Dr. Stone Cold's Adventure (18+)(YellowMelon and 3ruri)(Private)

[3ruri]

Caspian watched as Andrew wrote down the list of ingredients. He had a very nice handwriting and surprisingly, Caspian thought it suited him well, even the undotted i's were unique. Once done, he took the list from Andrew and read it through again in order to memorize them. He noticed the missing vanilla extract from the list and when Andrew suggested he to use fruit from his garden, Caspian thought of what he had grown outside. "Hmmm, I have lemons and figs growing out back. We can make half lemon flavor and the other with figs. I think I have fruit jam somewhere in the pantry as well, we could use that as flavoring too." 

The last time Caspian was in the kitchen, he used a roasting pan for the chicken thigh and veggies he had for dinner. Unless the crew had made some additions to the kitchen, he only had the basics. "Don't we need cupcake cups for the cupcakes? So we don't really need a muffin tin, regular roast pan would do the job. If that's the case, I can confirm we had one necessary item," he said, scanning the list again. "You know what, since my house had been invaded by the crew, the best thing to do is just check it out ourselves." Caspian moved to the kitchen and started opening his fridge. "Looks like we have two blocks of butter and a pack of eggs in here." He took them out from the fridge and set them out on the counter. Next, the doctor checked the cabinets. "There's flour." he took out and laid it next to the other ingredients. There was a small door next to the stove and when it opened a whole shelf of dried condiments came into view. "Sugar, salt, oil...no baking powder. And no milk." He announced as he took inventory of the items gathered.

Something caught his eyes when he opened the cabinet to check on his utensils. Apparently Samantha decided to have mercy on them. There was a cupcake cup packet next to the roast pan. That was as far as their luck went. The essential items were still missing. "We need a mixing bowl and a whisk. Would charismatic people normally borrow those things from their neighbors?" Caspian looked at his husband who was teasing him. How were they suppose to do this, walk into their neighbors yards, knock on their door and ask if they could borrow some stuff? "There's only one way to find out. Are you ready to smile prettily so we'd look like a sweet, loving couple trying to bake cupcakes since they didn't get to eat cakes at their wedding?" 

[YellowMelon]

Lemons sounded good. Figs not so much. Jam-filled cupcakes was also something Andrew was not familiar with. Luckily, he wasn’t going to be eating the cupcakes so he didn’t care too much about how they would taste. All they needed to do was make them look presentable, have their neighbors accept them, and then it was out of their hands after that. Whether their neighbors decided to eat them or throw them out was beyond in their control. 

Andrew raised an eyebrow suspiciously at needing cupcake cups but not a cupcake tin. The opposite seemed to be more true than if they only had cupcake cups. While a roasting pan could work, he didn't know how the cupcake cakes would hold their shape since they were made of paper. Wouldn’t the density of the batter push the cups down? Instead of voicing his concern, Andrew kept his mouth shut. They would just have to try it and see if it worked. Plus, it would save them from having to borrow an extra baking tool. 

As Caspian mentioned what they had, Andrew wrote it down, comparing their current stock quantity to the measurements he calculated. Two blocks of butter was equivalent to 16 tbsps and a pack of eggs was a dozen. They needed 24 tbsps and 10 eggs for baking, so would have to ask for a stick of butter but the eggs could be crossed off the list in addition to sugar, flour, salt, and oil. Andrew looked up at the ingredients aligned on the counter and ran a hand through his hair, giving an audible sigh. “If you have a fork or spoon, I don’t think we need a whisk. You’ll just have to use your strength to thoroughly do the job.” On the other hand, Andrew was genuinely surprised that Caspian did not have a single mixing bowl. Even he had mixing bowls which he used for cooking. “You're certain you don’t have any mixing bowls at all? What's the biggest bowl you have in general?” 

Standing from the chair, Andrew collected the notepad and pen, ready as he’ll ever be to meet the neighbors. “We don’t need to look sweet and loving. We need to look desperate.” The brunette joked with a smile. “Leave the ingredients on the counter and let’s get going.”

[3ruri]

Caspian looked around in the kitchen where he stored bigger dishes. He had to look deeper until he found a round casserole dish bowl that was deep enough for mixing. He put it in the counter top so Andrew could see. "This good enough?" he asked. It was a housewarming gift from his mother when he moved into the house. He never used them which explained why it was at the far back of the cabinet. "As for something to whisk..." he turned around and made it to the utensil drawer. He took out a big wooden fork that he used for serving salad and placed it into the casserole bowl. "Hopefully that will work."

Caspian raised a brow at the desperation comment. He had never been desperate, but if Andrew thought it would help, he'd try to school his normally stoic face just so they could get the task over and done with. "Off we go to visit the Smiths," he said, allowing Andrew to walk first before him.

The Smiths were an older couple who lived on the left side of his property. Mrs. Smith had visited him with some homemade cookies when he first moved in, and he had returned the favor by getting flowers delivered to her. They were friendly enough towards him, even though Caspian hadn't been much of a friendly person, but they did exchanged smiled and greeting if they happened to pass one another. "I hope we're in luck because Mrs. Smith is a baker," he said to Andrew as the walked down the sidewalk towards the Smiths. They lived in a cottage similar to the one Caspian was living in, but much more cheerful with its bright yellow paint.

Taking a deep breath, Caspian headed towards the front door and pressed the doorbell. While waiting he turned to Andrew, wondering how their introduction should be. How do people introduce their spouse to the neighbors? What would he say if they asked about the wedding? What was the etiquette of borrowing things from the neighbors? This is why Caspian preferred to keep to himself. A couple of minutes later, the door opened and a middle-aged lady with white bob-cut hair appeared. 

 

[YellowMelon]

Andrew stopped at the bottom of the pathway to the Smiths' house while Caspian approached the door. He quickly did some last minute logical planning, thinking about what they should ask for. All they really needed was milk, a full carton would be best, a stick of butter, and baking powder. It wouldn’t hurt to ask for a cupcake tin though, as he couldn’t help but think about the instability of the cupcake cups without one. Upon looking up and seeing that the neighbor had answered the door, the brunette finally walked up the pathway and stood slightly behind Caspian, who stood there in complete silence. 

“Hello, Mrs. Smith,” he chimed, outstretching a hand for a handshake, “I’m Andrew McCain.”

The appearance of two young men on her doorstep was something new. Caspian was someone she was especially surprised to see since he was the most standoffish of neighbors. The other man, who was prompt to make an introduction, made her wonder if he was a new neighbor, and she was even more curious to find out what his relationship with her existing neighbor was.

“Hi Andrew. Lovely to meet you. Is there something you need?” 

“Yes, well…” he started off nervously, not having thought enough about what they would say, “We’re in need of a few baking supplies. Would you happen to have a stick of butter, baking powder, and a carton of milk you could give us? We also need to borrow a cupcake pan.”

“Those are specific ingredients, but how did you plan on making cupcakes without a muffin tin?” The woman laughed.

“We were going to use a roasting pan.” 

Mrs. Smith shook her head at the thought. She was glad she was a baker and could help these boys. They truly sounded like they had no idea what they were doing from even thinking about using such a pan for baking. “Please excuse me for a moment.” Leaving the door open, she went to find a cupcake pan she could spare. She knew she had one since she was always given new baking supplies yearly. When she returned, she held out a stainless steel muffin pan with some of the coating scratched off and an unsalted pack of butter which contained 4 sticks.

