

"We just really missed you, that's all," Emma smiled shyly.

"I missed you guys too," Rapunzel agreed. "C'mon in! Eugene and I were just baking together in the kitchen."

"Baking? I love sweets!" Emma sighed dreamily.

"I'm getting pretty hungry," Varian added. His stomach growled to prove his point.

Rapunzel and Emma laughed.

"It's ok, V. We can share the access dough," Emma offered.

Time Skip

Everyone in the kitchen were baking cookies together and it turned out to be very fun. As Emma stirred the wet ingredients together, she quietly sung a song that she had once heard:

"Make it work, make it easy. Make it clever, craft it into pieces." She poured the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. "Make it sweet, crimp the edges. We'll make it sour and serve with lemon wedges."

She began to stir it all together. "Even doubt can can be delicious, and it washes off of all the dirty dishes." She held up the dirtied spoon before finishing up the mixing and sprinkling chocolate chips into the mix. "When it's done, I can smile. It's on someone else's plate for a while."

She then started to roll the cookie dough into balls. (The suggested emoji on my keyboard was the laughing one. What??) "I'll place it on display, and then I'll slice and serve my worries away!"

She began to flatten all the cookie dough balls. "I can fix this! I can twist it into sugar, butter covered pieces. Never mind what's underneath it."

She lifted the tray off of the counter and made her way to the oven. "I have done it before. I'll bake me a door to help me get through. I learned it from you..."

She remembered her brother Jude, who had dies when she was four. He heart ached. "Brother, it's amazing what baking can do..."

She pushed away her thoughts and placed the tray in the oven and waited against the wall. She looked at her friends. "Make it up and surprise them. Tell them all my secrets but disguise them, so they dance on the tongues of the very people that they're secrets from."

She stared at Varian, who was laughing at something with Eugene. "Make it soon, make it better. Though, better never lasts forever. I'll make it small so it fits."

She smiled sadly to herself. "Even this even now. Even as the walls come tumbling down. Even as I can't stop remembering how. Every door we ever made, we never once walked out. Something I never got to ask him about, so, with flour on my hands, I'll show them all how almost happy I am!"

Emma heard the oven ding and she slid the tray out and carefully placed it on the counter. "Sugar, butter, flour, don't let me down! Let's see the next amazing thing baking does now."

"Emma, you're already done? That's awesome!" Varian beamed, pulling Emma out of her thoughts.

"Yep! I'm proud of how these turned out," Emma said nervously. "You can try some when they cool down if you'd like."

"That would be nice," Varian agreed. "I just put my cookies in the oven. You can try some of mine too. It'll be so much fun!"

Emma quietly laughed to herself. Varian was so adorable when he was excited. She couldn't wait to see how everyone's cookies turned out! Today was one of the best days that Emma had had in a long time.

Word Count: 936

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and the music! I changed a couple of words to fit Emma's character (plus the cuss word). I thought that I put Jude in Emma's bio, but I guess I didn't (oops!)