[Rosemary and Thyme]

[ 22 ]

     What happens when you and your dad get carried away with baking cinnamon rolls because you didn't know the recipe you had was for a large batch---Wait, actually, it was because you both didn't care? And those cinnamon rolls end up being too filling that you barely have room in your stomach after only one? And so even your greedy brothers couldn't finish them? And there's still too many to finish in over a few days and you don't want them to go to waste in the fridge? 

     You pack them in a box you lined with parchment paper and get ready to force them upon the people around you, of course!

     While Lotus' dad took some of them to work for a treat for his subordinate coworkers, she took the others to feed the blond she frequently met up with as well as (hopefully) a tall glasses-wearing dude, throwing everything Jin had told her out of the window! She would've shared some with him herself, but she was going to see him in two more days, which meant the cinnamon rolls wouldn't have been good by then.

     And she was determined to avoid having to keep any of the ones she was giving away. But she wasn't able to force them into the blond's hand, so she looked up at the blond with a small smile in hope he would take them from her. 

     "Here's some cinnamon rolls." She said, almost getting ready to plead for him to take them. 

     He didn't ask any question about her suddenly offering pastries, opting to take the box from her and open it. 

     "Are you sure?" He finally asked after looking at them.

     For good reason, though. She wasn't expecting him to finish six cinnamon rolls, was she? 

     "Well, I was thinking you could share some with Kingsley if you happen to run into him today!" She chirped as she nervously sweated, "I don't have his contact information to know where he is, so..."

     "But they're really good! I made them with my dad! You should really try one!" She said, coaxing him to eat them.

     He chuckled and chose one, taking a small bite.

     They weren't fresh out of the oven, yet they were still soft. The fluffy texture mixed wonderfully with the sweetness of the icing and the spiced filling between the pastry.

     "Huh, they are good." He commented, "I wasn't sure you would be able to bake."

     Her brows rose in surprise. "What? Why?" She asked.

     "From how spoiled you are, I wouldn't have been shocked to hear that one of your parents cooks for you."

     She pouted at his harsh words. She wasn't so spoiled. It wasn't like her parents didn't have her clean up, didn't punish her, and they didn't give her everything she wanted. But she could agree that they were much better and more loving than plenty of other parents. 

     She sighed and said, "I'm not that spoiled. Besides, I make my food half of the time."

     "That's obvious now." He said. 

     She glanced away, wringing her hands. She wasn't embarrassed as per usual, just easing the nerves that appeared when he was trying the sweet. She didn't want them to taste bad to someone else. Sure her family and herself liked them, but that could always be because they were so used to their own cooking and baking. 

     When she glanced back, she saw his hands as she looked at the cinnamon roll he held. Did they always seem a little roughened up? 

     "Huh, what happened to yo-"

     "Did your dad do the most while making these?" He questioned before she could finish. 

     "No! It was an equal effort!" She exclaimed, pushing the concern about his hand to the side for a minute. But she did in fact notice that he caught onto her looking at his hands and was going to ask him about them.