“Thank you. We only need one stick though. We don’t want to take too much.” Andrew handed off the notepad and pen he had to Caspian to take the items being handed to  them.

“Take them all. I don’t have any milk or baking powder to spare, so you can have the extra butter, although I don’t know how much use it’ll be.”

“Thank you.” Andrew repeated, now stepping away from the front door.

“May I ask how you know each other?”

It was an inevitable question, but the brunette was prompt to answer right away. “I’m his husband.”

“I didn’t know you got married!” She exclaimed to Caspian. “You can keep the muffin pan as a wedding present then. When did you guys meet? How long have you been married for?” Mrs. Smith bombarded the couple with questions in excitement. She knew the other neighbors would love to hear about this. The neighborhood tended to gossip about Caspian, especially since the woman found him to be quite attractive.

[3ruri]

Thankfully, Andrew did all the asking when Mrs. Smith showed up at her door. Caspian was still rearranging words in his head when Andrew had gone straight to the point with asking for the ingredients they needed and also a muffin tin. He only stayed behind Andrew and smiled as the two people exchanged words and Mrs. Smith went back inside to look for some ingredients to spare them. "That was kind of easy," Caspian remarked, feeling much better than Andrew had done the hard part. "And here I thought I need to work on my desperate face." He tried joking, striking up a conversation while waiting for his neighbor to appear once again.

When she returned, she gave them more then what Caspian had expected. He almost dropped the notepad and pen Andrew had suddenly passed to him. "This is very generous of you, Mrs. Smith." Caspian remembered his manners and thanked her. 

Then, when the questions came barraging on them, Caspian changed his mind about it being easy. This was the hardest part. Andrew had answered who he was to Caspian, and Mrs. Smith immediately scanned the rings on their fingers. 

Caspian cleared his throat before answering. "We were married just recently," he said, not saying that they only became husbands earlier that morning which was also the first time he laid eyes on Andrew. "We didn't know each other for a long time, but Andrew is... he's good for me." Although Caspian couldn't really express affections towards Andrew, he was being sincere with his words. "I'm sorry that I have been very detached from my neighbors, but I hope we could get along well from now on, especially now that Andrew has come to live with me. This is really a strange situation, but I'm glad it pose me an opportunity to introduce myself again as well as my partner." Andrew may not be in his life permanently, but he will be part of Caspian's life for now. 

"Oh, that is very sweet of you, Caspian," replied the older lady. She was a sucker for romance. "It's wonderful that a young couple like you two are here in the neighborhood. Most people who live here are either retirees or families with children. A lot of people had been asking about you, you know. I think some people would be excited to know that the famous Doctor Stone has finally settle down," Mrs. Smith said gleefully. She hardly could contain her excitement. She didn't peg Caspian as a gossip monger, but some people just like to share good news. It might help them a little with their task, but Caspian didn't want it to be blown out of proportion.

Caspian offered a small smile. He didn't like the idea of his private life being the topic on everyone's lips. But he knew Mrs. Smith only meant good. "Well, we shall head to the next house and see if we could get some of the other stuff. Thank you again for your help Mrs. Smith, and also for the wedding present." He added, already retreating from the front porch with Andrew coming along with him. "We'll see you again once they're done." With his parting words, Caspian lead Andrew out of the yard and back onto the sidewalk to their next neighbor's house - the Martinez family.

Edited January 10, 2021 by 3ruri

[YellowMelon]

Andrew happily walked beside Caspian this time, not trailing behind or in front, but in step with his pace. He couldn’t hold in his smile as he looked at the muffin tin. Sure it was used, but he wouldn’t have expected to be given a brand new one or even one at all. This was perfect. It could make 12 average sized cupcakes simultaneously. He, a bit dangerously, swung the tin side-by-side, almost hitting Caspian a couple of times, but ignorant of his actions. The butter was also a good deal. Not only did they have 3 sticks but they now had 3 extra sticks. He didn’t know how that would be useful, but butter lasts for a long time in the fridge so they could store the extra.

“The famous Doctor Stone has finally settled down,” Andrew repeated the words of Mrs. Smith, “Sounds like a newspaper heading, huh?” The brunette was sure the news would be out in the neighborhood in no time with how excited Mrs. Smith was to hear Caspian was married. “You seem to be more popular with the neighbors than you think.” The younger man started to feel slightly sorry for his husband, given that his private life was not as private as a normal person’s. That was to be expected though, for a superhero. He wondered what gossip went around the neighborhood about Caspian and how much of it was accurate. Spreading gossip comparable to playing the telephone game where stories can get misconstrued and lead to a bunch of misinformation about one person. Andrew hoped that if news did get around about their marriage there would be no additional comments with suspicions or judgements about them. He didn’t know if he would be able to handle it as well as Caspian likely could.

The Martinez family owned a two-story house which stood out from the surrounding homes due to its taller height. The design excluded a fence but included a porch. When approaching the porch, the sounds of dogs barking and children running around could clearly be heard. Andrew rang the doorbell. Neither the barking or children quieted down. He then rang again. Only barking could be heard. Finally, the door was half-opened to reveal a brown hair and brown eyed girl of about ten years with five other children around her in the background. Andrew couldn’t guess their exact ages but they were definitely younger than her. The dogs, now quiet, were nowhere to be seen.

“Hi. I’m Andrew. Do you have any milk or baking powder you can spare?” At those words, the door was shut on them. Andrew stared at the shut door, wondering what he said wrong, then it hit him. “Oh shoot, I should have asked for their parents first.” He said in disappointment. “Next house.” He turned around, having concluded that this house was a failure. With Andrew’s back toward the door, the girl appeared again carrying a half gallon of milk.

“Here,” she spoke quietly, “I asked my mom and she said you can have this.” She handed it off to the taller man, and looked up at him for several minutes as if she had something to say before returning back into the house.

“That was easy, and you didn’t even have to talk.” Andrew, however, was still very much confused on what has just happened. “I’m making you talk next time.” He then started walking away again. "You need to ask for at least five teaspoons of baking powder. I don't think anyone would give up a container, so be specific with the quantity we need." 
 

[3ruri]

Caspian managed to dodge the swinging muffin tin the few times Andrew swung it his way. There was something innocent and childlike in the gesture, so he didn't say anything that would burst Andrew's bubble. His mood seemed to be lighter too. Just a few sticks of butter and a muffin tin could make him happy? That was easy. Maybe Andrew didn't like the thought of baking cupcakes in a roasting pan. It wasn't really a bad Idea, but Caspian took it that Andrew liked certain things certain way.

Andrew was right about Mrs. Smith's words sounding like a newspaper heading. Once the show is aired, would their story made it to the front page? Caspian shivered at the thought. Although he had to rely on ratings to boost his image as Doctor Stone, he was hoping the headlines would be more about the show rather than his personal life. "Due to the law, people who has abilities like myself are not allowed to hide our identity. We need to record it in our identity register. No point in wearing a mask and using aliases, but people love giving us nicknames." In a way, he was thankful that he ended up with 'Doctor Stone' and not something cheesy or strange. It could have been something worse like 'Steel Man' or 'Mr. Rock', "Words were spread around when I first moved in. I'm the only hero living in this area, so it was quite a news for them. I guess, even though I had been keeping to myself, they had kept in mind that I'm around." Caspian concluded.

