A/N: I am a punny person. I have no regrets.
Written for Day 4 of Colloyd Week 2022: Cooking.
"Hey! We're outside! Are you ready?" shouted Lloyd. A wide grin stretched across his face and he hopped on the spot. Colette stood beside him, hands clasped together in equal excitement. Even so, she gave Lloyd an awkward smile.
"Lloyd… People are still sleeping."
"Huh?"
He looked towards the sundial. Regal had had it installed a few years after the whole debacle with Ratatosk. Thankfully, he knew how they worked and how to read them, as he had watched his dad build a few. Lloyd had crafted a few water clocks by himself, too. Nowadays, most people liked to rely on quartz clocks since the Tethe'allans had discovered alkaline batteries, but some Sylvaranti villages preferred low-maintenance ones since they couldn't always bring someone in to check them.
"It's only six AM?" He squinted at the device although he knew perfectly well that his eyes were sharper than any elf or human. People hurried by between shadows cast by the faint light and glared at him from across the street. Someone, his face awash in darkness, was holding his head near the casino. He wasn't smelling too good, and his face was pale. "Huh. Guess I was too excited to sleep."
Colette tilted her head. "You didn't notice?"
"Kind of. But… you know that weird feeling where you think you didn't fall asleep but you probably did but you don't feel like you did?"
Colette just blinked.
He rubbed his head. "Never mind."
She mouthed his words to herself.
She's probably going to be turning that sentence over and over in her mind for the whole day, isn't she.
The glass doors finally slid open to reveal a straight-backed man, his greying hair brushed and arranged meticulously.
"George! Good to see you." Lloyd gave him a wide grin.
Regal's butler bowed to them slightly. "Sir Lloyd and Lady Colette. It is good to see that the two of you are well."
Colette flushed as the small group made their way to the elevators. "Thank you, Mister George. I'm glad Regal can spare the time to see us!"
"Please, Lady Colette, you may call me by name only. I am a mere servant privileged to serve Master Regal and his friends."
"No," she protested. Her lower lip jutted out in a pout. "You're Regal's friend, too. And you're somebody, not just a servant."
"I see." His lips curved. "I thank you."
They entered the lift and the barriers drew shut. "So how's the Toize mine? Is it almost collapsed?" asked Lloyd as the metallic banshee screeched.
"Yes," he confirmed. "Soon it will be inaccessible once more. However, Master Regal and Lady Presea are drawing up plans to prevent future generations from reopening it."
"That's great. Those two are always thinking ahead!"
"Our dream is coming true," said Colette, smiling up at him. He returned it.
The elevator came to a rattling stop. Lloyd and Colette stepped out while George remained inside. He inclined his head to them again. "Please do not hesitate to call for me should you require my assistance." He pressed a button, and the lift descended.
"Lloyd and Colette! Welcome."
They turned to see Regal, his figure just as built as the last time they had seen him—quite the contrast to any other wealthy company owner they had ever seen. Lloyd noted that he had picked up a new wrinkle here and there, and his hair had begun to thin. It would be unnoticeable to all but a select few.
Despite the changes, the most prominent one was the quiet happiness he exuded. Maybe it was in his light steps as he came towards them. Or maybe it was the relaxed shoulders, tension bled dry. It could be all of those or none.
"I've intentions to have the elevators updated to remove that dreadful noise. It's very unprofessional for the Lezareno Company."
Lloyd laughed. "I admit, it's a bit grating on our ears, but take your time! You're plenty busy already."
"Yes!" said Colette. "I'm really thankful you could make time to see us!"
"Even a president of a successful company needs to spend time with his friends," said Regal. He gestured towards the kitchen. "Here, I've prepared everything for our session."
"Wow!" Lloyd gaped at the shining bowls, the immaculate weighing scale, and the ingredient packages all lined up in a row. "This is epic! Genis would be all over this stuff!"
"Martel's going to love it," Colette exclaimed.
"Martel? You're making chocolate for Martel?" Regal looked a little confused, so Lloyd took it upon himself to explain.
"Yeah!" Lloyd nodded his head vigorously. "She hasn't tried it before so we thought, let's do it! And everyone knows that if you want to show someone you care about them, you give them handmade chocolates!"
