Won didn't like cooking.
That wasn't to say he couldn't cook, he could if he had to. But that was the thing - he cooked when he had to. When he'd lived with Zack, most of his meals were purchased at the inn, or he'd go next door to Kai's snack shack. On the rare occasion when it'd be too late to eat out, he'd whip up something simple. Rudimentary. Something like fried noodles, or egg drop soup.
Something quick he could have for dinner.
Not something like, say, cookies.
A difficult recipe that was even more difficult at four in the morning, in the half-dark of the kitchen, trying not to wake up the other two occupants of the house.
Won cursed as a bowl fell out of the cupboard and clattered to the floor. He swiftly bend to retrieve it, shushing under his breath as if that would retract the loud noise it had made. He straightened back up and looked over his shoulder, holding his breath.
But to his relief, Claire only mumbled in her sleep and rolled over.
Safe.
Won exhaled deeply as he set the bowl on the counter. Okay, the oven was preheating, the cooking utensils were out...Now came the hard part: actually cooking.
He decided to start simply; chopping an apple. Yes, tradition stated that he ought to give his wife chocolate cookies, but...Well, there was no harm in changing things up, was there? Besides, he loved apples, and so did she.
He set the apple on the cutting board, swiftly chopping it in half and coring it. Quickly and quietly, he told himself. Quickly and quietly.
In minutes, the apple was diced up and ready to put into the dough. But that was the easy part. Won eyed the mixing bowl and other ingredients with disdain. How would he know when to stop mixing? How big should he make the little dough balls? Was he supposed to grease the cookie sheet now, or wait for the dough to be ready? Did he have to level off the flour, or would he be alright pouring in a heaping cup?
Oh, he'd accomplish nothing just standing there. Best thing to do was get it over with. Won glanced at the recipe book as he dug the measuring cup into a sack of flour. He tried to remember how he saw Claire doing it, when she made pie for Mei. Let's see, she'd leveled it, correct? The measuring cup emerged from the flour, and he used his bare hand to level the mountain down.
He winced as white flour dusted the floor and his feet. Never mind, he could clean it later. Into the bowl the flour went.
Now for the egg... That was easy at least. Won grabbed an egg from the fridge and set it on the countertop while he double-checked the recipe.
He heard a small noise, but ignored it - it didn't sound like a mumble, and on a farm there were lots of noises. This was probably the house settling, anyway.
"Milk..." he murmured. Might as well put that in now, too...
But as he turned towards the fridge, his bare foot stepped in something cool and slimy. Cool, slimy, and with fine sharp edges. He barely suppressed a cry as he stumbled backward and looked, spotting the remains of his egg splattered on the floor - and now on his foot. So that was what the sound had been just now.
"Tā māde!" he muttered bitterly.
"Bàba?"
Won bit back another swear as he turned to see Mei standing in the entrance to the kitchen. She held her stuffed cow under one arm, the other arm blearily rubbing at her eyes. "What are you doing?" she asked sleepily.
"Nothing. Go back to sleep," he whispered. He paused, then added "And don't ever repeat what I just said. Or tell your mother I said it at all."
"M-hm... What are you doing in the kitchen?" she half-yawned. Of course it wouldn't be this easy, Won thought with a groan. Mei was as curious as Claire and as stubborn as himself. Once the little five-year-old had a question, she wouldn't stop until her curiosity was satisfied. "Is it breakfast already?"
"No, Mei. I'm making a surprise for your mommy." There was no point in lying. She'd have seen the cookies when she woke up later anyway.
"A surprise?" That word did it. Mei lowered her arm, staring at Won with wide black eyes, suddenly wide-awake. "What kind of surprise?!"
"Sh-shh!" he pleaded, waving his hands. After checking just to make sure Claire wasn't waking up, he whispered. "Do you know tomorrow...today...is Spring Thanksgiving?" A nod. "Well, I was going to make cookies for you both." there was no reason to exclude Mei, after all. Ever since she'd been born he'd bought cookies for the both of them, not wanting her to be excluded. "It was going to be a surprise for when you woke up."
"Ohhhhh!" Mei perked up, stars lighting in her eyes at the mention of cookies. "Is that why there's an egg on the floor? 'cause you dropped it?"
"Yes, Mei...because I dropped it..." Won muttered, defeated. He cast his gaze around the kitchen again. Flour in the bowl, milk on the counter, one broken egg on the floor, an oven waiting... "Mei, I don't suppose you could help me, could you?"
"I can help?!"
"Shhhhhh!" he pleaded. "Yes, but just a little. I need you to clean up the messy egg on the floor, and tell me how Mommy cooks. Please?" Mei had watched Claire bake enough times, she should have known how it went.
"Uh-huh!" Mei nodded briskly, and Won handed her a wet paper towel. She began to clean up the broken egg, and Won went back to adding the milk. A moment of hesitation later, and in went the diced apples. He heard the fridge open and close, and a moment later Mei's tiny hand was pushing an egg at him.
"Many thanks," he whispered with a smile. He stepped to the side as Mei pushed her sheep stepping stool forward, climbing up in her feetie pajamas to watch him stir. "What does the dough look like when Mommy finishes?"
"Kinda sticky," she said. "And it turns a cookie color."
Well, 'a cookie color' could mean anything. But he assumed she meant it turned a golden brown.
"Is there anything else I need?" he whispered.
"Butter," came a new voice. Won felt arms draping over his shoulders, and a woman's chest press against his back. "Honey for taste. And no milk."
The man sighed dismally, allowing his head to fall back against his wife's shoulder. "Good morning, Claire," he grumbled half-heartedly.
"Morning, Mommy! We're making cookies!"
"So I see," Claire chuckled. "I wondered what all the noise was..." She pressed a kiss to Won's jaw. "Do you want me to help you with this?"
"...if you please," he sighed.
Things didn't go as he had planned. Both his special girls had woken up, he'd poured in a wrong ingredient. It still did not go completely smoothly when Claire began to help - Mei tried to dice the other apple, and Won had to snatch the knife away before she cut off a finger.
But it went so much better at the same time. They worked in the dim light, admiring how the house got steadily brighter as the sun rose. Their voices stayed just above a whisper, making them all feel as if they were sharing a secret. Claire's hands went over Won's hands to show him how to stir properly, which never failed to make his heart flutter. Won lifted Mei up so she could drop in the butter.
And they all sat down on the floor, the mixing bowl and baking tray between them, rolling balls of dough between their hands like children playing with clay.
In roughly fifteen minutes, the cookies were in the oven, and the house was filled with the scent of warming apple and honey.
"They'll be ready in forty-five minutes," Claire said as Mei licked batter from a wooden spoon. "I'm sorry I ruined your surprise, Won..."
Silence.
"Won, honey?" She turned her head to try to look at his face.
But Won, sitting on the floor beside her with his head on her shoulder, had already fallen asleep.
"Should we make more cookies?" Mei asked. "So we can surprise him when he wakes up, too?"
Claire smiled and shook her head, brushing a long lock of hair away from Won's face. "No... But let's surprise him properly for Winter Thanksgiving, alright?"