The sound of children was quite loud, but Andrew didn't even flinch at it. It reminded Caspian that Andrew wanted to work with kids, so they might have an advantage coming to the Martinez' house. However, Caspian didn't expect the little girl to shut the door in Andrew's face. He had to hold in a laugh, not wanting to offend the younger guy. Good thing the girl returned with the milk they requested, otherwise Caspian might burst out right there on their front porch. "Well, you're quite a natural with kids. If that was me, I think the mother would have called the police," Caspian joked, knowing some parents weren't really fond of his coldness until they saved their kids. "Ok, sure, I'll get the next one. Do jump in if I somehow forgot anything. I am nothing but an old man to you." Caspian nudged his elbow gently against Andrew's side, attempting at humor.

Not known to them, a camera man was secretly filming their interactions since they left the house. The cameraman was hiding behind some trees and bushes, or anything that could block the couple's view from noticing his presence. The cameraman diligently followed them to the next house. According to the neighborhood map that was produced by Samantha, the couple's next destination was an Indian family, the Vijays.

"I could smell something good," Caspian said as they approached the ranch-style house. Much like his own, the yard was covered by endless plants and trees. There was also a swing on the porch and he saw an old lady knitting. "Good day, Mrs. Vijay. I'm Caspian Crowe from down the street." The professor greeted cordially.

The old lady stopped knitting and squinted her eyes to look at him. He face suddenly went bright and she shouted to the people inside the house in a heavy Indian accent. "Everyone come outside and look see. It's Doctor Stone. Come! Hurry!" Not even ten second later, four people came out from the house; a couple in their forties and two teenagers around the age of Caspian's students. As soon as they came out, Caspian and Andrew was mobbed by their excited neighbors. 

"Come in Doctor Stone, come. We are so happy to see you," said the male who Caspian guessed was Mr. Vijay. The older woman who was knitting could be his mother and the rest was his wife and children.

The reception was somewhat overwhelming, but one look at Andrew and he knew they were there on a mission. "Yes, thank you Mr. Vijay, but we're on a tight schedule now. DO you happen to have about five spoonfuls of baking powder I can use. We need them for baking." He quickly explained the intention of their visit, having no time to introduce Andrew with all the excitement from the residents.

[YellowMelon]

Andrew rolled his eyes when Caspian nudged him, although kept a smile on his face. He was still getting used to his husband’s sense of humor, but appreciated it nonetheless. He thought that teasing was a form of endearment when done playfully and was not taken seriously for both persons involved. In this case, he now knew Caspian could handle being called an old man in jest and would make sure to remind him that he did, indeed, think he was old. In two years time, he would start thinking of himself as old when he turns thirty. Until then, the only old man in the relationship was Caspian, and he undoubtedly sounded like one. 

The brunette was even more impressed at this house than the last and the yard was absolutely astonishing. He never had a green thumb himself so admired those we did. Comparing the garden Caspian had to the one he saw now made Caspian’s appear inferior. He secretly wanted to ask if they could borrow some of their fruits but decided not to because that was not their goal coming here. They shouldn’t be asking for too much.

Mrs. Smith was quickly proven right when she said the neighborhood had families with children, and Andrew soon found himself surrounded, with Caspian, by one. Fortunately, since it was not he who the family was excited to see, Andrew managed to escape from the small crowd, allowing the family to form a tighter cluster around his husband. Skillfully, however, he managed to get the milk out of Caspian’s grasp in the process. Now, at a safe distance, and within the eyesight of his spouse, he watched with a face of enjoyment.

He covered his expression with the muffin pan because he couldn’t hide his laughter. He could stifle it, but he was clearly laughing behind the pan even though he couldn’t be heard. He really didn’t expect Dr. Stone to be this much of a celebrity even though he had mentioned that he was the only superhero in the area. It seemed that mostly older people were excited to see him, as the previous children they saw had not surrounded him like this, which proved a point for Andrew to call him “old.”

“Yes, yes, we will get you baking powder, and anything else you need. Please come in.” Mr. Vijay insisted once again. By the time Andrew had been able to control himself and lowered the muffin tin, he was witnessing a new scene where Caspian was being moved into the home. Andrew followed silently behind and stood at close to the entrance of the doorway when inside.

‘Let us take some pictures.” the father motioned for his family to form around Caspian in an orderly manner as he stood afar with his phone. He was a man to run on his own schedule whereas his mother, having remembered the request, was getting the mentioned amount of baking powder, plus a little extra, and putting it into a small Ziploc bag. On the side, she was also making a small package of other goodies she happily wanted to give to the hero. 

[3ruri]

Andrew's retreating back annoyed him. How dare his husband left him to be mobbed by this charming yet smothering family to deal alone! But the Vijays were so excited shaking his hand, they didn't notice the stranger who stopped by with Doctor Stone had escaped. And the nerve of the guy to laugh at Caspian behind the muffin tin! There shall be payback in the near future.

The VIjays successfully maneuvered all of them onto the porch and into their house. Caspian decided it was a small price to pay since they will be getting the much needed baking powder. While old Mrs. Vijay went to prepare the ingredient, Caspian was subjected to photo taking with the rest of the family. He saw the chance and he took it. "By the way, everyone. This is my husband, Andrew McCain," he said, the corner of his mouth tilted upwards slightly. "We just got married."

As soon as the words left his mouth Mrs. Vijay squealed excitedly and so did her daughter. The two pulled Andrew into an embrace and the look on Andrew's face at the moment made Caspian laugh. 

"Oh my goodness, Doctor Stone is married," said Mrs. Vijay.

"And to such a beautiful man too." Her daughter agreed. 

Then, the son chipped in. "Of course he gets the good looking ones, he's Doctor Stone! I'm thankful that he prefers men or there wouldn't be any girls left for the rest of us." He took out his own mobile phone and started taking selfie with the superhero.

"Mother, come quick and meet Doctor Stone's husband." Mr. Vijay called out to his mother. The old woman hurriedly came out from the kitchen with the baking powder and a few glass jars that she put in a basket. 

"This is the husband?" She asked, looking at Andrew up and down approvingly. "Such a nice little man. Perfect for our Doctor Stone. Take this. There's the baking soda you want and a few bottles of chutneys and curry paste. " she handed the basket to Andrew and proceeded to pinch his face. "So pretty. You'll make Doctor Stone happy, yes?" She questioned as she cupped Andrew's face in her hands. She was a short, plump lady and immensely motherly, Caspian had never spoken to her before, but he was increasingly getting fond of her.

[YellowMelon]

If looks could kill, Andrew was certain both he and his husband would have been dead by now. Why couldn’t Caspian have let him stay unnoticed, reveling in the moment of seeing his husband get all the attention? Should he not have been proud of how well-liked the other was? He was only being supportive and now he regretted it. If not in the presence of the family, he would have given Caspian a not-so-friendly hand gesture. Instead, Andrew held all the items he was holding closer to himself as if trying to form a barrier between the woman who hugged him. 

