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Baking people cookies for Christmas is a way to show someone that you care.
To show someone that: “Hey, I like you enough to put in effort for you." Or to apologize for kidnapping someone's brother and accidentally almost killing him. Or even to show your sister who you kind of put in prison for her transgressions that you're sorry but also not really sorry enough to pay her bail.
Whatever your reason for making cookies this Christmas, it's probably similar.
Hence why EX-superstar Veneer and both not metaphorically and metaphorically revived pop sensation Floyd were baking cookies together.
They'd been attempting to mend Veneer's image in the eyes of the troll's brothers, and had decided that maybe making cookies was the way to their good sides, and while they were at it to give Velvet a peace offering so she didn't hunt the two of them down when her time in prison was up.
Somehow by whatever Christmas miracle they had made it to the mixing the batter stage. After much egg-breaking, nearly slipping on yolk, almost forgetting an ingredient and a whole lot of starting over.
"Clay likes snickerdoodles, JD likes candy canes crushed in the batter, Bruce and I both like normal sugar cookies, and Branch likes white chocolate chip," Floyd explains, peaking over the apron pocket. "So it'd be appreciated if you kept it plain for now."
"Aye aye." Veneer Snickers, patting the troll's head and nearly knocking him back into the abyss that was his pocket. "I'll uh... Leave you a glob of dough you can break up at will."
"That would be very much appreciated," Floyd grunted, hoisting himself out of the clothing's fold and clambering onto the counter. "After all I can't show up to my baby brother's Christmas invite after ten-plus years empty-handed and with a person he's not particularly fond of. No offense."
"None taken, and you're right." The Rageon laughs to himself, continuing to mix the dough in slow circles. "Would hate for you to be ambushed by a sentient armadillo bus. That would suck."
"Okay, he definitely needs to apologize for that." The pinkette chuckles, looking up at the Rageon. "But Rhonda is pretty endearing once you get to know her! I bet if you were to give her a second chance you'd forget all about that!"
"Oh yeah, let's just glaze over the fact your brother's armadillo bus almost drowned, got crushed by cars, and thrown in a closet because of me.“ veneer scoffed, Sounding half sarcastic and half genuine.
“She's quick to forgive if you feed her something good. And these cookies are going to be GOOD.“
The Rageon ground his lip between his teeth nervously, looking at the now thoroughly mixed batter "But what if they aren't?“
"They'd better be, we worked out holly-jolly-hindquarters off making them. So I'll settle for nothing less than perfect. They owe it to us we were the ones that made them.“ The pinkette stated, crossing his arms as Veneer started rolling out the sheet of the dough.
“So uh... What's it like in Pop Troll Village during Christmas?“ He murmured, looking down at the roller in his hand as he worked on the flattening of their cookies.
“It's all very festive." Floyd informed, climbing up onto the ledge of the kitchen window. “very very entertaining to watch and fun to participate in. It makes you feel small again, like at any moment that Christmas magic your parents told you about would reignite and you'll believe in it all over again.“
"That sounds amazing.“ The Rageon breathed, smiling gently as he pressed a cookie cutter into their uncut cookies. “I'm... Excited. I think.“
“You think?" Floyd offers, “Care to elaborate?“
"I'm just... It's odd you know? Because when I was famous it was all a huge thrill, and I guess I kind of lost the excitement that came with new things after a while. So now when I get excited I just kind of second guess it? It's... I dunno.“
“Oh, That sounds... complicated," Floyd murmured, looking up at his friend. " Wanna talk about it?"
“Not really," Veneer confessed, a sheepish smile plastered on his face. “It's not really something I'm ready for.“
Floyd fiddled with his thumbs, as he hummed an affirmative “Okay. Well, if you ever want you I'm-”
"Oh, would you look at that? We gotta put the cookies in!" Veneer gasped, swiping up the tray and nearly dropping it as he tried his best to open the oven.
“Oh, yeah!" Floyd responded, trying his best to ignore the fact that Rageon had changed the subject.
