Hermitcraft Randomness - S7 Oneshots

Cookies and Crystals - Scar x Grian

(WC: 1032
Category: Fluff
Ship type: Platonic, hinted romance
Warnings: None

ThatOneDog0 and FandomsUnite05 asked if I could write a sequel to Baking Biohazard where Grian teaches Scar how to bake cookies, so that's what I did! I also sprinkled a bit of magic crystal action in the mix. Enjoy!)

Things weren't catching fire, which I considered a major success.

Grian and I were working by the entrance of my magical village. He'd set up a makeshift oven and brought over all the supplies. Right now, he stood on his toes, looking over my shoulder as I stirred the batter. "Good. Now, add 3/4 of a cup of sugar."

"That's it? I thought you had to add way more!" I measured the sugar anyway and dumped it into the bowl.

"See? This is why we're teaching you how to bake." Grian set his hand on mine and guided it around, stirring the batter gently. "You don't want the cookie to be too sweet."

I wanted to protest, but since I burned my shell-house down the last time I tried to bake, I stayed silent. After he was done stirring, Grian lifted the spoon out of the bowl and flicked the residue batter at me.

I reeled back, wiping the batter off my clothes hastily. "Hey! You're going to stain my robes!"

"Lesson number one: if you're going to bake, you have to get messy. There's no avoiding it." Just to prove his point, he waved the spoon around some more, splattering batter everywhere. Some got onto Larry's body nearby, and the snail whistled irritatedly.

I rolled my eyes and took off my robes, just in case. Grian averted his eyes, a faint blush rising on his face. "For god's sake, Scar! Put on some pants! At least the robes hide it a bit."

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Are you going to teach me how to bake or not?"

Grian tried to hide the fact that he was flustered and turned back to the bowl. "Uh--anyway. I'll shape them and put them in the oven. I don't trust you with that."

"Probably the smarter choice." I took a seat on top of my chests and idly played with one of my magic crystals. Meanwhile, Grian worked on the cookies, his back turned to me. Larry was still irritated with the batter on his body, so I went up to him and helped wipe it off.

"How long until those cookies are done?" I called to Grian.

"Lesson number two: stay patient! I just put them in the oven. They cook for maybe 10 minutes, then give them an extra 5 minutes to cool."

"Can't we use one of my magic crystals to speed up the process?" I held up a bright orange one that was warm to the touch.

"Oh, god, no--we're definitely going to burn Larry if we do that."

"The smell is teasing me," I groaned, lying down on the grass.

"Geez, you really can't wait. How about this: Give me the crystal and I'll heat up the cookies." Grian walked up to me and tried to snatch the jewel from my hand.

I yanked it away, glaring playfully at him. "I don't think so. You're just as untrustworthy with these things as I am."

Grian fiddled with his gauntlet, pretending to snap to some imaginary beat. "While we're waiting, can you show me around your village? I don't think I've had a proper tour."

"Oh, sure! Let's not leave the oven for too long, though." I got up, took Grian's hand, and led him down the worn stone path of my magical village. He seemed interested in how long it took to build up the securing walls for my crop farms, which I found gratifying, but that got into him teasing me over how bad my luck was with villagers dying, so I changed the subject.

"We'd better go check on the cookies," he said after I'd showed him my proudly-made item sorter (totally not stolen from Impulse). "We don't want them burning down."

Once we got back down to the oven, I sat down impatiently, watching as Grian carefully took the cookies out of the oven. I couldn't see them, but the aroma was taunting me.

Grian walked up to me. "Can you show me your magic crystals, for real? I promise I won't destroy anything--that's what the gauntlet is for."

"Alright." I took a green one out of my pack and handed it to him. " This one helps plants grow faster."

Grian fiddled with the crystal a bit, first pointing at the ground with it, then waving around in the air like a madman. I chuckled a bit and took the crystal back.

"That's not how you do it. The magic's supposed to come from within you, not by using force. Look."

Holding the crystal in one hand, I made a gesturing motion like raising something into the air. A small plant sprouted from the ground and bloomed into a six-petaled golden flower.

"See? The crystal acts sort of like a vessel to hold the magic. You control that magic and shape it to do what you want to do." I plucked the flower from the ground and offered it to Grian.

He took it, his face turning slightly red. "Thanks. Uh, I think the cookies are cooled. Stay here, I'll get them."

A moment later, he came back holding two chocolate chip cookies. "I was digging through my supplies when I found some cookie cutters, so I decided to shape them."

I took my cookie and immediately blushed furiously. The cookie was shaped like a heart. I looked up at Grian, and he gave me a small smile. He knew what he did.

He held a heart-shaped cookie too, and taking a bite out of it, he said, "Well? Aren't you going to try them?"

"W-what?? Oh, uh, right." I tried to tamp down the embarrassment and ate my cookie. It had just the right amount of sweetness and was really chewy. I tried to speak through the mouthful. "Wow. These taste really good."

"See? Look at that. You can bake. You just need a lot of supervision and a fire extinguisher on hand." Grian swallowed his bite. "Maybe next time I'll sit back and let you take the wheel."

"No, no, no. We're not at that stage yet."

"Whatever you say. Maybe with a little help from your crystals, you can make a decent-tasting cookie."