A blush crept on his face as he was receiving so many compliments. The family was calling him good-looking and nice when they just met him. He fought hard not to outright deny the remarks made about him, seeing that, in this instance, his words would have probably started an argument. He would have to mention it to Caspian once the family was out of earshot. He thought the other deserved much more praise than he. 

Andrew suddenly found his face being touched and was not fond of the gesture He looked towards Caspian with a silent plea for help even though he knew he was pretty useless. He was just an onlooker who was amused by this a little too much. The brunette slightly flinched from the firm pinch to his cheeks and the tint pink he once had was turning a slight red. “I’ll try,” he responded half-heartedly before lifting his face from her hands, “We appreciate what you gave us, and thank you for letting us inside.” He addressed the whole family. “Mr. Crowe and I have a lot of baking to do, but he’ll be sure to see you again to deliver the cupcakes once we’re done.” Notably, he purposefully only mentioned the return of Dr. Stone and not himself. He was genuinely scared of getting his cheeks pinched again. 

Back on the sidewalk, and once a distance away from the family shouting and waving, goodbye, Andrew chose his words carefully. “I don’t feel too good about deceiving the Vijays like that. I’m your husband for the show’s purpose and not a real husband, so they should’ve saved their praises for the person you’ll really fall in love with and marry in the future.” The more he thought about it the more he wondered how this part of the show could actually help Caspian’s image. After their contract was over, would it make others excited to know that he was an available divorcee? Would the show make it out that Andrew was the problem in the relationship? With the task at hand, these weren’t thoughts the brunette wanted invading his mind, so, as usual, he was quick to change the subject. “At least we have all the ingredients now.”

[3ruri]

Caspian did sympathize with the look Andrew gave him when he was surrounded by the ladies. He too were not fond of people getting too close to him and not a fan of people invading his space. Nevertheless, the damage had been done and the Vijays were well meaning people. Regardless of what Caspian thought about his superhero image, he did appreciate people who supported his cause. He never wanted fame, but to have people who saw good in what he did was humbling.

Their retreat was quite hasty, Caspian hoped they didn't offend the Vijays. The promise to return with cupcakes made the whole family excited again. Caspian thought he was being a bad neighbor for not giving them any chance before this. But now that he knew them - the Smiths, the Martinez' and the Vijays, he thought it was essential for him to acknowledge these people who had been kind to him...at least to a certain degree. Maybe sending them a greeting card once a year was a good start. 

But Andrew's response to the situation left a bad taste in his mouth. It was true that they were making it work to be seen as a real couple, but he hadn't been lying about what he said when it came to himself and Andrew. In fact, he had chosen his words carefully, almost diplomatically so it won't be misconstrued. He never said he loved Andrew. His statements had been kept to telling his neighbors that they were married and Andrew was good for him. Whatever the Vijays said had been their own personal opinion based on what they saw. Indeed, Andrew was beautiful in a a manly way. Caspian had noticed his features, the face, the straight nose and the delicate bow-shaped lips. His green eyes were stunning. If Caspian would be more honest, he'd say Andrew's eyes shone even brighter than the tourmaline ring on his finger. 

"I won't deny that our marriage was something out of convenience, but their reaction was not from us being deceitful," Caspian replied, coldness crept into his voice. "All they've seen were a couple going around meeting their neighbors and borrowing some stuff. They saw you by my side and that to most people seemed like we were getting along. I'm not saying we're best friends now, but we certainly were - are civil towards each other." If Andrew thought Caspian was manipulating these people, he was wrong. Whatever the show will uncover once it was aired, people will know how genuine they were. Aside from the planned kisses, their interactions would be natural. "And they were praising you for your looks that didn't even have anything to do with me. They saw a good looking man and they were merely expressing it. Even if you're not connected to me, they would still think you're beautiful just because that's how you look. If I marry someone ugly, they'd be honest about it too, I'm sure. So stop thinking that these people are being misled. It's fine to be humble, but it is also wise to take what's given to you."

The conversation had resulted in silence on the way home. The air was tense and even though silence was a normal company to Caspian, keeping his mouth shut after such as heavy topic made him feel a bit unsettled. "I'm glad we have enough ingredients now. Do you want to see what we have in the garden?" He opened the gate to the cottage for Andrew and showed him the way to were he grew the lemon tree. They walked past the climbing rose bushes, English daisies and hydrangea to get to the back of the garden. There were a few big trees lining the back gate, one of them was the lemon tree, with ripe lemons beckoning to be picked. "How many do you think we need?" Caspian asked, trying to lighten up the air with a less stressing topic.

[YellowMelon]

It was evident the two were taking a step back in their relationship which hadn't even lasted for a whole day. Caspian’s voice was similar in tone to when they first met and the words he spoke made Andrew upset. He knew they wouldn’t be able to see eye-to-eye in all situations - that had been clear from the start - but to be told to take what’s given to him irked him. It’s not as though he told the Vijays he thought their compliments were wasted on him. He only told Caspian just now in privacy and his concern about the matter was something the superhero did not understand. Andrew had to bite his tongue from saying anything back for the rest of the walk, afraid his voice may rise and the appearance they had put on for their neighbors would have been wasted.

Upon returning the cottage, Andrew was about to make his way inside when Caspian diverted him to the garden, regardless of him not answering that he wanted to see the greenery. He trailed behind the homeowner while looking at several flowers which they passed. Now at a lemon tree, Andrew thought about how much zest comes from one lemon. Truly, he didn’t know, as he had never used lemon zest before, but, from estimations based on the size of lemon, he guessed that one lemon could flavor 24 cupcakes, and they needed 50. “We should get three.” While two would work, he didn't see an issue in getting an extra in case his assumption was wrong. With that, he turned on his heels and returned to the spot of the hydrangeas they had passed before. The roses were lovely and the English daisies were too, but was more fond of the cluster of flowers in front of him which displayed a variety of appealing colors. 

Andrew leaned closer to the bush to better inspect the flowers, although not too close for fear of damaging them. He acted as though they were poisonous with the way he was ever so careful to not even brush up against them. The half-gallon carton of milk in his hand, starting to sweat, was becoming slippery in his hands, reminding Andrew of the ingredients he was carrying. Without notifying Caspian, he simply returned to inside the cottage and laid out the items they had collected on the counter with the existing ingredients. He eyeballed what they had: a bag of unused sugar, an opened bag of flour, salt, oil, a Ziploc bag of baking powder, 6 sticks of butter, a half-gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, a muffin tin, cupcake liners, a round casserole bowl, a wooden fork, and a roasting pan. The basket with the glass jars of chutneys and curry paste Andrew placed on the dining room table so Caspian could store away. 

All they had to do was mix the ingredients in the right proportions and then bake the batter, right? It sounded easy enough. Given that they only had one muffin pan though, using the roasting pan also would not be such a terrible idea. They would just have to figure out how to make the cups stay straight when plopping in the batter. With his husband in the room, Andrew started to wash his hands thoroughly with soap and water. 

“Wash your hands and let’s get started.” He demanded, albeit weakly. 
 