"Aren't they going to get all... I don't know burnt? I don't have a troll-sized oven so how are we going to cook them...?"
"I don't know," Floyd states, sounding like this was the first time the thought had even crossed his mind. "I... I don't think I have enough time to get my oven either. So I guess we should see through trial and error what'll work and won't...?"
"Yeah I guess, or we could just bake mine and put yours in the fridge until they're ready? "
"Ooh, good idea!" The troll praises, leaning up against his neck as Veneer takes the tray of Rageon-sized cookies and pushes it into the oven. "We'll just have to see what happens."
"That we will." The Rageon murmured, smiling to himself as he wiped off his gloves and set the time and heat for the oven. “Hopefully by the time these are baked, the frosting will be ready.“
"Speaking of that.“ Floyd called, holding up a spoon. “You need to get to mixing big guy."
“But my arms huuuuuuuuuuuuurt....“ Veneer complained, letting said limbs hang at his sides.“I'm tiiiiiireeeeeddddd...."
“Well then I guess you're gonna have frostingless cookies. Floyd shrugged. “And Rhonda will just decide you look more appealing.“
Floyd couldn't help but snicker as he watched his friend's eyes widen. “You know what? I think I can take a few muscle spasms if it gets me out of that thing's bad book.“
“Good decision." The troll laughs, walking over to the frosting as his friend goes to get a spoon.
The bowl was positioned right under the window, just enough that Floyd could peak over the ledge and stare into what was essentially a sinkhole full of diabetes.
And it was this positioning in fact that caused him to fall directly inside when he lost his balance trying to lay down.
Falling, or slipping headfirst rather, directly into the vat of sugar.
He hardly got a second to yell.
The frosting was thick, like mud that would suck off your boots, except for the fact it was creamy enough it was allowing him at least a chance to kick out of it.
"Veneer!" The troll yelped as he sunk deeper into the whipped sugar, "Help!"
The Rageon stammered out a quick, "What? Why?! Where are you?!"
"The bowl!" Floyd sputtered, paddling as though he were in the water and only getting himself even further into the Candyland variant of quicksand.
Veneer picked up three dirty bowls they had used and shook them upside down onto the table, messed up cookie batter splattering on the table. "What bowl?! We've used multiple bowls!"
"FUG- FROSTING!" The troll screamed as the white started to suck him under. "I'M IN THE FROSTING!"
"OH!" There was a pause and then something scooped him up from his underside and plopped him into a soft surface.
Something swiped across his face and he was met with Veneer's worried eyes.
"Ugh, thank you." He murmured, swiping at the mess across his hair and skin. "I thought I was going to die."
"Honestly, you might have." Veneer confessed, "I didn't even price you'd fallen in."
"Death by frosting." The pinkette laughed, popping one of his fingers in his mouth for a taste. "That would be such a lame way to die."
"I guess you could say you'd been lost to the sauce.“ Veneer giggled, smirking a little as his troll friend laughed.
“Well now we're one frosting bowl down unless they want an extremely unsanitary batch of cookies.“ the pinkette sighed through the remnants of his laughter.
Veneer snorted, swiping a glob of frosting from the troll's hair with a final chuckle. "Yeah I'll speak for them and say no to that.“
“Which means another batch of cookies botched." Floyd sighed, looking towards the blackened cookies in the oven.
Veneer cringed at the unmistakable scent of burning as he quickly turned off the appliance. Fanning the some out the clumsily opened window that veneer was trying desperately to open wider while holding a towel. “Yeah..."
The smoke alarm seemed to get the message and start beeping.
The two both cringed at the noise and Veneer lost his grip on the window, resulting in a loud slam in addition to the other shrill shrieking sound.
“... I really don't want to do that again...“ Floyd sighed, wiping a glob of sugary white frosting from his face, “And I could definitely go for a fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-latte.“
“Likewise." Veneer sighed. “I'll go get my scarf."