Baked to Perfection - {Elma X OC}

Enter, Suzuki Ren! (It's Not An X Reader For Once!)

     For once, I drew the cover.

     It was a few hours before even the crack of dawn. Suzuki Ren steps out of the bathroom after washing his face and waking himself up. Really, there was no point in setting the alarm clock for 7 AM. Ren knew he'd wake up at 4 like he always has his whole life.

     He knocks on his brother, Daichi's, door. Hearing a groan and a less motivated movement from inside. But the teenager still got up regardless and headed to the bathroom.

     Ren puts himself out of his pajamas and into a comfortable long-sleeved shirt. Before heading downstairs to the bakery. The residence was divided into two. The upstairs has a normal living space: two bedrooms, a small living room, toilet and bathroom. Meanwhile the bottom space was specialized entirely as a kitchen in the back and a bakery.

     There were already sounds of cluttering and machinery from the kitchen. Their mother already started the preparations for the day as early as 3 AM. A few batches of dough would be just about ready by the time Ren gets up for him to bake.

     Their mom, Suzuki Midori, sees Ren go inside putting on an apron like he always does. She lets out a sigh and a frown of worry "Ren. I told you; you don't need to help out."

     Ren just smiles at her. "Mom come on, don't just casually fire your son like that."

     "I'm just saying, you're starting your new job today. You'll be dead tired before even getting to your first hour if you do this."

     "It's a desk job! I'll be fine, don't worry. Besides, I can't let you handle all the preparations by yourself."

     After washing his hands. Ren begins to grab pieces of dough and rolls them into equal sized balls.

     "I still have Daichi."

     As if on cue, the younger son finally gets down. Opening a closet to get a mop, broom, dustpan, cloth and bucket. Doing his best to carry everything and closing the closet with the broom. All without really saying a word.

     "I still haven't properly taught him how to bake yet. You know dad was peculiar about... The techniques."

     With a chuckle, he got to whisking a bowl of egg yolks and adding a bit of water to it.

     "I can't have you overwork yourself." Ren added. With only a somber expression on her mom's face as a reply.

     When the egg started to have a good consistency. He brushed the rolled dough with it gently. When all was coated in the egg wash, he placed it in one of the ovens.

     While wiping his hand with a cloth, Ren reads the menu plan for the day, all written last night by his mom. He sighs, mostly just croissants, Whitebread, sourdough. The guy sighs, tired of having to bake boring and plain pastries almost every day.

     The next batch of dough was ready, Ren nodded to himself as he took it out of the mixer.

     "I'm using this for something else!" He says as he puts it on containers and out to set on a counter. Grabbing a bunch of ingredients from the fridge which he bought the other day.

      Cracking two eggs and mixing it with a-thirds cup of sugar. Slowly adding 2 cups of milk. With some Vanilla extract, cocoa powder, cornstarch and flour; he pours the mixture into the pan over medium heat.

     When it thickened, Ren dropped some butter and even added a half cup of chocolate chips. Waiting and stirring until every ingredient fully mixed together.

     While it cooled. He takes out a couple of cone shaped metal. He rolls out some dough into long rope pieces and carefully wraps them around the cone.