[3ruri]

Caspian half expected Andrew to leave him outside and he was right. He didn't comment on it however, and went ahead to pick the lemons. He looked around a little to see which lemon was the juiciest and the ripest. Once he decided which lemons were the best, he picked them then headed inside the house. Andrew was already in the kitchen, washing his hands. All the ingredients were properly laid out on the kitchen counter, ready for them to start baking. Caspian took the lemons to the sink and gave them a good wash. Then he made sure to properly scrub his hands and wiped them with the kitchen towel.

"So, how do we do this?" he asked since Andrew mentioned he had done it before, he was looking for Andrew to lead the way. Andrew passed him the note where he had written down the methods. First they needed to combine the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Caspian left measuring the ingredients to andrew while he went to take a sieve and put it over the bowl. "It said here to put it aside while we mix the other things. We need to get another bowl." Caspian read the instruction and went to check for another bowl that would fit the wet ingredients. After looking around, he found a medium-sized salad bowl and put it on top of the counter next to the dry ingredients. They needed two eggs per one batch of a dozen cupcakes, so Caspian cracked eight eggs into the bowl and added all the other ingredients that Andrew had measured. 

The silence that fell upon them was rather disturbing. It was weird, even when Caspian didn't care much when it came to conversation, but they were making progress before and this just seemed wrong. He was shaking the sieve for the last of the dry ingredients to fall into the bowl, staining his hand with some flour. He looked at Andrew who was focused with combining the wet ingredients and a thought came over him. It was a huge risk, but he was willing to take it. 

"Hey, you got something there," Caspian pointed out something on Andrew's face. When Andrew looked up from the bowl, Caspian took the opening and dappled his flour-stained hand on Andrew's cheek. Instead of a reaction, the air was crackling in silence. Caspian blinked a few times and the more he looked at Andrew, the more his lips cracked into a smile and Caspian broke into a laugh.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry. That is just...the flour...you..." he said, having difficulty with his speech as he was laughing uncontrollably looking at what he did to Andrew's face. "You look like...a kid!" He wheezed, unable to keep his mirth in anymore. It was the best laughter he had in a while and even though Andrew was shooting daggers at him, he found it adorable and maybe Andrew would start talking to him again.

 

[YellowMelon]

While Andrew had scribbled down the methods, he, himself, had not paid much attention to what he wrote down. So, at the mention of two bowls, he showed visible confusion. It seemed as though his secret of not knowing how to bake was about to be revealed. “‘Mix the other things’?” He repeated what Caspian said to him, not understanding what the “other things” were. Shouldn’t they be mixing all the things into one bowl? What was the point of having two? In the end, Andrew simply did what was written in the instructions and started to measure out the dry ingredients. The only problem was that, despite using the measuring tools, Andrew wasn’t so keen on being exact. He simply scooped up the required amount of dry ingredient, not bothering to pat the flour down into the measuring cup or even the top, and then dumped it onto the sieve. He did the same for the sugar, baking powder, and salt. The one teaspoon of salt was evidently a larger scoop than a teaspoon but he didn’t care. 

Next, it was time for the wet ingredients. Andrew took the salad bowl and hesitated before starting to make the measurements. The salad bowl didn’t seem deep enough to mix the wet ingredients without causing a mess. He glanced at the casserole bowl Caspian had just put the dry ingredients in to, which seemed to be a much better fit for the wet ingredients, especially if the order mattered of adding the dry ingredients to the wet. Still, Andrew could have been wrong, so he started pouring in the milk, added the oil, and dropped in the three sticks of butter. By the looks of it, his suspicions were right. The brunette stared into the bowl now wondering what they were going to do. They would have to use the roasting pan for a different purpose.

As Andrew reached to pull the roasting pan closer to him to make the transfer of wet ingredients, he soon saw a puff of flour in front of his eyes. It was as though time had stopped with him gripping onto the handle of the roasting pan, unmoving. His effort of trying to limit any mess to the countertop when measuring the dry ingredients had been futile. It was specifically flour which he didn’t want on his person like what had happened years ago. He could deal with wet ingredients on his hands or any dry ingredients spilling on the floor but he despised the mess flour could make. Caspian, on the other hand, seemed to view flour in a different light. Regardless of how little flour he got on him, it had not lightened the mood for Andrew. He took a kitchen towel and wiped his face clean before waiting for Caspian to stop his fit of laughter. 

“Dr. Crowe,” Andrew said his name firmly as though he was getting ready to lecture him, “Don’t you think it’s better to act your age? If you laugh too hard you might accidentally pull out your back.” He showed fake concern. “Now, we need to make fifty cupcakes, in case your old-age mind forgot, and the bowl you picked for the wet ingredients is too small, so we need to transfer the wet ingredients to the casserole bowl and the dry ingredients to the salad bowl using the roasting pan as the intermediate. Do you think you can do that or is the equipment too heavy for you?” A smirk showed on his face. “If that’s the case, then I can do the work and you can take an afternoon nap, alright?” 

Edited January 11, 2021 by YellowMelon

[3ruri]

Caspian kept on laughing for a while and finally, when he managed to calm himself, wiped the tears in his eyes. He hadn't been so entertained like this in a long time and Andrew's reaction was too precious for him not to enjoy. He took a couple of deep breaths and cleared his throat until he finally managed to compose himself. Instead of using the roasting pan, Caspian decided to look for a better container. "I just remembered I have a bigger bowl than that," he said, some mirth still present in his tone. Caspian opened another cabinet and found what he was looking for. It was a fruit bowl even larger than the casserole bowl they had used for the dry ingredients. 

Bringing the bowl back and set it on top of the counter, Caspian took the wet ingredient mixture and poured it directly into the big bowl. Some of them spilled on the counter top but it could easily be wiped clean. After pouring it in, Caspian set it aside, careful to place it further in the middle of the counter so they wouldn't accidentally knock them over. "How's that for an old man for you?" he said, turning to Andrew who apparently, still planning to murder him. He was going to say something about Andrew's remarks, but at the sight of flour stain left on Andrew's cheeks, He snorted again. "Sorry, let me get that." Being in a lighter mood, he thought he'd cut Andrew some slack. He grabbed the kitchen paper tower and wrapped it around his finger and stood in front of his husband to brush the flour dust away.

The kiss was rather unexpected, even for Caspian. He wasn't even in a romantic mood and he didn't know how Andrew would react, but when he saw the pouty lips in front of him, Caspian leaned in and pressed a firm kiss against the mouth. He wasn't using it as a means of apology, far from that. At that moment he just thought he wanted to kiss him, so kiss he did. He moved his lips gently against his husband's not expecting him to reciprocate, but he cupped Andrew's chin, moved at an angle that complemented their height difference and pressed deeper. 

"You smell like sugar," he said, his hand still holding Andrew's chin and eyes looking straight into the bright green orbs, not caring about their proximity. "And you need to start calling me Caspian. Otherwise I will have to start calling you Mr. McCain. Although there is nothing wrong with that, it sounded like we're two old men starring in a sitcom." He grinned and finally dropped Andrew's chin from his hand. 

Returning to their baking, Caspian took the dry ingredients then started to pour them little by little into the wet one. "Do you mind mixing them up or you're traumatized with me working with flour so close to you? He glanced at Andrew. He wondered if the kiss had made matters worse between them, but if Andrew couldn't take a little teasing and a kiss that they both knew was coming, then the show was doomed from the start. He certainly didn't plan the kiss, but it happened and Caspian didn't regret it one bit.

