I do not own any of these characters. Obviously if I did, I wouldn't be here. :)
A/N: This was for the PokeAni Secret Santa onf Tumblr and I got AT teashipping! I love Wishfulshipping so much! I think that they are complete opposites that balance each other out. Comment and fave if you like this!As always, you can find this on Tumblr and AO3!
"Iris, maybe I should help you with that?" Cilan cringed from the recipe book that he was reading. Across from him, Iris was mixing ingredients into a large bowl. Her normally large hair was bundled up into a neat braid with a light pink bandanna wrapped around her head. There were patches of flour all around her face and over the apron she was wearing (at Cilan's request of course). Standing on the kitchen counter was a floured-covered Axew, peering into the bowl of mixture. In the chair next to Cilan, Pansage was also cringing from the mess in the kitchen, no doubt worrying about who was going to clean all this mess.
They were attempting to make cookies for the Striation Gym's annual Christmas Celebration. It was an annual tradition in which friends and citizens alike would bring in a dish and celebrate the Christmas holiday together. This was the first time that Iris and Cilan would spend the holidays as a couple. To commemorate this achievement, Iris volunteered to make their dish for the party.
At first, Cilan was ecstatic that Iris had, of her own free will, offered to cook anything that wasn't just raw plants and fruits. Yet, he was quickly learning that Iris still had a way of mixing her own unique flavor onto a timeless recipe.
"Not a chance," she grinned, mixing in more than the quarter-cup of butter Cilan had just read. "Okay, continue, what's the next ingredient?"
"One cup of granulated sugar," he read off, then smiled at her. "To get the finest taste, I would recommend sifting it first with the colander. It would make the texture smooth and perfect when baking it, a most excellent combination."
"Ah, but plain old sugar cookies would be so boring, right?" she pondered, putting her right index finger underneath her chin. Axew looked up at her curiously.
"I'm sure sugar cookies would be more than enough for my brothers," Cilan replied carefully. He was not liking the look she was giving. Was there any hope that she would follow a recipe straight from the book?
"Oh, don't be such a Dwebble downer," Iris replied. Grabbing one of the nearby stools, she stood on top of it and rummaged inside the cabinet. "Hey, look Axew, there are chocolate chips and Pecha berries here. Oh, these natural spices can be useful too. Cilan, do you have any more fruit?"
"In the pantry, by the fridge," he pointed.
She jumped down from the stool and looked into the pantry. True to his word, or maybe it was his pride as a chef, Iris emerged with a variety of different fruits and Berries.
"Excellent," she smiled. "We can make more than one flavor with this much fruit."
"But you won't have much mix," Cilan said with hope. He was trying to convince his girlfriend that her special blends were probably too much for this party, though Iris would need more convincing than that.
"That's true," she agreed, but then perked up instantly. "Ah, but Cilan, you can make the base for me right? While I prepare the flavors? It would save us a lot of time, and we are already running behind."
That last request was more of an order than anything else. With no possible choice left, Cilan reluctantly began mixing the base. He watched as Iris began chopping an apple into small pieces.
"You know, it might be easier to take out the skin first," he suggested. He was resisting the desperate urge to not to take over baking the rest of the cookies from her. "The texture would also be smooth with no interruption from fruit skin."
"Don't you mind me," she replied. Putting the apple pieces aside, she started chopping a bright red Tamato Berry. Axew, also wanting to help, was cutting another Berry with his claws. "Natural is the way to go. No need to worry."
Cilan finally understood why Ash would get worried the most when their mutual friend from Sinnoh said that phrase. Still, against his better judgment, he followed her instructions. He watched as Iris mushed the apple bits with bits of the berries she had also cut. She separated each flavor mix into different bowls. Cilan noticed her interesting choices of blends. They were flavors that no one in their right mind would dare mix together. Though, he said nothing despite the strained face he was making.
The couple worked in silence for a while, Cilan making the mixture, while Iris made the flavors. The least he could do was make the perfect base for Iris' rather eccentric blends of flavors. By the time he finished the last one, Iris was mixing in the second flavor into the bowl.
Cilan grimaced at the colors each of them formed. Of the three mixes that Iris had made, none of the colors were vibrant enough to be even considered normal cookies let alone Christmas cookies. If Cilan were to do an evaluation of the visual appeal the colors, he would fail them. The colors are better suited for holidays such as Halloween or National Bring You Trubbish to Work Day. He couldn't very much say anything about it to her face. No, he would have to bear with it and maybe squeeze in a little bit of advice here and there.
"The dough is best when reached a certain level of-"
"I got it, I got it," she interrupted, pushing him to the side. "It's just cookies, how hard can they be?"
Harshly, Iris pressed down on the dough with the roller pin, leaving behind bits of dough stuck to it. She continued to press hard until she was satisfied with the thickness of the batter. Iris then grabbed one of the Christmas-shaped cookies cutter that Cilan had taken out earlier. Cilan didn't even bother asking Iris if he could at least assist in cutting them out. She rushed to cut out each shape, with some of them missing parts if the outline.
