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Third Floor Common Room [Tuesday afternoon]

It was summer, and that meant a few things, even across different worlds and dimensions. It meant that it was warm and breezy enough that Rapunzel had opened the windows of the common room this morning, after she'd returned from her little errands. It meant that her birthday had either passed (back home) or was coming up next week (here) -- which was sort of weird, but she was ignoring that.

But most importantly, it meant that everything delicious was in season, and so Rapunzel was making pies.

She'd barely done any baking since she'd gotten here, and this morning she'd woken up with the realization that she missed it. A trip into town had yielded baskets of berries and everything she'd need for crusts, and in very little time at all, Rapunzel had three different pies cooling on the kitchen counter in her common room, and was working on a fourth.

She had forgotten how fun baking could be, and was eagerly bouncing around the kitchen, neatly skipping over her hair and mixing ingredients. She'd also set out a bunch of little plates and forks next to the pies, hoping that was invitation enough. She needed people to try them in order to know which one was the best, after all.

[open CR is open! my coworker is out sick, la la la.]

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Nathan had tried walking off the island this morning and had found himself tossed right back onto the causeway. He'd gotten a little angry and screamed and cursed a little at apparently being trapped before trudging back.

On his way up to his room, he stopped by the common room when the scent caught his attention. Nathan peeked inside, recognizing the hair and that made him comfortable enough to step inside quietly.

"Hi Nathan!" Rapunzel chirped as soon as she spotted him. "Want some pie? There's three different kinds -- strawberry, blueberry and cherry, and I'm working on peach, now. Unless you don't like pie, but that just means I'm gonna ask you a lot of questions about why not."

It was a serious concern.

"Hi." Nathan moved a little closer before he answered the second set of questions. "I like pie. I just haven't really had it very often. What's the best kind?"

"I like strawberry," Rapunzel said thoughtfully, "but they're all really good for different reasons. I've never had so much stuff to make pies with, though? So this is the first time I've been able to make a bunch at once to kind of compare."

"Strawberry then," Nathan said, more than willing to take the recommendation so he didn't upset his stomach. "To start with. Pies weren't something my grandmother baked and I never really learned either so I know the feeling of being a bit...overwhelmed."

"Aww, I didn't know you had a grandmother," Rapunzel sighed, a little enviously as she plated up a slice of strawberry pie for him. "I had to kinda teach myself to bake, honestly -- my mother's not big in the kitchen. So it's a learning process! 'Specially since there's different...stuff here than I'm used to."

She cast a dubious look at the microwave as she handed him his plate. Someday she'd figure that thing out. Someday.

"My grandmother tried to teach me but I'm not a great student," Nathan told her, reaching for the plate with a small smile as a way of saying thank you. "I actually learned from...someone else. My grandmother passed while I was with her."

And it had not been a happy time. It still hurt and still made him feel guilty that he'd never gotten to say his goodbyes.

"So, I never got to cook for her. Wish I could have since she raised me and my brother and sisters but not in the cards, I guess."

"Siblings, too?" Rapunzel asked, though her brows knitted together in sympathy. "I'm sorry about your grandmother. Maybe you'll see her again! This place is...kind of weird that way, from what I hear. People show up from the past and the future and all of that."

"One brother, two sisters," he shared, nodding. "I don't see them much anymore. My brother's in England. I don't know where my sisters are."

He took a second to think of Arran before he shook that away. "And I don't know if I'd want to see them right now. Things are a little strange. Different."

Rapunzel frowned a little, starting to roll out the pie crust. "Want to talk about it?" she offered. "I don't have any siblings, so I don't know what that's really like, but it must be hard to be separated."

"I'd rather not," Nathan said after a moment. He took a bite of the pie and nodded approvingly. "This is good, though. Very...fruity. Flaky and warm. I like it."

It wasn't a great segue but it was better than shutting down and leaving. "How long did it take to teach yourself to bake?"

"Sixteen years, give or take," Rapunzel said lightly, letting that line of questioning go. Hey, she had secrets. She could respect that. "I mean, not really, but I kind of didn't get out much where I used to live, so it was teach myself to do things or go crazy with boredom."

She paused, and added, "And thank you. I'm still getting used to having people to feed."

"I didn't tend to get out much either." That was more because he had to either stay inside for his safety or he was locked in a cage. Hard to get out when that happened. "I don't think it's mandatory to feed people though. It's nice and I like benefiting from it but I don't think that's a rule here."

"Yeah, but it's nice," Rapunzel sighed softly. "Having people to share with, I mean. I just had my mother, and she never wanted to try pies, at home. She said it would ruin her figure."

Rapunzel, meanwhile, had never worried about such things, which was probably why Mother told her she was getting chubby.

"And I feel like people flock to food, here. I like feeling like I'm helping and making people want to come together, you know?"

Nathan listened to her explanation silently before he nodded. "Yeah, seems like a lot of people are drawn to food here. Possibly because it's free. I'll admit that does influence me somewhat too. Being able to eat without having to spend what meager money I have is nice."

"Something smells fucking good in here," Barry said wandering into the common room. "What's the deal Rapunzel? Does your hair bake too?"

"Exactly," Rapunzel agreed with a nod. "And...well, I never had anyone to share stuff with before. I didn't know how nice it'd be."

"Not my hair," she said brightly, waving her rolling pin (gently.) "There's blueberry, strawberry and cherry pie if you want some, Barry!"

Pause.

"Oh my gosh, it's like a pun. Barry and berry pies!"

She would just be giggling to herself over that for the rest of the day, don't mind her.

"Well if you're putting me into a pie, this common room is going to get a fucking grisly," Barry joked as he dropped his equipment bag on the floor. "I'll take a slice of cherry as long as I'm not in it."

"You're nicer than me," Nathan told her, shrugging. "I think I'd horde things if I could. Share sometimes but keep most of it to myself since you never know when you might be back in a situation where you have no money and no access to free food. Where you just have to run for your life or something."

"I didn't make enough dough for a crust that'd fit you, anyway," Rapunzel said cheerily, going over to slice the pie for him. "What's in the bag?"

Rapunzel frowned. "I've never been in a situation like that," she admitted. "Even when I was alone, I was provided for. I had everything I could want...except, you know, a door. So maybe that's why I'm more willing to share?"

"Maybe," Nathan said, nodding thoughtfully. "You didn't have a door?"

That was something he just had to ask about.

"Gremlin trap," Barry said. "And something else for a friend. Just a couple of pet projects that I've been working on. Where'd you learn to bake?"

"I had a tower," she explained, shrugging a shoulder. "And I had a window, but no way to get in from the ground."

She glanced at her hair and smiled at him. "I bet you can guess how we got in and out."

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Third Floor Common Room [Tuesday afternoon]

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