[YellowMelon]

Andrew watched as his husband transferred the wet ingredients into the larger bowl. He wondered why Caspian was suddenly remembering all the different sized bowls he had in the kitchen when he suggested that they needed mixing bowls prior. Maybe if Caspian had thought more about this then they could have chosen better sized bowls to begin with and wouldn’t have to deal with moving the ingredients around. At least they hadn’t started to combine the ingredients and realized the bowls weren’t big enough. He didn’t even want to imagine the mess that would have caused. 

When Caspian went to touch him, Andrew eyed the older man suspiciously, taking a step back as his hand approached his face. He didn’t want to think the older man would continue to fool around after he had just lectured him about acting his age, but the smile on his face said otherwise. What happened next made Andrew freeze again. Why, exactly, was Caspian kissing him? No matter the reason, the brunette found himself wrapping his arms around the other, pulling him into a hug and closing his eyes. The kiss was a sweet gesture, and a warm welcome to help ease the mood, but Andrew also didn’t want Caspian to think he would let him get away so easily. Right before the other could completely pull away from the kiss, he made sure to give a firm bite to his bottom lip. 

“Of course I smell like sugar. We’re making cupcakes.” He stated the obvious, once again reminding them of their objective. They really had no time to fool around like this, especially since they still had to mix the batter and bake. Andrew leaned against the counter as he held the wooden fork and started mixing the ingredients like Caspian suggested him to do. However, his attention was away from the bowl as he stirred, causing some spillage. He surveyed the used ingredients, thinking of anything they could have missed. The three washed, unpeeled lemons stood out. They had almost forgotten the flavoring!

“I can finish mixing. You need to zest the lemons.” He ordered Caspian, pushing him away to take on the job of adding the dry ingredients. Once the dry ingredients were added, Andrew began to furiously mix the batter, causing an initial mess on the counter and on his person until he began to slow down. “You know, Dr. Crowe,” he started speaking casually once again, wanting to voice something less important that was on his mind, “Why do you want me to call you by your first name? I think it’s important that I keep some formality with you and I thought you would want that too.” He didn’t think the professor would have actually liked being called Caspian by some stranger upon their first meeting. Wasn’t he only allowing it for the show’s purpose, considering they were supposed to be husbands? Andrew firmly believed they could still be intimate without using forenames, although he, personally, didn’t care much what the superhero called him. 

[3ruri]

Caspian was rather pleased with the tingle Andrew left when he bit his lips. Maybe there was hope for them after all, not that Caspian was hoping for them to be more. He wanted them to like the other person enough to not end up hating each other when the show ended. Plus, it wasn't like Andrew was such a bad person. Personally, if Caspian had the time or cared to find someone to date, he wouldn't mind seeing Andrew at all. The sullen mood could be better, but Caspian wasn't exactly all sunshine and rainbows as well...except the gay part. That one was undoubtedly one shade of the rainbow.

The professor let his husband mix the ingredients, although he wondered if they would still end up with enough cupcake batter at the of the mixing. Andrew's skill at making cupcakes were almost as bad as his. At least Caspian didn't look like a six year old boy who can't keep all the ingredients in a big bowl. "Remember, we need fifty cupcakes. I'm not sure if we're going to have enough for half of it judging by the flour that flies out of the bowl," he said as he turned to the utensil drawer and took out a microplane. Luckily he was familiar with apparatus when grating garlic or ginger in his cooking. He also took a small bowl to put underneath while he grated the lemon zest. "Do we need the lemon juice as well?" He asked. He wondered how strong the lemon zest would be when added to the cupcake batter, but he was also unsure if adding the juice of the lemon would make the batter runny. 

Caspian wondered why Andrew felt it was unusual to refer him using his given name. "Most people I know call me by my given name. Colleagues, family members, friends - yes, I do have friends, don't look at me like that. They all call me Caspian. Only my students refer to me as Doctor Crowe or Professor Crowe. The university encouraged them to call us with our titles to establish some teacher-student boundary." He went on, explaining while slowly pulling the bowl from Andrew to him and took away of the mixing fork. Caspian took the chance to scrape the sides of the bowl so all flour and the wet ingredients were properly mixed together. "If you really hate using my name that much, I won't force you, but I think using our own given names would make it less of a business transaction or a made-believe, you know. We will be sharing spaces and we will be spending a lot of time together. I'd like to think we'll start of as a friend and move on from there. We did have a conventional start, but that doesn't everything will have to be awkward." After he finished his reasoning, he added the lemon zest into the batter and mixed it thoroughly.

 

[YellowMelon]

They were going to get fifty cupcakes. He was sure of it. Even if he had to scrape the sides of the bowl an endless amount of times with a spoon to get the last bits of batter to make the fiftieth cupcake he would. The card never mentioned how big the cupcakes had to be. Andrew paused with his mixing to analyze how much batter was in the bowl versus how much he lost. It wasn’t as bad as Caspian made it out to be. Instead of having four half-sized cupcakes, they would maybe need a dozen of half-sized cupcakes. In the end, when distributing the batch, he was sure it wouldn’t matter as long as each neighbor got some.

“I’m not sure. I know lemons juice is acidic, so I wouldn’t trust to put it in the batter.” The zest should be strong enough to flavor the cupcakes but if Caspian was worried about wasting any part of the lemon they could add the lemon juice or store the juice for something else. Despite the batter still being a bit chunky, Andrew decided that he was done. Mixing the ingredients became harder as it began to homogenize and he didn’t have enough stamina to keep stirring. Thankfully, Caspian was quick to take over for him. While the batter was being mixed, Andrew turned on the oven to preheat and then began to set the cupcake cups into the muffin pan. He was careful not to double up on the cups, as the liners were thin and frequently stuck together. 

The point Caspian made about using their names to make it less business-like was something Andrew understood. He thought that would be the answer, but he, personally, viewed their relationship for business purposes only. They were under a contractual agreement to work with each other and he couldn’t extend his imagination of their relationship to beyond that. The only reason he got to meet Dr. Stone was because of the show after all. He wasn’t a colleague, a family member, or a friend, so he didn’t think the invitation to use his given name could really apply to him. 

“I don’t hate saying your name,” Andrew made that fact clear, “I’ve been calling you Dr. Crowe a lot more than you’ve said my name. You’ve only referred to me twice. Once as 'Andy' and the other when you said my full name to the Vijays. The latter wasn’t even directed to me.” The brunette huffed a little but wasn’t entirely upset about his name not being spoken by Caspian. He didn’t need to be called on all the time, but it wasn’t fair for Caspian to ask for a formality to be removed when he hadn’t even said his name to him him directly. “How many times have I called you Mister or Doctor Crowe, huh?” Having finished placing the cupcake liners in the muffin pan, Andrew now began to clean up the kitchen of the mess he made. 

“I, actually, think your first name is unique, so I’m waiting for a special time to say it.” He made the last part an obvious joke.

