A/N: I was bored, so I just had an idea for a fanfic. This is before the 3oT story, before Loki was even married. Cheryl isn't the best at cooking and I just needed something to pass the time... so, enjoy!
"Loki! Lokiiiiiiii!" a familiar girl's voice called.
It was a fine day in the quiet, peaceful village of Bluebell, where a ginger-haired girl came running to Loki.
"There you are! You're still here?" giggled Cheryl, the brother of a certain boy named Ash.
"Hi Cheryl. I just finished up. You need something? It's rare to see you here."
"Oh, yeah! I wanted you to help me cook a Doria for Ash's birthday! You're the first person I thought of, since you've won the last... eight Cooking Festivals! You're so talented!"
"Aw, I'm flattered," replied Loki, blushing a little. "Sure, I'll help you."
"Yay! Let's go! Hurry!"
"Cheryl..." Loki panted between breaths. "And I thought... I was fast... You must... really be excited... huh?"
"I'm not that fast! You're probably just too slow. Not in a bad way, you are pretty fast yourself. Anyway, we need to get started!"
"Okay, so you have the ingredients?"
"Yep! I got onions, flour, rice and milk; from your farm of course! Oh, and some butter to make it extra tasty!"
"Great! So first, we need to cook the rice. I'll do that part, I'm just gonna get a pot."
Loki rushed to the counter to grab a pot, and came straight back. She made sure to cook the rice to perfection, after all, she wanted to make it right too. She has had a crush on the farmer boy for almost a year, but she never had the courage to say anything. She doesn't even know if he looks her way...
"Kay, I'll trust you to chop the onions, just be careful, alright?"
"I will!"
"Cheryl, be careful."
"Don't worry! I know what I'm doing!"
Once the energetic girl was finished, she wiped her eyes.
"Whew! See? These are perfect!"
Loki stared at the uneven slices in front of her; one was a very thin slice, and one was very chunky.
'Don't worry, I can make this work.' Loki thought to herself.
"Uh, great Cheryl! Now weigh... 200 grams of flour."
"On it!"
She watched Cheryl dump the flour into the scales, and shook her head.
"Cheryl, I think that's a bit much-"
"I know what I'm doing! Just a little more... there!"
Loki sighed at Cheryl's measurements.
"Yup, that's... about right..." she mumbled.
'Nowhere near right. No wonder she doesn't do very well at the Cooking Festival...'
"Yay! What next?" Cheryl asked.
"A cup of milk..."
"I've got it!"
'Why did she ask me to come if she doesn't want me to help with the measurements?'
"Actually, Cheryl, I can do it. You wouldn't want to get your dress even more dirty," Loki persuaded.
"Oh! You're right!" she giggled, looking down at her dress. "Silly me! But I'm putting them in the pan!"
"Yeah... okay..."
Loki made an exact measurement of milk in the cup, while Cheryl turned on the heat.
"Yay! Just a few more minutes and I can give it to Ash!"
'I'm sorry Ash, I couldn't stop her... Hope you're still alive after this...'
"Now we put everything in the pan, including the butter, and we stir, then wait," Loki instructed. "Oh! I forgot, I have to give this fish to Grady today, turn the heat off when it's been three minutes, okay?"
"Okay Loki!"
The exhausted woman wandered out the door, leaving Cheryl to either ruin or perfect the dish.
"Hm... how many minutes did Loki say again? Eh, whatever. I'll turn it off at four minutes."
Cheryl hummed a tune while she waited, giving a few twirls every now and then. She couldn't wait to give her... wonderful gift to Ash.
"I think it's been about four minutes... better turn the heat off."
Actually, four minutes turned out to be six minutes; double the time Loki had set.
Cheryl carefully used a spatula to pick the 'Doria' up, and plated it on a white, floral plate. As she looked at her, um, 'dish', she smiled.
"Perfect!" she exclaimed.
The Doria was charred, you could almost call it a failed dish. Cheryl did not even bother tasting it, she assumed it was already good enough.
Moments later, Loki came back from Grady's.
"Hey Cheryl, sorry I took so long. Grady dragged me into some 'chit-chat', something about-" She paused. "Um, wow..."
"Isn't it great? You wanna try it?"
Loki had a big decision to make. She already knew in her heart that it was terrible, but maybe she should try it, to be nice, and suffer with Ash.
"...Sure..."
She gave an innocent smile and forked a bit of the Doria. She slowly placed it in her mouth. Just as expected, it was horrible. Trying hard to swallow it, she gave a thumbs-up.
"...It's...good..."
"Oh, I know it is! C'mon, let's show Ash!"
'Be prepared Ash, for what will come your way...'
Being dragged along by Cheryl, they found Ash tending to his animals, always with love and care. That's what Loki admired about him.
"Oh hey Cheryl! Loki!"
"Hi Ash!" Cheryl greeted.
"Hey... Ash..."
"Is that for me? What is it?"
"It's a Doria! For your birthday!" Cheryl squealed.
"A... Doria?" said Ash, confused. "Oh, thanks Cheryl. I.. love it."
"C'mon, try it!"
Ash reluctantly took a bite of the dish Cheryl called 'Doria'. Cheryl looked at him with big wide eyes.
"It's.. great!" Ash lied. "I like the, uh, crispiness of it!"
"Yay! I got to go back to Mom now, see you later!"
They waited for her to disappear before saying another word.
"That was an... interesting dish."
"Face it Ash, it was terrible. I even tried it." Loki scoffed.
"Yeah... it was. I'm guessing she just dragged you along to basically watch?"
"...That's pretty much it, yeah."
"Ha, typical Cheryl. She's only young, so take it easy on her."
"I will."
"Hey, you wanna go out?"
"Huh?!"
"F-for a walk. Do you wanna go out... for a walk?" He blushed.
"Oh, y-yeah, sure." she awkwardly laughed, blushing as well.
'Did I seriously just say 'do you wanna go out'? Get yourself together, Ash...'