"I… see."
Regal shook himself, as though he had been thinking hard about something. Lloyd had no idea what about, but it didn't look like the sort of thing he would share if Lloyd pried, so he wouldn't.
He put his apron around his neck and began to tie the strings. "Now, then. I've already roasted and ground the cocoa beans, so we can get straight to tempering the chocolate."
Colette did the same. Meanwhile, Lloyd raised an eyebrow. "Tempering… chocolate?" He had only ever heard of 'tempering' in two capacities. One: when Dad had taught him how to temper metal. Two: when Dad had kept telling him he had to temper his impulsiveness. Um, Dad One, Dad Two?
Gah.
"Yes. It's a technique that ensures the chocolate will be hard and have a glossy finish. It is quite difficult, so I will walk you through it and keep a careful eye on the procedure."
"So what do we do?"
"Firstly, we'll bring some water to simmer, and in the meantime blend the cocoa powder and butter." Regal was measuring water into the saucepan. Colette's brows were drawn together in intense concentration, and the tip of her tongue protruded between her lips. "Then we will heat the mixture, combine the sugar and salt, and add that to the original mixture. Add milk, stir, and pour into moulds, and we leave it to cool."
Lloyd listened as best he could, nodding in all the right places. "Sounds simple enough!"
Regal chuckled. "It does, but I assure you that it is not. Don't be alarmed if your first few batches fail."
Then Colette clapped her hands, drawing the men's attention to her.
"Oh! I think I get it! You feel like you're awake the whole night but you're not tired so you must have fallen asleep but you don't remember doing that, either!"
"Were you even paying attention to Regal's instructions?!"
An uncountable number of hours later, Lloyd was sprawled on the floor.
Colette poked him. "Are you okay?"
"No," he moaned. "Is the latest try ready?"
"Yep. You should come see!"
He cracked an eye open. "Should I really?"
"Yes!"
"Really really?"
"Really really!"
"Okay." He hoisted himself off the ground, feeling his joints pop satisfyingly.
Together they walked back to the kitchen. Lloyd absolutely did not want to make another batch, so he was begging for Martel's sake that this was it. He had chocolate stains from when he had accidentally let it boil instead of simmer, but he'd been splattered all over when Colette had tripped while taking the cocoa off the stove.
It hadn't been too bad; Lloyd had a sturdy body, and Regal was there to heal his minor burns. But the chocolate was everywhere. He could even feel it sticking to his hair!
Colette was, as usual, mortified. But they could laugh it off.
Nevertheless, Lloyd made sure to be the one to open the refrigerator; they did not want these ruined.
"Hey, they actually look really good!" Lloyd beamed. Light gleamed, uninterrupted along the dark brown surfaces.
"Indeed," said Regal. The guys got to work taking the chocolates out to free them from the moulds while Colette wandered off to fetch cloths from the closet for wiping up.
"You seem to have tempered yourself as well, Lloyd," Regal observed, quietly so as to ward off Colette's spectacular hearing.
Lloyd brightened. "You think so?"
Regal hummed in agreement. "Before, you would have complained loudly about having to clean up the mess on your clothes and in the kitchen. Now, I can see you're holding back for Colette's sake."
"Ah… That's a little embarrassing!" laughed Lloyd. "But yeah, I guess you're right. She's… Seeing her, being with her—it makes me want to do my best."
His eyes were downcast on the sweets.
"Maybe next time I can try make it by myself. That way I can give them to her."
"I think you're always trying your best, Lloyd. When you love someone, there's something deep inside us that begs us to do our best for them. That's why you do this for her."
"You could be right…" Lloyd replied. "It's not just Colette, though. It's for you, too! I'm really grateful you could help us out here."
Regal smiled as the girl in question returned and handed out small pieces of chocolate. "I am always happy to. Here, try it."
"These are great!" Lloyd said.
Colette was elated. "I'm sure Martel will be really happy!"
"I am told that we are to give chocolates to those we love. In accordance with that, I wish to present you with this box of confectionaries."
Yuan stared.
"And who told you that?" he managed finally.
"Colette and Lloyd." Martel smiled. "I am learning many things about the world thanks to them."
Yuan coughed in laughter.
A/N: Hit me up with your concrit!