[3ruri]

"Ok then , to be safe, lets not add the lemon juice," Caspian agreed, Once he was satisfied with the consistency of the batter, he set the bowl aside and went to the door beside the stove that was used to store cooking condiments and took out a bottle of cooking spray. "Should we use this to line the cups? I don't know if it will stick once done, but no harm in using this, right?" He passed the spray to Andrew. The younger male seemed to be taking over arranging the cups on the muffin tin and roasting pan. Caspian went back to the utensil drawer and took out two round spoons for them to scoop the batter into the cups. He handed one to Andrew.

Caspian didn't notice that he hadn;t been using Andrew's name much. He had been talking to Andrew all these time, was there even a need to address him specifically. "Well, Andy, Andrew, I mean. I just think normally when people point out that you should call them by their given name, you just do it. Unless you really want to annoy the person off or you're really not comfortable with them, in which case, it's okay, I'll just have to live with it. By the way, that's four times now." Caspian said, as he started scooping the batter into the cups one spoonful at a time. He thought they could fill them up halfway and see how much batter they would be left with, then add on little by little so every cupcake would be relatively the same size. 

"My name is uncommon, but it's not that unique, Andrew." Caspian added, making another point to say Andrew's name. "That makes it five." He was counting how many times he was using Andrew's name, including the two time before. If Andrew wanted to make a record out of it, then two can play at the game. 

He continued spooning the mixture into the cups. So far so good. the cups looked sturdy enough for one spoonful of batter. He wondered if it would continue to hold when he add more. "Andrew, how long do we need to bake them?" he turned to look at the male. The oven was preheated, so as soon as the batter is finished, they could bake them. "Should we try baking the ones in the muffin tin first, as a trial? That way if something bad happen we still have a little back up. What do you think, Andrew?" he knew he was being a little of a jerk. But just because he uses Andrew's name freely, didn't mean it wasn't special. Besides, when would they actually have a special occasion? It's not like they were going to celebrate their birthdays or wedding anniversary together.

Edited January 11, 2021 by 3ruri

[YellowMelon]

After being handed the cooking spray, Andrew did a quick spritz to the cupcake cups and then started to play around with the stack of extra liners they would use for their next batch. Caspian handed him a spoon, which he took, but he just held it without doing any work. He watched as his companion scooped the yellow mixture into the cups in the muffin tin, then, once done, started working on the roasting pan which fit 12 cupcake liners. 

"Perhaps, Dr. Crowe," Andrew didn't spare a glance at the other individual as he spoke, "If you've given me a reason to say your name properly, I would have." He positioned himself so he and Caspian were closely beside each other while he continued to watch the liners being filled. "Right now, though, you're being quite..." His voice trailed off trying to think of the right word. Ass? Jerk? Child? No. "Annoying." Andrew held the spoon’s bowl and lightly jabbed Caspian in the side with the end of the handle. He soon noticed that the weight of the batter, as he thought, was starting to weigh the sides of the cup down. Easy fix.

Before he stepped away to look for aluminum foil, Andrew moved to the other side of his husband and gave him another lighthearted poke to his waist. "You're going to make the batter fall out if you keep filling it. Hold on a moment." The brunette carefully opened cabinets and drawers to find the silver foil and a pair of kitchen scissors, making sure not to move anything he didn't need from its place. Once he found what he was looking for, he returned next to Caspian. "This should work."

Andrew ripped off five wide pieces of aluminum and folded each rectangle into a thick strip. He then cut two slits into three of them to make a grid which fit the 12 cupcake liners - one cup per square. "There, that will hold." He made some adjustments to the aluminum grid to ensure it was sturdy and looked at it proudly. It was something simple but now they could have the cupcakes hold a typical cupcake shape. "Alright, Mr. Crowe, you can put them in the oven. I don't see a point in having a test batch but do whatever you want." Leaving the counter to return the foil and scissors, Andrew made a third, and final, jab with the spoon, targeting Caspian's right butt cheek. “Bake them for fifteen minutes, Dr. Stone.”

[3ruri]

"I'm annoying?" Caspian said indignantly. "Me? Really? Should I hold a mirror in front of you every time you call me Mr. Crowe or Doctor Stone?" he huffed. He knew he could be a dick sometimes, but Andrew was a good match. So win-win, they both annoy each other. The crew really did find him a good match for a husband. He let Andrew take over, dealing with the cups by using the aluminum to create a grid. Caspian continued spooning the mixture into the cups since now it was more sturdy and they had fifty equal-sized cupcakes. He swatted Andrew's hand as they jabbed his butt and carefully  loaded the muffin tray into the preheated oven. Then, he turned the timer dial for fifteen minutes. He hoped it would turn out well since if they ruin the first batch, they would be short of six cupcakes. 

"I wished they had asked us to bake a single cake instead. That was too much work for miniature cakes," he commented and made his way to the sink to wash his hands. "How much ingredients do we have left? Are we making the frosting?" Even though initially he could care less about how the cupcakes would look after baking, he wanted to at least make an effort for the neighbors who had selflessly donated their items. He could simply pick some edible flowers from his garden as a decoration for the cupcakes, but they would still need a tiny bit of frosting or something alike. 

While they were waiting for the cupcakes to bake, Caspian took the time to clean the counter top that was had some spilled flour and wet mixture of the better. The gears in his head was working while he moved his hand to clean the surface and suddenly he stopped and looked at Andrew. "Please stop calling me Mr. Crowe," he said, not pleading but still asking nicely. He didn't know why Andrew was so adamant in not using his name, but he preferred Andrew for not saying his name at all rather than calling him like they were just some distant acquaintances passing by at a grocery shop. He was about to say something else then changed his mind. He forgot that he couldn't control people. That's not what he did and what he wanted to do. "Never mind, forget it." He said, quickly moving to the sink again to wash the wipe cloth.

[YellowMelon]

“Annoying” was too weak of a word. Andrew was beginning to understand why Caspian had been dubbed “Stone Cold” but decided to keep that revelation to himself. Initially, he thought it was because the superhero would be the silent type and more often than not he would find himself talking to a wall, but, in fact, it was the opposite. He would have preferred to meet the Stone Cold Doctor of his imagination than the one he was in the presence of now. At least he would have been able to deal with the silence that followed after meeting their neighbors, and then maybe it wouldn’t have led to the feeling Andrew had to Caspian now. There wasn’t a single word to describe exactly how he felt. He certainly wasn’t fond of the man but he harbored not-ill will towards him either. 

While Caspian shared his stubbornness in how they viewed each other, Andrew knew one of them would have to let up; otherwise, Samantha would likely kick their asses and that wouldn’t be healthy for the show. He could settle with not addressing Caspian by his surname, but he would have to mull over the fact of saying his given name before that came out of his mouth. 

Andrew brought all the used ingredients together except for the milk, eggs, and butter which he had returned to the fridge. The only thing they exhausted almost all of was the baking powder. He pushed the flour away and mentally crossed off eggs as potential ingredients for the frosting. To be honest, McCain didn’t know what Caspian was referring to when he mentioned “the frosting.” He thought his husband had only wanted to make cakes, so that was the only recipe he wrote down on the paper. “We have butter, milk, and sugar,” Andrew mumbled to himself while Caspian moved about cleaning, “And we have this bowl.” He grabbed the casserole bowl which had been used for the dry ingredients. 

“Should I just mix them all together?” He questioned to himself, not Caspian, as though forgetting the other was in the kitchen with him. Andrew stared into the used sugar bag, genuinely wondering how mixing the ingredients would work. Wouldn’t it be grainy? “Are you sure you want to make this frosting?” He looked at his husband.