Every cookie that Iris had cut looked less and less like the original shape of the cookie cutter. The Christmas Tree shaped cookies ended up looking like a Haxorus if Cilan squinted a bit. He wasn't sure if Iris did that intentionally or not.
Though, he would have to admit that he never saw Iris put this much effort into creating something that didn't have to do with Dragon training. In her own way, she was trying her best for their sake and the feeling alone made him happy. He didn't have the heart to put her down.
"Okay, timer set," she said, closing the oven door. "What now?"
"It's cleaning time," he sang, earning an eye-roll from Iris.
Nonetheless, she picked up a rag and started wiping down the counters. Pansage was in his element, helping Cilan with everything from washing the dishes to sweeping the floor. They were making good time on the cleaning when Cilan smelled a foul odor in the air.
"Iris, how long did you leave the cookies for?" he said panicked.
"Fifteen minutes. Look, the timer hasn't even rang yet," she pointed out. Cilan noticed that the timer's hands had yet to move from it's original starting position.
Cilan rushed to open the stove, where a small puff of smoke greeted him. Quickly, he put on his oven-mitt on and took out the three trays.
"Iris, fifteen minutes was correct, but not at 400 degrees Fahrenheit,"he sighed. "And you didn't even turn on the timer!" The cookies were burnt on the bottom and edges, they were looking less festive by the minute.
"Don't be a kid," she pouted. "Listen, now the cookies are done faster and all there is left to do is decorate and test them out."
"I don't suppose you would want any help with that?" he asked hopefully.
"Nope, I can take care of it with Axew," she smiled. The small dragon Pokemon gave Pansage a confident look as well. "Now you two wait outside while I decorate."
With nothing else to do, they retired into the dining room waiting nervously for the outcome of the cookies.
"It's not too late to buy something this year, right Pansage?" he asked his Pokemon. "I know we never do that, since it is an unoriginal taste, but desperate times. We could proably switch it out without her noticing."
"All done!"
Iris emerged from the kitchen with a small sample of all three cookies. Each of them decorated in vivid colors, much to Cilan's horror. If he thought the original colors were bad, these ones were worse.
"I want you guys to be my first taste-testers," Iris said excitedly. Cilan gulped, on the one hand, he really didn't want to eat the deformed cookie. On the other hand, Iris had confident stars in her eyes. This made him a bit nervous to not live up to her expectations. He was prepared to grin and bear it if it meant that she would keep smiling.
"Axew, ew!" cheered the small dragon type, crumbs still on his mouth.
"It's tasting time, I guess," Cilan said meekly. Pansage looked at him with a nervous expression, as if his trainer had to power to not make him eat the baked good. When Pansage realized that there was no way out he gulped along with his trainer. In one synchronized motion, both trainer and Pokemon closed their eyes and took a bite of the burnt cookie.
"It's good!" Cilan exclaimed, opening his eyes. He took another bite to make sure that his taste buds were not faulty. He peered down at Pansage who also matched his own surprised expression. "More than good, this particular flavor has the sweet scent of an apple, but with a much more overpowering spice of the Tamato Berry. The texture is nice and firm with the a hint, if I am not mistaken, a Pascho Berry?"
"Woah, you guessed it right," she said impressed. Iris picked the the cookie plate, "Want to try another one?"
"Yes please," he responded, this time grabbing the red and yellow spotted cookies, which he also gave his Pokemon. Just as the last one, the looks had been deceiving.
"I told you, natural is always the best. Did you like it Axew?" Iris smiled, handing him another one and patting his head. "I knew you would, but we have to save some for Chilli and Cress too."
"Plus whoever else is at the party," Cilan pointed out. "Which if we don't hurry and clean ourselves up, we'll be fashionably late."
"But we have to wrap them first right?," she asked.
"I can do that for you," Cilan offered. "Why don't you change first? You have more flour on your hair than the actual cookies."
Iris grinned devilishly and skipped towards Cilan, who before he even had the chance to react was being pulled by his shirt collar down to her level.
"Not a chance," she said, kissing him full on the lips. Cilan, who despite his surprised expression, closed his eyes and returned the kiss with great pleasure. She had let go of his clothes and put her arms on his chest while he pulled her into an embrace, deepening their kiss.
"You taste like the cookies," Cilan murmured when they parted. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that their Pokemon had discreetly left them alone. Cilan continued to hug Iris placing his chin on top of her head. The mood was great, until he felt Iris laugh. He pulled away. "What's so funny?"
"Now you're covered in frosting too," she giggled. Cilan glanced down at his wardrobe. True to her word, he had blotches of color on his white apron from when they were hugging. "So now, you go get changed, and I'll wrap the cookies up."
"I guess, I'm still no match for you, huh?" he sighed, smiling as she went to get the wrapping paper and supplies.
"Ah, Iris please be careful with the scissors!"