[3ruri]

Caspian sighed. This had proven to be harder than he thought. "I don't know, do it, don't do it, I don't care anymore." He squeezed the water our of the wiping clothe and hang it on the sink to dry. He dried his hands next and walked to check the cupcakes in the oven. The light allowed him to see how well the cupcakes were rising and they had a few minutes left to wait until they can put in the other batch that was waiting in the roasting pan. "Look's like the cupcakes are rising nicely. I'm going outside to pick some flowers for decoration," he said, taking out a plastic container and a pair of kitchen scissors before heading out to the garden through the kitchen door. 

He wondered what did Samantha's team saw in Andrew to pick him out for the show. The guy was difficult to have conversation with, stubborn and even more reluctant than he was. He thought looking for someone more eager would be much better for ratings, not that he would prefer that kind of person more than Andrew. It was just...he felt out of depth with Andrew. He knew he wasn't the best person and difficult to get along with, but that was Andrew's role, right? To try to get along with Caspian, and not the other way round. At this point, they were just going to end up hating each other. Caspian was about done extending olive branches that Andrew was gonna throw away. He won't be a dog and go fetch those sticks for Andrew. In the end, he decided it was best to keep his distance away from him.

Outside in the garden, Caspian headed to where he had pansies growing and also chamomile. They're edible and nice to look at, so he thought worse come to worse, he would just sprinkle them on top of the cupcake and be done with. He knelt on the ground beside the flower bushes and used the kitchen scissors to collect them. He had a handful of each variety and gathered them in the plastic container he had brought with him. It only took him a couple of minutes, but if he stayed longer, it would be obvious that he was trying to avoid Andrew. Deciding that he was a grown man and could deal with anything, Caspian head back inside. 

"Is the first batch done?" He asked Andrew. The lights in the oven was off, so he assumed that the first cupcakes were ready. "We should taste one. The card said we only had to bake fifty. So it doesn't matter if we eat one and give away whatever left." He suggested, wondering what did their home baked cupcakes tasted like.

[YellowMelon]

As soon as Caspian left for the garden, Andrew angrily banged the counter with his first, letting out some pent-up frustration. This was impossible and Caspian was being too wishy-washy. “‘Do it, don’t do it’”, he mimicked, “He’s the one one who didn’t want to do it to begin with!” And now he found himself without help to make the frosting that wasn’t his idea. Well, Caspian did give him the choice to make it or not, but Andrew thought it was better to get it over with. It was only fair since he had pitched the idea to make the cupcakes vanilla. In fact, he was the one who had written down the ingredients, decided what they had and didn’t have, and conversed with two neighbors for the items. What more had Caspian done than him? Andrew quickly shook his head to get his thoughts in order. This wasn’t a competition. They were supposed to be working together. All he had to do was make the frosting and he could be done. Giving the cupcakes to the neighbors was a different issue.

Intent on making the frosting, Andrew took the milk and butter out of the refrigerator. First, he did exactly what he thought he should do and added what he thought was the right quantity of each ingredient together  - a cup of milk, a cup of sugar, and four tablespoons of butter. Due to his mistake of returning the butter to the fridge, he struggled with mixing for a while, but was able to break down the cold butter with some elbow grease. If Caspian was here this would surely have been an easier task. Just by looking at the mixture Andrew could tell he had done something wrong. It was a watery consistency and pure sugar was definitely not the way to go. What had he done wrong? Should he wait for Caspian? No, he was supposed to be a decent baker, if Caspian hadn’t already figured out he was a total dud.

Andrew scoured the kitchen for a food processor. Upon finding one, he set it on the counter, cleaned out the bowl which contained his failed attempt at frosting, and tried again. This time he blended the granulated sugar into a fine powder. He added one stick of butter to the bowl, a cup of the powdered sugar, and a splash of milk. The new frosting came out to be thicker, but tasted more buttery than Andrew would have liked it. Consequently, he added another cup of sugar, a little more milk to make the frosting smoother, and then mixed. Another taste and he was done. Done with the frosting at least.

When the timer went off, McCain took out the muffin pan from the oven and placed in the roasting pan. He set the fresh batch on the dining table, then returned to the counter. His third task was now having to clean up the new mess he created, which he was very displeased with. The granulated sugar had been easy to work with but the powdered sugar was worse than flour. He had been an idiot while measuring the powdered sugar and banged the cup on the counter to elevate the top. The spoon he used, the outside of the bowl, and his shirt had powdered sugar on it. Thankfully, he had washed his hands before touching the oven. 

While going to wet a towel, Andrew - a true baking idiot - knocked the plastic measuring cup he had decided to temporarily hold the extra powdered sugar in since there was only about three-fourths of a cup left and he wanted to wash the food processor. He frantically grabbed the cup but smacked the pile of sugar which had fallen out of it in the process, causing the white powder to spray into the air. Caspian was sure to kill him, and there he came in through the door.

Andrew immediately moved to the sink to wash his hands while he tilted his slightly powdered face away from the Caspian. “If you eat one, we’ll have to make another one to replace it.” He warned. He needed to stop taking the card so literally. “The batch is on the dining table. I’m not much of a cake person, so I’ll pass.”

 

[3ruri]

Caspian raised a brow at the picture Andrew made. This time, instead of laughing at the sight of Andrew's powdered face and the mess in the kitchen, he stayed quiet. How did one person manage to make a whole lot of a mess in a wide enough kitchen? That was for Andrew to know and for him to find out. "You made the frosting," Caspian said, more of a statement than a question. Looks like they were going to have a proper cupcake anyway and with the flowers as decoration, he reckoned it would look semi-nice. 

He went back to the sink where Andrew was and passed him the containers with flowers. "Do you mind washing them? I'll clean up." He didn't wait for Andrew to say anything, he just took the wipe cloth from him and left the flowers for his husband to manage. It wasn't like Caspian was a neat freak or anything; he just thought he was better at cleaning that the other man would, especially when there are still exposed ingredients on the counter top. It would be counter productive for him to clean it up only to make a mess again, however way he managed that in the first place. Caspian moved to the counter and started cleaning. He put away the sugar into the dry pantry and started wiping. The cupcake was cooling nicely on the counter, thankfully. Visual-wise, Caspian though they nailed it. Taste though...Andrew didn't want to eat it and Caspian wasn't so big on desserts either, but it was for quality control so they wont accidentally poison someone. "I'll have one cupcake before we deliver them to the neighbors. No one can say I break the rules since we did bake fifty cupcakes. The card didn't say we have to give all fifty to the neighbors."

It didn't take look for the roasting pan batch to be done after that. He was relieved to see they were the same color as the one in the muffin tin. Caspian took the kitchen mitts and took the pan out, setting it on the wire rack on the counter beside the first batch. He made a mental count of it and glad that they really did managed to bake fifty cupcakes. "So..." he trailed, glancing at Andrew. "Who's going to do the honor and pipe the frosting on it?" He had never used a piping bag before and Caspian didnt think he had any, but he saw a lot of tricks about using a ziplock bag by cutting one corner. The problem was, his hands may be steady, but they weren't meant to pipe frostings artistically.